What an exciting year in cycling!

Lance Armstrong announced at the Tour of Georgia last month that he would retire from the sport after this year's Tour de France, imho assuring that every cyclist on the course will be after him more than ever before.

Mario Cipollini retired, again, this year. The Lion King, Super Mario, was allowed the honored position of riding the prologue of the Giro d'Italia 2 weeks ago. Ever the showman, of course he did it in full Mario style -- a pink bike and a pink full body suit, flashing that charming Italian smile. http://news2000.libero.it/speciali/foto/cipollini(1).jpg

Sadly, Marco Pantani is no longer with us to show off his mountain skills.

The Giro d'Italia is going on now. Lance's teammate, Team Discovery Channel newcomer, Paolo Salvodelli, is currently in the lead with one week to go. Its about 20 minutes left in the race show today, and its getting close.

This could be an exciting summer.

Anyone else watching?

Um. No.

I love you to pieces, but the answer's still no.

I replied ... now stop threatening me!

I wasn't necessarily referring to you!

Cipollini is a handsome devil, I'll give you that ... but the film Breaking Away is about as into cycling as I get.

How was your ride on Saturday, btw?

Ah, yes, Breaking Away. A classic American cycling film made on my campus. Loverly.

Got my a** kicked again, but then again, they did start out at 24-25mph this week. I lasted for 10 miles before getting dropped. They never got too far away from me though this time. I could usually see them up ahead and I caught back up after the break.

There's also a Thursday night ride I might try now.

Oh yeah....hummmuna, hummuna.

You should see the nekkie pictures I didn't post! They were part of a special advert. Whew!

Eek.

Yeah well, my homosexual crushes do have rather limited boundaries, Julie! But don't let me throw cold water on your, um, errr, thang!

xoxox,
--f

Hey, its all I've got, I gotta go with it.

If I win the lottery, I'm gonna try to hire him as my personal trainer!

I'm watching, Julie. But I am sad, though, because Ivan Basso is my favorite rider, and he got sick and has lost time. I hope he can come back and do something good, maybe win a stage. His time trialing has improved, so July might be interesting and exciting indeed. I must admit, though, that if he drops out, I will not care much about the Giro.

Yeah, I really like Basso. I hadn't heard officially, but I figured he must be sick or something. He's too strong of a rider to drop off 20 some minutes in a single stage. I'm sure July is going to be one amazing contest for sure. I can't wait!

Basso's doing really well to be out there so motivated right now after his mother passed away recently(cancer). Maybe its helping drive him on harder. He's still got a great career ahead!

I must say though, I do like seeing the home team winning a bit finally. The Giro is such a great race. I do miss seeing some of the old favorites these days though(Cipollini, Pantani, more of Zabel, Rominger), but its a young sport!

[quote=TheOtherMe,May 23 2005, 05:47 PM]I hadn't heard officially, but I figured he must be sick or something. He's too strong of a rider to drop off 20 some minutes in a single stage.[/quote]
Yeah, he picked something up Friday, actually, the day before he lost the maglia rosa, and then it got worse Sunday, when he was not able to eat anything at all. I do not see how he even finished that stage with no food; I couldn't do it, even with food!

[quote]I must say though, I do like seeing the home team winning a bit finally.[/quote]Discovery Channel?

The Giro is such a great race. I do miss seeing some of the old favorites these days though(Cipollini, Pantani, more of Zabel, Rominger), but its a young sport!
[/quote]
I was just thinking the other day about how Indurain did the Giro-Tour double two years in a row; that seems incomprehensible now! He is my all time favorite, but those guys you mention were exciting to see as well. Cipollini is hilarious.

No doubt! That's just so punishing to your body, especially in some mountain stages. You can dehydrate and just take every ounce of energy away so quickly. I hope he's ok now or at least recovers quickly. He's lucky he didn't lose over an hour just for that!

Yep. That's the one.



That's too true. Indurain was an amazing guy. I must say I was quite sad the year he didn't win his 6th. Its always tough to see the lead guy go out that way. Kinda wish he'd stepped out while he's on top, but I guess its they way of passing the torch, eh?

