As you may know, we’re doing something a bit different during Bike Week. We’re making it more convenient to commute to work — provided you work in downtown Kalamazoo. How? Showers and bike storage. We provide a place to shower and a spot to keep your bike during the work day. You just need to show up at the shop after about 7:00. We’ll provide a hot shower, but you’ll want to bring your toiletries. If you’d like, we’ll store your bike (and gear, if you wish) for you during the work day. You just need to pick it up before we close for the day.

Should you have questions/comments/concerns, please email or call the shop at 269/567-3325.

I pimped the living heck out of the Barry Roubaix race this year. Now that it’s over, perhaps a few comments and perspectives are in order.

One of the reasons I like the BR is that I think it’s a race for anyone. This is not to say that it’s easy. The course — any of them, 24, 36 or 62 miles — is challenging.  And — hey! — it’s a race, not a charity ride or a leisurely bike ride through the countryside. Still, if you’re willing to give it a shot, the race is yours for the taking.

In the weeks and days leading up to the race, I became increasingly nervous as a result of the weather, in no small part because I planned to race my tandem with my friend Megan, a ferocious athlete with a disposition that I thought might pair well with mine. Megan has two young kids and a full season of racing planned. I did not want to be the guy that crashed the bike and ruined her summer, so I whined a lot. Megan, nicely, suggested that I shut my yap and prepare myself for, at the worst, an adventure. It didn’t occur to me until much later how much faith she put in my ability to pilot the bike.

We had an exceptional day. The course was very frozen, super-fast on the dirt and super-spooky on the icy parts. While we saw a lot of crashing, we participated in none. Megan says that she closed her eyes and kept pedaling when she got nervous. We yelled at the people we knew and tried to thank all of the volunteers. Again, it was great.

This race was my brother’s first. He had a couple of issues, the most interesting of which was that his brakes froze while partially engaged. He was more than a little frustrated and sent me a text when he finished, “The most dreadful thing I’ve ever done in my life.” Later that evening after some time, some pizza and maybe a beer or two he said, “I’m glad I did that.” I LOVE the fact that he and his wife both took a swing at this thing and finished strong. Very excellent. Proud? Yes. Also.

Degrees of Separation: a friend went to see (as in spectate) the race and was asked to ferry an injured racer to the hospital. Sure enough, the injured dude was a customer and Shop Friend. I wish him a speedy recovery from his broken elbow.

As part of sponsoring the race, we agreed to give away two pair of Scott mountain bike shoes. Our Scott rep Brad was instrumental in this regard and drove up from Louisville to check out the scene and give the race a go. I was quite envious of the tires he chose — 700×40 semi-slicks — and am actively looking for something similar. Regardless, Brad is a Secret Stud and had so much fun that he rode the 62 mile course instead of the 36. Then drove back home to Louisville.

Ryan had a great race, though he used his typical tactics: Always Be Pulling. Ah, youth! Megan and I passed him on the pavement doing about 30 and told him to fall in behind us and rest. This seemed to make him mad, so he passed us back and was gone, not to be seen until after the finish.

I contend that it’s one thing (and a big one) to nail your pride to the wall and sign up for a race, another to do the darn thing and yet one more to bask in the glow afterward. If there’s one thing that Rick Plite (BR’s promoter) does well, it’s provide a good environment for basking. Many were the smiles and stories in the beer tent after the race. Some fell. Some fell hard. Some were kissed by fortune. Some had to work harder than expected. All were just happy as heck to have cooked their lungs and legs and done the deal and to have friends with which to share their stories. It was beautiful. And then Brad told me that he locked the keys in the van.

Adventure? Sign us up.

One of my favorite past times these days is listening to everyone worry about the right tires and tire pressure for the Barry Roubaix. With that in mind, I took a picture of our current inventory and will share a little information about each.

Bottom left is a Vittoria XN. This is a very fast “file tread” tire. If the dirt roads are hard-packed and dry or your bike handling is top-notch, these would be great. Conditions seem a bit damp and messy for the XN to be the perfect tire for this year’s race. That said, a lot can change in 10 days.

Middle left is the Vittoria XG, which is a terrific all-around tire. New this year is the tubeless-ready TNT model, with which some of our customers have had great success. It’s also the reason we put the little bottle of Stan’s on the box. The XG rolls very quickly and has a good amount of grip.

Top left is a Vittoria XM, which is a high-traction mud tire. You’ll give up a little bit of rolling resistance to the other guys, but you’ll have terrific grip. This might be a good choice if it keeps raining, but… I’d probably go with something a tad less aggressive if I had a garage full of tires from which to choose. (Also: I could be way wrong.)

To the right is a Schwalbe Rocket Ron. This is a very light, fast rolling tire with a good amount of traction. The Rocket Ron is just a tad wider than the VIttorias, but not really enough to write home about.

The tire we stock that’s missing from this picture is the Michelin Mud2, which is a very high traction tire similar to the XM. Listed as a mere 700×30, the Mud2 seems and performs wider. It’s a fantastic tire, but not as fast as the Rocket Ron or the XG.

What do I recommend? For this race, probably the XG or the Rocket Ron unless it’s really soupy, in which case I’d look at the Mud or the XM. That said: you don’t need new tires to have a good time at the race. Yes, many of us like to race with our friends and frenimies, and maybe special tires might give us an advantage maybe real and maybe mental and maybe both. And maybe that’s part of the fun.

A customer recently lent me a book, “Just Ride, a Radically Practical Guide to Riding Your Bike,” by Grant Peterson. I read it last week and have since spent a good amount of time thinking about the book’s content and tone. This is not a traditional book review.

The premise of the book is that modern cycling is largely led by bike racers: we buy the bikes that professional racers buy and we wear the things that racers wear and in the process we make it too darn expensive, too darn uncomfortable, too darn silly (e.g., the clothes), too darn exclusive. The author paints a picture (very well, I might add) of a more relaxed style of cycling with comfortable bikes, normal clothes and lower speeds — cycling as lifestyle or activity or mode of transportation as opposed to cycling as capital-s Sport. I am 100% in agreement. Cycling can be for anyone with any budget and any (or no) aspirations. Cycling should be inclusive.

The thing that sticks in my craw is that the author portrays bicycle racing as the villain, the thing to be avoided, The Devil. Maybe he didn’t intend for his book to have an us-vs.-them feel to it, but it does. C’mon, dude! Different strokes for different folks. I have raced my bike and worn silly-looking clothes, but that’s the equipment appropriate to the task at hand. When I ride the shop’s lunch-getter bike to (yup) get lunch, I wear whatever I’m wearing: jeans or shorts, normal (non-cycling) shoes, a T-shirt and my shop shirt. I ride a bike and wear clothing appropriate to the task at hand. Guess what: I have experienced great joy in both circumstances.

I appreciate Mr. Peterson’s advocation of a comfortable, less competitive brand of cycling, but I am not impressed with his divisive tone. Strike that: I find his tone gratuitous at best, irresponsible at worst. We, as cyclists, face some pretty significant challenges with regard to urban and suburban infrastructure, distracted driving, trail usage and sometimes public perception. We cyclists will stand up to these challenges best if we stand together. There just aren’t enough cyclists in the country — much less our small city — for us to get bogged down in arguments about racer vs. commuter, gears vs. fixie, road vs. mountain, etc.

Instead, let’s just ride.