50-34: Bikes, Beer, and Alliteration

Awesome

2011-09-04T08:46:00.000-07:00

I've missed cycling. Law school is a killer.

The Battle of Brittany

2011-07-06T20:24:00.000-07:00

Versus 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:

One forced Tom Boonen to fight just to make the time cut:

And one forced Shack rider Janez Brakjovic (who is not related to Erin Brockovich, or Julia Roberts who played her in the movie) to head to the hospital and eventually abandon the race:

The stage wasn't all blood though, as the peloton passed through the town of Saint Brieuc:

How would you like to live there? I can see it now,

You: Yeah, come on over for dinner.
Your Friend: Ok, where is your place?
You: It's the dull colored one, shouldn't be hard to find.

Just as I questioned Versus' comparison of cycling and flying, a couple weeks ago I questioned whether team Garmin-Cervelo would switch to a white kit for the TdF. Turns out they did:

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:

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.

On second thought, I'm not sure I should go so far as to compare two things that really aren't that similar.

Big Price, Big Expectations: You Don't Always Get What You Pay For

2011-06-29T20:17:00.001-07:00

In my last post, 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.

While I was back east, my family and I visited the Mystic Aquarium. 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:

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:

Yup, you got it, it's a frog. To be honest, it didn't get much better.

The next day we headed north up to Northampton, MA to do some sight-seeing. We visited the campus of Smith College, the largest of the Seven Sisters. 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:

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.

On another part of the campus I noticed this graffiti:

I sure hope the artist's English teacher is for her. I'm no Slyvia Plath (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:

On second thought, that horrible parking job might just be due to the driver being a woman versus any lack of training.

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.

Never fear though, as the day ended with a stop at the Northampton Brewery for a cold beer. I tried the Scuba Märzen (pronounced more like Mare-Tsen, not Mare-Zen) and completely enjoyed it:

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.

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.

Look on the bright side, whether I'm back on Monday or not, you aren't out any money.

Heading East

2011-06-13T19:19:00.000-07:00

I 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:

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 TWO mistakes; well, I just can't pass up that opportunity.

Enjoy the week.

There's a Time to Walk Away and Then There's a Time to Ride Away Ringing Bells

2011-06-10T19:32:00.000-07:00

There 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 (I've never tested positive - which isn't the same as never using drugs), to the completely asinine (vanishing twin brother).

We've seen athletes who have been caught doping come clean (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).

On top of all those you have Phil Zajicek - 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 Velonews:

“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.”

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).

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), Sarah Palin sure came up with one about the midnight ride of Paul Revere. 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 presidential historian or history professor like this guy. Wait, what did he say there at the 40-second mark?

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:

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.

The Other Shoe has Dropped, and It Appears to be Worn Out

2011-06-08T18:43:00.000-07:00

What 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 - Tom Boonen. Seriously, he used blow while at least some other riders in the pro peloton were turning to EPO, CERA, testosterone, Fluff, 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.

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. In this article, 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:

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:

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.

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 stadium that the writer of this article 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.

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 eight ball instead of (possibly) injecting himself with drugs. It's not as if he couldn't afford to waste a few hundred dollar bills to make straws.

I Got 99 Problems, But a Post Ain't One

2011-06-06T19:39:00.000-07:00

I 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:

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 jorts don't happen by accident. We'll discuss accidents a little later.

Besides our public service announcement, hats seemed to be all the "rave" prior to our departure:

Once we were on the river, a few of us engaged in the creation, or curation as BSNYC 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 AHTBM. 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:

Is that a Bud Light Lime in there? No doubt.

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:

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 Pacha Mamas in Lawrence, KS. Here is his hand cutting the chicken that he cooked on an open fire:

It was delicious. Ok, enough of that, back to cycling.

On multiple occasions in the last few days I've seen different variations 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, Christian Vande Velde 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.

It's the End of the World and We Blew It

2011-06-03T11:17:00.000-07:00

As I wrote in my last post, 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 I'm not the only person who has made a prediction that has failed to materialize recently.

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:

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.

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:

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 decent (according to the reviews) beer.

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.

With the Conclusion Forgone, I'm Gone

2011-05-25T21:21:00.000-07:00

With the lovely weather we've been having here in the Midwest over the last few days, 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;

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 maglia rosa on a shopping spree in downtown Milan on Sunday.

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:

Was only able to muster a 16th place finish 1:27 back of the eventual stage winner and alien impersonator AC:

AC's other competitors, including Italians Vincenzo Nibali and Stefano Garzelli didn't fare much better:

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:

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:

After race officials reviewed the tape, Visconti was relegated to third and the stage victory was awarded to Lampre's Diego Ulissi.

As promised, here is my pick to win this year's Giro d'Italia (drum roll please):

Michele Scarponi.

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 'epic' to see a rider pull off the double in this day and age.

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.

Doubling Up over the Weekend

2011-05-23T19:01:00.000-07:00

Today'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.

On Saturday, Igor Anton of Euskatel-Euskadi was able to power away from Alberto (the first rider able to do that all race) and take the stage on top of the Zoncolan:

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.

Sunday brought a repeat of Saturday in that the team from the Basque Country was again victorious, this time with Mikel Nieve:

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:

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 maglia rosa.

Of course, the big news from the weekend was Tyler Hamilton's interview on 60 Minutes. 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 horrible website 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.

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.

The Grossglockner is Etna; Etna is the Grossglockner; LA used PEDs?!

2011-05-20T20:19:00.000-07:00

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:

If all goes your way you win, like Cavendish did for the second time this Giro:

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 last year's.

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:

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:

Fun fact - Rujano has won more races as a jockey than a bike rider.

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:

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.

In a 60 Minutes interview, disgraced Olympic Champion and former teammate of Lance Armstrong, Tyler Hamilton admitted he took performance enhancing drugs as well as saying the he saw LA use EPO. 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, George Hincapie, testified that he used EPO and testosterone with LA while with the Postal Service Team? They insinuated that since the reports are anonymous they are false - I guess that means that Hincapie still has some credibility. 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. The next, and probably last, big piece of the puzzle is Levi Leipheimer, another of LA's "inner circle" crew.

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.

The Bikes of Babel

2011-05-18T21:20:00.000-07:00

In 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 - no one understands Swiss except the Swiss. With all those experiences of multilingual Europeans, I don't know why I was so shocked when after his sprint victory in stage 10, Mark Cavendish gave an interview in Italian. Needless to say, I wasn't at all surprised that he won the stage:

I guess perhaps I have some preconceived notions about native English speakers and their knowledge of foreign languages. Yup, that's it.

Anyway, besides the surprise of a Manxman speaking Italian, stage 10 treated us to a rare sight, AC eating:

Rumor has it that AC has had horrible nightmares 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:

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.

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:

He dedicated his victory to Wouter Weylandt, 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:

So they gave him a yellow jersey. In a race that awards no fewer than eleven awards, 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.

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.

Struggling to Catch Up

2011-05-16T18:55:00.000-07:00

Due 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.

Back to cycling. In stages 6 and 7, Rabobank's maglia rosa wearer Pieter Weening (yes, once more!) somehow worked it out to have two Italian teams put in the work to catch each days' break:

As I stated earlier, I was unable to watch stage 8, but I'm sure Weening (it never fails to humor me) had Androni Giocattoli 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 second stage victory this year for Movistar's Francisco Ventoso as well as Campagnolo's electronic group.

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:

Seriously, did that guy just get off the douche tourist bus? Actually, after more thought he looks more like he could be a rider on LEOPARD-TREK.

Stage 7 was won by Omega Pharma-Lotto's Bart de Clercq after he broke away from the peloton up the final climb:

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 Vincenzo Nibali:

Unfortunately, unlike Nibali, Canuti attempted the "alternative" descending on a day that was dry.

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 maglia rosa 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:

While the maglia rosa was suffering off the back, 2008 champion AC was destroying all but the smallest of riders up the mountain. 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:

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:

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 maglia rosa and gained almost a minute on his closest rivals:

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:

That commercial is about as awesome as Blogger having technical difficulties or the sales Backcountry.com has on its sunglasses:

I'm not one to pass up a sale this good.

2011-05-11T20:14:00.000-07:00

If 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.

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:

After the stage both Farrar and LEOPARD-TREK understandably departed the race.

I today's stage five there was a spectacular crash involving the Rabobank rider Tom Slagter. He will abandon the race but luckily he was not seriously injured.

Stage five presented the riders with a clear day and some dusty Strade Bianche:

Throughout the entire stage the Eurosport commentators continued to drool over Liquigas' Vincenzo Nibali and his ability to descend. Photographic evidence 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 Kohler, 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:

He was eventually reeled in by AG2R's John Gadret and the stage winner and current Maglia Rosa wearer, Peter Weening (not pronounced wienering, there is no "r" in his last name):

Prior to Weening and Gadret's effort to bridge up to Kohler, another duo attempted the same thing, only with less impressive results:

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.

Back to Weening (only because that is a fun name to say every time I type it), why does he (and all Rabobank riders for that matter) look so large on his bike?

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:

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.

Wouter Weylandt

2011-05-09T14:15:00.000-07:00

Seeing 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.

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.

Cassettes, Clothing, and Questions

2011-05-06T07:43:00.000-07:00

While 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.

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 Quicksilver (this version was dubbed over for some reason, but pay attention around 54/55 seconds):

Exhibit B, Dave the Cutter from Breaking Away (ok, to be honest that movie came out in 1979, not technically the 80s), shifts into the small chain ring when drafting behind a semi-truck in order to increase his speed.

Another mystery I've wrestled with is why the need for the sprinter version of Di2?

I guess if you can do and it's not illegal than go for it. The article says, "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." 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.

Don't get me wrong, Di2 is a pretty sweet invention, but I don't think it compares with this:

It's pretty awesome, no question about it.

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?

With all the questions arising from the death of Osama bin Laden, the UCI's defamation suit against Floyd, and the possible outcome of CAS' AC decision, Kitgate© is clearly the most pressing issue that needs to be addressed. Inquiring minds want to know.

I haven't copyrighted the use of Kitgate, but if I cared more I would - no questioning that.

Missed Races and Misplaced Modifiers

2011-05-02T18:31:00.000-07:00

Catch 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.

While sitting around eating a taco made with somewhere between 36% beef and 88% beef, I read this article from our friendly neighbors to the north:

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.

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.

Disclaimer: this is not a video of me landing - this person is much better.

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.

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.

They Don't Drink Amstel in the South

2011-04-18T14:27:00.000-07:00

It 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.

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.

On the way back east I drove through St. Louis:

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:

I guess I was lied to my parents about the true residence of Ole' Saint Nick - it would appear to be Indiana Route 162.

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 Next 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.

On the drive back home I once again drove through St. Louis:

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) Philippe Gilbert win the Amstel Gold Race for a second time in a row. There are a few good videos over at Drunk Cyclist.

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.

Coheed, Cambria, Competition, and Cheaters

2011-04-11T13:37:00.000-07:00

As I mentioned on Friday, I spent the evening in Kansis City, Missouri 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:

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:

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:

Do you see it? If not look at this one:

If you read BSNYC's blog, 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:

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:

In all fairness, that woman he is molesting is his fiancée (who prior to the race was simply his girlfriend).

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.

Nighttime Notes: Coheed and Cambria

2011-04-08T15:37:00.000-07:00

This will be a short post as I am preparing to head east to the Midland Theater in Kansis City to watch a Coheed and Cambria show:

I watched them at Sonisphere in Steveage, England and it was an amazing show. I'm sure this one will be just as great.

To bookend the weekend in greatness, on Sunday is the Queen of the Classics; Paris-Roubaix. 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?

Enjoy the music and the race:

Beer and Belgium, but no Belgian Beer

2011-04-04T18:14:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, probably all of Belgium was on the Tour of Flanders route cheering for a native son to win. With Nick Nuyens' victory 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:

I think Cyclingnews may have mislabeled this photo, as you can clearly see that Nuyens is not in the process of "getass" in this shot.

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 Brew to Brew 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:

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.

Either way it was a day well spent.

Comedy, Cobbles, and Cars

2011-04-01T06:04:00.000-07:00

The 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:

Velonews
Cyclingnews

The Cyclingnews article is pretty good, but it can't beat this "quote" from the Velonews story:

“It should be the man, not his balls, that decides the outcome,” Ditte stated emphatically.

Not his balls indeed.

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):

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:

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.

And that's no joke.

Back from the Brink - Boonen, Bikes, Beer, and Alliteration

2011-03-28T07:36:00.001-07:00

Despite 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.

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.

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!

Your are watching Fabian Cancellara destroy the peloton indeed.

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:

Must have been Gilbert or Greipel right?

What!?

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:

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:

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, causing two riders to crash:

In their defense, the photographers who caused the crash were the first ones on the scene, but not to provided first aid:

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.

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:

I'll tell you the science behind it - she's 6'8" tall! Solved, Galileo.

Getting back to bikes, I watched a video over at AHTBM of some young gentlemen performing tricks on their BMX bikes. I quickly spotted what I considered to be a weird sight:

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, "the time-traveling t-shirt-wearing retro-Fred from the planet Tridork" also seems to have the same drive train set up. I'm beginning to wonder if perhaps the "curator" of BSNYC and the "artist" behind AHTBM are one in the same. The facts:

1. You never see them at the same place and the same time.
2. AHTBM featured a video from BSNYC this past weekend.
3. During the same week both featured media (picture and video) of bikes with their drive trains on the left side.

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.

The Freedom in the Freedom of Speech

2011-03-14T17:13:00.000-07:00

Last Wednesday 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 English lessons from Fränk:

"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."

