tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-67554611859075809032023-11-15T22:14:19.168-08:0050-34: Bikes, Beer, and Alliterationrhetoricdyinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12256287363387970150noreply@blogger.comBlogger106125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6755461185907580903.post-33974336522164812292012-05-07T08:56:00.000-07:002012-05-07T08:56:33.412-07:00Back in the SaddleWith the cycling season fully underway (I understand there were the Spring and Ardennes Classics. I watched them, but didn't post on them because of school. With that said, I have to give big ups to Big Jonny over at <a href="http://drunkcyclist.com/">Drunkcyclist</a> for being able to keep up with law school and continue to post. Either he is much better at time management or can operate effectively on less sleep than me, but now that I've lived through my first year of law school I can't comprehend putting in the effort needed at school and in the cycling blog world - and being successful at both. Anyway, what an early season for Tommeke! I am very pleased to see him doing so well. I'm hoping he pulls on a rainbow jersey at the end of this year.) with the start of the first Grand Tour, I figured now is as good a time as any to get back into the swing of things here at 50-34.
Saturday brought us the prologue from Herning, Denmark. The Giro normally sees some pretty big names, and this year is no different. The prologue saw Cavendish, Fränk Schleck, and last year's recently crowned Giro champion Michele Scarponi.
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In what was a big surprise, not only did Schleck not outright lose the prologue, he actually beat Scarponi. Needless to say (hence the reason I'm typing it and not saying it), Scarponi was lost for words when he was informed of the news that not only had he lost a lot of time to the stage winner, but that he had also been beaten in a TT by one of the Schleck brothers.
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Look at that face. Scarponi, rightfully, is in disbelief. Being beaten by a Schleck in a TT is like losing a pull-up contest to a one armed man. It's possible, but not really likely. Actually, the more I think about it, losing a TT to a Schleck is like losing a pull-up contest to a Schleck. <a href="http://www.google.com/imgres?start=147&um=1&hl=en&sa=N&biw=1366&bih=681&tbm=isch&tbnid=5kv2aq3Dz-dzBM:&imgrefurl=http://reviews.roadbikereview.com/tag/andy-schleck&docid=bF-t9Tts_wYEwM&imgurl=http://reviews.roadbikereview.com/files/2010/07/CORVOS_00015648-231.jpg&w=512&h=341&ei=POqnT_H_J4TC2wXZz62mAg&zoom=1&iact=hc&vpx=709&vpy=76&dur=371&hovh=174&hovw=256&tx=147&ty=95&sig=117898961815276038759&page=7&tbnh=137&tbnw=183&ndsp=26&ved=1t:429,r:10,s:147,i:138">Have you seen the guns on those guys</a>?
In stage two, as expected, there was a bunch sprint. And, as expected, it was won by Mark Cavendish.
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I find sprint finishes, even ones where it is almost inevitable Cav will win, exciting. But what was even more exciting was that Phinney lost his chain with about 8 kilometers to go. Instead of panicking, Phinney (in a seasoned veteran move at the ripe age of 19) calmly waited for assistance from a team mechanic and then began to time trial his way back to the bunch. Eventually some teammates dropped back and BMC used the unfortunate event as some practice for stage four's TTT.
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Ridiculously, Phinney and his teammates made up something like 35 seconds in less than four kilometers. It was a showing of power that I did not think I would see. After he dropped his chain, I turned to my wife and told her, "He's never going to catch them this late in the stage," only to have her mock me when he did. I'll take a mocking when it is the result of some amazing riding like that.
Today, another stage for the sprinters, showed how to perform a lead out train for the team's sprinter.
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It was all for not though as Orica-GreenEdge took control at the end and delivered Matty Goss to the finishing line first.
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It seems whenever a Grand Tour departs from points on the northern coast, there are some spectacular crashes. This year is no different. In today's third stage, a crash caused by Roberto Ferrari not only took down race leader Taylor Phinney, but took him out. Unlike Cavendish, who was the first victim of Ferrari's actions, Phinney was unable to carry his bike across the line. Behind Goss's impressive win, Androni's Ferrari created a wake of destruction that left multiple riders on the ground including Cav and Phinney. In racing there are times when wheels will touch and crashes will result. There are also times when openings appear and you have to make split second decisions that may determine if you win the stage or finish fifth (yes, first or fifth - those are the only two options when you are confronted with such decisions). Ferrari saw one of those openings today and attempted to shoot the gap, only to come across Cav's front wheel and begin the domino affect that is so common in finish line crashes.
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Phinney crossed the line in an ambulance, but according to <a href="http://www.cyclingnews.com/giro-ditalia/stage-3/results">Cyclingnews </a>will be able to continue in the Giro, which is a good thing for BMC as they get to start stage four's TTT with a powerhouse rider in their group. Hopefully the rest day gives Phinney a chance to recover a bit before Wednesday's stage.
It's good to know that like me, Phinney is back in the saddle.rhetoricdyinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12256287363387970150noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6755461185907580903.post-53703146222144617112011-09-04T08:46:00.000-07:002011-09-04T08:46:32.530-07:00Awesome<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I've missed cycling. Law school is a killer.rhetoricdyinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12256287363387970150noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6755461185907580903.post-46545031313752708512011-07-06T20:24:00.000-07:002011-07-06T21:19:17.126-07:00The Battle of BrittanyVersus is currently running a commercial that equates riding a bicycle with flying. I can say, as a person who both rides and flies, they really aren't that similar. Let's say for argument's sake that both activities had certain qualities in common, I don't think many people would fly if the shared qualities occurred at comparable frequencies. Sure, in cycling as in flying you can go fast (relatively), feel the wind in your hair (if you're in an open cockpit aircraft and you ride your bike without a helmet), and explore new places, but luckily for those who tempt the gods of physics, crashing doesn't occur in flying nearly as often as it does in cycling. Case in point, today's stage in the TdF. Phil and Paul counted no less than ten crashes today. Two included pre-race favorite AC:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfuo27K7UmqxLhF7Xqvun8e8Ch36HZsQxj9SOvsHia_y3mVZaADgwg6VHtN7R8hlRppTjjXMA099Uv3I9SiA4LZ79lGDBKb-Ysi_ATkxPXSl_MzWGW6rHatv7ro4qBuQlUxFVROZhlMJY/s1600/AC.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfuo27K7UmqxLhF7Xqvun8e8Ch36HZsQxj9SOvsHia_y3mVZaADgwg6VHtN7R8hlRppTjjXMA099Uv3I9SiA4LZ79lGDBKb-Ysi_ATkxPXSl_MzWGW6rHatv7ro4qBuQlUxFVROZhlMJY/s400/AC.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5626453039486540418" /></a>One forced Tom Boonen to fight just to make the time cut:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHmI0cwtRz97M4_gBKnqlWe-eJholO5N_1-rrZH03vzg6B10vkg5zdZX3KGSkzeSUFKMFXP4DT0gFzmTtZAjn21YT9nO31slfISpA4Si8ugrVHz0fb3QLcYNGDd9fr0Kb7mPIeXDd4490/s1600/Boonen.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 212px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHmI0cwtRz97M4_gBKnqlWe-eJholO5N_1-rrZH03vzg6B10vkg5zdZX3KGSkzeSUFKMFXP4DT0gFzmTtZAjn21YT9nO31slfISpA4Si8ugrVHz0fb3QLcYNGDd9fr0Kb7mPIeXDd4490/s400/Boonen.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5626453516683505250" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6gMjHz9TUvVgTOlfDUlT2bMhIGf6GcjM_2QU1DOGYreTIORpJ28TZqNS702FeRyHugE42BGc07YH5k8vS5MRWQKmjC6SQZRRo-pW144r-AaftaAlGSBYtkDVj2XbhhN_gZbZ9pOKo1fE/s1600/Boonen+2.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 212px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6gMjHz9TUvVgTOlfDUlT2bMhIGf6GcjM_2QU1DOGYreTIORpJ28TZqNS702FeRyHugE42BGc07YH5k8vS5MRWQKmjC6SQZRRo-pW144r-AaftaAlGSBYtkDVj2XbhhN_gZbZ9pOKo1fE/s400/Boonen+2.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5626453508979376098" /></a>And one forced Shack rider Janez Brakjovic (who is not related to <a href="http://www.brockovich.com/index.html">Erin Brockovich</a>, or Julia Roberts who played her in the movie) to head to the hospital and eventually abandon the race:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7XM1DrIALmAOvLlIpW1Q0S0u-hX7g2O6mD0L3I6hiXC3Tzkde9eG6-GLmW6xbeHcRSGhz7AqFh3HOtgLjH72ASg4qaU9O6w3mGXREJ5yRDhy7AXZbf5WD3bF98NdMLzpHdWSj2GO-3rY/s1600/Janez.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7XM1DrIALmAOvLlIpW1Q0S0u-hX7g2O6mD0L3I6hiXC3Tzkde9eG6-GLmW6xbeHcRSGhz7AqFh3HOtgLjH72ASg4qaU9O6w3mGXREJ5yRDhy7AXZbf5WD3bF98NdMLzpHdWSj2GO-3rY/s400/Janez.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5626454168173591906" /></a>The stage wasn't all blood though, as the peloton passed through the town of Saint Brieuc:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgF22ynv9DlasC1VvNyz2oRJthDQsMgXSh_djKJMmQvfBJEsPLdfsg9qRipKG-Mk8H40orCs8rL4IgQRZmp9T4jVEwCZBbEMNwGdmUIftbkrbeJWnfERwIyB2-x7xQHOLD7V57qZGz71-8/s1600/Town.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 210px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgF22ynv9DlasC1VvNyz2oRJthDQsMgXSh_djKJMmQvfBJEsPLdfsg9qRipKG-Mk8H40orCs8rL4IgQRZmp9T4jVEwCZBbEMNwGdmUIftbkrbeJWnfERwIyB2-x7xQHOLD7V57qZGz71-8/s400/Town.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5626454837956929010" /></a>How would you like to live there? I can see it now,<br /><br />You: <span style="font-style:italic;">Yeah, come on over for dinner.</span><br />Your Friend: <span style="font-style:italic;">Ok, where is your place?</span><br />You: <span style="font-style:italic;">It's the dull colored one, shouldn't be hard to find.</span><br /><br />Just as I questioned Versus' comparison of cycling and flying, a couple weeks ago <a href="http://50-34.blogspot.com/2011/05/cassettes-clothing-and-questions.html">I questioned whether team Garmin-Cervelo would switch to a white kit for the TdF</a>. <a href="http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/garmin-cervelo-reveals-new-jersey-for-tour-de-france">Turns out they did</a>:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3E6vifk2s4WxDJMANs23QB25ljFoD5yhav77nEDFEXgCBOXcp9ik37S5uMgxjm19FBbFAeVY4yW7RAY8TV5XOS9X5yTOPwQeUv8dk3K-awPB5rUU3VMnqkaGmZf88VyZJMNqFDAqbFTo/s1600/Garmin+Jersey.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 278px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3E6vifk2s4WxDJMANs23QB25ljFoD5yhav77nEDFEXgCBOXcp9ik37S5uMgxjm19FBbFAeVY4yW7RAY8TV5XOS9X5yTOPwQeUv8dk3K-awPB5rUU3VMnqkaGmZf88VyZJMNqFDAqbFTo/s400/Garmin+Jersey.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5626455837481776178" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjr0gvFPtw9NzXkyGeD9dZIRt-yX71Ua_z1OKSSHWuTTdod9fydhkY0cHsmKoNq_ztcTz5PEHUhVvMjkbC34mi8RNEusENdcNZ6xN7TWXsb-Xw4wvVJlxv2RBuR3WESsbgMfqwEvCxgZQM/s1600/Garmin.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 212px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjr0gvFPtw9NzXkyGeD9dZIRt-yX71Ua_z1OKSSHWuTTdod9fydhkY0cHsmKoNq_ztcTz5PEHUhVvMjkbC34mi8RNEusENdcNZ6xN7TWXsb-Xw4wvVJlxv2RBuR3WESsbgMfqwEvCxgZQM/s400/Garmin.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5626455836856138914" /></a>I'm sure I'm not the only one who questioned (and secretly thought) if Garmin-Cervelo would switch to a "summer" kit. I guess professional cycling has become a little too predictable. And hey, wouldn't you know, Cavendish won another stage:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyvNAFQ-jgFpIwD39s80o_DuSkyOW2k3triBXe5VOSesSJWsKO0WQyD1TvQcf3Gsikj7kC8i-RuRoSq2lDO8pXmGtVKAOTpY7rzS8rkioH2OULNRSNioB3nlDHJiK6J3b_aXysH5aAiL0/s1600/Cav.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 210px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyvNAFQ-jgFpIwD39s80o_DuSkyOW2k3triBXe5VOSesSJWsKO0WQyD1TvQcf3Gsikj7kC8i-RuRoSq2lDO8pXmGtVKAOTpY7rzS8rkioH2OULNRSNioB3nlDHJiK6J3b_aXysH5aAiL0/s400/Cav.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5626456733609932274" /></a>While Cav winning a stage isn't too out of the ordinary, winning a stage with an uphill finish in which the final sprint included classics extraordinaire Philippe Gilbert, most certainly is. Perhaps Cav is showing some of the form he showed in his 2009 Milan-San Remo victory. <br /><br />On second thought, I'm not sure I should go so far as to compare two things that really aren't that similar.rhetoricdyinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12256287363387970150noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6755461185907580903.post-66393106405010316312011-06-29T20:17:00.001-07:002011-06-29T21:51:47.069-07:00Big Price, Big Expectations: You Don't Always Get What You Pay ForIn my <a href="http://50-34.blogspot.com/2011/06/heading-east.html">last post</a>, I might have written that I would have another post on Monday, the 20th of June. Clearly that didn't happen. Lucky for you this blog doesn't cost you anything. Unlucky for me, this blog doesn't cost you anything.<br /><br />While I was back east, my family and I visited the <a href="http://www.mysticaquarium.org/">Mystic Aquarium</a>. Seeing as how the aquarium is right on the shore (and the fact that each ticket was around $29), I had high hopes for what might have been inside. As the saying goes, always put your best foot forward, and that's exactly what Mystic Aquarium did:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxzzGKWUMHrBU3pccY2sg4E4vqWKhDHVcKVKVvz1J_pq3C-I2xSx9LTRAvl2-yitQIcqbRHWcHy6Wa-cIQvCrXcev7xWdW1tep_nrcyWPNkjXzUEfXJwczYN9a2i3H_WRMmUzexFajME4/s1600/CIMG5822.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxzzGKWUMHrBU3pccY2sg4E4vqWKhDHVcKVKVvz1J_pq3C-I2xSx9LTRAvl2-yitQIcqbRHWcHy6Wa-cIQvCrXcev7xWdW1tep_nrcyWPNkjXzUEfXJwczYN9a2i3H_WRMmUzexFajME4/s400/CIMG5822.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5623849788529176818" /></a>Leading with their heavy hitters, the aquarium placed the whale tank directly inside the entrance. Needless to say the whales (there were three) were pretty cool. So how did the aquarium follow up? With this:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOtu058GcX8EcmyR99A06RR_JikweGJjxi6Inpi72Y28uhbr77uFPqxnIMWt8S9ct8e0XigFGyoekXePQ2jGchHzemM8JQsmyZuFRwi0ccahugQI7L4XLHI0yaPxIxd-v4dpLHff4WzZ4/s1600/CIMG5823.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOtu058GcX8EcmyR99A06RR_JikweGJjxi6Inpi72Y28uhbr77uFPqxnIMWt8S9ct8e0XigFGyoekXePQ2jGchHzemM8JQsmyZuFRwi0ccahugQI7L4XLHI0yaPxIxd-v4dpLHff4WzZ4/s400/CIMG5823.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5623851431970658802" /></a>Yup, you got it, it's a frog. To be honest, it didn't get much better.<br /><br />The next day we headed north up to Northampton, MA to do some sight-seeing. We visited the campus of <a href="http://www.smith.edu/">Smith College</a>, the largest of the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seven_Sisters_(colleges)">Seven Sisters</a>. As expected, the campus was beautiful. A scenic and calm waterway cut the area roughly in half. Crossing the foot bridge, we noticed a squirrel clinging to the edge of the concrete decking:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhl_UKO5GRsElS9HPjMavWYzrqebcgOBwhtUXcKPuYCnFgj3r0TX3OGYat2AsLocmIk0tqUeKJnpy24Fts2MTBi4KpH52NHS2_lxVZnnj6LbxvS4BcdJQkSQvYVy9YqwmGcTuN2BAh5GZY/s1600/CIMG5832.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhl_UKO5GRsElS9HPjMavWYzrqebcgOBwhtUXcKPuYCnFgj3r0TX3OGYat2AsLocmIk0tqUeKJnpy24Fts2MTBi4KpH52NHS2_lxVZnnj6LbxvS4BcdJQkSQvYVy9YqwmGcTuN2BAh5GZY/s400/CIMG5832.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5623860217083329634" /></a>He moved around on the side of the bridge like a spider, until his grip gave out. At that point he fell, belly first, into the stream below. If he had started floating downstream I might have felt bad, but as it was he quickly climbed back up the bridge and scampered off into the woods. <br /><br />On another part of the campus I noticed this graffiti:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMbRJbr7Lx4W3ki0IEDRdydzr7ZMG9HIFPGGuf1pFCLySuJgakVTgu2GMYr1BWzJ7lIJFLD26wC6XrrY1SXVQBM5x25iYaxtM05MjmzK9Aff2Aps8eCQ0s_v3wwTzC1n3CZc0WHmQcdJM/s1600/CIMG5831.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMbRJbr7Lx4W3ki0IEDRdydzr7ZMG9HIFPGGuf1pFCLySuJgakVTgu2GMYr1BWzJ7lIJFLD26wC6XrrY1SXVQBM5x25iYaxtM05MjmzK9Aff2Aps8eCQ0s_v3wwTzC1n3CZc0WHmQcdJM/s400/CIMG5831.