cycleboredom

Postal/Disco: This is your life!

2006-12-10T11:32:00.001-05:00

Doesn't play well w/ others
Don't get me wrong; I love my American based team as much as the next full-kit wearing lunatic, but this is getting out of control. [ed.note-I don't have the ugly ass Disco kit though!] It seems as though we've been excluded from the gentleman's club known as the International Professional Cycling Teams (IPCT). I'm too tired to get into all the politics regarding this, but my initial reaction is that it's going to kill cycling in the States. We were all ready to go to bat for the cancer-miracle from Texas, but no one is going to back one of the Euro poster boys of Operación Puerto. While we were making a hero out of Floyd the invalid Mennonite during the '06 Tour, we were cataloging Ivan Basso and Jan Ullrich as the scourges of the peloton. Technically the only reason that Basso is allowed to ride is that he can't be made to provide a DNA sample in order to determine if the OP blood bag is his or not. DNA testing is a little more accurate than the EPO test now in effect. So that basically says he's guilty...of bad judgment. Sorry, didn't want to get the litigators after me.

Now we wait for the stupidity of Disco to truly show through by fighting this in a "legal" process.

Legacy of Dopality
It's scary to look back through the years of Postal and Discovery seeing all the proven and alleged doping stories. The biggest are obviously all those concerning Lance. How many times have we accepted the "I've never tested positive..." proclamation over the years, never truly questioning the semantics of that statement. Also, are you saying that every lab that has tested his samples has gotten it wrong when they came up positive, but got it right when they're negative? Think back to famous quote during the '99 Tour as he was exiting doping control, "...it was a simple case of skin cream..." In light of the recent case regarding those retested samples it takes on a completely different tone.

Next is Tyler. He's back in Europe riding for Tinkoff Credit Systems. What a douche.

Floyd is still in full denial mode. We're still in "there's got to be a reason" grassy-knoll mode.

Don't forget about Roberto! Heras still is claiming innocence to this day.

Frankie Andreu admitted EPO usage, as well as another unnamed rider.

So a large number of our biggest riders have been implicated or tested positive in doping cases. This is a far cry from the halcyon days of yore when we were knee deep in Tour mania. Heh, I said halcyon! I still don't know where my vocabulary has come from; I haven't read a book in years!

Oh, I almost forgot, Basso was surprised tested by WADA while attending the Disco training camp in Austin. Levi and some others were tested, but it was interesting to note that they're implementing a new test for HGH (Human Growth Hormone.)

Technorati Tags: cycling, doping, Ivan Basso, Operación Puerto, Discovery Team, Pro Tour, douchebags

U.S. Cycling taste so bad!

2006-11-15T18:29:00.001-05:00

Floyd Files

Can this crap get any more bizarre? If Floyd has anything to do w/ the hacking other than having an idiot friend who thought they were doing him a favor, he needs to be put out of his misery. All this is pissing me off. Why are our athletes continuously putting themselves in positions that aren't explainable. I don't see Jens Voigt having to deny charges. You don't see Thor claiming that a French lab sucks and has his wannabe hacker friend muck things up further. You don't see it because they're not putting things into their bodies that produce positive test results.

Did you notice how fat he is now?

A Basso in Discovery clothes
Once again I have to say that I'm both excited and repulsed by our new Disco signing. I really wish things weren't as screwed as they are right now, so we could just enjoy having a rider of this caliber join our team.

I know ~~Graham Watson~~ CorVos is just doing his job, but knowing his feelings about the state of the sport he's got to be a little sick. This seems more like a tabloid shot rather than what it should be. (Graham was there shooting as well.)

And now for something completely different...
What the hell is going on here? No wonder people think cyclists are strange. I met Fracesco Moser at Interbike never expecting to see the former Giro champion in his Euro skivvies. Now we know he's putting in the miles by his fantastic riding tan! Maybe he and Eddie are training to put together a super team of ex-pros to take on the new drugless peloton. Perhaps we all have a chance now!

Technorati Tags: cycling, doping, Floyd Landis, Ivan Basso, Discovery Channel

Images courtesy of PezCyclingNews.com

Basso to Disco!

2006-11-12T10:08:00.001-05:00

Not the same as before.

It feels a little dirty now, and I don't know if all of the ramifications have been thought out. It would've been nice to have signed Ivan last year when he was on the market, then again, it would've been us going through that crapstorm.

I can't help think about Levi; they sign him w/ the intentions of him being an American grand tour leader, and now we sign a foreign rider under drug suspicion. That can't do anyone any good to their morale.

Anyway, he's signed so now we wait and see how the legal things turn out. Hopefully this will be a nice little story, and Discovery comes out smelling like roses, but I'm not holding my breath. This is going to be a turbulent off season.

Technorati Tags: cycling, Discovery Team, Ivan Basso, doping

Party's over.

2006-10-30T20:33:00.001-05:00

End of season blues.
The teamcars are parked, the busses have been mothballed, the espresso machines cleaned, and the blood has been stacked in the refrigerators. Part of my reason for not posting is the end of season blues, but in addition to the ridiculous amount of time I've spent on my website, I've also acquired quite a hangover from all the crap we've had to endure this year. In fact, I'm not going to get into any of it. I just can't wait for the training camps, and whether or not we're (Discovery) is going to hire Ivan Basso.

I promise that I'll get to some product reviews and opinions. I also promise I'll migrate this to my Media Temple/ Movable Type account as well, but I've got a ton on my web plate, and this is not a top priority for movement.

Technorati Tags: cycling

Fall riding gear guide

2006-10-09T21:21:00.000-05:00

Ahh, Fall; leaves are changing and there's...
Any good article that deals w/ the changing seasons of summer into fall typically says something about there being "a chill in the air". I've always hated that description simply because everyone uses it. Funny enough, here I am trying to write something about the change in the weather, and all I can think of is the damn chillin' air!

The best thing about this time of the year is the riding gear. The worst thing about it is: putting it all on before going out! The main thing to remember about outdoor clothing is layers. This is the same for cycling. Summer you simply throw on some spandex and you're out the door. Fall and winter involve so much more; it's about building a system.

Base layer.
You can benefit from a light, mesh base during the summer, but psychologically it feels too hot to me. During the fall it's a necessity. The idea is that you're creating an area directly on the skin that is as dry as it can be. The material wicks the sweat from the skin so you're dry, and you're able to naturally regulate your body temperature. Something like cotton soaks up the sweat essentially becoming a sponge. Then you have cold sweat directly on the skin keeping your core temperature down as well as preventing the skin from breathing. This gets worse the colder it is outside. Worse case scenario, you can bring on hypothermia prematurely.

I've been using a bunch of different brands that all have different fabrics, which (go figure) all do different things. Typically a cycling base is a tank-top but most companies offer a t-shirt version as well. I like the tank because it doesn't bunch up in the sleeves when you put the jersey on. Plus you can start using it for warmer transitional weather. Here's who I've been using, and what looks good:

Pearl Izumi- Most shops carry PI. They use a broader, open knit that has less surface contact. Some might say that is better for summer, but there's also an argument that the spaces allow for more heat to be trapped. (men/women)
Defeet Un-D-Shurt- Very fine weave. Feels super soft, and does the job whether hot or cold. (men+women)
Under Armor- Surprised how well this works. Closer to a jersey weave, and definitely fits tight to the body. You can feel the perspiration on the outside of the material. (men/women)
Craft- Swedish made goodness. I've been using their windblocking baselayers too; the WS brief is hot! They've added Gore this year for their WindStopper material. (men+women)

Warmers.
The first thing most riders reach for when the temp dips are warmers. No brainer. In fact, it's such a no brainer that I'm not going to spend too much time on them. You'll find your favorites. What I will spend some time on are the specialized versions. I'm talking about the windblockers, and the woolies.

Campagnolo- Textran arm/leg warmers (and everything else). Feel weird as hell on the skin, but they're windproof, and waterproof and they're Campy! I usually break these out when it's truly getting down there (your temp will vary) and I run 'em over my Giordana arm warmers that are super thin. They have a ton of product to wade through.
Salsa- Wool arm/knee warmers. 100% Merino Wool (the best, not itchy!) regulates your temperature better than any man-made fabric. Keeps you warm when it's cold, and cool when it's warm. Plus wool has the capability to absorb 30% of its weight in moisture before you feel it! High-tech sheep.
Rapha- Sportwool armwarmers. Uber-cool low key cycling wear w/ an emphasis on the good wool. Hella expensive and hella cool. Makes it a bargin doesn't it? Check out the rest of their site, you'll love the retro attitude that exudes from these guys.
Capo- Capoforma Retro Warmers. More Euro-cool products brought to you by the guys at the Upland Sports Group.

Like I said, you'll find your favorites and what works for you, but these are some tried and true examples of cool/cold weather gear. I'll have some examples of shoe covers, socks, gloves, etc. before it gets too cold out there. Remember, there's no reason not to ride in the winter!

Technorati Tags: cycling gear, products, cold weather gear, warmers, base layers

Interbike 2004?

2006-09-30T08:27:00.000-05:00

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

2006-09-28T23:58:00.000-05:00

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

2006-09-27T15:27:00.000-05:00

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

2006-09-24T12:43:00.000-05:00

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.

2006-09-18T16:06:00.000-05:00

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.

2006-09-12T10:33:00.000-05:00

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.

2006-09-12T10:05:00.000-05:00

[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:

Jan Ullrich couldn't beat him while using.
Ivan Basso couldn't, but was the only one who could hang.
Marco Pantani couldn't, before and after ear surgery.
Tyler Hamilton couldn't (Postal domestique).
Roberto Heras couldn't (Postal domestique).
Floyd Landis couldn't (Postal Domestique).
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.

2006-09-07T20:35:00.000-05:00

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

Zabel So Nice!

2006-08-30T11:16:00.000-05:00

The "Nearly Man" finally is the man again!
Erik Zabel (Milram) stole the thunder from Thor Hushovd (Credit Agricole) during the sprint for Stage 4 in La Vuelta A España. Sorry for the Cyclingnews type copy there. Or, I could've said: ...stole Thor's thunder, vanquishing Hushovd in the dash for the line of...; I think I'll stay w/ these!

Erik has been "suffering" from a string of 11 second and 12 third places in races this year. I'd love to suffer that much riding in the classics and grand tours- ALL YEAR! He rides from the beginning to the end and is competitive all the time. You can say that there isn't much competition, but that's the point. Robbie McEwen (Davitamon-Lotto) is suffering from some fatigue, and Alessandro Petacchi (Milram) is coming back from a nasty broken knee. Erik has the form to race all year, and rarely gets hurt; all elements of successful racing. You have to be aware at all times during stages as well as the sprints while adding a little bit of luck to avoid the wrecks. Anyway, good on ya mate!

The problem I'm having though is that I found out how old he is: 36! Phil Liggett calls him a "grand old man of the peloton", and I'm turning 35 in December! WTF?! I thought for some reason he was older than that; perhaps as old as Viatcheslav Ekimov (Discovery) who was born in the 50's I think! [ed.note- 1966!] Should I take the stance that you can be competitive in your late 30's, or that in your late 30's you're considered a grand old man... whatever Phil. You've been covering the Tour almost as long as I've been alive!

Technorati Tags: cycling, Vuelta a España, Erik Zabel, Phil Liggett,

Images courtesy of Cyclingnews.com and PezCyclingNews.com.

inspired season=doping.

2006-08-25T19:14:00.000-05:00

Word on the strizzle is that the Lion King got his roar from Señor Fuentes during his swan song 2002 season. The code name of "Pavarotti" has shown up in some documents from Operation Puerto, and the Italian media sez it's Mario Cipollini. Mario of course denies this, but unfortunately that's as good as being guilty now. You should just admit it immediately then we'll like you for being a strong stand-up guy. This is sick.

I'll probably be more pissed about this than I was w/ Landis. He was bike racing in the late 90's as it should be. Fun, exciting, unpredictable, and a fashion show. He made Briko the king of glasses and helmets during the height of his reign. So I hope this turns out to be nothing more than speculation.

Then again, that means that Fred Rodriguez won Milan-San Remo and Ghent-Wevelgem that year, as he came in second twice to the Tuscan Raider. Fast Freddy really was fast!

No more doping, please.

Technorati Tags: cycling, doping, Mario Cipollini, Fred Rodriguez, Operation Puerto, Fuentes

Images courtesy of Cyclingnews.com.

I will break myself! (russian accent)

2006-08-23T22:28:00.000-05:00

My new favorite thing. I've been avoiding doing any type repeat/interval training that has anaerobic and climbing in its direction. I'm not sure why, but that's been the case for most of this season. I used to love looking for hills to kill myself on, but not lately.

That changed a couple of weeks ago when I added a new loop to my ride. It is a continuous rolling drag that keeps going up. It has a nice kicker at the end where I can hit close to my max and blow myself out on. This is great for working on increasing your Vo2 rating.

I haven't felt super strong lately but that's only for hard efforts. I did a 3 hour non-caloric intake ride that didn't phase me at all. I usually feel it at the end, but I was strong all the way through. Granted I spend the ride in upper zone 2 and lower zone 3, but like I said, I didn't feel it. So I'm guessing the base is there. Just in time for fall. It's all for fun anyway.

The ride shown is just a portion of the data. I was too hammered to put any effort in afterwards.

Technorati Tags: cycling, cycling training, HRM training, interval training, zone training, HR data

George can't get a break.

2006-08-23T10:06:00.000-05:00

Eneco Tour of Benelux just finished w/ George Hincapie's (Discovery Channel) wheel being taken out by Stefan Schumacher (Gerolsteiner) during the sprint. When Stefan crossed the line in 3rd he took the time bonus to pass George in GC. WTF?! What is it going to take for him to catch a break? He finally won a time trail after getting 2nd in 4 previous times. But this is tragic. He was w/in 100 feet from the line. I'm sitting here waiting for the decision from the judges. I agree w/ Brian of Cycling.TV that the rule book should be followed: Schumacher left his line during the sprint and should be relegated to the rear of the bunch.

The decision seems to be decided that Schumacher has won by 1 second.

This has been a strange season for George, especially after his fall in Paris-Roubaix. On another note, Phillippe Gilbert (winner of the stage) is a BEAST! He was dancing around on his pedals on the final climbs showing himself a little to much in my opinion, but powered off for another magnificent breakaway win. It's nice to see the young talent winning w/ panache. Vincenzo Nibali (Liquigas) was another young guy that is really showing some promise.

They gave it to Schumacher. To his credit it looks like he doesn't want the win at all. There's a shot of George riding away down the course by himself. He covered every move w/ ease, and this is how it ends. Sorry George.

Technorati Tags: cycling, Eneco Tour of Benelux, George Hincapie, ProTour, cycle racing, Cycling.TV

Image courtesy of Cyclingnews.com

Ben-Hur ain't got nothin' on ME!

2006-08-22T18:05:00.000-05:00

Van Gilder gets all Roman on Tina Pic going into the final turn at Downers Grove.
Amazingly nothing was broken!

Technorati Tags: cycling, Tina Pic, Laura Van Gilder, Downers Grove

Images courtesy of Cyclingnews.com

back from the team car...

2006-08-19T09:00:00.000-05:00

Lost contact w/ the grupetto on that last Col so I hitched on to my team car to get me over. Though at one point I was playing to the crowd doing my best "Mayo"; hopping off my bike and walking up the mountain "suffering" from bad morale. Needless to say the Basque didn't appreciate it and I paid the price by riding the rest of the stage smelling of hot cerveza! Hopefully I don't have any doping controls at the finish!