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.

In the end, RR has the right to pronounce his retirement, just like fellow positive-testing cyclist Toni Colom, has to use the phrase "positive test" to refer to what turned his life upside down. 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.

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,

Former World Champion Cadel Evans won the fifth and penultimate stage of the Tirreno-Adriatico, or the Race of the Two Seas:

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:

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.

Good Wins For the Weekend

2011-03-11T06:30:00.000-08:00

I'm off early this morning, heading south to fly again. With that I don't have much to say here.

What I will say today is congratulations to UConn for their big win over Pitt and congratulations to Tyler Fair-ah for his stage win and becoming the overnight leader at Tirreno-Adriatico:

Biological Makeup and the Making of a DB

2011-03-09T09:34:00.000-08:00

We all remember AC's and James Harrison's threats to retire over the last few months. The newest athlete to jump on the "I've done something that the rules of my sport prohibit and now that I've been caught I will attempt to scare the sport into reducing my punishment by threatening to retire" bandwagon is last year's (now stripped) TdF King of the Mountain Champion Franco Pellizotti. The UCI's biological passport system was validated by CAS in an expedited ruling at the request of Pellizotti's legal team. It is the request for a quick ruling that makes Franco's statement that he's quitting (or retiring, it's all semantics), "Not because of my age or for the time, even though it's two years, it's because I am tired." If he is tired why did he request to have a quick turn-around on his appeal?

I don't know that Pellizotti doped or not, so he may have a better argument for retiring than both AC and Harrison since they clearly violated their sports' rules. Another person, though no athlete, who violated his sport's rules is OSU Football Coach Jim Tressel. What Coach Tressel did was not share information he knew of that implicated some of his players (stars including starting QB Terrell Pryor) in a federal drug-trafficking case as well as selling memorabilia. What makes him a bigger DB than he was when he failed to pass on that information to anyone was his attempt at an apology/excuse:

"Obviously I'm disappointed that this happened at all. I take my responsibility for what we do at Ohio State tremendously seriously and for the game of football. I plan to grow from this. I'm sincerely saddened by the fact that I let some people down and didn't do things as well as I possibly could have."

Of course he's disappointed it happened, if he never got caught what would he have to be disappointed about? Secondly, I love the classic, "saddened by the fact that I let some people down." Really? How about deeply saddened that you failed in your obligation as an authority figure who is responsible for the development of the athletes on your team (including the minute percentage that will make a living out of playing the sport after college) or deeply saddened because you not only gave OSU a black eye, but the entire NCAA? It's like the apology where you tell someone that you're sorry they feel mad/upset/sad about some action of yours; thereby making it seem like it was their fault for getting mad/upset/sad in the first place. And what does he get for all this - a two game suspension and a fine of $250,000. I'm not going to argue that a quarter-million dollar fine is anything to laugh at, but a two game suspension? The players got five.

I guess all this rambling leads me to the point that despite the fact that I want to believe otherwise, history and experience has taught me that all sports are a business and the bottom line isn't necessarily winning, but keeping your paycheck flowing in.

Late to the Line: My First Race, et al.

2011-03-07T07:50:00.000-08:00

In what has been a wild two weeks, I must apologize for my lack of posting. Of course, you could argue that this post was meant to be for today, therefore making it right on time. Heck, if this post was scheduled for Wednesday than it's two days early.

On the 27th of February, a bunch of us traveled east to Columbia, MO to participate in the Froze Toes Road Race. Being my first race I wasn't expecting too much in the way of results - and that's exactly what I got. I finished 30th out of 39 racers after getting dropped at the 15 kilometer point (Yup, kilometers. Like everything else cycling, race distances must be measured the European way, which means the metric system).

Another participant in the race (though not in the Cat 5 race, so I didn't have the honor of getting dropped by him) was the Indiana state champion. I was unable to get a picture of him though because he was fast, at everything. Another champion rider was there, despite rumors that he was avoiding races outside Spain:

Clearly AC knew that a flat, 50-kilometer course in Missouri was a perfect training race for Murcia. That, or the owner of this bike is some DB who probably also owns a UCI World Champion Jersey.

Yesterday I raced in the Perry Road Race, which consisted of four laps around a five-mile, hilly course. Again, I finished better than nine people, this time placing 40th out of 49. There seems to be a pretty clear pattern emerging. All I have to do is find a race where there are only ten of us racing and I'm set for a win.

In the world of professional cycling, the Race to the Sun (Paris-Nice) is on now. A three-man break, including the animal that is Jens Voigt, stayed away (barely) for the final 35 kilometers. The recipient of all their hard work was Belgian De Gendt. Today's stage saw a more traditional field sprint that was won by Sky's Greg Henderson. If you missed it, Versus is showing each stage at 4 pm. To catch up on all the professional cycling results that I have missed over the last few weeks you can go here or here, but not here.

So what have I been doing over the last few weeks that has precluded me from putting horribly written sentences down at this site? Just a little flying:

That is a Cessna 177 Cardinal. I don't have a lot of time yet, but that will come over the next few weeks as I work towards my private pilot's certification. It is a pretty cool feeling to fly, but there is still some fear when the plane's stall warning goes off even though I'm with my instructor who has plenty of hours flying as well as instructing. Flying is so much better when you are in control and you know what is going on, though I do enjoy sleeping on larger airplanes and not worrying about a thing. Soon I'll have my pilot's certification, a scary thought for some I'm sure:

While at Washburn Law's recent admitted students day, I saw a way to combine my love for cycling and flying:

Needless to say I was already late to the reception when I stopped to take that picture. In the end though, what's more important, being on time (or placing at a race) or enjoying yourself?

Mama Might Have Mentioned Something About Days Like This

2011-02-18T06:44:00.000-08:00

Before we get into the world of professional cycling, let's discuss my recent woes. My Garmin Edge 305's mode key was broken, so I contacted Garmin and returned it for repair. I thought I was going to get it back quickly because of the time of year as well as the fact that the repair facility is about 20 miles away. Yesterday I called Garmin to ask where my computer was (I shipped it on the 31st of January and was told I would get it back in 7-10 days) and was told that they hadn't received it yet, almost three weeks after I sent it. So I went down to the post office to ask where my Garmin may be as well as ask about filing a claim on the insurance I purchased for it. Before asking I knew I would get the response I ended up getting, "That package was delivered in the first of February." Sweet. So now I'm in a he said, she said thing with Garmin. We'll see how that turns out.

To make matters worse, I got a call from the bike shop letting me know that my rear derailer is bent and needs to be replaced. Awesome. Hopefully the bad days end now and the good days begin. I'm sure the beer tasting (read: beer party with a large range of beer types) I'm attending (read: crashing) this weekend will help bring about those good days.

In the now wide-spread Landis/Kimmage interview, Floyd talks about how even with drugs, cyclists have good days and bad days:

"You still have good days and bad days and all the other variables - you didn’t sleep well, you didn’t eat well, you have a good day and a bad day. Anytime you add the drug card they always attribute everything that happened to the drug but they will happen anyway. It just changes how fast you go relative to how fast you would have gone."

I think many people believe that just because a cyclist (or any athlete for that matter) is doping, everything is easy for them. Clearly, based on Floyd's words, that just isn't true. I'm not going to argue whether or not LA doped, but either way he certainly was suffering here in 2003 (during a time when he was accused of doping):

Again, I'm not saying he was or wasn't, but if he was the drugs clearly didn't make racing in the 2003 Tour easy for LA. If he was doping in 2003, those drugs surely had no effect on how much he suffered during his 2005 SCA deposition:

The quick background story for these videos is summed up best in the NY Velocity write-up, "Tailwind Sports had taken out an insurance policy with SCA Promotions to cover a $5 million performance bonus for Armstrong winning the 2004 Tour. However, when David Walsh and Pierre Ballester's book L.A. Confidentiel came out, SCA refused to pay, claiming that Armstrong voided the contract by doping to win." In the end the decision went the way of LA, who was awarded his bonus because the contract had no stipulations concerning doping.

As I mentioned in Wednesday's post, AC is back to racing. Here he is signing in at the Tour of Algarve:

Everything looks to be back to normal; the champ is once again mounted on his carbon steed ready to take down his adversaries with his hand gun. But wait, what is this:

Seriously AC, what's with the cycling cap? His poor choice of accessories notwithstanding, it would appear that AC has taken the Specialized marketing claim of "If you can't beat 'em, join 'em" to heart by riding for Saxobank Sungard. Unfortunately, Specialized's poster boy defected to the Trek camp for this season:

Of course, I think Cancellara could be riding the Specialized that his image is used to sell and he would still be competitive in the peloton:

I'm not sure if those training wheels are UCI compliant or not, but I'm sure that even with them Cancellara will still have bad days and good days like he does on his normal ride.

Computer Issues and The Man: Keeping a Brother Down

2011-02-16T09:17:00.001-08:00

As you may be able to tell from the post title, my computer has been giving me some trouble over the last few days. After turning it in to get it worked on, it came back and the power cable didn't work. The trials and tribulations I face are unspeakable.

Returning from the world of no internet (ie. books and people), I was amazed to see what is clearly the biggest story so far this year in the world of cycling. When I first saw the headlines I immediately thought to myself, "this is ludicrous." Not to be confused with Ludacris; though on second thought I'm not sure which one is more unbelievable. You all know what I'm talking about - a star cyclist, a western European country's government, perhaps some unfair treatment:

This kind of treatment makes Iran look like a Sandals Resort. When asked about the "colorway", Schleck showed his fondness for American sports figures such as LeBron James who refer to themselves in the third person (though Schleck takes it a step farther and uses a pet name):

“We can see the bands of the Luxembourg champion, but this jersey also has the advantage of respecting the design of our team. Fränkly, I liked wearing the other jersey, but I am very, very happy to wear this one now.”

While he hasn't mastered the use of referring to yourself in the third person just yet, it's only a matter on time.

In other, lesser news on the cycling front, AC has been cleared of all doping charges, much to the amazement of many people. It remains to be seen if the UCI will appeal the decision, but AC raced yesterday at the Tour of Algarve. So while one Tour champ returns to the racing scene another announces his second, and most likely final, retirement. Like him or not, LA has been American cycling for the last dozen or so years. Who knows, maybe Obama will tweet Novitsky and tell him to back off his investigation.

After snowboarding and skiing at Breckenridge, Snowbird, and Park City in one month, I came back to reality and spent a day at the local "resort", Snowcreek:

All 300 some odd feet of vertical elevation change in view right here.

Going from the Rockies to a hillside in Missouri has to be like the transition from a wearing a LEOPARD-TREK/Luxembourg Champion jersey to wearing a jersey that highlights the Luxembourg flag more than three stripes across a 27" chest does. I know how Fränk Schleck must be feeling.

Priority Placement: The Case for a Larger First Class

2011-02-09T07:04:00.000-08:00

Despite the claim made in my last post title, I am here to divulge what happened last weekend in SLC. Let me start by stating that every person I saw was the most important person in the world, and that's where the trouble exists. Clearly there are people that are a little more important than others - namely me - but in today's world everyone demands they be treated like a frequent flyer, even when they aren't flying. I fear this attitude is at the center of the motorist/cyclist scuffle, in that each side thinks they are more important than the other. In reality, they are both less important than they think.

The "traveling" part of my recent travels was sub-par at best, but that did not stop me from enjoying "The Greatest Snow on Earth." The smugness of Utah's bold claim notwithstanding, the snow I encountered in Utah (Snowbird in particular) rivaled any snow that I have encountered in my relatively limited travels:

We used SLC as our base and drove each morning to the ski resorts. The first day we went to Snowbird and enjoyed amazing powder on our snowboards; the second day we drove to Park City for a beautiful, sunny day of skiing. In the city itself the weather was pleasant, averaging in the low 40s each day with no snow to be seen, as opposed to the mountains which were covered in snow:

SLC boasts a vibrant cycling community, complete with the poster child of today's cycling boom - the fixie:

Unfortunately I failed to take a picture of another fixie I saw where the bike owner had installed his bullhorn handlebars backwards, resulting in what looked like a poorly constructed set of mustache handlebars.To each their own (and anything they want that someone else owns, since they are the most important person in the world, right) I guess.

Needless to say, though it does need to be typed, I enjoyed some of the beer offerings while in SLC. Squatter's Pub was a recommendation from our hotel front desk and it did not disappoint; until the last beer of the night that is:

As before, I'm not sure where the picture of the empty glass went, but it did exist. This beer was Squatter's own Provo Girl. I feel I was duped by the use of the term "Bavarian Pilsner". While in Bavaria, pilsners were among my last choice for beers, but I was apparently focusing too much on the Bavarian and not enough on the pilsner. In the beer's defense, it was very similar to a Bavarian pilsner - clean, crisp, and relatively tasteless. Squatter's served the Provo Girl in a half liter glass that, if my poor memory serves me correctly, even had the 0,5L marking like glasses in Europe use. Of course, as you can see the pilsner wasn't served in a pilsner glass. If you're going to try you might as well get it right.

All in all it was a great weekend that had glimpses of "epicness" such as this "epic" truck:

On your way to work in that "epic" crew cab you can stop for your morning cup here:

I'm not a coffee drinker, but with the adventure that surely awaits anyone who enters combined with my status as the most important person in the world, you can be sure that I'll be the first in line, no matter how many people I need to cut to get there.

What Happens in SLC, Stays in SLC

2011-02-03T19:22:00.000-08:00

I am "dropping" this post early due to my flight tomorrow to lovely and mostly sober (3 point 2 brew or die!) Salt Lake City. You'd think alcohol would be a major factor in a state where there are still people who practice polygamy.