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5623861095215216722" /></a>I sure hope the artist's English teacher is for her. I'm no <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sylvia_Plath">Slyvia Plath</a> (who is, by the way, a Smith grad), but that is some horrible grammar. You would think for $53,460 a year even the freshwomen (yeah, I made that up, but I bet girls at Smith use something stupid like that to refer to themselves) would get some decent English training, as the clearly don't get much training in parking a motor vehicle:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBraLZ67Uf0lAmiLm28Tij09QBwiPiRukMPNQ0QnxoES4zzHoh2lVTbQQkl0Jj6vw5-lN98zGcBtwGB-ptaV5ZkiZPWdvlZcTdV5_637VyCtxk6XqZ3Bn-eLfKlDF8dtwe39ZfiPQTpYk/s1600/CIMG5834.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBraLZ67Uf0lAmiLm28Tij09QBwiPiRukMPNQ0QnxoES4zzHoh2lVTbQQkl0Jj6vw5-lN98zGcBtwGB-ptaV5ZkiZPWdvlZcTdV5_637VyCtxk6XqZ3Bn-eLfKlDF8dtwe39ZfiPQTpYk/s400/CIMG5834.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5623862970665216082" /></a>On second thought, that horrible parking job might just be due to the driver being a woman versus any lack of training.<br /><br />So, once again I visited a place that was expensive (luckily though I didn't have to pay tuition to walk to the campus) and in the end the product didn't impress as it should have.<br /><br />Never fear though, as the day ended with a stop at the <a href="http://www.northamptonbrewery.com/">Northampton Brewery</a> for a cold beer. I tried the Scuba Märzen (pronounced more like Mare-Tsen, not Mare-Zen) and completely enjoyed it:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlx5VH3rEOAtgDSl6Xxwyz9iVsKMzakrAn_b82pAw8GPbjJ0aXdzmrTaUaunvYSnPEQLzHx2kLiEW5pvhz290BuhRR0JNw1wSzsSlhfZv75Iktp_jMJeh4Zvssl6jwN60i-0rappEoXOs/s1600/Beer.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 138px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlx5VH3rEOAtgDSl6Xxwyz9iVsKMzakrAn_b82pAw8GPbjJ0aXdzmrTaUaunvYSnPEQLzHx2kLiEW5pvhz290BuhRR0JNw1wSzsSlhfZv75Iktp_jMJeh4Zvssl6jwN60i-0rappEoXOs/s400/Beer.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5623866872760239106" /></a>Märzen, German for March Beer, is a lager that had its beginnings in Bavaria. The Scuba was caramel in color and had a delicious malty flavor - a great way to end the trip.<br /><br />As we come to end of today's post, I must once again inform you of a leave of absence I will be taking. My wife and I recently moved into a new home and as such we have been busy, and will continue to be busy, getting completely moved in. I hope to be able to get back to regular posting next Monday with updates from the TdF. <br /><br />Look on the bright side, whether I'm back on Monday or not, you aren't out any money.rhetoricdyinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12256287363387970150noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6755461185907580903.post-24298071205590978612011-06-13T19:19:00.000-07:002011-06-13T19:31:59.445-07:00Heading EastI will be traveling east this week, and as such will not be posting anything until next Monday. What will I post tonight? Just a picture that some smug zoo keeper, who clearly hates it when people confuse tortoises with turtles, put up in the tortoise enclosure:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikA9aBw4RhyphenhyphenTRcO6CGReNZ443VO2pxMxRBFvMvcS4-yv4uOB1AXWHzBuSHrM8zgUB7DEPZXeXbfedOmgjS3EWoOb4nHMcjQ9c-e_lmYZmm0yBCmGscsyen5fXI2AWaw5PBCNmasWTNfkM/s1600/Turtle.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 299px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikA9aBw4RhyphenhyphenTRcO6CGReNZ443VO2pxMxRBFvMvcS4-yv4uOB1AXWHzBuSHrM8zgUB7DEPZXeXbfedOmgjS3EWoOb4nHMcjQ9c-e_lmYZmm0yBCmGscsyen5fXI2AWaw5PBCNmasWTNfkM/s400/Turtle.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5617896564525442402" /></a>I'm not one to correct the mistake of a fellow human being (of course I am), but when said individual clearly thinks everyone confuses turtles and tortoises and while correcting them makes <span style="font-style:italic;">TWO </span>mistakes; well, I just can't pass up that opportunity.<br /><br />Enjoy the week.rhetoricdyinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12256287363387970150noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6755461185907580903.post-50595361269740116492011-06-10T19:32:00.000-07:002011-06-10T20:27:06.128-07:00There's a Time to Walk Away and Then There's a Time to Ride Away Ringing BellsThere has been much written about the use of doping products in sports, and in cycling specifically. We've read about those we followed, routed for, and believed in test positive for PEDs. In almost every case the accused has rallied the troops, fortified the defenses, and vehemently denied any and all accusations. The arguments have ranged from the classic half-truths (<a href="http://www.ongo.com/v/1002652/-1/F6829E7F4C7C72FF/for-lance-armstrong-its-time-to-find-out-what-living-strong-really-means">I've never tested positive</a> - which isn't the same as never using drugs), to the completely asinine (<a href="http://www.tdfblog.com/2005/04/tyler_hamilton__1.html">vanishing twin brother</a>). <br /><br />We've seen athletes who have <a href="http://www.ukad.org.uk/videos/view/125/athlete-case-studies/david-millar/">been caught doping come clean</a> (only because they were caught) and attempt to use themselves as a sort of positive example for other riders (Of course not without blaming the team and those around them for their doping in the first place. Egos, what a terrible thing to break - probably what led you to dope in the first place).<br /><br />On top of all those you have <a href="http://velonews.competitor.com/2011/06/news/phil-zajicek-admits-doping-suspended-for-life_177847">Phil Zajicek</a> - a rider who not only got caught doping and lied about it, but made others lie for him as well. What a douche. If that was the end I wouldn't mind so much. But read what he wrote in an email to <a href="http://velonews.competitor.com/">Velonews</a>:<br /><br /><span style="font-style:italic;">“Today, I have accepted a lifetime ban from the sport of cycling. I have had an enjoyable and successful career which has taken me to all corners of the of the globe and I’m grateful for everything cycling has given me. It’s time to walk away from the sport and begin the next chapter of my life with the tremendous support of my wife, family and friends behind me.”</span><br /><br />Seriously douche, people walk away from things where they have the choice do do that - you were forced out. I understand that he could have kept fighting, but a lifetime ban isn't something you 'accept', it's something that is imposed on you. Hopefully he eventually 'accepts' the fact that he not only ruined his cycling career, but he did no favors for those he had lie for him (I see the parallel argument here between the Millar video and him being 'manipulated' and those that lied for Zajicek - both parties had the option to not choose what they did).<br /><br />Speaking of crazy stories, as I was in the first paragraph, everyone's favorite former Alaskan Governor (or really the only one anyone outside of Alaska can name), <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nxlzLrQoruw&feature=related">Sarah Palin sure came up with one about the midnight ride of Paul Revere</a>. I'm pretty sure that Paul Revere's ride on the 18th of April, 1775, wasn't to warn the British or that he used bells to do so, but then again I'm no <a href="http://cnn.com/video/?/video/bestoftv/2011/06/06/exp.ac.brinkley.palin.revere.cnn">presidential historian or history professor like this guy</a>. Wait, what did he say there at the 40-second mark?<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZ6-SdEbBC6CuEW1CBdObTObS7EanqqDbgPnvlARQg1bmmUIDoFAzvM4z6JPx5Md7Ke1XuiAEbM0LxMf5lGE__rGj1XCApAlqAHi4U2snml6B-bAAaRfwODhRh_Jtqb443P9TpV8uQ8dU/s1600/Historian.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 241px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZ6-SdEbBC6CuEW1CBdObTObS7EanqqDbgPnvlARQg1bmmUIDoFAzvM4z6JPx5Md7Ke1XuiAEbM0LxMf5lGE__rGj1XCApAlqAHi4U2snml6B-bAAaRfwODhRh_Jtqb443P9TpV8uQ8dU/s400/Historian.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5616798201799135138" /></a>Did he just say Revere's ride was on April 8th? This whole time we've had it wrong. Good thing CNN got this guy to set the record straight for all of use, not just Palin:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhd68AsQT1hY50872JAY6IHUjDPI1bjZ4gu7vvrthhtpAqAYcZtASftkThdGU2756QtN64gYaTWid0OcT5UriIt0TROT2_F3NgFv52QE9qF4gl4wdP427HYe0U6r1zezcLFPv1boWXWXM/s1600/Highlight.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 352px; height: 110px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhd68AsQT1hY50872JAY6IHUjDPI1bjZ4gu7vvrthhtpAqAYcZtASftkThdGU2756QtN64gYaTWid0OcT5UriIt0TROT2_F3NgFv52QE9qF4gl4wdP427HYe0U6r1zezcLFPv1boWXWXM/s400/Highlight.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5616795447204807730" /></a>I guess what this all proves is that it doesn't matter if you're a professional athlete, former governor, or presidential historian, you don't always get the facts correct the first time around.rhetoricdyinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12256287363387970150noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6755461185907580903.post-87522208654791930962011-06-08T18:43:00.000-07:002011-06-08T19:48:57.701-07:00The Other Shoe has Dropped, and It Appears to be Worn OutWhat could be more fitting to write about in this, my 100th post, than the man who really got Americans (ok, only about seven of us) excited in the sport of cycling - <a href="http://www.google.com/search?source=ig&hl=en&rlz=&q=tom+boonen&aq=f&aqi=g6g-s1g3&aql=&oq=#sclient=psy&hl=en&source=hp&q=tom+boonen+cocaine&aq=f&aqi=&aql=&oq=&pbx=1&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.&fp=6782d3fc39a1f682&biw=1366&bih=681">Tom Boonen</a>. Seriously, he used blow while at least some other riders in the pro peloton were turning to EPO, CERA, testosterone, <a href="http://www.marshmallowfluff.com/pages/homepage.html">Fluff</a>, etc. When he finally takes off his lycra shorts for the last time and calls it quits, he most definitely has a spot in Hollywood. Truth be told Boonen is my favorite rider and I wish him all the best - go get 'em Tommeke, just lay off the white stuff.<br /><br />Actually, the man I speak of is none other than Lance Edward Gunderson, better known to the world as Lance Armstrong. With all the allegations from former teammates, including Tyler Hamilton and Floyd Landis (George Hincapie is said to have given some pretty damning testimony to a grand jury about LA's, and his own, drug use), it is harder and harder for people that use reason to believe that he never used PEDs. <a href="http://elmhurst.patch.com/articles/tour-de-cheats-kids-respond-to-more-confessions-from-top-cycling-athletes">In this article</a>, author Renee Gough describes how her son - who is/was a huge LA fan - comes to grips with the Hamilton interview on 60 Minutes. Gough uses the metaphor of her son's favorite pair of shoes, a set of Livestrong Nikes:<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-mQqLi2L8eNLIZfaUGhIkf5qk_5WPyzFV92uk1kQbcOPCZ3DyslKoogNeNnhc1wggDIhOZ9Q4hAiL09CtMkhv6mXqRzVwYOHAzRjGyoJWboXrtkCz8RsVlPtwaa2MKC210AWzdi7IReg/s1600/Shoes.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 233px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-mQqLi2L8eNLIZfaUGhIkf5qk_5WPyzFV92uk1kQbcOPCZ3DyslKoogNeNnhc1wggDIhOZ9Q4hAiL09CtMkhv6mXqRzVwYOHAzRjGyoJWboXrtkCz8RsVlPtwaa2MKC210AWzdi7IReg/s400/Shoes.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5616033369310818258" /></a>I'm not sure what's worse, the fact that she uses as her subtitle, "Lance Armstrong's Livestrong apparel may be unraveling at the seams" - I fear that 'unraveling' is a bit of an understatement:<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTuXXFY8OVJYwm3-XygZ7IsV-hhRnhcn7I4Q4lWLMfw35jaS7nfUep2X2Gu3wgupc2MndByjaUKm49G6dJwWWF18Dt-jBnw-V-YbOa_4b8UKg59o-Gbop9syMMaWBn2fL0qqkU3IUDvig/s1600/Hole.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 261px; height: 270px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTuXXFY8OVJYwm3-XygZ7IsV-hhRnhcn7I4Q4lWLMfw35jaS7nfUep2X2Gu3wgupc2MndByjaUKm49G6dJwWWF18Dt-jBnw-V-YbOa_4b8UKg59o-Gbop9syMMaWBn2fL0qqkU3IUDvig/s400/Hole.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5616033771458474146" /></a>Or her son's response to the allegations made by Hamilton. In what Gough claims was an expertly reasoned response, her son's retort to the allegations was, "I’ve read Lance Armstrong’s book, the reason he did so good is because before he had cancer he didn’t realize how much he wanted it.” Sure, if will power is all it takes to get a person from a hospital bed and chemotherapy to winning the TdF, than I would have slept with so many girls as a young, 20-something roaming the streets of New York City. Bringing the story full circle, as well as tying (yeah, like laces, I'm in on it as well) together the shoe metaphor/unraveling pun, Gough says she is happy for the first time in her life to go shoe shopping to replace her son's Livestrong Nikes. This is where the story gets fishy; a woman who claims she hasn't been excited to go shoe shopping before? I'm not buying it.<br /><br />While I understand her desire to replace the shoes, a physical reminder of LA, she falls in the same trap as just about every other person who discusses the issue of LA doping - that the Livestrong Foundation has cheated the same way LA (possibly) has. Hitting close to home, KC's soccer team - Sporting KC - has a new <a href="http://www.sportingkc.com/new-stadium">stadium</a> that the writer of <a href="http://www.sacbee.com/2011/05/30/3664417/doping-allegations-against-armstrong.html">this article</a> seems to believe links them directly to LA. I don't know if Livestrong has ever done anything illegal or if LA was involved, but what I do know is that no matter how horrible a person LA may turn out to be, the foundation he started is one that has an honorable cause. LA and Livestrong will always be linked, but transferring the negative aspects of the person onto the foundation is ridiculous.<br /><br />No matter what happens with LA, Livestrong will most likely take a hit, but in the end people will realize when they pledge money to Livestrong or purchase Livestrong themed articles of clothing, they will be helping those with cancer (as well as hurting those children who work in Chinese sweatshops). In the end this all would be much easier to sort out and result in a much neater clean up if LA had just joined Boonen for an <a href="http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=eight%20ball">eight ball</a> instead of (possibly) <span style="font-style:italic;">injecting </span>himself with drugs. It's not as if he couldn't afford to waste a few hundred dollar bills to make straws.rhetoricdyinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12256287363387970150noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6755461185907580903.post-60789949260311791282011-06-06T19:39:00.000-07:002011-06-06T20:43:44.531-07:00I Got 99 Problems, But a Post Ain't OneI must say this weekend was not as relaxing as I first had imagined. The float trip got off to an ominous start as we waited for the bus to deliver us to the drop-off point:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhezaKK5VSReVo9bx3ixpycOWNkEXuh5CVPO6WNf7kE1KzEU9Vj2lT7aEPIUhArOHKllMpI0LTzvHJnt18Ige7ik3Ls1YZvpZTlP-L22mqJwL6Agwfdp2y0_wlcg8afG27EK7kDXIRmfjU/s1600/Safety.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhezaKK5VSReVo9bx3ixpycOWNkEXuh5CVPO6WNf7kE1KzEU9Vj2lT7aEPIUhArOHKllMpI0LTzvHJnt18Ige7ik3Ls1YZvpZTlP-L22mqJwL6Agwfdp2y0_wlcg8afG27EK7kDXIRmfjU/s400/Safety.JPG" border="0" alt="There's always one."id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5615306529376677682" /></a>I for one was hoping anything that did happen during the weekend only happened by accident. What I do know for sure though is that <a href="http://www.jorts.com/">jorts </a>don't happen by accident. We'll discuss accidents a little later.<br /><br />Besides our public service announcement, hats seemed to be all the "rave" prior to our departure:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5S2eUVxKQ26I68zR88t6szYUmFua44fUwV6Z9-ofk4LZ4-CJEy4e86r_mYcP1iy3Yq4Y7-JchqZwAT-gMZ1OYvk3gzGr3c3kDvw7h95CIWL-zaxkkykzkrx5hFc3W6yJ_09jQfoMGE6w/s1600/Hats.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5S2eUVxKQ26I68zR88t6szYUmFua44fUwV6Z9-ofk4LZ4-CJEy4e86r_mYcP1iy3Yq4Y7-JchqZwAT-gMZ1OYvk3gzGr3c3kDvw7h95CIWL-zaxkkykzkrx5hFc3W6yJ_09jQfoMGE6w/s400/Hats.JPG" border="0" alt="Yours is indeed bigger than mine."id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5615308666515035106" /></a>Once we were on the river, a few of us engaged in the creation, or curation as <a href="http://bikesnobnyc.blogspot.com/">BSNYC</a> might say, of our very own wizard staffs. For those of you that read my last post, you will understand the reference to wizardry now. Anywho, I got the idea from one Stevil Kinevil over at <a href="http://www.allhailtheblackmarket.com/">AHTBM</a>. It apparently is a new concept here in the Midwest. With that in mind, here is the first attempt, but not last, as we have now determined that float trips are not very conducive for engaging in wizard staff creation:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyBcWZic796Qzo-2Xi27ICff_QhbrnpRH_oQV6ShTe7nx8qrGBy7-6BhEJUUfwB0tHhMgoqEk3boWvmFjIS-GgfhyphenhyphenrfC82_Oof2Jr4TqCR9pxwPm-Sk6UUf1MlWx2l9rYEmwQgMX-5k_A/s1600/Staff.