My cousin Elizabeth was one of the many riders at the Wild Goose Chase event at Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge this past Sunday. She's the one holding the bouquet. No, she didn't dress like this for the ride -- this photo was taken at her wedding on the Eastern Shore of Maryland in July, 2003. As I told her on Sunday, she planted the seeds for the Wild Goose Chase.

When I was invited to her wedding, I knew I had to go. One more missed family event and I would be out of the loop forever! But I needed an incentive to coax me all the way down to Maryland from upstate New York.

That meant only one thing: I had to find a good place to ride my bike. So, I hauled out Delorme's Atlas & Gazetteer of Maryland and looked up bicycle rides. There, just 30 miles south of the wedding site was Blackwater Refuge and what looked like good riding. I had the route and the bike. My cousin said I could wear whatever I wanted to the wedding as long as I showed up (the family is desperate, with good reason), so off to Maryland I went.

Wedding morning dawned clear and warm. Breakfast with the family? No. Must go on bike ride. Must go now. So I headed south, quickly leaving the hustle of the tourist traps and soon arriving in the most incredible country I think I've ever seen. Dead flat. No traffic. Just miles and miles of loblolly pines and marshes and heady fragrances that took me back to my childhood in Alabama. Remember that line from a John Denver song: "Coming home to a place he'd never been before"? I had come home, although it took me a few years to figure that out.

So, if you rode the Wild Goose Chase and loved it, you can thank Elizabeth.

Tailwinds,
Georgena
talktous@terrybicycles.com
www.terrybicycles.com

Sometime shortly after I built my first few bicycle frames in 1982, my uncle gave me his copy of this classic tome. It's been updated and "modernized" several times since this 1950 edition, but this is the one that gets prime real estate on my bookshelf. I've just been dogged by steel my entire life. You can't spend twelve years in Pittsburgh and not have it in your blood. When I was in college, we used to spend Saturday nights hanging out on the periphery of the Jones and Laughlin steel mill just to feel the earth move under our feet. That usually happened right after the sky turned a brilliant reddish orange amid much belching of smoke and ash.

I was thinking about how much easier it was to get started in the frame building business when I had the idea for Terry Precision Cycling in 1985. There was an abundance of how to books about building your own bicycle frame. Tubing, lugs, drop-outs and braze-on bits were just as accessible. But, most important, steel was real. Titanium and aluminum were just beginning to falter their way into the market and most of us regarded anything non-ferrous as some concoction out of left field. Carbon fiber? No one was even thinking about it as a material for bicycle frames.

So it's with much regret that I see this beloved material now only playing at the fringes -- meaning you can find it readily on either end of the price range, but rarely in the center. I can understand why small companies like Terry can't move an overseas manufacturer to get out of the rut and work with different materials, but I don't understand why larger companies aren't embracing the heritage of the industry with a material that can hold its own with the best of them. Are they like GM ("By God, they'll buy what we build.") or are we consumers just succumbing to marketing hype? Maybe a little of both.

I'm going back to my roots. Isis Pro and Isis Sport are now built of very lightweight, incredibly responsive and smooth as silk steel. And they're built here in the States . Fast Woman, also made of steel, will be coming home from a boutique builder in Japan later this year to join its sisters in the same Wisconsin factory. Welcome back everybody!

Richard Schwinn and I got together to talk about steel recently. You can hear our discussion on t-chatter.

Moral of the story: You can take the girl out of Pittsburgh, but you can't take Pittsburgh out of the girl.

Tailwinds,
Georgena
talktous@terrybicycles.com
www.terrybicycles.com

How's this for a happy looking group? All part of a day's work at Blackwater getting ready for the Wild Goose Chase. We've been busy tracking down food, checking routes, securing tables and chairs and making sure all the details have been uncovered and attended to.

And, yeah, we did some bike riding while we were there!

Twenty days and counting.....

Georgena
talktous@terrybicycles.com
www.terrybicycles.com

In the last few weeks, I've found a new side to my personality. I've always said if I were only more outgoing, Terry Precision Bicycles would be twice as large as it is now. I turn down one invitation after another to speak at various events. I just want to ride my bike. If I'm standing behind a podium telling others about cycling, then I'm not doing it myself.

