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...

Check this shizz out!

http://www.ridepikespeak.com/Pikes_Peak/Introducing.html

Dust off the 12/27, or the compact crankset...
The 'Assault on the Peak' ride UP Pikes Peak!
The stats-
19 miles...pavement and gravel
Starts @ 7750 ft altitude
Ends @ 14,110 ft altitude
Avg. 6.7%
Max 10.5%

As most of you know, my last name is not Bahamontes, but DAMN that looks like a good time!

Now for a mini-rant...

I don't like Joe Papp, period! Today, he outright called Levi Leipheimer a doper on his blog.
No, I will not now, nor will I ever link his blog b/c he just does not deserve any more attention. He's the Paris Hilton, or Lindsey Lohan, of the cycling world.
My issues are as follows:

1) He's a hypocrite. Papp doped his entire 'career'. He doped his no talent ass all the way to the middle, then failed test at the Tour of Turkey and got banned.
2) He SOLD dope to other cyclists. Oh, did I mention that he was selling HGH, EPO, and other products, WHILE he was testifying against Floyd Landis? Papp sold from 9/06 to 9/07. Floyd's trial before the USADA was 5/07. Yeah, he did that shit!
3) He got popped for selling EPO and HGH, among other thing, to 187 different 'clients'! No, that's not a typo! He made in excess of $80k selling to cyclists, tri-dudes and many other athletes.
4) Now, he's a crusader against doping? Fuck you Papp! I'll listen to Millar and few others, but not some come-to-Jesus-on-prom night jerknut! The two Federal counts he's being sentenced for bring up to TEN years in PMITA prison and $500,000 fine. That can double if any of his 'clients' were under age 18!

Why should YOU be pissed? You have probably raced against dudes he sold dope to at some point in the past few years! I personally know guys who have seen his 'pharmacy' firsthand! That means some of you guys do too!

June 25th is coming Papp! I hope you're doing your 'special' exercises! You'll be VERY popular in the joint!

End rant...

Oh, and we rode tonight...
Renick tomorrow, then going to pick up the new whip!

Good luck with that...

Oh Alberto, you can ride the cobbles all you like...it's not going to help you come July. Special bikes, FMB 27mm tubulars and the micro-doses of CERA won't be enough to help you stay with the lead bunch over the stones. Ask Iban Mayo how it worked out for him...
I have a DVD copy of the 2004 Tour, just in case you want to see it for yourself...skip ahead to Stage 3.

The TNWC was a blow-out, literally, last night. @ 20 started...somewhere in the neighborhood of 5 or 6 finished. Sure, a lot of of were out riding around, but all of the fire was blown out by 25mph+ winds. PDiscoe and I rode together for a majority of the time. This was the story for most everyone else...groups of 2 or 3 fighting the West wind. Hell, half the group just packed it up and went home....
I had to stop twice to adjust an ill shifting R/D. I guess putting a new chain on the bike DOES affect shifting. 50mm wheels were a bad choice last night too!

Did the HoP this morning and felt okay...considerably better than Monday. I then made the mistake of tickling some new Dura-Ace 7900 stuff. I say that my 7800 is good enough, then I go play with the new stuff. Why do I do that to myself? And yes, I've played with Di2...and NO, I won't be buying it...

Ummm...okay...

Check yo Trek befo you wreck yo Trek...


This was NOT the outcome after a crash! This occured on the START line in Athens. The rider clipped in, pulled on the bars to leave the line and the steerer came apart. The bike is/was virtually new and had NEVER been on the ground. You can see the stem had an offset clamp setup to minimize pressure on the carbon steerer tube. It is also the stock Bontrager RXL stem, FWIW.
QC is a bit suspect at the big T these days, eh?
If you own a new Madone, you may want to pull your stem and check out your fork...just sayin'!

And from the 'WTF' file...

http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/fleche-wallonne-riders-face-criminal-littering-charges

Hey, liberal, tree-hugging, do-gooder morons...isn't there something a bit more serious you could be worrying about? Really?

L-B-L 2010

Team Dopestana...