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyBcWZic796Qzo-2Xi27ICff_QhbrnpRH_oQV6ShTe7nx8qrGBy7-6BhEJUUfwB0tHhMgoqEk3boWvmFjIS-GgfhyphenhyphenrfC82_Oof2Jr4TqCR9pxwPm-Sk6UUf1MlWx2l9rYEmwQgMX-5k_A/s400/Staff.JPG" border="0" alt="Good thought, poor execution."id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5615311871937748018" /></a>Is that a Bud Light Lime in there? No doubt. <br /><br />The floating took much longer than I had anticipated and even included some bridge jumping. I must warn you though, the bridge wasn't really that impressive as it was a mere six inches off the water:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiI_MapbOOrLeAJ6nbEux9XWS-pI5OqH20xkN6RyCi3MVkmETsNmvziQG-H1NZ3aYcshAtDfvLubgoAddNBrxDlaS6-t_YHW9Im4YKFm_EfmITWSM-27rWhcZKnYxSH65eET9ekLj06fbg/s1600/Bridge.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiI_MapbOOrLeAJ6nbEux9XWS-pI5OqH20xkN6RyCi3MVkmETsNmvziQG-H1NZ3aYcshAtDfvLubgoAddNBrxDlaS6-t_YHW9Im4YKFm_EfmITWSM-27rWhcZKnYxSH65eET9ekLj06fbg/s400/Bridge.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5615312992118958418" /></a>In all fairness it was a little more than six inches, but not much. The night was topped off by an expertly cooked meal of jerked chicken, corn-on-the-cob, and rice, all cooked by the executive chef at <a href="http://www.pachamamas.com/">Pacha Mamas</a> in Lawrence, KS. Here is his hand cutting the chicken that he cooked on an open fire:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPlqxqooxgq6_LDTgg_-_4mIy4-snXfhusuab0VFns_EzhaJ7RAYVblauePwmTytqru04K2z4Ff5l_gTTgSeItRMPOrx_NIWowd23sLYwhXkT-EIlnZrTI8ftkTTpSghgTTihcvilqtKQ/s1600/Chicken.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPlqxqooxgq6_LDTgg_-_4mIy4-snXfhusuab0VFns_EzhaJ7RAYVblauePwmTytqru04K2z4Ff5l_gTTgSeItRMPOrx_NIWowd23sLYwhXkT-EIlnZrTI8ftkTTpSghgTTihcvilqtKQ/s400/Chicken.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5615315286199049586" /></a>It was delicious. Ok, enough of that, back to cycling.<br /><br />On multiple occasions in the last few days I've seen <a href="http://drunkcyclist.com/2011/06/03/if-you-believe-in-yourself/#comments">different variations</a> on the phrase, "If you aren't crashing/bleeding, you ain't trying hard enough." I'm going to take a stance here today and say that that saying is ridiculous. Clearly no one would argue that the opposite is true - "If you are crashing/bleeding you are trying hard enough." If that were the case, <a href="http://www.google.com/search?source=ig&hl=en&rlz=&q=christian+vande+velde&aq=o&aqi=&aql=&oq=#sclient=psy&hl=en&source=hp&q=christian+vande+velde+crash&aq=f&aqi=&aql=&oq=&pbx=1&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.&fp=6782d3fc39a1f682&biw=1440&bih=813">Christian Vande Velde </a>would be the hardest working cyclist in the Pro Tour Peloton. Seriously though, I understand if the saying were, "If you aren't sweating, you aren't trying hard enough." I will completely agree with that. But while crashing is an inseparable part of cycling, it is not an indicator of effort. What is an indicator of effort is a sweet pair of jorts, and a love of all things safety.rhetoricdyinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12256287363387970150noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6755461185907580903.post-39375391156809595972011-06-03T11:17:00.000-07:002011-06-03T11:49:30.665-07:00It's the End of the World and We Blew It<a href="http://50-34.blogspot.com/2011/05/with-conclusion-forgone-im-gone.html">As I wrote in my last post</a>, I was scheduled to return on Wednesday, the first day of the month of June. Clearly that didn't happen. I almost felt bad about it, but then I remembered that <a href="http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2011/05/21/eveningnews/main20065059.shtml">I'm not the only person who has made a prediction that has failed to materialize recently</a>.<br /><br />Last weekend I went with the in-laws to Table Rock Lake for a couple days of relaxing, fishing, and water sports. First on the agenda (and first in the previous list) was relaxing; which was a complete success. I managed to catch an average of 1.4 naps per day - some in the hammock, some in a recliner. As for the second item of the to-do list:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8ObITvZaOn_6XKtcf_4ncPYLAj7qix56Si4cI2B71dm12NBFZ58A6wK2jW-b0m69YjgAsqM8_shy0BdExAC2VeQr_7XvlCwNhm-Z36uEwr5mpjkpBkDaNB3C5RD_nAcxzY3oZO77Qu7E/s1600/Fish.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8ObITvZaOn_6XKtcf_4ncPYLAj7qix56Si4cI2B71dm12NBFZ58A6wK2jW-b0m69YjgAsqM8_shy0BdExAC2VeQr_7XvlCwNhm-Z36uEwr5mpjkpBkDaNB3C5RD_nAcxzY3oZO77Qu7E/s400/Fish.JPG" border="0" alt="It was this big!"id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5614062343199820002" /></a>Despite the poor quality of that picture (of which I take no responsibility), you can see that the one fish I caught was about two inches long. This wouldn't be so bad if I wasn't fishing in a river stocked with trout that every other fisher was pulling fish out of almost by the minute. <br /><br />Relaxing - check. Fishing - half check. Water sports - no check whatsoever. And what is that? A combination of dam management and rain conspired to flood the lake and cut power to the boat dock. Here you can see some of the flood's work as Murphy takes a swim in the neighbor's backyard:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjusazG5fOSfJztuoHR95Lj7lIpPcbkTSX-dzMhhBwXOKHkoKbTTMzYK3_mC03dXA94eoE2UjY4v8s2ztiPsydUOuJLb7w9h9vWy8NIT9FiJ8KF3jW_ghsPwxHEJ0iq20jfyTBFw9LvFUc/s1600/Dog.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjusazG5fOSfJztuoHR95Lj7lIpPcbkTSX-dzMhhBwXOKHkoKbTTMzYK3_mC03dXA94eoE2UjY4v8s2ztiPsydUOuJLb7w9h9vWy8NIT9FiJ8KF3jW_ghsPwxHEJ0iq20jfyTBFw9LvFUc/s400/Dog.JPG" border="0" alt="I think it's time to mow, buddy."id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5614064400345380034" /></a>So, in retrospect the weekend should have been solely focused on relaxing and it would have been a huge success. Perhaps I could have gotten in over two naps per day. As it is, I enjoyed the weekend and the much needed break from the hustle and bustle of doing nothing. In order to get back into the daily grind, I am taking a float trip this weekend. It should again be a relaxing weekend (though I'm not sure I can squeeze in any naps while canoeing down the river, but I'll try) filled with good food (a friend who is a chef will be preparing dinner), wizardry, and <a href="http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/2102/6651">decent </a>(according to the reviews) beer.<br /><br />I'll be back on Monday, unless once again my math is off, in which case just crack open a beer and wait for me.rhetoricdyinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12256287363387970150noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6755461185907580903.post-45380397733414804002011-05-25T21:21:00.000-07:002011-05-25T22:14:16.251-07:00With the Conclusion Forgone, I'm GoneWith the <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2011/US/05/25/severe.weather/index.html?hpt=T2">lovely weather we've been having here in the Midwest over the last few days</a>, my in-laws have decided it would be a good time to head down to the lake and spend a few days together. Besides the facts that the lake is flooded, the boat lift has no power, and the weather isn't supposed to be particularly nice this weekend;<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidY5uCiylIFkrlmIiZnxGUrnm8hdPjytsYm4Ziz0RXSSORisSNtlkmsjsh62NVbZq0E-odZJvFchvhBgwl8862MoDwJWmgpqVJxqGFoXY3d5ajlccu2wi76XuYrrgTdiOsQmASKK-td6s/s1600/Weather.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidY5uCiylIFkrlmIiZnxGUrnm8hdPjytsYm4Ziz0RXSSORisSNtlkmsjsh62NVbZq0E-odZJvFchvhBgwl8862MoDwJWmgpqVJxqGFoXY3d5ajlccu2wi76XuYrrgTdiOsQmASKK-td6s/s400/Weather.JPG" border="0" alt="Break out the hibachi and the flip flops."id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5610877161136748370" /></a>I will also have no access to the thread that keeps society from collapsing into all out anarchy - the internet. Due to this, I will be unable to watch the last three stages of the Giro as well as report on them. I will be back to posting next Wednesday, the 1st day of June, though without any mention of how the Giro ended because by then no one will care anymore about the second best grand tour. What I can do for you now is recap the past two stages and give my most educated guess at who will be wearing the <span style="font-style:italic;">maglia rosa</span> on a shopping spree in downtown Milan on Sunday.<br /><br />Tuesday's stage 16, a 'mountain time trial', provided the opportunity for climbers to chip away at AC's seemingly insurmountable lead. French mountain goat and AG2R rider John Gadret, already a stage winner in this year's Giro, seen here communicating telepathically with his bike and praying that his knees don't fall apart on the course:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKQzGFUXKLnJnL65PG3e4H9YYF3XW1z0uJJS5PpuaxvOqnI41IJubBLCBqex7yF3HocEX8KONNiiDgkHdsuhjI3SJb5j9Gd2fb9g8v50F5pDHGkgXUrrIQMmw-yxfzBxjVCsHj7idQ-0M/s1600/Gadret.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 225px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKQzGFUXKLnJnL65PG3e4H9YYF3XW1z0uJJS5PpuaxvOqnI41IJubBLCBqex7yF3HocEX8KONNiiDgkHdsuhjI3SJb5j9Gd2fb9g8v50F5pDHGkgXUrrIQMmw-yxfzBxjVCsHj7idQ-0M/s400/Gadret.JPG" border="0" alt="Don't fail me now old bones!"id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5610878845792427890" /></a>Was only able to muster a 16th place finish 1:27 back of the eventual stage winner and <a href="http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.examiner.com/images/blog/wysiwyg/image/Alberto_Contador_Stage_18_Laurent_Rebours_2(6).jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.examiner.com/endurance-sports-in-seattle/2009-tour-de-france-stage-18-results-alberto-contador-wins-time-trial&usg=__XpLiErpu9Xl8qwHdcM1W7-lV6lw=&h=440&w=340&sz=52&hl=en&start=78&sig2=9HgsVIYYiXgVeIGX10Hegw&zoom=1&tbnid=farQYiCKbB3gXM:&tbnh=166&tbnw=122&ei=YNndTauNNYTh0QHG2cm_Cg&prev=/search%3Fq%3Dalberto%2Bcontador%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DN%26biw%3D1366%26bih%3D681%26tbm%3Disch&um=1&itbs=1&iact=hc&vpx=131&vpy=284&dur=1352&hovh=255&hovw=197&tx=138&ty=159&page=5&ndsp=19&ved=1t:429,r:12,s:78&biw=1366&bih=681">alien impersonator</a> AC:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjUnJSWSeYnMKan4CaE-D5Xx3wfD9TOeYonXhjId6GneN5BekgROZGn__kQCAmO63zYFBMHx1DwVWFwe3tpm1gep-eAUnan2NU6-dSMtvslp6A9htobs-fChNoJtZKiwgmhWnO0QLluZU/s1600/AC.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 225px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjUnJSWSeYnMKan4CaE-D5Xx3wfD9TOeYonXhjId6GneN5BekgROZGn__kQCAmO63zYFBMHx1DwVWFwe3tpm1gep-eAUnan2NU6-dSMtvslp6A9htobs-fChNoJtZKiwgmhWnO0QLluZU/s400/AC.JPG" border="0" alt="I won again!"id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5610879373194070946" /></a>AC's other competitors, including Italians Vincenzo Nibali and Stefano Garzelli didn't fare much better:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHHYTx8Ys64C9qWTymLEy5yI9B37AdMDLXKozDV6ZkF-ilwYM047A6hF6S1S1lgaa4nVG1VHHqbwVbtR-lz-qXEwAWwKcbcTH_fdif7Yu62VsM2r2VesTzrtBsAS-27tyddUuZSl1PlYo/s1600/Nibali.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 224px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHHYTx8Ys64C9qWTymLEy5yI9B37AdMDLXKozDV6ZkF-ilwYM047A6hF6S1S1lgaa4nVG1VHHqbwVbtR-lz-qXEwAWwKcbcTH_fdif7Yu62VsM2r2VesTzrtBsAS-27tyddUuZSl1PlYo/s400/Nibali.JPG" border="0" alt="Better luck next year."id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5610880296077912354" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7jDcDBMoHeiNVh8wUpDv5JMl08bAizGkP3h2R3EHQTaFbBBTBxThWQPihqO30K_3_5x9JTDUu_tVUvRPQNsW9wwqFiFOBOwadKgRezun2yuHZvh3KyVdb9iQdpQnJf3EHB7IMJmgNAyo/s1600/Garzelli.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 226px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7jDcDBMoHeiNVh8wUpDv5JMl08bAizGkP3h2R3EHQTaFbBBTBxThWQPihqO30K_3_5x9JTDUu_tVUvRPQNsW9wwqFiFOBOwadKgRezun2yuHZvh3KyVdb9iQdpQnJf3EHB7IMJmgNAyo/s400/Garzelli.JPG" border="0" alt="At least the green looks good."id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5610880289474721394" /></a>Nibali stopped the clock 34 seconds adrift (technically he stopped the clock 5:26 before AC, as the last 15 riders were separated by three minute intervals and Nibali was two riders ahead of AC, but that is neither here nor somewhere other than Italy) and Garzelli was 12 seconds slower than that. As the race continues to unfold, it becomes more and more evident that the Giro erupted on Etna as AC stormed to the stage victory and put his mark on this, the 150th anniversary of Italy's unification. In celebration of that fact, Aqua & Sapone rider and current Italian National Champion, Giovanni Visconti, is wearing bib number 150, instead of wearing bib number 151 which the team leader would normally wear (team leaders wear bibs ending in 1, the first one or two digits differentiate between teams). Despite his climbing ability, he posed no threat in stage 16 and finished over 2 minutes off the pace:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifOwxwY0hVn56KCm5JOm0EBtXsf1-u9Z3wS4FnghFsGw234a4Q_GQdNp72V9B0g-axTA3nj1-yeXSsWPH-2KqdsWR3Hn22GSgnzdYL1PPN97Goz6SC6ueWe-IsL9qKBq2xdwyV7PbYWzg/s1600/Visconti.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 227px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifOwxwY0hVn56KCm5JOm0EBtXsf1-u9Z3wS4FnghFsGw234a4Q_GQdNp72V9B0g-axTA3nj1-yeXSsWPH-2KqdsWR3Hn22GSgnzdYL1PPN97Goz6SC6ueWe-IsL9qKBq2xdwyV7PbYWzg/s400/Visconti.JPG" border="0" alt="Classic Italian."id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5610882892341689202" /></a>Of course, he could have been saving his energy for today's stage in hopes of joining the day's break and pulling off the stage victory. Actually, after watching the stage I have a feeling that is exactly what he did. Unfortunately, while he did cross the line first today, he didn't win the stage. It is true that rubbing is racing, but shoving the guy in front of you out of the way isn't considered rubbing by the UCI:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNEugXZrhyLZewIqt0H6dq2waAsIsta3TP4deqxC42CdC4gHhNv7yU1pXapjMBllKdaoWoUv8Le_yfK3d6AQuQ0nY0qxJMU8IKMX-sTxCcLqA229XfE1hsC60YS16F1DnZRWUEdSZ_x74/s1600/Visconti+2.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNEugXZrhyLZewIqt0H6dq2waAsIsta3TP4deqxC42CdC4gHhNv7yU1pXapjMBllKdaoWoUv8Le_yfK3d6AQuQ0nY0qxJMU8IKMX-sTxCcLqA229XfE1hsC60YS16F1DnZRWUEdSZ_x74/s400/Visconti+2.JPG" border="0" alt="This is my spotlight!"id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5610883683360018370" /></a>After race officials reviewed the tape, Visconti was relegated to third and the <a href="http://velonews.competitor.com/2011/05/news/giovanni-visconti-wins-stage-17-at-giro-ditalia-alberto-contador-continues-to-lead_175747">stage victory was awarded to Lampre's Diego Ulissi</a>.<br /><br />As promised, here is my pick to win this year's Giro d'Italia (drum roll please):<br /><br />Michele Scarponi. <br /><br />Call me crazy, but I just don't see CAS upholding the RFEC's decision on AC. I personally don't think he cheated (yes he broke the rules by having clenbuterol in his system, but with cheating there is an implied sense of deliberately performing/not performing an action in order to gain an upper hand. If his story of the tainted meat is true, than his ingestion of the drug was not intentional), but I find it hard to see how CAS can overlook the rules in the case of the sport's biggest star when there is so much talk about how cycling needs to clean itself up. We'll see, hopefully AC is cleared and goes on the win the TdF and pull off the double. As much as a little parody in cycling would be good, it would also be '<a href="http://www.thebestpageintheuniverse.net/c.cgi?u=epic">epic</a>' to see a rider pull off the double in this day and age. <br /><br />Of course if he does go on to win both races this year, I actually wouldn't have watched it because I'll be in Backwoods, USA this weekend with no connection to the world.rhetoricdyinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12256287363387970150noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6755461185907580903.post-28837833937698531782011-05-23T19:01:00.000-07:002011-05-23T20:02:40.786-07:00Doubling Up over the WeekendToday's rest day at the Giro d'Italia was a welcome respite for everyone not named Alberto Contador or wearing an orange jersey. With the last week of the Giro presenting the riders with only more mountains to climb (save for the final time trial in Milan), it is unlikely that we'll see many other names or colored jerseys on the stage podiums from here on out.