Something New in Freakmont!

Our 2009 Team has me feeling like this!

More news to come!!!

Watch for Trike races in 2009

Found this today. Good stuff.

In Dog We Trust

This video is heartbreaking at first and then amazingly heart warming. This dog is amazing.

The Busy Beaver

You know that feeling when you've got a lot of sh!t going on? You know, you're getting things done, but the inbox is still pretty full. And then, it dawns on you that you accomplished some cool things? I've had one of those weeks.

My life gets pretty full. Single dad of 5 daughters, a sick mom that lives with me a house full of cats, this love affair with my bike, running a team, chilling with sponsors, watching cartoons, playing video games.... you know... LIFE.

Well, I was strolling through Costco on one of my feminine hygene product runs that is just short of a full on military resupply effort in Falluja (you'd be amazed at the savings of buying tampons and pads by the pallet!).

Then it struck me... we've got a cool ass team project setup for next year. That is something that I am damn proud of. By no means was this a one man show. I had help from a bunch of great people.

Seeing what we've been able to accomplish in just a few short months made me proud to be part of Team Fremont.

I'll make an "official" press release soon, but for now, I can tell you this;

2009 will see
GREAT new sponsors
A new Women's Team
3 New races and a returning favorite
A sharp new kit
And a community program that will see Fremont area kids getting the hookup on lids and safe ways to get to school.

Add to that, two of my daughters are starting to race and you can probably understand why I'm feeling good right now.

Alls good in the hood.

V-E-L-O L-O-V-E

Me and cycling, we got a thing going on...

I love the feel of riding a bike. Everything from the suffering that comes from too much time off the bike to the insane coolness of flying down a mountain at almost 70mph. It's all gooooood.

Being forced to take time off the bike when I broke my collarbones reaffirmed my velophillia. Now that I'm back in the saddle, settling in to my winter schedule, I felt it was time to tell my baby, jus' what i'm feelin' inside...

[in my deepest Barry White voice]
"I’m never, ever gonna quit
‘Cause quittin’ just ain’t my stick
I’m gonna stay right here with you
Do all the things you want me to"
- Barry White

Giro di Lombardia

Cunego does it again! Nice.

99 Problems

The "Dumbass Club" grows once again.

Can you believe the arrogance, no the brazenness, no the utter STuPIDITY of the riders, doctors, team managers and anyone else who continue to think that they can get away with doping?

The fact that there are still people somewhere, sitting around thinking "oh no, they can't test for that. Go ahead, you'll be fine" is amazing.

Who's next?

Bicycle Racing Boomerang

Cipo, Lance, Alcala, Hinault, Zoetemelk, Merckx: BRING EM ALL BACK!

The retirement boomerang is in full flight! With the vintage peloton shaping up for 2009, I can't wait for the racing so I can watch Cavendish take on Sean Kelly or Contador take on Lucho Herrera.

Seriously though, somethings tells me if they put a team together of retired Tour winners and stars, they would STILL probably kick ass. Can you imgaine the roster?

Indurain
Delgado
Roche
LeMond
Kelly
Argentin
Hinault
Merckx
Breukink

or check this alphabet soup

Abdoujaparov
Bernaudeau
Chiappucci
Criquielion
Luttenberger
Oosterbosch
Vanderaerden
Van Hooydonck
Zoetemelk

Ciao Zabel & Bettini

Two great champions hangin' em up. The landscape of the pro peloton wont be the same.

Le Menage a Trois d'Astana

There's Trouble Afoot at the Cirlce "A"

So Contador's not too happy with Lance's possible return to Bruyneel's side. I don't blame him. Add Levi to the mix (hell, Klodi too) and things get complicated quickly. It'd be like coming home, seeing your lovers' ex walking around in your pajamas as they move their stuff into the spare room.

To help my boy Johan out, I've sent him the following info I got from AskMen.com. I've "edited" it a little to fit the Astana scenario...

