Scott Rintoul of Team1040 Told Me to Get Padded Shorts; Daved Benefield
So, finally the day came and the sky got clear. The sun peeped out at Vancouver and decided to show us just a little love with some dry days. I had to act fast. I’m still on the new side of riding something with larger wheels and not called a ten-speed. Why is it the last time I heard the word “Ten-speed” me being a former latch key type TV babysitter kid, Ten Speed and Brown shoe with long deceased actor Ben Vereen flashed through my mind. I mean really the last time I thought about riding something with multiple gears that I had to pedal was that summer when one of my buddies told me it was a great way to meet chicks by pushing a pedi-cab through the streets of Westwood, California. Well I wasn’t the Karate Kid, Ralph Macchio, or Tom Cruise with “All the Right Moves.” The only thing I was pulling was a hamstring pushing a couple of Omega’s from Fatburger’s to UCLA’s sorority row. The boys at Brodie gave me a quick tutorial on the bike how the Ronin works, and how it shifts. Come on man, I know how to shift a fricken bike right? WRONG! Damn wouldn’t you know I hadn’t a clue how to shift gears? Had it been that long? Where were the shifting knobs on the frame? Guys as your ladies will testify, men are hard headed, we know it all, and we rarely listen. So being not just a client but also, the “not listening president” I half-heartedly skimmed the listening tutorial on the Ronin’s gear shifting.
What can I say about her? She is tall, but she moves like a smaller number. I’m rolling the 62cm. She is blue, (I like blue) she comes with standard disc brakes (nice) and did I mention she is tall? For a big girl she’s light too. The Ronin is a hybrid of sorts she is part cycle-cross bike, and part road-bike. Now if you are in left field in the cycling world (its ok brother) let me explain the two. Brief lesson, in Europe cycle-cross is a sport where guys take beautiful bikes and put a set of knobby tires on them and go cross-country, over hill, and through dale, for fun, prizes, and pride. They may even jump these bikes, but not like you're thinking (ex BMX guy) or crazy mountain biker spawn of Evel Knievel, no its more controlled because its still a thin rimmed road bike. The other sport cycling made famous by that race the TOUR de FRANCE, and that guy who was dating Sheryl Crowe, you know him as Lance Armstrong. Normally cycling is thought of as expensive bikes made of NASA type materials that will cost you, your first born, and a couple of toes. The Ronin won’t do that too you. Well I still have a slight aversion to riding in the rain, poor drivers, and having expensive workout toys becoming dated expensive garage type clothes hangers. I’m sure some of you have a museum of workout and hobby equipment posted up in your garage saying, “Remember me?”
The cool thing about the bike is that when I have to pick it up she is real light and balanced too. So when I grab the top bar to carry it inside, or up onto the curb I don’t nearly kill myself with the front end popping up banging me in the chin. The Ronin is extremely well balanced.
The guys at the Brodie plant put on a pair of slick road tires, so no knobby tires. Damn. Here I am looking at these treadless tires and envisioning myself sliding smooth across the pavement recreating “red asphalt.”
The seat or saddle as we may call it is firm, solid, and hurts my ass like never in the world have I felt. It’s ok now, but no one told me I should go out there and buy a pair of (ta da da das) or cycling shorts. The reason I call them “ta da da das” is the first time you put them on you will feel like saying “ta da da da.” Spring them on your wife or girlfriend and watch the magic happen. So needless to say even with my high brutha’s butt, it still got bruised. My friend Scott Rintoul of the TEAM 1040 told me go get some padded shorts. I like Scotty; he kept it real, so now I have to buy some padded shorts.
The one thing you notice about the bike is for a stock bike it has great parts. I love the equipment. Let’s face it guys for what we are spending on this bike we still want the best, we don’t want any trash. In the greater scheme of things I know it’s not a carbon fiber, and not a funny Euro name sounding bike that Franz, and Deter may have used to chase Lance on but we are just every day guys, who are looking to get into shape and enjoy ourselves. We don’t want anything that you have to fuss over, but we want something that can handle a rough day and still stand up to a ride home, or maybe get tossed in the back of a van or pickup truck and not whine about it. I love the Ronin, she can be dolled up, a bit more as we progress or she can just handle her own. Let’s face it I’ve seen kids wearing ugly shoes and plain shorts step on a hoops court and shoot the lights out. It’s no different than a guy who can ride the hell out of a bike. Soon I’m hoping I can take a Ronin and run down just about anybody on some exotic, erotic piece. Its not the bike its you.
So tune in to the road to UBC.
thatbrutha@gmail.com
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C1A31KqTuvM