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Pardon my interruption: Welcome back!

Pardon my interruption: Welcome back!

By Michael Collier

Howdy SpinAdventure followers. I am so glad to be back after a few months leave, and I plan to begin posting again in the coming days and weeks. The new year has passed and now it is time to get on the bike, stretch out, practice your core strength exercises and build that vastus medialis oblique muscle — the quad that bulges right above your knee and makes you look like a…

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Spring events can turn hot or cold, so be prepared for extreme weather

Spring events can turn hot or cold, so be prepared for extreme weather

Cyclists riding in the Bay Area’s popular Primavera Century, the region’s first 100-mile cycling event of the year, climb up from San Jose on the Calaveras grade, known as “the wall” and the first big hill of the day before the heat set in. Photo courtesy of Fremont Freewheelers Bicycle Club.

By Michael Collier

The first century of the cycling season, which usually comes around in April or May in…

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Corsica spinning: Le Tour in the land of Napoleon

Corsica spinning: Le Tour in the land of Napoleon

  The view looking west from near the top of the Col de Teghime, which rises more than 500 meters from the Mediterranean coast. Photo courtesy of the French bureau of tourism

By Michael Collier

In late June of 2013, the 100th edition of the Tour de France began on the Mediterranean island of Corsica, the birthplace of Napoleon and officially part of France since the late 18th Century. This year,…

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California Challenge: Healing wounds of war for disabled veterans

California Challenge: Healing wounds of war for disabled veterans

Michael Collier rides with disabled veterans along the Pacific Coast Highway. Photo courtesy of Ride 2 Recovery.

By Michael Collier

Riding down California’s Pacific Coast Highway with a group of 200 disabled war veterans opened my eyes to the courage, determination and resiliency of the human spirit.  It was a much different kind of multi-day bike tour — one that moved me and one that I will not…

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The Himalayans in my back yard

The Himalayans in my back yard

By Michael Collier

Imagine this: Climbing more than 29,000 — the equivalent of walking vertically to the top of Mount Everest — in 20 days or less.

And this: Completing the challenge without leaving your home turf.

In early November, I signed up for the Strava Climbing Challenge, along with thousands of others across the globe who use the fitness and social media site. The challenge was to climb…

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Hey, coach, wake me up

Hey, coach, wake me up

By Michael Collier

Do I look relaxed? At the same point in the Knoxville Double in 2012 I was ready for the support wagon. In 2013, I nailed it, thanks to strength training to my core muscles. No leg cramps as I reveled at the beauty of Lake County the upper Napa Valley.

The first day of summer was nearly two months ago. But in many parts of California, it feels like summer has yet to shed its…

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When Robin Williams met his bike-maker

When Robin Williams met his bike-maker

By Michael Collier

In the wake of Robin Williams’ death this week, his love of cycling has become part of his story. He was a big fan of the top races, and he went to the Grand Prix in San Francisco and to the Tour de France. He also was seen riding his bike regularly in Marin County.

One of the most interesting accounts of Williams’ love affair with bikes and cycling, written by Jason Gay of the…

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Holy smoke! Trucks fogging cyclists

Holy smoke! Trucks fogging cyclists

By Michael Collier

The open road is a cyclist’s friend most of the time, but not when a trucker decides to blow a cloud of black exhaust on a rider or a group of riders.

It’s known as “rolling coal,”a blast of soot from a truck’s exhaust pipes that can temporarily blind a cyclist or a car driver — to the pleasure of the “coal-rollers,” who seem to be making a statement of what they think of…

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Drafting a recumbent no drag at all

Drafting a recumbent no drag at all

By Michael Collier On long endurance rides a cyclist’s best buddy is another bike to draft, especially when confronting a stiff headwind.

A few days ago, a bit of luck and good timing conspired to give me a much-needed lift halfway through the Mt. Tam Double Century in Northern California.

I was dieseling alone when I came upon a member of my bike club just before a turn onto Chileno Valley Road…

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