Our man of the year, Lance, caught in the shadow of his nemesis. It’s been an interesting year in the world of cycling. There have been some duels for the ages between larger-than-life figures. I ...
Monthly Archives: December 2009
The Overhaul
One of the greatest adventures of my newly minted career as a bicycle mechanic was when I was walked through my first overhaul. One Saturday just before New Year’s Eve, after we closed the shop ...
By Accident
Some of the aftermath. This is how I got hit. It was raining. She came by me on the left, slowly. She signaled. I thought, “Oh, Christ! You’re going to let me get by ...
1930s Team France: Almost the Greatest Team Ever
Back in July, Team Astana was clearly not only the strongest team in the 2009 Tour de France peloton, but also one of the most powerful teams that had been put together in recent years. La ...
Friday Group Ride #2 Summary
A true mixed bag of Xmas gifts this year. I was shocked, but not surprised, at how many claim not to have received any cyclorific surprises due to a year-round schedule of bike-related ...
Friday Group Ride #2
Welcome to the Christmas Ride here on RKP. As a special gift, we’ll not point out that, rather than logging on here for your Xmas time bike fix, you ought to be paying more attention to ...
Happy Holidays from RKP
On behalf of everyone at RKP, we wish you and your family a wonderful holiday season. And if Santa left a Pinarello Dogma equipped with Super Record under your tree, then so much the better.
The Routine
I ride my bicycle to ride my bicycle—Zen proverb The discipline of cycling is a learned apprentice in all aspects of the sport. Part of our discipline, is that of “the routine.” The routine for ...
The Runner
When I was sixteen years old, I worked a summer for my uncle in Wilson, NC, mowing lawns — commercial and residential (one memory I will never ever be able to erase from my mind is the odor ...
SmartWool Flagstaff Bibs
Plain black shorts went out of style for me somewhere between 1992 and 1995. I can’t recall the specific season, but by the time Miguel Indurain stood on the winner’s dais on the Champs Elysees ...