The final leg of a long journey is always filled with mixed emotions, especially on a solo ride. You know that soon your goal will be complete and while there is excitement about seeing family and friends again and crossing the finish line, there is some hesitation.  Knowing that you will have completed your challenge on your own is a great motivator,  however there also comes the reality that you will soon have to return to the daily grind of work and life in general.  It is with this realization that you do not want it to end, and perhaps, you find yourself slowing down a bit.

You’ve grown accustomed to relying on just yourself and your bike and the freedom of setting your own course…

Riding into Los Angeles, Orange County and San Diego was all too familiar to me.  I had ridden these routes so many times in the past.  Training rides, Gran Fondos and charity rides (MS Bay to Bay tour) had taken me on these roads many times before, and I just wanted to get through it all.  There were highlights to be sure: being able to meet up with fellow cycling friends for parts of the journey through LA, riding the beautiful cliff areas of Palos Verdes, and crossing into San Diego County were definitely some of the best.

But… I did hesitate.  I really did not want it to end.  What was to come afterwards?  I wondered, and slowed down a little bit more.

As I got closer to my finish line, Cabrillo National Monument on Point Loma, that all began to change.

First I was greeted by paramedics, who had been following my blog and live tracking and cheered me on in their ambulance as I headed up the final stretch of Point Loma.

As I got closer, my adrenaline started to pick up as I knew I would soon be there.

I knew that my wife and son were there to meet me, however I was unprepared for the surprise my wife had waiting for me.  To my astonishment, she had arranged for many of my family and friends to be there at the finish line, all cheering me on as I came around the bend to the monument.

A great feeling of joy shot through my body as I saw everyone, and realized I had completed my goal.

This was followed by a celebratory dinner and story telling about my journey.

I was overcome by emotion on this last day, one of the greatest days of my life.

… and I immediately began thinking…Vancouver to San Francisco!

A Road Bike 4U would like to thank Russ Ketteringham for sharing this amazing coastal trip with us through his series of blog posts.

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This is less than 1/2 of Bradley Wiggins’ kit for 2013. Each rider receives over 750 pieces a year! One day I’ll receive my PRO contract and quit my 9-5. Until then, I’ll savor every piece of kit I buy.

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Why Is the US So Far Behind in Using Bicycles for Transportation?

Did you know that pollsters can generally get about any answer they set out to get by how they design the poll.  What are the questions?  How are they asked.  In what order?  Who are the ones polled?  I’m not saying that a recent poll produced by Copenhagenize Design Co. is biased, and it certainly adds useful information to the question of cycling friendly places throughout the world.  However, there is at least a chance that their criteria may have been at least somewhat responsible for 3 of the top 20 being in Holland.  Moreover, almost all of the 20 were in Europe (3 Japan, one in South America), with the lone North American entry being Montreal.

The study took a look at 150 cities in all.  Thus far the pollsters don’t seem to have released information on 21-150.  It may be that well known cycling Meccas in the US such as Portland and Davis may have come in 21 and 22.  Possibly the folks at Copenhagenize Design Co. will provide more data later.

Their criteria for selection included:

• advocacy
• bicycle culture
• cycling facilities
• infrastructure
• bike share program
• gender split
• modal share
• modal
  share increase since 2006
• perception of safety
• politics
• social
  acceptance
• urban planning
• traffic calming

Business insider did a nice analysis of the list with some great pictures of some of the cities.  And then did another piece on why Americans don’t get it - why we don’t have a single city that made the list.

The article quotes Mikael Colville-Andersen, CEO of Copenhagenize, the consulting and communications company that published the Index.

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Join ARB on Sunday, June 2nd, to ride the Gran Fondo Giro d’Italia in Pasadena.  This event is sponsored by RCS Sport, the same folks who put on the “World’s Toughest Race in the Most Beautiful Place.”  Right now, the race in Italy is under way.  We’ll have more details soon on our own Pasadena Edition but for now, check out the preview of this year’s Giro below:

This article was originally published on Cyclingnews.com.

This year’s Giro d’Italia is set to be one of the best ever editions of the Corsa Rosa, promising three weeks of great racing with the Italian countryside as a stunning backdrop.

Race organiser RCS Sport has managed to attract one of the best ever fields for the 96th edition of the Giro d’Italia, with a star-studded start list including overall contenders, many of the world’s best sprinters and a host of riders chasing stage victories and glory during the three weeks of racing.