TFW's Rules for a Happy Team

1)Establish the rules:
Having a plan and sticking to it goes a long way in make sure everyone walks away satisfied.

2)Be as giving as you can:
Lance & Alberto- "Hey Levi, need help with that mussette?"
Levi- "YOU BETCHA!"

3)Keep yourself busy:
What to do when your teammates are up the road.

4)Be careful with penetration:
Nothing beats a penetration problem liked aged tubulars. Hope Johan has some old stock.

5)Be safe:
Make sure to thank the team in the post race interview. Don't want to get shanked back at the team bus.

I guess we'll get more info when Lance holds his press conference tomorrow. For now, Lance is amped, Alberto is pissy and Levi is trying to figure out why AC is calling him a wheelsuck. This is going to be a fun winter.

Tales from the Crip

Crashing sucks. Crashing hard sucks more. I did one of these in my prep of the SF GP. Enjoy.



2 Broken clavicles.
Cracked rib.
2 hematomas on my hip.
Skin removal on my knee.

During a motorpacing session, I had a pedal strike that caused me to highside. Everything went all "Matrixy" once the pedal hit. I felt it, but no big deal, that stuff happens, but then the ass of the bike came around a little further than I was expecting. In that nano-second I had my first, "Hmm, that's not good" thought. As soon as my rear wheel touched the ground and the bike stood up, heading left, I knew it...

"Oh Sh!t".

Right knee hit the top tube, weight shifed to the left and kapow. Felt my head hit (THANKS YOU GIRO FOR MAKING SOME BADASS MELON PROTECTORS), everything went all white for a split second and then I looked back. I'd taken a flyer off the front of the motor and wasn't sure how much distance I had going into the turn. The last thing I wanted was to get run over.

When I tried to get out of the road, I had my second "Oh Sh*t" moment. I couldn't move my arms. Crap.

There I was, in a heap, in the middle of the turn with my teammate coming up fast behind me in his car. Luckily I had some distance and he saw me and stopped.

It took me a little while to get my breath and to try to get up. My teammates helped me to my feet and then I walked the half lap back to the car. Thought about just going home, but something wasn't right with my shoulders. I'd never broken my clavicle before, so I didn't have anything to measure it against. They just felt wrong. I couldn't move either of them, though the right was a little more mobile than the left.

A few hours in the ER for xrays and wound care and then I was back to the house for some R&R.

So, it's back on the trainer soon and back to the blogoshere. BTW- I've got a bone to pick with Chris Carmichael and his Greg LeMond baggin'.

I Looooove Faaaaaat Peopllllllle!

I celebrated my 4 year "surgiversary" on Monday. I had an Open Roux en Y Gastric Bypass back on 8-18-04.

Having weighed over 300lbs, I know how hard it is to live with morbid obesity. It's hard enough being obese, but it amazes me how effing heartless some people can be.

Most people that know me today have no idea I used to weigh so much. I had a totally different life then. And during that time, I heard a lot of mean shit.

I was called "KoolAid" by kids whenever I wore my big red shirt. (funny in a way, but F@#$'d up too)

Complete strangers would take food out of my shopping cart and ask, "Do you really need that?" Who does that?!?!

When I rode my bike (and this was only at 200lbs), I was stopped at a light and some a-hole asked me "aren't you too fat to be riding a bike?" Then they drove off laughing. WTF?

The stories go on and on...

So, I just want to take a minute to show some love to my peeps that are livin' large and fighting to find their fitness. Being a "loser" is a struggle, but keep up the fight. Eat well. Play hard. Live the life you want. You're not alone.

New! Even Saltier Cock Blocks!

Want to go for the win, but have to work for the team? Slip your teammates some Cock Blocks and go for the glory yourself!! Available in Tea Bag and Fromunda flavors.

Animalympics

Kit Mambo = RAWR

Damn goat, sacrificing everything for the gold... even love. FOOL! lol
(btw- He had some sick style, even from a 1970's persepctive).



but along came Kit...