Cipollini has long been one of my favorites. He's certainly brought a certain...um...flair to the sport! Never a dull moment when The Lion King was about.

Rominger was always one of my favorites too. I nearly cried the day he crashed out with a broken collar bone. I hated to see him retire.

I am however quite excited about a lot of the young riders coming up. Its always fun to see who they have such great hopes for and who actually does great things.

Whatcha think of Thomas Dekker?

::in his best Phil Ligget voice::

Glory for Basso! Glory for CSC! These on-lookers are in slack-jawed awe as the rugged Basso pedals his way into illustrious immortality. You can put away the cameras boys--there's no way to capture glory like this on mere celluloid

::end best Ligget voice::

I don't care if only 3 people got that joke Phil Ligget should do play-by-play for every sport on TV. And Bob Rolle should be axe-murdered in his sleep...or at least have both hands cut off (again, only 3 people get it, but for us it's funny).

Oh, and I watch too Julie. Every Sunday at Casa de jame$/dre-bro we watch OLN bike racing. Levi Leipheimer is my rider.

I LOVE the Phil voice! And I totally agree. BTW, I totally read that with his voice in mind.

But can you do a Paul Sherwin?

What's wrong with Roll? He's not as classy perhaps as Phil and Paul, but he's a total riot. Ever read any of his books? I may well put my fist through the TV though in July if he says Tour Day France too many times. But Bob's a good guy. He's like Phil's sidekick now.

I want to see more of Frankie Andreu. I hope he gets into it more.

So you're a Levi guy, eh? Cool. He doesn't get enough credit usually.

I'll have to show you guys some of the pictures I took on the Champs in 2003 at the end of the race and for the Centennaire parade. I did manage to grab one blurry yellow picture from about 5 feet away! I also got a pretty good one of Jaba the Merckx, er, uh, Eddie, riding by in a parade car along with Bernard Hinault, Laurent Fignon, Bjarne Riis, and a few others. I've got some of the final stage and most of the parade on video too.

The one I didn't ever get was Jan Ullrich. I was bummed. That was one I wanted.

Amazingly, when we walked back to the apartment after the race(and after finally being let out of the massive crowds who were trapped behind the barricades), we saw several of the team guys, including Baden Cook, riding right by us. Not sure where they were going. Maybe they were just wandering around wondering what to do next after 3 weeks of being strapped to their bikes.

Can you feel the cyclysm?!

Oh...I can feel it Julie...I can *feel* it.

We actually call Dre's daily bike excursions into outer-Columbia "cyclisms". Whenever he arrives back home, Jason and I usually say something like, "Glory for Andrew Morrison, glory for CSC." We laugh, and he laughs...and then we all die a little inside....


..anyway...

Yeah, I'm a Bob hater. He just needs to f***ing chill with those hand gestures. Seriously. If I see him put his fingertips together one more time, I will burn his house down.

Oh, and to show how shallow I am...

I've been a loyal customer of Gerolsteiner products for a while now, so when I saw that they had a team, I naturally pulled for them. So yeah, that's my extent of cycling fandom (though I do love to watch it).

Feeeeeeeeeeeeeel the cyclysm! Woooo!

~insert picture of Bob Roll, fingertips all touching, motioning hands forward towards the camera explaining some sort of drivel~



Speaking of feeling it.....I tried the Thursday night ride tonight up in Darlington. Decent hills. Loved that. Still too fast. Not so much fun. How did I end up always being the slowest one out there? I just don't get it.

Dre's got a great spot to ride out there. I miss my route up there. I could actually ride during the week without fear of death like out here.

Ugh! I just realized! I'm going to miss the final episodes of the Giro! Arrrrgh!

I can't believe they keep using that "cyclysm" theme; I think it's goofy. But it is good for silly talk about the cycling adventures I go on. Good to hear that you tried the Thursday ride, Julie. I rode last night on a loop out near Dutch Fork High School, and ended up doing close to 50 miles. It was one of my best rides this year--legs cramping up near the end and all. That was in part due to riding hard at the beginning to make it to Harrell's before 6 to get a spare tube. I hope I can ride tomorrow and Saturday; I want to keep this good thing going!

