Thursday Edit...

I said F it and went out in the crap this morning.
The lightning had passed, but it rained for the entirety of my two hours on the Jericho this morning. The insult was added before the ride, as I couldn't lay hands on my fender. After burning 15 minutes looking for it, the decision was made to go without. Needless to say, I had Lexington County mud and sand in places that were not designed to accept mud and sand...and I'm not talking about the bike!
As an aside, Clement LAS cross tires aren't at their happiest in the wet...just sayin'...

Now...on to the pics...

Wet...

God, I love this sign!

And the sign wasn't lying...

It was bit damp!

View from the cockpit

Saved a baby snapper...

News you can (maybe) use

Sounds like the natives are getting restless over at Garmin-Cervelo! You listening Vaughters? Oh, and PAY THE MAN!

Clentador gets a CAS hearing...right before the Tour...color me shocked! Any guesses what the result will be? I'm no oracle, but even I know how this one's gonna work out!

Merckx says Gilbert could play a role @ Le Tour? That harmonious screaming sound you hear is the Schleck boys.

Storms rolled through this morning, but it's not exactly cheery outside right now. As much as I loathe the fucking thing, it looks like it may be a trainer morning. It may be the smart play though, as it's 8 a.m., and it's still dark, and the thunder is still rumbling off to the East. Crashing on wet roads, or getting popped by some Junior Leaguer on her Blackberry both hold little romance for me today.
No ride tonight either, as I've been told by the H.O. that attendance at the school picnic is mandatory. SO excited...

We got lucky though. Just rain, some wind, and a lot of noise. Most of the rest of the Southeast got WRECKED. Thoughts go out to those affected by the storms!

Peace!

Gilbert

Misc. shite

Edit: Best website on the intarwebs...

Jens Voigt Soundboard


Great video of Mavic @ Roubaix




It's Tuesday, and the TNWC is supposed to go off. I sent a tweet out, ostensibly canceling the race. Of course, this was 45 minutes ago, when it was storming like the fucking Wizard of Oz. We live in Columbia though, where if the weather isn't to your liking, all you need to do is wait 15 minutes. It's now bright and sunny outside.
I rode this morning, my bike is clean, and I really don't feel like getting stuck out on Bluff Road in a thunderstorm. If you choose/chose to go, have a good time! I will not be in attendance. See you next week...

Speaking of riding, I hit the double secret CX loop on the Jericho yesterday, and learned a few things.
1) It's unbelievably smooth, stable, and plenty stiff for a skinny tubed steel frame.
2) I don't know if I like SRAM. The levers are small, and the shifting is far less intuitive than either Shimano or Campag. It's also herky jerky when it shifts. It decides when it wants to be in proper adjustment.
3) I KNOW I don't like the bars I put on the bike. Instead of just buying Deda Newton Deep bars, that I ride on the other two rigs, and knew would work, I bought Deda RHM bars. Shorter reach and a much shallower drop ain't for me. Let the search for the deeps begin.

CR and I did a big loop this morning. Nice conversational pace. Absolutely nothing but gunfire happening on the Fort. We did a little coastdown race on the descent of The Wall. Nothing like a 72kmh trip down the hill WITHOUT pedaling...

That's all for me...have a good evening!

LBL

Gilbert is laughing at you boys!




Lay-O-Pard wrote two Schlecks. Gilbert stamped them both 'insufficient funds'. It's said that the strongest doesn't always win, but he sure as hell did yesterday!

Divacamp 2011 was outstanding. I feel very lucky and blessed to have been a part of it. New friendships were formed, big laughs were chuckled, and the ladies all had a blast!
Now it's time for me to get my fat ass back on the bike!

Something to hold you over...

Last post until next week...

No, I'm not taking off for Easter. I'm kicking the rooster's ass in the morning, and heading to Beaufort to assist Chad Andrews and the TotalCyclist gang with Divacamp 2011. Should be a fair amount of work, but big fun!

So on that note, here's some stuff...

You want irony? Trek is starting a carbon recycling program...
The sheer amount of broken Madone frames should keep it going for decades!

Landslides? In Cali? No way! What's next...earthquakes and fires?

Battenkill...bucket list... (Oh, Boone-Roubaix is this weekend...)
And if you're into turning your $5000+ machine into a muddy and/or chipped up mess, check out The Tushar Crusher. July 2011 in Utah...you have time to squirrel away money for travel and to train!

Schleck says Liege will be a different race. Yeah, Gilbert is gonna break your legs in a different part of the Ardennes. Spin it all you want Andy...you're starting to sound a bit like Vaughters...

Wanna hate ball annd stick sports even more? Read the chart below! It's the prize list for Fleche-Wallonne.