Body Condom

In light of the formal apology issued by the four American cyclists to the Beijing Olympic organizers for their grossly offensive actions (wearing filter masks, THE NERVE!), I have prepared my apology letter in advance of my trip to Interbike this year. Here it is;

"I offer my sincere apologies to the organizers of the Interbike International Bicycle Expo, the City of Las Vegas, the people of Nevada, the dancers at Cheetahs, the couple staying in the room next to mine and everyone in attendance at the Sinclair part for my offensive actions. It was not my intention to offend any one with the use of my USAC issued body condom. My wearing of the Body Condom was stricly precautionary and in no way intended as a policital or social statement."

Hannah Banks

(no Timpani pic yet, so here's one from Vacaville.)

Since first meeting Hannah at the Ronde Van Brisbane, I've become a big fan. I've got to give her some serious props. Okay, so she's a badass bike racer (her win at Timpani and her support of her VAC teammies is proof of that). Even cooler though, is how down to earth she is. I've had the chance to hang out with her a little and I've got to tell ya, she's one of the most level headed people I've ever met.

As a teacher of mainly twenty-somethings who are seeking to find their place in the world, it is very cool indeed to meet someone with such a clear vision of where she is, where she is headed and an understanding of the road that is going to get her there. Coolness personified in my book.

Hannah, congrats on the win yesterday and best of luck at San Rafael!

What the hell is an Aluminum Falcon?

My daughter comes around the corner at Target asking if we can get this. Joy overflowed my NERD heart!

and for your viewing pleasure...

Welcome to the Dumbass Club Marta

The list is growing...

Any time your excuse includes the line I'm disgusted with my trusted chemist for preparing a mix of herbs for me, you have to KNOW that things aren't going to go well for you.

Here's the plan, only use products that YOU KNOW ARE SAFE, NOT ON ANY BANNED LIST and DO NOT NEED TO BE "MIXED" BY YOUR TRUSTED CHEMIST.

I mean, come on, naivety, arrogance or a serious case of the "fuck its" aren't good excuses for testing positive.

Le Tour a ete "Sastre-ated"

Carlos Sastre and his CSC teammates sack tapped the Tour bunch and came away with their greatest victory yet. After the craptacular 2006 Tour and Vino/Astana skidmarked 07 race, the 2008 Tour was a pretty good one. Sure the dumbass dopers tried to eff things up (Good going Ricco et. al.), but somehow this year felt different. Whereas the 06-07 Tours had clouds over them, the 2008 Tour seemed more resilient. The shit hit the fan, but rinsed right off.

Now, with his contract up this year, does Sastre "repay" Bjarne and the Team by staying with them to groom the Schleck's for the future or does he do the "profitable" thing, realizing he's at the end of his career, and go for the big money from other teams? I'll go on a limb and say he stays at Saxo Bank/Riis Cycling.

I'm keeping my fingers crossed we don't have any late test results that come in and screw up an otherwise fine finish for cyclings' biggest race.

Fully Alive

"We don't beat the reaper by living longer, we beat the reaper by living well and living fully,"- Randy Pausch

Randy Pausch passed away today, but his life and how he lived serves to remind us all to embrace the opportunities we are given and to live the lives we want.

"pretty much any time I got a chance to do something cool, I tried to grab for it, and that's where my solace comes from."

Amen brother.

Que CERA, CERA and more Tour tidbits

(The Tour Caravan 2009)

With Ricco and Piepoli getting caught for using the 3rd generation red blood cell booster, CERA, I started wondering to what extent teams and riders are going to go to in order to cheat. I'm betting we'll see the "Cheech and Chong Method" of dope delivery.

There's got to be some dumbass out there right now saying, "no, really, they'll never figure it out." o_O

Officials already know to search IN the cars of the riders' friends and family, just ask Papa Schleck. But, come on, what if the dope WAS the car? Uh huh, I'm telling you...