Sorry to hear about you missing the tv coverage on Saturday especially; I have been dreaming of seeing a race cross the Finestre Pass since I was in high school and first had a Michelin map of France and realized that it is a 9% average grade for something like 12 miles, and much of it is unpaved--yikes! I hear this is the first time it has been used in the Giro; I hope no one hurts themselves too badly riding up it.

Awesome ride, dre! I've done that loop out by Dutch Fork. I always liked it a lot out there. I can't remember the name of the road now, but if you ride out to the end of Kennerly and turn right, there's a great loop that goes around back to Kennerly, then you can cross over Kennerly and go towards Dutch Fork. I used to love that last big climb coming out of the loop and going past all the bamboo! It was so quieting.

The ride last night was cool. There's a 5:15 ride which I can't get to. There's a 6pm ride at allegedly 18-20mph, and then there's a race at 6:30. They go 25+. For some reason last night there was a huge debate about whether or not to go 20 miles or 24 miles. I honestly fail to see the big difference between 4 extra miles. I of course opted for the 24 even though I still can't keep up totally. I did pretty well most of the way though. I think I'll try to do Thursdays as much as possible(which right now will mean the next 2 weeks then not again until July, but...)

I'll be out of TV range tomorrow night unless I can convince my mom and sister into a sports bar or something for dinner and then convince someone to turn on OLN. Doubtful. I'd love to see it. I wish they played it every night like le Tour. Maybe one day they'll show the whole of the Giro, the Tour, and the Vuelta!

We should ride sometime this summer. Paul Harrell was talking once about maybe taking a group out to Sandhills or out in that area North and East of Camden. Maybe some Sunday in July we could work out some sort of ride. I bet Paul would be up for bringing a group, and maybe by then I could get some folks from here to go too. We could work out something that's around 1/2 way or so with some nice hills and such. Thoughts?

Oh, and please post on here about the race Saturday....I'll sneak in and read it Saturday night or Sunday morning.

Last night I rode out Kennerly and around the loop on Freshly Mill (that is the name of the road that loops back around) and up the climb with the Bamboo. It was nice and shady and cool and quieting. Then I rode back down Kennerly toward home.

Is it just me or is that road particularly contrary to momentum and speed in either direction? I just can't seem to get going on there, either way; I always have to keep it on the small ring. It makes me feel weak. But last night I felt pretty fast--I kept my average right at 30 kph (18.6 mph) until I stopped at a friend's house off of Hollingshed on the way back. After that I was not quite as fast, but before I felt inspired; there was this beautiful rainbow in front of me on the way back, and the clouds were reflecting the orange sunset, and I had the new Coldplay playing in my head: "lights will guide you home . . ." It was a beautiful moment, and I'm probably a dork.

Tonight I had a pretty bad ride. I was sweating unmerciful, and my legs were cramping up the last 20k or so. I am up now because I am afraid that if I go to sleep they will cramp up again.

So I have had to get my bike worked on repeatedly by the guys at Harrell's, and they are friendly and helpful, but I noticed tonight that they had replaced the dealer decal from my frame (purchased at Cycle Center across town) with their decal. That seemed kind of beneath them, but they are also having a hard time getting a bottom bracket noise I have to go away, and a part they ordered for me is now more than two weeks late. I am disappointed, but maybe that is just the way things are.

Man! Sorry to hear that about Harrell's. You're right. Seems quite unlike them...at least unlike Paul. Hrmph.

Bananas and Kiwi, my friend. End the cramping legs.

Sounds like you had a blast on Freshly Mill. My favorite was always to go to the end of Kennerly and turn right. Its tough getting out of the bowl then, but I love the hush of the bamboo there around the back of the loop. I'm told its harder to go around that way...more climbing coming out than if you turn early and come out at the end of Kennerly. That's the way I've always ridden it then....more climbing more climbing!

Been up to Scotland. Planning maybe a cycling tour of the Highlands in 2 years. Um, yeah...gonna need some more hill training soon! And lots of it!

