I don’t know what it is about bike commuting, but I love doing it. Today marked the second Thursday in a row that I did the full bike commute from home to work and back again. In the past, I’d been mainly doing a hybrid commute — driving part way and then biking the rest. But doing the commute door to door is so much better. It’s obviously more saddle time, burns more calories, etc., but it’s just a really cool to pull in and out of the garage on my Tarmac Expert, instead of in the 4Runner or Accord.

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I was just in my local (andby far favorite) bike shop, The Bicycle Chain the other day picking up those new wheels. It seems with bike sales beating out car sales, the 2009 Specialized line is pretty much sold out across the board. Catalogs for the various bike companies start appearing in early July for the next year’s lineup.

It’s no secret of just how much of a fanboy I am when it comes to American bike manufacturer, Specialized. I was asking about 2010’s lineup — especially their TT bikes, as that line’s been pretty stagnant the past few years. I was told that anyone thinking of getting a Specialized TT bike should wait for 2010.

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So I’ve not been able to log three rides on my new wheelset — the Shimano RS-80 wheels, which were a warranty replacement and upgrade for my Shimano Ultegra wheels that came with my 2009 Specialized Tarmac Expert.

While a full review may come down the road, after some more rides and a few races on them, I wanted to give a first impression review of the Shimano RS-80 clincher wheelset.

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On the heels of my little post earlier in the week about New Belgium’s Fat Tire and Red Racer Empire IPA — two cycling brews, here’s a whole list of bike-related beers perfect for the summer heat.

Brews and Bikes: The Best Bike-Related Summer Beers

My ‘09 Specialized Tarmac Expert, acting as a carbon drying rack near my work desk, after my morning bike commute from home in Durham to downtown Raleigh. Check out that new wheelset!

So about a month ago, my still fairly new 2009 Specialized Tarmac Expert started acting up. In the big ring, I started getting an occasional click and almost pulsing pull from the chain. It was hard to reproduce on a regular basis, but eventually started to happen more often. It started happening on hard, fast descents, and cornering.

I eventually took the bike back to the shop I got it and they adjusted the front derailleur, but on the next ride, the problem still existing. I rode on for a few more weeks, before finally taking it back to the shop a couple weeks back. On the way over, rolling it out of my office, the pedals were rotating as I rolled it on its back wheel.

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Man, it almost seems like things would have gone better, or at least gotten that much more interesting for the team and the pro peloton had Astana’s Kazakh sponsors not come through with their financial backing in the eleventh hour.

Instead of the Astana squad, we would have seen team Livestrong-Nike in the 2009 Tour de France, with 2007 Tour de France winner Alberto Contador, Benjamin Noval, Sergio Paulinho, and Contador’s preferred mechanic and soigneur from Astana all moving to Garmin-Slipstream had Astana defaulted on their contractual obligations.

Will/has all this been distracting for the Astana squad, not to mention the number of high-level riders on the squad. It should be an interesting Tour de France this year!

Lance’s Team Split

I’m feeling like I’m not posting enough bike/cycling posts here at Keefer Madness, though two (not including this one) currently on the home page fall under the cycling category. Anyway, here’s a new gadget for those night time bike commutes to add a little safety, projecting a laser line on either side of you and your bicycle to encourage drivers to pass you with a little bit of distance, with a video to demonstrate.

LightLane, the Bike Lane That Rides With You: Now a Reality