A new cycling journal made by women for women.

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"Let me tell you what I think of bicycling. I think it has done more to emancipate women than anything else in the world. It gives women a feeling of freedom and self-reliance. I stand and rejoice every time I see a woman ride by on wheels..the picture of free, untrammeled womanhood."
     Susan B Anthony

shePedals is edited by Dena Eaton, a 20 year veteran to the sport of cycling. After taking a 4 year hiatus to race Ironman , and with 5 top 25 finishes, and the elusive Kona Championships under her belt, she has returned to cycling. Always her first love, she now trains full time as a track cyclist.

As both an elite as well as a masters cyclist, Dena is publishing She Pedals as a way to give back to the sport which not only continually defines who she is but one that has given her a life full of stories , adventures and friends.

shePedals' mission is to inspire all women who ride, be it the consistent podium girl, the touring diva, the persistent middle of the packer, or the philanpthropic charity rider. This journal is dedicated to the women who inspire: to ALL women on wheels!

I put down my $30.00 for a year subscription and support.  Haven't received the first issue yet but I'm anxiously awaiting it.

It was Carl Sagan day last week.  A reminder of how much we miss him.  I try to imagine the books and articles he would have written, the stuff he would have continued to teach everyone.  He is one of the greatest individual losses of human life since I've been alive. 

Here is a nice tribute by Symphony of Science.

And another by the same people:

I received most of my tools yesterday.  Got them hung and rearranged my board a bit.  I was just waiting on my truing stand to be the final piece for now.  I did get the stand but there is one problem.  the wonderful Park Tool company sent me an incomplete box.  Two of the three control knobs are missing from the box.  I have called Bike Tools Etc to tell them and they were very helpful and apologetic, especially considering that it is not even their fault.  They simply sent me  the sealed box that they had on their shelf from Park.  There was no way for them to know it was missing parts.

So while I wait for Park to call me back and send me the control knobs I set up the stand anyway.  Here is the (almost) finished Toolboard and work stand.

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WOW I just spent the last 5 minutes trying to get that picture to post, great job VOX, my days here might be numbered with your crappy service.

Then here is a quick pic of the hub, rim and spokes that are waiting to be made into a wheel if Park Tools decided they ever want to send me all the parts of what I ordered instead of just some of them.

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This is an old rim and hub that I've had since the 80's.

Well I thought that I was set with the toolboard until my big tool order arrived but I got a little antsy about it and said ta hell with it and decided to hang the board with the tools that I have and just add as they arrive.

So I cut some 2x8's to length and coaxed them tight between the ceiling and floor.  Then I had to hang that sheet of 3/8 plywood by myself, which isn't easy, then I put some of the tools on and put the bench back.

So until my new stuff gets here this is what I have:

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Another angle of the cycling room.  That's a new cable and housing set on the bench ready to go on the Colnago.

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Not too much progress today as I'm still waiting on stuff to arrive.  Don't want to start attaching things to the board until I have everything that is going to be attached.

One thing I did get done is the vise attached to the bench:

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Finally had some time today after work to get to work on my new tool board.  This board has to have a couple of capabilities.

• It must be large enough to hold all the bike tools I'll mostly use.
• It must be portable to the extent that it will be moved about twice a year.

So I decided on a piece of 3/8 plywood.  I did not use pegboard as I have now in the barn because I didn''t want to have to buy a ton of hooks to fit it and can instead use finishing nails of which I have a ton.  Also, pegboard looks kinda sloppy, and by using nails I can be more flexible with where I place items.

So away I go building a new tool board.

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A clean slate to start.  Obviously the goal here is to put the most used tools in the middle and center and trying to anticipate the best fit for the lesser used tools.

As a guide I have a little help from Jim Langley's bicycle tools toolboard site

Here is his toolboard:

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It's also difficult getting started at this time as I made a huge tool order this week and I'm waiting on a bunch of stuff to get here next week.  Important things like my truing stand, spoke wrenches, chain tool, spoke ruler, etc.

I do have enough to get started though and here is where I currently stand.