I've been writing some posts, but I haven't finished any of them. You know, because of all the doping talk. I've been in such a funk. That's disgusting just to write! I did start a post on Boonen winning the sprint in the Eneco Tour because he started a program of EPO. That didn't go anywhere. I couldn't get any humor out of it. You know, because of my dope funk. I do have some observations of the dope fallout and that's half finished, and I should have that soon. You know, because I'm funky dope.

Watching the Eneco Tour of Benelux now on Cycling.TV. What, you aren't? Me so sorry. Right now I'm streaming over a meg and a half so the image looks great. One thing I've been fascinated w/ is all the traffic "furniture" that Belgium/Holland throws onto the roads there. When you're rolling in a group that size at that speed, that crap can be devastating. I'm amazed that there hasn't been more crashes. It makes for good TV though.

If you've been avoiding reading any cycling results you should check out what Jens Voigt has been doing since the Tour. 7 wins in 12 days! He took 3 stages and the overall at the Tour of Germany. This guy ain't on the juice so it's great to see one of the nice guys of the peleton get some results.

Technorati Tags: cycling, Tour of Belgium, Tour of Germany, Tom Boonen, Jens Voigt, doping

wow, what a week!

2006-08-09T19:55:00.000-05:00

and it's only Wednesday!
I started the week off riding on Monday. I set up my fixed gear for road training again, or at least circuit training down at the Point. I'm going no brakes, and no levers so it looks like a madison bike. Pictures soon to follow. Anyway, I had an okay ride considering I was fine tuning the position again as well as getting used to riding Look pedals and cleats again. Now I remember why I switched! I'm sure the new versions are much better, but my 296's suck ass now compared to my Times. Happy days, I did some light spinning w/out really any pressure. My big ride was set for Tuesday.

I get out the door Tuesday morning all set for 60+ miles in the saddle. About 10 miles out, I sense something is 'amiss' and I begin checking over my bike as I'm pedaling. I notice that the rear wheel is a little out of true so I stop to check it out. No, it's actually a SOFT TACO!! As I spin it I see it dive to the far right striking the brake pads! That's not good. I've had damaged rims before so I wasn't panicking just yet. I altered the seating of the axle so it would avoid hitting the stays (carbon) if it started to get worse. Well a mile down the road, it did. I had to go over a wooden bridge that's not the smoothest and by the other side, my tire was mating w/ the carbon in my chainstay. It had already worn through the paint and was starting to make a divot in the frame! I still didn't panic as I thought I could do something to make this work. I found the offending spoke, but I found it not connected to anything! The rim had disintegrated and pieces were falling into my hand as I played w/ it.

So here I am, full Hammer Nutrition kit, and $275 Shimano shoes walking my bike down the path. Since the wheel couldn't be altered to not hit the frame, I had to carry the back of the bike. I'm so happy now. Long story short, my wonderful, beautiful, forgiving wife left class to come and rescue me!

Now I'm looking at 2 top end wheelsets, a Bontrager Race X Lite Aero, and a Mavic Ksyrium SSL that have destroyed rear wheels. I'm going to attempt to warranty them simply because I don't see why I should have to pay anything due to what I feel is a manufacturing defect. We'll see if they see it that way, and then I'll make my choice of what wheel company I go w/ in the future based of the outcome. Oh, to add to this, my Mavic Ksyrium Elite rear wheel was wobbling before I even left for my ride today! Me so happy for me.

No more wheel stuff until I decisions are made.

My ride today was great but started off shaky. Riding the Tufos, I like to have redundant backup by carrying a folding tire and tube, but in line w/ the rest of the week. I did a bunch of repeats trying to bury myself, and I was successful. I'm trashed. I have those randomly pulsing muscles all over my legs too. Weeeeee! It was worth it.

Technorati Tags: cycling, training, Bontrager, Mavic

who'da known?

2006-08-07T22:43:00.000-05:00

This could be filed under tech and design, but since this is Blogger, and not Wordpress, I got no catagories. So I'll go w/ what sparked the need to fill the web w/ more useless bandwidth hogging.

I was playing follow the links starting after watching DiggNation's #51 podcast (I know I'm behind). They were showing the new features of Digg 3.0. During Kevin's address they showed the new Digg Labs analyzation tools which were developed w/ their partners Stamen Design. I'm intrested in design, so I looked them up. They've done quite a bit, most notably (for me) the Macromedia MX Suite rollout! I liked the design of the icons all the way to the load screens. I don't like the new version; back to boring. But this is a cycling blog, so I obviously found something they did relating to cycling. They designed and impletmented (w/ others) the interface for the official Amgen Tour of California site. This thing is hot! I wish we could've had that for the Tour.

Technorati Tags: cycling, design, Digg.com, Stamen Design, Tour of California

yeah, you're a winner.

2006-08-05T08:31:00.000-05:00

whatever.

Technorati Tags: cycling, Tour De France, doping, Floyd Landis, Richard Head

Image courtesy of AFP.

close the door, I'm waxing my philosophocles!

2006-08-04T17:45:00.000-05:00

I don't know if you're going to get that title.

So w/ the incoming poo-storm that is going to ramp up this weekend w/ the 'B' sample de Landis, it's not hard to continue on our collective downward morale when it comes to cycling. But I've been thinking that truthfully it doesn't matter at least to me since I'm connected to this sport, this lifestyle by more than the trials and tribulations of its stars. Simply put I love cycling because I do it. I'm sure that sentiment is shared by a large number of you as well. How pathetically self-righteous can you be to say that you're never going to follow the sport again, canceling your mag subscripts, deleting your bookmarks, and avoiding it while it's on TV? I read that in either Cycle Sport's or Procycling's letters, or on VeloNews.com. You've basically condemned the rest of the peloton as dopers, and you've revealed that something is drastically missing in your life that you've been searching for in the pro peloton. What a douche.

Screw the morale, do some intervals, show some gain in form and look for the next dough-eyed espoir that hasn't had his pelotonal cherry popped yet attending the annual Jalabert Bros. 'pot belge' party. Also look for some of the other good stories from the Tour:

Millar Time Again!

He may not have won the Prologue like he said he would, but you gotta give David Millar props for simply finishing the damn race! Banned for 2 years for admitting the use of EPO he didn't see a single day of racing until his sentence ended a week before the Tour started. He actually got stronger towards the end putting in a storming TT placing 11th! He ended up 59th in the final GC out of 139 that were racing before the Tour (and probably taking drugs...).

Tricky Dick
Although he's retired, Richard Virenque is another reformed doper who came back proving that you can race at the highest level and win. I just finished watching him take Ventoux

(2002) ahead of a charging Armstrong giving the same one arm/one finger salute he'd give during his cocky doping years. He wasn't super, but he was first. By the way, Armstrong put in the record time of 58 minutes for the climb although that was soundly beaten by Mayo 2 years later in the Dauphine. Remember that the previous record was held by none other than Marco Pantani in 2000, who was doping... But I digress.

Aussie Oi!
Cadel Evans will be the first Aussie on the podium. He's still gots lots to work on, but his win in Romandie shows he can roll 'wit the boys. He'll do it though. Oi!

Levi, Levi, he's our man!
If you feel like Levi cracks too much, then you didn't see him ride the field off his wheel this year in the Dauphine. Muy Macho! He may have a case of the bitches every once in awhile, but signing w/ Discovery and teaming up w/ a true Tour team plus the man himself Johan Bruyneel, he will stand tall on the Champs. Plus his wife is hot. Her name is Odessa Gunn. Dude.

Although the French desperately long for a return to glory in their own race, they do have a great way of looking at the race and the riders. They flat out appreciate the domestique, the underdog, and the anti-star. Look at Francoise Simon in 2001, and T-Voeck from the '04 Tour. They went from who, to front page stars during their respective days in yellow. Watch the fans that aren't clad in orange applaud every rider as they struggle up the mountain all the way back to the autobus. They know they work hard and the star wouldn't be winning the stage w/out them. Americans don't consider you unless you've won something repeatedly; especially if it's a fringe sport.

Pick a winner bruther!

Technorati Tags: cycling, Tour De France, Richard Virenque, philosophocles

Images courtesy of Cyclingnews.com, I think.

some shizzle.

2006-08-03T08:43:00.000-05:00

-I hate recumbents. Also, I generally dislike those who pilot the hateful contraptions, known as recumbanteers. I hated when they came into the shop since most of them had mightier than thou attitudes, and I hate seeing them on the paths as they typically look at me like I'm the shit of the earth. Something like I'm obviously going way to fast and I'm suddenly going to flip out and crash right into them. Most of them go WAY to f-ing fast themselves w/ little or no handling skills to speak of. This is precisely why they get a recumbent; they can put their feet down in a panic. Unfortunately they're the ones riding like idiots. Let me say this: I can handle a bike very well, and a recumbent to me is dangerously unwieldy.

If you have back problems, cool. This is your only option. Just don't look at me like I'm going to kill you. I have to say I love the hand-crankers; anyone that no longer has the use of their legs and still has the jones to ride go for it. You get props for doing it all w/ your arms! That's bad ass!

-What was up w/ the dude wearing black tights on his ride home in today's 106' weather? What an ass.

-I love heat index warning days since no one is on the bike path!

-I tried something new today on my way home. I tried the Euro-pro trick of downing some soda before a big effort. Aside from burping the carbonation, I felt like a superman for the rest of the ride. My biggest worry was its high glycemic index not allowing it to absorb as fast as a gel or hydro drink would. It did great, and I felt great! Who knew?

-I was more a tourist today than anything. I brought my real camera along. I will share some shots w/ you. You will love them.

The first one is of the new Wilson Bridge spanning between MD and VA. I'm under the new section which is in use, while the next section is still being constructed. The drawbridge to the far left is the old Wilson Bridge which is being deconstructed now that one span is open.

This is what is left of the old bridge.

Technorati Tags: cycling, recumbents, idiots

it came from beyond...

2006-08-01T14:15:00.000-05:00

Inside sources at the testing lab say that some of the testosterone in Floyd's sample were synthetic and from an outside source. Maybe he was playing basketball w/ Justin Gatlin and drank the wrong waterbottle, or was playing "D" a little too close sharing a little man sweat together. You can't trust anyone these days.

What a couple of bitches.

Technorati Tags: cycling, Floyd Landis, doping

what kind of saddle are you riding?

2006-07-30T16:23:00.000-05:00

Playing a little follow the links I've found some hilarious cycling related internettin'. By far the funniest is Dave Zabriskie's podcasts. He doesn't post frequently but when he does the wait is sweet. The last one takes on some beat style prose recalling his experience in the EuroPuerto. Before that was a conversation w/ Tom Boonen on where cyclists go when they die. His voice is dreamy. I like DZ.

From there I clicked on MissingSaddle. They host DZ nutscast as well as a bunch of other pro rider's blogs. What kept me crying though are the video interviews. Skiles Keith reminds me of Stiffler. I'm pretty sure that it's Stiffler, but it may be another movie character I'm thinking of, but I'm pretty sure it's Stiffler. Everybody is pretty cool w/ his questions since most of them know him, but Tom Danielson looks terrified of his interview. My favorite question Skiles seems to ask everyone is, "What kind of saddle are you riding?", which is closely followed by "What kind of rubber you running?" The question comes from left field so it makes it hilarious when he blurts it out. He likes talking about product which kinda throws you off; it's not what you normally hear an interviewer focus on. Unless of course you're Frankie Andreau w/ OLN's Tech Special Reports...

If you haven't checked it out yet, Broadband Racer has some rider video blogs that truly give some insight to a racing lifestyle. The rider intro music is bumpin' too!

With everyone and their mothers doing a blog now (me too) the OG of them all would be Drunk Cyclist. I can't remember when he started, but his archives go back to 2000. And yes, it is still powered by the clean and efficient fuel source of porn. 3 a day baby!

Technorati Tags: cycling, cycling blogs, Dave Zabriskie, MissingSaddle.com, Broadband Racer.com, DrunkCyclist.com

it's not you, it's me. i just don't want to get hurt...

2006-07-29T10:02:00.000-05:00

I keep attempting to write further on the Landis affair but every time I start to search for words I simply lose interest. I guess I don't want to have too much more invested when we discover that he is in fact a dic... sorry, a doper.

But as w/ every case, there is a grassy knoll! I found a blurb on Cadence Cycling's site regarding the ratio measurement. It's interesting:

INFORMATION IN FAVOR OF LANDIS
Cadence owners Matt Heitmann and Brian Walton were interviewed on
today's edition of the Fox News Morning Show whereupon they revealed
some new information gleaned from investigations conducted on Cadence's
behalf yesterday.

Cadence
learned through an endocrinologist yesterday that Floyd Landis' T/E
ratio (testosterone:epitestosterone) was abnormally high but only
because his epitestosterone levels were abnormally low.

A low
epitestosterone level can be accounted for (in many cases) by the use
of anti-inflammatories like Celebrex, and certainly by Cortison, and
alcohol. All three of these substances Floyd has admitted to taking
during this year's Tour de France.

In short, the A sample that came back above UCI legal T/E level of 4:1 is, in this case, not due to inflated testosterone,
but due to deflated epitestosterone. The deflated epitestosterone
levels may be accounted for by legal and approved substances which
Floyd has been taking this year.

My other feeling is that Testosterone isn't something you take the night before or the day of so you can ride better. It helps you build muscles over a long period of time. We're talking weeks here, long enough for it to have shown up during the doping controls he had earlier in the Tour. Being that taking it's not a drug that cycling generally takes to cheat w/ immediate results, it brings a lot into a question. So here's hoping that he's one of those that truly has a weird physiology producing all this naturally.

Like I said, not too invested.

Technorati Tags: cycling, doping, Floyd Landis, Cadence Cycling

weeee, here we go again!

2006-07-27T10:01:00.000-05:00

Ah the speculation of the Euro media. I'd hate to see the legal system if these guys were in charge!
Here's where we are:
-1 Tour rider positive. Riders name w/held for obvious reasons. The team and the rider have been notified, and are waiting the outcome of the B sample. This is all we know that's TRUE.
Speculation SAYS (Family Feud voice):
-The Times reports it's testosterone while La Gazzetta dello Sport says it was stimulant.
-through the the use of a digital abacus and the fact that tests usually take a week to come back, it's been calculated that the positve result was given during the final week of the race.
-The Times makes it to be Stage 17 making the riders tested to be Floyd Landis (stage winner), Oscar Pererio (Yellow Jersey), and a random rider.
-La Gazzetta says it was later, but that it was involving a rider "high up in the classification".
-what makes this more fun is that Floyd has been cancelling all his post-tour races that are traditional for the winner to attend usually for huge sums of money.
-further feeding the fire is that there hasn't been any comment from the Phonak camp.

SHIT!
As I've been typing this Cyclingnews.com just confirmed it was courtesy of our New American Hero! How wonderful. Maybe he could blame it on the dead twin doppleganger scenario... I guess our hope are that it's an "unusual level" of testosterone. Not sure what testosterone for a single stage would do for you. If he was using it for strength building that would have been best used before the Tour, but what do I know. I also say that simply because he was the Yellow jersey on several occasions, and didn't test then. Probably used a good masking agent. Pedro Delgado won the Tour in '88 after testing postive for a masking agent that wasn't on the banned list. I guess he picked the right drug. If Floyd turns out to be a cheater, he's just another ass in a long line of jerkoffs screwing w/ our sport.

I'm getting closer to making the next Discovery Tour team! There's going to be no one left! I'll gladly be packmeat.

Technorati Tags: cycling, Floyd Landis, doping, Tour De France

point of reference?