And I'm no expert, but does Cadel need to adjust his fit a little? Longer reach and higher hands maybe...?

A weekend off...not by choice...

So Friday was my 40th birthday...oh joy! The H.O. and I took the MTs out of school and went to Charleston for the day. A nice lunch led to a couple hours of chasing a 3 year old and a 5 year old around. This was followed by a short trip to the beach so the boys could run around for a while. I was ready to go and get home, but the H.O. was in no hurry, which struck me as odd, but no matter...
We rolled home @ 7, and much to my honest-to-God surprise, the H.O. had coordinated with my mother and organized a surprise party for me. It was really great and I'm extremely appreciative and thankful. Lots of folks showed up, ate some food and had a pretty good time.
I stayed up late to help the cleanup, but still had plans to show up to ride yesterday...rain or shine. The body had other plans...!!!!!
Alcohol hasn't touched my lips for the better parts of tens years, but I woke up Saturday with what could be described, at best, as a monsterous hangover. Headache, BAD stomach, feeling of malaise...the whole nine. There was no HTFU yesterday! I went back to bed. I guess running around all day, getting dehydrated and eating a bunch a bad food and cake will foul you up pretty badly!
We had family over Sunday for #2 son's 3rd birthday party, and as you all know, family will flat suck the life out of you. An afternoon of entertaining everyone didn't exactly make me chip up!
Another round of cleaning led to sleep coming easy. I hit the pillow @ 11 and opened my eyes @ 10:05! That's right, 11 hours of sleep!
I still feel iffy, so I will not be throwing a leg over the top tube today. Spin tomorrow morning to get moving again...

Now, on to the commentary...
I've never been truly disappointed by a Spring classic, but LBL let me down today. Sure, the racing was good, but the fact(s) that the weather was really nice and that doping doper Vinodoucheov won somehow lessened the experience for me. They should have banned that assmonkey for life.

My .02 cents...nothing more...
I'll have the video up shortly.

Hope everyone who raced this weekend did well. Athens and Tour de Moore were both Saturday. LL hit the ground @ TdM and JayC finished 10th...I have no idea who did what in the rain @ Athens.

EDIT: I forgot the two local loonies who trekked to Tennessee for the Cohutta 100. EmilyB and MDro went up and braved the weather and slop for the slugfest. Both finished and are worse for wear today...good job guys!

See you guys Tuesday!

Pimpin' ain't easy...

2010 Fleche Wallonne

Contadork must not be on his Tour drugs yet! Cadel rode straight past for the W...


6 people showed up for the TNWC last night. From reports I've caught today, it was a paceline affair that included GW breaking the other 10 legs in attendance. Sorry I missed it...

HoP(tm) for me on the road bike this morning...tired and flat, but could still hold some speed...weird!

What a f*cking choad!

Contadork has his 'new' fingerbang logo, his name and his personal website emblazoned on his new Audi estate. He's a hell of a guy...just ask him!
Even Lance, who's arguably the biggest egomaniac in the pro ranks had to be scratching his head with this one!


I cannot WAIT until he pisses hot during the Tour. It's coming...mark my words!

Amstel Gold 2010

Weekend

Saturday- No one showed up, on time at least, so I rolled out through the Fort and ended up catching TVH. I felt HORRIBLE, so I turned around and did a big loop with him and NID. Just felt BAD all day...must have been the front blowing through.
Ate poorly last night and got zero sleep, so I figured that today's ride would be a big pile of suck...wrong!

Sunday- I got up and headed into West Columbia to do a short loop. I started feeling better the longer I stayed out, so I just kept riding. I ended up doing the long Gaston loop. I felt damn good for the entire ride, even when I was fighting the monsterous headwind out in middle-of-nowhere Lexington county. 90km solo in 2:35.
No issues with cagers at all out in the sticks either. I had to wait until I was less than a mile from home before getting dive bombed by some prick in a Lexus. I LOVE it when I have the light AND the right of way, yet some self-important, just-left-church BALLBAG blows a yield sign and nearly makes the H.O. an instant millionaire. Fortunately, I saw the aforementioned scrotum coming, checked for traffic and changed lanes. The guy NEVER looked...I guess you don't need to immediately after leaving a house of worship!

