Update

So as you all know, I had a little work done on the intake pipe earlier in the week. The swelling is still present, but getting better every day. The pain has subsided, but my neck is still about an inch larger than usual.
La Gata and I did a quick easy spin yesterday and I didn't feel great. The combo of a sore/stiff neck and trying to get the anesthesia out of me did not make for a fun ride. The fresh pavement on Dixie is sublime though...
This morning, we met for a longer, somewhat more quickly paced ride out into the swamp. I set the speedo @ 35-40kmh and pulled all the way to Westinghouse. Even three days after my 'procedure', I could feel that it was easier to take a full breath. La Gata climbs like a Spaniard, but on the flats, she no gots the power! Once into the swamp, we rolled @ 30-32kmh. 2:15 and 40 miles later, we were home. Good ride!

Now some random shite...

Best futbol goal celebration EVER...


My blue bag from PBK came today. It's like Christmas...

The H.O. also gave me the green light to pull down on some new bits for the Ridley. I'm thinking that D/A is just too much jack, and to be honest, is it necessary? I'm thinking Ultegra 6700 shifters and F/D, pared with a D/A rear. The weight difference is @100g, and let's face it, 100g isn't going to change my performance, or lack thereof. I even toyed with the idea of going SRAM, but figured I'd never hear the end of it, since I poo-poo it at almost every turn.

And with the help of Billy, La Gata is about to be the proud parent of Zip...a JRT/Chihuahua mix. Should be interesting...

No ride tomorrow, as it's #1's 5th b-day party. Nothing says fun like a bunch a yapping 5 year olds in the backyard. Did I mention it's pirate themed? Can't wait...

As an aside, if ANYONE reading this doesn't have the testicular fortitude to say something TO me, don't say something ABOUT me...capice?

Peace...

News

Berto is leaving Astana and going to join Riis @ Sungard (Saxo Bank is ending it's sponsorship). Riis can thank Mike Sinyard for that one...

The UCI have their heads up their asses...nevermind the fact that others (Cipo...cough...cough...) have worn non-conforming kits in years gone by and never gotten more than a fine...in Swiss francs no less!

Dr. Ferrari gives LeMond the single finger salute...


My neck and throat are HAMMERED today...cannot swallow anything bigger than a chocolate chip.
This will likely jumpstart my new weight loss program. Mix1 and I are going to be even better friends for the foreseeable future.

Peace...

If...

If all of the fixed gears girls rolling around looked like this...
...then I might change my opinion.
I will, however, say that if I see one of these...
...bastardized will shorty flat bars and Oury grips, I will liberate it will all due prejudice!

Haven't ridden since Sunday as I've been poked and prodded for the last two days, in an effort to figure out what the hell is wrong with me. I had an ultrasound this morning and an EGD this afternoon. Fortunately, the ultrasound was clear, but the EGD found that my years of battling reflux/GERD have lead me to be stricken with esophageal stricture. My Doc then proceeded to use a balloon stent to enlarge my throat by anywhere from 15mm to 17mm. Doesn't sound like much, but it feels like they went after my neck with an auger. Between this procedure and upping my dose of AciPhex, the hope is that the issue will be better controlled.
I go to the cardiologist next week for a stress test to rule out any additional thoracic issues. Better safe than sorry, especially at 40 years old.

Back on the bike Thursday morning...

So the Tour is over...