The race route is finely balanced, with the passion and warmth of Naples and the south of Italy coming before a visit to Florence, little-known mountain stages in the northeast, a ‘homage’ to the French Alps with a summit finish on the Galibier, and then a grand finale in the Dolomites.

Video: Giro d’Italia route overview. Full Giro d’Italia route previews can be found on our YouTube channel

Wiggins versus Nibali, Hesjedal, Basso, Sanchez and Gesink

Tour de France winners rarely choose the Giro d’Italia as their major goal of the subsequent season but Bradley Wiggins (Team Sky), weary of the pressures of France, has named the Giro d’Italia as his first objective of 2013 and has planned his season to be at his very best in May.

The Giro d’Italia tifosi admire the best international riders but they love a home favourite and everyone in Italian cycling is hoping Vincenzo Nibali (Astana) can take on Wiggins this year and win his first maglia rosa.

The two are finely matched, as they showed at the recent Giro del Trentino, but are also very different as riders. While Wiggins and Team Sky love controlled racing, Nibali likes to throw caution to the wind. Their contrast in styles, nationality and character will be fascinating to watch as their battles evolves during each day of racing.

Sir Bradley Wiggins is looking to add the Giro d’Italia to his palmares

Of course, the Giro d’Italia promises to be far more than just a head to head battle between Nibali and Wiggins. 2012 winner Ryder Hesjedal (Garmin-Sharp) will wear number one and has great shot at becoming a rare back to back winner. Other overall contenders include Michele Scarponi (Lampre-Merida), Ivan Basso (Cannondale), Robert Gesink (Blanco Team), Samuel Sanchez (Euskaltel-Euskadi) and Cadel Evans (BMC Racing Team).

Mark Cavendish (Omega Pharma-Quick Step) again leads the sprinters looking for stage victories. His biggest rivals will be Matt Goss and Michael Matthews (Orica-GreenEdge), John Degenkolb (Argos-Shimano), Nacer Bouhanni (FDJ), Sacha Modolo (Bardiani Valvole) and Francesco Chicchi (Vini Fantini-Selle Italia).

Taylor Phinney (BMC Racing Team) will also be back at the Giro d’Italia after winning last year’s opening time trial. Other riders to watch for include Wiggins’ Colombian teammate Rigoberto Uran, Filippo Pozzato (Lampre-Merida), Domenico Pozzovivo (Ag2r-La Mondiale), the USA’s Peter Stetina (Garmin-Sharp) and the return of his teammate Christian Vande Velde after his six-month doping ban.

A spectacular but balanced race route

Giro 2013 course map

After the start in Denmark last year, the 2013 Giro d’Italia will begin with a very Italian flavour, with Naples hosting the Grande Partenza and the chaotic charm of the city offering a colourful canvas as the backdrop to the opening stage.

The 130km circuit around the Naples seafront will surely end with a high-speed sprint but things get far more technical on day two with the 17.4km team time trial on the nearby island of Ischia. The route of the ‘cronosquadre’ is very technical and should create significant tine gaps, giving Wiggins and Team Sky a chance to stock up their first chunk of time before the mountains.

The first week of the Giro d’Italia visits the south of the country, with several opportunities for the sprinters and attackers. There is always an early mountain finish in the Giro d’Italia and this year the 246km stage four to Serra San Bruno could catch someone out – it’s not especially steep but it is 16km long.

The route heads north along the Adriatic coast, with the 54.8km time trial from Gabicce Mare to Saltara the next big day for the overall contenders. Such a long time trial is ideal for Wiggins but the route is testing, with a twisting first section to Pesaro and a three-kilometre climb up to the finish.

A finish in Florence, but now without a lap of the world championship course, marks the end of the first week, with the riders transferring 300km to the Northeast for the first rest day. The first high mountain comes straight afterwards with a 1519m-high, 21.9km-long summit finish at Altopiano del Montasio. The climb includes a two-kilometre section at 12% and so will surely shake up the overall standings.

The high mountains

Stages 12 and 13 take the Giro d’Italia across northern Italy towards the Alps with sprints likely in Treviso and Cherasco, despite some testing hills on both days.

Stage 14 to Bardonecchia includes the long haul up to Sestriere but it is the following day’s finish at the summit of the Galibier that will have everyone worried. It is only 149km long but includes the 25km Col du Mont Cenis and then the Col du Télégraphe before the Galibier finish at 2642 metres. There is virtually no respite between the two final climbs, creating 34.8km of pain. It will be a breathtaking stage in every sense of the word.

The second rest day and two transitional stages ahead of the Dolomites help make this year’s Giro d’Italia humane but a late climb could ruin the sprinter’s party in Vicenza – the home of Campagnolo, which celebrates its 80th anniversary this year.