<br /><br />On Saturday, Igor Anton of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Euskaltel-Euskadi">Euskatel-Euskadi</a> was able to power away from Alberto (the first rider able to do that all race) and take the stage on top of the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monte_Zoncolan">Zoncolan</a>:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXxy8UGMJhW9JZf4oMmTFVUnjpLuMsaerRSlUdFWpaxZGV-eFm_E5OUEEvfDDbE_t61G_3y9cv1QQDU7An8FZGOLnWyLACMP19Krpxy09GUlgiRtNeDPRgx3UahJS51Z3xp8rTZOiz-bU/s1600/Anton+2.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 223px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXxy8UGMJhW9JZf4oMmTFVUnjpLuMsaerRSlUdFWpaxZGV-eFm_E5OUEEvfDDbE_t61G_3y9cv1QQDU7An8FZGOLnWyLACMP19Krpxy09GUlgiRtNeDPRgx3UahJS51Z3xp8rTZOiz-bU/s400/Anton+2.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5610100170902282690" /></a>Igor was visibly excited about his win. I'm not sure what gearing he was using heading up this most ridiculous of mountains that maxes out at 22 or 23% on all three routes, but word on the street is that AC had a 34x32. It would seem that with a gear that low, professional riders would be able to ride up the side of a building.<br /><br />Sunday brought a repeat of Saturday in that the team from the Basque Country was again victorious, this time with Mikel Nieve:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkq1esZV4k9ssBsOncvWzBQIjTu1UYARrgZvuqAfVn8Rcx73HFgT3UA8GowAs33jDU07mxF5VWZzNBS0Q5aO3QTnqsnVooqA4XtR2lXhyphenhyphen6wQcFKQZIO1f90_bPM3IgMbrdJ4OBVr__2ZE/s1600/Nieve.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 225px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkq1esZV4k9ssBsOncvWzBQIjTu1UYARrgZvuqAfVn8Rcx73HFgT3UA8GowAs33jDU07mxF5VWZzNBS0Q5aO3QTnqsnVooqA4XtR2lXhyphenhyphen6wQcFKQZIO1f90_bPM3IgMbrdJ4OBVr__2ZE/s400/Nieve.JPG" border="0" alt="7 hours; what took you so long?"id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5610101774632796738" /></a>Slumped over his handlebars at the stages finish, Nieve was clearly worn out after the 229 kilometer, seven and a half hour "epic." It would have taken him over eight hours, but anyone would ride fast if they were being chased by this guy:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFV8t-lHESzlRAhaNfbZl1Krgc5ibrB2TsMhsr6xe7WH82Za4YtG59wqhDzkW2_cJ_y6NPHSGuH3OH47M_ccsb8ogx_0NGWYZhzuGE1fhosvSy3AxwXUq2uYvhfvFa_KR_uT3E1EET51I/s1600/Devil.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 243px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFV8t-lHESzlRAhaNfbZl1Krgc5ibrB2TsMhsr6xe7WH82Za4YtG59wqhDzkW2_cJ_y6NPHSGuH3OH47M_ccsb8ogx_0NGWYZhzuGE1fhosvSy3AxwXUq2uYvhfvFa_KR_uT3E1EET51I/s400/Devil.JPG" border="0" alt="The rapture will begin May 21st! What, it didn't happen? Shit."id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5610102600976940594" /></a> The big loser on the day was Italian rider Vincenzo Nibali who took a flyer and paid for it in the end. His compatriot, Michele Scarponi leap-frogged him in the GC. Heading into the final week AC has a solid lead of 4:20, and if he continues to ride anywhere near as well as he has been, this race was over after he first donned the <span style="font-style:italic;">maglia rosa</span>.<br /><br />Of course, the big news from the weekend was <a href="http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=7366948n&tag=cbsnewsMainColumnArea.6">Tyler Hamilton's interview on 60 Minutes</a>. Naturally Armstrong's camp categorically denied all of the accusations leveled at him in the interview by stating that Hamilton has no credibility. It even created a <a href="http://facts4lance.wordpress.com/">horrible website</a> that is the equivalent of a school-aged child responding to his classmates poking fun at him by saying, "na ah!" What I noticed was how whenever Hamilton accused LA of doping, he always turned the gun on himself and expressed how it wasn't simply an interview to inform the world of what LA did, but also what Hamilton and a bunch of other riders in the peloton did. <br /><br />This interview is huge news, as it is another of Lance's former teammates, and this time one of his former top domestiques, coming out and telling the world what they saw. How will this all unfold? I'm not sure. Will the truth ever be revealed? I hope so, if not for the sport of cycling, at least for the fans. Will Livestrong feel any negative repercussions? Perhaps, but only because the LA supporters who also support Livestrong can't seem to differentiate between fighting cancer and cheating. Will I ever stop asking questions of myself and answering them poorly? Yes, you can't count on that happening - now.rhetoricdyinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12256287363387970150noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6755461185907580903.post-87361413131873056052011-05-20T20:19:00.000-07:002011-05-20T21:08:01.813-07:00The Grossglockner is Etna; Etna is the Grossglockner; LA used PEDs?!What do you do as a sprinter knowing the stage you are racing will be your last in this year's Giro (because the road tips up and it isn't worth the effort if there aren't any sprint stages left)? You tell your teammates to go to the front and destroy the field for you:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsoQAW_whuo0w1ndtOLmCrVhXCBAHFLpE4rhuzeDtl9EiE2SiKO6UfHqVlcfVjR3IzKtnF-4o1k2dBCsivDmhZ50rSZn4P89GHDPkUE4eCgdef9OipYbD5rtYxp5d8RA7OK9VahdhJAMI/s1600/HTC+Train.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 233px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsoQAW_whuo0w1ndtOLmCrVhXCBAHFLpE4rhuzeDtl9EiE2SiKO6UfHqVlcfVjR3IzKtnF-4o1k2dBCsivDmhZ50rSZn4P89GHDPkUE4eCgdef9OipYbD5rtYxp5d8RA7OK9VahdhJAMI/s400/HTC+Train.JPG" border="0" alt="All aboard the pain train."id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5609009441532668370" /></a>If all goes your way you win, like Cavendish did for the second time this Giro:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEih7wo6W4QoNRPlz-JZ8FPvCufF_gO2SVFGi2Rn-xoMSHy6JqtqPWcLhm93Vznn7O7ueXJKLMhgF51aRf6NpQs9_JcehzTARq0HpHKZUDg3lKfLeYlveEoqPXbZYPf-vX7Uf4ZQUiB8XYQ/s1600/Cav+2.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 232px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEih7wo6W4QoNRPlz-JZ8FPvCufF_gO2SVFGi2Rn-xoMSHy6JqtqPWcLhm93Vznn7O7ueXJKLMhgF51aRf6NpQs9_JcehzTARq0HpHKZUDg3lKfLeYlveEoqPXbZYPf-vX7Uf4ZQUiB8XYQ/s400/Cav+2.JPG" border="0" alt="Who said the English can't count?"id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5609008269098600594" /></a>In his excitement, Cav decided to use his fingers to create a visual representation of the number of stages he has won. Either that or he has jumped on the hippie bandwagon and is asking for peace. I only say that because his visual sign this year is a bit different from <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZ3XM4TYmu1vUfct8r36vacraB2IQ-cNbB_owB1UqV11cPI044hNPlplwsz1ZksxmKNmeaM1oNVBdp-vELEf7g41WXNZkTU4hVRrQipPHxlxtZ_YNk2wYk_wHz_tw0Ew-FMBghT3d6Itw/s1600/Wegmann+Cav.png">last year's</a>. <br /><br />In what seemed to be a replay of stage 9's climb of Etna (except today's stage was in Austria, was rainy, and was an entirely different stage), AC and the little Venezuelan (no not Hugo Chávez) José Rujano broke from the pack on the last climb. Unlike stage 9, Rujano won the stage - though it would probably be fairer to say that he was gifted it by AC:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXezeQWcml1jk_s7beo8C-WhXEWZrRlj2A7raR5p5P4IWX-7m3ODD7czZ3_SczTBvIxaKLfJhTAuSX_foWGgSw943itp_9RL88I6rNq-vQUCebRpM0TNwbkdg8JnrzGeOGirG6681v2YA/s1600/Rujano.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 232px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXezeQWcml1jk_s7beo8C-WhXEWZrRlj2A7raR5p5P4IWX-7m3ODD7czZ3_SczTBvIxaKLfJhTAuSX_foWGgSw943itp_9RL88I6rNq-vQUCebRpM0TNwbkdg8JnrzGeOGirG6681v2YA/s400/Rujano.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5609009735984368130" /></a>Why do I say that it was a gift? For one, Rujano looked back at AC three times in the last 50 meters to see if he was going to pass him. For another, look at how short this guy is, there's no way he could have held off AC if he had wanted to accelerate and take the stage:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBVt9ZARJ9qx3xTWRPCfSwjMLae9d-X0k3Dspt3_PbXqEP8kqHJCrHBklb1i5SLrBBLrtoAEwMpkBsk4uQwgk4R2veu6XgvBRAZe_sgjVNrbw2ppkAtY2NQdIHI5pLsJnCDr8lCvXoH14/s1600/Rujano+2.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 231px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBVt9ZARJ9qx3xTWRPCfSwjMLae9d-X0k3Dspt3_PbXqEP8kqHJCrHBklb1i5SLrBBLrtoAEwMpkBsk4uQwgk4R2veu6XgvBRAZe_sgjVNrbw2ppkAtY2NQdIHI5pLsJnCDr8lCvXoH14/s400/Rujano+2.JPG" border="0" alt="I'm not entirely sure, but I think that step is about three feet tall."id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5609010224187194450" /></a>Fun fact - Rujano has won more races as a jockey than a bike rider.<br /><br />The next question one would ask is why would AC let him win? Rujano has been the only person who can stay with AC on the climbs and is almost six minutes back in the GC so he posses no threat. The other riders who everyone thought could pose a threat? Look at these gaps (and add that to the 50+ seconds he took on Etna) and you'll see that as of right now they pose about as much threat as Donald Trump does to President Obama's chances of being reelected in 2014:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiq1ogVsGfUf__Mz2haTQPK6iCdfmtmlWUC27602_XHBPTWzZqcokP3wXIEOQ7ImQgTHTW1_v3n1QrwgjZjIjL10XNrMRQ1xZcyHow05Aev3r04-u4a9Vp44TBDF10XqopV3xIttHIBJcE/s1600/Gaps.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 233px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiq1ogVsGfUf__Mz2haTQPK6iCdfmtmlWUC27602_XHBPTWzZqcokP3wXIEOQ7ImQgTHTW1_v3n1QrwgjZjIjL10XNrMRQ1xZcyHow05Aev3r04-u4a9Vp44TBDF10XqopV3xIttHIBJcE/s400/Gaps.JPG" border="0" alt="After watching it's hard to believe the gaps were that little."id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5609011267987856962" /></a>With today's effort AC is now leading in the GC, mountains classification, and points competition. You'd think the way AC has been riding despite his case being decided by CAS would be the big news in the world of cycling, but it's not.<br /><br />In a 60 Minutes interview, disgraced Olympic Champion and former teammate of Lance Armstrong, <a href="http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-504803_162-20064406-10391709.html?tag=mncol;lst;4">Tyler Hamilton admitted he took performance enhancing drugs as well as saying the he saw LA use EPO</a>. The response from LA's camp is the same one we heard when Landis made his claims of LA's drug use; "he has no credibility." So how did team LA respond to the news that his most trusted lieutenant and friend, <a href="http://sports.espn.go.com/oly/cycling/news/story?id=6571826&campaign=rss&source=ESPNHeadlines">George Hincapie, testified that he used EPO and testosterone with LA while with the Postal Service Team</a>? They insinuated that since the reports are anonymous they are false - I guess that means that Hincapie still has some credibility. <a href="http://velonews.competitor.com/2011/05/news/scott-mercier-former-postal-rider-says-hamiltons-charges-ring-true_174876">Another former USPS rider, though he left the team before LA arrived, has come forward and stated that he was offered PEDs while a team rider</a>. The next, and probably last, big piece of the puzzle is Levi Leipheimer, another of LA's "inner circle" crew.<br /><br />So what do you do when you are the greatest TdF rider in the history of the sport and it looks like this just may be your last race? You send your team to the front and hope you can pull out a victory.rhetoricdyinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12256287363387970150noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6755461185907580903.post-17573150937474211132011-05-18T21:20:00.000-07:002011-05-18T22:08:40.984-07:00The Bikes of BabelIn my travels throughout Europe, it never surprised me when a Frenchman spoke fluent Spanish. Or when a Danish woman was able to converse in perfect German. Heck, it was no big deal at all when a Scottish guy spoke with an accent I could understand. It was a big deal when a German could understand a Swiss guy. Just kidding, that never happened - <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uA_Z3Yb_2-4&feature=related">no one understands Swiss except the Swiss</a>. With all those experiences of multilingual Europeans, I don't know why I was so shocked when after his <a href="http://velonews.competitor.com/2011/05/news/giro-ditalias-10th-stage_173808">sprint victory in stage 10</a>, Mark Cavendish gave an interview in Italian. Needless to say, I wasn't at all surprised that he won the stage:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh10BR3-JdflJKIjAkaK35-hiJCE-ToE9Tg0ZKsc1DaeW9eWFiydrqNfxmLlYxqNK1dlWhtWYt9sEt7VY-h9BKFSqQIUt5SciJvOgIxR_5gixSWmALAolA5UENK53TfAJ5C8m9wy8dOaxI/s1600/Cav.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 230px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh10BR3-JdflJKIjAkaK35-hiJCE-ToE9Tg0ZKsc1DaeW9eWFiydrqNfxmLlYxqNK1dlWhtWYt9sEt7VY-h9BKFSqQIUt5SciJvOgIxR_5gixSWmALAolA5UENK53TfAJ5C8m9wy8dOaxI/s400/Cav.JPG" border="0" alt="Were you expecting someone else?"id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5608279290531712706" /></a>I guess perhaps I have some preconceived notions about native English speakers and their knowledge of foreign languages. Yup, that's it.<br /><br />Anyway, besides the surprise of a Manxman speaking Italian, stage 10 treated us to a rare sight, AC eating:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzZFTvtKMA3bBAcbFui7JxGG0J-Nit179bkm6S0JxpJTZmWbt0nWWOZYkitLY19pmvph4NpfzgYF9-2x58WIaLVMM82KBbbVpibvH_7d_dh2LqTP2RUCI3dN5WFEjNU8iPEqPbs78IAtc/s1600/AC.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 232px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzZFTvtKMA3bBAcbFui7JxGG0J-Nit179bkm6S0JxpJTZmWbt0nWWOZYkitLY19pmvph4NpfzgYF9-2x58WIaLVMM82KBbbVpibvH_7d_dh2LqTP2RUCI3dN5WFEjNU8iPEqPbs78IAtc/s400/AC.JPG" border="0" alt="Have the team's nutritionists looked at that?"id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5608279886619740498" /></a>Rumor has it that AC has had <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguwZR74Q3ZGB_7yEnG0yK3oKL-M36ZzAIEwQuIaZQbBjVktOP1WR7W0uf683jkiswchabkPKYegqFK4E6bAWM1My3PZj3KsnymhOMD3-M5Vvshc_kvnf2OX0bHn4DgT4OgCdaQ8gX3WicK/s1600/Alberto+Velvet+Painting.jpg">horrible nightmares</a> since his positive test at last year's TdF and has refused to eat anything at all. But as the old saying goes (something like this) - champions always get back up and fight through the difficulties. Of course champions don't wear pink, that's for girls. This is what men do:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9lduvmyIRrQyvcs5OIGFeKOx7BP390X-Mb_jwd6pCMjf85jMDVTMU-FbaMeYbx2h0wnZo4-o_RixmMznGI1dGRi-RjjhNkfiehbig89SfyBiBLreuw8JwrGANcn3xCilsW4hmR9L7QG4/s1600/Bathroom.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 231px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9lduvmyIRrQyvcs5OIGFeKOx7BP390X-Mb_jwd6pCMjf85jMDVTMU-FbaMeYbx2h0wnZo4-o_RixmMznGI1dGRi-RjjhNkfiehbig89SfyBiBLreuw8JwrGANcn3xCilsW4hmR9L7QG4/s400/Bathroom.JPG" border="0" alt="Consider me Miles Davis!"id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5608280800895509314" /></a>In case you're having trouble understanding what is taking place in this here picture, a rider from Quickstep has crashed. The four riders on the left of the road have quickly pulled over to point and laugh, as well as mark the tree as their territory.<br /><br />Stage 11 was a nondescript stage with many (relatively) smaller climbs for the riders to face. In the end, former mountain biker and Frenchman (I have no idea how good his Spanish is) John Gadret timed a perfect attack on the uphill finish to take the stage victory:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJ3uaxgF5D2GQyHpHeYUS1cvIcn-iU7KW6By9163sDwn-CMDdO3JhFMxDK4UzT0cKMjdk0uDin771CMIQYwwCjKi7Vmg7RofrpMsdtIR9msGjCmw9xEVa0O4aBIhvaGLKPjYWnOqR-Du4/s1600/Gadret.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 231px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJ3uaxgF5D2GQyHpHeYUS1cvIcn-iU7KW6By9163sDwn-CMDdO3JhFMxDK4UzT0cKMjdk0uDin771CMIQYwwCjKi7Vmg7RofrpMsdtIR9msGjCmw9xEVa0O4aBIhvaGLKPjYWnOqR-Du4/s400/Gadret.JPG" border="0" alt="Nice tat."id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5608282582202642482" /></a><a href="http://velonews.competitor.com/2011/05/news/john-gadret-wins-11th-stage-at-giro-ditalia-as-alberto-contador-preserves-his-lead_174161">He dedicated his victory to Wouter Weylandt</a>, whose funeral was held today in Ghent, Belgium. The race organizers were apparently so moved by Gadret's dedication, they wanted to give him something memorable:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwufQgTK-CuwQr-4n4jWf0-GIge0HFT9QqTCIU1IhiITAEmMCf95SJIkXKmRmWsKqtU_qSQYcltqJtJJ51yBULtSdlJIC5JCKx2W_2t0J6pogIz3_NFdTAGMn7y5xxRL1VN1tSphGvN7c/s1600/Gadret+Yellow.