#louis garneau

去年の11月。隼平の写真展に手伝いで来たネギが乗ってきた自転車を見てビビッとくるものがあった。

ARAYAというメーカーの自転車で、旅をするために作られた自転車だという。クラシックな佇まいに品の良いルックスが塩顔のネギにとても似合っていた。

そして今年の春。コロナの脅威が続く中、何か新しい遊び方はないものかと思った時にパッと自転車のことが頭に浮かんだ。地図を開いて見てみると自宅から半径10km圏内に一度も行ったことのない場所が沢山あるし、半径100kmまで範囲を広げるともう無限に知らない世界が広がっていることに気付き興奮した。

行きたい場所の目星をいくつか付けると、なんとなく自転車に乗った自分がイメージ出来てきて、これはちょっとマジで検討しちゃうかと、色々情報サイトを見ながら自転車の要件整理を開始した。

フレーム・・・頑丈なやつ。クロモリ(鉄)が良さそう ハンドル・・・色々な持ち方ができるやつ タイヤ・・・パンクに強いやつ。太めが良さそう ギア・・・太いタイヤで重たい荷物を積載するならトリプルクランクらしい ブレーキ・・・機械式ディスクブレーキが良さそう キャリア・・・欲しい 泥除け・・・欲しい サドル・・・特に希望なし ペダル・・・大きめが良い気がする

要件を整理した後、自転車のカタログを眺めたりネットでの評判を確認したりして要件に合致する車体を探した。合致度が高く、且つルックスも好みの自転車が見つかったので思い切って購入した。

LOUIS GARNEAU - BEACON9.0

オールドスクールな配色とクセの強いハンドルが子供の頃に憧れたスーパーカー自転車を彷彿とさせるw

バタフライハンドルというらしく、色々と握り方を変えることで運転中の疲労を軽減できるらしい。実際乗ってみて、バタフライハンドルにして良かったと感じている。

で、次は細々としたオプションパーツについて検討することにした。検討対象は分かりやすいところで、ドリンクホルダーとライト、バッグの3つ。

ドリンクホルダーは色んなサイズの容器を装着したいと思って探してみたらすぐに良いのが見つかった。

ARUNDEL - Looney Bin

ライトは普段山で使ってるヘッデンで十分な気がしたので、一旦スコープアウトしたが、UL志向の弱ルーメンで実際に走ってみると明るさが弱く感じたのでこれから再検討する予定。テールライトはすぐに必要性を感じたので購入した。

CAT EYE - TL-LD570-R

バッグは色々と見てみたがこれっていうのが見つけられなかったので一旦保留。三泊程度の旅を想定し、必要となる積載量を見積もってから再考する。とはいえ日常生活でも乗るので何か調子が良さそうなものはないかと探したところ、良いのが見つかったので買ってみた。

JANDD - Grocery Bag Pannier

デザインは好みだがら背面のフックパーツがちょっと残念な感じ。フックの位置を変えられないためリアキャリーの上段にしか装着できない。上段に装着するとバッグの頂点が高くなりリアキャリーに物を固定し辛くなってしまうんだ。なんとかならんもんかと考えた結果、フックパーツを別メーカーのパーツに変更するという魔改造を施した。

ORTLIEB - QL System

#louisgarneau #louisgarneaubicycle #louisgarneaubike

LE VÉLO DE LOUIS GARNEAU

Il y a une dizaine d'années, j'avais fait l'acquisition d'un vélo LOUIS GARNEAU.

À l'époque, la marque était la fierté sur les pistes cyclables et les vélos fabriqués par Garneau étaient d'une excellente qualité.

En 2020, je profite encore de mon vélo que j'adore mais la marque a perdu de sa gloire...

En effet. les problèmes financiers de l'entreprise forceront peut-être sa fermeture?

Ou bien je devrai masquer les couleurs sur mon vélo ou bien me promener avec ce qui sera devenu une pièce de collection (antiquité).

Mais une chose est définitive, mon vélo est une fidèle monture que je continue d'aimer tendrement...

VOIR REPORTAGE LOUIS GARNEAU

https://www.journaldequebec.com/2020/08/25/grosses-pertes-pour-certains-creanciers-de-louis-garneau

I have not been out for almost a week.  I have also not done any workouts.  I have a cold or something.  I have not been sick in so long I forgot how it knocks the juice out of you.  Seriously it has been almost 2 years since I had a cold or flu thing.