***

Contador would have won.

After watching the way the group rode through the mountains, I'm pretty sure Contador would have kicked ass in this years race. For all the attacking, team pulling and marking going on, what was missing was the EXPLOSIVE attacks of Contador.

I think his style would have neutralized the Schlecks (Andy is CRAZY good btw) and put everyone else in trouble. With race fit Contador, Kloden and Leipheimer, Astana would have rolled em.

But, we'll never know...

*** SPOILERS BELOW. DO NOT READ IF YOU HAVEN'T SEEN THE TOUR TODAY***







Cunego, damn.

I'm a HUGE DC fan and was disappointed that he left his "A Game" somewhere else. But I was especially bummed to hear of his crash and withdrawal from the Tour today. He couldn't even get a break. He's still young enough to go for some Grand Tour glory, but he may soon have ask himself if he's more of Classics rider and smaller stage races.

Hang in there DC!

Dope Man Got 'Em...

"Ride, ride, ride as fast as you can, you can't catch me I'm the... OH SHIT!"

Rici, welcome to the "Dumbass Club".

Amazing how some of these guys still think they can get away with doping. Oy.

Le Tour

I'm feeling it, yo.
(even tho my boy Cunego is struggling.)

The boys over at L'Equipe had a little survey on Evans chances.

LA QUESTION DU JOUR
L' Australien Cadel Evans remportera-t-il cette année le Tour de France?
Oui 35%
Non 60%
Nsp 5%

Hmm.

So if not Evans, I wonder who they pick? I'm throwing my support behind Christian Vandevelde (with Cunego making a wildly unexpected charge for the podium!! -I can dream, right?-).

Menchov is kinda "lurky, lurky" back in 5th. He's going to make things interesting.

Coolness

Mad props to Horner for this one.

Speaking of coolness, love the slightly cooler weather in the Yay Area. I thought I was going to melt for sure last week.

And...Ric the Dic is killing fools on the Tour Cols. Even with the Triki "Dumbass" Beltran story making headlines, this Tour is shaping up to be a good one. Can't wait to see what happens on Hautacam!

F@#$ Man is my hero!

Lovin' the fact that JV kept it real.
Tomorrow, I want to see this interview;

Robbie Ventura: "Johnathan, your team is kicking ass in the Tour. How do you plan to regulate these bitches today?"

Johnathan Vaughters: "Well, you see, we gotta show these muthafukkahs we aint playin', yo. I mean, shiiiit, Garmin-Chipotle aint bowin' down to no man, F@#$ Shumacher! Yo, let me get a shout out to all my boys reppin' the 303! DZ, we got you son!"

RV: "Yo man, fo sho!"

JV: "Ayte fool, I gotsta bounce. Peace."

RV: "This is Robbie Ventura up in this bitch. I'm out."

Phil Liggett: "Ho-Lee Shit. What the hell just happened there?"

Great Racing Weekend + a day

What a great weekend of racing!!! Here's the recap;

Cheered my ass of at the crits in Davis and Vacaville as my friends ripped the courses.

Team Fremont got their first win of the year when strongman Bill Brier busted out a sprint win against his breakaway homies in Leesville.

Watched as cycling badass Bernard "Bitch Slap" Hinault showed why he is STILL the patron of the sport.

Good times!!

B-game Fun Fest and Tour Time Goodness

I showed up at the Burlingame Crit and was AMAZED at the turn out for the kids ride. The Ryan Phua Memorial Kids ride had several HUNDRED participants!! We're talking something like 800 kids signed up! Too cool for words!!

Hung out with my Team Fremont/BBC/Velogirl/AltoVelo posse. ate some tasty Greek food and drooled over the soon to be MINE, Leopard bicycle. Doesn't get much better than that.

***

Now, on to the Tour.
Here's my early pics for TdF 2008:

GC
1. Menchov
2. Evans
3. Cunego
4. Valverde
5. Sastre

Points
McEwen
Zabel
Hushovd

KOM
Hmm... maybe Soler if he has form, but some French riders may try to nab this one.

