Remember Kirtland?

The project seemed simple enough: resurrect an old Kirtland Tour Pac handlebar bag and its hardware that has been languishing in my closet and put it on a bike I'll be using in a few weeks for some biking and birding. I've stuffed small binoculars into my jersey pocket before, but where do you put a field guide? This Kirtland bag did it all in the past; it could do it all now. Opens from the top, has a built-in plastic map holder and two side pockets. And is sturdy enough to carry a lot of stuff without even sagging (or worse, falling off into the front wheel).

There's a good reason why you don't see this style bag around anymore -- it's just not compatible with threadless stems and STI shifters. Today's stems are too "fat" to accept the mounting hardware, which was designed for yesterday's forged "skinny" stems. And the derailleur cables on Shimano STI levers (yeah, I know -- they buried them with the new Dura Ace) run smack into the space where the bag goes.

Well, heck, since I was putting this on an older Terry that looks a little retro itself, why not go all the way? Build the bike up around the Kirtland. Armed with a can of Lysol to ward off the mold, I buried myself in the basement and returned an hour later with just what I needed: bar end shift levers, standard brake levers and brakes to go with them, and a forged stem. Let the games begin.

In the photo you can see the bag, the still unwrapped bars, and a glimpse of the Shimano 600 short reach brake lever and Shimano bar end shifters. Works like a charm. My only concession to modern day goodies are GORE™ Ride-On® brake and derailleur cables, Schwalbe Stelvio tires and a Terry Firefly saddle. And, yeah, I set the shift levers to friction. In for a dime, in for a dollar.

Tailwinds,
Georgena

talktous@terrybicycles.com
www.terrybicycles.com

Sitting in on a Cloud

Recently I was in Maryland for the 4th Annual Women's Council sponsored by W.L. Gore, makers of Gore-Tex® and Gore Bike Wear™. Prior to the Council, I headed down the Eastern Shore of Maryland for a few days of riding. July on the Eastern Shore is synonymous with hot and humid.

And so I found myself cycling along one day and thinking how just a wee bit of shade would make things ever so much more comfortable. A few teeny clouds floated sparsely above me. One of them must have read my thoughts because its shadow drifted across the road and lingered just in front of me as if to say, "Here I am. Let's go."

Hmm -- too good to pass up. I picked up the pace to ride into the shadow. For a serendipitous mile or so, the relative velocities and position of the sun and this little cloud aligned and I rode in bliss, encircled by a refreshing bit of shade.

All good things come to an end and soon it was back to full sun. But I'll never forget the day I sat in on a cloud.

Tailwinds,
Georgena

talktous@terrybicycles.com
www.terrybicycles.com

Organic Henry

It finally happened: summer has returned to upstate New York. Riding a wave of heat and humidity, it arrived in full bloom this weekend. Ah, there's nothing like that first bike ride in the stuff. Fragrances abound, cotton fluffies stick to your face and your breath gets hot. Huh?

In 1977, when I started riding in hilly Pittsburgh (finest city on the planet), my cycling club looked forward to those occasional centuries in (comparatively) flat Ohio. We yearned for the chance to just sit up and cruise effortlessly for 100 miles. And so it was that I found myself in the company of Dave, his son, Larry, and Henry, riding the roads in Ohio on a particularly warm July day.

Thinking back on it, Henry was organic when organic was just an adjective that described chemistry. Rumor had it he lived in a tent in his backyard, eschewing the comforts of indoor living until the weather drove him to it. He was a vegetarian, lean and sinewy, with a peculiar bow-leggedness that came from who knows where. He didn't own a car, relying instead on his bike and friends when he needed to get somewhere.

We finished the ride happy but fried. I had to admit it was a luxury to climb into Dave's air conditioned behemoth to drive back to the Burgh. (Don't get bent out of shape -- this was 30 years ago!) Dave conked out in the front seat, leaving the wheel to Larry, his 17 year old, who relished the job at hand.

Corn fields whizzed past in the late afternoon sun and Henry put his hand to his mouth and blew gently on it. He smiled and told me to do the same. "Hot, isn't it?" he said. Yeah, amazingly so. I was surprised. He smiled again and looked out the window.

A cyclist in reasonable condition can tolerate a core temperature of almost 101 degrees with no ill effects. Hot breath is just one of nature's ways of blowing off a little heat. To Henry, it was the merit badge of another perfect cycling adventure. Enjoy these days while we have them!


Tailwinds,
Georgena

talktous@terrybicycles.com
www.terrybicycles.com

Thanks, Elizabeth!

My cousin Elizabeth was one of the many riders at the Wild Goose Chase event at Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge this past Sunday. She's the one holding the bouquet. No, she didn't dress like this for the ride -- this photo was taken at her wedding on the Eastern Shore of Maryland in July, 2003. As I told her on Sunday, she planted the seeds for the Wild Goose Chase.

When I was invited to her wedding, I knew I had to go. One more missed family event and I would be out of the loop forever! But I needed an incentive to coax me all the way down to Maryland from upstate New York.


