Interbike 2004?

I was thinking back to some of the experiences I've had during my time in the bike biz, and one of them having to do w/ Interbike, was bittersweet. I was scheduled to attend I-Bike 2004 when I received news that unfortunately I wouldn't. (long story, but good in the end). This was literally days before we were going to fly out for the festivities.

Other than the obvious loss of having a great time out in Vegas; there is more to the story. I had an invitation to the hottest party in town: the Sinclair party! I did a lot of work w/ Sinclair and the rep was nice enough to reward me w/ the coveted ticket. If you know anything about the event, it is like an Oscars (Grammys, MTV, whatever) afterparty! You get to party w/ the pros'! You've seen the pictures of Hincapie, Millar, Simoni, etc., all enjoying the end of their season in wonderful debaucherous fashion. To make it worse while speaking of Simoni, I was also invited to dinner w/ the Sinclair guys and their guests of honor were none other than Gilberto Simoni, and Damiano Cunego! We were all going to be sitting at the same damn table! If you also remember, that was the year that Cunego won the Giro ahead of a pissed-off Simoni, so I imagine that the suspense at the table would've been awesome!

How far I've fallen. Whatever, I wouldn't have been able to understand anything they said anyway. Plus I quit drinking in 2003, so an open bar wouldn't have done me any good. And, I had just gotten engaged, so there wouldn't have been any...I'll stop there.

I've got some other brushes w/ cycling fame that I hope I can remember.

Technorati Tags: cycling, Interbike, Sinclair

Interbike 2006

Bar none, my favorite memory and part of managing a bike shop was getting the opportunity to attend Interbike, International Bicycle Expo. Going there for the first time is like being a child all over again, and walking into a toy store for the first time! Your eyes get big, and all you can do is stare w/ your mouth wide open! It's friggin' huge! By the way, it's at the Sands Expo Center, in VEGAS BABY! Overload to say the least.

This is mostly the reason why I want to get this blog to a larger level. Of course I want to force, uhh, share my opinions w/ all of you out there, but I love product and I want to get my hands on the latest and greatest. Ultimately, I'm aiming to attend the show again, but this time as a member of the press. I still love this industry, and I know I still have a lot to give for my country!

As Cyclingnews and Pez stroll through the visual smorgasbord of the tradeshow, I'll provide some of my thoughts on the things they've shown. I know I'm reporting on a report, but it's a start. It's not much different than reporting on a live race that someone else is doing the color commentary on. If you haven't been paying attention, Eurobike, and the EICMA have already passed, and a ton of product has already been posted. I've seen some nice things, and I've seen some "what are they thinking" things as well.

As for Vegas, think about what it's like normally, then think about an entire city overrun w/ a bunch of crazy bike nuts from all over the world. It's a HUGE party. And cyclists love strip clubs. Vegas has the best!

Ummmm...strip clubs!

Technorati Tags: cycling, product reviews, Interbike 2006, Las Vegas

Cycleboredom changes

Since I have such a large readership, I felt it necessary to give everyone some firm footing as their favorite cycling portal undergoes cosmetic and content changes. By the way, I have no idea what those changes are, or when they're going to be, but that's what the fun is!

So as of today, I put up another header just to see what it would look like. I've been playing around w/ a ton of ideas on a graphic tone for the site, but I can't nail one down. Part of me feels that there really isn't a need. It's not my e-business, so I'm not going to alienate someone that is shopping here. Hell, it's still under Blogger, so it's technically not even mine yet!

Today it's red w/ a healthy dose of the 2.0 style that all the kids are into these days. Tomorrow, who knows? I have thought of something that may be fun, involving different stylesheets, but I'm not going to divulge that until I'm able to implement it. Rest assured though, things will be different more often than not.

As for the content changes, I don't think that I'm going to be posting much about my rides anymore. That may change when I go to Movable Type and create some categories, but the main page will be about racing, product, nutrition/training, and most likely doping. That doesn't sound much different than other blogs and news sites, but they don't have me. I'm going to start to cut loose here, and I'm probably going to piss some people off. I'm used to "shop talk", and I'm going to give you all a taste of it here. I'll have to dilute some of it for obvious reasons, but it's always in jest, for fun, and never meant to hurt. It's open season on everyone, so get ready!

Well mannered observations are not what I was known for...


Technorati Tags: cycling, cycling blog, product reviews, cycling news

2006 Cycling Worlds

All I have to say about Bettini winning the WC is that we don't have to hear all the whining that traditionally follows an Azzurri failure. Perhaps it's due to them actually caring, you really never hear any of the other countries bitching so much. I'd feel a little better about him winning if he wasn't talking shit about Boonen beforehand, but I guess crossing the line first is a good back up for that.

When I woke up this morning I had the feeling that given the course that Zabel would be up there in the end. It looked as though he hadn't poked his head out for the entire race, but damned if he wasn't contesting another freaking 2nd place!! My heart truly goes out to Erik. He's one of the few riders that actually races the ENTIRE year, and is competitive throughout. I though for sure that this was going to be the year; 4 man split and only Sanchez, Valverde, and Bettini to beat. Not that those are names that should be dismissed, but none of them are true sprinters.