To get prepped for this round of snow fun, I decided to relive last month's travels to Colorado. During our trip to Breckenridge, Penny and I rode the rides all the way to the top:

Snow is great while snowboarding (essentially needed), but whiteout conditions on unmarked trails are not the best. In order to conquer the weather you see that I channeled my inner Storm Shadow (a reference I had to explain to a guy who spent his formative years in GI Joe's heyday). The weather the first day wasn't nearly as bad:

I'll be sure to dress warmly during this weekend's bout of cross-training, much the same way this fine gentlemen has dressed warmly for those swims/bike rides where you just can't seem to keep your arms warm:

My guess is that his helmet is only slightly askew due to the 3.2% beer he used to "carb load".

Pedaling Through Humpday: Aero is as Aero Does

2011-02-02T14:58:00.000-08:00

I don't have clip-on aero bars for my bike. The way I look at it, if I'm racing in a dedicated time trial, then I'll ride a time trial bike. It seems to me that adding aero bars does two things:

1. Makes a bicycle made for (and good at) a specific purpose (road riding) into a mediocre TT bike.
2. Makes riders lazy in that they can prop their arms on the aero bars instead of using the muscles in the upper body to support themselves.

Perhaps my dislike of clip-on aero bars stems from the fact that there were a couple people using them during the race on Saturday who continually felt the need to scream, "INSIDE LINE!" (capitalization used for emphasis since there isn't a douche bag font) every time they were near me. I got it, you're racing and you're faster than me, but knowing this I rode in the middle of the track the entire time. I guess some people feel the need to let others know they are almost as awesome as they think they are.

Despite the lack of aero bars on most riders' bikes, it was easy to get into the drops and get on this guy's wheel:

By my rudimentary calculations, this guy's bar was about four feet off the ground; he was like a rolling wall. This guy is the opposite of aerodynamic, unlike Graeme Obree, the real-life rider whose life was the topic of The Flying Scotsman, who recently announced he was gay. This is about as non-news worthy as stories that proclaim an athlete is standing by his previous statements bad-mouthing another athlete. Clearly journalists have nothing better to do than track down athletes and ask them if they want to apologize for some dumb twitter post or ask about their sexuality.

In news on the home front, I've finished another single-speed bike, this time I used a frame that has cable stops for the rear brake cable. In the end I reused the cranks, bottom bracket, wheelset, brakes, and handle bar from the first bike I assembled:

To top it off I am using a light given to me for Christmas:

It's bright like a car's light - perfect for those times I ride home from the bar after dark.

Along with the single-speed build, I've also stripped down my Bianchi with the intent of cleaning and giving it a good overhaul:

I guess until I get it put back together I'll have to pick up one of these to ride:

No need for clip-on aero bars on that speed machine.

Welcome Back, Kotter. You're Laziness Was Your Ticket Out.

2011-01-31T07:08:00.001-08:00

To say that I have been doing nothing would be an accurate statement. Now with the racing season upon us, I have scraped myself off the couch (not an entirely true statement as I am currently typing this from the comfort of my couch) and decided to renew my posting of stylistic writing samples on this here website.

With the 2011 season underway, we have already learned the champions of the early season's two largest races:

2011 Tour Down Under: Cameron Meyer of Team Garmin-Cervelo
2010 Tour de France: Andy Schleck of LEOPARD-TREK (formerly of Saxobank)

To be fair, the disqualification and suspension AC is facing is not official yet, but I don't think it will turn out favorably for him. So, despite Andy's reluctance to accept the win, he seems to be in the same position as AC - fighting a losing battle.

Speaking of racing, I participated in my first "event" of the new year. It was a fund raiser to support cancer research. On Saturday, about 65 people gathered in downtown Leavenworth to race around a 400 meter track in Breaking Away style:

I was looking to get in some early season miles (I've heard others use that phrase. Though I'm not quite sure what it means I think it is appropriate in this situation.) so I signed up as an individual rider. I was enjoying myself, when after about two hours I shredded my rear tire and had to stop. I guess that's what I get for using tires designed for racing for the last year of everyday riding. In the end, I think two hours was enough for me and my current state of fitness. To tackle the issue and get back to peak performance, I have been partaking in some cross-training that Bicycling Magazine has suggested:

While I lack cycling ability, one thing I do not lack is the ability to be a good team member, unlike Belorussian National Champion Aliaksandr Kuchynski. I'm sure there are many individuals who would love to be part of the team photo and wouldn't do anything to draw attention to themselves.

While I haven't (unfortunately) been playing any table tennis lately, I have been snowboarding. A couple weeks ago a few of us traveled to Breckenridge, Colorado to enjoy some winter fun. I was told on more than one occasion that nothing compares to the Rockies, not even the Alps. I may be biased, but after spending my first weekend in the Rockies I can say that I disagree. The tree line is higher in the Rockies, and the mountains we rode on were about 2,000 feet higher than anything I've ridden in Europe, but in the end there isn't that much difference. Any difference I did see was in the ski town itself, not the mountain. In the ski town competition Europe easily wins.

While in Breckenridge we ventured to the Breckenridge Brewery, where I sipped down one of their cleverly named Pandora's Bock:

I did not take the intermediate shots this time due to a low battery dispute I was having with my camera. The bock was hearty and smooth, but nothing to write home about, so I'll stop now. This weekend I'm meeting a friend in Salt Lake City for another weekend of snowboarding, or cross-training if you will.

To ensure I spend less time on the couch, Namco has been kind enough to create this:

I'm sure AC could make up some of the money he'll miss out on this year by selling his famous "finger bang" to Namco for future editions.

New Year, New You! Welcome to the Future.

2011-01-03T08:35:00.000-08:00

I trust everyone enjoyed their holiday season and remembers everything they did on New Year's Eve.

Over the break I noticed this bike in Lawrence, Kansas:

It wasn't the best "cockie" I saw, but as I wrote in an email to BSNYC,

"I saw a "better" cockpit, but I think the bike belonged to a homeless guy begging for money. I felt it wrong to take a picture of his bike while he sat there in the cold. I also felt it was wrong to give him some money only to make myself feel better about taking a picture of his bike. So I didn't take a picture, and now I feel bad about that."

I also hit up Mr. Snob concerning the famed IKEA bike:

Notice the backwards fork on the second picture. I didn't give this poor wrenching a second thought until I read through the book Fixed I received as a gift. I must first say that 75% of the book is interesting in its coverage of the history of the bicycle and numerous forms of track racing that I had previously been under-informed about. The last 25% is crappy hipster writing about how cool the "fixie culture" is. Anywho, back to the matter at hand. In that book, the authors discuss motor-paced bike races and specifically say that the forks of these bikes would be turned around in order to allow the rider to get deeper into the slipstream of the motorcycle they were following:

I suggested that perhaps the IKEA bike rider was testing the bike's feasibility as a motor-pacing racer. We'll see if we see an increase of IKEA employees on the tracks of Berlin in the coming year.

During the break I also enjoyed some beer from The High Noon Saloon. In order they are Stumblin' Reindeer Christmas Ale, Raspberry Wheat, and Honey Wheat:

Like most beers at The High Noon, each of these is a tasty treat. The Stumblin' Reinbeer is obviously a seasonal beer, but the two wheat beers are brewed and served year-round. The only thing I'll say about them is that if you aren't in the mood for a sweet beer, stay away from the wheats. The combination of sweetness and the fact that they are wheats makes for a filling glass of beer.

Welcome to the future, here's to hoping it turns out as even-keeled as you can make it.

Back from the Dead, or One Last LSAT Done

2010-12-13T13:16:00.000-08:00

With the last two months being devoted to this past weekend's LSAT, I've had little time to post. I still had time to head down the High Noon Saloon for some trivia night and beer, but at the present time my camera's whereabouts are unknown so I am unable to post pictures. Never fear, tomorrow night brings another chance to consume some libations which I will do my best to document.

Once I get back on track, I'll be back to my original posting schedule of Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.

The Future Looks Scary

2010-11-19T08:01:00.000-08:00

As I was surfing through webpages last night, I made my way over to the Army's homepage to read about SSG Giunta - the most recent Congressional Medal of Honor recipient:

If you haven't heard about what SSG Giunta did the night he earned the MOH, you owe it to yourself to check it out. As his company commander said, it was like the stories you hear about Audie Murphy during WWII. While I was scanning the homepage, my eye was caught by this:

The following is a conversation I can see occurring at Fort Campbell in the near future:

Front Desk Attendant: "Can I help you?"

Private Young: "I'm here to check in for my appointment."

FDA: "Ok, last four please." (The Army uses the last four of your social security number to identify your medical files. This was done even before they went all digtal.)

Young: "1234."

FDA: "Ok, Private...Young. Hmmm, I thought you would have looked more like this."

It doesn't affect the service Private Young will receive (that will always be underwhelming, no matter how much digtalization occurs), but it still isn't correct.

One up, one down. I guess that makes everything all even.

On to stories where things do not look to be all even. Italy is getting involved in the ongoing investigation concerning alleged doping on the USPS Team. We'll see when the paperwork is wrapped up what this large-scale revels. This, combined with WADA announcing that they can find no evidence to support AC's claim that his steak was tainted, makes this off-season an interesting one. Granted, this is the first time I have taken any interest in what goes on during the cycling off-season, but an investigation into doping by the current TdF champion and a multi-government backed investigation into doping charges against the greatest TdF rider ever is, in my humble opinion, pretty significant.

Ok, I'm off. Enjoy the weekend.

Law, the Law of Averages, and an Average Beer

2010-11-17T06:08:00.000-08:00

Got this video from Mr. Hoovis. There was another Danny MacAskill movie that made it's way through the various portals of the internet a few months back; this one is very similar in that it contains video evidence of Danny doing some crazy tricks off of pretty much anything he sees. For my money, I think this video is better due mainly to the scenery in which he rides. I miss Europe.

On to news from the home front. Another Tuesday brought another trivia night down at The High Noon Saloon. Did you know that Dorothy's slippers in the book version of the Wizard of Oz were silver but changed to ruby red because they showed up better that way in technicolor? Yeah, neither did we. We went on to win one round, keeping our average above .333, which is our new goal. During the course of said trivia I started and finished a glass of the saloon's Raspberry Wheat beer:

I tried this beer during the beer tasting a couple of us went to for my dirty thirty, but due to lingering sickness I did not give it a fair shake. To remedy my earlier transgression, I sidled up the our table and promptly ordered the raspberry wheat, fully knowing that there are other beers on the menu that I enjoy. My experience last night wasn't mind-blowing, either good or bad, and when all was said and done I realized that there is a place in the world of beer drinking for a raspberry wheat beer.

Its raspberry flavor wasn't overpowering, but it made its presence known; being a fan of raspberries, the flavor was pretty good - not too sweet and not too fruity. As far as the wheat beer goes, it did not compare to the wheat beers I've grown accustomed to in Germany - the ones where you order another beer as the drink to your wheat beer meal. If asked, I would place this beer in the category of "when the time is right." How will you know when the time is right? You just will, you just will.

In a story similar to the one I posted a few days ago concerning a Spanish DB who is suing a family for the damages their son's body caused to his Audi, a man in Connecticut is suing a family for allowing their son to ride without a helmet. Oh yeah, this man hit and killed the child. It appears that Velonews decided to provide the whole story, in that this man's suit is a countersuit to one from the parents of the boy who was killed. The story that was run yesterday failed to mention that.

As you can see here in section 14-286d.(b):

(b) No child fifteen years of age or under shall operate a bicycle on the traveled portion of any highway unless such child is wearing protective headgear which conforms to the minimum specifications established by the American National Standards Institute or the Snell Memorial Foundation’s Standard for Protective Headgear for Use in Bicycling. Failure to comply with this section shall not be a violation or an offense. Failure to wear protective headgear as required by this subsection shall not be considered to be contributory negligence on the part of the parent or the child nor shall such failure be admissible in any civil action.

So while you have to wear a helmet, it isn't a punishable offense and the fact that a child didn't wear one is not admissible in any civil action claiming contributory negligence on the part of the parents. I wonder if Mr. Weaving looked at the cycling laws before bringing his suit (he apparently is representing himself).

I whole-heartedly disagree with anything Mr. Weaving is attempting to do (I really don't think a helmet would have saved the kid after being hit by an automobile driving at 80 mph), but I do think all children should wear helmets when operating bicycles. If you're having trouble convincing your kids helmets are good, just show them that Danny MacAskill wears one.

Can't See the Forest for the Trees, or When Complacency Becomes Second Nature

2010-11-15T08:17:00.000-08:00

I was unable to post last Friday due to my visit to Washburn University School of Law's open house. I noticed an older crowd of potential applicants versus those I saw at KU and Vanderbilt, which in some ways is a positive. The open house was informative and well run. I was very interested to hear that the LL.M. (masters of law) program Washburn has in conjunction with the University of Maastricht has never had all four student slots filled. Of course being away from Penny for a year isn't all that appealing. We'll see where the future will lead us and then I'll make my decision at that time.

Sometimes when you are so enmeshed in a culture, you fail to see the importance and significance of that culture. You begin to take things for granted, no matter how interesting, important, or exciting that culture may be. I'm sure Ben Roethlisberger takes for granted that he'll never be convicted of sexual assault, or that Contador takes for granted that his threats to retire mean something to anyone other than those that earn money off him. This was the case for me over the weekend, save for the sexual assault or money being made off me. I know it's belated, but I want to thank all the veterans of this country for the sacrifices you have made.

With this in mind, I'll share some pictures I took of the Veteran's Day Parade held last Thursday here in Leavenworth.