Home tomorrow...just in time to catch most of the Tour! Yay!

I'm going cycling with some friends tonight. Here's the catch: I don't cycle. I run.

I think tomorrow is gonna be Sore Day.

Let us know how it goes. Same would be true for me if I went running; it has been a couple of years since I ran any more than in a basketball game or just to get somewhere fast.

Got in 22.5 tonight. Its the first time I've ridden my regular route during the week. I've been too scared of the crazy drivers and absolutely no road edges here.

No more of that! Gloves off! (OK, not really, I do need them) Time to just go back to what I know. 100 miles per week.

Sore. Leg cramps. Much sweat. Slower than friends. Pain.

But good pain. Buying bike in short order.

Give us a shout before you make that purchase!

thanks Jules! I actually have some friends who ride pretty seriously, so I'm not flying solo, but any more tips are welcome!

Last night I went shopping a bit, and liked the Trek Madone series the best. I'd shoot for the Ultegra components, and pay to move up to the X-lite wheels no matter what model I get (Madone or otherwise).

I'm going to a different shop this weekend to check out other models in the series for the Treks, as well as the Orbeas they sell there. We shall see. I want it soon, of course, but I'm going to be smart and shop it around. I want a bike that I won't outgrow for three years or so, and I definitely want carbon, but I don't want to be stupid either. Those things are already *so* expensive.

Impressive, Troy; your friends must be pretty serious indeed. Those are some pretty nice machines you are considering. I have a Trek 2005 1500 frame with the components from a 2001 Cannondale R600?(105 etc.).

Geezum, Troy! Taking out a loan for that bike?

I've got a ...hmmmm....1996 Cannondale R900 Roadbike. Love it. Wouldn't trade it. Keep it in shape, and you should only 'outgrow' a bike like what you're talking about if you get a gearhead tongue wagging going on and you begin to drool uncontrollably over another bike. You can keep the frame and change out as many components as you want.

You're friends are obviously know quite a bit for you to be talking the way you are, but if you're gonna drop that kind of $$, seriously consider what kind of riding you'll be doing. Are you buying a bike you'll be on as much as you run, or are you buying a tie rack? When I first started riding, I actually bought the Cannondale H400 Hybrid bike. Now, this was mostly because I couldn't afford a road bike right off, but also because I wasn't sure if I'd be sticking with it. Now of course, I bought the bike so I could do the FL AIDS ride from Orlando to Miami 3 months later, but whatever.

Anyway, before I even got 3 months into it, I was really enjoying it, and it was a short period of time before I realized I couldn't make the hybrid do what I wanted and a road bike would be necessary. Then I saw it. I saw 'the' bike. My eyes bugged out. I got the chills. The hair on my neck stood up. My tongue fell out of my mouth. I drooled. I saved every penny I could find for 6 months so I could buy it(I was young and quite poor at the time.) That's my R900. Polished aluminum - the last year they made that(at least I don't think they've ever gone back to it). I like to strip it down and polish it all up from time to time. It gets so shiny I can barely look at my top tube when I'm riding in the sun! Sure she's got a few knicks and battle scars, but generally, she's in beautiful shape.

So, what was my point? Um....

BTW, dre, when I got fitted last fall, Paul started in on a little sales pitch about 'getting me on a new bike', but then sort of stopped mid sentence and said, "You know, this bike is in great shape. All you need to do is continue to keep the components in good shape and you can ride this forever!"

And its true.

Jules, good advice, certainly. You're completely founded in suggesting I might start smaller.

But here's the thing: I felt that ride the other night. And while I love to run, I want something that's less impact but that I could love as much.... and I'm pretty sure I found it. That said, there's a good chance that if I buy a bike and everything for a grand then 8 months from now I'm going to want something better. Chance, hell. I'd want something better. And then what? Spend it anyway. I'd prefer to trust my gut and get the gear I like the first time 'round.

The Madone? Dunno. That might be too much bike, and unnecessary. I'm also looking at the Pilot series from Trek, and I'm going to consider the Scotts as well. It's all Greek to me. I do know I want carbon, and I do have some idea of the components I want. The rest is just fluff in a way, 'cause a 2000 dollar vs. 3000 dollar bike is gonna just feel like a really nice bike.

