by jeffbean on September 1, 2010
An admission: I like pumpkins. Their colors. Their seeds. Their flavor in steaming hot cup of joe, also known as a latte. Yep, it’s that time of year when a particular coffee shop chain from Seattle rolls out sweet pumpkin-laced concoctions that warm the belly and provide a solid mid-ride buzz. I guess that’s one good thing about riding. You can go mondo “foodie” every once in while. Why not? Food fuels the muscles and keeps things operational.
Water may hydrate, but coffee and various forms of scone, muffin or Madeline cookie (viva le France) keep sugar levels topped-off and glycogen stores steady. Foodie. Funky. I guess I’ve always been among the self-proclaimed legions who celebrate food. Let’s eat, drink and ride. What’s in your virtual musette bag when the fall season turns the air cooler and days shorter? For me, anything pumpkin will do, thank you.
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by jeffbean on August 29, 2010
Click. The unmistakable, beautiful sound.
It’s the helmet buckled before you roll out. It’s the marriage of cleat and pedal as you decide to accelerate from 0 mph to any mph. It’s the first shift up to push a bigger gear. It’s the necessary shift down to spin (or survive) with an easier gear. Click is the little-ring-to-big-ring announcement of greater effort. It’s also the big-ring-to-little-ring decision of higher cadence.
Click.
It’s an audible sensation of cycling. Click accompanies us on every ride. Click can comfort you when you connect frame pump to valve stem and bring a flat tire to life. Click is the photo you take to memorialize what you witnessed on the road or trail. Atop the mountain. In the desert. Amid the pines. Along the stream, lake or ocean. From somewhere inside your heart.
Click.
If you listen closely, click signals the moment when all is right. Air flows over your skin just so. The sun casts a perfect light. The wind turns to friend from perceived foe. Click is forward motion and progress. It’s a rare glimpse into what some people will never see, feel or know.
Click. The unmistakable, beautiful sound.