The Dolomite tripletto

The tripletto of final mountain stages in this year’s Giro d’Italia begin with the 20.4km mountain time trial from Mori to Polsa near Trento. The route twists and turns through the vineyards but the gradient is constant, calling for a controlled but 100% effort.

Stage 19 is a high mountain stage with the legendary Passo Gavia and the Passo Stelvio before the finish at Val Martello. That adds up to over 55km of serious mountain climbing in just 139km of racing.

The final mountain stage is even harder, with a 203km cavalcade through the Dolomites. The views will be spectacular but the riders will have little time to enjoy them as the tackle the Passo Costalunga, the Passo San Pellegrino, the Passo Giau and the Passo Tre Croci, all before the climb to the finish in the shadows of the Tre Cime di Lavaredo.

This final mountain stage will crown the winner of this year’s Giro d’Italia. The final stage to Brescia is a chance for a last sprint and to celebrate what should be a great first Grand Tour of the season.

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Got A Creaky Crankset? Noisy

Brakes? We Have The

Solutions.

From the Editors at www.bicycling.com

You fixed a puncture flat, but your new tube keeps going flat

A remounted tire won’t sit right on the rim

First, remove the air from the tire and wiggle the bad spot around. Re-inflate the tire to about 30psi and roll the bad spot into place with your hands. Push the tire in toward the middle of the rim so you can see if any of the tube is poking out. When the tube is fully inside the tire, inflate as normal.

A patch won’t stick to the glue on the tube

Apply more glue and let it dry completely, about five minutes (DO NOT BLOW ON THE GLUE) When you apply the patch, avoid touching its sticky side with your fingers.

A creaking sound from the wheels

A spoke may have loosened. If tension is uniform, the sound might be caused by a slight motion of the spokes against each other where they cross. Lightly lube this junction, wiping off the excess.

Tighten the crankarm bolts. If the arm still creaks, remove it, apply a trace of grease to the spindle, and reinstall the arm.

The large chainring flexes, and the chain rubs against the front derailleur cage.

Check for loose chainring bolts

You have removed the chainrings to clean the crankset, but now the front derailleur doesn’t shift right. 

You may have installed a chainring backward. Remove the rings and put them on correctly. Usually, the crankarm bolts fit into indentations on the chainrings. Sight from above too, to make sure there’s even spacing between the rings.

While trying to remove or adjust a crankarm you stripped the threads- Now you can’t remove it

Ride your bike around the block a few times. The crankarm will loosen and you’ll be able to pull it off.

Shifter housing rubs the frame, wearing a spot in the frame

Put clear tape beneath the housings where they rub.

Noisy sloppy shifting can’t be remedied by rear derailleur adjustment

The cassette lockring might be loose, allowing the cogs to move slightly and rattle around on the hub. You need a special tool to tighten the lockring fully, but you can spin it tight enough with your fingers to ride safely home or to a stop.

The cog cassette is getting rusty

A little rust won’t damage the cogs quickly, so it’s not a major concern. Usually, using a little more lube will prevent additional rust, and riding will cause the chain to wear away the rust while you’re pedaling.

In certain gears, pedaling cause loud skipping

There may be debris between the cogs. If you can see mud, grass, leaves, twigs, or any sort of foreign matter trapped between cogs, dig it out. It’s probably keeping the chain from settling all the way down onto the cog to achieve a proper mesh. If there’s no debris, a cog is probably worn out. Most often this is a sign that the chain and cassette will have to be replaced.

Front derailleur won’t shift precisely to a chainring

Check that the cage is parallel to the chainrings (when viewed from above), and loosen and reposition the derailleur if necessary. If it’s parallel, you probably need to adjust the high- and low-limit screws, best done by a shop.

The rear derailleur makes a constant squeaking noise

The pulleys are dry and need lubrication. Drip some light lube on the sides, then wipe off the excess.

Braking feels mushy, even though the pads aren’t worn out

The cable probably stretched. Dial out the brake-adjuster barrel (found either on the caliper or on the housing closer to the lever) by turning it counterclockwise until the pads are close enough to the rim to make the braking action feel as tight as you want.

Braking feels grabby

You probably have a ding or dent in the rim. This hits the pad every revolution, causing the unnerving situation. Take your bike into the shop.

