Finally...

...some truth out of the Euro-Pro ranks...


Contradork's shirt showing who the GOAT* is...


*(Greatest Of All Time)

All Twitch...not me!

How Big Ring is Taylor Phinney? You can't take that kid to the finish...especially on the boards. Two straight at Roubaix U23!

Two parter for me this morning...
Part one ended out near the Krispy Kreme...no, I didn't go in...assholes! I stood to leave the intersection and the telltale ker-pang of a broken spoke ruptured the silence. I was on my 32h/3x wheels, so I rode the bitch home. 31 spokes under tension keeps the wheel damn straight!
Thankfully, I think I have a few of the HIGH $ CX-Ray spokes down in the Manhole(tm).
I rolled home slowly, changed front wheels and was off again.
Part two was drama-free...thankfully! 90 minutes steady with 45 minutes of good SST thrown in towards the end. I never got wet, but it's not exactly a Chamber of Commerce day outside.

Oh, what to do for the rest of the day...?

Happy Memorial Day

The Giro ended today...what an epic race! So good! I think I'm going to just go ahead and pre-order the DVD from WCP.
Basso gets a long deserved win. Evans shows some truly aggressive racing. Veino didn't win. Everyone is happy!
I post some video, but I haven't found it yet. Universal has a linkable video, but it's so shitty that it's just not worth bothering with...
Now, let's all hope the Tour doesn't turn into a drug-raid fiesta, like the 1998 edition. Somehow, I think there will be more drama than there really needs to be this year.

Moving on...
The H.O. and the MTs loaded up and left for the beach yesterday morning. I rolled out early for a solo ride before they departed. Felt like shit...rode like shit...par for the course.
The rest of the day was spent laying around, sleeping and trying a new recipe in the kitchen. All 3 were deemed a rousing success!
I met Il Prof this morning to do a long-ish ride. We ended up doing Screaming Eagle backwards and had quite a nice ride. I actually felt a little better on the bike today. I may be getting a little more used to the new position. The afternoon closely mimicked yesterday's.
The whole 'quiet house, no yelling, no noise' thing is very nice. Don't get me wrong, I love my family, but a brother needs a break once in a while!

Don't know what's happening tomorrow, but I'll be on the bike somewhere. Have a Happy Memorial Day and remember why you have the day off work! Peace!

20

Gavia...snow...no more needs to be said...

p1


p2


p3


Last 3km


I rode for an hour yesterday, then shipped the family to the beach. Nothing like a quiet dark house to allow one to return to center!

19 (last 10km)

Could there be an uglier language?

Giro Stage 18

From RAI...

Couldn't find a video that could be embedded...sorry...

Did an easy, tired loop of the Fort tonight. Pretty empty way out at the end of Dixie. I saw a turkey, two hawks, a snake as big around as my forearm and a coyote. Don't know what kind of snake it was, but it was about 5 feet long and moving across the road with due haste. The coyote was a little one, which means mama coyote was around there somewhere!

I felt like hammered shit when I left the house, but felt better as the ride progressed. I'm taking tomorrow morning off to help the H.O. get her poop in a pile for the company beach trip. They leave Saturday @ lunch, which means my week of solitude begins about 7 minutes after that! I foresee a lot of riding, sleeping and a little bit of work around the house.

Oh, and check this shit out...Arroyo's pink Dogma...


He really needs some white, or even pink shoes though...

Gotta take mt front wheel to Shrews tomorrow morning to fix the character that it now has thanks to the road 'repairs' out on Dixie. Yeah, they're paving some of it, but they've also dug out some as prep work. I almost got swallowed by a hole @ 40kmh yesterday...

TNWC

The TNWC brought out a small group last night that became smaller pretty quickly. The break got away...the chase broke up into two groups, then just shattered completely. MW took the sprint from BK by about 1/2 a wheel.
I know it was windy and threatening rain last night, so that kept some folks away, but the TNWC has had poor attendance all year, save for one race. Is it dying a long, slow death after many successful years? It sure looks that way. It's a shame, and I have my ideas on why, but I'll just keep them to myself...



What 24% looks like!

That's it for me. I'm going riding....

Edit : Stage 17 finish from the Giro

Giro>Tour AGAIN

C'mon, it's only 500m to go! Harden Up!
For reference...Simoni ran a 39/34 setup on the cranks and a 12/29 cassette...
Some more numbers:
13km
3500ft of climbing
8.5% average grade
24% max (on the dirt BTW!)
Unreal stage to the top of Plan de Corones today!

