“Two feet of snow, 20-degree temperatures and patches of black ice will keep most cyclists away from the saddle. But a few brave souls insist on combating old man winter’s drudgery by hitting the streets, no matter how poor the conditions.”

Non-cycling specific publications and websites don’t always do the best job of getting it right when it comes to cycling-related news, but in this instance Wired definitely got it right. Wired talked recently with Todd Downs, professional Bicycle Mechanic and author of The Bicycling Guide to Complete Bicycle Maintenance & Repair for Road & Mountain Bikes (which we will be reviewing soon) about winter riding. Unlike the more mountain bike oriented Campbell Coaching piece BR recently posted, this article deals more with urban riding and commuting. There are unique tips in the article, tips you might not find anywhere else:

If you’re riding around on busy urban roads, consider a Respro pollution mask. It will keep your nose and mouth from freezing, and it also helps block traffic pollution from cars with cold catalytic converters.

Downs runs us through everything we need to know to get it together for winter riding, step by step:

• 1 Prep your wheels
• 2 Keep it clean
• 3 Fenders are your friends
• 4 Stay lit at all times
• 5 Gear up
• 6 Choose the right path
• 7 Know your machine

Check out the article on Wired.

Tyler Johnson spare clips from chris clappe on Vimeo.

Word is that Tyler Johnson is messed up and can’t ride his bike right now. The fact that he hurt himself is shocking, he’s just out there riding along.

Perhaps better known for his custom bicycles, Mike Zanconato gave us a little sneak peek at his latest “side” project: Close-ratio, high-end chainrings specifically for cyclocross. In his words:

I started the project because I was pissed that there weren’t many cyclocross chainring options for Campy riders. I also wanted to offer some tighter gearing options (38/44, 36/42) and smaller outer rings (42 and 44) that actually had shift pins and ramps. I figured while I’m at it, I should do 110 bcd too (130 and 135 bcd are also in the works).

Hmmm…SRAM and Shimano are 130 BCD, so if the images above and below are any indication, Mike’s already got those ready. Jump past the break for a few more photos and links…

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Jeremiah Bishop is one fast mofo.  He’s been simultaneously crowned U.S. Marathon and Short Track national champion, won the Breck Epic this year and Iceman Cometh, among countless others over the years.  How does one get fast like him?

I have a few favorite workouts for each type of race cross, XC and Epic long distance race. This is a go to workout of mine that Hunter Allen and I created a few years ago and have since incorporated into our online training plans.  I did this exact workout out several times before winning at the U.S. Triple Crown at Massanutten.

• Warm-up well including some tempo and 3-4 spin ups for 15 minutes.
• From a full stop, go max effort for one minute before settling in at heartrate 4-5a zones for 10 minutes.
• Spin 10 minutes for recovery/light endurace. Then repeat 3 more times.
• Can be done on gentle up sloping trail or less technical single track, climb mostly pedaling, no major downhills. This workout teaches you to clear the massive amount of lactate that build up just after the start of a race. Thought you were done? Ha.
• Take 5, then ride at high tempo pace (85-90% of FTP watts, or 90-95% of threshold HR) for 30 minutes.
• Do 5 x 1-minute fast pedals (over 110 rpm) with 1-minute recovery between
• Do 5 x 1-minute big gear jams alternating (90% of CP for 1 min). Slam it!
• Cool-down for 10 minutes.

Now you’re done. And we do mean done. This one’s a little confusing, so we’ve put a cue sheet that you can print out after the break. Need to work up to this one? Click on the ‘Training’ category button up top and find workouts from other pros.

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• Pirate Race Productions and the Wilkesboro Tourism Development Agency are excited to announce Speedway Cyclocrossapalooza:a full day of cyclocross racing action on Sunday, January 16, 2011 at The Historic North Wilkesboro Speedway. It’ll have racing categories for every age and ability, and will embrace the rollicking party atmosphere that makes cyclocross the stock car racing of the cycling world. Oh, and it’s at the racetrack!
• Today is your last chance for Early Bird pricing on Sea Otter Classic registration.
• Tyler Evans and Lloyd Graves leave Independent Fabrication.  Tyler Evans, the Brand Manager, Creative Director, Head of the Welding Department at I.F., and the man behind bikes like the Factory Lightweight, is leaving the company after 12 years.  Lloyd Graves, Production Manager and founder, has left I.F. after over 15 years. Graves was the only remaining founding father/mother of I.F.. What these departures mean for the Somerville based (for now) framebuilder remains to be seen. BR will keep you posted.
• Deaf woman hit by truck, blinded, and left for dead, makes remarkable recovery. Emilie Gossiaux, 21, was struck by an eighteen wheeler while riding her bike in New York City on October 8th, she “suffered a traumatic brain injury, a stroke and multiple fractures in her head, pelvis and leg.” At one point a nurse told Gossiaux’s mother that “”her daughter was gone,” and asked about organ donations. But, after five weeks of unresponsiveness…well, you should go read the uplifting and heart-wrenching story yourself.
• Specialized launches First Gear, a program to get 10,000 kids on bikes this year. Specialized wants to get “10,000 kids riding bikes this year who otherwise wouldn’t have had the chance.”