The SC State Crit Championships were today. LL and JC finished in the 35+ field. The P/1/2 field made the mistake of taking MW to the line and he cleaned up with the win! Good looking out man! That should garner some interest from some teams...

Easy spin tomorrow morning...see you guys at the TNWC...hopefully...rain is called for Tuesday afternoon.

A surprise...

The ride was thin last night, but it was a really good ride. We just kind of fell into rolling paceline and stayed that way for almost the entire ride...@ 40-ish kmh. No lollygagging around, no attacking each other, just a nice, steady, tempo pace. Too bad that more rides can't be this way...

There's racing in Charleston this weekend...good luck to all that are going. Keep the rubber side down.

9am @ the gate for those who aren't making the trip South.

2010 Brabantse Pijl / TNWC #5

Last night was a nice, fun, steady race. Attacks went and came back for most of the night. Nothing was getting away though...too much HP in the group.
Breaks would go, have a good amount of power in them, yet only get 50-75 meters out and get pulled back within a lap or two...except for the end. There was a BIG lull with two to go that allowed JayC to get away, and stay away for the solo win. The remainder of the group, which had dwindled to @ 20 at this point, diced it out for the scraps.

I actually felt quite good last night, but didn't want to do anything to strain my back, so I sat in and rolled around. I can say, with some authority, that the back is a scary place to be. It's very Cat5 back there. Too many people sitting up and braking heavily into the turns, thus creating gaps, and then sprinting like their asses are on fire to close the gaps. Roll into the turns and speed will scrub naturally. The juniors are extremely guilty of this behavior. Sure, most of them can go like hell in a straight line, but the turns have them vexed.

Anyway, it was big fun last night.

As an aside, I rode the new Vittoria Open Corsa CX2 tires last night (320tpi). Every bit as good as tubulars when paired with latex tubes. If you haven't ridden these tires, you're missing out!

Thursday ride this week...6pm @ the gate.

A man with boys...

No, the title isn't a diatribe about the Catholic Church, it more than accurately explains and describes Cancellara's race on Sunday. I won't bore you all with the details, as I'm sure you've all watched it several times. I will say though, Fabian just throttled the strongest men in the World, PERIOD! It made a Kershaw County ass-whipping look like a tickle fight!
Muddy Waters must have seen the future when he was writing 'Mannish Boy', because Fabian was a full-grown man on Sunday!
And how about those beautiful FMB tubulars he was riding? $165 to you...for the 25c width. The 27c tires FC was on will run you @$250 each...if you could get them. Handmade...by one old French man...in his house...
I never ridden, nor even SEEN one in person, but I can only imagine what they feel like when glued to a proper set of wheels. Smooth like butter on a bald monkey...

Now for my part of the post...

Saturday- 85km with the group. Felt BAD when we left, but got marginally better as the ride progressed. Came home and did yardwork for 3 more hours...cross-training...

Sunday- 75km with the group. Felt better...

Monday- 90 minute spin on the cross bike this morning (with skinnies). Planned to ride easy, and did just that...until the opportunity the do a little motorpacing popped up. I tucked in behind a truck/trailer and paced him from south of the Stadium, through Olympia and up onto Huger St.
That's when the bluelights and sirens came on. The Columbia PoPo pulled BOTH of us over. Unbelievably, the cop was pretty cool about it. He said what I was doing was 'very dangerous' (no shit!), yet impressive at the same time. He gave me a written warning for speeding (43 in a 25) and dangerous driving. I cajoled the officer into giving the driver a break too, as he likely had no idea I was behind him.
I felt pretty good after the effort though...
40-45mph is quick, especially when you only have a 46t big ring!!! 46/12 FTW!

See you guys tomorrow night! Peace!

And yes, I think I'll get the warning ticket framed...

SUNDAY...SUNDAY...SUNDAY!!!

Holy sheeeuuuut! I can only hope that the folks who are reading this are as excited about Roubaix as I am...
I don't care what people who waste their time with ball and stick sports say, Paris-Roubaix is the hardest, most epic and most glamorous sporting event on the planet...PERIOD!