Video...in Italian no less!

Video Monday

For those who are interested, here are the videos for the entire Zoncolan climb from yesterday's Giro stage...insane!

P1


P2


p3


ToC Stage 8

HolyCrap!

Giro Stage 15 finish...
Look at all the freaking people on the Zoncolan!!! Giro>Tour

Rode short this morning...out to the Speedway. Trying to figure out if it's even possible to have a cross race out there. Unfortunately, it would be entirely too difficult and time consuming to even bother with it. Perfect place, yet a shit location...
Looks like my first choice will be the priority. Still working on second location for a possible Sunday race.

ToC ends today....live on Versus....

See you guys Tuesday. Peace.

Edit- And if you ride through the Fort and cut through the woods/Palmetto Trail to get out into Lower Richland, you're welcome!

Quickie

ToC Stage 7 time trial




Giro Stage 14 from Universal...sorry, no embed again...dicks!

Here's the last 4km ...




Great day @ the 321TT today. Good turnout...if you read this, and are at all close by, come out for the August race.

No ride for me today, but still a long ass day...

Video Friday

Edit: Again, no embed for the Giro stage (13 today), but here's the video. Craig Lewis is a stud...

Lance's crash @ the ToC
It also took out Stuey and several others. Jeremy Powers said he ditched it and ran for his life...
Here's Van Ulden doing just that!

Great finish though!


How strong is DZ? Sure, he didn't win, but he absolutely shattered the field on the run in...and still finished 2nd! I'm sure it was the dope....right Floyd?
Good on Sagan for the win! 20 years old...

12th Stage @ the Giro almost went UFC. Not 'Cuddles' Evans fault though. I've watched it several times and it looks like Cuddles was yelling for Righi to work and things spiraled from there.

This is the last thing I'll say about Floyd unless he comes out with blood bags or video of all of them sitting around running up EPO.
I find it funny that all of the 'sports' guys on TV, be they local or nation, think that Landis has zero credibilty and are falling in line to support Lance, Johan, Levi, et al. Usually these guys wouldn't know the difference between the Tour of California and a bunch of hipsters doing skids in front of Cycle Center.
Even the clueless think Floyd is full of shit!
The only bothersome thing that the 'mainstream' dumbasses are doing is comparing 'FloydGate' to doping in baseball. the fact that they are trying to associate the two to prove a point about doping is further proof that you don't need to know much about sports to be a sports guy on TV.

The 'Floyd Landis Death Clock' had started. RevBigRing has July 3rd. JB has Bastille Day (July 14th). Hit me up for a date, before they all fill up.

Edit: Here's Michael Barry's response to our favorite Mennonite. Kinda shoots some .50cal-sized hles in the story, eh?

Some things...

Yeah, yeah, yeah...
We've all read the stories and emails (purportedly from Floyd). Here's my take...

KEEP YOUR PANTS ON!

First, Floyd has been proven as a liar several times before, including under oath. People said he was innocent, then guilty, then full of shit. Now, suddenly, he's the second coming? Really?

Second, Floyd has been proven to have sent threatening, borderline blackmail, emails to pretty much everyone from Lance, to John Burke (Trek), to the CEO of Amgen. These will come out sooner rather than later. Remember when he HACKED the French lab?

Third, Floyd has ZERO hard evidence of anything that he's claiming. His emails to various media and cycling-related outlets is some cowardly lion bullshit that smacks of spite and desperation. Cycling has basically turned it's back on him and now he is pointing fingers and naming names. He needs to remember that when one points a finger, there are three pointing back.
All Floyd has done thus far is make libelous and defamatory statements about the BIG names in American cycling, as the big names will get him press. What's the bet that his new book will come out sometime around the 3rd of July 2010? Something happens on that day, but for the life of me...

BTW, if we are believing statements read in the internet, I'm banging Megan Fox on a daily basis!

Am I naive to think that LA, Levi, or whoever has doped in the past, or might be on the AVGAS now? Hell No!
To ride at those speeds, over those distances, you have to do some sort of ACTIVE recovery. As a nice European lady told Il Prof on their cross country trip, and I paraphrase, "The Tour cannot be won on a ham sandwich...", or something to that effect.
I don't condone the drug use, but I understand. If you are from a dirt poor family, in a dirt poor country, and someone offers you the opportunity to make more money than you've ever seen in your life, you take it.
And climb down off your moral high horses folks! If a Genie popped into your living room and said you could have Lance Armstrong levels of fame and MONEY, and all you had to do was spin your blood in a centrifuge and take a few injections now and again, YOU'D DO IT!!! If you say you wouldn't, you're full of shit and YOU know it! Hell, I'd do it TODAY!

