There are times when seemingly insignificant factors such as the overconsumption of coffee and water can help lead to a sea change of world view. My cycling world view. Such was the case today at the Ed Weiss memorial.

I found myself in the unanticipated role of Road Marshall, standing on the corner of Shepherd Canyon and Skyline, frantically waving to fast approaching cars and motorcycles to SLOW DOWN!!! because, unseen just around the next bend, were 100 milling bicyclists and pedestrians. The irony was so thick you could cut it with a knife. Here were all these roadies eulogizing a rider who was killed in the exact same spot they were standing in, while road racing motorcyclists were approaching the crowd at breakneck speed. The ride leader in me was freaking, so the only thing I could do was yell at oncoming drivers. Fred and Brian joined me which helped control things, but I had a bad feeling from all this. So much like a scene out of the mind of David Lynch.

I wanted to get away from there, and my top priority at that moment was the ache in my bladder, so I told the others I was going up the road to Skyline Gate to use the bathroom. It felt really good to ride away from all that, and in the short distance to the parking lot I felt myself again. As I turned left into the lot I saw a local riding legend standing there preparing to ride out, and I knew what I had to do.

The person I saw there was unmistakably the woman we call the Pink Lady. We’ve all seen her from time to time on the local hill routes. She has been seen ascending Mt. Diablo. And most recently some TA members commented that she was seen on the Death Ride. If you haven’t seen her, I will give you a description.

The first thing you see is a riot of pink. She rides a touring bike with front and rear pink panniers. (luggage bags) She wears a pink jersey and pink gloves. She has a pink helmet on her head and a stuffed moose is tied on her rear rack with a pink ribbon. I have a vague memory of her bike being pink, but today it was a dark blue machine. The whole package is just, well, over the top and because of this my preconceptions chalked her up to an eccentric. A crazy lady biker.

It was the recent Death Riders who were speculating about what she carries in those bags. Crumpled up newspapers were agreed to be the most likely item, filling out the bags for effect. I have to admit that was my conclusion as well. It would be far too heavy to actually fill the bags with usable items and ride around that way.

So I rode up to her with the ultimate goal of finding out what was in her bags. I gave her a cheerful greeting and explained to her that, she being a legend in my mind, I was curious to know more about her. She was very friendly, about a half century in age, with a sense of vigor I hadn’t picked up on in previous passings. I told her she had been seen on the Death Ride and she confirmed that. So I cut right to the chase and asked her what was in the bags. She looked me straight in the eyes and said bricks. I laughed and said something like… ya!.. sure…bricks! She smiled confidently and asked if I’d like to see one. I stopped laughing and in a sober fashion, I replied in a softened voice, “yes, please”. I could tell she was enjoying this. She offered that the pink color is a safety item meant to alert drivers to her presence on the road. Nothing to do with Flamingos or strange color fetishes.

She opened her rear pannier and pulled out a tan plastic grocery bag with something big in it. Inside was another plastic bag, and when she peeled that back I could see something incredible and hilarious: a pink painted brick! She handed it to me and I felt all the poundage of a real brick. NO WAY! Yes, her friends had painted up some bricks and gave them to her. I was reeling from this reality- my brain refused to accept this, but here it was. She told me few people had been shown the bricks. I asked if she carried bricks in the front too. She said no, she carries lead ankle weights up front. LEAD! Then there are all the usual items such as tools, extra clothing, food, and who knows what else.
Oh man, this was too much! So I had to ask her if I could lift her bike. I had to-to grasp the ultimate impact of what she was showing me . She readily agreed, and as I straddled my bike I grabbed her top bar and lifted up. Nothing. The wheels did not come off the ground. In disbelief, I gave a harder pull. Nothing! I could not lift her bike! I shook my head and muttered “this thing must weigh 100 pounds!” Pink Lady replied, “no, actually its more like 85 pounds.”
It was then that I had an epiphany. There should have been a golden shaft of light beaming down from heaven upon us. She was suddenly an Apostle, and I had found her- she waiting for me to ride up to her- and she had chosen to impart her Wisdom to me. As I looked on her I knew I admired her more than any other cyclist I know, for she is so outside the box of accepted cycling thought as to almost be a heretic. I knew in that moment that weight no longer matters. A few pounds here, some grams there, thousands spent on fabric and resin parts for a gossamer machine, it is all irrelevant. Weight is irrelevant. What is relevant is that we can create our own cycling realities, no matter how far-out they are, and live in them and prosper. It can be whatever we want it to be, as long as we do not succumb to fashion, fads, and marketing.

I asked her her real name and she replied Alison. As we shook hands, I offered that I was Jim from Team Alameda, and she stated in a playful way that she could tell from my kit, that it was a nice kit, and I looked dashing… wait a minute…my Flash senses were tingling… was she flirting with me? Oh Behave! Indeed, for the next thing she said was that the best thing about the Tour de France was the boys in their tight lycra! I had to smile, man she is a live wire!

I made a dash for the porta-can and when I came out she was gone, clean out of sight, replaced by the much less colorful graybeards Sweeps and Fred, who were looking around for me.

An impression has been made, indelibly. I see it all differently now. And my 50lb MASH army bike I so proudly ride around town? Turns out its only 38 lbs. I’m going to have lots of fun adding weight to this baby.

So long Pink Lady, you are a true cycling heavyweight…see you on the road.

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This entry was posted on Sunday, July 29th, 2007 at 8:17 pm and is filed under Cycling. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.