In the Blogs

Yo A: Bike Celebrity
North Carolina’s very own “Yo” Adrian makes an appearance – or at least, his head does – in the picture at the top of the Daily Randonneur. See if you can spot Adrian here.

Path to Enlightenment
Newly transplanted SIR rider Chuck Lathe has found a lot to love about his new home in Randolph County. That includes what he says is enlightened local bike planning. Lots of signs mark various bike routes in his area. Check out his posting here.

Pushing the Envelop
Out in Oregon, Dave Rowe has an interview with Greg Paley, who rode a featherweight, full-carbon, BMC SLC 01 Pro Machine on this summer’s Glacier 1000K. Paley “carried only what he could wear or stuff in his wedge pack, pockets and small Camelback,” Rowe reports, and was the event’s first finisher. In an email, Rowe told me:

“I think he'll be slammed by the traditionalists, but at the same time, I think what he is doing is going to have an impact on what we ride in 2008.”

Paley’s philosophy in many ways mirrors my own evolution in equipment and bike choice. However, I spot one potential catastrophe in his set-up: his low-spoke wheels. A very poor choice, in my experience. I broke a spoke on a set like that in an around-town ride. The bike was unrideable, and I had to call the wife for a pick-up. I’ve also seen these wheels put a NY rider in the DNF column during one of our 600Ks. So Greg, you might want to rethink that choice.

I’d be interested to hear of similar wheel failures.