Lastly, for all of you conspiracy theorists who think the Omerta of pro cycling is keeping the story down, move out of your mom's basement, take off your tin foil hat, and get some sunshine on your faces. It's becoming a bit like the whole 'Moon-landing-was-a-hoax' thing. Tens of thousands of people would have to be in on the plot, and as we all know, three people can keep a secret if two of them are dead!

I didn't believe Floyd then, and I don't believe his line of rhetoric now. Funny how those who have been accused have stepped squarely in front of the camera, yet Landis is MIA...

The other negative from all of this? Lemond will pop out of his hole at any moment and flap his fat, alcoholic, parnoid gums. STFU Greg...

ToC Stg4 and Giro Stg11

Columbia/HTC tried to go from a little too far out...

Giro Stg11

Again...no embed, but follow the link to watch the Stage overview from Universal.

A couple of things about the Stage...
1)The guys doing the voiceover for Universal should be punched in the neck. Too excited and yelling for no reason. Phil and Paul don't lose their shit...
2)Quit calling it a 'break' people! If 50+ dudes get away, it's the bunch. The guys behind made a mistake and got dropped.

I did the HoP+ yesterday. I'd planned on making a couple of sharp efforts, and did, including one that was courtesy of the USPS. I caught a mail truck as it turned out of the distribution center on Saxe Gotha. A right turn towards 321 and it was on! The driver rolled it up slowly and set it at 50-55kmh for the length of the road. The trusty Cateye said we maxed out @ 68.7kmh.
It was only a few minutes, but it definitely blew the carbon out of the pipes! Good stuff!

I'm holding judgment on the purported 'FloydGate' emails. A year ago, everyone thought he was full of shit. Now, a few emails get tossed around and everyone thinks he's the truth. Which is it people?
I'm not so stupid to believe that cycling is clean, but there are certain guys that I flatly refuse to think that some of the guys mentioned were systematic dopers.
We'll see...

ToC Stage 3 (DZ) and Giro Stage 10 (Farrar)

No embed link for the Giro video, but follow the link to RAI TV (in Italian) for the last kilometer.

Big day for the Americans. I like the sprint finish by Farrar, but DZ showed that he's no one-trick pony in his finish in Cali. Freaking awesome!

The H.O. got home LATE last night, so I rolled out to the TNWC and got there a little past halfway. I jumped in for 20 minutes, chased a couple of gaps, got a good effort and then got out of the way for the finish. With three to go, EG got in a two up break and burned off his partner. Instead of sitting up, he ventured FAR into the pain cave and soloed in for the win. It was impressive!

Peace...

Goin' back to Cali...

This is all the coverage there is of Stage 2 of the ToC. The nanny-state that is California wouldn't let the choppers fly in the rain yesterday, so no real coverage to speak of...
Evidently though, the descents into Santa Rosa were slightly moist and forced more than a few pros to eat tarmac, and split the field into several groups.

Giro Stage 10 this morning...I'll post video later today.

I wonder if anyone will show up at the TNWC tonight if it stays cloudy and wet? I may not even bother...no one else does...

The best picture you'll see of Vinodoucheov....(courtesy J.Bristol)

Rains and crashes and sprints...oh my...

Stage 1 from ToC (yesterday)


Stage 9 of the Giro. I hope there's a shoe dryer in the team bus...(crappy Universal Sports overview...can't embed. WCC clip will replace this later on...)

Stg8

Sorenson's face @ 6:10 pretty much sums it up!

In case you want to watch the entire climb...

I didn't plan on riding this morning, but the old body was stiff, so a spin was in order. I'd planned on going out for 45 minutes or so, but the longer I stayed out, the better I felt. Of course, 'better' was completely relative.
I went towards the HoP(tm) West loop, which offers several opportunties to either bail and head home, or turn for more extended abuse. I split it somewhere in the middle. 90 minutes later, I was home with 40km.
I rode the Salsa as it has little gears and no computer. Spinning small gears in the early morning heat, unencumbered by the constraints of any information pertaining to velocity is, in fact, good for the soul!