One pad drags against the rim or stays significantly closer to the rim than the other

Before messing with the brakes, open the quick-release on the wheel, recenter the wheel in the frame and see if that fixes the problem. (This is the most common solution.) If the wheel is centered but a pad still rubs, you need to recenter the brake. On most modern brakesets this is done by turning a small adjustment screw found somewhere on the side or top of the caliper. (There may be one screw on each side, as well.) Turn the screw or screws in small increments, watching to see how this affects the pad position. If you center the brake and the wheel, and a pad still drags on the rim, it probably wore unevenly from being misadjusted; sand the pads flat and recenter everything.

With each pedal stroke you hear a click coming from the saddle

The pedal may have loosened. Tighten it.

Squealing Brakes

Wipe the rim to remove any oil or cleaning reside. If this doesn’t work, scuff the pads with sandpaper or a file. Still noisy? The pads need to be loosened, then toed in; an adjustment that makes the front portion touch the rim before the back- an easy fix for a shop, a tortuous process for a first timer.

Creaking Saddle

Dip a tiny amount of oil around the rails where they enter the saddle, and into the clamp where it grips the rails. Heritage purists take note: Leather saddles sometimes creak the same way that fine leather shoes can. There’s not much you can do about this.

You can never remember which way to turn the pedals

Treat the right-side pedal normally — righty-tighty, lefty-loosey. The left side pedal has reverse threads (to keep it from unscrewing during pedaling). If that’s confusing, just remember this simple phrase: Back off. This can remind you that, with the wrench engaged above the pedal, you ALWAYS turn toward the back of the bike to remove the pedal.

You installed a pedal into the wrong crankarm – The left pedal into the right arm or vice versa

You can remove the pedal, but the crankarm will have to be replaced; its threads are softer than the pedal’s and are now stripped out. ALWAYS check the pedals before installing. There is usually an R for right or an L for left stamped onto the axle.

You pulled apart your headset to regrease it, and now the headset feels tight no matter how you adjust it

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A Road Bike With Hydraulic Brakes?

A few months ago, SRAM confirmed rumors that they have new designs for road hydraulic brakes, one operating on the wheel rim and one disc version.

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ARB is happy to be a participant this year, and we have added our own service specials to the many hot deals provided by the sale sponsors.  We look forward to seeing you at the Fest!

Join A Road Bike 4U for the Great American Bike Fest!  We are participating with other local bike shops throughout the country for this event that will run through mid-May.  Our sale dates will be Thursday, April 25th through Sunday, April 28th!

*Purchase any 2013 bike and get 10% back in a Store Gift Card

*30% off in-stock Sidi & Giro shoes (20% on special orders)

*75% off in-stock “old inventory” Shimano shoes

*$75 off Grand Tour Tune-Up

*$15 off Sprint Tune-Up

*$50 off VO₂ max test

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In Part 4, you’ll see just what kind of improvement Jason made from his last VO2 test!

All testing at ARB is conducted by Saul Blau of Power to the Pedals, LLC, utilizing superior medical-grade equipment.  His experience and credentials in the field of Metabolic Testing are second to none.  To learn more about Mr. Blau, click here

To see the earlier blog posts, click below:

VO2 Test Part 1 – The Assessment

VO2 Test Part 2 – The Test Itself

If you would like to jump ahead to Parts 4 and 5, subscribe to A Road Bike 4U’s YouTube Channel.  Otherwise, stay tuned for Part 4 in our next blog post!

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This test is a full VO2 Max, which means taking the athlete all the way to his or her maximum effort in increments over a 20 minute (approx.) time period.  This will allow for the determination of your current VO2 Max number.  However, the most important metric will be your Anaerobic Threshold, which does not require you to go to complete exhaustion.  A VO2 Submax test may be preferable for a lot of people.

All testing is conducted by Saul Blau of Power to the Pedals, LLC, utilizing superior medical-grade equipment.  His experience and credentials in the field of Metabolic Testing are second to none.  To learn more about Mr. Blau, click here.

To see the earlier blog post for Part 1, click here.  If you would like to jump ahead to Parts 3, 4 and 5, subscribe to A Road Bike 4U’s YouTube Channel, or simply stay tuned to this blog for Part 3 coming shortly.

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Here is a look at the VO2 testing process as conducted at A Road Bike 4U’s SoCal Endurance Lab in Irvine, California.  All testing is conducted by Saul Blau of Power to the Pedals, LLC, utilizing superior medical-grade equipment.  His experience and credentials in the field of Metabolic Testing are second to none.  To learn more about Mr. Blau, click here.

For Parts 2 through 5, subscribe to A Road Bike 4U’s YouTube channel.  Or, stay tuned to this blog!

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