Let's start with a photo. It's a photo that proves the 'picture paints 1000 words theory'! If you showed this picture to someone, and they STILL didn't understand the draw of Paris-Roubaix, then any explanation of the race should cease and you should walk away from them.

This is the section of Le Carrefour de l'Arbre. It's Section 4 (to go), is a 5 star section (hardest), and hits the hardest of the hard @ km 242 (15km to go). It was taken by an seriously talented guy from Athens, Ga. named Jered Gruber. Check out his photosets on Flickr.

Jered has an unbelievable eye and takes some truly beautiful and artistic photographs. Hell, he caught THE moment that Cancellara attacked Boonen on the Muur during the RVV.

Jered has intimated to me that ANY photo he has in the stream is available for purchase. He can either transfer you the digital file, or he'll get the photo(s) you've chosen printed and send them to you. Let me know and I'll hook you up with his contact info.

Now some video...

Saxo Bank recon...look at the giant tubies flex under the strain of the cobbles...



Team Sky recon....




Good luck to the locals going to Rock Hill this weekend. Rubber side down boys!

Tyler Farrar FTW!

Clean wheels baby!

TNWC #4

Yeah, it's the TNWC...I've relented! I was the only one calling it the TNCWC...

Pretty good sized group tonight with a lot of HP in attendance. Started quick, ebbed and flowed in the middle and then stayed fast for the end. No breaks tonight. Anything that went up the road tonight was quickly pulled back. Just too much power in the bunch. Oh, did I mention it was 90 degrees and the pollen was hanging in the air. Yellow crust for everyone!
It came down to a bunch gallop, which usually means that MW takes the win. Tonight was no different! You just cannot take that guy to the last 200m and have any hope of taking the W.

As for me, well...I suck! My legs and lungs were fine, but my back and spirit were just weak. My wanting to suffer just isn't there right now. I need to HTFU a little! I also need to get my fat ass on the bike. This 3 days a week shit just isn't cutting it. I can't blame anything other than a lack of fitness...

Peace...

THE move...

This is what 1450w looks like when climbing the Muur. It was a Vulgar Display of Power, plain and simple. Boonen looks like he's riding a mechanical bull while losing ground. Cancellara gutted Boonen, and the entire country of Belgium, in little more than 100 meters...

You betting against Spartacus for Roubaix...? There's a reason the favorite is called the favorite!
He's a bad MFer...period!

Columbia Cycling Group on FB

Okay, so I created a group on Facebook for the ENTIRE cycling community in Columbia. It makes no difference what, how, when or where you ride, the group is for everyone.
Use it to post rides, ask advice, give tips, share rides to races, sell stuff, whatever...

Check egos at the door. No one is better than anyone else in the group!!!

Columbia is a great place to ride..ALL of it, be it Lexington, Irmo, Blythewood, downtown or wherever people choose to ride. The terrain is great, the weather is great and there are scores of riders.

There is ZERO reason that we cannot have some sort of cohesive community in Columbia that mimics Greenville, Charleston or Charlotte.

Columbia (SC) Cycling

Thanks!

Weekend Update

Friday- I found a great loop out through West Columbia, into Lexington county. Great roads, friendly cagers (shocking), and fabulous terrain. It ended up being right at 3 hours and 55 miles. I come home crusty with yellow pine pollen, tired, and as happy as a puppy with two peters. It's just too bad that there are only about 3 people in the downtown group that will actually ride out that way. Lower Richland is brutally boring anymore and there are GREAT loops just across the river, no further away than where we ride every damn day! Anyway...
Saturday- I rolled to Fairfield County to help LL with the first installment of the 321 TT Series. @60 folks rolled into White Oak from all around for the not-so-flat 20k and 40k races. The air wasn't quite warm at start time, the wind was stiff and the pollen was flying. Everything went smoothly and the racers were happy. The upside was the fact that everything was buttoned up and I was home by 1pm.
There were a few fast times, including GW (go figure), but my BIG ups go to young Jeremiah Rambo. He's a stud, period. 10 years old and riding a tiny Trek road bike, but he did it and averaged 15mph on the 20km course. I was proud of the boy!
Sunday- I planned to do a long ride on my peaceful, family-free Sunday. Plans changed. I built the MT's Easter baskets last night, which meant that several bits of candy were ingested by yours truly. The combo of ingesting pollen and candy led to a general feeling of malaise when I rolled out of bed.
Instead, I did a loop of the Fort with Crusty and the soon-to-be Mrs. Crusty. Nice easy spin and was home in 2 hours. Now to lay about for the rest of the day....

