Monthly Archives: July 2011

Summer is here again. Time to get those shorts out because the temperature is rising and people are flocking into the world that winter kept so isolated. The London Cyclist blog has a great article on summer clothing so I won’t replete them in hopes of looking more professional. I will however share a tip I was given by a thrifty friend of mine who does triathlons and is used to buying cycling apparel.

Ebay, but not just Ebay. There is a specific shop called LOVE2PEDAL. This is where I bought my cycling shorts, I am actually wearing them right now, for $9.95 plus $5 shipping, but if you buy a bunch of stuff you can group it all together. What you do is you make the minimum bid whenever you can. If you don’t win don’t worry. They replace the items every day so a new chance to claim your items will happen often. They are not the greatest bike shorts, but at $15 dollars a pair, if you don’t save on the shipping, they are a steal, and with an unbroken Brooks saddle they are a must.

Drink plenty of water. Happy riding.

Written by Chris Belsole

I am not a brave person. I ride the Washington Ave. Extension, but that’s because I follow the rules of the road and am comforted by the hope that drivers do as well. Maybe it is more correct to say that I don’t take unnecessary risks.

What brought me to this though was a timely article that I read from the London Cyclists about saddles and being comfortable. Today was my first day riding with my brooks, as mentioned in the article, and under my shorts I sport my cycling shorts in all of their padded glory. You see, with a leather saddle there is a “breaking in” period in which the leather is hard as a rock. After losing 130 lbs. and quite a bit of cushioning down there my bones are left baron and therefore the shorts in all of their padded glory.

I’ll probably come out with an article in a month of how the breaking in process is going, but for now I’ll keep my shorts snug and my bike upright.

What do you sit on?

Written by Chris Belsole

I rarely talk about CK’s Cycles. I have had little dealing with them in the past due to the closeness of the Downtube and the freshness of Broadway Bicycle Co. After yesterday I regret that fact; the fact that I did not check out their store sooner and form a relationship with the people there. An error which was amended yesterday.

After getting a call the day before I rode the new Bus+ line to the stop near the mall to land closest to CK’s Cycles where my new bike waited for me with, I hope, the same vigor that I wanted to ride it. Soon I was inside, and I wish I got the people’s names, and one of the guys hoisted my bicycle from the basement where it sat waiting for me with all the freshness that comes with a new bike. I gleamed when I saw it; its paint reflecting in all its glory. In fact I was so hastened to ride that I completely forgot to adjust the seat as I went out the door. A little sheepish I went back in, got it on a trainer, and perfected the seat height.

Off I went bounding over the distance that I once could only traverse at a moderate pace daring to push myself faster and faster until my legs and the bike could give no more.

I learned a few things on that ride. One was that the front derailleur needed adjusting, and the other was that my neck really hurt. Bringing back the bike to CK’s I explained what I learned and they corrected the problems adjusting the derailleur and flipping the stem so the handlebars raised a little affording me more comfort. They spent a lot of time on my bike making sure it was perfect before they let me go. I thank them for that.

Before I paid and left with my new bike they explained to me that I had a free repair within a year, a year. I have never heard of that. If I recall correctly the Downtube only gives you a month and Broadway Bikes gives you a few, but a year!?  I guess I’ll see them this time next year after riding through the winter, hopefully not, blowing out every expendable part on my bike. Hehehe.

This morning I stuck my “clipless” peddles and my Brooks saddle, which I bought a while back and never used, on my Masi, man that feels good to say, and headed off to work skipping breakfast to save time in the morning.

Thank you for all that you did CK Gentlemen. I appreciate the excellent service, the attention to detail, and the love and care you put into every bike you build. I would recommend this shop to anyone, especially people who ride BMX, and I will probably visit them again to talk about wheels. Expect an article on that as well.

This just goes to show you, treat people right and they will love you for it. Treat bloggers right and you will get publicity.

[Images by Ken Prunier]

Written by Chris Belsole

I have had a few things on my desk that I’ve wanted to get done for a while. One of them is to review more products so that we can get our audience more informed. Life has gotten in the way plenty of times so I am reaching out to the community.

If you would like to review products for this site send in a product review of anything of no less than 300 words to our contact form. It can be something you have or a fictional product.

I have your first assignment sitting on my desk.

Good luck.

Written by Chris Belsole

A while ago Jeremy asked:

“Has there been any progress made toward the Madison Ave. traffic calming project? It had been almost a year since the common council voted unanimously to support the proposal which is also supported by the Pine Hills NA, but I have heard nothing on this.”

So being to “professional” investigative journalist that I am I set to the task of getting the lowdown.

It all started when I stumbled across the Delaware Ave. street fair that was going on last weekend. I stopped at a boot that was talking about Albany 2030, a group I wrote about previously. There was a member of the common council there who was very nice and put me in touch with my districts representative, who (I hope) we all know from her work to get the study pushed through in the first place, Leah Golby. I e-mailed her for more information with all the proper aplomb I could muster. Here is what she said:

• The mayor’s 2011 budget included borrowing funds for a feasibility study for traffic calming (road diet) on Madison Avenue.
• Community Members (Virginia Hammer and Lorenz Worden) have secured financial commitments to support the feasibility study from Price Chopper, St. Rose, Albany Med and Columbia Development.
• In May or June of this year the Common Council approved the borrowing for the study (all borrowing needs to be approved by the Common Council even if it is included in the city’s budget).
• A Request for Proposal will soon be issued by the city seeking a firm to conduct the study.
• It is my understanding that the study will be conducted in the fall.

So it seems everything is moving forward. If the study is done by the fall and analyzed in the winter maybe construction could start in the spring. That’s me being positive.

Written by Chris Belsole