DEAR BERTHA

From time to time, cyclists from all over the world write in to tap my vast knowledge of cycling and related (and often, not-so-related) topics. While I cannot guarantee that I will be able to answer all of the questions, I will definitely try to take a healthy stab at it.

Here’s our latest round of questions:

Dear Bertha – Was that really you in the 1968 issue of the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue? A.K – Ft Worth, Texas

Dear A.K. – Hard to believe, isn’t it?

Dear Bertha – What really happened to you last year as you cycled from Los Angeles, California to Honolulu, Hawaii? B.C. – Washington D.C.

Dear B.C. in D.C. – As you can imagine, I had packed quite a bit of gear and food for that trip because I noticed that there were not a lot of towns to stop at along the route. Anyway, I had to pretty much cancel my trip just a few miles west of Los Angeles because of… well, let’s just say that one of the valuable lessons I learned from that trip has to do with why some areas of the maps are colored blue.

Dear Bertha – What do they do with all of the fingertips that they cut off of regular gloves when making them into cycling gloves? A.H. – Dallas, Texas

Dear A.H. – That’s a good question… but I don’t know the answer.

So there you have it loyal readers – just a small sampling of the hundreds and hundreds of letters and emails I receive each month. If any of you have any perplexing cycling questions that you need to have cleared up, don’t hesitate to drop me a line – any time – day or night.

Once again, this is Bertha Ashtabula saying, “Enjoy the ride!”