Author Archives: Gary Boulanger
L’Etape du Tour: Savoring the Moment
Words & Photos || Gary J Boulanger With 11,475 riders toeing the line to celebrate the 20th anniversary of L’Etape on July 8, the nine of us had our work cut out in the days leading up to the Big … Continue reading
L’Etape du Tour: The Journey
Words & Photos || Gary J Boulanger Pedaling a bicycle through the French countryside, I found, is on the short list of many friends who ride. Participating in the popular L’Etape du Tour ranks highly on this list, and it … Continue reading
5 Reasons Why He Was Hiram Hutchinson And You Couldn’t Have Been
Words || Gary J Boulanger In 1852, Americans Charles Goodyear and Hiram Hutchinson met. Goodyear had developed and patented a process called vulcanization, which cures rubber. Hutchinson purchased the patent and applied it to the manufacture of rubber boots for … Continue reading
5 Reasons Why He Was Henri Desgrange And You Couldn’t Have Been
Words || Gary J Boulanger Tour de France founder Henri Desgrange was a stubborn old cuss who didn’t suffer fools gladly, and carved a sporting event into infamy out of the same granite resolve he wielded on riders, team managers, … Continue reading
L’Etape du Tour: Prologue
On July 3, Paved contributor Gary Boulanger gets on a plane bound for Annecy, France, where he’ll ride his first L’Etape du Tour. Filing travelogue reports throughout his adventure, he’ll chronicle his experience to shed light on what it takes … Continue reading
Finding Tommy Boy
Words & Photos || Gary J Boulanger Listening to the Dave Brubeck Quartet’s ‘Jazz at Oberlin’ while eating a chicken wrap on Air Canada flight 758 to Toronto, it strikes me that I’ve somehow become a bit cultured since relocating … Continue reading
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5 Reasons Why He’s Justin Spinelli and You’re Not
Words || Gary J Boulanger On a recent road ride in the Santa Cruz Mountains with my friend Anthony Mangieri, I noticed a unique glint off the rear Royce hub of his new wheelset, built by Luxe Wheelworks in Boston. … Continue reading
5 Reasons Why He’s John Vande Velde And You’re Not
Words || Gary J Boulanger The bicycle-racing blood runs deep in Chicago native John Vande Velde’s family. It was his destiny, he explained, to become a bike racer because his father, uncle and brother raced. Vande Velde’s grandfather immigrated to … Continue reading
Pampered: NICA Gran Corsa in Healdsburg, CA
Words: Gary J Boulanger || Photos: Jon Suzuki Due to scheduling conflicts, neither Bob Roll nor Chris Carmichael could join our peloton in Healdsburg, California on May 20, and a busted collarbone kept Garmin-Sharp pro Dave Zabriskie from some rolling … Continue reading
5 Reasons Why He’s Dave Stohler And You’re Not
Words || Gary J Boulanger To many, Gino Bartali, Fausto Coppi, Felice Gimondi, Francesco Moser, Dave Stohler, Gianni Bugno, Ivan Basso and Vincenzo Nibali are all famous Italian cyclists from the 1940s to present day, elevated to legendary status based … Continue reading