...and I need to get something off my chest.
I don't care if Lance doped...ever...and neither should you. You know why?
1) He brought more people into our sport than would have ever found it on their own. If you think this is a bad thing, then the problem is with you. With all of the extra folks entering the sport since 1999, technology has moved forward, the bike business has moved forward and awareness of cyclists on the road has moved forward. Would all of you power dorks have your precious watt meters now? Maybe...maybe not...! The guys with the $$$ that buy super high dollar shit bring pricing down, and the tech trickles down to the lower end of the spectrum, so that it's affordable for almost everyone. Yeah, that's a bad thing!
2) The playing field was, and remains, level. Cyclists have doped since the dawn of bike racing...so what? Are you pissed off that some may, or may not have, done it better than the rest and dominated? If so, then you should be pissed at Merckx, Hinault, Indurain and the martyr that is LeMond, cause they ALL did it. May have been dope of different tunes, but the song remains the same. In the late 80s, and right through until today, a big percentage of the peloton is on SOMETHING. It may not be the AvGas of days gone by, but it's still benefiting their performance.
3) Quit being so fucking self-righteous! Yeah, I called you morons out! You sit around and bitch on internet forums, and other 'bicycle-related' websites, about how you are pissed off at Lance, or whoever, and that you're pissed at the sport for allowing doping. I'm sick to death of hearing 'burn it to the ground'. If it were to all fall like a house of cards, then you very same douchebags would piss and moan that there's no Euro-Pro cycling to watch and talk about anymore. Then watch would you complain about? Masters racing? Oh, some of you already complain about that...
Funny part? Cycling has better dope control than EVERY other sport on the planet. Are football and baseball players forced to tell their respective governing bodies where they are...AT ALL TIMES? Hell, they get a 48 hour 'heads-up' that the vampires are coming for them.
4) Regardless of what you think of Lance, you cannot fault his ability to raise awareness, and cold hard cash, for cancer research. Nearly $350 million has been raised by the LAF/Livestrong since 1997. $350,000,000...that's a bunch of damn zeroes. Constantly speaking of the foundation, cancer, fund-raising and his personal want to end the epidemic that is cancer is not rhetoric, nor is it self-righteous. It's called promotion, and it's DAMNED effective. Again, if you have an issue with this, the problem lies with you.
5) STFU Floyd! STFU LeMond! You both doped and you are both liars. Neither of you are relevant anymore...

Now for some positive stuff...
Horner is a stud, period. He rode for LA and the bald midget, yet still finished 10th overall... better than both in Paris.
Cav is playing a different game than the rest of the sprinters.
Petacchi wins green, and deservedly so.
Lots o' crashes this year...being a pro doesn't always equate to handling skills.

As for me...
Saturday, La Gata and I did 80km. It was very pleasant. We left @ 8 and saw no on else out on the road. Guess it was too hot...
This morning, I was on it @ 0745, did two hours solo on the cross bike and was home for the last 100km of the Tour.

Peace...

Floyd

Anyone watch the 'Nightline' interview? Could Floyd have been any sketchier? That dude was twitchier than Alvin Greene!
Blah, blah, blah...I saw this happen, yet I have no proof....STFU Floyd! I heard he was talking shit about Santa too!

Hey Floty...

F*********CK!

So Kat and I met for a ride this morning. I like riding with her as it's intelligent conversation and every ride doesn't turn into a penis measuring contest, mostly because she doesn't have one. Don't be mistaken though, if she keeps her boney rear end on the saddle all winter, she'll hurt some feelings come springtime.
Anyway, out on Hartsville Guard, I had a blowout of epic proportions. Blew the sidewall clean away from the bead...no fixing that one. The H.O. was at work, so no go there. No reason to call anyone else, as they were all at work as well, so Kat's sister rolled all the way out into the base to ferry me home. Big ups to Macie for taking the time out of her day to make the save!
The 3 month old Vittoria OC CX is garbage and I wasted a spare tube and a CO2 cart...not a very cost effective 45 minutes on the bike this morning.
(4) Veloflex Corsa 22s and (4) Michelin Latex tubes are on the way from PBK.

A few links:

More Jens goodness...

Some of the pro dogs could learn some handling skills from this kid...

Cross wheels...

Off to the ManHole(tm) to get the Helium back together...

Oh, Jens...

...why do you do the things you do? Is it to make us love you even more? Or is it to show other riders what being a Euro-Pro really is?
I know a week or so ago, I questioned your hardness, since you never do the RVV or Roubaix, but yesterday's events proved what a the you truly are a hardman.

After a crash on the descent of the Peyresourde, our hero picked himself up, got a neutral service bike from Mavic, that was AT MINIMUM two sizes too small, and continued on. Broom wagon? No thank you!