The parade commenced with a grand ceremony overseen by the parade's grand marshal:

Of course, being in Kansas, the parade featured its fair share of motorized bicycles:

There were clowns:

Just because you can, doesn't mean you should. And a pony-riding dog:

There you have it. I hope that you enjoyed your weekend and had the opportunity to thank a veteran for their service.

Our regular programming will return Wednesday.

Irresponsible People: Cars and Cows

2010-11-10T06:00:00.000-08:00

Let's start today with an amazing story I was alerted to by a commenter on BSNYC's Wednesday post. Sure, an Audi A8 is a sweet automobile, but suing the family of the kid you killed because his body did damage to your car?! And on top of that, what kind of rental car did he choose that cost him 6,000 Euros? Ah, the Spanish.

Speaking of the Spanish, the UCI has asked the Spanish Cycling Federation to open a disciplinary hearing against embattled Tour de France champion Alberto Contador. While that isn't surprising or unexpected, the story that Velonews published the day after was. Ok, maybe it isn't that unbelievable. The Spanish Cycling Federation President will not decide the outcome of the case, but his public support for Contador can't hurt.

Yesterday's BSNYC post discussed a recent case in Colorado where a rich dude in a Mercedes Benz ran over a doctor who was riding his bike. As seems to be standard procedure for douche bags, the rich dude fled the scene, stopped at a Pizza Hut a couple miles up the road, and called for a tow truck to take care of his damaged car. BSNYC goes on to point out one of the defense's arguments - that the driver possibly suffered from undiagnosed sleep apnea. This situation seems to be exactly what Mercedes Benz has been working towards:

If you can't read what I've highlighted, it says, "Distronic plus radar cruise control is no substitute for active driving involvement." Of course it is, at least that is how MB tries to sell it in their commercials. I can't find the commercial online, but the one I have in mind shows a bunch of people making statements such as, "I didn't know the car in front of me stopped short." Or, "I didn't know I was drifting into the other lane." And, "I was asleep and the system woke me up, thank goodness I only hit one cyclist."

To finish up today why don't we talk about something that is more enjoyable - beer. As promised, I remembered to bring my camera to The High Noon Saloon last night and managed to snap a few pictures of the Stampede Stout I took pleasure in drinking:

As you can plainly see, the stout is very dark. It has a nice flavor with hints of cocoa and coffee. The ending is a bit hoppy, but unlike an IPA, the hoppiness is tempered by the myriad flavors working together.

While partaking in my beer, Penny and managed to win one of three trivia rounds, dropping our overall record to below .500. It's upsetting to say the least, but I've decided to look at our record more like a batting average, meaning that at over .400, we're doing just fine. We'll see if Contador does as well over the next few months.

2010-11-08T07:28:00.000-08:00

It was a busy last few days. My visit to Vanderbilt went well. Right now I don't have the numbers to gain admission, but I think if I can bring my LSAT score up a couple points I'll have a decent chance.

While in Nashville, I ate at the Blackstone Brewery. On Friday they had six beers on tap, four ales and two porters. Being unable to decide on one, I ordered up a sampler and tried them all:

In addition to the beer I enjoyed a delicious steak. I was a little upset that there were no stouts, but I was pleasantly surprised at the American Pale Ale. As expected though, the IPA was not to my liking.

Sticking with the college atmosphere, Penny and I traveled to KU on Saturday to watch the game against Colorado:

After three quarters it was less a football game and more, how you say, an ass whooping. With Colorado up 45-17 following an early fourth quarter touchdown, Penny and I decided to leave and walk around campus. Before we reached the parking lot the stadium erupted in cheer as KU scored. By the time we reached Penny's sister's apartment the game had ended and KU had won. Ridiculous. Once we stopped kicking ourselves for leaving what turned out to be an amazing game, we headed to The 23rd Street Brewery for dinner. To wash down my calzone, I ordered a Crimson Phog Irish Red Ale:

Let me first discuss the lack of an ending to the beer. Trust me, I finished it. Apparently I was affected enough after half a beer that I was unable to properly work my camera. I remember taking more pictures, but I somehow failed to actually take them.

The beer was clean tasting, but it wasn't anything special. What I mean by that is that I enjoyed drinking it, but it easily drifted into the background and didn't demand my attention with each sip.

I removed the swingarm and engine from the frame yesterday, leaving only the triple clamp left. I need a 30mm socket to loosen the bolt, but I don't think buying one is worth it since this is probably the only time I'll use it. Hopefully Penny's dad has one that I can borrow. Once done with that I'll have all winter to put the bike back together.

Moss Followed me to Nashville

2010-11-03T17:09:00.001-07:00

Hanging out in Nashville for the next two days. Tomorrow I visit Vanderbilt's Law School.

I am really looking forward to it as Vandy is my first choice. Speaking with an old professor who now works at Vandy informed me that there is an international law brief tomorrow for first year students, which works out well for me since the program I am interested in is international law.

I know this blog is supposed to be about bikes, beer, and alliteration. I haven't ridden in a while due to studying for the LSAT (which I have immersed myself in all over again due to my horrendous showing in October). That combined with the end of the race season really puts a damper on the bike side of the blog. The beer side you ask about? I have been frequenting High Noon Saloon over the last few weeks where Penny and I are rocking a 4-4 record during trivia night. A .500 record might not sound impressive, but no other team has won more than 2 rounds since we've started playing. Anyway, the reason I haven't been posting pictures of the beer is that I haven't been bringing my camera during our nights out. Dumb, I know, but it's the truth. Starting next week you can expect some beer pictures.

I'm off to work on my law school applications. I guess if I end up at another law school and have to walk by that school's sign each day I'll still be better off that this guy:

Halloween Scares

2010-11-01T06:32:00.000-07:00

With Halloween officially over, let's recap the weekend that was.

Friday night Penny and I went to an "adult" party a few blocks from our house. It had a good vibe and plenty of beer. Unfortunately, it also had two guys in grass skirts that felt the need to spend the entire evening attempting to grind on everyone and everything. Luckily the fuzz showed up to handle the situation:

Once the popo straightened (perhaps that's not the most appropriate word to describe it) things out, the first of what I assume to be the oft quoted 'three bad things' happened - I received an email with my LSAT score. Based on the score and the percentile, it looks like I will be attending law school here.

The second bad thing is, what I think, a tear in my rotator cuff. You hear about it on TV with pitchers, but I never realized how often the rotator cuff is used throughout the day. I have an appointment today to get it looked at and diagnosed by a doctor.

Back to the parties. Saturday night held another "adult" party for Penny and me. This one was about the same except the grass skirts were replaced by a skin tight dress. This party was more low-key; so low-key in fact that Penny and I took off early.

Waking up Sunday, I awaited for the third installment of whatever the trio of crap had planned for me. Penny and I piled into the car and headed east to watch the Chiefs play the woeful Bills in the game of football. For $25 tickets, we really couldn't have asked for a better game. With seconds remaining in overtime, the Chiefs kicked a field goal to win it 13-10:

Upon our arrival back home, Penny and I prepped for the ensuing onslaught of trick-or-treaters. To our surprise, no candy hungry kids stopped by, leaving us with a bowl full of chocolate. I'm not sure if the lack of trick-or-treaters is the third part of my horror trilogy, but if so I guess sometimes there are silver linings.

Dirty Bike Part II

2010-10-29T13:56:00.000-07:00

Spent a good chunk of yesterday taking the fork legs off. It really shouldn't have been so hard; each leg is held in the triple clamp by four bolts. Loosen those four bolts and slide the fork out, pretty simple right?

Almost ready to take the engine and transmission out and redo the frame. That is the goal before it gets too cold since the paint stripper and paint should be used when it's still warm out.

I've banged up my knuckles a couple times - the usual. Luckily I haven't done anything so bad I ended up like this:

My interview with the Vandy grad went well. Turns out the gentlemen who I spoke with is very connected to the law school and the Vanderbilt community in general. He highly suggested that I visit the school and take a tour, saying the admissions department takes kindly to those who show enough interest in the program to visit in person. So next Wednesday I fly to Nashville. Hopefully my LSAT results on Monday are competitive, and that combined with my experience and visit put me over the top and I earn admission to Vandy's Law School.

With Halloween falling on Sunday this year, the entire weekend can be devoted to parties. Tonight Penny and I head to a neighbor's place to partake in some festivities. Tomorrow we'll go to Penny's aunt's house for some food and then possibly on to an "adult party". Sunday we drop the costumes and enjoy the Chiefs game at Arrowhead Stadium.

All in all it should be a fun, if not draining, weekend. Enjoy the candy and be sure to check your apples for razors.

Cancellara Wishes he had a Motor like This

2010-10-27T14:31:00.000-07:00

I went out a week ago to ride a nice, easy 17 miles. About 400 meters into it I crashed, scraped up my knuckles, and bent my derailer hanger. Clearly the rust that has attacked my simple cycling skills is powerful. The down time between my rides has been filled with my other bike:

It doesn't run, most likely because it needed a new spark plug. But, since I don't have a lot to do each day, I decided that I needed to tear it down to the frame:

The plan is to strip it down to the frame, repaint the frame and possibly the swingarm, and then put it all back together with some new plastic. It might take a while, but I hope to get it done in time to ride it next summer.

I attended an open house at KU Law last Friday. Tomorrow night I have an interview with a Vanderbilt University Law School graduate. I know that this interview won't make or break my application, but it will give me a first hand account of what Vandy is looking for.

Until next time I leave you with this:

Race of the Falling Italians

2010-10-18T08:24:00.000-07:00

Saturday brought us the final major race of the season, the Giro de Lombardia, known affectionately to most Americans as the Tour of Lombardy. Also known to those 'in the know' as the Race of the Falling Leaves due to the amount of leaves on the roads. To stick it to the peloton one last time, the weather was less than perfect:

Of course that didn't seem to stop Grandpa Horner from exhibiting his usual 'smile'. Having recently hit the big 3-O myself and already feeling 'old', I can only assume Horner's smile is hiding the aching of his joints.

After his amazing run last fall and his recent victory at the Tour of Piedmont on Thursday, Philippe Gilbert was clearly this year's favorite. He was marked by Vuelta winner Vincenzo Nibali until Nibali attempted a new, untested descending method:

From the results I gather that Nibali will not be trying that technique again. Notice the leaves? See what I'm talking about now?

In the end it was Gilbert and diminutive Italian Michele Scarponi, that is until Gilbert got tired of the company and simply rode away from Scarponi:

It didn't hurt Gilbert's break that Scarponi missed a shift, but that's racing. At least he didn't throw a chain. At the finish line Gilbert celebrated his back-to-back Lombardy wins alone:

Gilbert's win wasn't the only storyline from the race; world champion Thor Hushovd raced in his rainbow jersey. Despite not planning to race after the world championships, his win there changed his mind so he could 'honor the rainbow jersey':

I enjoy watching Thor race, but he seems to have fallen into the same trap that has been ensnaring many riders recently, namely color coordinating their gear with their specialty jersey. I hate to tell the big Norwegian this, but wearing rainbow striped Jawbones is doing nothing but honoring the almighty (insert local currency here).

I hope you enjoyed the racing season as much as I did. We saw a lot of things: Landis admitted doping, Lance denied doping, Alberto was caught with and illegal substance in his blood and denied doping, and as expected Fabian won the world TT again. Of course there were other things that happened, but I don't care enough to type them.

Return from the Void

2010-09-27T12:31:00.000-07:00

As I mentioned last post, I have been in and out of town. While my travels aren't yet over, I have managed to find some time to resume posting.

My most recent trip took me to New Hampshire (via Connecticut) for a friend's wedding. I arrived in town Thursday afternoon and went out to dinner with my brother and his family. On the way we noticed this New England super hero:

Our collective amazement was summed up when my nephew said something along the lines of, "He's riding naked". His lack of clothing aside, he was also riding on a very busy street. I'm not one to argue that as a cyclist he doesn't have a claim to the road as well, but I know that I wouldn't ride there. Maybe by not putting myself in a situation where I'm surrounded by crazy drivers on their way home from work makes me less of a champion of cyclists' rights, but I'd rather take up that battle with something other than my life.

The following morning after picking another out-of-town guest up at the airport, we headed north to NH. I've been to Vermont a good amount and I always just assumed NH was the same (I went to NH as a young buck and don't remember much about it except smacking my shin against the family mini-van's doorway). In the end my assumption held true for the geography, but not so much the people. Ok, it held true for them as well - dirty hippies. The scenery was beautiful:

And the businesses were creative:

The wedding was nice, though I had to struggle through it with what I thought was food poisoning. Turns out the constant departures from my bed to the bathroom were caused by some bug that hit my brother's family and coworkers. In my weakened state I must have picked up another bug because I was down for about four days versus the 8-12 hours everyone else was affected.

Upon my return to Kansas, preparations were made for my 'Dirty Thirty' celebration:

I gathered from my in-laws that the 'Dirty Thirty' was supposed to be a night of drunken abandon. Unfortunately, the sickness I endured was still messing with my stomach and as soon as I drank one beer I felt full and bloated. That did not bode well for the Saturday evening beer-tasting at the Carnegie Arts Center we attended. There were some really good beers there, but again each sip filled me up and I was unable to take full advantage of the offerings. To round out the birfday weekend, a few friends took Penny and me to the new IHOP for breakfast. We were deflated to learn that the grand opening was set for this morning; we were a day early.

So to sum it up the last few weeks started with sickness and ended with sadness, but I guess it could have been worse.