$25k-ish to win? @$1000 for 10th? These guys LITERALLY turn themselves inside out to go home with what's little more than stripper cash to a baseball player. Meanwhile, baseball players can be borderline obese...
Eurodogs, on the other hand, look like survivors of Bataan....

And when a cyclist dopes, it's akin to licking a baby koala. Football and baseball players dope, get a short vacation, and the fans wonder if the team can survive until they come back...in 30 days.

Anyway...

Have a good weekend everyone! It's gonna be nice...go outside and ride!

The Beast of Wallonne

That's Monsieur Gilbert to you...!!!



Beast!

Wonder how badly he'll be marked out at Liege on Sunday?

And WTF is this?


Fabian Sanchezallara?

#6

Thin turnout at the TNWC tonight. I'm going to attribute it to the fact that everyone raced last weekend, because the weather was as perfect as it gets in Columbia, SC.
It started slow, and stayed at a medium/hard pace for the entire 50 + 2. Bond and Dr.LP got away about 15 minutes in. The rest of the bunch never really got an organized chase going, yet the gap stayed at a constant 25-30 seconds until the finish.
Bond took the W, and The Flamingo cleaned up the field sprint. Hopefully attendance will be better next week.

Don't forget, La Fleche Wallonne is tomorrow...

2011 Amstel Gold

Last 10km...Gilbert is a beast...

Bryan Wrigley info

Bryan's wake is Monday night from 6-8 pm at Thompson Funeral Home in Lexington. 4720 Augusta Rd.

The funeral service will be Tuesday at 2pm, also at Thompson Funeral Home.

The Harrell's Bicycle World guys are all racking bikes on their cars for the wake. If you plan on attending, please feel free to do the same as a show of support.

Tragic

http://m.staugustine.com/news/local-news/2011-04-13/cyclist-killed-hit-and-run

Bryan Wrigley was killed by a hit and run driver yesterday while at college in St. Augustine, Florida. It seems he was riding alone on a wide-open, flat stretch of road, and was struck from behind.
Bryan was a TNWC regular, and a super nice guy. He was just 23 years old...

When you hit your knees tonight, regardless of what, or who, you may be praying to, add something in there for Bryan and his family.

M

Photos

Remember what Bob Roll said...
9 year old Belgian children know more about cycling than every American...


Okay, does the laser timing device stop when front wheel, or the rider, crosses the line?
Willing to bet the rest of the story is not pleasant!


Have a Coke and...a baby wipe? Kevin Ista of Cofidis shows the signs of a day on the cobbles.

Oh, and watch this video from Battenkill...
Sorry, can't embed it, but it's worth the click. Everyone was okay, but it's an ugly shunt!

TNWC #5

Talking points :
-Good turnout, even though it was windy
-Pretty fast out of the gate
-Break went, and got pulled back
-JayC took a flyer on the last lap
-He got caught with <200m to go
-Coco took out the sprint (surprise!)
-Young Stephen Ridley took second on junior gears (good show!)

I rode the new Jericho CX bike, thus severely handicapping my already limited ability with nothing more than a 40t front ring. Let me say, a 40/12 (88 gear inches) is just not enough when rolling down the front-stretch @ 50+kmh. Two laps of 120rpm was enough for my non-spinner self. I just rode a comfortable tempo for the rest of the time.
Now the positive...
The bike rides like a fucking dream! Smooth, stable, stiff and it actually turns. My Salsa turns a bit like my 4x4 truck. Sure it turns, but up the speed and it pushes like a pig.
It's definitely a keeper. I may need to buy some new stuff for the Ridley and put the 7800 on the Ridley...
It also made me start another search for a steel frame...and I found this...



Baum Ristretto. Straight from Oz. Full custom. Tasty...

And in summary...

I was going to opine about Roubaix, but found a more succinct version of exactly what I was thinking over @ La Gazzetta della Bici ...

This pretty much sums it up...

Unreal...

What a freakin' race...

Van Summeren won because he's a strong Belgian, not because of Vaughters, though I'm sure the spin is coming...
The rest of the contenders lost because they did little more than mark Cancellara. And if you say they didn't, you watched a different race. You listening Thor? Following wheels is for fat, 40 year old guys like me, not the the World Champ!

Two things for now...

1) Hit the weight room Johan. That stone is going to crush your skull.
2) JvS rode the last 5km, and won Roubaix, on a rear flat!!!

Stud!

Friday part 2

Breaking news:

Peter Cannell tests positive for steroid use and forfeits all results, including three Masters National Championships.
Remember all of the "we're not dopers" talk coming from NC last year? You do? Good...

He tested hot LAST YEAR, and after an investigation, admitted to previously using P.E.D.s, and took the ban.

Here's the rub...