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 230px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwufQgTK-CuwQr-4n4jWf0-GIge0HFT9QqTCIU1IhiITAEmMCf95SJIkXKmRmWsKqtU_qSQYcltqJtJJ51yBULtSdlJIC5JCKx2W_2t0J6pogIz3_NFdTAGMn7y5xxRL1VN1tSphGvN7c/s400/Gadret+Yellow.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5608283140324667922" /></a>So they gave him a yellow jersey. In a race that awards <a href="http://autobus.cyclingnews.com/road/2008/giro08/?id=/features/2008/giro_classifications08">no fewer than eleven awards</a>, not a single one is a yellow jersey. I wonder if the race organizers perhaps got the Giro confused with another European race that takes place in July. <br /><br />For those of you that only speak English (and live in America, where it is acceptable to only speak English), there is another race underway this week - the Amgen Tour of California. I have been watching it (and if you haven't than you missed senior citizen Chris Horner destroy the field today up Sierra Road), but I decided not to write about it this year. This is mainly due to time constraints and my desire to just enjoy the race as it unfolds on my TV screen. I did find out a friend has VIP passes to the finish of tomorrow's stage in Paso Robles, though I'm not sure exactly what that gets him. If he gets a chance to meet any of the riders that would be pretty cool. Hopefully he meets one from the US, Canada, UK, or Australia so he doesn't have to worry about speaking a foreign language with any of them.rhetoricdyinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12256287363387970150noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6755461185907580903.post-89356121195948154622011-05-16T18:55:00.000-07:002011-05-16T20:02:11.694-07:00Struggling to Catch UpDue to what seemed to be a technical issue with Blogger, I was unable to post last Friday; with that in mind today's post will cover the last four Giro stages save for Saturday's stage 8. I was unable to watch that stage on account of the fact that I was flying a cross-country trip. For those of you wondering, cross country only means that the flight has three legs and the legs are longer than 25 miles. So that took up my Saturday morning. In other news of flying, I soloed last weekend so now I am able to fly by myself to train for my private pilot flying test I plan to take this summer. It was a little unnerving at first, realizing that there is no one else in the plane with you, but I've almost gotten used to it.<br /><br />Back to cycling. In stages 6 and 7, Rabobank's <span style="font-style:italic;">maglia rosa</span> wearer Pieter Weening (yes, once more!) somehow worked it out to have two Italian teams put in the work to catch each days' break:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhm-hGad576Hpa7DvTUjvcJty3Ss4Dw1pEzEiVZw8m2cOqaBADWQClaB3W4rjPtex1YeclJ2mGTvFzPEHNJGGWgx609lCer4WJiD2Pt540Ee5YbXd_JupT2ioFdrVI8qp2OFl_SN54Ex2o/s1600/Farnese+Vini.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 268px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhm-hGad576Hpa7DvTUjvcJty3Ss4Dw1pEzEiVZw8m2cOqaBADWQClaB3W4rjPtex1YeclJ2mGTvFzPEHNJGGWgx609lCer4WJiD2Pt540Ee5YbXd_JupT2ioFdrVI8qp2OFl_SN54Ex2o/s400/Farnese+Vini.JPG" border="0" alt="Why are we doing this again?"id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5607500305403708306" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisZAZRFqYR-SJz8zx5sygtjm58X3EPwEkb00PEHOu2sr3LefWiLDmkzqzIPv2L_iTdX3fHHsZCWK3LuBT5X7Lh9S-C_v0Uz0z4YyUA6J7CGgaFW6ibGxOM-DNNrRJyF0QptDcY2Y-jj8E/s1600/Aqua+Sapone.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 392px; height: 251px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisZAZRFqYR-SJz8zx5sygtjm58X3EPwEkb00PEHOu2sr3LefWiLDmkzqzIPv2L_iTdX3fHHsZCWK3LuBT5X7Lh9S-C_v0Uz0z4YyUA6J7CGgaFW6ibGxOM-DNNrRJyF0QptDcY2Y-jj8E/s400/Aqua+Sapone.JPG" border="0" alt="Did we learn nothing from Farnese Vini?"id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5607500309881463074" /></a><br />As I stated earlier, I was unable to watch stage 8, but I'm sure Weening (it never fails to humor me) had <a href="http://www.androniteam.it/">Androni Giocattoli</a> do all the work to close down any gap that may or may not have developed. Weening's (it's not as funny in the possessive) strategy obviously worked well as he kept the leader's jersey until the race headed to Sicily and Mount Etna during stage 9. But I'm getting ahead of myself. Stage 6 saw a <a href="http://www.cyclingnews.com/races/giro-ditalia-his/stage-6/results">second stage victory this year for Movistar's Francisco Ventoso as well as Campagnolo's electronic group</a>.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj48-K0c5-6eWXlB7y56kMmrSnO1DU0-xl-IbqfXHDc8EZCn-fbrUymd-gliTVNRxVSHIV-XH6ZqI5mAOxx39MoZRhgOdIXFVW_sh7wpGarkiyv7DAbxlWAsOUCOKQvR-cAzs1rRK_4khE/s1600/Ventoso.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 224px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj48-K0c5-6eWXlB7y56kMmrSnO1DU0-xl-IbqfXHDc8EZCn-fbrUymd-gliTVNRxVSHIV-XH6ZqI5mAOxx39MoZRhgOdIXFVW_sh7wpGarkiyv7DAbxlWAsOUCOKQvR-cAzs1rRK_4khE/s400/Ventoso.JPG" border="0" alt="Ale-Jet had some engine trouble."id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5607502776204899250" /></a>After the stage the media didn't seem to care about talking with the stage winner, but instead Italian sprinter Alessandro Petacchi. I understand that there are a lot of media outlets, but who would hire the guy on the right:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgseKYppUy-X1X_p81wvUbdQkPLRDTYPdaOFmMsZhf_-Cci-r74FeoXxpsIq1j6sh2n7x3oLltyfzzu9TT3xbLOOYQD54xXGmIIM3xjpVdOq2dgC0QpeDmaLi-YQ-Ceb9ANwgHFMqgSxrg/s1600/Ale+Jet.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 226px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgseKYppUy-X1X_p81wvUbdQkPLRDTYPdaOFmMsZhf_-Cci-r74FeoXxpsIq1j6sh2n7x3oLltyfzzu9TT3xbLOOYQD54xXGmIIM3xjpVdOq2dgC0QpeDmaLi-YQ-Ceb9ANwgHFMqgSxrg/s400/Ale+Jet.JPG" border="0" alt="Excuse me, is my scarf straight?"id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5607503543945147122" /></a>Seriously, did that guy just get off the douche tourist bus? Actually, after more thought he looks more like he could be <a href="http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/photos/a-first-look-at-team-leopard-trek/153228">a rider on LEOPARD-TREK</a>.<br /><br />Stage 7 was won by Omega Pharma-Lotto's Bart de Clercq after he broke away from the peloton up the final climb:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKR1R1xWQl5u1bXHSHIVUzXZFNrz_E7U82961KGYYFXW1NRYZoVd7tN793o6a-Jjiy-0ZhET0kaiUI1st4cbc4XPCNOElO5wQSJJShNKUQk_nio_mXGZ0ZiHi73y3ihiggcrBF2K60fdI/s1600/Bart.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 392px; height: 252px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKR1R1xWQl5u1bXHSHIVUzXZFNrz_E7U82961KGYYFXW1NRYZoVd7tN793o6a-Jjiy-0ZhET0kaiUI1st4cbc4XPCNOElO5wQSJJShNKUQk_nio_mXGZ0ZiHi73y3ihiggcrBF2K60fdI/s400/Bart.JPG" border="0" alt="Don't ahve a cow, man!"id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5607507305873537138" /></a>And while that is all well and good, the big news of the day was CSF-Colnago's Federico Canuti demonstrating some amazing descending skills ala <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgt8CsQD2_0aFfTBszzdl3XfUsH1tTg7mBtzqQzsGjqhX-4juqwXGwYJJNvG2QlNxVqY18S2-3fAeNTDzdYOujObq-ryV5hztABqqiwMNCACU_b7h5cH7oUGcnbArt2nDtUAm45gJ8y70s/s1600/Nibali.jpg">Vincenzo Nibali</a>:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBj2Wwb99oJJQ8__jInk0yFamCHQlcpP5-ipGKvnDJUGUAGXry_f_G8Ga0Da5r79fs4elFuCjg6HU1_VLqvebTal1U52X8PXDdispsPvDrcnS3gm6nHOzfQqXER6v7srW3EpZFXY7rsnk/s1600/Canuti.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 392px; height: 255px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBj2Wwb99oJJQ8__jInk0yFamCHQlcpP5-ipGKvnDJUGUAGXry_f_G8Ga0Da5r79fs4elFuCjg6HU1_VLqvebTal1U52X8PXDdispsPvDrcnS3gm6nHOzfQqXER6v7srW3EpZFXY7rsnk/s400/Canuti.JPG" border="0" alt="Better luck next time Freddy."id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5607506439779871010" /></a>Unfortunately, unlike Nibali, Canuti attempted the "alternative" descending on a day that was dry.<br /><br />Stage 8 happened, I think. I didn't watch it so I'm not so sure that it actually took place, but if it did, Weening (yes!) kept the <span style="font-style:italic;">maglia rosa</span> for the race's visit to Sicily and Europe's most active volcano. Mount Etna was sure to shake things up, and that was easy to see on Weening's (ugh) face as he was clearly cracking:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrciYngeHEEYj7G93EkF_cFPYlYvcl2OzfDAGdQQEZUm5Mk9XkeqNJd_h_xiFPwUIsT7Ns8o394qAiutp-sF41OWPwQVqEmrMS3ZKWVE2VGi4CaoYODLYoCzJLp-yTMz4E7ZJIV7fuDms/s1600/Weening.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 277px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrciYngeHEEYj7G93EkF_cFPYlYvcl2OzfDAGdQQEZUm5Mk9XkeqNJd_h_xiFPwUIsT7Ns8o394qAiutp-sF41OWPwQVqEmrMS3ZKWVE2VGi4CaoYODLYoCzJLp-yTMz4E7ZJIV7fuDms/s400/Weening.JPG" border="0" alt="Get a bigger bike."id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5607507738837358386" /></a>While the <span style="font-style:italic;">maglia rosa</span> was suffering off the back, 2008 champion AC was destroying all but <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jos%C3%A9_Rujano">the smallest of riders up the mountai</a>n. After his initial break from the peloton, AC quickly caught and shed every rider up the road except Androni Giocattoli's José Rujano and some crazy Italian wearing a brightly colored kit and pink hat:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhd3wGHLcPno3-2scVke6wFalwTG21P9p1ZurQKJTu-e-NJhaSG5nrfJ2ceiR8QuCf0BPl-Px7zponDcd_iwCFeIrk3wKX9uEKpu1YtiiZc_5kz85zuOmxVnsbJj0lLjXzIjfhO29nYHls/s1600/Etna+Break.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 274px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhd3wGHLcPno3-2scVke6wFalwTG21P9p1ZurQKJTu-e-NJhaSG5nrfJ2ceiR8QuCf0BPl-Px7zponDcd_iwCFeIrk3wKX9uEKpu1YtiiZc_5kz85zuOmxVnsbJj0lLjXzIjfhO29nYHls/s400/Etna+Break.JPG" border="0" alt="A very select group."id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5607508541658949874" /></a>The crazy Italian was soon dropped and it was only AC and Rujano up to the top. As expected, AC won and (warning: made up word ahead) imaginaringly shot the chef who gave him the tainted beef from last year's TdF. Here is the aftermath of the imaginary murder:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnuMdyKqvBiF6qot7oUOQLS5sNZM68P_xPiOze4a5JdrZAI9YjCbc6_KVNMvCSL4PpM50ZhhJlJqggFe8Wl1F4w0MnVMePvIHzgvb1jWPatfPzzXEstd37ZYPUzjw8-A7KZUUTQ0frCuc/s1600/AC.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 276px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnuMdyKqvBiF6qot7oUOQLS5sNZM68P_xPiOze4a5JdrZAI9YjCbc6_KVNMvCSL4PpM50ZhhJlJqggFe8Wl1F4w0MnVMePvIHzgvb1jWPatfPzzXEstd37ZYPUzjw8-A7KZUUTQ0frCuc/s400/AC.JPG" border="0" alt="Feed me tainted beef, will ya."id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5607509460441164098" /></a>When the smoke had cleared, not from the volcanic eruption that was taking place but the absolute destruction AC caused in the peloton, AC had ridden into the <span style="font-style:italic;">maglia rosa </span>and gained almost a minute on his closest rivals:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEit7I2ltduldtubRaUDaujVGi14dMdoWfj8kWQoUh0eSZRlhGpOK8nPEgOOmvCJA002-FjmoSRXEq8cfb_JPnwi57v5RMIcWH_7qBJ1uy0izmrRauUg6g7EinHy5KRipwhYcsKEmZaz4SM/s1600/Stage+Results.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 277px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEit7I2ltduldtubRaUDaujVGi14dMdoWfj8kWQoUh0eSZRlhGpOK8nPEgOOmvCJA002-FjmoSRXEq8cfb_JPnwi57v5RMIcWH_7qBJ1uy0izmrRauUg6g7EinHy5KRipwhYcsKEmZaz4SM/s400/Stage+Results.JPG" border="0" alt="Damn"id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5607509949610716946" /></a>Today saw the first rest day, which I know the riders need, but makes for a slow Monday for me. A day off also gives me time to reflect on the horrible commercials Sidi produces and are shown on Eurosport. Last year it was a shot of AC in all white tapping his shoes against his chest. This year's commercial involves Liquigas rider Ivan Basso chopping up and cooking his shoes, which he then serves to his teammate Vincenzo Nibali:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQ9PXBhvXZWyHYkfQ0gu2WMwc9bIb8HvNQVYH5Lfn7B7BRWOFGuf1qXpK2_LIB3c7ailqmePN3qiesYym-BaBxLx83sP-DZshYUW-V-HC8Ui08j_1jjYw_bxXmwL1o7wFLIgDXhhWQtX4/s1600/Sidi.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 392px; height: 251px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQ9PXBhvXZWyHYkfQ0gu2WMwc9bIb8HvNQVYH5Lfn7B7BRWOFGuf1qXpK2_LIB3c7ailqmePN3qiesYym-BaBxLx83sP-DZshYUW-V-HC8Ui08j_1jjYw_bxXmwL1o7wFLIgDXhhWQtX4/s400/Sidi.JPG" border="0" alt="Eat up, bitch!"id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5607510909683536290" /></a>That commercial is about as awesome as Blogger having technical difficulties or the sales Backcountry.com has on its sunglasses:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTL5znX6_5DqyLpKFVibzNXA-8QX9p0FttdR85KmE5H3ycKJItSIFVXc8DHjCuMqE_LwmN8MDH4VBc8gYAn3u7hMBPI0a-USGrKRLg_i7AxMVqyh27eJhbpJibdSgD0RNFwwAmETIcczM/s1600/Glasses.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 128px; height: 295px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTL5znX6_5DqyLpKFVibzNXA-8QX9p0FttdR85KmE5H3ycKJItSIFVXc8DHjCuMqE_LwmN8MDH4VBc8gYAn3u7hMBPI0a-USGrKRLg_i7AxMVqyh27eJhbpJibdSgD0RNFwwAmETIcczM/s400/Glasses.JPG" border="0" alt="What a great price, one for the price of one!"id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5607511435213533570" /></a>I'm not one to pass up a sale this good.rhetoricdyinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12256287363387970150noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6755461185907580903.post-61781960275412549052011-05-11T20:14:00.000-07:002011-05-13T13:33:42.322-07:00If you've been reading this blog, or any cycling related website for that matter, recently than you know that a pretty big bike race is currently underway in a far and mysterious land - Italy. Actually, Italy is so far away that as I write this post on Wednesday, the Italians are celebrating the end of the work week (or they just stopped working midweek, which I wouldn't put past them). If you are reading this post from the east coast of the US than you too are well ahead of us here in Kansas, but mostly in all the other markings of a modern society and not so much in time.<br /><br />In a tribute to Wouter Weylandt, stage four of the Giro was neutralized and each team took a turn at the front as the peloton bid farewell to one of its own. In the final couple kilometers LEOPARD-TREK took the lead and crossed the line with American, and good friend of Weylandt, Tyler Farrar:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6xhttzRUTKbEOZZyaT4DsMiRCIkYvffehAFiIjgsnT-ukCawpmwITtb32-Az8d25QM4e06irsgMDQgUpRISTkeRKOrt8Hs5b3dsIVcxZSQ16v6DP2VYU2w9dlFzIGCYzRYMQan4fzpBM/s1600/LT+2.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 394px; height: 226px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6xhttzRUTKbEOZZyaT4DsMiRCIkYvffehAFiIjgsnT-ukCawpmwITtb32-Az8d25QM4e06irsgMDQgUpRISTkeRKOrt8Hs5b3dsIVcxZSQ16v6DP2VYU2w9dlFzIGCYzRYMQan4fzpBM/s400/LT+2.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5605664080226660386" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPYe9Ee4bXNvMiVBsTl0oHOTca4Dr9HKx6FUIeploDVTK7OCxl_8t5fpTMhF-MPYaP_v_TJewKOc6HjPhyX-H9sTCxVw3PZoDSOKHFUB818wWt4hwwDC3GoZTSZtKAj3kUZ6Cl1FP5cMo/s1600/LT+1.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 394px; height: 229px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPYe9Ee4bXNvMiVBsTl0oHOTca4Dr9HKx6FUIeploDVTK7OCxl_8t5fpTMhF-MPYaP_v_TJewKOc6HjPhyX-H9sTCxVw3PZoDSOKHFUB818wWt4hwwDC3GoZTSZtKAj3kUZ6Cl1FP5cMo/s400/LT+1.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5605664075936559506" /></a>After the stage both Farrar and LEOPARD-TREK understandably departed the race. <br /><br />I today's stage five there was <a href="http://velonews.competitor.com/2011/05/news/rabobanks-tom-jelte-slagter-not-seriously-injured-despite-heavy-crash-at-giro-ditalia_172477">a spectacular crash involving the Rabobank rider Tom Slagter</a>. He will abandon the race but luckily he was not seriously injured.<br /><br />Stage five presented the riders with a clear day and some dusty <span style="font-style:italic;">Strade Bianche</span>:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIJijeWSdRhySlYOuP1PZEcRsk9h8GA3zjj4858FuhGD5E-Ke8glPMEzWzfdf3Er-8rAVAujfllFKCUgKrYt-6vI2DxNXqm9wfGzK-iLVZ7REw3CVv7RBSpR6ynXbDmDsAgU2lF42VZv8/s1600/Popo+Strada+Biancha.