Young Rider
A. Schleck

Team
Caisse d'Epargne

Expect early sprint action between Cavendish, McEwen, Ciolek, Steegmans and Friere. Cavendish should show to be the strongest early on, but McEwen will be right there. This should be good!

First TT:
Evans
Cancellara
Valverde

***

All that said, I'm rooting for Cunego. He'll have his work cut out for him, but he's a class rider. My brain thinks Menchov is the guy to watch, with Evans as his shadow. If Cunego brings his best climbing legs, he stands a chance of upsetting the favorites.

Little RED riding Hooptie

stol'd this from Pez today.

My RED equipped SystemSix is almost ready. I CANT wait to get me some of that Double Tap shifting action.

Maybe it's all this smokey air, but this bike looks good to me.

MotoGP's got STYLE!

Mars soil = plant growth

My prediction for the first two things to be planted on Mars:
Starbucks and ganja.

Insta-Dope Nutrition

Here's the funny part, this idea came to me while my insomniac ass is jetting around the blogosphere craving, but unable to attain a suitable state of rest at 2 a.m.

So me and my blood shot eyes stumbled upon a LANCE ad for some miracle stimulant while scoping the latest product tests from the crew at cyclingnews.com. This is the result.

Humor + (me - sleep)= my little journey into advertising.

Talk that SH!T!!

From being a "Hope Machine" to full blown Shit Slinger, LA stands at the top of the heap. In an upcoming Procycling interview, he proceeds to rip into some old teammates, the Tour bosses and one of my fav riders.

Here's one jab that really caught my eye...

"As far as the Americans go, I'd say we're at least a couple of years away. Those riders referred to as the Great White Hopes haven't really panned out. That's not a criticism of them, it's just that European cycling is just very different than the Tour of Georgia or Redlands or a VO2 test in the lab."

Ouch, especially if you're Tom Danielson. Lance started calling Tommy D "Great White Hope" and "Great White" when they raced on Discovery together. When asked about the future of the Discovery Team's leadership, Lance would brag about the talents of T.D., especially his VO2 numbers and his being the best "pure climber" he's ever seen.

Now, granted, Tom hasn't lived up to the hype, but it's pretty damn DICKISH to hype the guy and then slam him with the same PROPS you were giving him. Damn Mellow Johnny, you're coooooold bloooded.

He even had the nerve to talk shit about my Italian brother, Damiano. What the hell? LA's picking Evans (cheap bet). I hope Cunego kicks Evans' ass in July.

ToC + ASO = $$$?

First, the story of the Tour of California photo above. I was stuck. Do I lean WAY THE HELL OVER Fred's Rock teammate and squeeze my mug up to his to be in the pic OR do I stay in the hetero-neutral position outside of the shot? I got caught inbetween. So what you get is me in the "stalker" position while my friend Lala snuggles up to Fast Freddie. Anywhoo, here's the news...

It was announced that Tour de France organizers, ASO, have partnered with AEG, the organizers of the Tour of California, to promote each others' races. ASO is the 800lb. gorilla of the cycling world and the ToC will definitely benefit by have the ASO stamp connected to it. I don't think we'll see much difference her in the Bay Area, but on the international side, I think this move is a HUGE jump in the game for AEG.

The other cool piece of news that came out was the report of Amgen inking a new 3 year deal (with a 2 year option) to sponsor the ToC. For the past 3 years, the ToC has been operating in the red. That had me a bit worried for the future of the race. But now, AEG have some breathing room and hopefully will be able to build on the popularity of the event and make it a money maker.

Moral of pic and the story? Don't ride the fence. Either go ALL IN or get the hell out. Kudos for AEG and Amgen for sackin' up and taking a chance with great race. Now It's time for me to start planning for the next ToC Beaver Shot.