Away We Go (Again)

2010-09-15T08:52:00.000-07:00

Yesterday's rest day in the Vuelta allowed me to head out on a ride in the early morning. After a healthy breakfast of Frosted Mini-Wheats, I departed the house and headed off into the unknown world of Kansas county roads. Twenty miles later I had no idea where my journey had taken me. I was hungry, tired, and worried that I wouldn't get a chance to head to the recycling plant like Penny asked (easily my biggest worry). Eventually I guessed correctly and was heading back into town and a delicious lunch of more Mini-Wheats.

I'm not a huge fan of TTs. I enjoy riding them because it is a good measure of physical and metal stamina and the drained feeling you get afterwards makes you feel like you've accomplished something. What I don't enjoy about them is watching them. The excitement you get from road stages is nonexistent in TTs. With that said, I had the TT going today while I tended to other matters. In the end HTC-Columbia's Peter Velits won, defeating reigning world champ Fabian Cancellara:

Velits is obviously the day's biggest winner. The biggest loser? This guy. A-Rod is not competing in the Vuelta though, so I would have to go with another Rodriguez. After finishing over six minutes down on the stage, Rodriguez is now over three minutes down on GC:

It appears like Liquigas might wrap up their second Grand Tour this year. I would much rather see Ezequiel Mosquera from Xacobeo-Galicia stand on the top step of the podium. The idea of a Pro Continental Team winning a Grand Tour is pretty cool.

As I mentioned Monday I am heading out of town tomorrow and therefore the chance of a Friday post is slim. I'll be spending the weekend between CT and NH for a friend's wedding. I'll see friends I haven't seen in years, so I'm looking forward to what craziness may transpire. Enjoy the rest of your week and the end of the Vuelta.

Back to the Beer

2010-09-13T08:44:00.000-07:00

It's been a while since I've posted about beer. I am here today to remedy that situation. A friend brought over a sixer of Annie's Amber Ale from The High Noon Saloon here in town.

Yes, I am drinking out of a Mason Ball jar. Yes, I am drinking before noon.

As you can see, the ale is a very nice Amber color. It has a clean taste that allows the flavor of the malt to come through. Though not overpowering, each sip ends with a bit of hops. I truly believe that the can has taken away some of the flavor as I've had Annie's Ale from the tap, but for a camping trip or some tailgating, I would much rather have a sixer of this than one from the large breweries.

Not only has it been a while since I've posted about beer, it's been a while since I've posted period. I had to jet out East last minute at the beginning of the month, resulting in a few missed posts. I will be on the road this weekend as well as the first two weekends in October. So for the next three weeks posting will be non-existent at worst and spotty at best. Don’t worry though, anything I do post will contain the same poor quality you have come to expect.

Now on to the bikes. With all the travel, I've watched much less of the Vuelta than I've wanted. Add to that the fact that I don't have NBC Universal Sports and the internet was being dumb Saturday, I've seen four stages over the last week and a half. Never fear though, if you are in the same boat as me I'm here to get you filled in and up to speed.

Mark Cavendish won stage 13, solidifying his hold on the green jersey. To show his excitement at once again riding away from the field, Cav bunny-hopped the finishing line:

Watching the last few kilometers on YouTube makes it easier to see. After the stage, Cav accused Tyler Farrar and Wouter Weylandt of working together to prevent him from earning points during an intermediate sprint. If that was a driving force behind his celebratory hop, I think an endo would have been a bigger slap in the face (as well as having historical significance).

In stage 14, race leader Igor Antón crashed and had to abandon, leaving Liquigas rider Vincenzo Nibali in the lead. I unfortunately did not see any of the race changing carnage as the website I usually watch races on decided to show snooker.

Stage 15 provided the riders with a perfect day for racing:

Beautiful.

What made it even more beautiful was that I was watching the broadcast of the Spanish channel tdp, so every time the commentators got excited all I could think of was this:

Is that wrong of me? Maybe, but it's true.

In addition to the colorful and melodic commentators, the stage provided excitement as Carlos Barredo escaped from the break to claim the stage victory:

To celebrate his win he smashed a front wheel into the face of second place finisher Nico Sijmens. Barredo ‘brushed himself off’ four times while crossing the finish line. He may be feeling like a pimp, but I’m not sure he’s doing it correctly. Must be something lost in translation.

This morning (or afternoon if you want to get technical and talk about the time zone the race occurred in), Rodriguez recaptured the leader's jersey as Nibali struggled up the final climb. Fränk Schleck was probably the biggest winner on the day though, riding himself into fourth on the GC, a mere 2:16 back. Mikel Nieve from Euskatel-Euskadi gave the orange a big boost after the loss of Antón by winning stage 16:

I hope you enjoy the inset of Mikel's smiling face. I figured to offset the beer at the beginning of the post I'd do something a little artsy at the end. Enjoy!

Goodbyes, See-yas, and Cav-whos?

2010-09-01T09:16:00.001-07:00

We have a lot to get to today, so let's just dive right in.

Two-time TdF winner Laurent Fignon recently passed away. Fignon won the 1983 and 1984 editions of the TdF and lost the 1989 edition to Greg Lemond by 8 seconds. One of the best cycling quotes of all time came from Fignon when he was recognized on the street. The gentleman said, "Ah, I remember you: you're the guy who lost the Tour by eight seconds." to which Fignon replied, "No monsieur, I'm the guy who won it twice." I never saw him race, but the combination of his wild hair and wire-rimmed glasses most likely made for an incredible viewing experience.

In news of the current grand tour (if the TdF is THE grand tour, then the Giro is its evil little brother and the Vuelta is the kid who used to be the Tour's stepson), Belgian sensation Phillippe Gilbert (pronounced Fill-eep Jill-bare) won the race's third stage to claim the camiseta roja:

During his post win interview, Gilbert was asked how the race went, to which he answered, "It was hot, but at the end I just picked the pace up and everyone else just fell off. Pretty standard really."

Like just about every other stage, a break formed during stage four. It contained four riders, including Team Milram's Dominik Roels. At just over six feet tall and 165 pounds, Roels is one of the 'heftier' members of the pro peloton. While he may be fun at Oktoberfest and probably always gets tabbed to play Santa at team Christmas parties, his extra weight was not to his advantage when the road titled upwards:

Those professional cyclists, always leaving the fat kids behind. Speaking of being left behind, the end of the stage presented the riders with gradients as steep as 27%:

In the end, Igor Antón from Euskaltel-Euskadi took the stage win, but in bigger news that seemed to be overlooked by all the major news media was the mechanical Andy Schleck had that allowed Antón victory:

Clearly AS is struggling to get his bike repaired so that he can chase back and limit his losses. Where has all the sportsmanship that used to prevail in the peloton gone?

Today's stage was long, hot, and perfect for a sprint finish. With Bernhard Eisel out for HTC-Columbia, Cavendish was without his lead-out man and punched it about 100 meters too far away and was passed by America. And by America I mean Garmin-Transitions rider Tyler Farrar:

Asked afterwards if defeating Cavendish (who by the way has now suffered two defeats at the hands of other sprinters in this year's Vuelta) will provide motivation, Farrar responded that winning is all the motivation he needs. That and the fact that next year he'll have former Tour and Vuelta points competition winner Thor Hushovd on his team. I'm sure as a sprinter, getting word that your boss just hired another prominent and proven sprinter, you'd do what you could to prove your worth as well.

Stevil over at AHTBM posted today that the AHTBM kits are shipped off. Since I read that I have been camped out on the front porch awaiting the delivery man.

Enjoy the week's midsection.

Emergency Update

2010-08-31T07:23:00.000-07:00

So I guess I didn't see the crash, but it happened. Fortunately this time VdV was able to spring right back up and continue racing.

On a related note, I was wrong about the commentator yesterday. Turns out it's not Carlton Kirby, but David Harmon. Doesn't really matter his name, he's still an idiot.

VdV Crashes Out of Vuelta

2010-08-30T07:07:00.001-07:00

That is what I thought I was going to be writing this morning. Apparently it is also what everyone's favorite Eurosport commentator, Carlton Kirby, thought as well. During the TTT, Carlton gave VdV a strong chance of success as long as he stays away from crashing. But despite his recent history, the American GC contender everyone wants to support made it through the opening TTT and first road stage. Speaking of the TTT and crashing, VdV's head-butting receiving teammate, Julian Dean, did crash. Perhaps he knew what the course had in store for him as he made the decision prior to forgo an aero helmet and instead wear a normal helmet:

Team Garmin-Transitions would end up 17 seconds back of eventual stage winner HTC-Columbia. Saxo Bank finished a bit higher, which makes sense since they brought their "World Champion and Countries No One Really Cares About" TT team:

It's like the UN, it looks nice, thinks it carries weight, and has a bunch of colors, but in the end it falls short.

The TTT was a time for reunions as well as goodbyes. We saw the reunification of the two most well known Luxembourgers of all time, the Brothers Schleck:

As well as the last (third this year and 23rd overall) grand tour for Carlos 'Carl' Sastre as a Cervelo Test Team rider (also the team's last grand tour since it will fold at the end of this year and merge with Garmin):

The biggest story from the TTT though is the starting house. I understand that professional riders get perks that we recreational riders can only dream about, but when the Vuelta organizers hire nine attractive women to hold the riders' bikes prior to the start it has gone too far. During our club rides I get the honor of being held by the shop owner's son, a far cry from the hotties seen in Sevilla:

I wonder if the riders suffered from ASHFS (After Start House Fart Syndrome) shortly after the stage started.

After HTC-Columbia won the TTT, it was almost accepted that Cav would win the following stage and therefore continue to hold the new red leader's jersey, or camiseta roja. With the peloton together under the flamme rouge, or bandera roja in Spanish, it looked like the scene we have seen 15 times over the last three TdFs - HTC leading out Cav for a stage win. In the American camp there was hope that Tyler Fair-rah would live up to the hype and defeat the Manx Missile, but in the end it was Belarus rider Yauheni Hutarovich from FdJ:

Who is Yauheni Hutarovich you ask? I have no idea, though he is a two-time national champ as well as a five-time stage winner this year.

In other, more personal bike news, I am selling my mountain bike. If you know anyone who is in the market for one let me know. I am asking $1100 for a Stevens S9 Elite with Shimano Deore XT components:

To end this Monday's post I'll put up this this picture:

I guess I'll have to figure out something else to purchase my friend for his wedding.

Attention to Details: Sickening Revelations

2010-08-25T08:50:00.000-07:00

As any good American cycling fan, I enjoy watching the boys in argyle race and win. While perusing a photo gallery covering Garmin-Transitions Girona, Spain-based operation center over at Cycling News the other day, I came across this picture showing how meticulous David Millar is in labeling his equipment:

Clearly Millar does play very close attention to detail in labeling his stuff, but he fails to pay attention to the fact that any piece not his will stick out like a sore thumb. Since there is no Will that races for Garmin-Transitions, I am going to assume that bag belongs to marketing manager Will Frischkorn. You would think that with the combination of sponsorships, free swag, and salaries professional riders wouldn't have to result to thievery. If the law isn't enough to dissuade Millar from stealing, perhaps Frischkorn is. According to this bio of Will, he had some aggression issues in 2006. I'm sure that Millar, as meticulous as he seems to be based on that one photo, already knows Frischkorn's violent past and has taken necessary precautions to ensure his safety.

In other safety related news, I watched American Flyers for the first time yesterday. Despite all the cycling-related goings on, the part that I enjoyed the most was after the second stage of the Hell of the West (in actuality the Coors Classic). In what has to be one of the greatest Tom Selleck-supporting scenes, the younger brother David (the one you think is sick) says to his older brother Marcus (who is a predictable plot twist is actually sick), "How can you be sick anyway? Just look at yourself, what you got, you got a mustache and everything." I was always aware of some supernatural powers derived from facial hair, but until yesterday I thought I was the only one.

To close out a few days of KC-based baseball, a few of us went to watch the independent league's Kansas City T-Bones last night. Despite not receiving a replica jersey (the last ones were given out to a middle school band who played the national anthem) or a Bacon Explosion Sausage (they sold out 20 minutes before game time), the T-Bones won the game which is enough for me to be pleased with my $4 ticket.

My knee hurts a little after a run yesterday, hopefully it is good to go for tonight's ride and a 10K race I plan to run on Saturday.

A Weekend in the Books

2010-08-23T12:34:00.000-07:00

Over the last two months it has rained two or three times here in northeast Kansas. This Friday, the day I was scheduled to watch the Kansas City Royals, it poured. After about two hours the game was finally called and rescheduled for Saturday at 6:10 pm. We didn't get the same seats right behind the home dugout, but we did get a doubleheader. The first game went into extra innings and was eventually won by the Royals (that's right, they win a game or two every once in a while). The second game didn't start until after 10, so we watched the first two innings and left. Turns out the second game went into extra innings as well, but the Royals lost.

I watched stage 5 of the Eneco Tour yesterday morning. Unlike some of the larger, more popular races, there weren't many people watching it online, which allowed me to enjoy it without the broadcast skipping. Jack Bobridge from Team Garmin-Transitions rode away from the break with a couple kilometers to go to win the stage, at which point he raised his arms in victory:

While it was good to see an American team win the stage, I caught a glimpse of Belgian national champion (both road and TT), Stijn Devolder, in his national colors and was a bit sad:

Being a huge fan of Tom Boonen, it was bittersweet to see another Quickstep rider with the national colors, especially since Boonen wasn't even able to defend his win. It looks like he'll make a comeback at the end of this year, which is awesome.

In other news that is awesome, this young one with big dreams pedaled his way right into the sex offenders' registry. I would think that by the time you're seventeen, and riding in the Tour is your dream, you wouldn't go on training rides in jeans, a t-shirt, and beanie cap. What do I know though, perhaps he was wearing a pair of these. On second thought, it might have been better that he removed those and rode naked.

