As I sit on the cusp of a big change in my own personal life, I found myself pondering other changes taking place around me.  “Change” somehow seems to be a theme that is thrust upon us every fall.  It is hard not to think about change when the very colors of the trees around you draw attention to it in vivid reds and yellows.  Well, assuming that there are trees around you, that is.  Turns out that I don’t have to look very hard to find a whole lot of change in the cycling universe in just the last couple of days.

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More than a few of us have been waiting for sometime, watching the press releases from MetriGear.  The company has been working for some time on a power meter embedded right into the spindles of pedals.  This would potentially provide a whole slew of benefits, including not only separate readings for each leg, but also potentially different readings for different parts of your pedal stroke.  The market release of their product – called Vector – has been delayed a number of times.

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Well – I thought winter was on its way. But the last couple of days have put me into a tail spin.  In the 90s this weekend.  I’d also taken a couple of days off from the bike (yes – that does indeed mean my #15mpd slipped.)  The result – I actually felt better and stronger than I can recall feeling recently.  What gives?  The season winds down and I seem to be peaking?  Well, at least I can say I reaching peak performance just in time for Worlds.

Except, of course, I don’t actually race.  *Sigh*

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A little while back I asked, “Anyone have the 3 mil € for Cancellara?”  And the answer is, apparently, we will never know.

Rumors have been flying ever since Cancellara’s early abandonment of this years Veulta that Riis and Cancellara were parting ways.  Bjarne has now confirmed that an agreement has been reached that will release Cancellara from his contract with Saxo one year ahead of schedule.  There seems to be a high liklihood that Cancellara will now join the Schlecks – and other current Saxo Bank teammates – on the new Luxembourg team being formed.  Another possibility that has been rumored in the works for Swiss time trial champion would be to join BMC – a Switzerland based team.

As will all transfer season rumors, it isn’t decided until the ink dries on the contract.  And you should probably give it a few days after that too.

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Warning – Just Another Cyclist is about to jump into the cycling helmet debate.  If you’ve had about all you can stand of the endless arguing on this issue (and who can blame you really?) then perhaps you’ll find one of my other articles more to your taste.

I also want to point out that you will likely not walk away with a clear impression that I’m on one side of the issue or the other.  I’m decidedly neither pro nor anti helmet.  I wear a helmet when I ride if I feel like it.  I generally always wear it on group rides more out of peer pressure (everybody’s wearing one!) or habit than anything else.  I almost always wear gloves when I ride to protect my hands if (or should I say when) I happen to hit the pavement, and the helmet is kinda in the same category.  On the other hand, I do not ride any differently if I don’t have my helmet on than when I do.

The main reason for my indecision is that I’ve not seen anything that would make me think that one side of the argument or the other is correct.  I decided to do a little more digging into the issue and see what I could come up with.

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I talked about it in the previous post titled “Chris Horner to ride the Sacramento Area.”  Well, I was finally able to spend a big part of my weekend at the festivities at Clark’s Corner.  It was a great experience to ride along with Chris Horner of Team Radio Shack, who was out to support the event before heading off to the US Pro National Road Race Championships.

The VIP dinner was fantastic – great food and a small group made for a very friendly evening.  I’ve actually got audio of a question and answer session with Chris Horner after dinner that is both humerus and informative.  Of everything about my experiences with Chris Horner, I walked away first and foremost with the impression of Chris Horner as a kind, friendly and approachable fellow.  Very down to earth and easy to talk to.  He also seems to have a great sense of humor.

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Bicycles are a very convenient form of transportation. This can be especially true if you are a young male in a juvenile detention center out with a group to take a cycling proficiency test. That is precisely the advantage two teenagers took in Eccles, UK – escaping a detention on a pair of mountain bikes.  It is suspected that the boys – aged 13 and 14 – rode the 7 miles to a local train station.  Neither the boys nor the bikes have been reported recovered.

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I had an opportunity to act out my true Fredness and go shopping.  My list of desirables included:

• Garmin 500
• Sidi Genius 5 Carbon Pro Mega
• Speedplay Zero Pedals
• Cateye Reflex Auto Tail Light (for Old Blue, my commuter)

For various reasons which I will discuss below, the list ended up getting modified by the end:

• Garmin 500
• Sidi Zephyr Carbon Mega
• Cateye Reflex Auto Tail Light (for Old Blue, my commuter)
• Cheapy Cateye Velo 5 cycling computer – also for Old Blue
• The opportunity to continue to use my Look Keo pedals

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