U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry a Weight Weenie?

[HammerTime2]

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry a Weight Weenie? Who knew?

Le secrétaire américain d’Etat John Kerry, 71 ans, s’est cassé dimanche le fémur droit lors d’un accident de vélo à la frontière franco-suisse, et devait quitter dans la journée Genève pour les Etats-Unis, a annoncé le département d’Etat.

L’accident s’est produit vers 9h40 près de la commune de Scionzier, alors que le secrétaire d'Etat se préparait à partir en direction du col de la Colombière. John Kerry a été transporté par l'hélicoptère de la gendarmerie nationale jusqu'à l’hôpital universitaire de Genève où il est examiné.

Selon nos informations, John Kerry n’a pas perdu connaissance, conformément à ce qu'annonce le porte-parole du département d’Etat John Kirby. L'accident s'est produit au tout début du parcours, alors que le préfet de la Haute-Savoie, sa directrice de cabinet et le commandant du groupement de gendarmerie départementale étaient présents sur place.

"près de la commune de Scionzier" Does anyone know whether this would be the easy or the hard side of col de la Colombière he would have been on his way to go up?

Here is Kerry "off the front" near Lake Geneva back in March.



He reportedly brings his own bike with him when he travels on business on his Secretary of State plane. I don't know whether this is Dura Ace, Ultegra, or 105, but seriously, between the money he inherited and his wife's Ketchup fortune, he hasn't even made it to the 7900/6700 generation yet? Or maybe he just likes the smooth as butter shifting afforded by the older generation?

[LionelB]

It is the hard(er) side of la colombiere

[elSid]

Kerry is 71 years old and and a big dude - I'd bet that bike-fit is more important than weight. On the other hand, a Zipp wheelset and custom Serotta frameset are not exactly cheap nor heavy.

http://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/secretary-of-state-john-kerry-rides-his-bicycle-during-as-news-photo/466493388

Among the perks of having your own plane...no $200USD-each-way bicycle luggage fees!

[djm]

I think you can find a picture of one of his bikes in the Freaks thread.

That femur breakage sounds painful.. hope he heals. Breaking the femur can be very challenging once you are "old".

[HammerTime2]

elSid, thanks that's a much better picture of the bike and bike fit than the one in my post. Of course the picture in my post showed him dramatically off the front. (Actually, he is always surrounded by a huge security detail when he rides. As it turns out, there are quite a few people who hate the United States, and a U.S. Secretary of State makes for an attractive target.)



On an interesting side note, we now have evidence that you don't have to be a 50+ year old dentist, lawyer, doctor, or investment banker in order to buy and ride a Serotta (before it went out of business). U.S. Senator, which he was when the bike was purchased, also qualifies. And as Secretary of State, he is allowed to keep and continue to ride the Serotta he bought as a Senator.

Garmin is an interesting choice. Not a Rapha man, I guess. Frankly, I wonder how he gets by without a Rapha jersey listing key figures on Rapha-worthy Pyrenéan cols. O.k., I think I figured it out. Being a diplomat, he has a lot of meetings in or near the Alps, but relatively few soirées in the Pyrénées, and I guess the Alps aren't as retro-hip as the Pyrénées so as to be worthy of a Rapha jersey.




Oh my god, I just noticed his seat stays are starting to give way under his not inconsiderable weight - either that, or Ben hired the same drunk that Giovanni did, except may be wasn't quite as drunk, because the seat stays only curve in one direction, instead of completing a "round-trip" squiggle.

[fromtrektocolnago]

kerry's on a serrota, a bike known for fit and comfort. it's not a weight weenie bike by any stretch. kerry is a fairly avid cyclist and he's done many of the famous climbs. i see him as a good role model for cyclists doing it into his 70's. on a lesser note, i was a little surprised to see zip wheels, with that bike and his money, i would have expected to see Enve, Lightweight or perhaps something done by a custom bike builder.

[53x12]

^ Enve? They are in the same class as Zipp. LW a are in a different class. I actually prefer my Zipp wheels over my Enve.

[otoman]

Those Zipps look old enough to predate Enve or whatever it was called before the name change. Gotta hand it to the guy for just riding his damn bike. He got a top notch frame (for an old rich guy) with solid spec, and just keeps riding it. I'd ride tubulars too on training rides if I had Head of State level security detail riding with me!

[glepore]

Took a tumble in Zurich yesterday and broke his leg near his hip replacement...

[jo.k]

+1 to everything otoman said. Hope he makes a speedy recovery.

I'd say bike fit, kit and gear looks great for a guy his age.

[jeffy]

retrogrouch, or just happy old man not chasing marginal gains (perhaps hr has other things on his mind).

hope for speedy recovery.

[nismosr]

Those Zipps look old enough to predate Enve

They look like Firecrest Carbon Clinchers -

[uraqt]

I think all the pix are a year old, but I would guess that his not chasing the next new thing and it is his current set up. Unless it was seriously damaged in the crash.

I would bet that he rides what is comfy and works for him, from all the pix I have seen

C

[Roel W]

He's a member of the gumwall club.

Who's riding next to him? That Cervelo is as big as the Serotta and also has the old Dura Ace and Zipp wheels on it.
Seem like his domestique, ready to hand over his bike in case of something happens.

[CBJ]

Maybe he is just much smarter than us and don't focus so much on his bike and is a little busy trying to avoid more nuclear weapons in world.

Always suck to hear a fellow rider go down especially an older man who will for sure have a harder time healing up and getting back on the bike. Big guy like that needs some dics brakes so he can stop quicker.