"In the real world, the goal of a tire manufacturer is to deliver products that offer the ideal balance of adhesion and wear. Yet Pirelli, the exclusive supplier to the [Formula 1] series, has been directed to reformulate its tire compounds to wear more rapidly.

We realize the weather is looking iffy, but we will have the workshop as scheduled. Please bring your bikes. If it is raining at the end of the workshop we will cancel the ride. Please remember to dress warmly - knees, neck and head covered, full gloves and warm socks.

The weather forecasts now call for the overnight rain to end by morning, but at least one has it still raining by 9 AM, which will make it tough riding to the start. So we're pushing the start back to 10:00. 

If there are any further changes, we will post on the message board by 7:15 AM. 

Has anyone ridden ENVE wheels? The latest model is promising a really big difference:

http://www.enve.com/wheels/road/3.4clincher.aspx

The major issue with ENVE wheels is price tag, obviously. Whereas, if consider that those wheels can fulfill the promise of climbing along with flats, stability and breaking.... That is - fulfilling tasks of almost two wheel sets, so the price looks less scary while divided by 2?

From our friends at Bike New York.....

Tomorrow's ride is cancelled.

Paul Hofherr (C SIG leader extraordinaire, deputy captain of the ENY Marshals, author of the NYCC Leader Training Manual, and person of a million other great accomplishments) recently badly fractured his ankle in a non-biking accident.  He had surgery a few weeks ago and will be in a cast until the beginning of May.  Needless to say, this has put a damper on his spring biking season.

Jason Gay, of the Wall St Journal, is fast becoming my favorite sportswriter. He is usually quite hilarious, but in today's article he is unusually serious. (He is also an avid cyclist who writes often on cycling) I regret I cannot link the article, as the WSJ has a pay-per-view firewall. (The WSJ doesn't allow free access to its content? I'm shocked!!!)

Anyway, the article concerns a particualrly brutal stage in an Italian race in which the young Phinney had a rough time of it. You surely don't have to be an elite racer to know what that's about. Just sign up for a Gran Fondo and you'll get the idea. Taylor has been one of my favorite pros for a couple of years now, and after reading this article I admire him even more.

For the past year, on the occasions that I have been able to ride, I have been avoiding Central Park like the plague, mostly because of the issues that cyclists had with the police.  I had ridden, a couple times, following rules/guidelines as best as possible, stopping for pedestrians, runners, slower cyclists, red lights, etc, but was still uncomfortable with the possibility that I would be ticketed for something that I was not aware was illegal/wrong.

Now that the weather is getting better, and my schedule is lightening up, I'd like to begin the new season by warming up and riding easy laps in the park, but remain concerned about getting a ticket for something unintentional.