Friday, September 21, 2007

Thursday, September 20, 2007

Cheetahs never prosper...

Zazu: Checking in with the morning report.
Mufasa: Fire away.
Zazu: Well the buzz from the bees is that the leopards are in a bit of a spot. And the baboons are going ape over this. Of course, the giraffes are acting like they're above it all... The tick birds are pecking on the elephants. I told the elephants to forget it, but they can't. The cheetahs are hard up, but I always say, cheetahs never prosper...

The almost final ruling in the Floyd Landis doping scandal was handed down today as the arbitration panel reached a 2:1 decision against Landis. Honestly,
I've mixed feelings about this...

I'm disappointed in my self because I was still naive enough to believe in the super human efforts of the cycling heroes. Landis' ride back into contention after suffering so badly the day before was incredible. It's now pretty safe to say that it was TOO incredible to be true.

When I think back over the past 15 years of cycling, most of the great "champions" have faced some sort of doping allegation. The Basso's, Hamilton's, Landis', Ullrich's and so on of the cycling world helped to tarnish the image of the sport I love. The truth is, however, they riders aren't the only one's to blame for the current state of affairs in cycling. The teams, the governing bodies, the outside supporters and staff have all helped to make a mess of things. If it keeps going like this, the sport will be forced to the fringes of the mainstream and we will all become "enthusiasts" of some obscure sport that noone cares about.

Great races will take on the look and feel of some rural road race with a handful of spectators, no media coverage and weak fields.

On the flip side, perhaps things are starting to change. This years' Tour seemed different. The riders looked "human". I saw them suffering. I watched them get tired. Aside from Rasmussen, every rider showed weakness at some point. Hopefully this is the result of the peloton cleaning up.

Or, maybe I'm still too naive...

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Wednesday, September 19, 2007

Introducing Dr. Moose

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Our humble little team has had some success this season, due in large part to our very own Tim Bisson. All season long he's been in the mix of his Cat 4 races, collecting a fair number of top 10 placings. I'm sure he'll bag his first win soon (maybe this weekend at Chico!)

He's perfected the art of sitting at the back of the 4's and then moving up in the final couple of laps to go for the win. We'll see how this works in the 3's. = )

Tuesday, September 18, 2007

This thing called life.

I just read Christian Vande Velde's diary on Velonews.com. http://velonews.com/diaries/rider/articles/13347.0.html

I have a lot of respect for the "hard men" of cycling. I don't just mean the Euro pro's, but all the badasses I know that have faced serious challenges on and off the bike and still picked themselves up and pushed on. Here's a list of just some of the people I know that qualify as Grade A badass "hard men";

Jason Sage- Kicked the shit out of an SUV with his face AND WON!

Richard Brockie- Single handedly began the Hellyer Park Velodrome renovations by engraving his signiture into the banking of the track with his clavicle.

Taitt Sato- Fights car with her Tibia, recovers and resumes ass kicking just a couple of months later.

Dan Turner- Is back in a big way just a few months after attempting to dig a hole to China from Newark with his shoulder.

Larry Nolan- Broken knee? check. Dislocated shoulder? check. Road rash? check x10? Stop racing? never.

The list of people that pick themselves up after serious injury in order to persue something they either love or seriously "like" could go on and on.

I admire these people. Back in the day, I took my ability in the sport for granted. I realized how much I loved cycling when I was no longer physically able to do it. I gave myself another chance and won't let this one go to waste.

As CSC's braclets say, it's time to "Harden The F**K Up"

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Saturday, September 1, 2007

The Laws of Nature

Nature teaches us to be friendly.
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Lets be friends!

Click, Click

Click Click Boom!
I'm comin' down on the stereo, hear me on the radio
Click Click Boom!
I'm comin' down with the new style and you know it's buck wild
Click Click Boom!
I'm on the radio station TOUR around the nation leaving the scene in devastation
- Click, Click Boom: Saliva

You have that feeling: good legs, the bike feels good beneath you and your body is ready to go. You read the riders around you. You can sense the energy of the group. And then... its time to go. Slip back just a little, get your runup started. Finger presses the shift lever...

CLICK, CLICK-

BOOM

You jump strong, shooting passed the riders in front of you. You've got a gap. The gap grows. Your'e away. Arms up, white line under your wheels - "leaving the scene in devastation."

I love bike racing.

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