Let's hope that my LSAT results are much better than my BSNYC quiz results:

Goal Oriented

2010-08-20T07:37:00.001-07:00

With the goals of getting to know the neighbors, enjoy a sunny day, and replace all the crap we sold at the flea market, Penny and I dropped in on an estate sale earlier this week. Whenever I hear the phrase 'estate sale', I think of a mansion full of crystal and antique French furniture. This estate sale was a far cry from that scene - a 1950's ranch that was badly in need up some updates, filled with musty, overstuffed couches, dirty hand tools, and numerous kitchen gadgets of questionable use. We did score a Coleman mini cooler though, so it wasn't all bad. Penny also came across this kid's book:

Some of the topics covered in the book seemed to be teaching children subjects best left until adulthood:

I failed to post on Wednesday because I was getting 'in the zone' for a 10-mile TT the LBS was staging. It was incorporated as part of our normal Wednesday ride and followed the same course we raced a few weeks ago.

The results aren't posted yet, but I can tell you that I cut almost three minutes off my time. Let's look at a few reasons that could have happened:

1. I've been riding more and I'm in better shape.
- Not true. I've actually been riding about two times per week because I'm lazy.

2. I was using a TT bike and had a sweet aero position.
- False. I don't own a TT bike, I was riding the same bike I rode last time. I actually removed my aero wheels and put the trainers back on prior to the ride.

3. I ate Mexican food a few hours before the race.
- True, but that was more likely a hindrance than a help.

4. I'm using PEDs.
- Bingo. Now I know why people use them. It feels good to do well. Now all I have to do is cut another five minutes from my time and I'll be competitive with recreational cyclists - then I'll be the coolest guy in the ride.

In all seriousness I think my improvement had to do with knowing the course and eating properly during the day (maybe not eating properly, just eating). I also think being sent off earlier helped because my pride kicked in and I didn't want to get passed by everyone (I went off second of about 20 people and I was passed by two people, though I passed the guy who went off first before I was passed). I didn't really have a goal in mind, but under 30 minutes (which I accomplished) was a time hack I am happy with.

I'm going to see a Kansas City Royals game tonight. It should be a fun time, though not necessarily high caliber baseball.

Another Kansas Weekend, Another Demo Derby

2010-08-16T18:39:00.000-07:00

Picture dump from the weekend:

This car, though painted in a Hulk scheme, was decidedly not mean:

Unfortunately this sweet wagon lost its wheel and was unable to continue:

Though it wasn't the final winner, this car had the sweetest (one of two) rear-seat passenger:

Since this blog is supposed to be about bikes (and beer, but being in Kansas there was no beer at the country fair. I know, I cried too.) here is my scoresheet on BSNYC's weekly quiz, therefore proving that I am still 'hip' to the bike world.

Half Century

2010-08-13T11:02:00.000-07:00

With the school year upon us, popularity becomes more than whose parents own a pool (or readily available liquor cabinet). Everyone knows that BMX riders are the Fonzies of the cycling world while road racers are the Steve Urkels. With that in mind, a mom or dad who truly loves their kid wouldn't purchase this for their child prior to the school year:

This is what a top-notch parent who wants their kid to be the coolest kid at school would buy:

this is a pro trick bike does all the tricks like the shows on tv. xgames etc..

Your kid doesn't even need to have athletic ability since the bike does all the tricks by itself! Electronic shifting? Hey Shimano - try keeping up.

Being the picky shopper that I am though, I did some research into the claims this post makes and I'm afraid that there is a bit of false advertising. Of course we all know that the coolest kid in school is the kid who drives around his 1989 IROC-Z without wearing his seatbelt:

With Kansas now making it legal for police officers to pull drivers over for not wearing their seatbelt (before they could only cite a driver for not wearing a seatbelt if they were pulled over for another infraction), high school boys who challenge 'the man' will gain that much more popularity. No matter how many miles one drives untethered, they will never be as cool as this guy. Or any of these guys.

Enjoy the weekend; I'll be spending it at the demolition derby. Hopefully the cool kids in town come and compete.

Two Races, One Problem

2010-08-12T08:35:00.000-07:00

As mentioned last night, the LBS put on a crit that I attended as a spectator. Here are some of the low quality pictures I snapped with my low quality camera:

There was one crash in the cat 5 race, but as there were a total of five racers and about as many spectators, I didn't feel it was right to take a picture of it. Thankfully the rider was ok.

Another race that occurred yesterday was the sixth stage of the Volta a Portugal. To be honest I wasn't too interested in watching it. Maybe it was because I was unable to understand the commentators due to the lack of a British accent or perhaps the lack of Team Radioshack. I guess that Bruyneel 'snubbed' the entire Iberian Pennisula after his team was 'snubbed' by the Vuelta organizers. Is the lack of Team Radioshack riders in both the Vuelta and the Volta the beginning of the end? Maybe Johan took a lesson from history and realized that even the great tactician Napoleon was unable to take Portugal:

Only time will tell.

Unlike the TdF, the Volta a Portugal truly is a tour that encompasses the entire country. If you don't believe me compare the stage six profile with the map of Portugal:

If you are having trouble deciphering them I'll help out. Please direct your attention to the legend on the Portugal map. Notice how from the north to the south Portugal is about 5.5 times the length of the 10 kilometer scale. Still don't get it? Ok, if yesterday's stage was 221 kilometers and Portugal is about 55 kilometers from north to south, than the riders would have to make about four and a half trips to complete the distance.

Enough of that. Joaquim Ortega, one of two Spanish riders on the Portugal-based Barbot Spider team, was victorious as he rode away from the day's break. No pictures of the winner, but check out the sweet team jersey:

Time to go, I'm not supposed to be on this website on Thursdays.

Preparing to Prepare

2010-08-11T09:39:00.000-07:00

No need to turn off the TV, this post is a short one. Due to a Santa Fe Trails Bike Shop race tonight (don't concern yourself with the date, obviously the 8th wasn't a Wednesday) down at the middle school, I will be putting off posting until said action is complete. Don't worry, I will not be racing as I have no skill, ability, or drive. I will simply be an interested spectator who will then proceed to blog about the event later. You've been warned - prepare yourself.

2010-08-09T19:10:00.000-07:00

Dear Reader,

Due to what is known as the 'Blogmuda Triangle,' consisting of alcohol, laziness, and a general lack of creativity, there will be no images during today's extremely late post. Instead, sit back, relax, and enjoy this tale of intrigue, caution, and alcohol.

Faithfully Yours,

Rhetoricdying (XOXOXO)

This past weekend was the big flea market (and the much smaller country club interview). Penny and I spent a lot of time culling through our wares over the last month or so anticipating the sheer delight we would most certainly enjoy seeing our stuff flying off the makeshift tables. Three car loads, or more accurately Element loads (check out this periodic table) later, ninety-percent of our crap was sitting in the hot sun ready for the hoardes to descend upon it. The market was scheduled to open at 8 am, but no sooner had I unloaded the first box people were mulling. In the end we sold a good portion of our junk and cleared about $1,000,356.

Despite the market only lasting six hours, we had one repeat customer who made a jaw-dropping five visits/purchases. After his third visit, and second viewing of a pair of Penny's shoes, we got to talking with him and learned his abridged story. I incorrectly made the conclusion that he was riding his bike because he lived in town and it is a convenient mode of transportation. I was set straight when he informed us that he recently got his first DUI (at the age of 61). His DUI might have been the climax of the story had it not been for the explanation he gave for his purchases - he would buy items and give them to the disabled veterans around town. Good dude.

On to bad news; Tom Boonen will not race in the Vuelta and probably not in the World Championship either. Less than three weeks now until the start of the Vuelta, then my life will have direction and a purpose again.

2010-08-06T11:43:00.000-07:00

Penny and I loaded ourselves into the in-laws Honda Element and headed down to Lawrence to help Penny's younger sister move. Once the manual labor was complete, we made our way to Free State Brewery for lunch. While there I drank a John Smith Ale and a Storm Cloud Stout. Both were delicious, though for the money I would recommend the Oatmeal Stout. Upon leaving the brewery, I noticed a few bikes locked up outside. While not an uncommon thing since Lawrence is a college town, the type of bikes were unusual:

I'll assume that they took their helmets and Dora the Explorer backpacks inside with them.

Over the last few weeks I have been struggling to find worthy competitors to put on my weekly DB Podium. I think it is because I began that idea while still employed. I harbored a lot of anger during those times and I've decided it's best to let it go and therefore end the podium's run.

Despite the end of the podium, there are still those out there that deserve recognition. I may or may not have mentioned how poor the drivers are here in Kansas - not stopping, failing to signal, speeding, etc. In addition to their poor abilities/habits on the roadways of this state, they also fail to understand how parking lots work:

This wasn't the first or only car I saw 'pulled through' on parking spaces that are at an angle. I'm pretty sure that those spots are angled so that they are easier to pull into and back out of. Pulling through them results in three options when you go to leave:

1. Pull out and go the wrong way through the parking lot.
2. Pull out and have to make a difficult turn in order to drive the correct direction.
3. Back out through the parking space if no car is behind you.

I guess Kansas residents would have a fourth option as well - pull straight forward and cut through the parking spaces without looking for cars traveling along the proper thoroughfares. Either way you lose and they win.

Flea market tomorrow - hopefully we'll sell all our extra crap. Come on down and visit (and buy stuff) if you're in town.

Pawns and Pretension

2010-08-04T10:36:00.000-07:00

Last week I mentioned Coheed and Cambria's new album, Year of the Black Rainbow, but failed to actually talk about the music. Instead I devoted a portion of the post giving a weak overview of the book that accompanies the music. So, to back track, I will now give a weak overview of the music on the new album. It is clear that Coheed has evolved over the years, but I think the biggest difference on the Black Rainbow album is the influence of Chris Pennie. I know that he has been with the band since 2007, but he was unable to record with Coheed on No World For Tomorrow due to contractual issues. He may have been involved in writing for that album, but I think Black Rainbow has more of a 'mathcore' (DEP) feel to it on certain tracks. While there may be some mellower songs than there are on other Coheed albums, in the end Black Rainbow is impressive.

Last Wednesday I also took part in a 10-mile time trial with the local shop ride. By sheer placement I performed better than Vino did at the TdF, so I'm going to focus on that positive aspect:

When I first got back to the US I missed riding my bike in Germany because of the amazing bike paths. Now I understand that I miss riding in Germany for other reasons as well. The more and more I do group rides, I realize I like 'riding fast' when it is fast to me, not actually fast. I'm sure riding with a group will help me become a better rider, but I really do enjoy just getting on the bike with no particular goal in mind and exploring. Hopefully once it cools down here in Kansas (around October) I'll be able to do that again. Plus by that time I'll have already taken the LSAT and I won't have to study hours a day for it.

A while back I gave a spot on the DB Podium to LTC Terry Lakin. The reason is because he is a 'birther'who is refusing to deploy because he believes his deployment orders constitute an illegal order from the president. He is of this mindset because he believes President Obama hasn't produced a valid birth certificate or any other legal proof that he is a natural born citizen of the US. LTC Lakin has deployed before, including once to Afghanistan. He is facing a court-martial over his refusal to deploy. Perhaps I'm missing the boat here, but I would assume that any issue with Obama's citizenship would have been sorted out during his election campaign:

Although claims about Obama's citizenship were evaluated in 2008 by the McCain Campaign and ultimately rejected,...

Hey, look at that! Obama's citizenship was looked into during his election campaign, by his opponent.

What worries me is that 'birthers' are using LTC Lakin as a pawn. What better way to get patriotic Americans to support your cause than by having a decorated military doctor stand up to what he says (or probably more accurately they - The American Patriot Foundation - say) are illegal orders. I'm pretty sure his court-martial will end badly for him and The American Patriot Foundation will drop him and look for the next face of their cause.

Let's close up shop today with a movie that loosely mimics my real life experiences around bikes:

Crashes, County Roads, and Cleanliness

2010-08-02T20:37:00.000-07:00

As you may have noticed, I failed to post on Friday. In my defense, that was due to travel between Leavenworth and Winfield. Why travel to the in-laws you ask? Two words - demolition derby (five more words - greatest day of my life):

That my friends, was the winning car. The tire was MIA for the last 15 minutes or so of the derby. In homage to the winning vehicle, I went for a ride this morning sans rubber:

A beautiful sunrise, cool temperatures, and miles of rollers:

While on my ride I got to thinking about stupid products that exaggerate a problem to help sell their worthiness. I realize as I was sipping water from my mold-free water bottle that the bike world has gotten in on the action:

Are we to believe that the same dishwasher that cleans our bowls, coffee cups, and drinking glasses does an insufficient job cleaning our water bottles? I for one may just jump on this wagon and market everyday drinking vessels with screw-off bottoms. What's next, tear-away, disposable saddle covers? What the world really needs is some sort of measuring device, or perhaps a picture-like object we could see ourselves in that would prevent us from going out in public with our ties looking like this:

If his tie were any shorter it would be a bow tie.

So to recap; demolition derby rules, cycling in the early morning in Kansas rules, short ties rules, and creating a river in order to sell a bridge certainly does not rule. Suzy Kolber definitely rules.

Be safe out there kids, there are window-less vans in holding patterns as we speak.