It was an out of competition test! On a mid-30s guy in NC? Wonder if the USADA suspected anything? Part 2 of the rub? A year long investigation? Is there another shoe about to drop? Did ol' Pete snitch like Papp and Zirbel and so many others?

Shit just got real!

Friday thoughts

Andre Griepel's calves called you a pussy! (pic: JGruber)

And again, I may need to re-think my entire stance on the whole 'fixie hipster' thing...

Good ride last night, other than the lingering chest cold. Dixie is absolutely sublime since it's been paved. From tip to tail, it's a ribbon of smooth, black, rolling pavement. Wonderful! And for you power dorks, it's probably a good place to do FTP work...just sayin'...

I also broke out the carbon wheels for the first time in about 6 months. The combo of the new Helium, the carbon wheels and the Vittoria OC CX tires make for an exemplary combo. Just plain fast! Too bad the rider is the albatross...

Have a good weekend. Don't forget, Roubaix is Sunday morning...

TNWC #4

Yeah, this is a little late...grab a tissue...

Normal stuff...
45min + 2 laps
30-ish folks at the start.
65 degrees and a bit breezy down the backstretch

The pace started a bit slow with Il Prof and ECash rolling off and the group basically watching them go. Once the fire got lit, it got pretty quick...well...pretty quick.
A break quickly formed and it was full of horsepower. Sunday, Bond, Ward, ECash, TedB and Blance (he'll always be Blance to me...sorry!) got into the break and were rolling! Blance got tailed off at about 25 minutes, but the remaining 5 kept it wound tight.
At first, the was no real impetus, nor horses, to chase the break...until Der Kaiser arrived at the course. It went from a gaggle of 20-ish riding around like a school of fish, to being lined out in a single lap.
No matter, the break was gone, and the only thing left to figure out was the winner.
Off the last corner, the sprint started (way early). Let me remind you, fair readers, that turn 4 is, in fact, 350m from the finish.
With about 100m to go, Bond kicked and posted a clean win. I'll take about 25% of the credit, as I was the only one willing to give up a GU to his cause prior to the race. Without it, I'm fairly confident he'd have bonked, and been laying prone on the front lawn of the fire station.

Discussion has also begun concerning the issuance of racing licenses for the TNWC. The newly formed IPRA (Industrial Park Racing Assoc.) will be discussing this at our next meeting. There will be no cost to you, the participants, but racing ages will be strictly enforced. Thanks for your understanding...

;)-

Cooler than cool...

Pros get it...and by IT, I mean the fact that this whole 'riding-a-bike-in-tight-pants' thing is supposed to be fun!

Anatomy of photographs

1) Think Nuyens didn't deserve it? Guns like that don't just show up at your door one day!
2) 4 dudes who all WANTED it, and raced for it! You listening Vaughters?

1)Maxim Kuschinsky is a BIT vascular. You can also use his left leg as a map to get around on the Autostrada in Italy. (pic: JGruber)

1) Yeah, people are right. Big George doesn't want it anymore...
2) Carbon wheels again on cobbles. See Mavic, you didn't invent it...

1) Pull your head and camera back, lest Fabian's knee destroy them both! (pic: JGruber)
2) Proper lean angle. There are guys in this town who can't replicate this in a smooth corner!
3) Is she on the phone? While Spartacus and BoomBoom rip past?

1) This will serve to offset the slightly homo-erotic turn this post has taken. These belong to Pro tri-chick Jenny Fletcher. These should be proto-typed, put into production, and handed out to every woman on the planet.

TNWC tonight. 6:30 @ the spot. 45min + 2 laps. Full time starts next week with Round #5!

Peace!

RvV 2011

Jesus, what a fucking race! I've watched the last 50km 4 times thus far and every time, the finish is the same, but I notice a small intricacy that I missed in a previous viewing. Just brilliant!

Know what's not brilliant, Vaughters and his DS work. Missing the breaks and then trying to spin it into a positive? Hey JV, you don't need to speak when a mic is stuck in your face. Making the excuse that you only had two guys with a shot is re-donk-u-lous. I guess you haven't watched the replay to notice that the guys in at the kill were alone, or only had one team-mate. The math? 1<2 and 1+1 = 2 !!
Here's a tip for the future...
When the break is up the road, and the DS from BMC tells his guys, on the OPEN radio channel, to go to the front and nail it to bring the break back, FOLLOW them. I don't profess to know a lot about being a DS, but when shit like that happens, it may be to your team's advantage to pay attention. Just sayin'....

And Cancellara didn't win...so what? He showed pure class in coming third. And how about Chavanel? Dude was a horse all day! he may be French, but that was a Belgian ride if I've ever seen one!!

Have a good Monday! See you guys at the TNWC tomorrow (the rain will be out of here by start time, so roll out!)