No bikey for me tomorrow!

Oh, and speaking of good for the soul, here's a non-cycling related video you should watch!

Why the Giro is better than Le Tour

Civitella climb (dirt/mud)


Finish


Cadel shows how it's done...on EVERY surface. A dirt, well mud really, climb and then a finish through the town on the cobbles...are you kidding? The cheese eating surrender monkeys that put the Tour together don't have that much imagination.
I know the word 'EPIC' gets batted around a lot...too much really, but Stage 7 of the 2010 Giro was EPIC!!!!! It's a rare thing when the fittest men on the planet come across the line and look like hammered shit! Just watch the videos. If you don't agree, take up tennis!

There were 5 parts total of video...the bits I've posted are 4 and 5.
Here are #1, #2 and #3...the Civitella starts in part 2 and continues through part 5.

Did the TdM this morning with Il Prof. It was big fun. Good front group of 10 guys that stayed together until @ the 100km point. Il Prof was starting to come apart, so I sat up with him and we rolled in. It was worth the trip out to God's country. I wanted some miles, some sun and a good time...I was not let down!

Stg6

Matty Lloyd wins with nobody else in the picture. Good on ya mate!
I hope someone explained to Hondo that you really shouldn't give the double arm salute for coming across 3rd.

The position change feels good on the bike. Feels like there's more power now, but it has come with a caveat. It seems that in changing position and opening up my right hip and leg a bit, I've awakened muscles that have been lying dormant for a long while.
When I was screwed sideways, my hip flexor was closed, thus not doing much work. Now, it, and the right quad, seem to be actually in the fight. Great, right? Yeah, but I can see that I need to ride the position for a while to get the muscles going.
Last night, after about 35 minutes of abuse at the hands of the strongest dudes in town, my hip cramped and I just sat up. The back was fine and the lungs were okay, and I thought about cutting off HH and getting back in the ride. Discretion took over, and I rode home through the front with Mrs. Kaiser and Il Prof.
Don't know what everyone else did last night, but I had a good ride.

Il Prof and I are making our way out to LHS for the Tour de Midlands ride tomorrow. 115 lovely, rolling kms around the lake. 0830 is roll time.

Stg5

...and they stayed away...
What a fucking brilliant run into the finish!



Looks like summer has started around here...90 degrees and humid today...
I'm going to the Bloodletting...not sure how it'll work out. I've taken a big swing at my position issues. Let's see if I made any contact...

Mid-week shenanigans

First, here's a bit of the Stg4 TTT from the Giro. So glad Vinodoucheov (and Astana for that matter) blew apart coming into the finish and he's out of the Maglia Rosa. I'm all for second chances, but this guy is a stain on the collective chamois that is pro cycling. When Dope-stana was getting reay to roll down the ramp, I actually found myself wishing that they would slip wheels and take each other out. Sorry...it's what I feel...



As for me troubles, I think that I've figured them out. I put the CB Quattro pedals back on the road bike and moved my saddle forward. My back was straight, and didn't hurt, last night @ the TNWC. The float-under-the-ball-of-the-foot pedals also allowed my feet to find their 'natural' position. I need to put a couple of wedges under the cleat, but they were just fine. The only problem encountered was a mistake on my part by not torquing the saddle down properly before setting off. By the end of the night, it had migrated back about 3cm on the rails. I'll fix that tonight. I'm gonna ride the CB pedals for a while, as I OWN them. I'll probably go to Speedplay at some point in the future.
As for the race, a break got away EARLY, changed participants a few times, but never came back. The new guy, whose name remains unknown, is a fucking horse. He drove the break and beat MW in the sprint. It was good ride last night though, except for my seemingly inability to tighten a saddle.
Did an easy solo spin this morning and felt quite good. Not a 'no chain day', but it really didn't cause any sort of discomfort either. I did lose a bottle on the ride though. Well, not so much 'lost', as threw it a car. Buzz me once, you're a dick. Buzz me twice, and I'll whistle a full 20oz. bottle at your piece of shit Maxima. It bounced nicely off the back of the trunk, leaving a fist-sized dent...right next to his temporary tag. My little gift for his newly purchased shitbox!

Don't forget, the Thursday night blood-letting leaves the TNWC course @ 6:15.

Peace...

Not an apology...

