Cycling's Golden Age

As I make my way through the thick stack of cycling-related reading material I got over the holidays, I've come to Cycling's Golden Age, a history of road racing focused around the memorabilia of Shelly and Brett Horton. This time period (1946-67) is an era I know little about, so it's been a great read so far. What is even more stunning are the photos of the Horton's collection: photos, jerseys, flyers, and correspondence from the riders. While the writing itself is not quite as engrossing as many of my recent reads (Paul Fournel's Need for the Bike and another book I started this week, Jonathan Safran Foer's Eating Animals), this is more of a true history book so I can't reasonably expect the prose to be quite as colorful. The photos and the information so far more than make up for that slight downside.

Along with a lot of cycling-related reading, the weather is turning a bit, and that means actually riding outside. I took my fixed-gear to work a few days this week, and I did 30 miles out on my road bike this afternoon. I'm definitely out of shape, but I did a lot of climbing today and was actually quite a bit ahead of my expectations.

I've switched my diet a bit as well. Last summer I went from rarely eating meat to a lacto-ovo vegetarian diet, and I saw my performance improve significantly. I can't discount the possibility that I was just eating a healthier and more mindful diet all around, though. (I also can't discount the influence of losing a few pounds in Guatemala that summer, either.) To start this year, I decided to try eating a vegan diet or as close as I could come. After a bit of an unfortunate work lunch yesterday (no option other than a very buttery saute and an allergic reaction to a colleague's nearby shellfish), my resolve has been strengthened a bit. "Eating Animals" hasn't hurt, either. I hope I get the same performance boost I saw last summer.

To top things off, my girlfriend commuted to work by bike twice this week and loved it. I think this has the makings of a good year for riding.

Unfortunately, the weather is looking cold and rainy tomorrow, so it may be back to rollers and Spinervals again for me.