Wednesday Extravaganza

2010-07-28T12:07:00.000-07:00

Monday's post was rushed, poorly thought out, and as one who is not good with words would say - craptastic. Unbelievably though, I think it may have been better than these master pieces. I stumbled upon that link as I was stumbling through Stevil's post over at AHTBM. Speaking of AHTBM, I should have my new kit here in the next couple of weeks. That is a good thing, since it is so humid here in Kansas that I can't simply rinse off my gear and dry it over night like I could in Germany. Having a third set will allow me to ride more often with clean clothes.

But I digress, back to music:

I just finished reading Year of the Black Rainbow, a novel that accompanies the new album of the same name by Coheed and Cambria. The book lays out the story of Coheed and Cambria's beginning (the characters, not the band). It is interesting and there are definite ties to their music, since in the end their music is the same story. The concept of telling a continuous story throughout their albums was at first foreign to me. Now it seems like such a logical way to create music that I find it amazing other artists are able to compose songs that are distinct from each other (though for some artists it could be said their songs really aren't that distinct). If you like science fiction/fantasy, you should definitely read Year of the Black Rainbow as well as The Amory Wars comics.

Penny and I went out and bought a new TV yesterday so that we could compete with the Jones'. We already beat them in volleyball and cars (Penny has a nice Mercedes), but they got us bested in sheet thread counts and 2-on-2 basketball. While shopping for said TV, this little price tag (on a fake book) caught my eye:

I know a deal when I see one, and this is a deal!

Had to step away for a bit. While posting about purchasing our new TV, the delivery guys dropped it off. Setting it up wasn't so hard, of course all I did was plug in the cable box and tune it to ESPN HD.

Speaking of deals, in Israel they have one-way crypts (which in the end isn't that great of a deal):

Of course in Israel they also have multi-purpose bikes in case you want to hit up a pool session on your way to the grocery store to pick up some kosher falafel for dinner:

Ok, time to end on a high note. What will I do for the next month while waiting for the Vuelta to start:

Rappin' it Up

2010-07-26T14:46:00.000-07:00

Contador has captured his fifth grand,
Smiling with the Tour de France trophy in hand.
Always the bridesmaid and never the bride,
But Andy has shown us all he can ride.

Menchov holding strong for his Russian mother,
While Schleck awaits the return of his brother.
Once again Paris was the grand finale,
American fans now forget until Cali.

This year he didn't look like he belonged,
But there is no better Tour rider than Armstrong.
Seven times wearing yellow in a row,
In the end even the best have to go.

Watch out Slim, I'm on the warpath.

2010-07-23T10:49:00.000-07:00

Andy's promised attack up the Tourmalet occurred. The result was carnage all over the mountain. Unfortunately the one survivor (other than Schleck) was AC:

How it went down was much more exciting than the finish, including Andy's weak one arm pump. At about 10 kilometers to go Andy attacked, dropping everyone except AC and Rodriguez, who held on for a little while before eventually dropping off:

It wasn't an explosive move, Andy just cranked up the speed ala Spartacus during Paris-Roubaix. After a couple kilometers AC countered with his own attack that Andy quickly neutralized:

So after the bloody mess that was stage 17, there was absolutely no shift in the top five on the GC.

Despite having a touch of the old bronchitis, Cav easily won today's stage to Bordeaux. It's exciting to see him pull away from the field, but it's a scene that has played out a bunch, so no need to put up a picture of him celebrating as he crosses the finish line. Instead, I'll put up this picture purely for my own amusement:

I think the big-to-do surrounding the last two stages though was the star power. While spending time in France promoting their new movie, Tom Cruise and Cameron Diaz took some time to catch a glimpse of the peloton:

Believe it or not, those two weren't the only celebrities enjoying the race:

It's clear that the athlete in Kobe came out on the slopes of the Tourmalet. He actually kept up with AC and Andy for over two kilometers before 'dropping a trey.'

Living in Kansas, I read headlines like, 'Heat kills 2,000 head of cattle.' I wonder why people refer to cattle numbers by head. Why not just 2,000 cattle? Or 8,000 hoof? Anywho, on to more important topics.

23 July DB Podium

1. Manufacturers creating issues that don't exist.
2. Thierry Henry (I'm surprised he didn't use his hand)
3. Jens Voigt

Ok, just kidding about Jens, he's actually really bad ass. I just put him up there because it seems like he has no pain threshold and can ride through anything.

Off to the lake.

Enjoy the off days, ride the bikes, and support the local farmers.

I Came, I Saw, I Concurred

2010-07-21T09:43:00.000-07:00

I'm not sure I believe Andy. He said that he would get his revenge during stage 16, which he did not. The story of the day could have been one of two things, depending on your nationality: If you're American, Lance Armstong having a strong showing in the break and finishing sixth on the day:

It was like the Lance of old during some of the attacks. While I may not fawn over Lance like most American cycling media, I respect all the work he does in raising awareness and money to support cancer research. So to see him put in a good effort and not soft-pedal through the rest of the Tour was exciting.

Of course, the other story of the day was the stage winner Pierrick Fedrigo:

Now you may be saying, "If I were French I would be quite happy that Fedrigo won the sixth stage for France during this year's TdF!" You have a valid reason for doing so since Fedrigo was the 2005 French National Champion. If you read Velonews though, you would be more inclined to say, "Hmmm, I wonder were the country of Frane is?"

Since today is a rest day for the riders, I took the opportunity to watch Velocenter and see their angle on the race. I wasn't disappointed when they talked about Lance a lot and painted Contador as a villian. What did disappoint me was the two douches that are hosting the show:

The geek on the right is nicknamed 'Gogo'. Sweet. If his present appearance wasn't enough, he had some real sweet zingers such as:

"Wow is right. Tomorrow is a rest day, which, by the way, you’re gonna need after the call of those highlights – unreal!” - In response to Vincent McMahon's brother discussing stage 16 highlights.
“You got to get a little food going!” - To the highlight of Geraint Thomas in the feedzone:

I'm pretty sure that I will not be watching anymore of their broadcasts. They actually make me miss Neal Rogers and Jason Sumner.

Well, I'm off to enjoy the rest day with a bike ride.

Enjoy the hump day, ride the bikes, and support the veterans.

Holy Crap!

2010-07-19T12:56:00.001-07:00

Holy crap!

Some stuff happened this weekend (during the Tour), but it is inconsequential compared with what occurred in today's stage - something that changed this year's race and something no one would have ever expected. On the climb up the Port de Balès, Thomas Voeckler timed a break perfectly and held on to win stage 15. He built up a sizable lead on the climb and continued to extend it on the decent, resulting in an easy win in the French National Champion Tricolour jersey:

Maybe Thomas had been planning it for the last couple stages that he dogged it on, or maybe it was the short-shorts he was wearing. Either way he did the champ's jersey proud.

Oh yeah, there was also the little bit with Andy Schleck (an oversized one at that) pulling a sweet endo on the Balès:

Look at how he dwarfs Vino. What is he on? Not sure if pulling an endo in front of a competitor on a climb is akin to mooning someone in Luxembourg, but I think Andy got a little too confident. And wouldn't you know, as he was taunting the boys from Astana, his chain derails. How's that for karma? If he had pulled it off, "The Endo" would have gone down in TdF lore like "The Look" and "The Shortcut."

I know that when asked Andy said that he wouldn't have done what Alberto did today (counter Schleck's attack and then keep going up the mountain without looking back - looking back means you're weak). I believe that when asked Andy gave an honest answer, but I am not sure that if the roles were reversed if he would have stopped and waited. Maybe, only because he is so strong this year. Do I think what AC did was right? Sure, it's racing. Do I understand both sides of the argument? Yeah, I do.

I would hate to be the bike manufacturer for Team Saxo Bank right now. I mean, a mechanical takes the maillot jaune away during what is an amazing attack? Nope, wait, Astana and Saxo Bank both ride Specialized SL3s. Damn chain.

On other fronts, I am enjoying my TV and cable, but I'm getting real sick of the stupid marketing companies use. In Europe I didn't watch TV that often and when I did it was really only sporting events so I didn't need to understand the language. That made commercials much more tolerable. What I'm getting at is this new automatic soap dispenser from Lysol:

Seriously Lysol, the top of the soap dispenser pump may very well be full of germs, but I touch that dispenser to dispense soap I plan to wash my hands with. Once I complete my hand washing I rinse them and dry them off. The next time I will touch that potentially germ-infested dispenser is the next time I need soap to wash my hands. I hope that the marketing executives at Lysol don't actually think that I rub my hands on the soap dispenser after I wash my hands. Douche bags.

Ok, time to go, I have to study for the LSAT (there's a first time for everything).

Enjoy the sun, ride the bikes, and support successful break aways.

A Tribute to the French

2010-07-16T11:27:00.000-07:00

In what was a mere formality, the Manx Missile won his third stage of this year's Tour. As teams fought to get their sprinters in prime position, anyone who has been alive the last three years knew who was going to win:

As predictable as the win was, the run up to it was one of the most exciting I've seen. The peloton's best lead-out man, Mark Renshaw, was in his typical position with Cav on his wheel when Julian Dean brought Tyler Farrar (who unfortunately abandoned in stage 12 after getting dropped on the first climb of the day) to the front. In response to Dean's presence and in the spirit of not getting pushed off his line, Renshaw began to use his head (instead of his hands, because that would be dangerous. HTC team manager Rolf Aldag said, "It didn't look pretty but he had his hands firmly on his bars and was holding his position. I think that's what you're supposed to do.") to push Dean away:

Watching this encounter reminded me of another great world-wide sporting event headbutt that took place in 2006:

And just like Zidane, Renshaw was ejected. Don't worry though Mark, in four years time you can gain a spot on a TdF squad on some clearly illegal play, then disgrace your entire country - just like France. Nice tribute Mark, I couldn't think of a more wonderful belated Bastille Day present.

In stage 12, Contador jumped from the peloton on the climb up Còte de la Croix-Nueve Montée Laurent Jalabert and Schleck was unable to follow. AC caught up with Rodriguez, who attacked a little earlier. Soon the two bridged up to AC's squadmate Vinokourov, who looked like he was going to take the stage win. In the end, Rodriguez out-sprinted Contador (who took 10 seconds on Schleck) to take the stage:

and Vino finished third. I don't know what the Astana team bus will be like tonight, but if I were Alberto I would worry about Vino's older brother coming after me in August:

In this week's podium, the top step is occupied by none other than:

16 July DB Podium:
1. LeBron James (I don't care where he plays, it's the way he got the news out that I disagree with)
2. Thierry Henry
3. BP

Enjoy the show, ride the bikes, and support local businesses.

Another Bastille Day and Another French Loss

2010-07-14T14:44:00.000-07:00

Let's quickly look at stage 9, which was won by Sandy Casar:

You might be thinking he was so pumped because he just won a stage in the TdF, but the real reason is because his break was caught in the last kilometer and Sandy was able to out-sprint Caisse d’Epargne lyricist LL Sanchez:

On Monday I predicted that Cadel would take yellow this year. I am obviously wrong about that:

So while I incorrectly tagged Evans to wear the maillot jaune in Paris, I was correct when I called him a whiny bitch:

I know that it isn't any consolation, but at least Evans can put on the World Championship jersey after he lost the yellow. I think the rainbow looks better anyway:

In an unofficial rest day for the peloton, a break of six got away and stayed away, building a gap of roughly 11:30. With a couple kilometers left to race, Radioshack rider Sergio Paulinho and Caisse d’Epargne Vasil Kiryienka dropped the break and powered away. A couple hundred meters out Paulinho jumped and Kiryienka was a little late in responding. In order to lift his spirits after his loss, Kiryienka went to a team manager to explain all the dumb moves he made in the last kilometer:

To paraphrase a comment, TV exists to make money - just like ProTour sponsorships. And after stage 10 I can say that they work. For some reason after the stage I had a craving to purchase a new car, cell phone, and have a beer:

Speaking of beer, while in Jerusalem Penny and I tried Taybeh, a Palestinian beer:

It was a pleasantly cold surprise on a warm June afternoon. Taybeh is brewed in accordance with the Bavarian purity laws, giving it a very similar, clean taste to what I encountered in Bamberg. I hope I get to enjoy it again some day. Until then I'll have to be content sampling the local beers here in Leavenworth.

Ok, off to ride.

Enjoy the hump day, ride the bikes, and support your local beverage producers.

Back in the Saddle, Or How I Learned to Love the Arrière du Peloton

2010-07-12T08:30:00.000-07:00

Thanks to the multi-media service man, I have rejoined the land of the connected. Not having instant access to the internet or TV was more of a blessing than a burden as it allowed me to connect with my new community. I watched Cav sprint his way to victory in stage 6 at the local bike shop, Santa Fe Trails, and watched Germany play Spain at the VFW (henceforth referred to as the Dub).

Once the internet got hooked up though I was able to enjoy the TdF from the comfort of my unfurnished and box-riddled home. For me, watching stage 8 was just another example of how the media creates drama when no drama exists. They also edit programs to ensure the largest audience.

American cycling media has let their optimism and undying love of Lance cloud their judgement. In the TdF preview issue of Bicycling Magazine, there is an article covering the rivalry between LA and AC. In the same issue, a half page is devoted to the 'dark horses' of this year's race: Cadel Evans, Andy Schleck, and Bradley Wiggins. I'm not sure I would ever consider last year's runner-up, last year's fourth place finisher, and the current world champion 'dark horses.' A true 'dark horse' would be someone like Ryder Hesjedal. But I guess when you blindly support someone they are always a favorite to win.

While many people will smartly put their money on AC, I am going out on a limb and picking a 'dark horse': Cadel Evans. Despite the fact that Cadel is a whiny bitch, with the power of the Rainbow Jersey (and currently the maillot jaune, which we'll get to later), a strong showing at the Giro, and a team that includes two super domestiques in Hincapie and Ballan (2009 US National Champ and 2008 World Champ respectively) it looks like his year.

