Barrel adjustment
Hey, how’s the economy treating you? Has the market got you down? Are you tightening the belt, and saving every last bit of cash? Are you too broke to afford that new bike this year? It looks like I will be squeezing out another season on my old bike this year, but that’s because I lost big investing in the Tour of America.
no wife
no kids
no stocks
no 401k
paycheck still the same
bike shit still costs the same
i don’t see what the problem is
I think even for guys like this the economy in the US and especially in NYC will catch up to them, 4 billion dollars out of our local economy will effect everyone.
well, our company lost is line of credit with a NY bank and within 2 weeks all 40 of us got pick slips, No new lines of credit are available. I am out of a job after 15years with this company as a result, no new tires, no new booties for winter, no new nothing, I am in a conservation mode. you quickly learn to live below your means.
Shops like Cadence the most. The newbie rich cyclist who is no longer getting the $250k bonus will not be buying the $12k road or Tri bike. Cadence needs to sell big ticket items to stay in business. The shops that actually service bikes of the everyday rider (fixies, commuters, BMX etc.) and sell tires and tubes etc. will survice.
I give Cadence a year…
Riding the elevator in my coop the other day, when a neighbor starts complaining about the possibility of a meager bonus this year. I bought into the building a long time ago, the only smart financial move I’ve ever made. I’m probably the only non banker or corporate lawyer left in the building. I freelance, and have never received a bonus in my life. I could have slugged him, what an ass. Anyway, I guess everybody is hurting, even the a-holes.
Hey for about the same price of a deli sandwich we get great courses, dedicated staff who pull it all together each week while in season, and we race ’round & ’round Central Park, Prospect Park & Floyd Bennett Field. Sure beats the alternative: not racing!
Besides, it doesn’t matter what you ride. Who’s that gal from one of the local women’s teams that could put the hammer on probably 70-80% (or more) of any local rider and does it on an old bike?
We are all very, very fortunate to even be having the luxury of complaining about crossing the jogging lane while racing our bikes. Sometimes we need a little perspective in this supercharged town…
Cycling/racing can be a relatively inexpensive hobby. You don’t have to have a $5000 rig.
Training is free. Racing CRCA is $60 a year. Replace your tires every 2000 miles or so for $50. You can do this on the cheap during these lean times. Face it, you probably bought all the shit you needed already anyway. Now just use it till it wears out.
Riding is the one thing you don’t have to stress out about right now. Roads are not forclosing.
Charlie has announced he will no longer offer cash for premes. He will simply slap you high five as you go by.
dont forget the $10.00 per race and the CRCA Jersey.
Also, Visit Britain is back, but will now be called Visit Yonkers
Adler has picked up a new sponsor and will now be known as IKEA Racing
Yeah, and the new Adler team car is that Ikea shuttle (a.k.a. the Red Hook above-ground hipster subway).
Cadence has already begun transitioning. They already have the juice and coffee bar, but they’ve also converted the downstairs locker area to a dog grooming salon. If you think Mark Purdy is a genius with a Cervelo R3 you should see him with a Lhasa Apso. He’s a master.
I used all of my race winnings this season to buy one barrel of oil. Damn you, economy!
The earthquake was huge but the aftershocks are still to come. If you worked at Lehman, Bear and had stock you took it hard and dry. Others just lost big and are waiting to see the fallout damage. We are in pause mode when many people are trying to understand what actually happened and how it will hit them. A couple shops told me they have sold some high end bikes to bankers spending some of their severance pay on a last hoorah ( don’t tell the wife). Lots of bankers/traders(former?) spotted in gyms during the day since these memberships have been paid in advance. We will see in the next few months how bleak the job market is and if credit starts to flow again. If you have cash on hand hold onto it. Something tells me there will be an avalanche of barely used Cervelos on Ebay in a few months. You will just have to remove the bento box.
On the up side, the New York City Triathalon will only be half as douchey in 2009.
one thing is for sure is that JFT absolutley will NOT be buying any new helmets next year!
tri
ath
lon
like
cyc
ling
Tri Guy, How are you fairing in these difficult time?
Funny, and not one really nasty comment to anyone.
How many miles did you ride the elevator for? I guess those are even cheaper miles than your bike. In fact, I might just switch to riding my elevator too – free, and far less stressful on the body!
“Cycling/racing can be a relatively inexpensive hobby. You don’t have to have a $5000 rig.
Training is free. Racing CRCA is $60 a year. Replace your tires every 2000 miles or so for $50. You can do this on the cheap during these lean times. Face it, you probably bought all the shit you needed already anyway. Now just use it till it wears out.
Riding is the one thing you don’t have to stress out about right now. Roads are not forclosing.”
hhmmmm…you forgot about the $25+ we spend per race and the transportation costs…
Racing only within the CRCA may help but there were only about 12 races this year and one was canceled. Personally, I don’t think I could contain myself with only 12 races a year.
