GamJams Reviews: Bottle cages - Bontrager Race Lite Cage

Pretty straightforward accessory part. The bottle cage, primarily, must function well. That means it should keep a water bottle in place securely over smooth and rough pavement. It should also allow for relatively quick and easy bottle removal and replacement. Bonus features are low gram count, attractive design, and low cost.

I find the Bontrager Race Lite Cage to do pretty much all I ask. I've used 'em on mountain bikes and road bikes and find they perform admirably.

• Secure grip? Check.

• Easy bottle removal and replacement? Check.

• Low gram count? Not as light as the Zipp Speed Weaponry cages on the Giant (25g), but certainly respectably light at 38g.

• Attractive design? Simple look. Almost looks like a human reach out with a hug. At the same time, moderately aggressive with some acute angles.
  

• Low cost? Check. You can find these on sale for about $10. Much better price point than the $60 Zipps.

I find the Bontrager cage to work really well with the 21 oz. Specialized water bottles. The top tab on the cage grabs the lip of the water bottle very securely and holds snuggly. What more can you ask for? Colors, you say? Take your pick. I've had white in the past, but am currently running the ever-neutral black on the Cannondale.

I don't see reason to move away from this cage anytime soon.

Positives at the Tour

Can't put my finger on when or during which Grand Tour, but I remember seeing similar headlines in the past.

'Haussler remains positive'

Don't you think 'hopeful' or 'upbeat' or 'optimistic' might be a better word choice? In cycling's context, "positive" has a bit of a bad reputation.

Warning: Lance Arstrong Sympathizing Ahead

There will be plenty to watch and plenty that entertains at this year's Tour de France. I'm not one to focus too much attention on Lance Armstrong, but I did start to ponder a certain 'what if and when' question.

If you believe Lance Armstrong was, pre-retirement, unfairly targeted and even set-up/sabotaged by 'the French' (authorities, media, organizers, etc.), then it seems logical Armstrong, competing again on French soil, will be up for a new round of accusations and sabotage. Why would 'the French' stop now? So the questions are:

1. Will it happen?
2. If so, when will it happen?
3. What will they say he's on?
4. How will he defend himself this time?

Now...it's entirely possible Armstrong was on something throughout his first career. It's hard to imagine he was the sole clean top performer. Never mind that. Even though riders continue to get caught red-handed, you have to figure Armstrong is not inclined to use illicit methods during the comeback. He knows testing is stricter, he knows he's a target, and he knows what he (and his foundation) stand to lose if authorities accuse him and can prove it true. And even if he has methods at his disposal he and his confidants think will escape identification through testing, I really don't think he'd chance a positive at this point. Let's assume he will ride clean.

The bicycle racing will produce plenty of thrills. And the past few years have produced a fair number of post-stage doping thrills. I'll anticipate an exciting race, but I'll also be on edge to see if and when Armstrong turns up a (false) positive at this year's Tour.

TdF Ladder--Ghost Rider

So cyclingnews.com already posted a Tour de France ladder. See here.

Read the third paragraph of Cunego's entry. You'd think riding the race would be a pre-requisite for being included in the ladder, right? Apparently not. Ninth on the ladder, but not participating in the race. Oops! Cyclingnews.com predicts Cunego (not participating) will somehow beat Frank Schleck (participating). If that happens, I'll be very, very, VERY impressed.

Ray's

Not much cooking in my world on the cycling front, but there's plenty cooking at Ray's the Steaks in the Commonwealth. Some thoughts on a recent trip...

Hadn't visited since February...the first month Michael was open in the new location. This visit was much, much smoother. My summary: simple and classic stuff executed very well. Also of note, nothing is light. Among four, we had:

-Devilishly Good Eggs
-Bacon App.
-Four Sunday specials (two clam chowders, two crab bisques, two onglets, two bacon-wrapped medallions, two key lime pies, one dark chocolate mousse, one coconut cream pie)
-Two bottles of Gamay

The eggs and tartare offer a really nice and surprisingly refreshing start to things. The raw meat was bright, the toast points amuse me (friggin' Wonder Bread!), and the cornichons and capers were wonderfully tart.

I hadn't had the bacon before. Despite appearances of being extremely fatty and gristly, these slabs were most certainly not either of those things. Mostly meat tissue. Expecting to be turned off by the weight of this pork in my mouth, the bacon didn't leave any sort of waxy or fatty feeling. Salty and smoky, this was a nice surprise.

I had the crab bisque and found it to be as good as ever. I'd say half the cup was taken up by crab meat instead of liquid. Amazing. This sort of treatment is what I wish every restaurant achieved. I HATE going to a restaurant and having the place skimp on the featured ingredient of a dish. Sometimes I get overly caught up in the value concept and end up distracted from a nice product 'cause I feel like I'm being shafted. Ray's keeps value in the front of my mind, but for the right reasons. I'm reminded how much better I feel about spending good money on food that is plentiful and meets a high quality standard.