2006-07-24T16:03:00.000-05:00

I've been frequenting the Eurosport website to satisfy my voracious appetite for Le Tour and it's been refreshing to see things from a different point of view. Plus the site had some of the best looking race calling online out of anyone.

The point of this post is a poll that they had today. Asking the question whether or not Floyd is a worthy champion the results were resounding to the positive: 70% saying that he was. The nay statement said that "2006 was a Tour without the favorites". So my question is: in light of all that has come out from OP, who was a favorite? How can you consider Basso a favorite, if his form and wins were courtesy of the good doctor? Was Jan ever the hard luck champion that we all loved him for being?

To me, they weren't the favorites from a sporting view. The favorites won the Tour, cracked spectacularly, fought for stage glory after losing touch w/ the GC, and they finished the race. The pretenders got what they deserved. I'm sure in the coming days as all the deals of OP are revealed we'll find a few bitches that slipped through the cracks like the roaches they are that still rode the race. Then they'll get what they deserve as well.

T-Tags: cycling, Tour De France, Floyd Landis, Eurosport.com, doping, Operation Puerto

something's not working.

2006-07-24T08:59:00.000-05:00

I'm a little confused. It seems as though there isn't any cycling on my television this morning. I'm not sure that I understand.

What's a Banjo Minnow?

T-Tags: cycling, Tour De France, OLN

one on the side.

2006-07-23T21:19:00.000-05:00

I've got a bunch of things I need to do to my Trek, so I broke out the other. I gots me a 2001 Giant TCR2 to spice things up. This was my first true road bike, considering my first 700c bike was a track bike. Profile of that one to follow soon. Giant is who you'd either blame or thank for the Compact Frame Geometry. True compact geometry shortens the rear stays jamming the wheel up against the seat tube, hence the dimple in the tube to accommodate it. Then there's the obvious sloping top tube helping to create smaller triangles for the front and rear. It would simply look stupid to have a horizontal TT w/ a short rear triangle plus it wouldn't be rigid enough. Until just in the last few years there were only 3 sizes (s,m,l) for the Giants. Others were doing more sizes, most notably Specialized.

The problem besides not enough sizes is that to accommodate a broad range of rider heights weird things have to happen. For the smaller rider you have to shorten the head tube so it's not sitting them up too high and the top tube has to be lengthened for the taller rider so they're too compacted. Right away you can see what's going on. Too long for the shorties, and too low a front for the freaky tall boys (and girls). So for me I had to turn my stem up so I wouldn't be leaning over too much. I HATE stems in this position because they look corny, then again I am a ridiculous and petty fashionista. But I have some back issues that I'm still working on so this is how it's gots to be. Oh, you also need a damn long seatpost 350mm+ for this fit to work. A shorter wheelbase from the rear stay give it nervous handling in comparison to my longish Trek. It's more like a race car that needs your full attention otherwise you'll end up in the wall. Yet if you know how to take it deep into turns it shines. Very quick.

Das goot stuff! Aluminum frame is the harshest material made that much more harsh by shortened stays and smaller triangles. BUT, since there is no room for the bike to wiggle while sprinting or climbing, it is an absolute ROCKET! You launch up hills! Still got the stock fork which I think is pretty dope. Straight, strong, and unforgiving for carbon. Tracks on rails beyatch!

Wheels are a mix of Mavic Ksyrium Elite and SSL. You already know I pulled the spokes through my rear SSL. Tires are probably the most interesting thing on the bike. I'm using the Czech made TUFO tubular clinchers. I'll write more about these soon, but they are the bomb believe me.

I'm still using some of the original parts from when I first purchased it. 105 for the shifters and the front derailleur. Shifting action on the 105s are a little harsh in that it takes a little more effort to click it, but when matched to a DuraAce rear mech, shifting is dead accurate. So no worries mate! At this point I honestly don't care about not having top end shifters and playing that on-up game. I'm just happy that things work. I can't go below 105 though; there's way too much of a drop off in quality to Tiagra. Too much damn plastic. Brakes are 105 w/ Kool Stop pads; super sticky.

Cockpit is Bontrager RaceLite bars, Bontrager Race TripleXXXLite stem, and Stella Azzurra tape. I had this vision of a team bike that was sponsored by Bontrager. I like the stuff regardless of what I've written before, but I couldn't possible have that on my Trek. It looks too much like the stock crap I sold to all the wads who wanted Lance's bike. At the time Webcor was riding Lemonds w/ XXXLite components, and they looked pretty dope. I'm impressionable.

Seatpost is again XXXLite, carbon w/ a slight setback. The saddle is the new Specialized Toupe which I'm a little mixed about. It's very light, it uses their nice Body Geometry tech to keep your goods fresh, but it's not the greatest for long 3+ hour rides. I've ridden it a good bit so it's not that I have to get used to it. I'll hold judgment for now. It looks wicked though.

Cranks are FSA Energy. Not carbon, but not the ugly ass 105s either. Black and yellow baby! Pedals are Time RSX. Still so nice. I'm using Bontrager's BatCages which hold bottles. Go figure.

Not my distance bike, but me love it long time! Sorry about the picture, the camera on my phone is dying.

he's such a good boy!

2006-07-23T11:35:00.000-05:00

Watching Chris Horner bust his ass in the break on the Champs Elysees in his second consecutive Tour I can't help but to think of how far he's come. He was a teammate of Floyd Landis on the Mercury Cycling Team during its torrid existence. Before that he cut his teeth w/ Francaise des Jeux, but that unfortunately didn't go according to plan. After 3 hard learned seasons he was back in the States where he began his domination of the US racing scene.

I got to meet him when he was riding for Prime Alliance. The team was in town for the Clarendon Cup known now as the CSC Invitational. They stopped by my shop after a training ride and not everyone was happy to be there. But Chris was cool, talking to everyone as he signed everything thrown at him. I got a chance to talk w/ all of them during a lull in the madness and once again he was the happy to oblige. He even maintained his cool as some of the Saturn Team riders strolled in for their session and started a little good natured shit talking. I can't remember if it was Tim Johnson that started it but one of the PA guys shut 'em all down saying something about having Playstation on the team bus. Funny enough Chris transferred to Saturn the next year where he really killed it.

Now he's back in Europe and killing it again. I'm sure that it gives many of the racers in the U.S. a huge boost as Chris didn't win everything, so if they want to make the jump they'll feel better about their chances. He was always the hardest working and it's awesome seeing him back at the top level of the sport and producing results. He's definitely not pack fodder anymore!

You should check out his video blogs on VeloNews. If you want to hear the insight of what was going down at the Tour these clips and much of the others are ripe w/ tasty tidbits.

Sorry for the picture Chris, but I'm not sure how many know of your look early in this century and I felt it was my duty!

T-Tags:cycling, Tour De France, Chris Horner, VeloNews,

i'm so clever.

2006-07-22T23:48:00.000-05:00

I realize that as a cycling addicted blogger I should post about Floyd's great time trial ride, and that he's taken the yellow jersey on the penultimate day of the Tour De France virtually sealing the deal for the overall GC win making him the 3rd American to win the race as well as extending our dominance to a whopping 8 years running...

I should, but I'm not.

T-Tags: cycling, Tour De France, Floyd Landis,

who's got time to ride when there's racin' on!

2006-07-22T18:32:00.000-05:00

I've written before how I like to use my wild imagination to spur my rides on by visualizing myself as another rider, or during a particular race. Today's ride was no different, unfortunately for me I picked Floyd Landis on the climb to La Toussuiere! I'm guessing I owe my case of the bad forms to my intake of Maryland's finest: Crabs at Hooper's in O.C.! Went downey oweshin yesturdee Hon! I guess that you don't get too much energy simply from several pounds of backfin and fatty entrails (how dey eatum downair Millriver, Balmer Canny).

Anyway regardless of my food choices yestur...yesterday, I still wanted to keep my average speed up around the 16mph mark for most of the ride. I still warm up for at least 30 minutes and I still have that bitch of a hill at the end so I have to deal w/ those times messing w/ my final numbers, but for the rest of the ride I try to keep it moving.

There were some fast people out today, so I was getting my caloric intake mostly from eating emasculation pie. It was however a friendly ride, and not too many wads or jerkoffs to deal with. My route was normal: out towards Mt. Vernon but not all the way. Turnaround back through the neighborhood route, back onto the trail, then onto Hains Point for a couple of laps. I felt like I was in difficulty for much of the ride and kept wondering why I was riding at this pace, but I was able to maintain a reasonable tempo. That was about it.

T-Tags: cycling, training, Hooper's Crab House, Allanic Oweshin

tour is good.

2006-07-21T07:08:00.000-05:00

Regardless of how this stage ends after Floyd's attack, this race is what was needed after the stagnant domination of Lance. Don't get me wrong, I love that Armstrong destroyed everyone for 7 years, but watching tapes of past Tours, you get nostalgic for the heady days of the wide open races. Heh, I said "heady".

This is more like when Jan won the Tour in '97. When he rode to Arcalis you got swept up in the euphoria of the moment as you witnessed both the fall the old, and the rise of the new. Of course Jan has had his issues from then on, but it still was an awesome display. Before Jan you'd have to go back to the 1990 Tour when Greg Lemond had to climb, claw, and scratch his way back to Claudio Chiappucci. Chiappucci did it again in the '92 Tour much to the chagrin of Miguel Indurain. This is what the retro-grouches have been bitching about during the Lance years. Lance changed the way the race was, well, raced. Having the strongest team ride everyone off their wheels was very effective to win the Tour, but it was also BORING!!! The last time that you saw Lance truly ride HIS race was in 2001. In 2002 he had Roberto "Me Gusta Drogar" Heras do his dirty work for him. When you first saw it, you got excited because you knew Lance was going to win again. Little did we know that was to be the M.O. for following years. No wonder the French were so pissed.

Floyd is about to start the decent (f-ing ridiculous at the end of a climb like this) w/ Sastre following. DUDE! Floyd's wife is a hottie! No, back to her, Floyd isn't a pretty man. He's sweaty and stinky too. Sastre crests at 5:36 I think. That's huge! Floyd still has a chance to get back time in the TT. Damiano Cunego is really looking good at the end of some terrible mountains. He is definitely going to be back for this race. His stock should go back up after Basso started working in the pharmaceutical business.

I love how a "false flat" in the mountains, is the same as the big hills in my area. Good god Floyds going fast! You using a ton of energy just to hold onto the brakes.

Floyds coming into the final straight and the crowd is going NUTS! Awesome win! Screw you France, I'm going home! They were talking shit about Floyd and his lack of panache during his time in the mellow johnny. You got some panache now froggies!

Oh, Moreau and Dessel crashed on the decent! Nasty fall. Dessel could've broken his forks as he hit the barrier blocks. He got back on the bike quickly w/out checking.

Floyd put in MORE time on Sastre on the decent! That's a bad, bad man! 5:42 on the line! Floyd is back into the race! Should be at least third. Amber Landis so happy! She cry joyous tears!

The times are all compacted now. Haven't seen the finals yet...

Unless Oscar gets a good transfusion before the TT Floyd should be able to put some time into him and Sastre. Hey, I just kidding! I kid because I love!

30 seconds off the race lead! He put 45 seconds on everyone in the first TT, and that was with a bike and postion change! Unbelievable!

"I came here to win the race and I'm not done fighting yet!" Floyd is here to go all the way. Frankie Andreu asks some shaky, redundant questions sometimes. I'm suprised Floyd hasn't hit him yet.

Everybody is applauding him in the podium staging area. Oscar gives him a nice sweaty man-hug!

Hey even Hinault gives Floyd some applause as he steps onto the podium. The Badger approves!

I'm done here.

good god I love this mountain!!

2006-07-18T10:07:00.000-05:00

Alpe Du Huez is out of control! The race absolutely is exploding: Frank Schleck just destroyed Damiano Cunego, Floyd and Andreas are cooking up the slopes, Rasmussen came out of nowhere to help Menchov, and Evans has been dropped. The crowd makes this stage insane.

Schleck just won the stage, a first for a Luxembourger! I guess that Charlie Gaul didn't get the chance to fly in his day.
Frank made a very strange face for his victory salute...
Cunego is only 25, already has a Giro overall win under his belt, and nothing but a strong future to look forward to.
Landis is sprinting, but Garzelli takes it in front of Floyd.
Not bad for Garzelli considering he was alone several hours ago after the first mountain pass.
Now we wait for Oscar Pereiro to show.
Levi just peeked around the corner.
Frank is starting to weep as the sweet realization of an epic Tour win floods into his thoughts!
Floyd is back in yellow as the Spaniard comes in a few seconds shy of keeping the jersey.
Dessel had a great ride after dropping his chain at the beginning of the climb.
Here comes big George and Popo w/ the champion of Holland, Michael Boogard.
Popo looks a little shattered after that ride.

This is why the Tour is as grand as it is. When the stage ramps up at the start of the climb I start to get chills. It more than makes up for the ridiculous amount of sprint stages at the beginning. That was nearly as fun as when Lance gave Jan "the look". I love it when the stage feels completely out of control, when everything is in flux every moment of every switchback of the climb. Add the amped, drunken crowds from all over the world and it feels like a World Cup final win from the bottom to the top!

some new things cookin'

2006-07-16T20:10:00.000-05:00

I've had some things brewing on the backburner for awhile, but methinks it's time to start acting on them. I don't want to say what they are, but needless to say I'm going to try to take all this up a notch! Or not, but it sounds better to make like I am. I've got a lot of prep work to do, in addition to all my work on my art portal/resume site Artboredom, as well as maintain my fine cycling form through the rest of the stages ahead.

I am going to start something today; something that pops into my head at least 5+ times a ride: "I love it when..." It may start other ways like, "It kills me when...", but mostly it'll be love, sweet love. Sometimes it will be true love, but most times it will be straight sarcastic love!

Let's give it a try.

I love it when I'm cruising around a corner (on the far right) as a shaky oncoming hybrid rider approaches clearly on my side of the path, but still gives me the death stare because it's obvious I'm going too fast (I wasn't) due to my appearance (pro kit), not because they suck at riding a bike...

I'm going to get shot for the run on sentence, but I think that'll be the format for my rancor. Or love!

Discovery Channel wins the Tour!

2006-07-13T23:28:00.000-05:00

After the past 2 days in the mountains it's nice to hear that some of the Disco boys are doing okay. Tom Danielson won his first Euro-race, the Tour of Austria! He didn't win a stage, although coming close on one but succumbing to cramps (finishing second) and managing to add a good ITT to finish 16 seconds ahead of the next Euro-dude. Another youngster on the team, Jurgen Van Goolen finished the Tour in the top 10 coming in 9th.

Good job T-Dan!

T-Tags: cycling, tour, Tom Danielson, Discovery Channel

diversion from the tour

2006-07-12T13:23:00.000-05:00

All of us have had altercations w/ the driving public and depending on where you're riding, some more than others. We've all had that moment of rage as someone speeds up just to make a right-hand turn directly in front of you. They put your safety in jeopardy just so they wouldn't have to slow down for a couple of seconds; ooh the agony of deceleration! This happened to me the other day and it brought to mind a couple of scenarios I've heard or read about, and at least one that I've participated in.

I'm just in the minor leagues w/ the Krypto New York lock to the side mirror, but it was satisfying. Cabbies in DC do not like couriers, and if you're unlucky to be riding a bike in the city you are lumped into that mould. I had lots of messenger friends at that time and I would always hear stories about them getting hit, run off the road, and simply abused out on the road. You'd also hear how they got back. After a series of attempts to put me into the back of some parked cars along Mass. Ave I finally got the opportune moment: a long light, a back up, and one-way streets for the getaway. As I rolled up the middle between the two lanes I reached back to the lock I had tucked into my belt and as I was passing by his car, I swung. I didn't take the mirror off the car, but needless to say w/ it hanging from where it was situated before he wouldn't be using it again! There was no way for him to come after me, but I still took the one-way to further complicate things for him.