Either way, chances are I'm rollin' by this weekend. Both feet type of guy over here. And I can totally feel that I'll be good at this.

Thanks again for the tips, much appreciated. I'll keep checking back with ya.

That is cool that you are getting into cycling. If you do get one of the Madone models, post a picture of it so we can all admire. The only thing about having a bike like that is that you had better be fast, because otherwise I imagine it is pretty embarassing to get passed by someone on an entry level bike. But it sounds like you will be good, since you have a running background.

I would say the Pilot models from Trek are kind of touristy, for people who ride for the scenery rather than the riding (thus their description of a more upright riding position), but I could be wrong. My trek is from the alpha aluminum series, the bottom of the totem pole, but I am quite pleased with it. I think it is hard to go wrong with them; their bikes have been ridden to victory in the Tour de France for the past six (going on seven) years.

I will soon be moving to your part of the country, I think, so maybe we will see each other on the roads sometime.

C'mon down, man! :: insert southern euphemism here ::

Keep in mind I'm just airing this out a bit, too.... I'm still shopping around and I'm pretty frugal, so when push comes to shove I may wind up with an aluminum frame maybe with carbon at the front forks for stability, we'll see. If the dollar amount is that significant, and it is, then it may come down to the test rides. We shall see.

Anyway, again thanks for the tips. Any info greatly appreciated, it's overwhelming the amount of tech data to someone who knows squat about it.

Stop the presses!

You're moving, dre?!

And Troy, what's wrong with aluminum with carbon forks? That's what I have, and I love it. I've ridden a couple Treks, and I always found them sort of stiff.

At any rate, you've got to go with what you like and what makes you feel comfortable. Dre's right though. You don't wanna be all dressed like a gearhead and get passed by a group of little old ladies on cruisers. It will make you want to turn in the bike for good! Getting passed just flat out sucks no matter who's passing you and no matter what the circumstances.

But I'm seriously glad you're enjoying it. That's great! Sometime we'll all have to get together somewhere and ride!

I just wanted to give you some things to consider before you dropped a wad. Sounds like you're doing it all. Let us know how it turns out.

Oh, and you're not allowed to ride until you get a brain bucket too.

Jules! Nothing at all wrong with aluminum/carbon forks, that's what I'm saying... I might go for that and save some $$$$.

And thanks for all the tips, seriously, very much appreciated. You have much more knowledge than me in this area. I'm taking notes.

I was just kidding. I didn't actually take any offense there! I just thought it was funny since its what I ride. I don't know about saving a lot of money though. She cost me $2K 10 years ago!

I rarely take offense to anything.

And when I start running again....you'll hear from me!

I'm moving to Rock Thrill, as James calls it, which I think is near Outta: Nowhere:

I think you might even be closer there. It would at least be closer for us to go ride Sandhills. And once gearhead gets suited up there in Charlotte, we'll have to get him down here to ride as well.

Dude, a $2000 bike? You people are waaay outta my league. I'm three-quarters done assembling my bike from refurbished salvage components on a Raleigh frame. From a technical standpoint, there doesn't seem to be any comparison. As far as riding goes... hee. I bike everywhere. I hope to bike back home (roughly a 120k journey, though I haven't yet tracked the cyclable route end-to-end) before too long, if I can ever find someone dedicated enough to join me. Let's roll!

120 k is out of my league; the longest I've done in one day is 90 k.

Happiness is.... this!



Stoked and my calves hurt,

Troy

Sweet, Troy! Congratulations and welcome!

Rode 40 myself this morning. Back in the house by 10am to watch the end of the Tour.

Dre and I are riding Friday, weather permitting. Wanna join us?

Did you get your brain bucket? What kind? Pedals? Shoes? Gloves? Jersey?

Spill it...

Join you where?

Bike: '05 Trek Madone. Ultegra brakes, pedals. Upgrade the wheels from lite to Xlite, all Bontrage (wheels and tires). Got a brain bucket, gloves, Sidi shoes, shorts, jersey, tools, saddle back, extra tire, filler kit. And a bill. I didn't care for that bit. I skipped the computer and the car rack for now, get that stuff later.