Based on some previous posts on DonRockwell, I encouraged tablemates to get the clam chowder. It's a good soup, but we all agreed the crab is king.

Only thing to say about my steak is that it was very near perfect. I'm loath to call anything perfectly perfect, but this was close. SVR continues to be slightly dismayed with Ray's cooking her steaks a little cooler than she prefers, but I'm content to get a med.-rare closer to rare than medium. My onglet was a wonderful steak. SVR didn't send anything back and I think she's coming around to medium-rare instead of medium.

Sides were standard and flavorful. I actually prefer skins in my mashed potatoes, so the sheer whiteness of the mashed at Ray's throws me a bit, but that's hardly something to complain about. I love that the spinach has a great creamy flavor without feeling too heavy. A nice balance.

I tasted all desserts. Wanted to get the coconut cream, but my mother put dibs on that and I felt someone had to play sacrificial lamb and get some mousse. I loved all the sweets for different reasons. The family was in town from Miami (I was raised there) and we all thought the key lime pie has the right amount of sharpness and brightness and tang. It's a good pie. I only took a tiny bite of coconut and can report I know I'll get it next time. I can't remember much about the exact flavor, but it definitely drew me in and left me wanting a full piece to explore. The mousse was good and chocolate-y. Too much whipped cream for my taste, but, then again, I don't really prefer whipped cream on anything.

I don't think Mark was on staff Sunday night, so I was left to pick our wines. The waitress wasn't familiar with the Gamay (from Beaujolais, not California) I locked in on and she explained it was newly added. I lucked out and drew much praise from my family for an excellent choice. If anyone in the group had had scallops, I think this lighter red would've been fine with the seafood.

Service was really cheery and friendly. Stemware and utensils were spotless.

I was very, very full after this whirlwind tour. I think I've only been fuller four or five other times in my life. Leftovers over the past two days have been great. Steaks brought to room temperature are almost as good as when warm.

We're walking distance to 2Amys. I wish we were, somehow, also walking distance to Ray's!

Milan- San Remo Pick

Look out for Davide Rebellin. I'm just sayin'.

GamJams Reviews: Cleaning / Degreasing - The Pre-Moistened Wipe-y Things in the Gym

This week's review is about cleaning agents. I'm a total nut-job about keeping the bike(s) clean. Number one rule for keeping the bike clean? Don't let it get dirty. True of most things. Shoes off in the house. Don't cook like a whirling dervish. Keep your poo in the potty.

Anyhow...we live in a tiny apartment. It's clean in part because I don't wheel nasty, grimey, muddy, greasy bikes into the bedroom. SVR is a sweetheart for putting up with five bicycles in our 750 s.f. of indoor space, so the least I can do is keep those bad boys looking spotless.

Here's my process. Keep my gym access card in my cycling wallet. At the end of every ride, I roll straight into the gym in the basement of our building. I grab four pre-moistened towelettes from the dispenser in the gym. I pull the front wheel and wipe down the tire, rim, and hub with towel #1. Next, I flip the bike upside down and do the same to the rear wheel, still attached to the bike. That's towel #2. Towel #3 is for the rest of the frame exposed while the bike is upside down. Next, I flip the bike over and re-install the front wheel. Towel #4 goes to wipe down the top of the frame and any other, non-moving, dirty parts.

Of course, who knows what those towelettes are saturated with? For all I know, the solvent is terrible for carbon and aluminum. Somehow, considering the product is distributed for gym use (and presumably for people to wipe their bodies with), I imagine it's pretty mild. Still, though, the best I could do for this entry's title is 'The Pre-Moistened Wipe-y Things in the Gym.'

I also use some paper towels to wipe down the chain after every ride. I lean it against a wall and simply run the chain backwards while firmly gripping the towel around the lower run of the chain. The sweet spot is holding with enough pressure to affect some cleaning, but not with so much pressure that the towel shreds into a zillion small shards.

Once in a while, I mount the bike in the trainer (again, 750 s.f. doesn't exactly allow for a workshop with a stand and toolbox and workbench) to give the chain a good scrub down. I use Pedro's Bio Cleaner and spray the heck out of the chain and go through the same process referenced above. With the Bio Cleaner, I use a proper rag instead of paper towels. Heavy saturation usually leaves the chain looking okay. It never gets too dirty to begin with (see rule #1 above), so this spray down is usually good enough. I always let the bike sit overnight before re-applying any lube. Gotta let the cleaner evaporate before applying new lube. If not, the de-greaser will simply break down whatever new lubricants I apply.

Considering the review is only supposed to be about 'cleaning/DE-greasing,' I'll leave it at that.