I read in a letter to a magazine once about a northern commuter that was out on a bad snow day. Someone thought that this was a bad idea and thought it was a good idea to teach him a lesson by running him off the road into a ditch. The cyclist caught up w/ the driver down the road at a light because the conditions were bad and definitely slow going. He rolled up beside him and as the driver was berating and threatening him, the rider reached over, pulled up on the windshield wiper and tore it off! Beautiful. In the middle of a blinding snowstorm w/ no windshield wipers!

The next one is the king. I worked w/ a guy who did courier work in DC for years and had plenty of run-ins w/ people, but this was genius. He formulated a sick plan after continuously battling the morning Hill commuters while he was working and them getting the upper hand. He filled a water bottle w/ his own urine after a hard night of partying. You know the kind: toxic, colorful, and definitely not something you want anywhere other than the toilet. So during the ride in the morning, damned if someone didn't start some shit w/ him. So when he had a chance at a light, he rolled up, and while the dude's window was open he unloaded the entire bottle onto him, his suit and the interior of his Mercedes! Like I said, the KING!

I definitely don't recommend retaliation of any kind since people are crazy and you'll never know what they're capable of. You're on a bike, they're in a one ton+ car and that hurts; trust me I know. You'll notice that in all the scenarios there was a defined getaway, or they were in a clear position to have the upper hand in traffic. But it's nice to hear that sometimes we're able to get them back sometimes.

T-Tags: cycling, tour, messenger, courier

this Tour tastes weird.

2006-07-09T17:42:00.000-05:00

i like big TT's!
There's nothing like a day long TT fest to get your heart a pumpin'! Unless all your favorites ride like the USA World Cup team plays soccer. I'm sorry about B-Jul, but for crying out loud, scout the course beforehand! You shouldn't be crashing like that, that soon, and on dry pavement. But that's why they're called accidents.

I'm going to play the glass half-full and say that Johan told everyone to shut it down a bit and let some other teams/riders take over for the big GC pull. Mick Rogers and the Praying Landis were high on the list so if either of those guys get a good time they'll end up in the Mellow Johnny thereby taking over at the head of the race. We've all seen what that's done to Boonen. They'll blow themselves out trying to control the head of the race allowing the Disco boys to end up fresh for the mountains. Unfortunately, I think that the glass is half empty, and the Great 7X Motivator isn't at the reigns spurring the horses on. I think they all cracked. That being said it's pretty odd that ALL of them cracked pretty spectacularly, so we'll see when the race really starts.

break finally stuck.
nice to see the French are getting some wins and we don't have to hear all the whining about them sucking it up. Really cool that Sylvain Calzati took his first win ever at the Tour. I couldn't even imagine what that feels like. That's why I love this race.

Floyd still looking good.
you can keep saying it, but if you actually listen to yourself it simply sounds weird to say Floyd Landis has a real chance to win the Tour. It only seems like yesterday when we started to really hear about him through his riding w/ the Postal team, and that he's a Quaker or Amish or something... But listening to the Flying Mennonite talk to reporters on the VeloNews video player he seems completely unstressed and very strong. I'm very impressed in how he's conducting himself during this race.

sprint, sprint, sprint, all Tour long...

2006-07-06T21:19:00.000-05:00

Getting to the point, I'm starting to hate sprints. Ever since Cipo ceased being the spectacle he was at the Tour I honestly don't care about the sprints. The Valkenburg finish was dope, but that's about it. But tell me this, why can't they have the finish at the top of the climb, and not a mile down the damn road?

Which leads me to my next observation: where are all the damn mountain finishes? I can't remember the count, but it seems that there are only 2-3 total for the race. This is just stupid. No wonder that the Giro is picking up in popularity, it's actually interesting. Go figure.

But I can't complain about the coverage. OLN gots the lockdown w/ P+P giving the call, and I'm warming to Al Trautwig since listening to the ABC commentary of Lemond's '86 win when I'm pretty sure I heard his voice. He's been around for a while, but I didn't realize how long. Plus he's starting to get it. His stage picks for the jersey comp w/ the guys are actually thought out. Add in Cycling.tv's coverage, as well as my new find The Broadband Racer. They don't have the rights to show more than 3 minutes of footage, but they're getting some interviews of different people other than the usual suspects. My favorite sections are actually the video blogs. I'm very interested in all the behind the scenes shizzo that goes on w/ pro racing. It just seems more accessable than just the race all the time. That's why I loved the Lance Chronicles. I still can't believe they haven't put that out in some form to download or buy.

Anyway, Boonen looks like he's not doping and more favorites are doing the American contingent a favor by crashing out. I'm sorry for Valverde, and especially for Fast Freddie. It's all still bike racing, and that's all good, so I'll keep watching the repeats, I mean the sprints!

it's on backwards you douche!

2006-07-04T17:06:00.000-05:00

what the SNELL are you talking about?
This is one of those posts I've always been threatening to write, but never remember after my rides. I'm amazed by the amount of people riding helmets that are either the wrong size, worn wrong, or way too old. Nevermind those that aren't wearing anything. Those guys are depending on the blood-matted hair protection plan. I can see how that the retention device on helmets should be covering the eyes while riding. That makes total sense. I used to love helping beautiful women at the shop try on helmets watching in horror as they fail the IQ test in miserable fashion. "Does it go on this way?" "Uhhh, yeah. And the zipper on your pants is for your pooper..." The same goes for the tough guys as well.

At least most of those people are using helmets purchased in the last 10 years. My favorite are those who think that Bell eggshell helmet w/ 4 holes they bought back in the 70's is actually going to protect them. Plus, if your helmet comes w/ a nylon cover, and that cover comes complete w/ the colors purple and neon green, you may need a new helmet. I've thought of plenty of funny things to say regarding all these idiots, but I never remember them after the ride.

Simply put, polystyrene will begin to lose its integrity after 5 years. We got ahold of a customer's 6 year old helmet after he purchased a new one and decided to take a hammer to it just to see. It's a bunch of guys in a bike shop full of tools; what else what you'd expect? Needless to say the helmet DISENTEGRATED into dust! You'd get more protection from a wool hat!

Good helmets start at $30 these days, and they have the same protection as the $200 pro versions, and in many cases they share much of the same technology. The more expensive helmets have much more airflow, and are generally lighter and much better fitting. Cheaper helmets are usually universal fit, which means it's good enough for everyone but not great for you. If you're into cycling fashion, you'd be hard pressed to find a decent helmet under $100 unless it's on clearance. Remember, all helmets sold in the States need to have certification. They have to have a CPSC, ANSI, or SNELL sticker on the inside. They should also have a "born on" date to let you know how long of a life you and your new purchase have together.

If any of you out there think that "it won't happen to me", cool. See how long your significant other sticks around when they have to feed you through a straw and push you around in a stroller for the rest of your life. If you don't make it, then Darwin was right!

T-tags:cycling, helmets, cycling safety, helmet standards, natural selection

Hincapie will make the podium!

2006-06-26T13:36:00.000-05:00

bad for business
As a prepatore, I wouldn't want Ullrich as one of my clients, since it's obvious the techniques used on the fatty don't work! This is starting to get silly.
[ed.note-I started writing this on Monday before everything below happened!]

ASO to riders: "F-you, F-you, you're cool, F-you!"
Please let it be that Basso has only visited this d-head just for "nutritional" info. He and Ullrich denied having dealt w/ him so lying is punishable by termination of contract, especially in light of Tour participation. Please let it be that he won the Giro w/out "assistance". This is starting to make me sick.

Frank Vandenbroucke isn't on the list!
"Paco" Mancebo never really won anything, how could he be friggin' doping? It's good to see that Valverde's name hasn't surfaced. I'm trying to come up w/ things to say here, but as everything starts to settle it's starting to feel like a friend has died. That sounds weird but as a lover of cycling you watch these guys pour their lives out on the mountains and pave of these races and you begin to connect w/ them. It could be that you just like their effort, or you see things in them that you recognize in yourself. When something like this happens you can't help but to be devastated. I have hope that the sport will always continue to sort itself out and situations like this won't happen again, but we all thought that after the '98 Festina affair.

The glove is starting to fit.
You can't help but to think of all the times Lance has said, "I've never tested positive for doping." None of the BIG names on that list have ever tested positive (if memory serves me right). If those guys were doping, AND starting to train like Armstrong did...

Millar Time!
On top of all this is the re-start of one of my favorite riders David Millar. Back from a 2 year bid from taking EPO during the Cofidis scuffle, he's ready to rock the prologue in his first race action since 2004! After the field has been decimated, I think he's got a good chance. Zabriske is still riding so maybe we'll still have a good battle on our hands.

So maybe Big George actually has a chance to get the podium after all!

i'm starting not to care.

2006-06-25T20:57:00.000-05:00

what level do you hold your heroes?
I went through this agonizing period around this time last year as Lance was going through the thousandth allegation from some French bitch regarding his use of EPO. I started to separate myself in order to not be crushed when they found out that it was true. That was just recently closed saying that, well, whatever. It said that he wasn't doping in some round about way; like it always is. There has to be something to Lemond's and the Andreu's statements. Plus, think about how much you'd let your guard down while you're on what you think at the time is your deathbed. You'd divulge as much medical info as possible. I always thought that he doped back in the Motorola days anyway, everybody did, so why not him.

I wanted to put together a funny post w/ images of all the Spanish douches, but it doesn't seem right now w/ the new allegations. I then wanted to do a retrospective of all the past "champions" who were confirmed dopers. You know, Coppi, Anqueteil, Simpson and a host of others that time has allowed us to get over. Why is that different than now? Why are we so high and mighty that we cannot accept anything less than perfect. Now all we want to do is search out and destroy all of our sporting past and present thinking that's the answer for the future. Who knows? I know that I have a bad taste when it comes to all of this.

That's why I'm starting not to care; at least about all that crap. I love cycling, regardless of who we find out to be cheat or not. We have Basso and Boonen at the moment that have not a hint of accusations being thrown at them so hopefully that will continue to hold. Cycling will always continue to produce stars, and it will always produce cheats.

I don't know where I stand, but I'm still standing.

no, I'm not on the team; but I did stay at a Holida...

2006-06-22T10:39:00.000-05:00

unobservant world
I've been having some strange interactions w/ the humans during some of my rides lately. As I was coming out of my building the other day this old dude was coming in. I got the typical gaping mouth, walking stupor look that is all too a familiar site from them. Except this time he actually said something instead of acting like I'm interrupting their lives by wearing colorful spandex and mirrored lens glasses. He asked, "Do you ride for the Postal service?" Unfortunately he continued by saying he thought I was the new Postal guy; meaning that I was the dude delivering the mail. My thoughts went from, "Wow, he actually knows about the Postie team!", to "Good God that was sad." Later that day I had another question regarding my Postal (circa 2000) kit. They asked if I was on the team and if I was riding in the Tour. I responded by saying that unfortunately no, I wasn't because I'm too slow! I had to, it's just too much fun playing w/ the tourists down near the National Mall.

attack of the old dudes!
Yesterday's ride was a good one if not a good schooling. Hard effort day. 45 minutes into the ride as I finally started to warm up but hadn't started to force the pace yet an old dude looking all Hinault passed me. Since I wasn't going fast I didn't think much of it. Yet as I started to pick up my pace I realized that I wasn't able to catch him. I was passing everyone else including other road bikers, but I couldn't bring back the gap that Hinault got on me. He never left my sight, but that was about it. Then as I was doing a couple of laps down at Haines Point I met up w/ another 60+ dude and we rode together for awhile. I mentioned that I was running at 170bpm while we were doing 20+ he responded that he was at 145! His max is the same as mine! Granted I haven't put in too much continuous effort days like this but DAMN! He was working on getting out his words like I was, but to be running that low is pretty good. I have some work to do.

The overall ride was run at over 16mph average, but it went down as I had to climb back up the hill to get home. I really want to get faster. I want to be able to keep up w/ the 12:00 rides that meet here daily. Very fast paceline riding. I have some work to do.

a different kind of roulette.

2006-06-15T18:02:00.000-05:00

Another ride w/ dramatics. yaaay (MP Holy Grail sounding). Just ready to get out the door when I discovered that the casing on my rear Vredestein tire was not cooperating. Meaning it was starting to bulge! It had a very obvious change in tread as it expanded sideways as well as making a bump. I wanted to start riding, so I didn't change the tire. I did however put a spare Challenge folding tire in my rear jersey pocket as well as the usual suspects (tube, pump, patch kit, inflater, Co2, levers, etc.) and headed out.

For most of the ride you couldn't distinguish the roots in the trail from the bump in the tire, but sometimes you could. I tend to focus on the thing that are going wrong; wanting to correct them at all costs (speed sensor...), but this time I continued on .

Blah, blah, blah, long story short, I got in 2 hours of a great upper zone ride when the tire finally blew. It was funny because I was expecting it but it still sucked to have to stop the ride.

The ride itself was great because I'm showing what I think is called, "form". I'm not sure, but something feels good when I pedal and I'm starting to recover from hard efforts during the ride. It may not sound like much, but when I say hard effort, I mean anaerobic. If you're unfamiliar you can look it up here, but it means going beyond your body's ability to provide oxygen and energy for your muscles so you're relying on muscle metabolism alone. I could do hard efforts but I'd pay for it in the end. Today I was feeling good at the end of my ride after several efforts like those above on some hills. I was also working pushing the big ring for a while. I haven't seen the need to do so as much of my training hasn't been at or for a high speed. It's based on HR and cadence. They're starting to go the opposite directions now. HR is going down w/ the same cadence at a higher average speed. Now I'm able to put it up there and maintain a normal HR at a decent cadence. I've been pushing a slightly bigger gear as I've had some achilles troubles lately, and a high cadence sometimes feels a little out of control. I can balance the lower cadence better allowing me to focus on not ankling through the stroke and stretching the tendon. These things are a BITCH to heal. You kind of use it all the time.

Image courtesy of my old ass phone.

worth the ticket!

2006-06-12T10:31:00.000-05:00

Some hot Swiss action in the morning!
Stage 3 of the Tour de Suisse on Cycling.TV went from standard issue to absolutely storming! Lone breakaway caught w/ around 20-30k to go sparked the action that set the stage for the end of the stage. The "Cricket" Paulo Bettini started the fun w/ a storming attack that quickly was countered by none other than Der Kaiser himself, Jan Ullrich! The big guy was just testing out his Tour legs a little, but it still was a lot of fun. 4 guys ended up getting formed together to finish out the stage w/ Nick Nuyens from Quick-Step getting the best of the bunch.

It's stage action like that, that helps you remember why you love this sport. Regardless of your country or team affiliation good bike racing is just that! Lance and the boys started to change how the Tour is ridden when you have a super team, but to be honest that shit is boring! It's nice to have him win, but looking back on the rest of the 90's (I dont' have any tapes from before Indurain) and at least the first 2 years of Armstrong, there was always some dynamic action where it seemed anything could happen.

T-tags:cycling, Tour de Suisse, Cycling.TV, hot swiss action

this is insanity!

2006-06-11T10:14:00.000-05:00

Watching the Tour de Suisse this morning on Cycling.TV you can see the differences between the different countries attitudes towards cycle racing. France, Italy, and Spain close the roads during tour stages, while the Swiss allow ROLLING STOPS! That right, there are moving cars on the course! Are you kidding me? It's almost alien to see them driving as the peleton is racing towards them at 30 miles an hour.