...but an acknowledgment. In the past, I have been critical of Cadel Evans' crybaby attitude towards pretty much everyone, but I can say that I may be turning a corner. I'll never be a fanboy like some, but his actions, both on and off the bike, have made me see the Aussie in a bit different light.
He's defending the Arc en Ciel tooth and nail (watch yesterday's Stg3 video) and he's given a couple of things for a charitable auction that benefits a friend's little girl with CP. Maybe he's realized, as he's gotten older, that softening makes things a bit easier.

I know I have....

Stg3

Weylandt for the W
CVV crashes and breaks collarbone
Crash causes a split w/11km to go
Vinodoucheov in pink (I'm putting an * beside the overall! He's still doping!)

I'm thinking my fit issues may be pedal related. Gonna try something, and if it works, I'm going to Speedplay!

Grand Tour season has begun

While not as visceral as the Spring classic campaign, the Giro is probably my favorite Grand Tour. It seems like there's a bit more passion and enjoyment, from both the riders and the tifosi that line the roads on a daily basis.

Prologue:


English speakers seemed to have a firm grip on the stage, eh?

Stage 2



As much as I love all things Belgian, Italian is much easier on the ear...

And yeah, I rode this weekend. Cross bike with skinnies both days. My back is arrow straight on the Salsa, which leads me to believe that I have a fit issue on the Ridley. It may be time to spend the $ to go get a REAL fit...

A question...

So we're now 50/50 on building a new house. Do you think the wife would let me build out one of the bathrooms like this?
If you don't know what this ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ is, I can't help you!

1/2 way

I'm sort of liking this rest week thing. I usually get up and ride on Wednesday morning. Sure, it's a blue day for me, but I'm out. This morning, I got up, got the MTs ready for school, dropped them off and came home to the couch. Nice...
I did go out to the TNWC last night and rolled around for a little bit. My back was ON FIRE and I was largely ambivalent, so after 20 minutes, I dropped out and rolled around @ <30kmh.

I'd like to pick this up to hang on the wall... ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ (via BKW)

Edit: New linky> All Hail the Black Market

Tales of WHOA! from Tennessee

I got this link from Spokejunky and PalmettoSolo...they know the guy that writes the blog.
Crazy flooding in Tennessee!

I will say though, he had his priorities straight!


Pics of the day...

Ned Flanders @ Roubaix



The shower curtain that WILL hang in the guest bathroom of our new house!

Media Monday

This is a few days old, but worth watching again...

Jon Stewart's take on Apple and the proto-iPhone debacle.

2010 TdRomandie Final stage
Valverde wins overall



Road to Roubaix trailer
This came out in early 08 and chronicles both the 07 race, the history of L'Enfer du Nord, and what the race means to racers and fans alike. Brilliantly shot and scored. If you haven't seen it, BUY IT!



NEW:
Cancellara bike change in Flanders. Crazy!



Roubaix from the crowd...nice video!

Time for a break

As of yesterday, I'd ridden 6 days in a row and 16 of the last 21. For a guy with a shot L5 and two children under 5 years of age, I'd say that's a good training stretch. Oh, it's all when the sun is high in the sky as well! I won't get get up to ride @ 0530 (or earlier) unless there's a massive shift somewhere in the paradigm. Sorry, hard truth...

As for yesterday, well, let just say it was a much harder ride thhan it should have been, and I'm not referring to the distance or pace. 2 hours @ 30kmh should be a spin, not a struggle. My back hurt so bad that sneezing almost made me piss my chamois. I came home, put the Ridley in the ManHole(tm), had a good stretch and decided to take a couple of days off the bike to rest my aching back.

Big ups o' the day...

Our favorite Para-athlete Aaron Trent is in Spain (you suck) racing. He finished his first road race with the group yesterday under less than favorable meteorological circumstances. Nice job Aaron!
JayC finished 3rd in the 35+ @ Dilworth.
Doog won the 3/4 @ Dilworth.
Good work gentlemen!

And last but not least, Taylor Phinney wins the field sprint over Ivan Dominguez in Stage 4 @ Gila. There's fast twitch muscle and slow twitch muscle...TP is ALL twitch!

And we got a new car...a GMC Terrain SUV/crossover thingy. If you are looking for a practical, safe, EXTREMELY NICE vehicle, and do not check out this vehicle, you're missing out! Ours has everything except the DVD system and it was right @ $30k. Quality AND value in an American car? Go figure!

See you guys Tuesday...