I think cycling stands to actually grow in a recession. Not too many hobbies can be had for this low cost, except of course running and, like, basketball. But running can only take up maybe an hour of your day – barely a hobby – and basketball sucks and needs organization with other people at the same hour. Buy a cheap rig and you are on the road the next day. I spend a gazillion dollars on this sport, but could easily have 99% of the fun for a fraction of the price if I just gave up buying high end crap that doesnt negate my extra 5-7 lbs of weight anyway. Yes, what better way to tell yourself you are spending time positively than a 5 hour ride between cold calls for jobs? Take it from me – I did it for a good while when I was jobless. Pissed off my dad, but I got fit and then got a job.
Yes, its expensive if you travel every weekend, but the point is you dont have to – between CP, Prospect, Newark, NJ races, and maybe throw in day trippers like UnionVale and S. Ct races, you have more than enough. If you are off to MA and VT and upstate for all those races, you are too addicted and probably need to chill anyway. Even if you do those, think of what you ARENT spending if you stayed home (brunch, useless shopping, whatever…it all costs money in NYC!). by the way, staying home a few more weekends and doing local training rides instead of racing upstate is both less stressful and maybe even more beneficial for your fitness than 8 hrs in the car for a 2 hr race vs a nice 4 hr local ride. Anyway, you can easily get like 30 races plus without going more than 20 mi from midtown.
and basketball sucks and needs organization with other people at the same hour.
Right, because it is impossible to have fun playing pickup.
Right now you can walk right on the court at Madison Square Garden and play for the Knicks. I did it Wednesday, scored 12 points.
ha!
snap
I’ve saved money because of cycling. No drinking. No time with friends. No unhealthy eating out.
Saving money by no drinking, no time with friends, no eating out.
Hmmmm.
Whether you were being ironic or not, the funny/sad thing is that that accurately describes some racers.
“Anyway, you can easily get like 30 races plus without going more than 20 mi from midtown.”
What about the toll/gas? And don’t run that Path Train bullshit either for a 6:30-7am race in Branchbrook. Any race that you can’t ride to is running $40+ in overall costs.
I guess we’ll learn how the collegiate cyclists do it: carpooling, handwashing bibs and 105 components (heaven forbid!)
Being on the family plan, my only concern is race fees which seem to be increasing. This year got a bit costly to get out there every weekend. Might have to pick my races more wisely. As for gear I told myself i’d get another year out of my CAAD 8 earlier this year,and ebay has become a valuable resource for gear and parts.
race fees will not be a problem. enough races, that will be a problem. (mebbe not next year, but certainly over next 3-5).
teams, promoters, shops, bike industry guys – big problems. so keep the money flowing to cycling where you can. the only thing we have to fear etc.
i buy keystone light instead of the usual heineken.
I went short the market, big-time, when the DOW hit 14,000. Bought puts on Bear and Lehman. Rolling in the dough, now.
Yeah, right…who wants to buy some used bike stuff.
The waiting list for a Richard Sachs is down from 4 yrs to 4 months…tough times.
i shorted the meivici index and sold calls on shimano 2200…no taxpayer bailout needed for me, i’m rollin’ big with a brand new bento box, baby!
i’ve always been amazed at the number of local guys who seem to get a new rig every year, just for the hell of it. Stuff doesn’t really wear out that fast, even with a lot of use, and the stuff that does like chains and tires don’t have to be that expensive.
we’ll probably see a lot less bling the next few years.
Ride Gimbels and the average guy is riding a Colnago, Pinarellow, Cervelo with Tubulars. Average bike is about $5000 and 50% of these guys dont race. Dont be fooled though, many in the cycling community would rather pay rent and have a new race rig every year than ride a perfectly fine $2500 race bike and own a home.
i slaughter my own cows for food and use the stomach lining for clincher rim strip. works great, but kinda smells. it’s a bummer in the summer for those who draft me.
being a junior RULES. no entry fees.
wondering if I can do CRCA club races on my son’s Big Wheel next season- I’ll attach my SPD pedals…
“Oh no…I can’t afford the new Colnago to replace last year’s Cervelo…”
Please…when I ride away from you on my 4 year old aluminum steed with 105 components, I hope you run to the bike shop and try to buy a clue instead of thinking more money = faster
I love my dt shifters with unevenly spaced Regina America freewheels! I can shift in like 5.2 seconds when descending…
Curley uses barends…
Hampsten popularized dt front shifter, followed by Jaja and Live like Lance Foundation riders…
I love my 1080 road wheels!
I love my beer can bike!
I love my plastic bike!
I love my aero finned like a 50’s sports car upright re-cum-bent.
I better take a cold shower with my silk tubbies!
Who’s riding some fast pacelines in the park at 4:30am??? Just got some frikkin laser beam headlights and I want to scare the wildlife!
Whoa! Yeah!
Isuka Whielli
prime donne
holy smokes…
http://www.velodramatic.com/thetab
10:29 poignant, unfortunately…
Hang in there everyone, enjoy riding whatever you got for the simple pleasure of it!