The other crap they have to endure is all the traffic "furniture" the Swiss use. There are splits all over the place as they enter towns and cities. And so far, it looks as though there hasn't been anyone warning them like the French Gendarmes do w/ the yellow warning flags. You can be riding along when suddenly the peleton starts to split and there's traffic pylons blowing their way through w/no warning!

I know it takes a lot to organize the closure of roads, but it's a MAJOR TOUR! It's been considered 4th in line behind the big three. You think they'd give a little more effort.

T-tags:cycling, Tour de Suisse, Cycling.TV

finally!

2006-06-09T17:20:00.000-05:00

I finally was able to successfully transfer the image of my bike into the digital realm. No mean feat as I've bled for my quest... Strangely enough I think the picture is out of focus; or at least I think the pedal is in focus, and everything else is just out. I hate my camera's viewscreen.

Anyway, you can see I'm riding a 2001 Trek 5500 OCLV Postal Service model (built in 2002). I purchased the frame and added the rest. This is close to the original model the main difference being that I'm using boundaries Aero's whereas the OEM spec was Mavic Ksyrium SSL's. The Mavics were lighter, but the rear did what all Ksyriums do when they fail, they pulled the spokes through the rim. The Bonty wheels haven't budged. Mavic told me that it will cost me $180 to repair something they know is a problem and is well documented. Whatever.

The frame is lugged carbon deep from the mines of Waterloo, Wisconsin. OCLV is great stuff. I won't spew anymore Trek kool-aid today. The ride is balanced as you would expect of a design that hadn't changed much since its inception. It corners predictably and is super comfortable on long rides. And yes, it does feel like dead wood. That's how carbon feels. If you don't like it enjoy your Rivendell or Bob Jackson or whatever it is you ride, I don't want to hear it. I added the LOOK HSC4 fork simply because I thought the Bonty version looked and rode like crap. I'm not a fan of straight forks both for looks and for their lack of vertical compliance. The Bonty fork has a strange crown that dives in and doesn't touch the Cane Creek S-6 headset in a flush manner. The LOOK obviously does. That being said, don't say a word when you see my Gunnar built up w/ a XXXLite Bonty fork. I didn't have anything else. Forks are expensive. Besides the OEM fork that came w/ the frame was a weapon! I think it was the Race model and that thing isn't light!

Shifting is a combo of Shimano Dura-Ace, and Ultegra. Dura-Ace shifters are way too expensive for normal riding, and don't last as long as Ultegra. I'll keep telling myself that as I cry myself to sleep thinking of the buttery action of Durace. So Ultegra shifting, Durace front and rear mechs, and Ultegra brakes (another huge expense). My FSA Carbon Pro Isis cranks were some of the first off the line and definitely the first that I'd seen on any bike. Now they're on everything. Good God FSA has become a bunch of whor... I digress; it's great for the company and it's forced the industry to watch what they're doing and catch up.

I'm a big fan of the esoteric and Stella Azzurra hits that mark. I've been riding the ViceVersa Aluminum stem and Brianza bars since day one (some changes here and there). They're not the lightest in their line, but they sure are strong. Remember I used to be 215+ in the weight category! The bar tape is Stella too. The rest of the cockpit is rounded out by more Italian luxury items: Selle Italia TurboMatic 4 saddle, and a Selcof carbon straight post. I change these the most as I have a ton of saddles, posts and stems. I always want to screw w/ things when they're already fine, just because I can. I originally started w/ a Deda Black Stick Mag carbon seatpost and a Selle San Marco ASPide saddle. So light, so gucci! Unfortunately the Deda post uses notches to hold it's saddle tilt position and no saddle I've used has the right tilt; it's either nose too far up, or too far down. As for the saddle, I wore that thing down until I discovered that it wasn't comfortable for 6 hour rides. I kept seeing the Turbo being used by a lot of the experienced pros (Jalabert, Hushovd, Voit, and a bunch others) and decided to give it a try. Damn that thing is comfortable! It's almost 3 times heavier than the ASPide, but what the f#$% does that matter if you can't be comfortable on the bike for more than 2 hours. Hell Boonen has been using a Rolls! He changes that too, but I think that's more from the sponsors wanting to see him on the latest greatest, but they want comfort in the end. I got caught up in the weight race to have the latest, lightest saddle but I'm finding that the old standby works the best. Other than the Flite, I think it's one of the oldest saddles in Selle Italia's line. You have to search to find them though; they don't show it on their website, but they still make it. Pro's would stop riding if they didn't make it anymore!

As for the wheels, Bonty Aero's aren't light, but they roll. We all like light things, but when you feel a set of aero wheels get up to speed and start working for you then you know. Why do you think that teams are still riding Mavic Cosmic Carbones? Those things are STUPID heavy for the price and that they're (sort of) carbon. But they ROLL! Outer rotational weight is great for everything except for the high mountains. I change tires all the time as well; until I stopped working in the industry. I used to get flooded w/ everything that was available just to test and see if I wanted to bring them in. I haven't ridden a tire that costs less than $50 in over 6 years! I won't go back, I'll just ride them longer; you know, when they wear out. So right now I'm shod w/ the Vredestein Fortezza Tri-Comps. These are very supple, sticky and actually wear pretty decent for a high-end racing tire. I'll talk more about tires some other time, as I have a TON of info to divulge.

Foot interface is achieved through Time's new RXS pedals. I originally was using Look, but they haven't changed how you walk on their cleats, and Time has; it's much easier. Plus, the pedals are super-light, and they're freaking cheap! They're also French made so you get all the above and they're not out-sourced to Taiwan. They have a little more input from the retention spring vs. the slippery feeling the Looks give you while clipped in. I didn't know I'd like this until I tried them. Now I like it.

Bottle cages were originally Tacx Tao, and they fit the bike perfectly. One of them broke, and I can't stand not having things matched, so I put on the Profiles I had sitting around. I actually like the way that an open design releases the bottle vs. the Tacx closed version. The other problem that arises from that style is you need to have the right sized bottle to fit inside, and you wouldn't believe how bottles vary from company to company.

Sorry I'm so lazy in not adding the links, but you can do some work for a change. When I built this bike it was pretty dope, and while it's still an absolute joy to ride it's starting to show it's age. Just like me; although I am getting faster!

funny I should mention...

2006-06-09T13:10:00.000-05:00

Mayo Flayo!
Iban Mayo nearly caught the nameless French guy who won the stage today (still a great and deserved win) w/ a display of his old climbing self last seen in this race 2 years ago. He even crashed early on and managed to pick himself up and prove himself a protagonist on the stage! I may have called him a bitch, but I still think he's an amazing talent that I wouldn't want to see wasted by a fragile morale. Iban has one of those climbing styles that makes you want to be on your bike doing the same thing. It's got a snap to it when he's on form, and it constantly looks like he's going to "light the blue touch paper" and shoot off making everyone look like "club cyclists". [ed.note-managed to paraphrase from the "Book of Paul" twice in one sentence] You always want to see good riders riding great, so "good on ya mate"!

Christophe Moreau is looking decent too. Not bad for a 35 year old Frenchie also w/ a fragile morale. He admitted it himself. Would've been nice to see him get a win instead of Menchov as he did a majority of the work, but that's how it goes.

Hincapie looked better on this climb although Levi is still the dominant American so far. Landis Mayo'd (old Mayo) his way up the climb again today, so hopefully he's saving himself for the Tour. Floyd came in second to El Capitan de Austin in this race so he knows what is needed to get from here to July.

It's weird how long it feels to get through the off-season and through all the early season races, but the moment the classics start it's suddenly June! So much good stuff packed in such a little amount of time. After the Tour the season is a letdown. At least w/ Cycling.TV we'll be able to see the late Summer and Fall classics to tide us over. I'm not a big fan of the Vuelta, although it can be a good race, it doesn't have the power that the Giro and the Tour have. It's still a bike race!

T-tags:Dauphine Libere, Iban Mayo, Hincapie, cycling

Images courtesy of Cyclingnews.com.

cycling.tv so nice!

2006-06-08T22:26:00.000-05:00

Got to watch the Ventoux stage of the Dauphine Libere this morning (6/8) on Cycling.TV. It's great to have an available source for LIVE coverage of Euro races (other than OLN TDF coverage). The race for those that don't know is a great prepartory race for the TDF. It's a good indicator in most cases of where your form is for the beginning of July. Although that's a source of debate these days due to Lone Star (Spaceballs voice!). Lance decided to contest the race in 2003 and said that's where the trouble started as he went to far into the red; he won both in the end, obviously. In 2004 Iban Mayo blew Armstrong out at the Ventoux climb, winning the race convincingly only to find himself taking a walk up the first real mountain stage in the Tour. I really thought that he was going to hurt Lance that year, but he turned out to be a big bitch and hasn't done a thing since! He is however looking a little better this year, but his team is treating him like a mental patient out on leave waiting for him to go awol and stick him back in the white van!

Back to Cycling.TV. It's well worth the money subscribing to the Premium Channel as the free content suffers from MASSIVE bandwidth problems (more than likely on purpose!) You can go back and watch all the races that they've covered including Roubaix, Het Volk, and others. The archived material is available at any time.

I'm still getting used to the commentators voices, but that's because we're so used to the dynamic duo of Phil Ligget and Paul Sherwin. They do a good job, and have some good insight to the racing. Anyway, racing on your computer when you want it; can't ask for much more!

whatever!

2006-06-06T08:52:00.000-05:00

I've been riding, but I really don't have any time to post anything as I'm still working like a dog trying to get my resume site up and running. The other reason I'm not posting my rides, is that once again, I'm not ABLE!

The other day I was having a great ride and I had brought along my camera to get some shots of my bike and the saddle I'm riding right now so I could do some reviews. I was able to also get some shots of a snapping turtle that had decided to camp out on the path as well. I will say that I was having some issues w/ my Polar (what a suprise) speed sensor. It unfortunately has started to crack at the slots for the zip ties and it moves around. It kept hitting the magnet on the wheel; ANNOYING! I would stop and try to situate it; this happening many times during the ride. So after my turn around it started to happen again, so I started fiddling w/ it while moving (you know where this is going) and inevitably my fingers slipped and PING, my fingers hits the spokes (bladed)! There's that moment before you look at the wound that you decide what it's going to look like from the sound and the pain and I thought I was going to see part of my finger hanging off. It happens that I just grazed the middle finger, but there was a chunk of skin flapping followed by the sweet crimson flow of my innards. I was more worried about getting blood on my white bar tape and my shoes than I was about the actual wound! I was able to stop the bloodflow pretty quickly and continued my ride.

When I got home I wanted to see the pictures I took and as I stuck the card into my card reader/usb hub everything went haywire! The computer froze, and after I restarted I was able to see the card but it was saying that it wasn't formatted! The reader zapped my card! I lost the day's ride as well as my cousin's wedding and my nephew's communion. I tried a recovery tool and the images weren't there. I was however able to recover my honeymoon pictures, even though I have them backed up on 3 hard drives and 2 hardcopies...SWEET!

The story gets better. It turns out that incident has also fried my motherboard as my computer is no longer getting through post! I just built it, and it's dead! This would be a perfect time to update to a SLi compatible motherboard, no money, no upgrade! Hopefully this will correct the issue as I'm pretty sure that the problem is w/ the board, as there is no way to truly isolate it. So much fun!

too much post, not enough time! (rasta accent)

2006-05-20T18:15:00.000-05:00

could this be called balance?
I think that as I've been riding up to 5 days a week there is no way in hell that I'm going to post all those rides, so I'm simply going to post those that stand out from the rest. Besides, I have a crapload of work to do on the computer that doesn't involve my heartrate; other than the times I can't figure out why my images won't show online but my src and href files are correct... I HATE DEBUGGING!

A few weeks ago I put in a 70 mile effort just to see if I could at this stage of the season. Everything was starting to fail towards the end but it was still fun, most of the time. Some wad (geek, herb, idiot, etc.) made a snide comment about my use of armwarmers for the day's tempurature. I'm guessing that he felt that there wasn't a need given the copious amount of arm hair he was farming. What pissed me off was that I gave him a friendly nod and he just stood there w/ this shit-eating grin on his face finally breaking his aloof silence by cracking on my apparel. I hate people.

The week before that I did 222 miles for the week! I felt great, and it was nice to get over the 200 mile mark so early. But, it has dawned on me that I'm not sponsored despite my best attempts to look as though I am, so there is really no justification at putting in that amount of time on the bike. So I've started to cut my rides to around 2-3 hours depending on what I'm trying to accomplish. If I'm going hard it will be the short side of 2 if not less, while if I'm chillin' or doing base work it'll be closer to the 3 spot. The 50+ rides really eat into your day not only in time on bike, but also in the recovery process. I'm usually a vegetable after those kind of efforts.

a little bit of ultratraining!
The hard efforts lately have been tailored towards Lactate Threshold training. Basically I'm trying to brainwash my body in thinking that lactic acid isn't that bad, Clockwork Orange style, minus the Beethoven. I'm riding just into Zone 4 right around 163 BPM (for me) so I don't fill my legs w/ acid and they're able to flush what I am creating efficiently. The more you do this, the less that the acid and amonium buildup affects your performance at this effort level. Depending on your fitness, you can up this level in future rides until your body says no more. This helps you go longer, and harder when others start to blow up.

I've also added the Fatty rides back into my routine as well. Ride up to your high Zone 2 and not above so you'll want to do this on flat terrain; no hills! The reason why you want to avoid the changes in terrain is that you won't be taking on any calories. No gels, bars, carb drinks, nothing! Doing this forces your body to search for the most readily available energy source in your body w/ out tapping into your glycogen stores (Zone 3 and above) which is whatever you put into your stomach. If you haven't put anything in there it will switch and look for the next readily available source which is your fat! This generally happens around the 1:30 mark into your ride. You'll feel ravenous, then suddenly nothing! Keep this effort and most of your caloric expenditure will be provided by your fat stores. This is an old Euro-roadie training secret. You should only do this when you're decently fit. Otherwise you'll bonk and crash. I do carry gel w/ me in case I do have some problems and I do need some calories to get me home.

cycleboredom says talk w/ your doctor before beginning any type of exercise regimen, and definitely before you starting taking any sort of supplement. Eat better. Live longer.

T-tags:training, cycling, lactate threshold, zone training

what am i training for?

2006-05-02T17:51:00.000-05:00

I've written and re-written posts regarding my training and nutrition and they all seem to get very long. I can't seem to cut things down as I see need to keep as much info as possible. But it does seem strange to keep posting about training and not really touching on why or what I'm doing this for.

are you a smoker, son?
I once took a lung power test in college when I was fairly fit from skating and some riding, and the instuctor asked me that question. I was shocked. Like an ass I smoked in high school 'cuz it was cool, but had quit nearly 4 years before that test! I have no lung capacity, therefore no staying power, therefore no racing. I imagine that I could build up my VO2 after awhile but that is limited by a genetic marker so it will never increase beyond a certain percentage.