His quote at the end of the stage? "Broken ribs are over-rated". Well, no shit!


Jens is cooler than you and tougher than you. When a question with an elusive answer enters your little brain, think of 4 important letters... W.W.J.D? What would Jens do?

Another reason to dislike a French rider...

...and like one of the underdogs who races like it's 1975!

And LA is off the front right now. I think Phil and Paul are naked and soaped up in the commentary booth right now....

So, so, humpable...

What losing the Tour looks like...

More Stelvio...

Floyd tempting fate...doesn't he know that Nike is HQ'd in Portland? Look for guys from Blackwater with a lot of 'Swoosh' logos on them. They said they couldn't find $ for the composite team. Did they approach Massengill? I bet Papp would have flown out to join his new hero. Of course, he probably can't leave Pennsylvania...

I gotta say...

Contador is a bitch. Sorry, I know it's "The Tour", but there are un-written rules of the peloton during the race. One of the biggest is not to attack in times when an opponent has a crash or mechanical. Contador broke this rule today and cemented his grasp on the title of "World's Biggest Shaft". He's not even worthy of being the entire member...
Remember when Ullrich dumped it into the ditch a few years ago? Lance could have easily just ridden away and gained time, but he waited. He then checked to see if Ullrich was okay after his shunt.
Twitter is lighting up with people who are defending Contadope's actions, yet if LA would have done the very same thing to Ullrich, they would have whinged, cried and decried Lance as someone who doesn't play well with others.

I don't wish ill will on anyone, but I sort of hope that there's some melted tar somewhere on the road in the next few days...just sayin'...

The reason Andy dropped the chain? Big/big cross chaining! It slipped off under power and sucked in the chainstay. If he'd been going faster, he would have gone over the bars.

LeMond v. Armstrong

My buddy Flahute brings up a few good points about our favorite looney-bird LeMond...

Summertime...

...and the living's easy...
Summertime is nothing, if not cyclical. Days blend into one another. The heat is always present (yeah, what a shocker! In Columbia!), and I've ridden my road bike 2x in as many weeks. That's not to say I haven't been making an effort to ride, health issues aside. It's just that most of my saddle time has been on the Salsa...in the dirt.
Considering the fact that I used to have a strong dislike of riding alone, solo time on the cross bike is rather lovely. The group rides have all but died an unceremonius death for myriad reasons, most of them weak at best, ergo, the earbud goes in and my front wheel points towards the dirt.
My only two road rides have been with Kat and been perfect. 19-20mph for a couple of hours. Pleasant conversation and nice weather. Can't ask for much more...
Riding the cross bike on the dirt does, in fact, makes the road bike seem rather efficient though!

Some observations...
-Why has LeMond been subpoenaed to testify in front of the Grand Jury? He's been out of the game so long that even HE believes that HE didn't dope! Hey Greg, F off! Nobody gives a good golly gee what you think anymore!
-The French are really animating the Tour this year. Is it proof that there's less doping?
-I've always been a Lance homer, but I think his own ego and hubris are clouding his vision. It's time to go my friend. Go race Kona and Leadville. Be an ambassador!
-I still want to punch Levi! 3rd step on the podium...not bloody likely...
-Why is Liz Hatch in the RoadID commercial? Can't be results...maybe it's because she crashes so much and her RoadID is used so often.
-I can't root for Contador. Just cannot...
-Renshaw sent home for being AWESOME! Dean hooks Renshaw, Renshaw fights back...okay. The hook on Farrar was a bit out of line, but done perfectly.

Okay, time to go to the ManHole(tm) and tear down the BB of the cross bike. Sounds like there's a seagull stuck in the shell...

Quick hit/Video dump

Something is seriously wrong with Zabriskie...


Still think Oakleys are over-priced and all hype?


Go ahead, wear your cheapo brand...your significant other will like the eye patch. Remember, chicks dig scars, but not the hole wear your eye used to be!


Stewey, Andy and Jens on rest day...


Nice to see dudes that actually get along as teammates...(via this website)

You got Schlecked!