My best buddy, technology, has been whispering in my ear and I finally started listening. So, starting today, you'll find podcasts on our website. One is a seminar Graeme Street and I did about weight loss for cyclists. Graeme did virtually all of the talking on that one. The other two are interviews I did with Suzanne Girard Eberle about weight management as seen through the eyes of a sports dietitian and with Rocky Reifenstuhl who likes riding his bike on marathon excursions through sub-zero Alaska. Apparently there's a little (a teeny tiny microscopic) Susan Stamberg in me. Much, much more is in the works.

Technology has also led me to invest in a video camera so I can show you things like why we design bicycles the way we do. I'm looking forward to taking it to Maryland in a few weeks when we do the final preparation for the WIld Goose Chase. I'd like to share my thoughts on cycling apparel that really turns me on and the beauty of the area. Our video page will be up and running soon!

Stay tuned!

Georgena
talktous@terrybicycles.com
www.terrybicycles.com

(Image courtesy of DailyClipArt.net)

We had such good luck supporting conservation causes last year.

All the more reason to jump in the deep end this year.

Why do I want Terry Precision Bicycles to keep growing? So we can do more for the great outdoors.

Tailwinds,
Georgena
talktous@terrybicycles.com
www.terrybicycles.com

It seems our Wild Goose Chase ride has become an overnight hit. Within four days, we sold out the original 300 spots we planned on and hurriedly added 100 more for a total of 400. Add another 100 to that, riders on a waiting list whom we also hope to accommodate.

And still our phone is ringing off the hook with frustrated riders who didn't find out in time or who don't understand why we don't just let more people come.

Slow down! Let me explain. This is the first ride of this type we have ever organized. We want to make sure we do it properly. If it's a disorganized mess, we'll all look bad and no one will want to ride next year. (Yes, there will be a Wild Goose Chase next year.)

Consider our sponsors. They have generously donated product; first for 300 riders, now for 400 riders. It's not fair to them if we keep coming back for more. Generosity has its limits.

And last, but certainly not least, this ride is to benefit Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge. That's what it's all about. If unregistered riders come (and we can't stop them; these are public roads), there's no benefit to the Refuge and there's the possibility of making a lot of registered riders angry. Sure, there's always an exception to the rule. That's one thing; but just showing up when you know the ride's sold out is something else.

To each and every one of you who has registered or who is on a waiting list -- thank you! To those of you who didn't register in time -- my sincere apologies. I understand how frustrated you are. But please respect Blackwater and the 500 riders who are there to support Blackwater. I hope our ride will be larger next year and we can accommodate every person who wants to come. But for now, 500 riders is the reality of the situation.

Thanks for your understanding!

Tailwinds,
Georgena
talktous@terrybicycles.com
www.terrybicycles.com

Last June, I was sitting around with some friends from Gore Bike Wear™ and we were tossing out ideas for a project Terry and Gore could do together. In a serendipitous kind of way, we looked at each other and said "Blackwater!". Blackwater is a National Wildlife Refuge on the Eastern Shore of Maryland. Anyone who reads this blog knows I'm down there a lot to ride, to photograph products and scenery for our catalogs and to just relax. Our Gore friends often join us there. Easy for them, since they are based in Maryland.

Ideas started tumbling out. This would be a road ride for women. We would offer a variety of lengths. All the registration proceeds would go to the Friends of Blackwater. We would ask companies we work with to sponsor a goodie bag, rest stops and raffle items. Riders could try and buy Terry and Gore products and some of the profits from those sales could also go to the Friends. On and on it went. And so the Wild Goose Chase was born.

I knew for sure we were on to something when virtually every company we approached was thrilled to be associated with our event. To the tune of $30,000 in product donations for our riders, they made a commitment to help us preserve critical habitat and educate the public about the importance of Blackwater. As much fun as we intend to have riding, shopping and munching, this ride is about the importance of habitat. If we want open spaces in which we can ride, we need to preserve them. Of course, appreciation of habitat goes far beyond our needs as cyclists. Habitat is the essence of this precious biosphere that is our home. We are but one of the many species dependent upon it, something we all too often forget.

Come and ride with us! Our website has more information and a registration form.

Tailwinds,
Georgena
talktous@terrybicycles.com
www.terrybicycles.com

If you read this blog regularly, you know I skip work some mornings to go for a bike ride. The boss is setting a bad precedent....

