Author: Matthew Steinhoff

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BurritoVille: Good, Cheap and Biker Friendly

With two fixies parked out front in the bike rack, how could I not stop at Cape Girardeau’s BurritoVille?

This morning, I took a 14-mile spin around Cape, picked out a few choice hills along the Mississippi River (at near flood stage, by the way) and rode hard. By noon, I was very hungry mucho a lot.

Good Food, Cheap

BurritoVille T-Shirt LogoI had the $4 Buffalo Chicken Burrito. I’d be surprised if it weighed less than a pound. The chicken was spicy and plentiful. Sarah had the BBQ chicken Burrito, also packed full of yummy goodness. Malcolm had the chicken nachos with better than average cheese sauce drizzled on top.

The tortilla chips were crisp and fresh without even a hint of grease. The salsa was fresh and cool and the tomatos were still identifiable as such instead of just being piles of mush. Some would say it had too much cilantro. I say there is no such thing as too much cilantro, spit in their face and then run like hell.Malcolm, Lost in the True Bliss that is Sour Cream

The three of us ate a lot of good food and each had a beverage for just under $23.

Take Me to BurritoVille

BurritoVille
913 Broadway Street
Cape Girardeau, MO 63701-5422
573-334-4068

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Lance Armstrong is Back. Wait. Back? On a Bike?

According to VeloNews, Lance Armstrong will be back next year with the Astana team. Their anonymous source says he will compete in these events…Mark Steinhoff Advises Lance Armstrong on his future career path.

  • Amgen Tour of California
  • Paris-Nice
  • Tour de Georgie
  • Dauphine-Libre
  • Tour de France

I can’t say that I’m surprised that he is racing again. I always figured he’d do some smaller races. What really has me shocked is that he would consider doing the Tour de France again. That seems like a no-win situation for him. Unless, of course, he wins.

Thoughts? Is he really back?

—Matt

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2008 Tropical Triathlon in Lake Worth

Palm Beach Bike Tours regular rider, Scott Maulsby, completed the 2008 Tropical Triathlon in Lake Worth this weekend in 1:25:46. In August, he finished the Loggerhead Triathlon in 1:27:06, so he has improved 80 seconds in a month. Actually more and more on that later.

There was much controversy to this year’s Tropical Triathlon. The swim portion was almost canceled because of bad weather (aka Hurricane Ike). Even with the green light to swim, many were slowed by the choppy surf. The bike route, too, was an issue.

Bike: 11 Miles or 13 Miles?

Tropical’s bike portion was to be 11 miles. Several competitors rode the 11 miles then looked at their bike computers, got confused and stopped for clarification or simply cut back. As more and more participants turned early, others followed. Race officials stopped those who returned after 11 miles, put them back on the course and instructed them to ride 13 miles. By all accounts and dozens of odometers, the bike portion of the race was 13 miles not 11 miles.

Scott was one of the many who lost time by following the advertising and other riders instead of the course. So, while the clock shows just an 80 second improvement, had he not run into the 11/13 problem, he might have finished even quicker.

Lesson Learned: Follow the Course

Follow the course, not your odometer.

Full results for the Tropical Triathlon are available online.

—Matt

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Lost on Your Bike Tour? Ask a Cow for Directions

While we prefer the high-tech approach to bicycle touring, others still prefer to take off for parts unknown with just a compass, map and a wool cycling jersey.

For those who insist on cycling without a GPS (and 11 pounds of batteries), we have great new research to report: cows point north.

Researchers scoured Google Earth for images of cows standing around being cows. After looking at 8,510 cattle in 308 pastures around the world, they concluded that cows do indeed tend to align themselves north/south. Big-brained scientists say it is because of the the Earth’s magnetic field and that deer display the same tendencies.

Boy Scout Handbook

When I was a Boy Scout, we learned all about moss growing on the north side of trees but science hadn’t progressed far enough to know about cows. This could save lives!

Unless, of course, you live in South Florida. We aren’t known for having a preponderance of cows or a lot of moss.

How to Find Your Way in Florida

If you bike far enough in any direction, you’ll come across water and clues as to where you are.

  • South: If you hit water and find Cubans or Hatians crawling onto the beach, you have found South.
  • East: If you hit water after having evaded a rent-a-cop security guard and are standing in the shade of a 20-story condominium, you have found East.
  • West: If you hit water, find no one under the age of 70 and there is no nightlife but plenty of early-bird dinners, you’re on West’s doorstep.
  • North: If you never hit water, you went North.

—Matt

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Toronto Bike Thief Steals Nearly 3,000 Bikes

Does This Man Have Your Bike?

Coach Cane with City Coach tipped us off to this bike thief out of Toronto. If you have a New York Times login you can read their story about Igor Kenk for details.Igor Kent Mug Shot / Did this Toronto Bike Thief Get Your Bike?

In short, the guy was found with 2,865 bikes in his possession. Since his arrest, bike thefts in the area of Toronto where Kenk lived are down 20%. The good news is that nearly 500 of the bikes have been returned to their owners. The rest, however, are still available for public viewing for potential recovery.

The number of bikes he had boggles the mind. I have never been in a bike shop with 300 bikes on display. This guy had ten times that number. He could ride a bike a day for the next seven years and never ride the same bike twice. That’s almost as many bikes as (PBBT regular) Keefer has in his stable.

What was he going to do with the bikes?

No one seems to know.

In addition to the bikes, Kenk was also found with a bunch of drugs. He may have some mental problems. Others think he was stocking up on bikes so he could sell them once scrap metal prices rose again.

Interestingly enough, Kent had rented storage space all over town for the bikes. Nothing I have read thus far tells where he was getting the cash to cover the rent.

—Matt