Welcome to Mike's bicycling forum
Welcome to my cycling home page where I will dazzle or bore you with my bicycling exploits and follies. Within these pages you will be updated on my racing adventures, tour happenings and cycling purchases. I hope you are as enthusiastic as I am about the cycling lifestyle. Bummer: Race crash. I've only crashed one other time in a race and that was two years ago. I had an excuse for that one; late night at a friend's home. Anyhow to make a long story short, I was doing a great criterium race on my Merlin in downtown Norfolk, VA in July 2002 when I crashed out on the 10th lap of a 20 lap race. I was actually in the lead when I when through a corner to fast and skidded out. Unfortunately half the field was following me so the guy closest to me crashed into my backside. I curled up like a miserable little ball as two or three others either slide into me or smashed into my back. In 2005 I toured the Tuscan and Umbria regions of Italy. I rode my 1997 Colnago Masterlight over rough Italian cobble stone roads and through rain-swept streets on the way to Rome. An epic 845 miles over 20 days of touring with the longest day of 97 miles. A dream vacation. On the very weekend I returned I had a major crash on the Merlin (again) during a Saturday training ride with the DCVelo boys out of Rock Creek Park. I hit the deck at 25 mph after my chain popped off the front chainring. A mild concusion, scraped up back and right side. The right index finger was torn open to the knucklebone. But the worst of it was the huge hemotoma on my right hip. I'm still feeling nerve pain on that side 2 months later. By the way, the bike had minor scrapes on the handlebars and a ruined left shifter. Recently I purchased a carbon fiber Fuji Team Issue. I equipped it with a mix of Ultegra and Dura Ace parts and wrapped the American Classic CR420 with Vittoria Open Corsa tires. It's light- about 16.5 lbs. Now I'm on the hunt for Eurotrash on their Colnagos and Pinarellos. You know the type- doesn't think his **** stinks and is always knocking Shimano and praising Campy. In yesterday's last stage of the Tour of California the Cubian Missle, Ivan Dominquez, came out of nowhere to steal this race. Wouldn't you know it; he was riding a similar Fuji Team Issue for his Toyota/United team besting many Eurotrash pros.