I never come back from a bike ride without feeling it was a gift. This morning was no exception. I was enjoying a nice little tailwind as I rode up Lincoln Road. A little way up the road, I could see a bunch of people standing around. I figured it was probably a garage sale. But as I came closer, I saw they had binoculars and scopes. And since they weren't policemen, they could only be....birders!

I came to a stop, announced myself as a birder and asked what they were looking at. A rufous hummingbird, they said! This hummer is a west coast resident. Once in a while, he comes east, but usually southeast. Wow! Somehow he ended up in upstate New York and found a full hummingbird feeder.

So, I hung out with them for a while. They were nice enough to share a scope when the rufous went for the feeder, so I now have another bird to add to my life list.

Life is full of small gifts like this. And they're all the better when they happen on a bike ride!

Oh yeah -- the hummer in this drawing? It's a ruby-throated. But it's in the public domain!

Tailwinds,
Georgena
talktous@terrybicycles.com
www.terrybicycles.com

I first met Ric a few years ago. I'm terrible with names, but I always remember bikes, so Ric was "the guy on the brown Nishiki" to me for a couple of years. Then one fine Spring day, he turned up on a red Specialized and I didn't recognize him! But with the help of mnemonic devices, I now know he's Ric regardless of what bike he's riding.

Ric is also known to me as "Mr. Red Blood Cell". That's because he's a biochemist who is intimately familiar with machines that analyze human blood. Most of our rides this July were spent discussing the Tour de France. I learned things about blood, EPO and haematocrit that fascinated me. It fleshed out the Tour in a way I never thought possible, so to speak.

We have some incredible riding here. Lightly traveled roads, agreeable terrain and friendly drivers. How can you not want to ride on roads with names like "Sweets Corners" or "Cream Ridge"? I rode some of our routes today and took a few photos so Ric won't forget us. Well, it's not just for Ric. It's for me, too. Come January, I imagine these photos might be a source of comfort and a reason to get through winter.

Tailwinds,
Georgena
talktous@terrybicycles.com
www.terrybicycles.com

And what a morning! This time of year, the sun is just low enough to make the road look like a ribbon of light that urges my tires on. With no wind to compete, that quiet whish of rubber on road is the perfect backdrop to the honking of Canada Geese and the stop and go chattering of whirling flocks of Icterids perfecting their formations in advance of migration. Thanks for letting me join in your chorus, guys.

Back at home, sitting outside and enjoying a recovery drink, it occurred to me that my enjoyment of cycling is almost, well, primal; like it's been a part of me since before I could walk. Indeed, one of my earliest memories is of looking up at the sky while being pushed around in a baby carriage. I guess a bonding of wheels and movement took place then that's stayed with me ever since. Always moving, always under a big sky that I want to own, but never can. Some things are just better that way.

Tailwinds,
Georgena
talktous@terrybicycles.com
www.terrybicycles.com

Quantity, not quality. Oops. I slipped up again. Quality, not quantity. Sigh. Let's face it: quantity does matter. If only psychologically, it matters.

In the past several years, my mileage has hovered around 6000 miles a year. My best year was in 1988, when I rode 7754 miles. Round that off to 8000 and it sounds impressive.

So once the mileage bug bites, I inevitably haul out many years of mileage charts. Some are on sheets of graph paper, others are torn out from magazines. Lately I seem to have settled on an Excel-based format which I embellish with all kinds of memorabilia about a ride -- who I was with, whether the weather was a factor. And scribbled in the margins are records of bike maintenance. Good spreadsheet that it is, it constantly reminds me if I'm ahead of or behind my goals.

Typically, it's always the weather notes that stand out. Coldest, hottest, windiest. Here's one from a miserable spring: "rain usually one day of each weekend". How about this one: "rain, wind, tornado, t'storm". And I lived to tell about it. Amazing.

One of these days, I'm going to haul these mileage charts over to the bank and put them in my safe deposit box. They certainly qualify as irreplaceable valuable documents. Mileage rules!

Tailwinds,
Georgena
talktous@terrybicycles.com
www.terrybicycles.com

We used to make a mixte called "Trixie", but meeting the production minimums was tough. Abandoning Trixie wasn't an option. Those of you who want this kind of bike are few but vocal, so I began looking for alternatives.

