Those who complete the Tour de France are referred to as The Giants of the Road, and a look back at the first week of the Tour doesn’t leave much room for wondering why.  With barely ten stages behind us, we’ve seen some amazing battles.  We’ve seen Pharmstrong take a smal……

I’m not sure if it’s because I’m too fat to climb and therefor admire those who aren’t, or if it has something to do with the masochistic nature of sprinting to the top of every hill during a three-week race, but the competition for the best climber in the Tour de Fran……

It’s been called the most beautiful highway in the world. That, as with most things, can be left to debate. What’s not debatable, however, is that the Beartooth Highway, which runs from Red Lodge Montana to Cooke City Montana via Wyoming, is a great place to ride a bike.……

It never fails; the forecast five days out looks good and as the date gets closer the forecast gets less good looking. But since it didn’t actually say “near freezing cold continuous rain” we were not to be dissuaded. We wouldn’t have been anyway but might have brought more clot……

I was raised in St. Paul, Minnesota at a time when the only cycling fame the area could lay claim to was that Greg LeMan lived in the area during the winters (I crossed paths with him many times skiing on the Birkebeiner trail, which was always pretty cool).  As far as professional bike racing……

I almost look forward to riding in bad weather because it means I have a perfect excuse to climb aboard my old Bianchi XL EV2, which currently serves as my rain bike (see Rule 12 for more information on bike requirements). Some bikes just seem to fit, and you feel it with every turn of the peda……

This is my favorite week of the year.  I meant to write something earlier this week – as a prelude of some kind – but it didn’t work out.  Then, as the weekend wore on, I busied myself with the usual weekend business, which always includes chores, family, friends, and cyclin……

Haleakala, Maui Maui has the longest and highest continual climb in the world, sea level to 10,000’ in 36 miles with an average gradient of 6%. It’s a wonderful, underused climb because great as the road surface, temperature, and views are, Maui is well off the route for most cyclists.……

About a year and a half ago, as I was just starting to get really serious about cycling again after dabbling for about a decade, Michelle bought me every past issue of Rouleur and got me a two-year subscription.  This is not a bike magazine.  This is a quarterly publication for cyclists.  It……

Seattle is a much hillier town than most people realize.  Hills of 15% grades and 2-4 km in length are a dime-a-dozen, and there are several, such as the Lighthouse and Dravus, that are considerably more.   Lighthouse is around 22% while Dravus’ grades make me test my track-stand abili……