Gettin' Anaerobic on the beach cruiser...

[Running Mommy]

So being a Felt dealer we have a small fleet of their nifty beach cruisers.
They are mostly eye candy, as most people ooggle at how "cool" they are, but then they come in and buy a "real" bike.
But we put em out everyday as eye catchers.
On days when we are feeling a bit "randy" we have a "cruiser crit" in the parking lot at closing time.
So today I jumped on the BRIGHT (yes that bright) orange pearl number and challenged the kids to a few laps. At one point I was neck and neck with my friend Chris. I was determined to smoke him and actually went anaerobic in the process! MAN those 40+ pound single speed coaster brake bikes are a killer on the legs...
My strategy is to cut in close in the turns and make him think I'm cruising and then hammer out of the corner on to the straight. Seems to work- throws them off..
I'm sure the guys at the pizza joint next door think we are nuts. But MAN is it good fun..
And like Michael Lovato said, what's the point if your not having fun??!!

[Kalidurga]

Darned good attitude, Running Mommy. I think that sounds like a blast.

[Eden]

There's a 1/2 serious, 1/2 lots of playing around, race up here every year at the velodrome specifically on cruisers.

The first part of the day is mixed teams (men & women) and citizen's races and is done with a motley fleet of mostly antique cruisers, the second part (only slightly more serious - costumes are not optional ) is done on matching bikes - they are Van Dessels from a few years ago, called the Straight Up - that are sort of 1/2 track bike, 1/2 cruiser. They are single speed, with coaster brakes, but they have larger, skinny tires, road saddles, and messenger style handlebars (sort of an abbreviated moustache bar).

[Pedal Wench]

Serious question here -- I'm going to my brother's wedding in LA next weekend, and noticed that the hotel has free beach cruisers we can use. What does one wear on a beach cruiser??? Do I bring bike shorts? Bike shorts under regular shorts? Sneakers? Helmet??? We'll be using them on the Strand on the beach in Redondo Beach. HELP!!!!

[Grog]

COOL RM! I love those bikes. Must have been lots of fun.

Serious question here -- I'm going to my brother's wedding in LA next weekend, and noticed that the hotel has free beach cruisers we can use. What does one wear on a beach cruiser??? Do I bring bike shorts? Bike shorts under regular shorts? Sneakers? Helmet??? We'll be using them on the Strand on the beach in Redondo Beach. HELP!!!!

Try to convince the bride to lend you her wedding dress....


Just kidding. I should have worn a helmet there but I had about a thousand bobby pins in my hair. But really the answer is: anything you want.

[Blueberry]

Serious question here -- I'm going to my brother's wedding in LA next weekend, and noticed that the hotel has free beach cruisers we can use. What does one wear on a beach cruiser??? Do I bring bike shorts? Bike shorts under regular shorts? Sneakers? Helmet??? We'll be using them on the Strand on the beach in Redondo Beach. HELP!!!!

Tennis shoes. I'd wear regular shorts - honestly, you probably won't go far enough on them to *need* biking shorts (and they have WIDE saddles too). Helmet is personal preference - I don't get on any 2 wheeled transportation without one

[mimitabby]

On days when we are feeling a bit "randy" we have a "cruiser crit" in the parking lot at closing time.
So today I jumped on the BRIGHT (yes that bright) orange pearl number and challenged the kids to a few laps. At one point I was neck and neck with my friend Chris. I was determined to smoke him and actually went anaerobic in the process! MAN those 40+ pound single speed coaster brake bikes are a killer on the legs...
And like Michael Lovato said, what's the point if your not having fun??!!

Sounds like our Worksman bike time trial we had last summer. It was also fun practicing... trying to see how fast I could go. How did you know when you went anaerobic?

[smilingcat]

Serious question here -- I'm going to my brother's wedding in LA next weekend, and noticed that the hotel has free beach cruisers we can use. What does one wear on a beach cruiser??? Do I bring bike shorts? Bike shorts under regular shorts? Sneakers? Helmet??? We'll be using them on the Strand on the beach in Redondo Beach. HELP!!!!

I know which hotel you are talking about. Beach attaire wih flip flops on the bike are common. Though I would highly recommend that you wear atleast a pair of shoes instead of flops. No bike shorts, regular short/skort, t-shirt must wear those designer sunglasses If it is warm, then bikinis bare feet or flop is typical. Most of the girls try to look like beach bunnies. Oh and the front of the hotel is a MAJOR MAJOR throughway for the roadies. You'll see them Saturday morning around 7ish.

The weather has been really weird. two three weeks ago, it was blazing hot and you needed spf 100 screen. This weekend was cold high 50's low 60's with cold ocean breeze. Wore tights with long sleeve jersey. And I still got chilled.

This weekend Apr. 26-27??

smilingcat

[7rider]

Ooo... I've got a Schwinn cruiser I can enter! Assuming I have the muscle strength to get that tank up beyond a walking pace, it would be a hoot in a cruiser crit. It's about as nimble as an aircraft carrier! Wa Hoo!

And I thought flip flops, a tank top, long shorts, and a floppy hat were de rigueur on a beach cruiser.

[sgtiger]

Running Mommy - That sounds like a blast! It reminds me when I used to work for one of the big box stores. I started out as part of an overnight crew stocking shelves and when we were done we would sometimes race around the store on pallet jacks or kids' bikes. Hehehehe! We even got the store manager to join us a few times when he came in in the morning, but he usually just shook his head at our shenanigans.

Eden, is this the event you're talking about? That looks like a lot of fun, too!
http://www.alkirubiconracing.com/lit...e100frame.html
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mRdOHC05pPQ

[Pedal Wench]

I know which hotel you are talking about. Beach attaire wih flip flops on the bike are common. Though I would highly recommend that you wear atleast a pair of shoes instead of flops. No bike shorts, regular short/skort, t-shirt must wear those designer sunglasses If it is warm, then bikinis bare feet or flop is typical. Most of the girls try to look like beach bunnies. Oh and the front of the hotel is a MAJOR MAJOR throughway for the roadies. You'll see them Saturday morning around 7ish.

The weather has been really weird. two three weeks ago, it was blazing hot and you needed spf 100 screen. This weekend was cold high 50's low 60's with cold ocean breeze. Wore tights with long sleeve jersey. And I still got chilled.

This weekend Apr. 26-27??

smilingcat

Ooh -- we'll have to try to race the roadies on our cruisers! Yup -- it's this weekend. Can't wait to see the ocean!!!! I'm not really beach-bunny material, but can do some purple Keen sneaks and a tank top. I better check the weather too -- pray for nice weather for his wedding!

PW

[Eden]

Running Mommy - That sounds like a blast! It reminds me when I used to work for one of the big box stores. I started out as part of an overnight crew stocking shelves and when we were done we would sometimes race around the store on pallet jacks or kids' bikes. Hehehehe! We even got the store manager to join us a few times when he came in in the morning, but he usually just shook his head at our shenanigans.

Eden, is this the event you're talking about? That looks like a lot of fun, too!
http://www.alkirubiconracing.com/lit...e100frame.html
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mRdOHC05pPQ

That is the race indeed - in fact I'm in that video....

[sgtiger]

That is the race indeed - in fact I'm in that video....

Ooooooooh! I'll have to watch it again to see if I can spot you.

ETA: OMG, there you are in the beginning(close-up side shot)! I'm going to go back now to see if there are more clips of you and anyone else I know.

Later: Okay, that was a classic example of not seeing something, or in this case someone(s), because I wasn't expecting it.