I wish the race had the same luster it had in the past. Although w/ two top riders wearing the jersey we may have brought it up a notch. All respect to Oscar Freire (none to Vainsteins) but he really doesn't ride all year, so he doesn't show off the jersey too much. You need star riders showing all year to bring the force of the rainbow jersey back to prominence.

I still can't get over David Millar being there in the end as well. If he's truly clean, this is a great step for cycling.

Lastly, U23 winner Gerald Ciolek is a bad ass!

Oh, and then there's this:









Team USA all ready for great hydration using their Camelbacks... Who is the idiot that designed these jerseys? Why does team USA ALWAYS have the worst looking jerseys? Who cares if they're referencing TRON; as a cycling jersey it's hideous!!

Technorati Tags: cycling, cycling worlds, Paolo Bettini, Erik Zabel, Tom Boonen, David Millar, 2006 Cycling Road Championships

Images courtesy of Cyclingnews.com and VeloNews.com.

back from the team car.

highly remiss in my duties.
With all my talk about wanting to take this blog to the next level, I sure post like I don't. Anyway, it's the red-headed stepchild of the Grand Tours and I'm learning how to make the web a better place through CSS! Okay, very quickly...

-It's been a torrid past month for Discovery. Big George Hincapie lost the Eneco Tour in the last 100 meters being taken out by eventual winner Schumacher, then won the US Championships ahead of return Disco signee Levi Leipheimer, plus Max Van Heeswijk won a stage in the Tour of Poland, Janez Brajkovic wore the golden Vuelta jersey, T-Dan cracked, then came back and won a mountain stage ahead of the future golden man Alexander Vinokourov, Egoi Martinez won the KOM classification, and 25 (not really) people have decided to leave for different pastures. Oh, and some jerk-off named Frankie admitted using EPO during the '99 TDF while riding for Postal and Lance. Good job!

-Victorious Vino and the troubled Astana team are guaranteed at least a spot in one of the Grand Tours next year. Unfortunately, since the UCI and the Tours haven't started playing together yet, this doesn't guarantee them a ProTour license for the upcoming season. This after signing Andreas Kloden, and Paulo Salvoldelli (from Discovery) among others. They would be the greatest Continental team of all time!!! That sure would suck.

-Vino deserved the win more than most considering what he went through at T-Mobile. Alejandro Valverde also deserved it after breaking his collar-bone in the TDF, but it looks like he flat out didn't have it at the end. Hopefully a sign that there wasn't any doping making a mess and a mockery out of the GC results. Vino attacked like a true pro from yesteryear lighting the blue touch paper and throwing caution to the wind (thanks Phil and Paul!). Well taken.


Technorati Tags: cycling, Vuelta a Espana, Discovery Team, Vinokourov, Astana Team, Grand Tours, ProTour

former cool kid.

D-Mill as I call him when we're having a bit of a chat, got his non-lubricated blood across the line of a ProTour race first ahead of Fabian Cancellera (CSC) to complete his comeback from his 2 year ban for admitted EPO use. That was a right cracker of a TT ride for David Millar proving that (hopefully) you can win in the PT w/out using prohibited products.

I know this is a couple of days late, but I'm not the news. I always have liked "Millar Time" and it's good to see him come back successfully. We'll see if he can vindicate himself by winning the TT World Championship coming up. This was one of the reasons he decided to start using, so it'll be an interesting race. Good luck mate!

What a strange year.

Technorati Tags: cycling, David Millar, EPO, doping,

one of the cool kids.

[From Eurosport and Cyclingnews, who reads the NY Times?] Frankie Andreu and another rider have admitted to using EPO during the 1999 Tour de France. So the list grows:

1. Jan Ullrich couldn't beat him while using.
2. Ivan Basso couldn't, but was the only one who could hang.
3. Marco Pantani couldn't, before and after ear surgery.
   
4. Tyler Hamilton couldn't (Postal domestique).
5. Roberto Heras couldn't (Postal domestique).
6. Floyd Landis couldn't (Postal Domestique).
7. Frankie Andreu couldn't keep up w/out it (Postal domestique).

The circle of association is getting tighter. It's nice that my Technorati and del.icio.us tags related to cycling are weighted towards doping. You guys rule.


Technorati Tags: cycling, doping, cycling doping, doping in cycling, dope, dopers

pictures of trash.

It seems my need for a bike vacation and extra time spent learning CSS came together at the perfect time. My last ride sucked. Legs were trashed, no response, so time off for me. I think I ended up taking at least 9 days away from la bicicleta. By the end I was jonesing. Anyway, the rain was timed well, too; a pissed off Potomac spilled over its banks regurgitating our recyclables back on dry land (most of it on the Mt. Vernon trail). Damn this is one dirty river. Hopefully it'll all make it to a nice trash dump so it can sit there until our great... no, it'll still be there. Litter does everyone good. Bottom 2 pictures are from a previous drenching a couple of months ago. i just was too lazy to post them. Take a look.



































Yes, my camera phone sucks...
Technorati Tags: cycling, dirty river, Mt. Vernon trail, Potomac