NorCal Cycling News – Cycling and Racing in Northern California

I feel like Hernando’s off topic posts were kind of hit and miss.  Not a fan of the political ones, mostly cause I can’t stand Naomi Klein – but i have a good long reason for that which you can ask me about next time you see me, but the more poetry type stuff works out some times.  Here is a rambling ode the the style of hernando… and I will try to fit in some mentions for tonights’ big party at the track. Tonight at Hellyer Velodrome Hernando, Velo Girls, and La Dolce Vita are putting on the big party that are Friday Night Fights.  It’d filled with beer, racing, food and costumes.  The costume theme is new this year… not sure how it got started but Hernado usually gets all decked out as do a bunch of spectators and racers.  Its like “The Rockey Horror Bike Show”  Because of Velo Girls propensity to include pink in all ensembles and the recent passing of John Hughs this week was tagged “Pretty In Pink” where folks should either be:

1. Wearing pink

1. Wearing your best 80′s ensemble.

For me John Hughes movies and cycling are inextricably linked.  Greg LeMond and at the same time and forever left a dent in my psyche.  John Hughes understood the outsider and the feeling you get as a teenager that you can never quite belong.

Cycling in the 80′s had the same feel as the up and coming outsider sport.  Lance was still a baby triathlete then and the prickly LeMond  never quite connected with the US audience the way Lance would.  Like Hughes cast in “ who would come togethert once a week for a club time trial on some deserted country road. In cycling we found, and continue to find a community of people we can relate to despite all of our social shortcomings..which cyclists seem to have in abundance.  I’m sure some of your are normal but you still hammer yourself several months a year, and feel guilty if you don’t, for your job thats not really a job. My point being something ain’t right freak!

We may not always like each other but we have a common language, understanding, and respect for what each accomplishes in our clique.  Events like the AVC, Friday Night Fights, Bay Area Prestige CX races, San Francisco Twilight, and San Rafael Twilight Crit bring us together to  race, talk bikes, family and everything else in order connect in

If you are reading this you are in this crowd no matter what.  Come out to party and race with  us tonight.. and wear some pink leg warmers if you got em.

PS. Couldn’t get the video embedding down…so the links are fun.