Cancellara crushed it in Flanders today. I should have taken the betting line 2 weeks ago, before E3 Harelbeke, when SkyBet had him @ 33 to 1!! Dammit! Farrar was 5th and Hincapie 6th...
Video will follow as soon as it's available!

I think I may start a Columbia Cycling group on Facebook as well. Just a place to post rides, catch rides to rides/races and put up general information for everyone in town (or out of town). Thoughts?

Peace...Have a good Easter Sunday!

Flanders...

It may be epic tomorrow...supposed to be wet!

Got Skills?

As Yoda would say... "Skills, have them these guys do..."

Yeah, I'm a tight shorts roadie doofus, but I could watch this stuff all day!

Did they see this guy in Columbia?

TNCWC #3

If you read last week's race report, you'd have the general framework of what happened last night.
4 got away again and stayed out, until the last lap. The chase group stayed together and actually brought the break back on the last lap...well, except for RW and GW. They diced it out for the win with GW taking it by a tire. 2 in a row! I guess doing intervals @ 0530 makes you strong! Who knew?

I had to jump out @ 10 minutes for an "I'm a dumbass" mechanical. I changed wheels right before I left the house, and in my haste, I obviously didn't tighten the rear skewer enough. Once properly torqued to resist my massive power, it stayed put until the end.
I actually felt okay last night. The back and legs are getting better. I really didn't feel any sort of cramp or pain until 41 minutes. It wasn't enough to stop, so I guess getting Renick'd and doing McKenzie every night is helping. My fitness has taken a hit though. Sitting in and hiding isn't an issue, but taking longs pulls just isn't in the cards right now. Sick 2x and hurt since the end of January doesn't exactly breed speed of any kind!

I have Friday off and am planning to do a 3-ish hour ride...if anyone would like to join me.

Throwback Tuesday

John Patterson, Greg LeMond, Eric Fetch, Gavin Chilcott, Jonathan Boyer, John Eustice

I Double Dog DARE one of you guys to give Patterson shit about his hair!

Flanders Recon w/Team Sky

Watch Flecha take off @ 1:20...it's known as 'going horizon'!

Gent-Wevelgem 2010

Good three days of riding for me...all three included tailwinds on the return trip. NICE!
Friday was my airport loop. Just spun until I turned for home and had the wind with me. Good hard tempo that included 5x2 intervals. It was almost like motorpacing...

Saturday, we headed out and the group split up. Some went on, some didn't...
Il Prof and I got separated from TVH and Mrs. FK, and turned when we shouldn't have. We ASSumed that they went one way, so we went around to backtrack and meet them. Well, our ASSumption was incorrect. Upon turning around, Il Prof overshifted, threw his chain, got a heaping helping of chain suck and sheared the rear derailleur off his Colnago in a less than surgical fashion. The front derailleur was also twisted outside of it's operational parameters. He called for pickup, and once I was sure he was okay, I took off.
I ASSumed that the other two members went the way that I would have, so I put my head down and rode tempo to chase them down. Well, I rode solo for the last 60 minutes at less than a comfortable pace...never saw a soul! But I had the tailwind...!!!!

Sunday, 4 of us rolled out in windy and damp weather. I chose the Salsa with skinnies as my weapon of choice. I'd forgotten how much I like that bike on the road. We fought the headwind out to the flats, made the turn for home and rode with a tailwind for the next hour.

Days like the last three are what I need right now! Off day tomorrow and an appointment with Renick for some more crack and stretch...

See you guys Tuesday! Peace...