Stolen bike alert...
If you live in Utah, Colorado, etc., be on the lookout for this bike! It won't be hard to recognize, as it's the only one in existence. Of, course, that's assuming Homie-G hasn't spray painted it gold yet...

I did the HoD again this morning. The rain has turned a few spots into exercises in handling prowess. Sandy n spots and muddy in others. Had a little swap in a muddy corner this morning, but stayed upright...pucker factor!
Definitely not feeling any better, but muddling through. EGD and ultrasound scheduled for July 26th. That should be a barrel of laughs...

Peace...

What I've seen in/learned from the Tour thus far...

-There is a clear gulf between the 'clean' riders and the 'not-so-clean' riders.
-The old guys are likely riding clean, as is the WC.
-My issues with Cadel are drifting away, as he lined up and raced with a broken arm yesterday!
-I want to punch Levi in his bulbous cranium every time he's on screen.
-I have serious man love for Jens Voigt.
-Some pros don't have the best bike handling skills.
-Rural France is really beautiful.
-Contador is a chode.
-There are a lot of cool bikes this year! I really want Chavanel's yellow Merckx.

I found a pic of Frank Schleck collarbone repair this morning. Look at it and decide if you really want socialized, Euro-style hospital care.


I'm sure a Doctor did the repair, but a Doctor of WHAT is the question? And did Frank's grandmother close the incision with her knitting needles?

I did the HoD+ yesterday. Legs felt good, stomach...well...not so much...but I need to keep riding for my own sanity, even if it's merely maintenance rides.

Strategery...

Lance and Johan discuss tactics after Stg. 8


Poor Levi...he's the bald-headed step-child around the cycling World these days. Probably needs his Road ID so the other guys in the bus know who the hell he is...

Asked whether the team would now ride for Leipheimer, who is up to eighth overall, 2:14 down on Evans, Horner said, “I don’t think we ride for seventh or eighth. Do we look after him? Sure, absolutely, we always have. But do we put guys in the front for eighth place on GC? I don’t think so. We’ll just have to make a plan B or a plan Z.”

Damn...Levi should change his last name to 'Dangerfield'!!!

I'm sure everyone has seen the video of LA skipping across a French roundabout like a stone across Old Man Johnson's pond. I can tell you with a large degree of certainty...that shit hurt! People give LA a large ration of crap for myriad things, yet those same people would have packed their shit into the team car and gone to the hotel after sliding across the tarmac @ close to 60kmh. It's easy to call LA (and others) names and say stupid stuff about how he's damaged cycling, but you cannot deny that him getting back on the bike and finishing the stage took serious ball! (see what I did there?)

As for my sickly self, I'm waiting for contact from the GI Doc for my EGD test. That's the one where they force the garden-hose-sized camera down your neck and poke around your innards for 30 minutes. I'm SO looking forward to this procedure!! Murmurs are pointing to a gallbladder problem...super...

Gonna spin around tomorrow morning. I guess I'll just be doing maintenance rides for a while.

Peace...

Vitamin D...a pictoral

Mmmm...corn!
Tres Belgique, non?
TRAIN...!!!
I play chicken with a train...
The view from the cockpit...

Usually do two complete loops of the "Double Secret Dirt", but a large rock jumped up and attacked my rear Michelin Jet. A flat about a mile from home...I rode the bitch in...

Tour news...
BOOM! I keep hearing The Doors when they show Armstrong on the screen...

Best. Video. EVER.

Time to go ride...

Une demande?

à moins que tu parles français avec la maîtrise, cessez de dire "chapeau"...d'accord?!?! Et oui, je parle francais, merci!


Chavanel showed real class in today's win...he and Voeckler are both too hard to be French!

As for me, the alarm went off and I rolled over. I'll ride tomorrow. Probably slowly....

I'm going to see the Doc Monday morning to start the process of getting my esophageal issues sorted out. The past month has been brutal and it's come to the point that I need medical intervention. Reflux/GERD has been a companion of mine for about 18 months, but for the past 30 days, the pain has become constant. Everything in my life is affected by the discomfort.
Riding has become an exercise in futility. I can ride 20-22mph, but beyond that, my breathing becomes an issue. I know, for a fact, that I'm stronger and faster than I have been in the last year, but my GI issues just shut it down.