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 351px; height: 203px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIJijeWSdRhySlYOuP1PZEcRsk9h8GA3zjj4858FuhGD5E-Ke8glPMEzWzfdf3Er-8rAVAujfllFKCUgKrYt-6vI2DxNXqm9wfGzK-iLVZ7REw3CVv7RBSpR6ynXbDmDsAgU2lF42VZv8/s400/Popo+Strada+Biancha.jpg" border="0" alt="Pick your poison, last year's addition featured a mud pit over the Strada Bianche."id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5605667229656384818" /></a>Throughout the entire stage the Eurosport commentators continued to drool over Liquigas' Vincenzo Nibali and his ability to descend. <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgt8CsQD2_0aFfTBszzdl3XfUsH1tTg7mBtzqQzsGjqhX-4juqwXGwYJJNvG2QlNxVqY18S2-3fAeNTDzdYOujObq-ryV5hztABqqiwMNCACU_b7h5cH7oUGcnbArt2nDtUAm45gJ8y70s/s1600/Nibali.jpg">Photographic evidence</a> from last year's Tour of Lombardy would prove otherwise though, unless by ability the commentators meant his ability to adapt to conditions and experiment with new lines. One man who was able to descend well enough to stay away until there were only 10 kilometers left to race was BMC's Martin <a href="http://www.us.kohler.com/index.jsp">Kohler</a>, possible heir to the Kohler faucet fortune. He went on a solo attack and not only descended well enough, but climbed well enough that he earned himself the climber's jersey:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8JCPH7J8cxgGNI2pDPjk1JY2kcOT2rzdBtLgPvfpNwW6Ur5KyT-P-tz5hbBZ5G4VANkqKlE6mGMtg8DsBBylOPjb9JSzP9p33Cbqs1np9fscuK7Lcl6fPqn1CeR_yQ3AsZCeDLx31eP4/s1600/Kohler.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 350px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8JCPH7J8cxgGNI2pDPjk1JY2kcOT2rzdBtLgPvfpNwW6Ur5KyT-P-tz5hbBZ5G4VANkqKlE6mGMtg8DsBBylOPjb9JSzP9p33Cbqs1np9fscuK7Lcl6fPqn1CeR_yQ3AsZCeDLx31eP4/s400/Kohler.jpg" border="0" alt="He's going to need one of those faucets to wash off all the dust he accumulated during today's stage."id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5605666281533271170" /></a>He was eventually reeled in by AG2R's John Gadret and the stage winner and current <span style="font-style:italic;">Maglia Rosa</span> wearer, Peter Weening (not pronounced wienering, there is no "r" in his last name):<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfMYHDHZvtrLr2IDtmSSweoh6YI5fOOKhvCqUHDmWS5Jot3ysc9wZ04o99GxTSORadH0BFkrU3MjJ40E2G_PQcuKFJ4NBG3FpnrDLElhlA-Rv1UfWMHfSRHPxe6DJvBzwImV9TTqyhO3U/s1600/Weening+Winning.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 352px; height: 199px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfMYHDHZvtrLr2IDtmSSweoh6YI5fOOKhvCqUHDmWS5Jot3ysc9wZ04o99GxTSORadH0BFkrU3MjJ40E2G_PQcuKFJ4NBG3FpnrDLElhlA-Rv1UfWMHfSRHPxe6DJvBzwImV9TTqyhO3U/s400/Weening+Winning.jpg" border="0" alt="Is it too obvious to put a 'weening!' joke in here?"id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5605666995167666578" /></a>Prior to Weening and Gadret's effort to bridge up to Kohler, another duo attempted the same thing, only with less impressive results:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUW1eEU5D1Ay41GPDkAuEcXL_TfgsfDoCcvi-lfMsYCSHKQZUV02-1xUggCA-XsACCmazWdQOXz2y2IWshyvKuArjcUziSXzlpOCsgakVYlZV7xp7dFbSEtEcgqLakiAFmhf2jhBgZU1o/s1600/Cataldo.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 351px; height: 204px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUW1eEU5D1Ay41GPDkAuEcXL_TfgsfDoCcvi-lfMsYCSHKQZUV02-1xUggCA-XsACCmazWdQOXz2y2IWshyvKuArjcUziSXzlpOCsgakVYlZV7xp7dFbSEtEcgqLakiAFmhf2jhBgZU1o/s400/Cataldo.jpg" border="0" alt="You've got to get low in the ditch or else you'll be sucked away!"id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5605668054223837650" /></a>Quickstep's Dario Cataldo took time out of his busy schedule to show his breakaway compatriot, Rabobank's Bram Tankink, how to properly take cover in a roadside ditch during a tornado. While this is an important lesson for someone from the American Midwest, I fear that his willingness to impart such knowledge did little to further his goal of doing well during the Giro.<br /><br />Back to Weening (only because that is a fun name to say every time I type it), why does he (<a href="http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://cache4.asset-cache.net/xc/99998654.jpg%3Fv%3D1%26c%3DIWSAsset%26k%3D2%26d%3D77BFBA49EF878921A343B2C87A49D8F5053F92FB74CDDFB254CF30A22704DF6829F5185B02E85CEBE30A760B0D811297&imgrefurl=http://www.life.com/image/99998654&usg=__DnE6EeNy3dfv0kezjgZ2ulwhT0c=&h=401&w=594&sz=45&hl=en&start=189&sig2=cSOiUE_v7CHZ2x1k01DgCQ&zoom=1&tbnid=Vka55cPx4trPiM:&tbnh=165&tbnw=222&ei=TVfLTZy7AozWtQPusMSiAw&prev=/search%3Fq%3Dlars%2Bboom%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DN%26biw%3D1366%26bih%3D681%26tbm%3Disch0%2C4813&um=1&itbs=1&iact=hc&vpx=1052&vpy=392&dur=1030&hovh=184&hovw=273&tx=170&ty=124&page=10&ndsp=18&ved=1t:429,r:11,s:189&biw=1366&bih=681">and all Rabobank riders for that matter</a>) look so large on his bike?<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiob4LSXIspsiKNYY1VPqsLESymmOQj9ELVpMjJgvo3Pg-GPrzvv28n1kgPpGA9xJSVEVE6ZSd0Kr6IYHmJi0ETeP1NGjyZIQExjrVMIAKIyjN9uMYjm5-NEdz00LvouHHyCs4NIf1sBw0/s1600/Weening.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 351px; height: 203px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiob4LSXIspsiKNYY1VPqsLESymmOQj9ELVpMjJgvo3Pg-GPrzvv28n1kgPpGA9xJSVEVE6ZSd0Kr6IYHmJi0ETeP1NGjyZIQExjrVMIAKIyjN9uMYjm5-NEdz00LvouHHyCs4NIf1sBw0/s400/Weening.jpg" border="0" alt="It's like he went to the Jens Voigt neutral support bike school of bike fitting."id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5605669573899129426" /></a>Seriously, is that a conscientious decision the manager of that team makes when selecting riders, or when fitting riders to bikes? Either way it worked out for them today, now we'll see if Weening (ha!) can do a better job of holding on to the lead than David Millar did. I understand bike racing is difficult and only a few riders are cut from the correct lycra to be competitive in the GC, but in all fairness yesterday's stage was not a difficult ride (physically, and I do understand the toll and drain of emotions on the human body) and today's stage only contained a few category three climbs. Suffering is as suffering does, right:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKTNqqLsfwneD0neCebNKB5PYUBvicvzItd7bD2jiUf8iQRqI5TADYq1RSY18rCVA8gJZL9_UeTCuhVY9KQFtOmemcJE7n-H6_4lN3A7418fYLKXpSJ-8x9yKj1rUPBsVhXLfzDnCC4wU/s1600/Millar.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 352px; height: 203px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKTNqqLsfwneD0neCebNKB5PYUBvicvzItd7bD2jiUf8iQRqI5TADYq1RSY18rCVA8gJZL9_UeTCuhVY9KQFtOmemcJE7n-H6_4lN3A7418fYLKXpSJ-8x9yKj1rUPBsVhXLfzDnCC4wU/s400/Millar.jpg" border="0" alt="Great ride in stage 3 to earn it, but you've got to give it up now."id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5605671443098910514" /></a>Tomorrow brings stage six and 216 kilometers of road almost tailor made for a breakaway favoring a strong rider like Vino. With no real climbs, but a lot of ups and downs, it should provide an exciting day of racing. Now that I think about it, that stage is probably already over since Italy is so far ahead; depending on how things go I might just report on the final time trail in Milan come Friday.rhetoricdyinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12256287363387970150noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6755461185907580903.post-57093516054589046092011-05-09T14:15:00.000-07:002011-05-09T14:25:00.653-07:00Wouter WeylandtSeeing the coverage of the third stage of the Giro today, including the aftermath of the crash that resulted in the death of Belgian Cyclist Wouter Weylandt, makes one realize how beautiful and dangerous the sport of professional cycling can be. We all understand the suffering involved in riding a bicycle, and unfortunately the suffering that is involved with losing another human life. Today those two forms of suffering tragically came together.<br /><br />It is because of this that I will not be posting about the racing at the Giro. Results, as well as more in-depth coverage of Weylandt and his career, can be found at your go-to cycling website.rhetoricdyinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12256287363387970150noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6755461185907580903.post-87178722276635894992011-05-06T07:43:00.000-07:002011-05-06T08:42:02.837-07:00Cassettes, Clothing, and QuestionsWhile out on a ride Tuesday, I came across a calf drinking from its mother's (I assume it was its mother and not some random cow's) udder. My response, which I said aloud, to this perfectly normal happening was, "That's my milk!" Why would I say that? No idea, but questioning such a ridiculous statement intrigued me and got me questioning just about everything I encountered over the last few days.<br /><br />First, why did 80s era cycling movies show riders shifting into the small chain ring or large cog when they wanted to ride faster? I submit to the court Exhibit A from the opening scene of <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0091814/">Quicksilver </a>(this version was dubbed over for some reason, but pay attention around 54/55 seconds):<br /><br /><iframe width="400" height="325" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/KQtz9K0Q980" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe><br /><br />Exhibit B, Dave the Cutter from <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0078902/">Breaking Away</a> (ok, to be honest that movie came out in 1979, not technically the 80s), <a href="http://www.cyclingtipsblog.com/2009/04/cycling-movies-greats/">shifts into the small chain ring</a> when drafting behind a semi-truck in order to increase his speed.<br /><br />Another mystery I've wrestled with is why the need for the <a href="http://www.bikeradar.com/news/article/new-dura-ace-di2-satellite-shifter-for-sprinters-28575/">sprinter version of Di2</a>?<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcBPYJiVIlgo6h9J3Roh_wT2NwAho7db3qA_L0twnwBEjNtroQpuNJ-0ZASGVEeDUJFVQKj-CSwqIr7FXUuiSU9xqg25rFrcFO79ATBN4URuNIvLo7_RkRPpFU0Wph1G5vd7Afi75v_NY/s1600/Di2.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 363px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcBPYJiVIlgo6h9J3Roh_wT2NwAho7db3qA_L0twnwBEjNtroQpuNJ-0ZASGVEeDUJFVQKj-CSwqIr7FXUuiSU9xqg25rFrcFO79ATBN4URuNIvLo7_RkRPpFU0Wph1G5vd7Afi75v_NY/s400/Di2.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5603620055581633010" /></a>I guess if you can do and it's not illegal than go for it. The article says, <span style="font-style:italic;">"it's aimed at sprinters, who need to keep a firm grip on the bar and don't want to move to the hoods to change gear."</span> I think it's a good idea, but the article makes is seem like sprinters didn't have the option of shifting in the drops with mechanical groups.<br /><br />Don't get me wrong, Di2 is a pretty sweet invention, but I don't think it compares with <a href="http://ht.ly/4JBxO">this</a>:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZtpVKgG83AF1tjVZfhcSe8tX8b_HFqJ5W0VclRSt4mq3cxTNZgDaHHPEp5JQcNufn4jyVQ2JZrBlfxX9In3SIzA4qIKDfg-UDydZDaruK3EVRITBG-3UOwMXHWs-86xHzyOR175EVLLk/s1600/Jens.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 323px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZtpVKgG83AF1tjVZfhcSe8tX8b_HFqJ5W0VclRSt4mq3cxTNZgDaHHPEp5JQcNufn4jyVQ2JZrBlfxX9In3SIzA4qIKDfg-UDydZDaruK3EVRITBG-3UOwMXHWs-86xHzyOR175EVLLk/s400/Jens.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5603621172662242386" /></a>It's pretty awesome, no question about it.<br /><br />Despite the possibility that the above questions will never be answered, the most important question no one seems to be asking most certainly will be answered in a few short months. Of course that question is, will Garmin Cervelo wear summer white kit like the Cervelo Test Team did last year?<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEig7e1JPOZD5wPuRtJrH_SrK2J1fWa2yo5-vMsKa2UEF9aDNnSqqBYSWjwHaqWvOMt73JtEfDxSCabubumQjEfqXLUa3IjHbtNbuBpJpQwfZ0C-cjaBWlrsIjHT6UpRqDh0eMNcSftg1NE/s1600/CTT.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 134px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEig7e1JPOZD5wPuRtJrH_SrK2J1fWa2yo5-vMsKa2UEF9aDNnSqqBYSWjwHaqWvOMt73JtEfDxSCabubumQjEfqXLUa3IjHbtNbuBpJpQwfZ0C-cjaBWlrsIjHT6UpRqDh0eMNcSftg1NE/s400/CTT.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5603625046239488722" /></a>With all the <a href="http://evilcycling.com/uncategorized/i-dont-share-captain-daves-particular-unpleasant-view-of-lance-armstrong/">questions arising</a> from the <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2011/POLITICS/05/05/birthers.deathers/index.html?hpt=T1">death of Osama bin Laden</a>, the <a href="http://velonews.competitor.com/2011/05/news/floyd-landis-says-he-intends-a-vigorous-defense-against-uci-defamation-claims_171051">UCI's defamation suit against Floyd</a>, and the possible outcome of <a href="http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/contador-aiming-for-repeat-of-2008-triumph-at-the-giro-ditalia">CAS' AC decision</a>, Kitgate© is clearly the most pressing issue that needs to be addressed. Inquiring minds want to know.<br /><br />I haven't copyrighted the use of Kitgate, but if I cared more I would - no questioning that.rhetoricdyinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12256287363387970150noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6755461185907580903.post-48545053314534555312011-05-02T18:31:00.000-07:002011-05-02T19:17:12.516-07:00Missed Races and Misplaced ModifiersCatch up on the newest news at your local cycling website. I've missed "covering" too many races in the last few weeks (due to a mixture of flying and general laziness) to try and rehash them now. I guess if I had to sum it all up I'd say each race looked tiring.<br /><br />While sitting around eating a taco made with somewhere between <a href="http://www.kold.com/story/13887418/lawsuit-taco-bells-beef-actually?redirected=true">36% beef</a> and <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/04/19/taco-bell-meat-beef-lawsuit-withdrawn_n_850834.html">88% beef</a>, I read <a href="http://www.thesudburystar.com/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=3103558">this article</a> from our friendly neighbors to the north:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhf0WQIecld5HO8dmNRotpeKREt7XlDoTpKtDHz576f31FKWAmdsCzd5nNrY7YwzVFXGvfWxJDrx-PpsbTZMAEC3yq6xcOCZMBqfBv6yMHGTasTmTBgzMAQrLPS29OyyOKTkbSv4CBNI9k/s1600/Helmet.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 303px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhf0WQIecld5HO8dmNRotpeKREt7XlDoTpKtDHz576f31FKWAmdsCzd5nNrY7YwzVFXGvfWxJDrx-PpsbTZMAEC3yq6xcOCZMBqfBv6yMHGTasTmTBgzMAQrLPS29OyyOKTkbSv4CBNI9k/s400/Helmet.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5602300053210645202" /></a>I understand the law requiring children to wear helmets, but what I don't understand is why a car would wear a helmet. Apparently, the car that struck the child was built prior to 1995.<br /><br />Speaking of flying, which I did in an aside in the first paragraph, the lessons aren't going too badly. I'm at the point where I understand what I want the airplane to do and (mostly) how to make it do that; the trouble I'm having is actually translating that into smooth flying and landing. I guess if you like to be scared shitless while landing than I'm your pilot. <br /><br />Disclaimer: this is not a video of me landing - this person is much better. <br /><br /><iframe width="400" height="325" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/R2VQjxuhYhc" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe><br /><br />My flight instructor keeps telling me he has no reservations about my progress and says I'm right on track, but I think he is just being nice - nice enough to let me fly by myself so that he doesn't have to experience the terror anymore.<br /><br />I'm off to bed. I actually rode today, bringing my weekly average over the last month to a whopping five miles per week. But no need to fear, I wear my helmet no matter how far I go.rhetoricdyinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12256287363387970150noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6755461185907580903.post-37279165678672755692011-04-18T14:27:00.000-07:002011-04-18T14:46:07.677-07:00They Don't Drink Amstel in the SouthIt seems like I spend more time apologizing for not having posting than actually posting. So from this point forward I will not apologize anymore; you'll just have to deal with the fact that you have an additional ten minutes in your day that you'll have to fill since you were unable to waste it reading this desecration of the English language.<br /><br />If I was going to apologize, I would apologize and then use the fact that I spent the last five days on the road as an excuse. I made my way out to Kentucky for a promotion ceremony for an old colleague. Save for the fact that it was in Kentucky, it was a good time. I was able to catch up with some old friends, one of which I was able to thank in person for writing me a letter of recommendation for law school.<br /><br />On the way back east I drove through St. Louis:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKmT0JG0HjVXtY0es2SUTWUPakvSnC4Ue38eO27ChDa4hAYXSb9guZDhiyjSIXX4UFO-fq2g2_OmdyOUYvU8eU-kgUTGg1wP6nDYpF4b4TxPA1YgAk0aVIacgHDy4mfTb3ft6wP38PvW0/s1600/CIMG5743.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKmT0JG0HjVXtY0es2SUTWUPakvSnC4Ue38eO27ChDa4hAYXSb9guZDhiyjSIXX4UFO-fq2g2_OmdyOUYvU8eU-kgUTGg1wP6nDYpF4b4TxPA1YgAk0aVIacgHDy4mfTb3ft6wP38PvW0/s400/CIMG5743.