That meant only one thing: I had to find a good place to ride my bike. So, I hauled out Delorme's Atlas & Gazetteer of Maryland and looked up bicycle rides. There, just 30 miles south of the wedding site was Blackwater Refuge and what looked like good riding. I had the route and the bike. My cousin said I could wear whatever I wanted to the wedding as long as I showed up (the family is desperate, with good reason), so off to Maryland I went.

Wedding morning dawned clear and warm. Breakfast with the family? No. Must go on bike ride. Must go now. So I headed south, quickly leaving the hustle of the tourist traps and soon arriving in the most incredible country I think I've ever seen. Dead flat. No traffic. Just miles and miles of loblolly pines and marshes and heady fragrances that took me back to my childhood in Alabama. Remember that line from a John Denver song: "Coming home to a place he'd never been before"? I had come home, although it took me a few years to figure that out.

So, if you rode the Wild Goose Chase and loved it, you can thank Elizabeth.

Tailwinds,
Georgena

talktous@terrybicycles.com
www.terrybicycles.com

The Wild Goose Chase is Sold Out!

It seems our Wild Goose Chase ride has become an overnight hit. Within four days, we sold out the original 300 spots we planned on and hurriedly added 100 more for a total of 400. Add another 100 to that, riders on a waiting list whom we also hope to accommodate.

And still our phone is ringing off the hook with frustrated riders who didn't find out in time or who don't understand why we don't just let more people come.

Slow down! Let me explain. This is the first ride of this type we have ever organized. We want to make sure we do it properly. If it's a disorganized mess, we'll all look bad and no one will want to ride next year. (Yes, there will be a Wild Goose Chase next year.)

Consider our sponsors. They have generously donated product; first for 300 riders, now for 400 riders. It's not fair to them if we keep coming back for more. Generosity has its limits.

And last, but certainly not least, this ride is to benefit Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge. That's what it's all about. If unregistered riders come (and we can't stop them; these are public roads), there's no benefit to the Refuge and there's the possibility of making a lot of registered riders angry. Sure, there's always an exception to the rule. That's one thing; but just showing up when you know the ride's sold out is something else.

To each and every one of you who has registered or who is on a waiting list -- thank you! To those of you who didn't register in time -- my sincere apologies. I understand how frustrated you are. But please respect Blackwater and the 500 riders who are there to support Blackwater. I hope our ride will be larger next year and we can accommodate every person who wants to come. But for now, 500 riders is the reality of the situation.

Thanks for your understanding!

Tailwinds,
Georgena

talktous@terrybicycles.com
www.terrybicycles.com

The Wild Goose Chase - April 27, 2008

Last June, I was sitting around with some friends from Gore Bike Wear™ and we were tossing out ideas for a project Terry and Gore could do together. In a serendipitous kind of way, we looked at each other and said "Blackwater!". Blackwater is a National Wildlife Refuge on the Eastern Shore of Maryland. Anyone who reads this blog knows I'm down there a lot to ride, to photograph products and scenery for our catalogs and to just relax. Our Gore friends often join us there. Easy for them, since they are based in Maryland.

Ideas started tumbling out. This would be a road ride for women. We would offer a variety of lengths. All the registration proceeds would go to the Friends of Blackwater. We would ask companies we work with to sponsor a goodie bag, rest stops and raffle items. Riders could try and buy Terry and Gore products and some of the profits from those sales could also go to the Friends. On and on it went. And so the Wild Goose Chase was born.

I knew for sure we were on to something when virtually every company we approached was thrilled to be associated with our event. To the tune of $30,000 in product donations for our riders, they made a commitment to help us preserve critical habitat and educate the public about the importance of Blackwater. As much fun as we intend to have riding, shopping and munching, this ride is about the importance of habitat. If we want open spaces in which we can ride, we need to preserve them. Of course, appreciation of habitat goes far beyond our needs as cyclists. Habitat is the essence of this precious biosphere that is our home. We are but one of the many species dependent upon it, something we all too often forget.

Come and ride with us! Our website has more information and a registration form.


Tailwinds,
Georgena

talktous@terrybicycles.com
www.terrybicycles.com

The Gift of a Hummingbird

f you read this blog regularly, you know I skip work some mornings to go for a bike ride. The boss is setting a bad precedent....

I never come back from a bike ride without feeling it was a gift. This morning was no exception. I was enjoying a nice little tailwind as I rode up Lincoln Road. A little way up the road, I could see a bunch of people standing around. I figured it was probably a garage sale. But as I came closer, I saw they had binoculars and scopes. And since they weren't policemen, they could only be....birders!

I came to a stop, announced myself as a birder and asked what they were looking at. A rufous hummingbird, they said! This hummer is a west coast resident. Once in a while, he comes east, but usually southeast. Wow! Somehow he ended up in upstate New York and found a full hummingbird feeder.

So, I hung out with them for a while. They were nice enough to share a scope when the rufous went for the feeder, so I now have another bird to add to my life list.

Life is full of small gifts like this. And they're all the better when they happen on a bike ride!

Oh yeah -- the hummer in this drawing? It's a ruby-throated. But it's in the public domain!

Tailwinds,
Georgena

talktous@terrybicycles.com
www.terrybicycles.com