So after LA got dropped during yesterday's stage, Eurosport threw their hat into the "let's fan the flames of this non-existent rivalry" barrel and cut to a split screen:

Putting this split screen up like there is actually a rivalry between the two (there maybe a rivalry in words, but most assuredly not in competition) is ridiculous. Eurosport might as well put up a split screen with Lance on one side and Ullrich sitting on his couch eating potato chips on the other - that's about as exciting as the current 'epic battle' between LA and AC. Unfortunately, no matter how far down the rankings LA drops, he will still get loads of air time and Radioshack will still get their dumb icon on the leaders' jersey tracker that scrolls across the screen. I would much rather see more of Barredo and Costa than Lance:

Taking off the front wheel before going into battle? Brilliant! I would have thought that Barredo would have been a little more skilled though given his name - but I guess homonyms don't get respect anymore. In the following video, riders respond to the fight and if it is a good or bad thing for cycling. If you haven't seen it yet then you probably think I'm awesome and if you have seen it you probably think I'm awesome because I embedded it in my blog.

Anywho, back to yesterday's action. With about a kilometer to go, Schleck jumped and only Samuel Sanchez was able to stay with him. Evans didn't follow because he fears the maillot jaune this early in the race (told you we'd get back to it). I would fear having to fight off attacks as well if in the last Grand Tour I rode my team was as weak as the Mighty Ducks before they learned the Flying 'V'. Contador couldn't or wouldn't counter the attack, perhaps because he remembers Andy's poor performances in last year's TTs and plans to put a lot of time on him at the TT again this year. Watch out though Alberto, Andy will be sporting the national colors of Luxembourg on his skinsuit come the only TT in this year's Tour. He's on form, just ask the entire population of Luxembourg (it truly was a national championship) that he beat to earn the red, white, and blue skinsuit. All five of them will tell you he's stepped up his game. Just look at his victory celebration in stage 8:

Upon closer inspection you can see Andy means business:

With guns like those, any fight he might get caught up in would end quicker than Lance's quest for an eighth TdF victory once the road tipped up.

Enjoy the rest day, ride the bikes, and support clean athletes.

In The Beginning There Was Belgium And Things Were Not Good

2010-07-05T15:21:00.000-07:00

Eerily similar to the start of the Giro, the first couple stages of the TdF have given us fans some spectacular crashes - including one that involved a loose dog. Perhaps the Vuelta committee can make a quick change to move the first few stages to Luxembourg where they can hope to round out the Grand Tour season with a smattering of early stage crashes. Besides Fränk and Andy Schleck's crash today, the Luxembourgers must be feeling left out of the excitement, what with their Benelux compatriots getting the opportunity to provide the general public with amazing racing (or unnecessary carnage). Don't ask Levi, he might tell you the infamous "they" want to see crashes (of course we do, this is the country of Nascar).

To be fair to Levi, here is photographic evidence of the conspiracy:

Perhaps it is just a handicap system, but I wouldn't give Lars Boom such a big handicap during a time trial as to have him ride it at night.

Speaking of the TdF (which we can't do here in America without mentioning Lance), Lance seems to be thumbing his nose at the D-O-double-G. Snoop created a "good luck" message for his man Lance and posted the video on YouTube. Yet clearly Lance is riding for another famous musician:

Anyway, being in America is good because I can watch the races on a large TV instead of the internet - or so I thought. It appears that Versus isn't on some cable subscription plans. No fear, I had the trusty internet as a back up. But alas, my two attempts were defeated by technology as the internet crashed and left me wondering if Christian Vande Velde had crashed out. I was happy to find out the next day that he had indeed crossed the line with the rubber side down. True to form, he unfortunately crashed in stage 2 and withdrew from the race with broken ribs.

On the academic front, I scored a sweet five out of six (including the bonus question) on BSNYC's 2 July quiz. If I keep up my high scores I might contact the Snob and see if I can get credit towards an associate's degree.

Big ups to Chavanel on his break away win on stage 2 and his ride into yellow. France really needs something to bring up their spirits after the horrible showing their national soccer team had in South Africa. What an emotional roller coaster those fans must be on: the French team "earns" a spot in the World Cup after a clear hand ball by Henry and then they make the US team look good after creating a mockery of the sport. That is just recent history, I don't feel it's fair to France to go on.

Happy belated 4th everyone. Enjoy the hangovers, ride the bikes, and support the minimum wage waiters.

Cold Fashioned Refreshment - Sleeveless Shirts Prohibited

2010-07-02T08:25:00.000-07:00

Reviewing older posts I noticed that my tour of the wonderful world of Bamberg beer stagnated after Keesman - leaving two more breweries to highlight. I shall begin today's journey with Brauerei Greifenklau. Located at the top of the Kaulberg, Greifenklau has a wonderful view from its garden. It serves up some mean Franconian food stuffs as well as some extremely tasty lager. Served in a krug (known as a stein or tankard in the US), Greifenklau lager possesses a golden color and a smooth-as-butter (but not tasting like butter) flavor that has a punchy aftertaste.

Heading down the Kaulberg and back into town leads us to our last Bamberg brewery, Kaiserdom. Kaiserdom brews what is probably the most universally known German style of beer: the Hefeweizen. Thick, heavy, and a bit sweet, Kaiserdom's signature beer goes well with food or as a meal by itself.

On our way to St. Louis from the lake house, Penny and I noticed a cyclists who was talking on his cell phone and was not wearing a helmet. If you've read any of my previous posts you understand how I think helmets are a wonderful idea and should be worn any time you are on a bike and how much I hate that people feel they can operate a vehicle (motorized or otherwise) while talking/texting/apping (I have the license to verbalize application as the author of this blog). Worst of all though, the cyclists was wearing a jersey like this:

After driving around northwestern Arkansas/southwestern Missouri I can only imagine that the cyclist was from the area. The roads are extremely curvy with many hills (good for cycling) and the drivers speed on them as if they were one large F1 track (bad for cycling). This combination is enough for me to doubt the safety of any cyclist down there.

Speaking of roads, I failed to mention earlier that I was able to check off one of my "things to do before I die" list. In Pennsylvania I drove over the highest elevation on I-80W east of the Mississippi River. No lie. My life is one more puzzle piece closer to being complete.

One of the two most interesting people I saw while in Israel was this man:

Hawking baby wares in the Muslim Quarter of the old city of Jerusalem could or could not be a lucrative business, but as you can see in the picture the possible buyers were perhaps not the target audience. On the other hand, Mr. T. had his gold chains trained on the target audience with military like precision.

When Mr. T. was shown the fat that drained off the food cooked in the Flavorwave Oven, he responded with the quote of the trip, "who want to put that in they body?!"

In the bike realm, check out the new impec from BMC. Quite sexy.

Without putting anything in my body I'll end this week with a flattened DB Podium:

2 July DB ~~Podium~~ Field:
1. Anyone who talks/texts/apps while operating a vehicle

Thumbing it Through Monday (And Probably Wednesday)

2010-06-28T09:30:00.000-07:00

No pictures or links today as I am posting from a "smart phone" on the banks of Table Rock Lake in Golden, Missouri. Yesterday Penny and I did a little wake-boarding before the sky dumped on us. We'll be heading out on the water again here soon.

US Soccer had it's two weeks in the sun. Now that we have witnessed the inevitable decline of Team USA, Americans can focus on the TdF for three weeks before once again turning their attention to sports where doping is not only occurring, but is tacitly promoted.

Speaking of the Tour, this year's edition will unfortunately be sans Tom Boonen. Yeah, he would probably abandon around stage 15, but he is fun to watch in the sprint stages. The more sprinters the merrier I always say.

Enjoy the day, ride the bikes, and support the brewers.

I Love U Bandit Queen

2010-06-25T16:08:00.000-07:00

A lot has happened since my last post - here I will condense all happenings to those that are essential (in addition to shortening the time I spend typing this post, not covering the last few weeks in detail allows me blog fodder for weeks to come).

Israel was quite amazing. Here are a few pictures that I have specially selected for today's post:

For those of you who are observant, you can see that I'm perusing a copy of Men's Journal with Lance Armstrong on the cover. I don't read a ton and being over in Europe for the last five years has me a little behind on my knowledge of American magazine literature, but in what I've read over the last few months it appears that the American media is in love with Lance. Don't get me wrong, on my best day after training for years I wouldn't be able to finish a TdF stage within the time limit, let alone win seven Tours in a row (after recovering from cancer), but in the eyes (and words) of many a media outlet Lance can do no wrong. I'm not sure if this has trickled down to American cycling fans or if it has trickled up to the media (it makes business sense to print articles praising athletes fans love and want to read positive articles about).

On a more broad cycling theme let's discuss social contract theory (heretofore known as theory). At its very basic, the theory states that individuals give up certain liberties to reap the benefits of being a part of a society, namely convenience. While many don't want to believe it, this theory pertains to cyclists as well. For the convenience of not having to create roads or maintain said roads, cyclists have to give up certain liberties - namely the ability to pick and choose which laws to follow. If you want to be taken seriously as a vehicle, which many cycling blog authors claim, then you should be subject to the rules and regulations that govern other vehicles. Of course there are idiots who don't think so, like a San Francisco native in this article who thinks that it's ok to cycle and text (though of course it is too dangerous for pedestrians to text while walking). Then there is this wonder from across the pond in dear ole England that claims they ran into a child at full speed with their bike and caused no harm. It makes one wonder what "full speed" means. I sure hope that if I were riding at full speed a child would at least fear being hit by me. Here you'll find a blogger who understands the idea that laws apply to everyone, though his smugness in his description as a "part-time driver" makes me wish he were struck by a cyclist at "full speed." These are only three examples of the many takes on the theory when it comes to cycling and driving. I can't give you any facts or statistics to back up my next statement, but I have a feeling (unfortunately) that most cyclists are in the "I don't have to follow the rules of the road" camp.

A while back I had Floyd occupying all spots on the DB podium. I want to clear up that he earned those spots for doping and then lying about it for four years, not for accusing other riders of doping. Sure, you don't tell on your buddy at school when he illegally parks in a teachers only spot, but knowingly letting professional riders earn money for cheating is far worse than being called a rat or breaking any imaginery "code of silence" between riders. So, big ups to Floyd (though I doubt his motives were purely altruistic) and here's to hoping that USA Cycling takes his accusations seriously and conducts a thorough investigation. We don't need a witch hunt, but professional cyclists should understand that doping won't be tolerated and that accusations will be handled appropriately.

Speaking of the DB podium, a story I read on one of the websites I frequent had a link to D. Dowd Muska's website with this gem of an article. This guy makes the competition for this week's podium a race for second. It's like Usain Bolt, Kevin James, and Rush Limbaugh in a foot race, the only real unknown is which of the two (James or Limbaugh) will have a heart attack first. For this week's DB race though, the race for second was narrowly won by an Israeli security guard employed by the US State Department. Stacy, as Penny and I referred to her as, amassed a trio of DB victories: she yelled at me for sitting on a metal barrier, unplugged the fan that was being used to cool Americans waiting to enter the embassy (it was easily 98 degrees around 10:45 am and there was about three feet of shade), and denied American citizens access to American soil. Of course all of this could be explained by the fact that her training most likely consisted of multiple PowerPoint presentations that totaled roughly two hours but were reported as taking 40. Her transgressions easily outdistanced the Customs and Border Protection Agency's Officer Siggs at the Wichita Airport. Her major offense was telling us that we (Penny and me) had failed to do our job and understand Kansas law as it pertains to importing wine for personal use. She lectured us on how her job was to enforce federal and state laws and that we had to provide her with a "permission slip" from the state of Kansas allowing us to bring in the wine we shipped from Germany. She quoted Kansas law saying we were authorized one gallon of wine. Penny did some research to discover that we could bring in as much wine as we wanted, we would just have to pay taxes on all of it above one gallon. So we spent a whopping $11.30 on taxes and picked up our wine. In numerical order, here's this week's podium:

25 June DB Podium:
1. D. Dowd Muska
2. "Stacy"
3. Officer Siggs

Here's to hoping your weekend is sunny and that all of your rides are at "full speed."

Situationally Prescribed Break

2010-06-03T13:05:00.000-07:00

Due to the amount of travel I have done the last few days, I have decided to wait until I am good and settled until I post again. That could mean in about a week or two weeks, we'll see how things go. In the meantime, enjoy the summer, ride your bike, and don't smoke crack.

(Ro)Mania II: Summer Slackdown

2010-05-31T14:33:00.000-07:00

Ivan Basso is victorious in Italy, Valverde is banned world-wide, and I am resting up between my trip to Bucharest, Romania and my trip to Israel. Word.

The title of my last post had feral dog in it, but in the post I talked about a feral cat - minor oversight on the part of the management. Feral dogs really are a problem in Bucharest, I just hadn't gotten a picture of one before Friday evening. The city apparently rounds up the dogs and tags them:

I'm unsure why the government in Bucharest goes through all the trouble to capture the dogs and tag them. It has to cost a large amount of both time and money to run such a program. One would have to reason if the feral dogs really were such a problem, the logical step after rounding them up wouldn't be tagging them, but putting the dogs down (also know as 'euphenasia').

Since this is Summer Slackdown, I'm going to stop typing words and simply dump a bunch of pictures from the weekend. I'm even going to be so lazy as to not rotate pictures so they are upright. I will place captions on each one that you can scroll over and read if you are using IE. I know it doesn't work with Google Chrome, but I'm not positive about Firefox or any other browser. Enjoy.