Our road racing season 2016

There are different types of slush. There is slush:

(We borrowed this picture from Cook Diary. Hope that's OK!)

and there is slush:

 (Frozen slush. Try riding this on a road bike!)

. Unfortunately it's the latter that we have an abundance of here in Gothenburg, Sweden, right now. Which makes it... well, kind of crap to go out and ride our road bikes. If you manage to ride your bike at all you get cold, wet and dirty and your bike gets even dirtier. And if the snow would all melt away and the roads get dry there's still the gravel - thousands and thousands of sharp little rocks - that the city of Gothenburg pour out over the bike lanes. (Despite http://ensligabergenscykelklubb.blogspot.se/2015/04/sweepsalting-sopsaltning.html - we don't know what happened to this concept, if they tried it and it didn't work or if it cost too much. We should probably ask the city of Gothenburg about it.) An abundance of snow gets exchanged for an abundance of flats.

Despite that, though, the road racing season 2016 has actually already started. In Ensliga Bergens cykelklubb we have taken our road bikes apart to clean them for the upcoming season. (Yeah, we are a bit meticulous about it.) Chains, cassettes, wheels, brakes... There are parts to be wiped and cleaned, and there are parts to be replaced. New brake pads, new jockey wheels, new tyres... And then there are the races to enter, before the entering fee is raised. Not to mention that you have to get yourself in shape too, if you want good results!

We are busy doing all this, and as if that wasn't enough this year one of us - yours truly - has decided to switch from quill pedals with toe clips and straps, to clipless pedals, for the first time ever. Actually I mounted the clipless pedals some months ago, in a fit of fiilis, also thinking that mounting these pedals would force me to buy a pair of cycling shoes, since I wouldn't be able to ride my bike without the shoes. Well, not without being very uncomfortable anyway. And I haven't done that, but I will.

Though they are (considered) mountainbiking pedals I opted for Crank Brothers Eggbeaters, because they are light (though I hate to admit it and though I ride a steel frame I am a bit of a weight weenie), they offer 6 degrees of float and up to a 20 degrees release angle, many parts are replaceable and I think that they are really good-looking.

(Though my pedals have an all metal finish. And we borrowed this picture from Crank Brothers. Hope that's OK!)

Using mountainbiking pedals on a road bike will make some purists turn their noses up (I hope!) and it will require special cleats, but I am up for it. Especially since I had some contacts directly with Crank Brothers (a guy named Jared) and they were super helpful.

So the road racing season 2016 is definitely already on. Are you up for it?

Postgirot Open 1982

We would like to start a new series here, and show you all the Postgirot Open memorabilia that we have. If you don't know, Postgirot Open was an annual professional staging bicycle race in Sweden. It was not in the same class as Giro d'Italia, Tour de France or Vuelta a España - bicycle sport simply isn't nor wasn't that big in Sweden - but it was, at the time, the biggest bicycle race in Northern Europe. It ran 1982-2002, but unfortunately the bank Nordea bought the Postgirot money transaction system in 2001, from the State-owned Postverket (which has subsequently been privatised), and obviously decided that they had no wish to continue sponsoring the race.

That's how capitalism works, but let's not go into a discussion about the evils of capitalism, but rather just show you a postcard from 1982.

Perhaps it isn't very elaborative, but it's still kind of cool since it shows the route of the race, from Gothenburg to Stockholm.

Well, we don't have very much more to tell you about it, since we really don't know that much about it ourselves. Tommy Prim, from Sweden, was the winner of the race.

Ride safe!

Ride more like a girl!

Still busy with the master's project, but only two more weeks to go now! We will be back in 2016, stronger, cooler and more awesome than ever! (Hopefully!)

However, we couldn't resist passing on this New year message from Lotta Lepistö:

(We borrowed this picture from Lotta Lepistö's instagram account. Hope that's OK!)

Happy new year! Lets try to ride more like a girl in 2016!

We couldn't have said it better! We wish Lotta Lepistö and everyone else, all of you, a wonderful 2016! See you soon again!

Ride safe!

Oh, hey...

What has happened? Is this blog defunct? No. So are we just lazy then? Well, yeah. But actually that's not the reason either. The reason that nothing much is going on here right now, and will not happen for a month or so, is that I am currently working on my master's project. I kind of need this degree, so all time awake is spent on it. Wish me luck! And I promise that we'll be back as soon as possible. Until then:

Ride safe!

... is going down (We're going political again)

Can bicycles save the world? By themselves, no. As a part of a bigger solution, maybe. We think that bicycles is an indispensable part of building a better future, in making the world a better place, in saving the environment. In order to stop environmental pollution cars need to be replaces by bicycles, people need to use bicycles to get to work, to school, to go shopping and so on.

But bicycles are not the solution to all problems facing the world right now. Anyone living here in the North right now can't have avoided reading or hearing about the huge number of refugees fleeing from Syria, Afghanistan, Somalia and other countries, trying to get to Germany or Sweden, where they think that they will be safe and able to build a new, better life for themselves. Some, like those from Syria or Afghanistan, mainly flee from war and terror. Others, like those from Bangladesh or some Sub-Saharan African countries, mainly flee from poverty. And they try to make it here, to the North, crossing the Mediterranean Sea on dangerous rafts and then walking, trying to get a ride on buses and trains through Europe, through Turkey, Greece, Macedonia, Bulgaria, Serbia, Croatia, Slovenia, Hungary, Austria to Germany or to Sweden, then often through Denmark. Of course, some people take other routes, just today we heard a story on the radio about a man who fled from Syria to Norway, via Russia. (Actually he used a bicycle to make it across the Russian-Norwegian border up in the far North of Europe, since for some reason it is forbidden to cross that border on foot, but allowed to do it on bicycle.) A small number of refugees also continue to Finland, trying to find a safe haven there.

