1997 Steel Relic
There was a moment several years ago, Joe, Shawn and I were climbing the Railroad Trail on Mount Tamalpais. We were making good time, when from behind an older gentleman zoomed by us, his feet and pedals a blur as he left us in his dusty wake.Three things I noticed as gramps taught us a lesson in climbing.
1. Dang he pedaled fast! Later in life Lance Armstrong would utilize a similar pedal cadence. Stress the cardiovascular system before stressing one's leg muscles!
2. Man...he's old!
3. Great googly-moogly! Look at that antique of a bike he's riding!
Jump ahead almost a decade and here I am. Now I'm the old guy on the 1997 steel relic. Sure I would love to have one of those carbon fiber rockets, but there is an evil pleasure when I pass those cyclists on their high-tech sleds. They try not to notice me as I slide by them, my legs pressing the pedals quickly. My how all this riding as of lately has built up much of my lost strength in my legs. Love it.
The object of my lust?...
There are faster bikes. Bikes that click and whir with amazing precision as their masters guide them along the pavement. Bikes that climb like angelic mountain goats. But there is something special about my 1997 LeMond Alpe D'Huez with its skinny steel tubes and wheels spider-webbed with stainless spokes, a true relic. But it was my first, and only, road bike in my adult life. Sure I had a French-made Jeunet in my youth, but the LeMond is the one I have put miles upon mile on.
The LeMond and I went on a 70-plus mile adventure around Lake Tahoe in an oxygen-depleted death march. My orange steed guided me through the Red Rock canyons of Las Vegas as tumble weeds blew by me on the way back home. It is also the poor bike that I left on my roof rack as I tried to park my car in my garage.Sure, one day I'll move on to a gleaming new bike, but I won't ever forget about my orange bike with the cow-colored handlebars.
posted by LoneCactus @ 10:01 PM
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