But I still love cycling and testing myself to see how I can perform. I want to get better so I work at it. I also have to say that I and nearly every shaved-legged hill junkie have body envy. I see guys racing on TV and in the local crits and want to sculpt my body, or a better term, reduce my body down to their fat-less perfection. I'll stop before this borders on biker porn. You've heard Phil Ligget comment on the "long, lean, bronze legs of" so and so and wonder what that old man gets off on. He's a leg-shaver too! He's got the disease.

i'm not a Jan!!
It seems as though I suffer from the Jan effect; winters aren't kind to my waist, stomach, etc. I have to get it off every spring/summer. Since I'm also German, I inevitably would get the "Hey Jan!" everytime someone would see me in my kit. You get tired of it no matter what you say to yourself; especially if you have control over it. I vow that I won't reach the ematiation of Rasmussen though...

foundation.
I've obviously been doing "base" rides in order to get my entire body in shape. I say entire because you have to build up all the micro-muscles that you use to simply hold yourself up as well as getting your legs, lungs, and heart up to speed. When you do long rides over at least 2 or more continuous hours your body starts to truly build it's endurance on a whole scale. Even your down-tube/soft-tissue area builds up in order to endure the saddle time!

variation.
Once I feel as though I have a good foundation I'll start to vary my rides in intensity and in duration based on what I'm trying accomplish. If you're racing you'll have specific goals or weaknesses that you'll want to work on. I could have been considered pack-meat in my 200lb+ days, but now I want to be more of an all-rounder w/ a touch of climbing. I'm just over 6 feet tall, so that in and of itself limits how much I can "dance on my pedals" as I attack the various Cols of my hometown. Yet I can achieve a sense of liveliness when I do hit the climbs and not the ponderous big-gear approach that the Fat German takes.

There are many sources of training info out there but I had started using the Armstrong book written after the '99 win. It was written by my friend and former customer Peter Nye (not the Science Guy!)! It's simple and straightforward; all you need. I haven't started following it this season yet, but I have added repeated intense efforts througout some of my rides. Thing to remember is if you go out to push yourself focus on just that. If you are out to ride the lactic acid out of your legs from the previous day, don't go chasing after the high-socked hybrideer that just passed you. Old, and still true today, way of thinking is: slow and long, short and fast. You'll end up killing yourself if you go out for 5 hours doing intervals. You can have some hard efforts if you want a good workout, but too much leads to overtraining. Doing a slow and short ride is good for getting coffee or groceries; leave it at that.

As I add different types of rides I'll share them w/ you. I can't wait to do cadence speed training again! I'm a pain junkie!

i had some time on my hands.

2006-04-30T19:14:00.000-05:00

Although I haven't been posting my rides, I have been riding a crapload recently. This past week I ended up w/ over 222 miles w/ 2 days off. I even added an intense day to my base training as well. I'm finding that the more that I ride, the less I want to type about it. I'm addicted to being outside and riding in the zone for hours on end. I have a bitch of a time focusing in the rest of my life that being able to do one simple thing allows my brain to rest regardless of all the random idiocy that I may encounter.
The two rides I'm posting are a base and "el dÃa de intervalos". The base is a normal ride while the interval is just a long ride full of repeated max efforts. The giant gap on the top (interval) ride is due to me screwing w/ my saddle position. For the past week I've been taking an ergogenic supplement made by Cytosport called Vasostat. Those that know me, know that I love testing out all the performance enhancing supplements out there, and I have anextensivee knowledge on them as well as sports nutrition in general. Vasostat is just one of the Nitric Oxide supplements out there that are the hot pills for all the muscle-bound lifting freaks. [ed.note-good god that was a terrible sentence!!] What I'm trying to say is that there are a million companies producing the same variation on the same theme... I take the Cytosport version because it has more to do w/ cycling, and the company name doesn't sound like I'm taking steroids. It must be late, or the drugs are taking their toll 'cuz I can't write a sentence to save my life.

Anyway, the claims are that it opens the "anabolic superhighway" allowing you to go harder, longer w/out the bad aftertaste. The placebo for this test was that I forgot that I had started taking them. During the "intervalos" ride (which wasn't supposed to be hard) I started to act like an ass and try to drop and/or catch people on the trails as well as giving hard efforts to all climbs that came my way. I even changed the route to add some more climbs! This was a drastic change from the grinding base rides I've been doing since the beginning of the year. In short, I definitely feel the difference based on my own forgetfulness! Whether or not this will work on you, I don't know, but there are plenty of products out there all claiming to be the natural answer; some being true, and some being great ways to make money out of idiots like me willing to try. I believe in the validity of Cytosport's products, as well as my other favorite, E-Caps/Hammer Nutrition. Cytosport has a terrible website, but they are sold on many of the top nutrional sites out there in www land. I'll get into E-Caps later, maybe. I have a habit of not revisiting topics...

I'm getting stronger and it's because I'm taking little white pills. Oh, and I'm putting a ton of effort into the rides as well as eating nutritionally; I guess I should mention that. The hard work/good diet thing does pay off; the pills only help you work harder, longer. I'm going to start to vary the days giving myself long, slow days, w/ short, hard days as well as active recovery rides. It's hard to truly do active recovery as I live on a reletively steep hill, and have to exert myself a little to get home, but for the most part the rides are w/ out much effort. It's fun riding in full kit only going about 130BPM (my max is above 200); people tend to look at you like your crazy. Then again, that's usually from the guy riding the hybrid w/ his white socks pulled up to his knees.

cycleboredom says talk w/ your doctor before beginning any type of exercise regimen, and definitely before you starting taking any sort of supplement. Eat better. Live longer.

after that last post...

2006-04-20T17:15:00.000-05:00

You'd think that I lost my faith in cycling after my last entry, but NO! I was just a little angry as I have been watching all my taped coverage from 2001 to 2005 that OLN bestowed upon realizing that those days are over. That post is over, this is now. What's been on my mind though is I miss the days of EPO. You know, when you thought that everyone was on it but didn't want to actually know if they were and just marvelled at them flying up mountains seeming larger than life; you know, the 90's! [ed. note -we realize that EPO has been used before the 90's but this post is about the 90's, deal w/ it.]

I have a nearly to scale posterboard of Marco Pantani after his 1998 double in the Giro and the Tour. His ears are the normal "Elephantino" size too. I prefer them that way. It's one of my prized cycling treasures. It's been so long (in cycling years) that you forget how dynamic of a rider he was regardless of his future downfall. His destruction of Ullrich in the '98 Tour will still be one of my favorite Tour moments of all time. I loved seeing him fly while the bags under Jan's eyes grew as fast as the gap was. His victory salute took on a religious power not just in symbol but also in the epic nature of the stage win. At this point all you cared was that you witnessed a truly awesome display of climbing power as the Italian usurped the Kaiser's throne. There wasn't any thought that he was doping even after Festina exploded.

Speaking of Festina, go back to the '97 Tour and watch them take over w/ the sheer volume of stage wins. Neil Stephens rock the baby salute isn't as charming as it was then in light of the juice he was giving himself. I thought of cyclists as rock stars back then. I'd say that changed but I still get giddy as a schoolgirl when I'm around anyone associated w/ a team!

It is amusing to go back and watch races where someone is "really showing some form", or "producing the time trial of their life", and "doing some inspired climbing to stay w/ the final selection". 2002 is great to watch Raimundas Rumsas during his "inspired Tour"; you can't help but to yell out to Paul and Phil and let them know, "THAT'S BECAUSE HE WAS DOPING!!" He was still a hack; he never had any kind of class as a rider and that showed as his mechanics let him know by not tightening down his aero-bars for the final time-trial! The priceless images of him struggling against them as they continued to fall forward will not be forgotten.

Remember that there is always another to come along to replace the detectable...

I've lost the focus of this post, since I started it nearly 2 weeks ago, and I'm just finishing it now (4/30), but I'll revisit this heartwarming theme again as time permits. Thank you all for coming.

Images courtesy of Cyclingnews.com and Graham Watson.

who still cycles? didn't lance retire or something...

2006-04-17T17:03:00.000-05:00

So as I'm waiting for Lance to start the Prologue in Luxemborg and suffering through endless repeats of the Lincoln Navigator commercial on OLN's coverage of the '02 Tour, a slew of interesting (at least to me) thoughts have popped into my head. First, it looks as though we're passed the golden years of cycling coverage on American TV, and everyone complained about it the ENTIRE time! You know who you are. Remember all those horrible co-anchors (Kirsten Gum, Al Trautwig, and those other guys...), repeating commercials, fishing shows, bullriding, 5-6 hours continuous coverage of mountain stages, multiple show times, and full Giro and La Vuelta coverage? Well thankfully those days are over as the coverage looks to be lean and mean this year.
I will flat out say I NEVER complained about any of the coverage OLN gave us because I remember trying to watch Lemond during weekend coverage on ABC's Wide World of Sports. So what would you rather have: one hour a week, or full 4 mountain-pass coverage for nearly every mountain stage? This is why the rest of the world thinks we're ridiclulous, we whine and complain when we actually have it good. Pathetic.

OLN is bringing the Giro back, but only on streaming video on the internet. For $20 you can have live coverage. Aren't we already paying for cable? This is what you'd call progressively archaic. OLN listened to us, and took everything away. This isn't a rail against OLN (well, somewhat) but it's unfortunate that once Superman left Metropolis... Lance definitely isn't the only American cyclist but to the general public he is. I still get the obligatory "Go Lance!" when I'm out riding. Ahh, the post-Armstrong blues.

oln, cycling, lance, giro

McQuaid has the answer!

2006-04-11T06:53:00.000-05:00

"Law? The only law out here is UCI son!"

"Now we can handle this like gentlemen, or we can get into some gangster shit!"

"7 Tours in a row? Not if I was running things..."

Blah, blah, blah, the ruling stands. Yada, yada, yada, something about rider safety. It was a goods train man. The goods train stops for nothing! That's what it does! That's all it does! YOU CAN'T STOP IT!

Good lord I'm all over the place w/ this one.

Image courtesy of Cyclingnews.com.

T-Tags: roubaix, UCI, crap ruling, cycling

why'd you do it Roubaix, why?

2006-04-10T15:38:00.000-05:00

It's a cruel race on so many levels and has been since it's inception. You have to take the outcome as it unfolds whether it's joy or pain. It nearly killed Johann Museeuw some years back as he shattered his knee giving way to a nasty infection. Phillipe Gaumont broke a leg in 2001 which I think was the impetus for him look to EPO to get back into the fold. Same could be said for Johann... Damn, there's a wasp in here! It puts the wasp in the inner tube and the inner tube stings! But I digress.

I've got a great idea...
Here's a shot of George's bike before the race showing the brilliance of Trek. This is the bike that this fork came from. I want to say that I really like Bontrager components. I own many Bontrager components. I also own a Trek bike. On that bike are Bontrager wheels (I put all the Bonty components on my Giant cuz I couldn't stand my bike looking like everyone else out there w/ the same model). But, for some reason I still have an issue w/ a professional cycling team using so much OEM products on their bikes. The wheels I can deal with as they're some of the best out there. They held up to my fat ass when I was indeed fat! I just feel as though there has to be something better out there that has more of an elite style, weight, and quality. I used to sell Bontrager parts and they were subjected to the most critical tests available in the world. But for instance look at the stems that the team are using. Are they using the top of the line model that Bontrager offers? No, they're using the aluminum Race (X) Lite. This is multi-million dollar team using parts offered on sub $2000 bikes. Who cares if it's the same bike offered on the floor that Joe Hairlegs can buy and collect dust on. They should be elite. They should be untouchable; something to be coveted; something that gets torn out of a magazine and taped to the wall like porn. Uhh, that's not happening for me.

So George was riding one of the greatest races in all of cycling, on the verge of making himself immortal in the eyes of the classics gods, when his Centrum Silver racing/touring/comfort bike fork sheared sending him to the ground, fracturing his collar bone.

I'm just having fun. It's obvious that anything could break at any time regardless of the quality or price of the component. I still hate that Trek tastes too much like vanilla. It's a good classic flavor, but it's got no flava! One of these days I'll get a shot of mine and show you what it should look like.

Hopefully George will recuperate fast.

Image courtesy of Cyclingnew.com.

T-Tags: hincapie, cycling, roubaix, trek, bontrager, centrum silver

but why don't they just ride on the roads...

2006-04-09T08:58:00.000-05:00

Welcome to Cycleboredom's live coverage of Cyclingnews.com's live coverage of the 104th running of Paris-Roubaix. Yes, I'm typing this live but you ain't gettin' it live. Update of race at this point:
10:06 EST 47k to finish
Postal has the most cards in the deck as Hincapie has Hoste and Gussev to help him. Boonen amazingly has NO ONE!?
10:09 EST 45k to finish
I'm going to stop the live coverage as the Bontrager handlbar/stem/fork decided to break on Hincapie's bike and he's crashed into the ditch! WTF!!!!! Why can't this guy get a F-ING break?!
10:11 EST
I have to go outside and pick up the things I threw out the window. Why does a team w/ that much money have to ride freaking OEM house brand parts? Did anyone see Lance's bike in last year's Tour? Beautiful frame, wheels, Shimano groupset, and a RaceLite stem!?! Again, WTF? Granted Trek made him a carbon handlebar that doesn't look like it belongs on [ed.note-offensive remark to follow] some oldie's steel tourer. Honestly, who makes a race bar w/ 90° angle on it and thinks that's what the public wants? It looked and felt ridiculous.
10:23 EST 34k to finish
No word on the condition of George. The break has Boonen (Quick-Step), Van Petegem (Davitamon), Cancellara (CSC), Ballan (Lampre), Flecha (Rabobank), Eisel (FDJ), and amazingly Hoste and Gusev (Discovery).
10:27 EST 31k to finish
Perhaps this is Hincapie's legacy. He's turning into the Raymond Poulidor of Paris-Roubaix. (look up Anquetil and Poulidor)
10:33 EST 27k to finish
Boonen is powering the break as usual w/ a little help from Gussev. Lars Michelson (CSC) was in the break just before I started and I wanted to comment that I had a chance to meet him back in 2004. He's been racing for a while now, but he still has great form and seems to be in a bunch of important breaks. I remember him making a comment that the shop I worked for at the time only seemed to carry Trek. I assured him that was the, wait, wasn't the case... I also got to meet the rest of the CSC team at the time which included Bobby Julich; he's so dreamy. The DS for the race the next day was Sean Yates! When he walked in he asked me in a voice and manner straight out of a Guy Ritchie movie, "Who's the proprietor of this establishment?" It seemed dramatic at the moment, but all he needed was some bike tubes. But it was bike tubes w/ an English accent; much better.
10:49 EST 17k to finish
Everybody seems to want to blow the race apart. Cancellara had just attacked w/ Gusev going along, but it seems that Gussev is already on the rivets and can't keep the effort. Discovery still has 2 riders in the front where everyone else is by themselves. This is the race situation that George always wanted, but never had... WTF!!!
10:52 EST
I have to go outside and pick up my laptop that I just threw out the window.
10:54 EST
Fabian Cancellara leads w/ Hoste, Gussev, and Van Petegem chasing at 0'09. Looks like Boonen has fallen behind. That would make things a little better in light of Hincapie falling.
10:56 EST 10k to finish
Cancellara has a 31' gap over the chasers. Who would have thought this was to be the race today? It's refreshing, but still plain weird to watch it unfold. Only 2 cobbled sections to go and from what I remember, they're more ceremonial (meaning well-kept) versus the farm cart paths that they're usually punishing themselves on.
11:00 EST 8k to finish
Boonen's group was STOPPED BY A TRAIN!! Beautiful. If you haven't noticed this isn't impartial journalism by any means!
11:03 EST 6k to finish
Cancellara just finished the 2nd set of cobbles and has a 45' gap on the chase group. Unless he runs directly into a wall he should take this. Anything is possible in this race though.
11:06 EST 5k to finish
Hoste seems to be the stronger of the top 2 finishers from Flanders, but he's not going to get a win in either. It's actually nice to see Boonen suffer. It makes his wins more plausible in these days of doping. You always get that twinge in the back of your mind that he can't possibly be that good. It happend to me w/ Lance too, so shut it!
11:09 EST 3k to finish
The Disco boys are starting to screw around w/ Van Petegem. Who's going to take the coveted 2nd spot on the podium? I can't be too sarcsastic, I'd be floored to be anywhere near those damn steps! It's great for your career, and super for your sponsors as their logo is up there for all those photographers. So it's going to be networking solutions followed by either a cable tv channel or vitamins.
11:14 EST FINISH
Cancellara takes a great win followed by I think Hoste then Van Petegem. Hoste is a beast. Fabian hit the line w/ a gap of over a minute. That is not small for this race. Gussev took 4th while the boy in white, Boonen took the sprint for 5th followed by Ballan and Flecha.