I needed a good custom builder. Someone who embraced frame geometry; who wasn't just a one-off builder. A production shop with the flexibility to handle out of the ordinary projects. A shop that could paint a bike in any darn color our customer wanted. And could do it in weeks, not months. And wouldn't it be nice to work with an American company to boot!

Enter icon Richard Schwinn, who started Waterford Cycles in the factory where the infamous Schwinn Paramount bicycles were built. I first met Richard at a bicycle industry trade show in the early 1990's and we talked about the possibility of Schwinn doing some building for us. And now it looks like we've reached that point.

This photo gives you an idea of how the frame looks. We can equip the bike with any style handlebar you like and any component group. And certainly any Terry saddle -- had our art director not been on vacation, we would have done so on the photo!

If you're a candidate for such a bike, send me an email and Iet's talk about it.

Tailwinds,
Georgena
talktous@terrybicycles.com
www.terrybicycles.com

Four members of our Terry racing team just arrived at my house to go on a bike ride with me and I'm feeling a little panicky. I mean, they rode the Rochester Crit last night, so I know they can make mincemeat out of me within the first half mile, leaving me groveling and gasping to catch up with them on our 30 mile jaunt. How stupid I was to accept their offer to go for a ride. Drat!

Nonetheless, I've ridden a ten mile warm up prior to their arrival and I'm loaded for bear with every piece of nutrition magic I own -- gels, drinks and bars. I have my breathing down pat - three out, two in. Graeme Street's tips to make me a better rider are rolling around in my head. You think the team looks nervous before a race -- you should see me.

We're ready to ride. Five resounding snaps and we're in the pedals and off. A right turn out of my road and up the first teeny tiny little grade. I'm toast. Wait...I'm not toast. I'm actually hanging in this little group. Probably because they're chitty chatting away and just haven't noticed that we're moving at a snail's pace. Of course, that tailwind's not hurting us at all either. Gotta love the suction at the back of this pack.

In a blur of pink and green, the miles roll by. I'm starting to feel right at home, riding shoulder to shoulder and wheel to wheel. Yeah -- I can even steal a drink from my water bottle without taking out the pack. But the coolest part is the other cyclists we're seeing on the road on this perfect riding day. They're all giving us a wave and shouting out things like, "You rode a great race last night!". I hope the team is as proud of themselves as I am of them!

All too soon, our ride is over. It was a great chance for me to spend some good one-on-one time with each of them. Four very intelligent, very motivated women who are perfect ambassadors for the sport of cycling and for Terry Precision Bicycles. And...four women who are very, very nice to let me ride with them on a beautiful Sunday morning in June!

Tailwinds,
Georgena
talktous@terrybicycles.com
www.terrybicycles.com

Ever wonder what's going through that empty space between my two ears during a bike race?

I don't have to go to the bathroom anymore!

Thanks, Naomi! And to all of you on Team Terry -- I LOVE BIKE RACING, too! Here's Kerry sharing the joy of her teammate's win.

Tailwinds,
Georgena
talktous@terrybicycles.com
www.terrybicycles.com

Edward "Ted" "Teddy" King stopped by our office for lunch today. He rides on the Priority Health racing team and lives here in the "Hell of the North" between racing gigs to be with his lady. It was neat to hear about the Tours of California and Georgia from the rider's point of view. What was it like to ride with Tyler? What's the latest scoop on Floyd? You really rode a compact crankset up Brasstown Bald? And it was easy? Yeah, wouldn't that be nice?

Do you remember the old Pepsi ad on television - the one with the secretaries gazing out the window to get a glimpse of the shirtless workman? That's kind of what it's like when Teddy comes to visit. I'm not sure if it's the bike or the rider, but everything is first class. From the spotless Pinarello to the track stands in the parking lot, this is a guy who was born to ride a bicycle and sure looks good doing it.

"Vicarious thrills" sums it up. Looking like that on a bike, feeling like that. Knowing that when you think back on your life, you weren't afraid to put the same old, same old on hold to be a bike racer.

So, Edward "Ted" "Teddy" King, all of us at Terry wish you the best in your cycling career. We'll be watching your blog and reading VeloNews and Road to keep up with you and your team. Feel free to stop in whenever you're in town -- and ride a few miles for all of us!

Tailwinds,
Georgena
talktous@terrybicycles.com
www.terrybicycles.com