Saturday videos

E3 Harelbeke



THAT'S how you attack from 1500m!

2010 Team Pursuit WC



Oz wins with 3 guys...strong!

It's Friday...finally...

Has it been a long week for anyone else?
On the upside, my back seems to be coming around, thanks to Dr. Renick....and the McKenzie Protocol exercises suggested to me by Drs. JB and BB.
I was considerably more comfortable on the bike this morning. Of course, part of the comfort was due to the demo Fizik Arione saddle that I'm riding. I felt pretty good, and seemed to fit my anatomy well. Of course, I only did a 90 minute spin this morning, so we'll see how I feel after 3+ hours tomorrow.

NEWS

Taylor Phinney wins GOLD in WC Pursuit



(Sorry for the bad edit and annoying music...it's all I could fine for now. If I find the whole race, I'll post it.)

Sarah Hammer smashes the field in the Women's Pursuit!



That's all for today...Peace!

TNCWC #2 (GW strong like bull!)

So the second TNCWC went of tonight with a bit larger group than last week, but still smaller than usual, and smaller than it SHOULD be, but I digress...

The first few laps were the normal ebb and flow, then THE break of 4 went away. They stayed out, as the main bunch just wasn't very cohesive. The power to bring it back was there, but no one really put in a lot of effort. I sure as hell didn't...! At one point, it was with 10 seconds, but that was as close as it got to coming back.
RW attacked on the last lap, but GW brought him back and countered. He ended up winning alone.
Like the title, and Uncle Tanoose said, he's 'strong like bull'! Probably just the work the ceramics and his mechanic... ;)

I felt okay tonight, much to my surprise. The legs felt good, the lungs were fine and the HR was under control. @ 25 minutes, I came out of T4, shifted and went to the drops to make effort to stay hooked onto the group and felt a twinge in my low back. Apologies for sitting up to those behind me, but I'm not dicking up the work I've done to make my aching back better at the TNCWC. Sorry, but that's the hard truth....
And I REALLY need to find a new saddle. The Flite Ti is a bad shape for me and just kills my special no-no place. I can't get comfortable on the thing, so it's going bye-bye. Fizik test saddles, here I come...or if I can find a pre-07 Flite Ti gel, I'll go back that.

Errands in the morning...life doesn't stop...

Peace!

I've been wetter...

...but not much. After another bought of stomach issues on Saturday night, I rolled out Sunday into a cloudy, windless, 55 degree morning.
The decision was made to ride the cross bike as I figured no one would show for the standing Il Prof ride.
Out through West Columbia I went....

I didn't feel too great, but could just ride a steady pace without feeling like I was going to yawn in technicolor. I rolled up out of the trails by the river, and hit Old State Road. Old State is dirt all the way from West Columbia to the Eastman Chemical plant out off of I-26...probably 4-5 miles of red clay/sand mix. During the dry season, it's shite...loose, choppy and just generally unpleasant. One would think, that after all the rain we've had this winter that it would be a poor surface on which to ride. One would be wrong! Sure, it's a bumpy ass dirt road, but if you expect that fact, Old State is in good condition to ride at the moment.
I rode out to the end, turned and came back to the farm road cut through that leads to the construction that may, or may not be, the 12th St, extension, at which point the heavens opened up.
The 'official' part of 12th ends at I-77, but I was a good distance South of that point, so I was "forced" to sneak around the gates/barriers to make my way home.
Don't know what they're doing out there, other than playing in the dirt, but it made for a nice little adventure and is a nice loop. The entire length between the large "No Trespassing" signs is rideable and presents quite interesting scenery, which included several different animal tracks and a HUGE series of pipes running across the road that gave me a good spot to practice my cyclocross dismount/mount.
Once I got back on the tarmac at the far end of 12th, it was pouring rain, and continued to do so until I walked into the aptly named mudroom at home. Wet and muddy, there was no reason to even go inside. Clothes came off and went directly into the washer.
It was a good ride and a whole lot of fun. Special thanks to Mad Alchemy for the embrocation. The medium kept my legs and back nice and toasty during the ride, and for most of the day! If you haven't tried/used it, you should!
Off the bike today, but going to get an adjustment and some ART.
See you at TNCWC #2....