So from us hearing about Fabian at the 2004 TDF prologue where he won in front of Armstrong to this win today, he's truly established himself as great rider. As you can see this race is dictated not only by one's mental and physical strength, but also luck. Luck sees you through w/ out your fork breaking (word on Hincapie's bike), crashing or getting an ill-timed flat. This is such a preposterous race, but one of the greatest of all of them.

I'm going out on a limb to say that the Trek bike George was riding was using a fork that was carbon w/ a bonded aluminum steerer. A fork made of ALL carbon and being one piece has to be better than bonding. I know that Trek said that the gain is minimal in weight, and that the strength is better w/ aluminum, but w/ the nano-tech that's out there now, and the advances Trek has made w/ carbon, they have to see the change is needed now.

So it looks like the officials have decided to completely screw the race aside from Cancellara winning. They say that the Hoste group are disqualified because they went through the gates at the train tracks. This is simply stupid. Today's race was a joke; aside from Fabian winning.[ed. note-more info says that the gates went down just as they were getting there and there was no word on the radio whether or not they were supposed to stop.]

Images courtesy of Cyclingnews.com

quick-step is bad for cycling!

2006-04-05T17:56:00.000-05:00

read it here first:
I've come to the conclusion that the Quick-Step Innergetic "mob" is a detriment to the state of cycling. They dominate all races that they enter. They either are in every major break, or they chase down every break that they're not. Tom Boonen rides protected by team mates virtually negating any chances for others to take the first podium spot. The Tour of Flanders and much of the other spring classics are rapidly becoming predictable and I dare say a bore... Ooooo, me incite flame war! Sounds like another team we all know doesn't it? As Lance bore down on the Tour record books, this rhetoric became more commonplace the closer he got. I'm wondering if we'll hear anything remotely similar as Boonen destroys everyone in his path during his quest towards cycling immortality. I don't think that I'd be unhappy about Tom winning Vlaanderen if he didn't do it in front of two Discovery riders! Both Leif Hoste and big George Hincapie are on fire as of late! I think that I dig(g) the Disco boys more now that the Texan is no longer riding. Sounds strange but I feel that they have to work a shitload harder to gain any kind of respect this season in his wake.

The MUUR!
One of my favorite parts of any race during the season is the Muur de Grammont which is in both of the images here. It's not the toughest of the hills in the Belgian classics but it's one of the most exciting. It's the penultimate climb in Flanders and the peleton or the break are usually haulin' ass. Some of the best photos of the year come from this small cobbled climb as everyone is generally out of the saddle powering up it. One of my favorite shots is of Frank Vandenbroucke in the '99 Ronde (couldn't find the photo); he always had dope style. Same goes for him in '03 again against Peter Van Petegem; dope! I have a soft spot for the "terrible child" (he's not much of a child anymore); doping, and mental illness aside, he rode w/ class and took some spectacular wins early on. He's showing a little form this year riding for Unibet.com. VDB baby!

you have to feeeeed a cold.

2006-04-05T17:14:00.000-05:00

I keep thinking of a commercial that was on at least 10 years ago for some medicine where everyone was giving this person advice (old wivestales) on how to treat a cold. The one thing that sticks in my mind was the older, bald deli-dude throwing a huge sub in our face saying, "You have to feeeed a cold!" He would accentuate the word feed, and his pitch went up a little. Just thought I'd share that bit of nonsense w/ you all.

los dos paseos.
I've ridden several times since my last ride entry, but I think that I'm just going to post the last 2. I'm still fighting something that I can't really feel. I'm not coughing or anything like that, but I still have that damn infection in my throat. I've been avoiding antibiotics but this has gone on long enough. The rides themselves have been uneventful to say the least; I just needed to get outside and do something other than what I'm doing now (typing). I'm feeling stronger but there is something there, that I'm guessing is me fighting my infection, that's holding me back. It could be in my head as I've been so sick for so long.

One thing I did notice about the first of the two was how my heart rate reacted "normally" but I wasn't sucking wind when I was pushing it. That felt odd being that I'm not in shape whatsoever.

me so giddy!

2006-03-30T17:40:00.000-05:00

Good stuff coming. Good stuff happened. First what has happened:

Boonen is a beast. He took E3 Prijs again, for the third time. As well as using Dwars as a training ride; he was playing w/ the peleton the entire day. This is all after leading "Pipo" Pizzato out for the Quick-Step win of Milan-SanRemo. He is the obvious favorite for the Flanders/ Roubaix double again. I like him. My wife likes him more! What's more he's not an ass! No big Cipo or Simoni mouth. Just a strong rider talking w/ his legs and wins.

I've been VERY impressed w/ the Discovery Channel's riding this spring. They just took Driedaagse van De Panne w/ new recruit Leif Hoste claiming the blue ribbon of domination. To top this off, the final time trial saw non other than 3 Disco boys clogging the first three places! Leif, Hincapie, and Stijn Devolder blew everyone away in convincing fashion. This is the post-Lance effect. Everyone that rode w/ him have become exceptional all around riders themselves. It was either that or not make the team. Lance rode fast.

Former Postie and now Phonak team leader Floyd Landis (winner of recent Tour of California) won Paris-Nice! California was a good win, but this is a downright confirmation of his power. Landis has the blessing of his entire team as they all believe that he will be a major protagonist come this Tour de France, if not gracing the top podium step itself! This is very early in his season and he's not even peaking yet! He recently dropped the Giro as a prep race for le Tour hoping that he doesn't go into the red against the other prodigy w/ a Lance connection, Ivan Basso. An American has won the past 2 editions of the race as Bobby Julich took top honors last year.

Other things that make me happy and prove that the cycling world stars are aligning:
-3 time former World RR Champion and rainbow jersey curse victim Oscar Freire won Brabantse Pijl (don't you love these Belgian race names!). He's been suffering from one NASTY saddle sore that, well, we'll leave it at that. No we won't, that sucker abcessed! Ugh!
-another former RR Champion and curse victim Igor Astarloa has been showing his missed face in the top ten of nearly every race he's entered this year! This guy had a year like Boonen did when he won the RR title and then proceeded to not be heard of at all until now. He's riding for Pro Continental team Barloworld, so he's not in all the Pro Tour races, but given his results he should be able to sign w/ someone next year that is.
-Erik Dekker won a stage of the Criterium International. He's been a great rider in the past years but has suffered from major injuries for the last two.
-Ivan Basso hasn't been injured and is not a former World Champion, but he will be a major Tour winner this year. He just won the Criterium International well before his form is scheduled to peak in May for the Giro. Can he do the double this year?

As for what's coming, I'm tired of typing and I already said it earlier. Flanders and Roubaix. The height of the Classics for most. I can't wait.

Images courtesy of Cyclingnews.com.

study: multiple colds lead to low post count.

2006-03-22T23:21:00.000-05:00

I'm working on nearly an entire month of this crap. I was coming onto some good form and... I actually tried to return about a week and a half ago, but I was rewarded w/ my wife's cold. She so nice! This one is in the chest; the kind that wake you up in the middle of the night trying to expectorate the inner lining of your lungs across the room. The ride sucked by the way. I'll get around to posting the data sometime.

I've done some writing on nutrition and my training, but I think that I have to pare it down so I don't sound like Chris Carmichael and the Surgeon General rolled into one. I guess this would mean more if someone was reading this, but nevertheless I like to see myself type.

I need to get Pinkey from Revo to help me w/ my bottom bracket since it's still talking to me. I'll never understand what my BB is trying to say, so I'd rather stuff a pillow over it's head and shut it up for good. Stuffing a pillow is another way of saying that I need to pull that f$#%@r out and fill the shell w/ some anti-sieze again. I have a stand, but no FSA BB tool, nor the knowledge of what I'm doing.

Maybe one day I'll write about what I'm riding. Maybe.

Started my morning w/ a little Belgian breakfast consisting of coffee and a side of Dwars door Vlaandaren courtesy of Cycling.tv
Check them out if you're looking for a little bike fix. You have to pay for the premium channels which usually have the best races live, but sometimes you'll get lucky to catch a race like this morning. Me happy to see some live racing!

you're on the bike path bitches!

2006-03-11T12:13:00.000-05:00

race face tells me...
so if you're like me and frequent the bike paths to lessen your contact w/ the idiots and their cars you may have experienced this phenomena...the race face! If you're completely unfamiliar w/ the term, you usually see race face on athletes getting ready for an event. They'll have their race face at the start as they're thinking about the upcoming effort or as they're dealing w/ whatever little demons surface mentally as you're about to compete. You'll remember race face on the Olympic swimmers on the blocks, or on the speed skaters skating up to the line their faces emotionless telling nothing of what they're feeling. Race face can also be called "game face", but to me that sounds like a bunch of screaming Neanderthal football players headbutting each other before running out onto the field. No, race face is reserved for racing. Point A to point B; an all out effort against the very person you're standing next to…

So what the f#@% place does it have on the Mt. Vernon Trail bike path? You're not racing. I'm riding the other direction so I'm not suddenly going to turn around and try to race you to the next whatever post proving who es mas macho. This always comes from my fellow roadies. You don't see anyone riding a 10 year old steel hybrid giving you race face. In fact they're usually the ones passing us in our professional euro-kits and thousand $ bikes! Is is because you spent a shitload of money on your ride and you couldn't possibly talk to someone who's bike would only retail for $5000 [ed.note- that's w/ everything calculated at the highest possible MSRP...I have issues]. Maybe it's because it's not custom. It can't be because it's blue, can it?

already bad p.r.
Roadies already have the worst reputation on the paths. We go to fast, we yell when you're in the way, we cut our passes WAY to close most of the times, and we're generally unfriendly asses. I worked in shops for the 5-6 years and sold a ton of hybrids, and these casual customers HATE roadies. They're wondering why we spend so much on our bikes when we're not racing. They can't understand our attraction to helmets, sunglasses and kits (clothing) that looks like we're going to "race Lance in France". At the suggestion of the good stuff they cower responding, "Oh no, I could never ride/wear that I'm not a racer." We use this stuff 'cuz we know it's good, and it's fun to have/use the good stuff. It enhances our experience as riders. Kumbayah moment aside, I feel the need to help foster a positive outlook upon us the elected elitists of the cycling world.

And what do we do, we perpetuate it. It's such a small thing to say hi on the path. But they decide not to. Not a wave, nor smile, or nod emanates from their steely gaze. I've been known to give the face but that's usually when I'm sucking wind trying to catch Grandpa on the hybrid w/ loaded panniers; I simply can't make another face, I'm in pain! This is where it gets fun for me. Macho elitist asses aside, the local team riders (NCVC, Squadra Coppi, Java Shack, etc.) are the ones that make me laugh the most. I've talked to their elite team members (Cats 3 to 1) and they'll say that they always smile or nod when riding. They actually feel the obligation as ambassadors of the sport to portray themselves as well, not asses. They then divulge that it's the 4/5 guys, the pack fodder, the newbies, the guys w/ the cleanest newest team kit that give the face. Since they don't have the results to fall back on, they give the face to make themselves feel superior to others. Here's another point to ponder: go out and find yourself some pro riders when the CSC Invitational (Clarendon/Arlington/VA) race is being held. I can guarantee that they will smile, nod or wave to you. If they don't let me know and I'll flame 'em on this blog! If you keep it short and sweet w/ the pros they'll usually respond pretty positively. They know that this sport is super small in the States regardless of who Lance is banging next.

All I'm getting at is that you're riding on the bike path. It is a privilege to have these great trails for everyone's use (meaning that there will be others sharing the blacktop w/ you), so what hurt can at least a nod do? There, I'm done.

Photos courtesy of CyclingNews and Fotoreporter Sirotti

ride data: 3/5/06 technical difficulties

2006-03-11T11:55:00.000-05:00

ride so nice; recovery? what recovery?
I'm just going to be short w/ this one. This post is a week late 'cuz I got super-sick early Monday morning. Chicken or the egg; I'm guessing that I got ahold of some bad sushi first, then I got nailed by some type of virus that had my temp up over 100°. I wasn't able to eat anything substantial until Wednesday. Needless to say, I'm still recovering. I haven't been sick like that in a long time. My digestion is still suspect even today.

On the ride side, I had "good sensations" (as the pro's say) in the legs today. All climbs were finished a slight sprint effort just to see if they could react to the change of pace. The reactions were better than positive as they felt invigorated to be pushed! They're starting to feel like where I was when I started to slack. At least I know this is the earliest in the season I've ever felt my legs respond in this manner. Pretty stoked brah! I just have to get the rest of the engine in tune w/ the legs.

The inset is the split from the finish of the ride; it's the split from the middle of the ride you see in the main image. This is where you can see how your finish was. On the days that there's been wind, you can definitely see the differences. I did just noticed that the split has the a gradient percentage logged. That's available nowhere else in the program, and that's the first I've seen of it. I've always wanted to know that the gradient of some of the climbs in the area are like in comparison to races in Europe. I'll have to play w/ this one.

ride data: 3/3/06 -leg warmers are for aerobics...

2006-03-04T15:08:00.001-05:00

well that sucked!

For some reason I can't seem to figure out that when it says its windy on the computer before I go out that if I'm riding well going out, that means it's at my back! [ed. note-my wife says I don'ted writed this gooder. Long story short, I can't apply the info I read on the computer w/ the real-time conditions as I'm riding.] Which means that it's going to suck getting home. I've done it nearly every time. Today was no different, except that the starting temp was around 40° combined w/ wind speeds of up to 20mph so the wind chill was below freezing! That sucked! It was the kind of wind that when you take a drink while your nose is running it feels like you're drowning. Meanwhile your throat is coating itself to protect you from damage combining w/ the energy gel making another interesting concoction preventing you from breathing like you should as you're riding into oncoming wind… Other than that, the ride was awesome! Clear skies, and for at least half of the ride, NO WIND!

I was really concentrating on pedaling circles as much as I could remember to. The physical act is not hard, it's training your mind to remember to keep it up as you tire. It's not up to muscle memory yet. I'll talk about that another time.

30 miles but w/ a nice hill added into the mix at the midpoint. It's in this old development that's across the street (or parkway in this case) from the trail and it has multiple hills of varying degrees of steepness and length for repeats. I'm not doing repeats yet, but I'm looking forward to it. I was just happy to get over it for right now.

altitude courtesy of trial and error.

When I turned on my watch I noticed that it gave me a starting point of 130ft. I don't have a topo map, and I'm bloody well not going to pay for the access on the net ("bloody" courtesy of Chaahlee on Lost), since I live right near a great starting point: the Potomac River! I never start down there though, and I haven't calculated the elevation from there to where I live now like I did before. But considering what it came out to be on the ride above, I'm thinking that I'm roughly 200ft above sea level. I have to do a run just for the true number sometime.

rest of the blah, blah, blah…

My kCal was at 1200 I think. My data is at home and now I can't remember. I like that my HR is coming down even when I was fighting the wind. Starting to get stronger every ride.