Photo submitted by Richard Hardy, “A quick ride on the new bike before the snow arrived on Christmas Day.”

To see more Pics of the Day, click here, and to submit your own photo to be shown to the world, go here.

Are you the organized type, but find that your messenger bag / backpack is lacking in the pocket department.  Nau has you covered with their Fluent Stash organizer.  Unfold this felt beauty and load it up with tools, a snack, gadgets, or anything that fits really.

Jump past the break for another image

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Once, while working at a bike shop, I was trying to sell a floor pump to a British woman. “This is the Joe Blow” I said. “Oh my, really, ‘Joe Blow,’ what an unfortunate name” she replied. Apparently “Joe Blow” means something dirty or weird in England, but there’s nothing dirty or weird about the new JoeBlow X.O.. The X.O. stands for “extraordinary,” and, judging by the looks alone, it is. The 2011 Topeak JoeBlow X.O. is one silver gleaming tire-pumping machine. The smooth handle, the wide, stable base, and the barrel (which can handle 200 psi) are all precision machined out of highly polished aluminum. The pump is austere, modern, and elegant, so much so…I think I’m going to ask my wife if we can display one on our mantle as art. When people come over, they might ask me if they can use it and what would follow would probably go something like this:

Me: Look…still has the tag on it, never even used it.
Guest: [Points finger] You’ve never used…?
Me: Don’t touch it!
Guest: Well, I wasn’t going to touch it, I was just pointing at it.
Me: Well don’t point! It can’t be used.
Guest: Don’t point okay…can I look at it?
Me: No. no. That’s it, you’ve seen enough of that one.

The pump also has a braided metal hose long enough to reach bikes mounted on workstands (cool!) and a head that automatically adapts between Schrader and Presta valves. For photos, specs, and a Youtube video of Lego people acting out the above-referenced Spinal Tap scene, click more…

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After a bit of a delay, Ray’s Milwaukee is very excited to announce that they will be open for business tomorrow, Friday, December 31 at noon!

Following closely on the success of Ray’s MTB Cleveland, the first Indoor Mountain Bike Park of its kind, the creation of Ray’s MTB Milwaukee was a big step for the crew at Rays. The construction of Ray’s Cleveland did not happen overnight, and was a product an insane amount of work from many, but especially the park’s creator, Ray Petro.

While Ray’s Cleveland was almost a six year long project, with continuous improvements, year after year, Ray’s Milwaukee was to be built all at once, and quickly at that. Even with all of the past experience of building Ray’s Cleveland, this was, as you can imagine, a monumental undertaking. In the end, the park was scheduled to open at the end of November, but when it came time the opening was stalled by red tape. One thing you can be sure of, however, was that the delayed opening was not due to lack of effort by Ray and his staff.

Delays aside, I think everyone can rejoice in the fact that Ray’s MTB Milwaukee is now open just in time for the dead of winter!

More pictures, and the official word from Ray’s Eric Schutt after the break!

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New for 2011 is the Gaerne G.Akira (road) and G.Artix (mountain) winter cycling shoes for riding in extreme cold and wet conditions. Both road bike and mountain bike versions use the same upper, just different soles.

It features a completely waterproof outer covering and a double soft inner liner of Thinsulate and Pile. The closure system combines both laces and a triple Velcro strap. The insole is removable, anatomic, lined, and perforated to allow air circulation. These shoes are available now in sizes 39-48. MSRP is $289.99.

UPDATED: Jump past the break for photos of the lacing system and the Artix MTB version…

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In addition to their all-new carbon road wheels, American Classic has new All-Mountain Tubeless and Downhill wheelsets, the former in both 26″ and 29er sizes, with every axle combo you’re likely to want.

Oh, and new graphics and rim/hub color combos that are pretty sharp.

All-Mountain Tubeless wheels starts delivering in late February or early March with a new rim profile extrusion that’s 28mm wide (external) width and 23mm deep. It’s Bill Shook’s design, not UST and the new rim extrusion is based on the tubeless XC rim’s bead hook/bead barb to lock the tire in. The difference for the new All-Mountain version is that it’s 2mm wider and has beefed up sidewalls where they need to be stronger to take more of a hit.

Check them out, along with the new, lighter weight DH wheels, after the break…

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For 2011, American Classic did far more than just update their graphics.

Their carbon rims are entirely new, from the inside out, and they took the super lightweight Micro front hub and made it stronger without adding a single gram. They also added a new 85mm deep carbon tubular rim to the mix, their deepest rim yet, and made an entirely new, stronger carbon disc wheel for time trials and triathlons. Oh, and their new design keeps the nipple on the outside, so you can true the wheel and make repairs without having to unglue your tire!

As always, President and lead Engineer Bill Shook has lots to (enthusiastically) share, so jump on past the break and see what’s new and get the story behind the changes (or check out their 2011 Mountain Bike goodness in this post)…

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