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That's a magnet strip in the middle that will be removable and currently has feeler gauges, small metric ruler and some scribing tools.  To the right is a small board that will hold screwdrivers and some 1/4 inch drive ratchet extensions.  Next to that is a set of three ratchets with 4,5,6 hex wrenches attached.  Above those are some regular allen wrenches and an allen Y wrench.  Then above that is a set of metric open end wrenches and to the right of those is an assortment of bottom bracket tools.  Over to the left is a chain whip, pedal wrench, 3rd and 4th hand brake tools a metal hammer and a rubber hammer.  Finally at the bottom is some pliers, a digital caliper and a few sharpies (one black and 2 silver, very important tools as BBI taught me)

So for the winter this board will be placed in the basement above a small workbench that I have down there.  One problem:

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It's a bit of a mess!!!...:)

A few minutes of organizing though and it's much better.

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Much better, now it's ready for a small vise.  I'm thinking a small vise on the left side of the workbench so that the truing stand can sit off the right end of the bench and be mostly out of the way when not in use.  Tune in tomorrow.

Just got back Friday from completing the first of many bike classes that I have planned.  Went to Colorado Springs for the Barnett Bicycle Institutes, bicycle assembly and maintenance class .  While I was there I also did the one night spoked-wheel lacing class.

It was a great class with great classmates.  In the class of 16 guys (I was surprised there was NO women) we had people like me who are mostly enthusiasts with an idea.  We had 1 cat 2 racer, 1 junior cat 1 racer.  A bicycle messenger from D.C.  Several shop owners,several shop mechanics and a guy that works for American adventure cyclists.

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This was just a one week class that covers slightly more basic stuff .  We did get into wheels pretty good however, which was the main reason I took the class.

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Also took a quick trip down the road to see the olympic velodrome.

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So for now the plan is to go back in February for the BRO class.  Bicycle repair and overhaul.  This is a 2 week class that gets more detailed.  There is also a suspension class the following week that I haven't decided if I'm taking yet.

Now I have about $5000.00 worth of tools to buy...:)

Yep it's almost 11:00pm and I'm still awake.

Why you ask?

Because of my neighbours F'ing beagle that he lets roam the countryside every night.

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Not sure if I've mentioned it before or not but My wife and I live about 15 miles from Michigan International Speedway.  As this track is out in the middle of nowhere, the primary way to get there is straight down Michigan Avenue.  Yes that's the same Michigan Avenue that if you just keep on going you will end up on the miracle mile in Chicago.

So as a result of this, twice a year we get overrun by the most obnoxious sporting fans of them all...NASCAR fans.

Now I'm not going to make fun of the paradox created by their tendency toward  cigarette and alcohol sponsors.  BEING A MOTORSPORT!!!!!

Or even their crazy connection/obsession with the musical retardeness of Kid Rock.

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Or the strange connection with the Military that they and their fans have.

No, I'm not going to do it.  What I'm going to make fun of is the vehicles that they choose to drive to and from these "races"

Today's five things:
My five favorite modes of NASCAR transportation.

You'd think that being motorsports fans that they would mostly travel in fast looking sports cars with racing stripes, lots of classic corvettes and Mustangs coming down Michigan Ave. going to the race.  Ahhhhhh No.....

1. Motor home - Yep, the big kind, lumbering down the road getting 2 gallons to the mile, fuel economy, flags flapping and AC running while they push them to speeds 10-20 mph faster than posted.  Lines and lines and lines of them going by down Michigan, and not nice ones either, I'm talking things like this:

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Filling the road as far as the eye can see.

2.Motor Home WITH TRAILER!!! - Unbelievably it is possible to make these things even more obnoxious and hazardous by adding either a trailer full of things like dirtbikes or your grill!!!  Or by simply pulling a CAR along with you for convience in case you need to go to the bar before the race starts.

3. Pick-up Camper - You know what I'm talking about here.  Probably the most dangerous looking vehicle you've ever seen on the road.

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Again traveling down the road at about 10-20 mph faster than the posted limit.  I''m also totally sure that NO beer drinking ever goes on in these things while they are in motion too.

4. Any car with Calvin peeing on another manufacturers symbol - You've probably seen them and it's hard to believe that someone still thinks they are funny, but NASCAR fans certainatly do.

Just hysterical isn't it.  I almost had to stop this post because I was laughing so hard at how funny these cartoons are.

5. Schoolbus - Now not just any school bus will do here.  Though any school bus would certainiatly be number 1, however NASCAR fans take it another step, they weld angle iron on their bus and then get out the 16 penny nails and go ta pounding and build themselves a deck on the roof of that there bus.

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All the better to watch the race with my friends, though seeing these things come down the road rocking back and forth looking like the Joads themselves going to California is truely a treat.

i'm out