What to they face on their journeys? They risk their lives crossing the Mediterranean Sea, they have to walk long distances through heat or cold, scorching sun or rain (soon snow too), they have to struggle to cross bordes, to find something to eat, some are treated brutally by European authorities and when they finally reach their destination they are met by people protesting, shooting fireworks at them, burning down the refugee camps. And just six hours ago the Swedish government initiated temporary border controls, stopping all people who can't show valid identification papers.

And then we have the beggars, mainly Romani people from Romania and Bulgaria, who are now found outside almost every grocer's and in every train station in every town here in Sweden, trying to sell magazines or begging, hopefully making some money to take home to their villages in Romania or Bulgaria and make their lives a little better. They are insulted, shouted at, spat upon and they are constantly being driven away from places where they try to camp.

(Perhaps it is important to be reminded of all the good people. All the people who volunteer, who spend their time and money to help the refugees and the beggars. Or simply those who say something kind and supportive to their fellow beings. Especially right now, when the xenophobic Sweden Democrats party are campaigning in Greece and are going to place ads in Arab newspapers, trying to deter refugees from seeking asylum in Sweden.)

Bicycles, on most occasions, can't help all these people. We in Ensliga Bergens cykelklubb think that owning a bicycle should almost be considered a human right but that doesn't really help here. And it's not a solution. So now what? Can we just let this go on? Well, no. While taking a step back and simply thinking that it's not our problem - it's someone else's problem - might work in a short perspective it won't work over time. Besides, it's not very nice. (And we shouldn't have to tell people not to shoot fireworks or spit at other people. That's purely common sense and nice manners.) Over time we have to work on long-term solutions, ending the war and terror and make it possible for everyone to live a decent life without having to flee.

Right now, though, we have to make sure that everyone that flees gets the right to get their case tried, to see if they have reasons to be granted asylum or not. Not just in Sweden, but all over Europe. We have to give everyone shelter, somewhere to rest and get a decent meal. And sometime inbetween right now and long term we have to give everyone the chance to make a decent living. It is not impossible. There is enough money and resources around to suffice, so that everyone could get a fair share - we just have to (re)distribute it.

Do you know what your long-term solution look like? We know how ours look, but it is clear that it will take time. In the meantime we will simply try to be nice to people, say nice things to them, put pressure on our politicians to make them take the right decisions and protest when they take the wrong ones. Everyone can make a small change.

And to make up for our political ranting, two pictures of a nice Columbus Pinta 1492.

It could use a wash and wax, but all in all it looks like a nice bike!

Ride safe!

Bulgarian Open 2015

Did you know that the Bulgarian Open 2015 is going on right now? According to wikipedia, Bulgarian Open is a professional and amateur, minor-ranking snooker tournament. No, we're not turning this bicycle blog into a blog about snooker. We just felt a need to complain a little. Because today, when we were watching TV we zapped by Eurosport. From 8:30 to 20:30 they were, and are, broadcasting live from the Bulgarian Open. They are broadcasting twelve hours of live snooker! How is snooker even considered a sport?

Snooker fans all over the world might exult, but we would consider having to watch twelve hours of snooker a cruel punishment. And honestly, twelve hours live? You really couldn't find anything else to fill your tableau with, Eurosport? Especially considering that there almost always seems to be some snooker tournament going on somewhere - how important are these tournaments anyway? Is snooker really that popular? We would prefer watching Tour de... South Dakota, or Kalaallit Nunaat Grand Prix, to watching more snooker. Actually, we would prefer watching almost anything, to watching more snooker.

In the meantime, in the 2015 UEC Cyclo-Cross European Championships, today. Admittedly, cyclo-cross isn't our favourite sport, but it sure would have beat snooker. Anyway Sanne Cant won the women's title, and Lars van der Haar won the men's title, so congratulations to them both. Well done!

And luckily we have other things to do anyway. Like writing this blog post. Or learning to build bicycle wheels (it's harder than one would think). Or reading a book!

Ride safe!

Giant ATX 777

I got a Giant ATX mountainbike today, from one of my neighbours. Or rather, I got a Giant ATX mountainbike frame. My neighbour had found it somewhere when he was out riding, he wasn't particularly interested in it for himself but since he knows that I'm into bikes he wondered if I wanted it. "Sure" I replied, thinking that if I won't be using it myself I could donate it to the bicycle kitchen. He didn't know much about the bicycle and neither do I. It's an aluminum frame, 26" wheels (I think), probably from 2013... Obviously someone took it to pillage for parts. So it misses... well, pretty much everything. And the parts that are left... well, the pedals look as if someone just went at them with a rock or something and the crankset is rusty and in a pretty bad state. It also has gotten a dent in the chainstay.

Well, either way, whatever I decide to do with it, I have to report it to the lost property office of the police first, and then wait for at least three months.Which means that I might not get to do anything with it, of course, but it's the right thing to do. If it is a 2013 frame someone might really miss it. And anyway, if it was my bike I know what I would want other people to do. But here it is right now.

 Man, did you hate these pedals?

 Fiona inspects the frame.

 She's very thorough!

 The dent in the chainstay.

 The frame still looks pretty straight, though...

An Acera front derailleur, a rusty crankset and a dry leaf.

Ride safe and take care of your bicycles!