Plus, I'm still rolling w/ just knee warmers, no damn leggings for me. I'm making it my mission to get through this winter w/ out having to resort to tights. I do have to say I'm using Sports Balm's Freddy's Choice Warm Up Xtra for the exposed parts. A little bit of oil to help block the wind, and some cayenne to warm you up. It's pretty cool feeling when your pores open up allowing the hot stuff to get in there. That sentence is kinda paradoxical isn't it? Anyway, you end up smelling like you're on the start line of an early spring classic. I'm such euro-trash it's unbelievable. Self-embrocation is illegal in some states...

the same but different.

2006-03-01T20:27:00.000-05:00

I'm still fighting something, the same something I've been fighting for the past month. I'm keeping it back w/ Air Defense immune booster, and Zicam zinc chews. These have been doing the job, but I keep running myself down after I start to get ahead. The rides are feeling good though. I feel stronger, but I'm wondering why I'm still putting in the same times. Not that averages are a great indicator of progress, but I'd expect a higher average MPH would equal a lower time. I did stop and check my phone for 5 minutes, but that's not a huge difference to hang onto.

I put in a pretty good effort on the final hill and didn't have a hint of fatigue, in fact it was pretty exhilarating. That's one thing that I'm truly looking forward to: launching up hills w/out a problem. The stronger you get, the steeper the hill you look for. It becomes an obsession. You start to see hairpin switchback and imagine that you're on Alpe d'Huez powering away from the peloton on your way to a solo win; you just have to get rid of Basso who's been shadowing you the entire day. Everybody wonders how I can go the same route every ride and not get tired; there's your answer. I've got a freaky imagination.

I'm sure that I'm going to see a change in the time pretty soon if today's ride is an indicator.

at least it's not my job...

2006-02-27T00:33:00.000-05:00

It's tough to keep up w/ these posts on the races. A lot of crap to cover so 'ere goes!

ToC (as it's affectionately known) provided no new suprises since the last post. Well maybe that the T-Mobile men decided to get themselves on the board w/ 2 wins by Olaf Pollack, several days after the ladies opened their account for the season. May have been some harsh words on the bus before the starts on those days. Floyd showed us all that he has the cojones to lead a team and not crack like Jan when someone attacks him. Levi gave it his all but came up a little short in the end results. We still love you Levi, you're named after jeans. Then again it would've sucked if you were named "Husky"…

The true cycling season has started in Belgium w/ the arrival of Omloop Het Volk, and Kuurne-Bruxelles-Kuurne, the 2 semi-classics. Het Volk is a small race in comparison to it father the Tour of Flanders, and it's mother Paris-Roubaix, but nevertheless provides some exciting early season racing. You can count on the race to provide the worst weather Belgium has to offer; and the Belgian racers wouldn't have it any other way.

Omloop Het Volk saw Phillipe Gilbert (Francaise Des Jeux) solo to a magnificent win in front of World Champion Tom Boonen (Quick Step) and a couple thousand of his closest Belgian friends. Tom rode a strong race but was a marked man. Wearing the rainbow jersey will have that affect; you're hard to miss.

Kuurne-Bruxelles-Kuurne bore witness to another strong Boonen ride, but yet again to no avail. The Belgian was instead a super-domestique to one Nick Nuyens (Quick Step), winner of last year's Omloop. Nick was the opportunist of several attempts to get away from the lead group that itself was only 30 seconds in front of a hard charging peleton. Nick's final dig was the clincher as no one wanted to work w/ the possibility of bringing the World Champion and one hell of a sprinter to the line w/ them. Boonen doggedly sat on their wheels as Nuyens continued towards victory. A late dash gave Leif Hoste of the Discovery Channel claim to second place on the day while Boonen cruised in to win the sprint easily for third.

The season has officially started. The big ones are coming!

Photo courtesy of Cyclingnews and Luc Claessen

ride data: 2/25/06 prevailing winds prevailed!

2006-02-25T20:44:00.000-05:00

No reply yet from Polar on the USB problems, but, I did however find my damn serial version! It goes a little slower but since I probably couldn't outrun it I won't complain; I'll simply take another sip of coffee waiting for it to upload.

Quick rundown on the interface: red curve w/ white fill is HR, red line w/ grey fill is altitude, green curve is RPM, and blue is MPH. Essential data is along the bottom. Data directly under graph is pinpoint data, which I haven't highlighted. This is where you can see all monitor data during a selected moment of your ride. In the future I'll highlight this when I'm doing something other than keeping from passing out and staying upright. I give myself too much credit; 700c training wheels are my domestiques of choice! Get me water bitches!

I wish I could show you the windspeed average, since I was fighting it for most of the ride. I wasn't going to cry about this one as I was visualizing I was riding Het Volk (ran today!) in the same dramatic, crappy weather conditions. You can see some of the data I've been giving you, but it doesn't give you everything unfortunately. Interesting to note that the distance and time were nearly the same but the effort was completely different. You can see the effect the wind had on the entire ride. I imagine that on a calm day I could've shaved off a ton of time.

For everyone's knowledge, the altimeter is based off of a barometric sensor, so the altitude of my start/end point can vary every once in awhile. Here you can see it was a little lower than when I started; or it may be that my apartment is sinking...

tour everyday, posts are not...

2006-02-24T14:58:00.000-05:00

I guess Floyd (Phonak) is gonna take it. Word is, barring an accident, the course doesn't promote itself to lead changes from here on out. Something to think about in the future when planning stages. It's not too much fun to have the race decided less than half way through. Quick run-down of how we got here:

Stage 2- George Hincapie (Discovery Channel) won the sprint and the time bonus to take over the GC from Levi (Gerolsteiner) by 4 seconds. Jorge opened his account this year a couple of weeks before he did last year at Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne.

Stage 3- The Flying Mennonite takes a big one! Floyd Landis shows us how Big Mig (Miguel Indurain) did it w/ a new tunnel-tested position, destroying the field in the process. It's impressive to see the Americans really stepping it up and showing that there's definitely more to us than simply Lance (and Greg for those that still love him!).

Stage 4- Haedo (Toyata-United Pro) has a double shot! JJH beat out Fred Rodriguez (Davitamon-Lotto) and the rest of the field for his second win of the tour and the season. GC remained the same as Floyd came in w/ the pack and the same time.

Stage 5- Live action as of 3:00pm EST shows a break of at least 5 w/ just under 100K to go. Results to follow.

Photo courtesy of Cyclingnews and Jonathan Devich. So nice to visit!

ride data: 2/21/06

2006-02-21T20:35:00.000-05:00

I felt decent for most of the ride today, but that may be from the fact that I was stopping repeatedly so I can provide you people w/ something to look at other than my numbers. Yes, I took some pictures of my glorious time on the path today. Hopefully you'll appreciate all the trouble I went to…

31 miles/ 2 hours 47minutes/ 13.6 mph average/

84rpm/ 1491 kcal/160 bpm avg/ 188 bpm max.

Very similar to the last ride. I'm still having too many days in between rides to really start to change quickly. My legs are feeling better though, and my recovery was great. I'm usually a BITCH after my rides, but it seems that I did things right today.

The first shot above is out past Alexandria on wooden bridge that was deformed by the last hurricane to pass through. As corny as it may sound I like to envision myself riding in Paris-Roubaix, pretending that the weathered boards are the cobbles of the northern classic. I know this is smooth in comparison, but you can really get the feeling of having to push a "massive gear" (Paul Sherwen) so you can float over effortlessly.

The second shot is of the back straightaway of Haines Point in DC. This is the perfect place to do any kind of interval training or virtually uninterrupted riding for at least a 3 mile loop.

See you next ride.

levi is still golden!

2006-02-21T19:47:00.000-05:00

Yesterday's stage ended in a sprint w/ the Toyota-United Pro team taking its first ever win as Juan Jose Haedo outmuscled the big boys of Europe. Stuart O'Grady of CSC showed well taking third while big George Hincapie managed fifth showing that his sprinting form still is there despite being the much heralded climber that he's now become. Levi came across 22nd inside the peleton giving him the same time as the winner and allowing him to keep the golden fleece another day.

1 Juan José Haedo (Arg) Toyota-United Pro         3.14.13 (39.88km/h)
2 Olaf Pollack (Ger) T-Mobile Team                                      
3 Stuart O'Grady (Aus) Team CSC                                         
4 Charles Bradley Huff (USA) Team TIAA-CREF                             
5 George Hincapie (USA) Discovery Channel

Photo courtesy of Seng Chen and Cyclingnews.

inaugural tour of california!

2006-02-19T23:42:00.000-05:00

An American 1-2-3 in the prologue kicks off the first Tour of California! Levi Leipheimer (Gerolsteiner) won the 3 kilometer assault of SanFransico w/ a time of 4:53. The rest of the podium was filled by Bobby Julich (CSC), and my man George Hincapie (Discovery Channel). Floyd Landis and David Zabriske rounded out the top five giving us a possible glimpse (minus Ivan Basso) of a July Tour battle. I can't wait to see how all these guys push themselves to take Lance's throne. 7 more stages and we'll know.

The bike choices varied by rider as they decided what would be best for the course. Most time-trials are ridden on flat courses but for this prologue they decided to add Telegraph Hill at the end which is a brutal climb. Time-trial bikes are designed for straight, FLAT speed, so many riders opted for their traditional road bikes outfitted w/ clip-on aero bars. That being said, Levi won on a true time-trial bike. Moot point I guess.

On an interesting note the tour's title sponsor, Amgen, is a major producer of the drug EPO (erythropoietin) which is also the blood booster of choice for those trying to get an edge in cycling. I'm siding w/ Amgen in that their sponsorship is in effort to bring light onto EPO's true medical use for anemic patients. Funny enough, if you dig through their website, you'll find that they also produce Aranesp which has been implicated in the doping scandal involving Johan Museeuw. I'll leave that one alone. That's sorta like when you start to figure out that Santa isn't real...

Photos courtesy of AbbiOrca by way of CyclingNews. Check 'em out!

ride data: 2/17/06

2006-02-17T12:51:00.000-05:00

I still haven't resolved the USB problem so still no pretty screenshot of my pathetic fitness. I think that I should take a camera along so I can at least have something to show on the blog instead of a mass of words. Maybe I'll make a cute graphic to put the monitor info in, however today I'm going to just throw some numbers up on the screen and you can deal w/ it.

I added a little more to the ride yesterday, totalling 31 miles. The average temp for the ride was a tropical 65°. Unfortunately along w/ that came some ridiculous winds, and that just flat out sucked. Here's a quick rundown:
31 miles/ 2 hours 16 minutes/ 13.5 mph average/
87 rpm/ 1304 kcal/163 bpm avg/ 181 bpm max.

Once again, another piano ride. I bring up the piano term because Bob Roll kept talking about it during the 2004 Giro on OLN. The Giro stages are typically started in a piano state, w/ everyone going ballistic in the end. The only thing going ballistic on my ride was my thighs on the hill getting to my apartment. I was almost on the verge of cramping. I hate getting back into shape. It has only been a couple of months layoff of distance riding and even though I was riding to work, the muscles really do atrophy quickly.

I've had a pretty decent recovery and most of the muscles used to hold myself upright aren't huting today so that's a good sign. I still find this funny since I was doing mostly 50 and 60 mile rides during the summer w/ significantly lower HR and higher average speeds. I even completed my first century. I rode to the end of the W&OD (Washington and Old Dominion). That's a long damn time to be on a bike. I'm not looking to do that again for a while.

We'll see how the weather holds out for the next few days.

2006-02-14T12:33:00.000-05:00

Look like the weather dudes got it right this time! I guess if I was into snow sports I'd be more amped, but now all I see is crap everywhere. The last time I snowboarded, it was the 80's, and the boards had pointed noses and flat tails! XTREME!! Now we begin the wait until the sun takes care of clearing the paths. 50's prescribed by Wednesday; soon my sweet, soon!

first sub 40 ride in a long time

2006-02-10T18:03:00.000-05:00

A little history first…

I’ve just started getting back in the saddle (distance rides) again after nearly a 2 month layoff. I was commuting to work everyday by bike, and while there were some below freezing rides, they were only for a mile. I used to have a commute of over 5 miles, and I did that rain, sleet or snow. But after moving out of DC and only a couple blocks from work, I definitely softened a bit (we’ve since moved again). I’ve repeatedly slacked off during the winter, only to get started w/ the fat loss at the end of March. A little repetitive. Last year was no different, but I started the training at a healthy 220 pounds! In an effort to not look like pigs in our wedding photos we began shedding as much as we could. In June I was at 190! By August I had reached 172! I know that you’re not supposed to lose that much weight that fast but w/ riding upwards of 200 miles a week, cutting out all simple sugars (high-fructose corn syrup the main one), and all trans-fats (partially-hydrogenated oils), then upping my intake of unrefined whole wheat products, and unrefined anything, it naturally fell off w/out problem. I’ll get into the nutrition later, muy importante!

So a couple of days ago (2/08) I threw on the layers (yet another future post) and set out into a 37° degree sunny afternoon. I’ve been riding at least 2 days a week for the past 2 weeks, but they were all above 50°. I knew I was ready to start hammering again when I wanted to do a sub forty ride. The rides are more about getting the muscles used to being on the bike again for an extended period than anything else. I’m doing them piano (ask Bob Roll), only 20 miles, and not chasing any passing hybrid commuters.

The numbers are funny compared to what they were in the summer:

20 miles/ 1 hour 27 minutes/ 14 mph average/
88 rpm/ 844 kcal/167 bpm avg/ 194 bpm max.

Not so fast, but I’m happy I’m just getting out in that crap. I hate cold weather; plain and simple. Once I figure out the Polar thing, I’ll finalize how I’m going to post the numbers in the future. By the way, I’m starting the season at 180 pounds. We’ll see if I can match the little Italian climbers this year.

grand opening takes a twist...

2006-02-10T12:28:00.000-05:00

For some reason I now see fit in a span of just a couple of weeks to start what is my third freakin' blog. Well this one, as the title suggests will be about nothing but the miracle of the CPU clock cycle, and our need as powergeeks to overclock them...sorry, wrong blog.

So as many others before me I’ll be sharing my training, experiences, as well as some noteworthy cycling news links. But, I’m also going to tap into my wealth of cycle industry insider knowledge and give you plenty of unbiased (hopefully) reviews and opinions on everything cycling related.

I was going to start off showing you my latest ride by way of the data collected by my Polar s720i, but this is where things took a twist. If you read my blog Coffee Induced Stupor, you’d know I recently built a new computer. As w/ all things computer related, new doesn’t always mean perfect, especially w/ existing peripherals like the Polar infra-red USB device. Polar to their credit does have info and downloads for problems installing the sensor, but it doesn’t seem to be working for me this time. One of the reasons for building another computer is that my previous C: drive decided to start talking to me just before it died! Yes, all my files from the past 2 years of riding were on there, and NO I didn’t back them up…

This isn’t a dig at Polar, as their watches are great, but like many other companies that have great tech in the signature product, the accessories and software included usually suck, are overly complicated, or hopelessly outdated. Case in point for outdated: the Specialized Speed Zone P.Brain Cyclometer and HR monitor generously include the PC download module and software but the computer connection is serial, and the software is on a floppy! Granted the model is on closeout, but even in the past 4 years USB has been a standard as well as CD-ROMS. It’s just disconcerting, that’s all.

So somewhere in my vast array of junk, I DO have a serial connect Polar sensor, but of course I can’t find it when I need it. I’ll keep you updated w/ any changes. We’ll see how Polar does in support as well.