MSR 2010

Friere showed Booen and Petacchi CLEAN wheels. It really wasn't even close. Those rainbow stripes on his sleeves aren't just for decoration!


Good ride yesterday. Steady 75km with the bunch. Felt surprisingly okay. Legs were fine, lungs were okay and my back, even though it was a crooked as a dog's hind leg, didn't protest.

I switched out the saddle again though. The old Flite that I'd gone back to was bent and twist, thus forcing my hips and back into an un-natural position. I also put a little effort into the seatmast, in an effort to make sure the original cut was square and level. Unfortunately, in my haste to build it, my cut was NOT even. One side was about 2-3 mm higher than the other. I put the cutting guide back on and hit it with the sander...it's even now!

I'm feeling a bit empty today. A few days of stomach virus will do that to you. I may go ride anyway. Nothing wrong with just rolling around for a couple of hours. It beats sitting on the couch.

Peace!

F YOU Tony Kornheiser!

http://www.thewashcycle.com/2010/03/tony-kornheiser-allegedly-condones-running-down-cyclists.html

Follow the link and read the transcript of the show. It's an abomination! Send the link to everyone you know and ask them to email ESPN. He needs to be suspended, or even fired, for this kind of hate speech.

RIP Adam Little!

Adam was struck and killed by a hit and run driver while commuting this morning in Charlotte. The driver, a 24 y.o. woman, was tracked down a short time later and arrested. She's been charged with misdemeanor homicide by vehicle and unrestrained child.
Whoever is investigating this horrific crime needs to pull her mobile phone records and go over them with a fine-toothed comb. What's the bet she was yapping or texting?

Adam was a mere 34 years old and leaves behind a wife and two small kids.


As an aside, the General Assembly of SC is currently debating a bill that would outlaw texting while driving. If you're like me, you've been buzzed by some jerk-nut on the phone or texting. Contact your Representative, whoever he or she may be, and voice your support for this bill.

Anything that keeps us safe on the road is a good thing!

TNCWC #1

I felt like crap all afternoon and it came to crescendo once I got on the bike. I made it to the crit course, rode 5 warmup laps and decided that the urge to vomit at home was stronger than my urge to vomit on the crit course.
I asked RW if he could keep time, and he obliged...(thanks man!)
The ride home was a slow, nausea/vomit filled affair. It usually takes @ 15 minutes to get to/from the course. It took me 35 minutes last night.
I came home...got sick...too a cold shower...got sick...went to bed...got sick...anyone see a pattern here? I don't know if it was bad food or a little bug, but it was equivalent to getting a cleanse.
Thankfully, the fluid loss has stopped, but I am just wrecked. I'm stiff and sore, my head hurts and I'm so sleepy that typing this is a struggle. I can say with some certainty that I probably won't ride until at least Friday morning. Upside? I've lost 4 pounds since lunchtime yesterday!
Now, on to the show...
The group was small last night...15-20 guys, which is odd for the first TNCWC of the year. From what has made it's way to me, the bunch spent most of the night chasing on person around. And I can say that I agree with RW's take on tactics at the TNCWC. Go and ride as hard as you can. If you have to chase your 'teammate', chase him. It's a practice race for Pete's sake.
I will say that I was guilty of it last year, but I've seen the error of my ways. If I can chase, I will...
Hopefully, turnout will be bigger next week. The TNCWC needs to be big and continue on as it's the only ride in town that truly transcends all of the fractured little groups that have developed.
This is my hope...



How the F did Cav's wheel completely come out of the fork?