But I'm SOOOOOOO stoked! I rode for just 12 miles or so to get a feel, gonna go really air it out tomorrow.

Congratulations on your new bike, Troy. May it make you happy for years to come.



I just got home from a random 50-ish K trek, which was fun, but kinda boring since I was going over last year's trails out of a 3AM desire for familiarity. Also, the bridge was closed. (Harrumph.) I need a better map. Getting lost whilst exploring is only fun when you have time to find yourself again. And when normal people outnumber the drunkards on the street. 3AM is not a good time to be near the Plateau.

Thank you Libby.

I just got home from a some-distance, 1-hour trek and my dogs are barkin.' I'm SO diggin' this thing. The hills were killin' me, and then this dude who works at the bike shop pedaled up beside me. I think he made me go faster. And I was all like 'community.'

What a great way to exercise. Somebody call Lance and tell him it's a good thing he's retiring this year 'cause I'd be kickin' his ass all over France next Le Tour.

Oh, I'm sorry! Did you even just say that, Mr. Just got a bike a day ago?! How much speed do you lose with that head being such a wind drag?!

Hills are a little different on a bike, eh? Thighs screaming at you yet? Can you feel that nice lactic acid build up? If you lie down on the floor with your legs stretched up a wall, butt all the way agains the baseboards, you can stretch and work that out a bit. Another good tip is once you've made a climb, resist the urge to stop pedalling and rest. If you pedal down the back side, your legs will recover faster.

I'm gonna guess you went somewhere between 15-20 miles today. Good on ya!

Probably 14 miles or so today (measure roughly with car), I was going pretty slow and it was less than an hour... about 50 minutes I guess. Still felt awesome.

The legs are a little weak, but not sore... if I hadn't ridden today I suspect they would have been, after yesterday. But really I think I'm starting with a pretty good base from running. And I agree totally re: pedaling, I'm pretty constant and I think it helps a lot.

Re: the wind drag of my head.... pffft.

Sounds pretty good. No one ever told me about the pedalling after you get to the top. Took me a while to learn that one. Just trying to give you a leg up on the learning curve. I'm currently working on my climbing. I'm experimenting with some techniques that seem to be working so far on a small scale. I'm hoping to get to apply them well in Cola this Friday.

You're definitely getting started with a good base with the running. That's going to help considerably. But as you've already probably figured out, its apples and oranges. Your best friend is probably the cardio from running.

Yeah, wind drag from your big head. How did you find a helmet to fit that?!

Cool, Troy! It has the same paint scheme as mine, or rather mine has the paint scheme to make it look like yours.


In Columbia, on the northwest side, the Dutch Fork area, or "that donkey, donkey," as James calls it.


50 k at three in the morning--that's dedication!

I can't seem to get my front derailleur to stop rubbing the chain on the inner chainring-big sprocket position, and it still has a hard time shifting to the big ring. Wierd. I got a new book on repair and maintenance, so hopefully before I ride today. I need to get hydrated, first, though. I was out working this morning and it is wicked humid like an armpit out there.

Wicked humid like and armpit!?! Yikes!

Hope you've got that problem sorted, but if not, maybe we can take a look at it Friday. I don't know much, but its worth looking into.

Sorry if my language is a little too vivid, or gross, or whatever. I did get the derailleur problem sorted out, but I am not sure about Friday; if it is as hot then as it was today, I might be scared to go out. I went 57 k last night, and that took a lot out of me, and then went out this afternoon around 5:00, even though I felt a little tired and not fully recovered, and then James said it was 96 degrees as I went out the door. I knew it would be hard, but it was ridiculous. It was all I could do to keep going, and at a few points I did not even think I would make it home. I am not sure what it is, dehydration, burnout, the heat, or I just need to bite the bullet and go use my tall body to play basketball.

Anyway, I scouted out a route yesterday that I think you will enjoy, Julie. I will try to recover by Friday, so that I am not totally bonked on that ride.