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5597039629196703666" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjHSUgs8mDA2_jbdlhoMgACRqmDOkKMZ5g2nO4_twFzv0PM2hiXKdQOiRGBsrMegULeO71LECUH7eH6o4SPqi2XkIVxCrsffnEamq33C2RioQFIwjauuh6FJm8LbVr5yQeG44gQ-tzBzA/s1600/CIMG5745.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjHSUgs8mDA2_jbdlhoMgACRqmDOkKMZ5g2nO4_twFzv0PM2hiXKdQOiRGBsrMegULeO71LECUH7eH6o4SPqi2XkIVxCrsffnEamq33C2RioQFIwjauuh6FJm8LbVr5yQeG44gQ-tzBzA/s400/CIMG5745.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5597040002275535634" /></a><br />That second picture is the Arch from the side. I also apparently drove through the north pole, because I thought that is where Santa Claus lived:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPPcjZ6cj1upeobcFJSmZOIsHGVBr7R510I4RNdTITpVULFDPcynSOMdKCCbFUlP5FaXGdap5nf6_oStz3dmdzDSeoDh8yGF5zNvbEeq8LogxJOKZv_H6r9TdN1Hxmn9OostYjk0wgOKQ/s1600/CIMG5747.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPPcjZ6cj1upeobcFJSmZOIsHGVBr7R510I4RNdTITpVULFDPcynSOMdKCCbFUlP5FaXGdap5nf6_oStz3dmdzDSeoDh8yGF5zNvbEeq8LogxJOKZv_H6r9TdN1Hxmn9OostYjk0wgOKQ/s400/CIMG5747.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5597041798853052578" /></a>I guess I was lied to my parents about the true residence of Ole' Saint Nick - it would appear to be Indiana Route 162.<br /><br />After the promotion, I departed and headed southeast to Knoxville, TN to visit my college roommate. Knoxville is most definitely a college town, but due to the poor weather they were having I did not see a lot of bicycles in use, though I did see the gamut from fixed-gear bikes to <a href="http://www.walmart.com/ip/26-Mens-NEXT-PowerX-Dual-Suspension-Mountain-Bike/4231518">Next </a>mountain bikes chained up in front of coffee shops, college buildings, and of course bars - one would never want to drive drunk. What I also saw a lot of were Mustangs. Knoxville must be the Mustang capital of the world - ah, the South. It actually made me miss the Midwest.<br /><br />On the drive back home I once again drove through St. Louis:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijDzCYBuyLEMRLzK_MLJ05WjXrpCcSqUCha_vcLwabHyZszsMYqtnrfLTS6xe_cgc-dyNk58dfxG2xoyYhWE_il0M3NOTWf79_6QCwmE1aQyroQomlBik3847MLrvyw_mtMuCGv5c44ho/s1600/CIMG5771.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijDzCYBuyLEMRLzK_MLJ05WjXrpCcSqUCha_vcLwabHyZszsMYqtnrfLTS6xe_cgc-dyNk58dfxG2xoyYhWE_il0M3NOTWf79_6QCwmE1aQyroQomlBik3847MLrvyw_mtMuCGv5c44ho/s400/CIMG5771.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5597042249985486290" /></a>All things being equal it was a great weekend that allowed me to catch up with old friends and see a couple parts of the country that I hadn't seen before. The only real bummer was that I was in the car for 13 hours yesterday instead of watching the Belgian Bullet (I don't know if he's been called that before, but if not I claim full credit for coining that nickname) <a href="http://www.cyclingnews.com/races/amstel-gold-race-upt/results">Philippe Gilbert win the Amstel Gold Race for a second time in a row</a>. There are a few good videos over at <a href="http://drunkcyclist.com/2011/04/17/amstel-gold-race-2011/">Drunk Cyclist</a>.<br /><br />Being the road warrior that I am, I will once again depart and head south for some more flying. So if somehow posts show up on Wednesday and Friday think yourself lucky. If not, add those ten minutes each day to your ride.rhetoricdyinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12256287363387970150noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6755461185907580903.post-63126300930455414842011-04-11T13:37:00.000-07:002011-04-11T14:59:46.070-07:00Coheed, Cambria, Competition, and CheatersAs I mentioned on <a href="http://50-34.blogspot.com/2011/04/nighttime-notes-coheed-and-cambria.html">Friday, I spent the evening in Kansis City, Missouri</a> at a Coheed and Cambria concert. In what turned out to be a pleasant surprise, the concert started with an acoustic set, transitioned to The Second Stage Turbine Blade album, and finished with a mixture of old and new songs. Not only is Coheed a great band, they put on an amazing show. The video I posted Friday was one of the earliest concerts Coheed performed; here is the same song (Delirium Trigger) from Friday night at the Midland Theater:<br /><br /><iframe title="YouTube video player" width="400" height="244" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/9U0q1xSGGEM" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe><br /><br />The other event I mentioned on Friday was the Queen of the Classics: Paris-Roubaix (pronounced Paris-Roubaix). Pre-race favorites Fabian Cancellara and Thor Hushovd were marked all day (in truth, Hushovd marked Cancellara all day, until Spartacus had enough) and weren't able to get away. Another pre-race favorite, Tom Boonen, had a handful of mechanical issues and an eventual crash that forced him to abandon. With all the attention focused on the big names, Garmin-Cervelo's Johan Van Summeren raced away from the break for a solo victory:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHs5idG_pkb6AFdZbkk4SNayCQwIx3vJG8Gtok5Cc0htXIQ5r5DRSewEvFyGyFv82EwCJn53TbXPMLrLab5_SLD_zYcCAKi-yc5Ma-u7EfJ0HvfhIXEKl3iMn9eiyshFl43mkxxM8g2K8/s1600/Winner.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 306px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHs5idG_pkb6AFdZbkk4SNayCQwIx3vJG8Gtok5Cc0htXIQ5r5DRSewEvFyGyFv82EwCJn53TbXPMLrLab5_SLD_zYcCAKi-yc5Ma-u7EfJ0HvfhIXEKl3iMn9eiyshFl43mkxxM8g2K8/s400/Winner.jpg" border="0" alt="Brush your teeth you dirty fool!"id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5594439046147708098" /></a>Of course the real big news of the day wasn't the spectacular classics win for Mr. Van Summeren, but the blatant disregard for the rules and laws that separate human beings from wild animals. What I'm speaking of specifically is this:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisrPH8QvLARbNznSsvlP_jmPOd_FsikUKdacocNU9JSdgOzZvLdI6z-JCwUetVM_8K9n9VCcu5hRIRGyzyvuQE63w4LrjP-K_1u_R0DvDS6sndAwFqinNmiGfw95aovzx8_Gy5_1AgmUA/s1600/Rules.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 312px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisrPH8QvLARbNznSsvlP_jmPOd_FsikUKdacocNU9JSdgOzZvLdI6z-JCwUetVM_8K9n9VCcu5hRIRGyzyvuQE63w4LrjP-K_1u_R0DvDS6sndAwFqinNmiGfw95aovzx8_Gy5_1AgmUA/s400/Rules.jpg" border="0" alt="Rule breaker!"id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5594440206617620418" /></a>Do you see it? If not look at this one:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhz0emWSitEX8cKmZFmE6qr6sf8MXZF4f8SmSU6opIWevYS_4RegpmRW_KyMRkNX-libckn6j9Y2aQFlqIYJSXBo8GYON2_o6Qay_Z6tEV0Kc53DWSBnEMlu2H44tb5VEUvVugRzD73viU/s1600/Rules+3.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 312px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhz0emWSitEX8cKmZFmE6qr6sf8MXZF4f8SmSU6opIWevYS_4RegpmRW_KyMRkNX-libckn6j9Y2aQFlqIYJSXBo8GYON2_o6Qay_Z6tEV0Kc53DWSBnEMlu2H44tb5VEUvVugRzD73viU/s400/Rules+3.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5594440969164309314" /></a>If you read <a href="http://bikesnobnyc.blogspot.com/">BSNYC's blog</a>, you'll know that the bike lane topic is a hot one in NYC. Apparently the anger with which the bike lanes are being met does not carry over into Europe. I could overlook Van Summeren's law breaking if it wasn't for the other riders who are law-abiding citizens:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFK6GKWgjaD4XOtbAiDfDHm0gT9-XD-WvKQZBDYke9YONIXHxtt26BCdTqOv7H1pcIWu1PZbz9-ZM4RN09vyUzMXq40JIK9_6GM9N6xGxF4UUjPpEgE5L4BLFTa9vjLWsOYgyDZktp85w/s1600/Rules+2.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 306px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFK6GKWgjaD4XOtbAiDfDHm0gT9-XD-WvKQZBDYke9YONIXHxtt26BCdTqOv7H1pcIWu1PZbz9-ZM4RN09vyUzMXq40JIK9_6GM9N6xGxF4UUjPpEgE5L4BLFTa9vjLWsOYgyDZktp85w/s400/Rules+2.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5594443980885830594" /></a>It's difficult to tell with the quality of that picture, both those riders following the rules are the pre-race favorites Cancellara and Hushovd. I'm not one to start a conspiracy, but after looking at this photographic evidence I am beginning to understand how a rider who had won two races in his career prior to this win beat one of the best classics riders of the bunch and the current world champion. Then, to add insult to injury, Van Summeren takes excessive liberties with one of the podium girls:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYMuwoV1KUfI2i_OU1-xDQ8PqCcPA2rkrVLxzJl4VMH1yFhMLQvMS43ICs167TLDbUYEV9UeZJV8tPicovSRZcmxPrGnyluCnrpjTiKSf5lZc6JLZhu_4PAlpdD1szfK4MfFMPG1LGbGQ/s1600/Podium+Girl.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 302px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYMuwoV1KUfI2i_OU1-xDQ8PqCcPA2rkrVLxzJl4VMH1yFhMLQvMS43ICs167TLDbUYEV9UeZJV8tPicovSRZcmxPrGnyluCnrpjTiKSf5lZc6JLZhu_4PAlpdD1szfK4MfFMPG1LGbGQ/s400/Podium+Girl.jpg" border="0" alt="Be a gentleman Johan."id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5594445139047941218" /></a>In all fairness, that woman he is molesting is his fiancée (who prior to the race was simply his girlfriend).<br /><br />What have we learned today? Breaking rules levels the playing field. Also that no matter how many rules other bands break they can't compete with Coheed and Cambria.rhetoricdyinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12256287363387970150noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6755461185907580903.post-32973299825781505312011-04-08T15:37:00.000-07:002011-04-08T15:46:57.534-07:00Nighttime Notes: Coheed and CambriaThis will be a short post as I am preparing to head east to the Midland Theater in <span style="font-style:italic;">Kansis City</span> to watch a <a href="http://www.coheedandcambria.com/us/sstb">Coheed and Cambria</a> show:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSHXGAFv7B-JDp6uPoro6x9KH3jtprbtcVOlPfe6UxKVn8FXNm13YSUc5RvyOyX-4ZN0QgvIxeDP0wBUl1EeaDBDXVcWa_gjS_sVos9hgKNjTWy__Ks_AXUXpHTl8CRn2HMKkTwDC1fHg/s1600/KC.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 299px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSHXGAFv7B-JDp6uPoro6x9KH3jtprbtcVOlPfe6UxKVn8FXNm13YSUc5RvyOyX-4ZN0QgvIxeDP0wBUl1EeaDBDXVcWa_gjS_sVos9hgKNjTWy__Ks_AXUXpHTl8CRn2HMKkTwDC1fHg/s400/KC.jpg" border="0" alt="Google directions doesn't recognize that address, I hope I don't get lost."id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5593346031737836338" /></a>I watched them at Sonisphere in Steveage, England and it was an amazing show. I'm sure this one will be just as great.<br /><br />To bookend the weekend in greatness, on Sunday is the Queen of the Classics; <a href="http://www.steephill.tv/classics/paris-roubaix/">Paris-Roubaix</a>. While Spartacus is the clear favorite, it would be great to see Boonen bring home a fourth cobble stone. Or for that matter a win for the good ole US of A and Big George Hincapie. We can hope, right? <br /><br />Enjoy the music and the race:<br /><br /><iframe title="YouTube video player" width="400" height="325" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/oyCkTrc0NDA" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>rhetoricdyinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12256287363387970150noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6755461185907580903.post-91884414551654070102011-04-04T18:14:00.000-07:002011-04-04T18:52:31.389-07:00Beer and Belgium, but no Belgian BeerYesterday, probably all of Belgium was on the Tour of Flanders route cheering for a native son to win. With <a href="http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/nuyens-finds-pain-and-glory-in-flanders">Nick Nuyens' victory</a> and two Quickstep riders in the top four (Chavanel second and Boonen fourth), I'm pretty sure they got what they had hoped for. Speaking of getting what they had hoped for: Nuyens didn't have to wait long to "get" his:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhy-WEoDuPe5zzQ_9hvH5lqjS-aop7q8kLyB3pmSQZqCSoLdSBfpHa7AQkAtXiUDa5eR4vDP7-YN0Oqf-vZv5YAeHe3bBZ619uGDbBRjAM-YJ3-nJYMrXKYrrkMWSnZwL2nx7KVHk0bcPM/s1600/Flanders.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 282px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhy-WEoDuPe5zzQ_9hvH5lqjS-aop7q8kLyB3pmSQZqCSoLdSBfpHa7AQkAtXiUDa5eR4vDP7-YN0Oqf-vZv5YAeHe3bBZ619uGDbBRjAM-YJ3-nJYMrXKYrrkMWSnZwL2nx7KVHk0bcPM/s400/Flanders.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5591902984052683874" /></a>I think <a href="http://www.cyclingnews.com/">Cyclingnews </a>may have mislabeled this photo, as you can clearly see that Nuyens is not in the process of <span style="font-style:italic;">"getass"</span> in this shot. <br /><br />So while Belgium spent a lovely Sunday watching the best riders in the world battle it out on the Kappel-Muur, I was baking in the oven that was the <a href="http://www.brewtobrew.com/">Brew to Brew</a> relay race. I was assigned a 4.2 mile stage that the race organizers categorized as hard. Even if the route was downhill and four miles less it would have been hard with the combination of the heat, wind, and my lack of conditioning. After the race we enjoyed a few brews:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1ANu-wczFTOLU_yeXYGD78dcY3ChYWEXPuYBRWfDzcpd2cD6fyW7HL8hxcX-siqYY8M-QJawM1CwKwwabwtT4mrAhuPKlbz1BI1ItJjFmSUxj0OPBiNdta0hWLY3q-Wjlt4-sEo54kUQ/s1600/Beer.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 299px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1ANu-wczFTOLU_yeXYGD78dcY3ChYWEXPuYBRWfDzcpd2cD6fyW7HL8hxcX-siqYY8M-QJawM1CwKwwabwtT4mrAhuPKlbz1BI1ItJjFmSUxj0OPBiNdta0hWLY3q-Wjlt4-sEo54kUQ/s400/Beer.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5591905990715973090" /></a>The race was one of those events that sucks the whole time you're doing it, but as soon as it's over you can't wait until next year to do it all again. I'm not sure of our final results, but I know that I passed 18 people (in all fairness 16 of them were walking) and wasn't passed by anyone. Add that to the guy who ran the anchor leg for us (he passed 68 people) and I think we did ok. Then again, the start times were staggered, so we may have passed teams that started real early in the morning and planned to go slow. <br /><br />Either way it was a day well spent.rhetoricdyinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12256287363387970150noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6755461185907580903.post-63484549733479712942011-04-01T06:04:00.000-07:002011-04-01T06:42:16.632-07:00Comedy, Cobbles, and CarsThe first day of April brings with it the traditional pranks - chalk in the pull-down map (do American classrooms still have chalk, let alone maps?), tainted coffee, and whoopi cushions on the teacher's chair. In addition to these classics, April 1st also means internet journalists' attempts at humour. To wit:<br /><br /><a href="http://velonews.competitor.com/2011/04/news/new-regulations-uci-sets-friction-limits-for-world-tour-bikes_166293">Velonews</a><br /><a href="http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/flanders-route-changed-after-cobbles-theft">Cyclingnews</a><br /><br />The Cyclingnews article is pretty good, but it can't beat this "quote" from the Velonews story:<br /><br /><span style="font-style:italic;">“It should be the man, not his balls, that decides the outcome,” Ditte stated emphatically.