No rides

Never threw a leg over the top tube last weekend, and you know what? I really didn't care.
Saturday morning, I was up early and headed to Blythewood for the road/circuit race. The dirt section was removed (bah!), but the weather conditions were such that the dirt really wasn't needed. It was 55 degrees, but the wind was HOWLING. 10km laps with 2 nice little kicker climbs and a bloc headwind on the finish stretch made it a race for the hardmen.
Fortunately, I was warm and secure in the follow truck, which was actually more fun that it sounds. You get to actually see the races develop and change. 2 of the 3 races I followed were shattered quickly after the start. The juniors blew apart on the first lap and some skinny, unassuming 15 year old soloed for the win. The 35+ field made it to the second lap before shattering and blowing apart. It finished in FOUR separate groups. Brutal! Team OSB did well with a 4th (JC) and a 6th (LL).
The 4s stayed together, but the cream rose to the top @ halfway. A group of almost 50 started...15 finished in the front group. GW took a flyer @ 1500m to go and was caught @ 250m, but still finished in the top 10.
Sunday, the H.O., MTs and I loaded up and went over to watch the 35+ crit in Forest Acres. A smaller field was there, but the horsepower was serious. RW attacked on lap 2, and the race was on. The break changed shape a couple of laps later and ended up being 7 guys...and then the shit hit the fan. John Patterson took a flyer and soloed away for the win. If you don't know who he is, Google him. And did I mentioned he also won the 45+ race that was immediately prior to the 35+ race? Yeah, he's a card carrying Certified Badass! JC and LL repeated their finishes from Saturday with RW bringing home 8th. Another good show!
We bailed shortly thereafter...two days of cold and wind were enough for me.
Tom Sunday promoted both races and did a great job. Good attendance and relatively good weather made for a nice weekend of racing.

On another riding tip, #1 MT rode his 'big boy bike' for the first time. I gave him a push, and he was gone! He never rode a day w/training wheels!

Single parenting

So the H.O. has been gone since yesterday for some bullshit meeting that her company seems to do once a quarter. They always go to Myrtle Beach, and MB for me is akin to going to WalMart, so I stay here. Plus, it just creates havoc for me and the MTs. It uproots them from their schedules and does nothing but change the location of my responsibilities to them. It's easier to just stay home where everything is located, rather than chase around crap in MB, and get zero sleep in some 'luxury resort'.
I had shit to do anyway. Il Prof's Colnago is finished. A bunch of new parts and an overhaul. If you know the Professor, you have been regaled with the stories of his borderline caustic sweat (he actually sweat THROUGH a DeBernardi steel frame!). Taking parts off his bike takes more care and time than diffusing a bomb. It's actually more like a SuperFund cleanup. I wore coveralls and latex gloves, if that tells you anything. There are places on his Colnago CLX that his sweat has undermined the clearcoat and has caused it to bubble. The amount of dried sweat/salt under his bar tape was epic. I probably should have been wearing some sort of protective mask. Maybe this would have done the job.
Anyway, it's done.
After the lovely sunset last night, I awoke early this fine morning, expecting a pleasant day. The temps were lovely, but the grey sky is becoming downright depressing! Once again, I climbed aboard the Salsa and headed out for a wet and dirty ride. Instead of the usual HoP, I turned down a road that I'd spied several times before, just because...
Well, it went nowhere and was sloppy red clay mud...great...
Once I'd doubled back, I got back on the normal HoP loop. It was very wet on the dirt sections this morning...VERY wet! My new Diadora ProCarbon shoes are now slightly less white. And the Salsa is slightly more orange and brown.
On the ride, some dim-witted douche decided to crowd me. I whistled, he flew the bird and called me female lady parts. I was about a block back when I saw him turn into a parking lot...so I followed. He was considerably less aggressive once out of his douche-grey Taurus. I offered to place the aforementioned Diadora shoe within the confines of his buttocks, but he declined. Who's the female lady part now?
Overall, I had a good ride. You know it's good when you come home with tan lines or dirt lines.
Mine were the latter today!

See you guys at the race tomorrow...

Looky, looky...

Columbus FOCO tubed Jericho cross frame
55cm w/55.5 top tube
Don't quite know what I'm gonna do with it yet...

Edit-
I just sent a note to Josh Ogle...the guy who WAS Jericho Frameworks. I'm waiting to see what he has to say about it. It's gonna be a little while until I build it up. Gonna go with an Ouzo Pro cross fork and Deda/Thomson cockpit...other than that, I'm up in the air.