Hopefully some sort of fix can be sorted out...

Peace...

Cav is back...

So Cav has shown cleans wheels to the bunch for the last two days...and I mean CLEAN wheels.

Stg5


Stg6


(real video isn't available yet...)
McEwen got taken out by a UCI official after the finish....
And there was a punch up. Euros fighting is funny! Barredo and Costa bth got fined a whopping 400 Swiss francs, which is like $9 dollars... (another angle)

I rode with JKW (aka Kat*) this morning. For a noob, she's a pretty damn good rider. Of course, being a collegiate runner lends itself to being proficient at most things that involve stamina. She's built like a runner, all bone and sinew, but goes uphill like a jackrabbit.
We did a loop of the Fort at a leisurely spin pace, which was fine with me, as I feel like crap. I skipped dinner last night and was pretty empty this morning.
It didn't matter, as going fast around the loop is nigh on impossible right now. They are paving out there and the road is JACKED! It will be nice once they finish though...

Trying to decide if I want to bother with the group ride tomorrow...probably roll that way, but if 3 people show up, I'm out...

*and for you horny dopes whose ears perk up when even the slightest sniff of a female cyclist moves into town...forget it! She's the new Pastor at the church and likely wouldn't be interested in any of the mental cases in this town...
If you are interested, you'll be fully vetted before introductions are considered.

And if you like stuff that's built with vision, talent and two hands, check out Jesse Rooke!

Oh boo-hoo...

Cav got straight BLOWN out of the water yesterday in the sprint. Petacchi seems to have found his jets again, and seeing how we are in the same age demographic, it warms my little heart!



The best part, Cav had himself a little temper tantrum in the bus after the stage. He was so pissy that his helmet came bouncing down the steps and out of the bus...EPIC! Just remember Cav, you may think you are somebody, but Petacchi IS somebody!

Enough Tour talk, you guys are watching it!

I did a HoP loop on the cross bike yesterday that included 5 solid dirt sections in 90 minutes. I chose to go hard on the dirt parts until the 4th section. I was out in the corn fields near Heathwood Hall (say it with a clenched jaw), bombing away on the double track, when I spied what seemed to be a large tree branch on the trail. Upon closer inspection and introspection, I soon realized that it was not a branch, but a giant fucking rattlesnake. I came to an abrupt stop, to say the least. The snake's length was greater than the width of the trail, so I discreetly turned around and rode away...quickly! I'm working on the general assumption that he/she is eating well out there!

Off the bike today, as it's 917 degrees outside and I really don't like heatstroke, per se....

Looping the Fort tomorrow morning...

Peace!

Some stuff

Jesu Cristo! The Tour was fucking carnage today...and it was great. Let the pro dogs whinge all they want, the fans appreciate the effort that the organizers put forth this year to make it a good show. It seems like they are actually watching the Giro and making an effort to keep up with the Italians.
And my old buddy Robert K. said something today that bothered me at first, but then I came around to his way of thinking pretty quickly. He called out Voigt for bitching about the cobbled stage today. Like I said, at first I took umbrage, but his explanation was an almost Perry Mason-like moment in my little brain. Everyone thinks he's a true hardman, but he never does the RVV or Roubaix...hasn't since his days at Credit Agricole. Sure, he's a badass, but whinging about a few sections of cobbles almost eliminates him from consideration for the "Black Card".

Anyway, I was as excited as a puppy with two peters during the last hour of the stage today. I'm sorry that people crashed, got hurt and/or lost time, but it's the TOUR de France, not the TT and climbs de France. Guys these days are too specialized. Merckx did everything and did it all better than these poofs!

Oh, and here's how you go up a climb...

Pikes Peak 2010 - Jeff Zwart In Car from Will Roegge on Vimeo.

WTF?

When the hell did Euro-dogs become such pussies? I mean really...
Yeah, the weather was bad...
Yeah, there were climbs and descents...
Yeah, the roads were slick...

