Beausage

Beausage /byoo- sig/ n 1 Having a particular aesthetic appeal gained from heavy usage. 2 A portmanteau of beauty and usage.

If you ride your bike hard, you are most likely familiar with Grant Peteresen's wonderful descriptor 'beausage' describing how usage can create a beautiful worn in look. This seems to be heralded in Rivendell bikes whose leather grip tape is worn down at the grip points, whose fenders are dinged with gravel, whose paint is continually covered in a thin line of dust. I do not love the term for it's psuedo Frenchness (I actually hate francophilia or europhilia in cycling) but I like it more for how close it sounds to the word abuse.

I for one, am a huge fan of bike porn. I addictively check John Watson's Beautiful Bicycle series and get Cycle EFIX's work right in my inbox. But as much as I love these clean shots of handbuilt bikes and off the shelf bikes, it's the ones that look ridden to death that I truly admire. That being said here are some shots of my own personal beausage. Maybe after looking at my pictures you'll think this is more just abuse than beausage; so be it.

Just actually tuned this up after taking the photos, shifts like a dream now.

Slap-a-da-chain.

Flat pedal wear.

About ready to snap, luckily a new bolt is in the post.

From putting the rubber side up too many times. What a noob.

This was from putting a Jandd bag in here on tour once, it wore away cleanly at least.

More dings and chips.

This is from my handlebar bag mount. 

The Kool Stop bolts are not very rust proof. This arm is also a tad bent from a crash into a pole at slow speed because I don't pay attention.

This used to have a cover, lost it a long time ago.

I wish the Mondials did not come with the reflective strip, but nature has a way of working things out.

Twofer, knobs are wearing down on the front and the Surly logo sticker is far from there.

Rusty bits. It's hard to find stainless steel M5 bolts in hardware stores, so not stainless it is.

Even my 5-10's are nearing their death bed.

Sole in need.

 

Lighthouse Solo Brevet

I've been really aching to get my first brevet under my belt. I've knocked out two populaires with relative ease and wanted to get the next level. Unfortunately, the first brevet of the New Year for the San Francisco Randonneurs happened while I was in the not so great state of NY. That doesn't mean the route is still open to ride. So I mounted up and ventured out on this route alone, which I'm sure made it six times harder, wish I could have done it with a group.

I love watching these cargo ships. Was glad to catch one coming right through the gate.

Sir Francis Drake, one of the most scenic boulevards in Marin.

Tomales Bay.

The lighthouse was closed, being a Tuesday. So sad. I found out that the actual SFR ride only goes to the loop and turns back, so I at least got closer, I suppose. 

Pt. Reyes roads. The park protects this land has historic pasture ranches, despite some cruel veal boxes, it's quite scenic.

The fog was too thick to see the lighthouse (unlike the day of the event). It seems the randos only made it to the parking lot before heading back toward Iverness, I guess I at least got closer. Being closed I guess it's an excuse to go back. The road in really was incredible.

My favorite part of riding to Pt. Reyes Station, vegan baked goods from Bovine Bakery.

We all have weird obsessions with our machines, this is my favorite angle of the X-Check.

Marshall Marina. Riding on Tuesday meant that the Marshall Store (which is what the checkpoint is) was closed. It didn't seem to be too vegan friendly, but I guess I don't really know.

Tomales Bay looking West. The sun was shining on our side of the mountains.

Highway 1. Thankfully being Tuesday had light traffic.

Nicasio Ranch. Somehow I'm starting to think that the SF Randonneurs have stock in this store, or maybe they just like it. Hey, I like it.

Coke to me, is what the sun is to Superman.

I finished in the darkness as I left at 8 30ish as opposed to the intended 6 AM. I finished at about 10.5 hours, within three hours of the cutoff for an actual event. Hell yeah. 

Some sad news about the Lighthouse 200k. Word is that because of an accident during the ride this may have been the last year for the ride. Either way, this ride is beautiful, especially the last bit to the lighthouse and is worth doing with some friends (and the road felt very safe for cyclists with low traffic, at least on a weekday).
 

Plans! Plans! Plans

 

 It's 2014. It finally feels like 2014. January was a hectic month of staggered holiday traveling for me. Now I'm back in the Bay and back into my normal regiment of riding and waiting for phone calls from a job, which is always questionable if I even have. With 2013 kindly in the bag, my second best year in riding (sorry riding cross country knocked 2012 over 2013, oh well), I'm pumped for a 2014 I hope to make even better. Here are my plans.

I'll be crossing my 2012 route in Yellowstone, if I manage to make it on the TransAm.

First and foremost there is the most obvious and the most stupid. The Trans Am bike race. Starting June 7th in Astoria, OR the race ends in Yorktown, VA, completely, totally, and moronically, unsupported. If you are wondering, yes, I think this maybe the dumbest thing I have ever signed myself up for in my brief quarter century on this planet, but something about it lures me to it. After finishing in 2012 in 80 days, what some people called a fast pace, I had mixed feelings. My first thought was that I went too fast and missed a lot, but the other thing, was that I was curious to see how fast I could get from coast to coast, fully aware of the RAAM solo record of just under 8 days. I want to say I have a chance to compete at a high level of this thing, but most of me is just curious to see how fast I can go from coast to coast. This will most likely take over the blog in training, gear, and what not in the course of the next six months (and of course the writing on the road).

(Not my photo) Old Cazadero Road part of the SFR Adventure Series.

One of the early unsupported attempts for time across the country was Canadian Wayne Phillips, who competed in the 1985 Race Across America, who was tragically struck by a truck early on in his race. Wayne Phillips was a highly accomplished randonneur before racing in RAAM. Randonneuring is another way in which I can challenge myself in 2014, that being said I am hoping to complete my first full series, which is a 200k, 300k, 400k, and the daddy of em all the 600k. Living in the Bay Area I have plenty of opportunities to ride randos with four clubs in the area. I am already looking forward to trying these.

Nestled within those goals are some more loose goals, my first double century, my first twenty four hour ride. I'm sure if I do join the aforementioned events I will most certainly get some of those out of the way. Some maybes, are racing in cyclocross in the fall (I'm usually too broke to say no to work) and maybe some gravel grinders this year, but that might be even harder to do.

Here's to a killer 2014.

Jortz CX Outlaw Race

Thus far this year has been one of the driest Caliornia winters, meaning that late year cross races were as bone dry as the early ones, meaning no mud. Cross without mud is hardly a cross race. With the first rains dumping three straight days, Team Jortz put together a muddy course. In my continual DNF fashion, I flatted on the first bend, raced back to change the flat in record time. I threw on the rear wheel hopped on and realized, it was a double flat. Spectator time. The three up front all had one gear, Kell and Morgan respectively first and third had fixed gears and Jonathan had a single speed in second. I got to ride the course once, it was a messy one (wish I could have raced it, maybe again soon). Despite a consistent rain, we still found time to hang out at the keyhole. In fear of the rain I left my camera home, but Pamela took some great photos. Check em on her Flickr. I can't imagine paying 70 dollars to race and have half as much fun as these outlaw races.

EDITED: I originally had it posted that Jonathan was fixed and not Morgan.