So anyway it has been raining, and a bit cool, but not freezing hard yet.

I thought I would discuss clothes.  The only equipment you need for the bike are fenders or as they say in the UK Mud guards. Everything else is for your body.  It is possible to be relatively comfortable even in heavy rain.

I have been out in group rides where the rain was so heavy it was falling up just as hard.  That may sound stupid, but when you are in among the wheels where there is standing water on the ground those wheels throw lots of water up at you.  There is no hiding from it.  Aside from trying to avoid drowning my gear kept me warm and comfortable.

Comfortable is a relative term on rides.  If you are working by definition you are pushing up against uncomfortable conditions.  Notice I did not say dry up there.  No, dry is not in the game.  All rides finish with you wet and dirty.  The only difference is where the water came from. Thing is when you work hard you sweat. The great thing about technical clothes is they wick the moisture away from your skin,  Rain jackets breathe to let the moisture out so your natural cooling works.  Even in cold weather you need to cool your body.  If you are putting out 200 Watts of effort your body is also generating about 900 Watts of heat.  So imagine putting nine 100 Watt light bulbs under your coat.  That is a lot of heat that must be gotten rid of.

So you need to use technical layers. I use two layers for anything under 18 degrees C.  I use three layers if it goes below 12 degrees C.  That generally works right down to freezing.  The first layer is a hooded undershirt.  Keeping your head warm is important.  The second layer is a jersey or a jersey jacket.  The difference is short or full sleeves.  The Third layer is a full jacket and also an additional cap or as we call them, toque.  All these are thin and relatively light.  If it is raining I have a water shedding jacket over the two layers.  My third layer jacket is good for storm driven rain.  All rain jackets must be vented or breathe to let out your sweat.  In a pinch a large plastic garbage bag works while you are waiting to start.

There are also arm warmers and heavy jerseys for in between or changing conditions.  If you have too much on unzipping or taking off a layer is an option.  You can always take off something you have, but you can never put on something you do not have.

That is for the torso, arms, and head.  Take care of those and you are in good shape.  From the waist down there are options.  Some people use leg warmers which are simple sleeves of impermeable fabric you pull over each leg.  Those are good if you are likely to run into warmer conditions as you can strip them off.  Some people use knee warmers as they just cover the knees.  The exposed skin of the legs helps with heat dissipation. I use tights.  They go over the legs and cover your bike shorts and in my case have farmer overall straps to keep them up.

If rain is predicted or if it is just going to be a three layer day I also have waterproof booties that cover my bike shoes. They keep you dryer, but not actually dry.  Like a wet suit they give time for the water that gets in to warm up and keep your feet warm.  On dry days they cover the vents in the shoes which helps with warmer feet.

Some people have rain caps over the helmets.  Some pros with team cars have hard shells that snap over the helmet to cover the vents.  The team cars then collect the hard shells when the riders strip down for a sprint at the end of a race.  I have a funky helmet that has a removable face visor which keeps the rain off my glasses.

Everybody is different.  I am a large (older) male so I generate a lot of heat and my mass to surface area ratio is greater.  A smaller person may require more insulation.  Women may need more or less as they actually withstand cold better.  A large person with an, ahem, large BMI may need relatively little insulation as it is built in for them.

Above i mentioned the term technical clothing.  Basically that means anything that is not cotton.  Cotton is the worst thing you can wear in the cold and wet.  Before polyester wool was the thing.  It is an excellent technical material, but it does change size as it wets and dries and is a bitch to clean.  Any gear for running is usable. Of course bike shops sell all the clothes you would need and bike clothes have some peculiarities. The shorts deserve a chapter.  Basically you need to try them on.  The weird part is the shammy (chamois) for your bum.  They can make the difference between a good ride or preferring to be waterboarded.  The jerseys and jackets have long backs to work in the hunched over position you ride in.  Otherwise running gear is fine.

I have tried several brands of clothes.  The major difference between is longevity. I really liked Pearl Izumi for fit and performance.  But a pair of shorts would last one season at best. I have several Sugoi things as well Now I wear mostly Castelli as I have a pair of shorts that have done 1.5 season and are in almost new condition.  I have a ten year old Castelli jacket that refuses to give up.

New Post has been published on https://topbargaintriathlon.com/louis-garneau-womens-pro-carbon-cycling-suit/

Louis Garneau Women's Pro Carbon Cycling Suit