SO WHAT? Did any of them watch the Giro?

It's bike RACING at the highest level, not a fucking group ride! Dudes crash in races and time gets lost. You're not supposed to wait up and make sure everyone is catches back on and is okay.
Did they sit up and wait in '99 when half the field crashed into the ocean on the Passage du Gois? Nope, the top team went to the front and drove it. Not in the correct spot when the danger comes? Tough shit, you loose time! Oh, and as an aside, the Passage du Gois is IN the Tour next year. They'll probably have a ferry to get across!

The worst was Levi. What a complete California, 'everyone-gets-a-trophy', puss. He actually complained that the weather was so bad that the directors in the team car didn't have TV coverage to know what was happening. Oh, boo-fucking-hoo...
And Carmichael, that leech to the stars defended the riders and basically called out ALL OF US for questioning what the riders did today. He then said he knew more than us b/c he raced those Ardennes roads in the bad weather. Really? Did you fucking finish Chris? I only ask this because I searched for his palmares and the only one of ANY interest was a 102nd in the 1986 Milan-San Remo. Do us a favor Chris...STFU!!!

And to the riders, Chopper says...


What are gonna do tomorrow if the cobbles are wet tomorrow? Yep, that's right, there are 4, count 'em, FOUR sections of the worst that Belgium and the North of France can throw at you in the last 20km of the stage.

I'm gonna go watch the end of the Stage 7 of the Giro. The Euro-dogs should do the same...

Happy 4th

Went out to Blythewood yesterday to ride with GW, MD, JH, and Bond yesterday. Just felt terrible the entire ride. Struggled mightily on a ride that really wasn't terribly fast or difficult. My esophageal issues are geting worse, especially since I had to stop taking Prevacid. I think it's time to go to a specialist and get it taken care of...greeeaaat!
Anyway, it was a good ride. 100km in 2:55. I'm just sorry that I was the albatross around the group's neck yesterday...
It was nice to have that much mileage in the books by 10am though! I can say, with some degree of certainty, that I'm just not wired for 0500 wake-up calls!
The rest of my day was spent on the couch with one of the worst bouts of GERD I've had in a few months...
I woke up this morning feeling sort of MEH, but felt guilty not riding, as it was 70 degrees. I got on the bike, spun for exactly one hour and came home to watch the crash-fest, er, I mean the Tour.



Hate to say it, but Cav is the one who missed that turn...

Going to some friend's house to laze in their pool shortly...

The H.O. has the day off tomorrow, so I'm on the bike for a couple of hours. Looks like a couple of early days next week too, as it's supposed to get balls hot again. See you when I see you...

Twofer yesterday...

...first one in a long while. Actually felt good and I felt stronger towards the end of the second ride. I think I'll do more of it for the next few months. Total for yesterday was 3:30 and 110km.

I'm going to do my best to roll out of bed ahead of the rooster tomorrow and be in Blythewood for the 0700 ride. That means I have to be in the WarWagon(tm) @ 0615...which means wake-up call will come @ 0530 or so. FUCK! Well, I guess bedtime will roll around early tonight!

Italy 2010 RR



Belgium 2010 RR



Italian is much easier to listen to, eh?

Up and at 'em...

Out of bed @ 0600
On the bike @ 0615
Bee in the helmet @ 0630
Lump on the dome @0631
Flat rear tire @ 0645
20' interval @ 0655
Done @ 0715
Threw bottle at dipshit driving a Durango @ 0716
Up through Vista and Campus and home @0735

40km with SST, tempo and an interval before breakfast. Plan is to ride again tonight, but if it rains, no worry...I got some work today!

Final KM of the 2010 French NC. Not a big fan of France, but Voeckler is a rarity, in that he's a frenchy that's willing to turn himself inside out for a win, so here you go...



More NC videos coming...

Edit: Second ride @ 1745
Warmed up through the Fort, then went into diesel mode for pretty much the rest of the ride. Finished with 2:15 and another 70.
Total today was 3:30 and 110km
My bee stung forehead is swolt and my left eye is puffy. Fucking bees!