Field tested things late this afternoon after a pain free trot on Tuesday. Jogged around without the bike for a bit first then did increasing-speed dismounts until I was going pretty danged fast. Even clambered over a couple picknic tables. No pain in the calf, though it’s a tad tight this evening. So, I guess we’ll see what happens.
Now my only worry is what 40 minutes out on a race course will feel like tomorrow after - oh - three weeks without any speed work. Oh well, it’s what I like about cross - it ends at a discreet and specific time.
A Visit to Wheelgirl in Berkeley
Earlier in the day, my wife and I were bopping around 4th Street in Berkeley, tracking down some supplies. An A-Frame sign prompted us down the street towards a bike shop I hadn’t heard about before - Wheelgirl.com. So, fresh Peet’s in hand, we poked further along, and came upon the oddest olive oil shop we’d ever seen - it had a bike shop in it:
The Stonehouse Olive store has most of the road frontage, but off to the left of the sales area is a nice little teaser room:
Tearing ourselves out of the front room, we made our way a bit further into the back room.
We met Elizabeth, the owner and Steve (?), who took some time away from wrenching to put a way-too-light Lynsky Ti road frame in our hands. I’m not easily seduced by the grey metal, but that frame was done very nicely. Interesting array of products - they had more Phil Wood hubs in different colors than I’ve seen before, and a really impressive set of Sugino cranks. Of course, I neglected to photo those. Dead center in the photo above is Elizabeth’s Lynsky track bike, which she’d rigged with a classy Ofmega crankset and some steel NJS-looking Deda bars. It’s rigged up with a front brake for her commute, and looks like a titanium rocket.
The shop was pretty eclectic. If I have it correctly, they’ve been around for 3 or so years, and before opening the storefront, they specialized in custom build-ups of higher end frames. On the other hand, they had a tasteful array of Dahon folders for sale, and as we chatted and looked around, a customer returned a “loaner” utility bike.
Anyway, it’s worth a visit, as they’ve carved out quite an interesting niche for themselves. Pretty interesting and diverse blog as well. Wheelgirl.com
October 21st, 2007 at 11:45 am Weird — I’ve never heard of that shop, either!
October 22nd, 2007 at 10:23 am I just found their blog a few days ago and had also never heard of them. I’ve got a strong dislike for 4th Street, but my wife likes it and now I’ve got a reason to not excuse myself from going along next time.