</span> <br /><br />Not his balls indeed. <br /><br />But it's not just cycling websites that have had the April Fool's bug bite them. If you've seen the newest Buick commercials, you might have thought they were also an attempt at an April Fools joke (and not just because they are attempting to focus their marketing on a younger demographic):<br /><br /><iframe title="YouTube video player" width="400" height="244" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/WI1uuLdGrik" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe><br /><br />At the five second mark, as the narrator is saying that humans have 3,000 thoughts a day, you get a quick glimpse of a fixed-gear bike that apparently needs to be plugged in:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPZOFIOkpphPWaCsKbbimwcHjZVKoAG42WiSfKE2RPuNAP6QhpVcfY2Ltv4FzQfdgL7luR5b90QgM-VGeGNEX-DAauKhGpTH_ofulODlMGuLFullFmgozr9Nl0wWlBRMEOjN92Wzeru84/s1600/Picture1.png"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 220px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPZOFIOkpphPWaCsKbbimwcHjZVKoAG42WiSfKE2RPuNAP6QhpVcfY2Ltv4FzQfdgL7luR5b90QgM-VGeGNEX-DAauKhGpTH_ofulODlMGuLFullFmgozr9Nl0wWlBRMEOjN92Wzeru84/s400/Picture1.png" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5590603592980176482" /></a>What the joke is here is that Americans for certain don't think about bikes throughout the day. Most of them don't even think about bikes when they have cyclists on them. Perhaps that's not entirely fair. Americans do think about bikes when they are inconvenienced enough to have to pass them on the street, no matter how fast the cyclist is riding - including times when the speed limit is being exceeded. In town here the speed limit is 20 miles per hour, a speed that is not difficult to surpass on a bike, yet every driver for some reason feels the need to pass me. Clearly I'm not slowing them down since I am breaking the law myself by speeding, so it must be something else. What is that something else? It's the same something that compels dudes with small "packages" and smaller brains to jack their trucks (that they use to haul groceries and drive around town) up six inches and add huge wheels and tires - a sense of misguided ego. Every cyclist has felt it when they come across a kid riding a BMX, or an old guy on his townie; you just have to chase them down and pass them. But what separates the two is that you are not seriously exceeding the speed limit and putting peoples' lives in danger to overtake them on a bike. <br /><br />And that's no joke.rhetoricdyinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12256287363387970150noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6755461185907580903.post-86600439316408534762011-03-28T07:36:00.001-07:002011-03-28T08:27:08.605-07:00Back from the Brink - Boonen, Bikes, Beer, and AlliterationDespite what the title may suggest, I fear there won't be much beer in this post. What there will be is a recap of the weekend that was. <br /><br />Like most cycling fans (I assume), I was a huge fan of the Grand Tours and didn't care too much for the classics when I first began following the pro peloton. As I've gotten older, and perhaps matured a bit (or perhaps not), I've become a bigger fan of the classics. I have not given up on the Grand Tours and I still really enjoy the story lines they create (especially the Giro), but the classics are definitely on equal footing for me now. This weekend provided us cycling fans with two great races - though E3 Harelbeke isn't considered a classic.<br /><br />On Saturday, Fabian Cancellara, known as Spartacus, attacked a lead group at the 18KM mark and ended up winning going away - by almost a minute!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuCMSOH3j1GE4ewRhY7IvVJCIV5Do7Dj3jppjf7K7ls_IzsboA-1qD58_GSrL0-Dtpd_3DuxDbUEj-nFTbihOl_Ji_-OQyJJDOYZbihebZ4BbPCxXWsnP6SGDnK80wF93x02ea5bCsA7k/s1600/Destroy.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 306px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuCMSOH3j1GE4ewRhY7IvVJCIV5Do7Dj3jppjf7K7ls_IzsboA-1qD58_GSrL0-Dtpd_3DuxDbUEj-nFTbihOl_Ji_-OQyJJDOYZbihebZ4BbPCxXWsnP6SGDnK80wF93x02ea5bCsA7k/s400/Destroy.jpg" border="0" alt="FC performing after use checks on his motors."id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5589142218088280850" /></a><span style="font-style:italic;">Your are watching Fabian Cancellara destroy the peloton</span> indeed.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGW-w859NA8hIPOjaobEtzh1vtHqDwxjJk1eMXcGG1jo3SrNGMYneI0LSeR0b0gKxnLuaS7KKiKU8NOk7RZFoeIjHajS7e1KBueEEvYhSPwnxERLRoDQar_tU6vSix18Uehmg3tNZc9uo/s1600/FC+Cruising.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 271px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGW-w859NA8hIPOjaobEtzh1vtHqDwxjJk1eMXcGG1jo3SrNGMYneI0LSeR0b0gKxnLuaS7KKiKU8NOk7RZFoeIjHajS7e1KBueEEvYhSPwnxERLRoDQar_tU6vSix18Uehmg3tNZc9uo/s400/FC+Cruising.jpg" border="0" alt="Just out on a nice Saturday training ride."id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5589142665612174130" /></a>In the spirit of full disclosure, Spartacus had already crossed the finish line when he rested his hands on his hips. Of course, he could have ridden like that for the last two kilometers and still won handily. So who finished second? A rider from Omega Pharma Lotto:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4tnYoQ4uuU-Q2R2SqHcLsVLxcLb9C73aawUK1B6woRPl_PcmiW8bHNhu4hP28FrVDhPRcUlk_oABpstKZqEsFKAKrYr4M0vs_SvxwrD9ScGJePnBwb4rd1bSSrb9TuQapvW3PoTwM2aQ/s1600/Omega+Pharma+Lotto.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 271px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4tnYoQ4uuU-Q2R2SqHcLsVLxcLb9C73aawUK1B6woRPl_PcmiW8bHNhu4hP28FrVDhPRcUlk_oABpstKZqEsFKAKrYr4M0vs_SvxwrD9ScGJePnBwb4rd1bSSrb9TuQapvW3PoTwM2aQ/s400/Omega+Pharma+Lotto.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5589143582063764434" /></a>Must have been Gilbert or Greipel right?<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWR60WSU2OLNgJDVTK7K2e4K1Oyl1-W9xlopJHwHVWEtZOTeeMQqfi9-bT1jCh_NdELhFUDwybwswGvtqVX_fkKDcWYCprYYdl088uBdfG_gDRRZyWG8ClQxWrtbqxGl8KqVAu4dowtBY/s1600/E3+Standings.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 358px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWR60WSU2OLNgJDVTK7K2e4K1Oyl1-W9xlopJHwHVWEtZOTeeMQqfi9-bT1jCh_NdELhFUDwybwswGvtqVX_fkKDcWYCprYYdl088uBdfG_gDRRZyWG8ClQxWrtbqxGl8KqVAu4dowtBY/s400/E3+Standings.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5589143765733808850" /></a>What!? <br /><br />Oh yeah, neither of them raced. Greipel did race on Sunday in Gent-Wevelgem. Unfortunately for him and his compatriots on OPL, once again there was at least one other rider to cross the line before him. After what seemed like forever, Tom Boonen has won another cobbled classic:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7Lu2JrTbo0LWhyphenhyphenfS5oYwt91ybRYWv0-c2F0B0NbxUIp0lsYBtUd4wGSER2WiUwPC6cNhpF99RVVnXHzfsa3M9D_-7LX5DhwS0vguUroYWpCww3gfJmGCzlbyhOMnjZ5sgcErrKb-DjoQ/s1600/Boonen.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 281px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7Lu2JrTbo0LWhyphenhyphenfS5oYwt91ybRYWv0-c2F0B0NbxUIp0lsYBtUd4wGSER2WiUwPC6cNhpF99RVVnXHzfsa3M9D_-7LX5DhwS0vguUroYWpCww3gfJmGCzlbyhOMnjZ5sgcErrKb-DjoQ/s400/Boonen.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5589145054995001010" /></a>It's not the greatest quality picture, but trust me, it's Tommeke. What did he do to celebrate his victory? The only thing any real hipster would do, enjoy a PBR in the can:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYQNgje5QIzV7VQ-q_QZKhZfISZlD46iJrTO6z_7NkRUhyphenhyphen9GOMgBfhHGJrrt_AWhubXN2AC7tAtNLUXL5FesPsAi3m1kTPylJODYXWfVZaTo9s_P2VF20UMJcZ-eBhTnv3YU1B2odn4sk/s1600/Boonen+Beer.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 286px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYQNgje5QIzV7VQ-q_QZKhZfISZlD46iJrTO6z_7NkRUhyphenhyphen9GOMgBfhHGJrrt_AWhubXN2AC7tAtNLUXL5FesPsAi3m1kTPylJODYXWfVZaTo9s_P2VF20UMJcZ-eBhTnv3YU1B2odn4sk/s400/Boonen+Beer.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5589145590570117938" /></a>Upon further inspection that can looks more like a Fanta than a PBR. I guess my opening statement concerning a lack of beer in today's post was correct. But wait! Perhaps two photographers at the finish line might have been a little tipsy when they decided to stand in the middle of the road, <a href="http://www.cyclingnews.com/races/gent-wevelgem-upt/gent-wevelgem/photos/165311">causing two riders to crash</a>:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhht7FlfiJVXuKesOmj2gWTviX1sMrMlqROntN0PkA88bSCoai4NaRBDYMMgpjDyREZMEBIpy1L5APdEhHyF1ADUEyVHgR40e9LCuCqKpgb3EKhyphenhyphen_DU4R8x1s5l8g8m1F653ARYoJjZ1aM/s1600/Crash+Before.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 284px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhht7FlfiJVXuKesOmj2gWTviX1sMrMlqROntN0PkA88bSCoai4NaRBDYMMgpjDyREZMEBIpy1L5APdEhHyF1ADUEyVHgR40e9LCuCqKpgb3EKhyphenhyphen_DU4R8x1s5l8g8m1F653ARYoJjZ1aM/s400/Crash+Before.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5589146319880138210" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-DJw5K0UANyawsVp-t7XuDPoA0X2yvhZkY5fQKTuT6nsuVesDHHqa7LjjUNYPuNCY3c0tObRZksNXZrIgwFeNqfRYY8Rc62loiyvQCrhNgkrFco99dBDzSYAadI4Pw9KP8I9BcEhYMRA/s1600/Crash+Overhead.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 284px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-DJw5K0UANyawsVp-t7XuDPoA0X2yvhZkY5fQKTuT6nsuVesDHHqa7LjjUNYPuNCY3c0tObRZksNXZrIgwFeNqfRYY8Rc62loiyvQCrhNgkrFco99dBDzSYAadI4Pw9KP8I9BcEhYMRA/s400/Crash+Overhead.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5589146501750801506" /></a>In their defense, the photographers who caused the crash were the first ones on the scene, but not to provided first aid:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_pdT2S1_KtNtfekRx1_Yobymx9mnBRFyFbHc8MI8YpQHshBAnVTBEf-Vx8woIObU8VLCk0ZfgvDc_2kelKr8wneSBHysuNv6o4ZOpFVPCU84HzN1YTYJL4jTdCaLH-tMmSpTkMkv0eVM/s1600/Photo+Help.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 219px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_pdT2S1_KtNtfekRx1_Yobymx9mnBRFyFbHc8MI8YpQHshBAnVTBEf-Vx8woIObU8VLCk0ZfgvDc_2kelKr8wneSBHysuNv6o4ZOpFVPCU84HzN1YTYJL4jTdCaLH-tMmSpTkMkv0eVM/s400/Photo+Help.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5589147186160953858" /></a>Scooped ya, bitch! Now that I think about it, those photographers probably work for Cyclingnews. I guess the lag between races starts as soon as the winner crosses the line and news sources need to go out and create stories.<br /><br />Speaking of creating stories, ESPN's Sport Science decided they needed to look into what makes Baylor star Brittany Griner able to dunk and block shots:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3QuosKIEYV9O-2xoUD-iL8xxCd0tiAgv_CHml5i74jTpHBsLVqog3kYmrRZk-LoIxSaHjTbOyX5ERWGDdgoHcVyX05N1w48h6M0WWQXe1EsKIFHlzbp6H1F7c_9BxR5CaRrnF4G0e8qE/s1600/Griner.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 353px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3QuosKIEYV9O-2xoUD-iL8xxCd0tiAgv_CHml5i74jTpHBsLVqog3kYmrRZk-LoIxSaHjTbOyX5ERWGDdgoHcVyX05N1w48h6M0WWQXe1EsKIFHlzbp6H1F7c_9BxR5CaRrnF4G0e8qE/s400/Griner.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5589147952595900898" /></a>I'll tell you the science behind it - she's 6'8" tall! Solved, Galileo. <br /><br />Getting back to bikes, <a href="http://www.allhailtheblackmarket.com/2011/03/if_this_is_all_that_shows_up_o.html#more">I watched a video over at AHTBM of some young gentlemen performing tricks on their BMX bikes</a>. I quickly spotted what I considered to be a weird sight:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpR0MMLtjN7AVwJhzqQD1I5Yu5IEZ4VT6BhYpsVGowPe7OXD50-9Ci6KL5xWA5NJZsDXjt2W5iKz0CId_idyKwqiTkFC6jt1dOfSGnWlnEpywcA2XfG7y2nKJ-QaurKc_y4TSWUzB0WL4/s1600/Left+Side+Drivetrain.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 217px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpR0MMLtjN7AVwJhzqQD1I5Yu5IEZ4VT6BhYpsVGowPe7OXD50-9Ci6KL5xWA5NJZsDXjt2W5iKz0CId_idyKwqiTkFC6jt1dOfSGnWlnEpywcA2XfG7y2nKJ-QaurKc_y4TSWUzB0WL4/s400/Left+Side+Drivetrain.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5589148872824387586" /></a>I'll tell you, that young man never has to worry about rolling up his right pant leg in order to keep in clean. Interestingly, <a href="http://bikesnobnyc.blogspot.com/2011/03/dunne-deal-cog-spiracy-theory.html">"the time-traveling t-shirt-wearing retro-Fred from the planet Tridork" also seems to have the same drive train set up</a>. I'm beginning to wonder if perhaps the "curator" of <a href="http://bikesnobnyc.blogspot.com/">BSNYC </a>and the "artist" behind <a href="http://www.allhailtheblackmarket.com/">AHTBM </a>are one in the same. The facts:<br /><br />1. You never see them at the same place and the same time.<br />2. AHTBM featured a video from BSNYC this past weekend.<br />3. During the same week both featured media (picture and video) of bikes with their drive trains on the left side.<br /><br />With that conspiracy theory simmering in your head, I must apologize for the lack of posting over the past two weeks. While I have no real excuse, I did have family in town (including a 2-year old), to which I was happy to move my focus from this endeavor. Since you're now in the forgiving mood, I will also not be posting on Wednesday as I will be in south Kansas attempting to pilot an aircraft from the ground, around the air, and safely back to the ground. We shall meet again on Friday. Who knows, there might even be some beer involved.rhetoricdyinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12256287363387970150noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6755461185907580903.post-67896325015085493052011-03-14T17:13:00.000-07:002011-03-14T18:29:44.827-07:00The Freedom in the Freedom of Speech<a href="http://50-34.blogspot.com/2011/03/biological-makeup-and-making-of-db.html">Last Wednesday </a>I wrote about athletes threatening to retire. It seems that every week another athlete, and by athlete I'm specifically referring to cyclists, joins the Facebook fanpage (as a non-Facebooker I'm not sure if fanpage is the correct term or of they even exist) of "I'm going to retire because I'm being treated (according to me) unfairly." The newest member of the gang is Riccardo Riccò, who has been taking <a href="http://50-34.blogspot.com/2011/02/computer-issues-and-man-keeping-brother.html">English lessons from Fränk</a>:<br /><br /><span style="font-style:italic;">"I don’t want to race anymore, no chance. I’ve turned the page, I’m fed up with the cycling world, it makes me want to vomit. I’m fed up with everyone in cycling. They already wanted me to stop when I came back but now enough’s enough, Riccò is no more."</span><br /><br />Riccardo clearly has mastered the third person reference. What he hasn't mastered is admitting when he has broken the rules. It also seems that he falls a bit short in the financial knowledge it takes to make a living. Maybe his tournament bracket will pan out.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAaE1Ku3o2f0FDQkj8wBptDDiPAvutxEBxZEXyPmXqfkoTEBqsqi_WEoZllaWO3BAtTCmGk5sbtXPkPg2IOoyCt5jbw95tB5nMiulNMxsGN-q-CYlfxdjc7Io5LSSxI156NHnQYoBIcmE/s1600/Bracket.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 224px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAaE1Ku3o2f0FDQkj8wBptDDiPAvutxEBxZEXyPmXqfkoTEBqsqi_WEoZllaWO3BAtTCmGk5sbtXPkPg2IOoyCt5jbw95tB5nMiulNMxsGN-q-CYlfxdjc7Io5LSSxI156NHnQYoBIcmE/s400/Bracket.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5584098851922208178" /></a>In the end, RR has the right to pronounce his retirement, just like fellow positive-testing cyclist Toni Colom, <a href="http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/colom-targets-return-after-epo-ban">has to use the phrase "positive test" to refer to what turned his life upside down</a>. I'm sure that getting caught with EPO in his system did turn his life upside down, but I'm also sure that his positive test was only made possible with an earlier decision to dope. <br /><br />Enough of the retiring; let's move on the news from the professional racing scene. With what must have been one of the strongest lead-out trains ever,<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6PzpsVX0cwqrpfoBUTTepegf2yMSpdMzuB5gCSrARi9ZDnI2dKr8Yieaurx3eCiSuzDw2NRdSDtdhTic-eQLxx0qQGwpxq9LSKMWLMEPHQgXnUJqefINLqjjFiv-xa4MFld34XNDDwbk/s1600/Train.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 302px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6PzpsVX0cwqrpfoBUTTepegf2yMSpdMzuB5gCSrARi9ZDnI2dKr8Yieaurx3eCiSuzDw2NRdSDtdhTic-eQLxx0qQGwpxq9LSKMWLMEPHQgXnUJqefINLqjjFiv-xa4MFld34XNDDwbk/s400/Train.jpg" border="0" alt="A former multiple-time US champion and former world champion? Not too bad as a lead out."id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5584105298581367218" /></a>Former World Champion <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9DQmN89ChO4">Cadel Evans won the fifth and penultimate stage of the Tirreno-Adriatico</a>, or the Race of the Two Seas:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjt1ScImd9OuHOuMaH3lg9R-I1af-SNdt-vnYE4FIIFdy3KfgJaresawyCU5eHbc5Ox0h8wHppJ8jt5pgodXpkX5Hbx9Jy1vuhRaXVpQmdvQi_TYetK6WK_jq9ENsQutyNtcIJVik-HxEE/s1600/Cadel+1.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 315px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjt1ScImd9OuHOuMaH3lg9R-I1af-SNdt-vnYE4FIIFdy3KfgJaresawyCU5eHbc5Ox0h8wHppJ8jt5pgodXpkX5Hbx9Jy1vuhRaXVpQmdvQi_TYetK6WK_jq9ENsQutyNtcIJVik-HxEE/s400/Cadel+1.jpg" border="0" alt="With a little jaunty, Australian salute, Cadel claims victory."id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5584107338290986898" /></a>After crossing the finish line, Cadel salutes the crowd in recognition of his perfectly timed attack on the last climb. Shortly after the effort was clearly seen on his face:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_kCQMlbdOPnJcRFtjtPsVqx-0dJ_auHRgwNJKbDwCyT0bMlOlYYcD_uEn__tJ9VlGD4ovPQUrRxohGrOCW7xEsuwLOkw90qU1smt4ybgFTtzXfrVCD0LDhT9u0GabyGaxW24sROau7rw/s1600/Cadel.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 218px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_kCQMlbdOPnJcRFtjtPsVqx-0dJ_auHRgwNJKbDwCyT0bMlOlYYcD_uEn__tJ9VlGD4ovPQUrRxohGrOCW7xEsuwLOkw90qU1smt4ybgFTtzXfrVCD0LDhT9u0GabyGaxW24sROau7rw/s400/Cadel.jpg" border="0" alt="It hurts coach, take me out!"id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5584106924427963170" /></a>Cadel postponed the start of his 2011 season in order to be more fresh for the TdF, and so far it seems that he has some pretty fresh legs. We'll just have to wait and see if his plan works out and he performs well during the Tour. If not I guess he can always retire.rhetoricdyinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12256287363387970150noreply@blogger.com0