Tom on the Rock

"Can't wait to get this home AND SMOKE IT!!!"

Crack is Whack Tom. Get off the White Horse and get clean for next year. Wonder if Quickstep is going to fire him? Rec drug use v. cheating. One year ban?

WAIT A MINUTE!!!!

Hmmm...



I'm just sayin'.

Book Review: "We Might As Well Win" by Johan Bruyneel

I picked up Johan Bruyneels' book, "We Might As Well Win", last week and when I saw it, I expected to be through by the end of the day. At just over 200 pages, it's not a heavy read. Even the size of the book was a little underwhelming. My first thought was "hmmm, a booklet." But I couldn't have misjudged the book more.

Bruyneel managed to cram a lot of feeling into those 200 pages. I found myself having to stop every so often because the stories Bruyneel was sharing or the images he was describing triggered something in me. It brought to life vivid replays of my own experiences in bike races, with family, in life. My daughter looked at my book mark over the weekend and said, "you've only read THAT far?" For each page of the book, it seemed that another 20 were added from my own personal "manuscript" that added to the depth of "We Might As Well Win".

Having met Johan Bruyneel a couple of times and seen him on t.v., I had an impression of him that was made much more clear after reading his book. Before the book, I viewed him as a tactical genious, especially when it came to the Grand Tours. After reading his book, I see now that his mastery, his genious is forged simply from his dedication to being a learner, a student. He studies everything about racing and applies that knowledged to forging victory.

Johan Bruyneel is the prime example of the smart rider beating the stronger rider. He raced that way and he directs that way as well. It is no wonder that he has become the greatest Champion maker in the world.

Definitely read this book!!!

Weak Sauce

Some random examples of weak sauce:

"Dude, I felt so strong. I pulled the last two laps, but then blew."

"I didn't know it was the last lap."

"I thought my race started at (insert time)."

Vaporware (Grrrr....)

The "10 second attack, sit up, bail out". I love it when people do that.

Attacking the group ride after they waited for you when you were dropped on the last climb.

IHOP marketing itself as a steakhouse.

***

"SUCK IT!!!!" by Johan Bruyneel

Johan Bruyneels' new book hits the shevles tomorrow. Entitled "We Might As Well Win", it could have easily been titled "Punks Jump Up To Be Beat Down: My riders can kick your riders asses".

I'm looking forward to reading it. Full review coming soon.

photo (below) by Edward Falsken

Will the Real Champ Please Stand

Alberto Contador is the real deal!!! He withstood attacks from Danilo Di Luca and Ric "The Dick" Ricco to win the 2008 Giro. What a GREAT RACE!! One of the best races I've seen in a long time.

I have to say, I'm becoming a Contador fan. His vitory in the 2007 edition of Paris Nice was masterful. And now, with his victory in the Giro after a late call up from the organizers proved his class (and the class of Squadra Astana).

Politics, Religion and American Idol

BLIND LOYALTY: following your leader even when they get things bass ackwards and refuse to honestly say, "Oh crap, we've gotten this wrong. Let's change direction."

With Scott McClellan's book "What Happened" hitting the shelves, the tidal wave of criticism that has rushed his way was to be expected. There are those, such as Pat Buchanan, that believe McClellan should have kept his mouth closed because it is wrong to "rat out" the boss. Sheeeeeit.

The need for SOME people that have or crave power to put other people in their pockets is sickening. It's damn near pervy. "Hey little boy, want some candy?" Are we supposed to turn a blind eye to things that conflict with our personl beliefs simply because we have been "gifted" by THE MAN? Hell to the no.

The "you've been given something few get, so sit down and shut up" mentality isn't new. It's been around for a LOOONG time and will still be around a LOOONG time from now. That is why applaud people like McClellan who stand up and say "Wait a minute, we need to address some things..." even if that means a few bridges have to be burnt.

Hell, I voted for W twice. At the time I did, I was pretty far to the right in my political beliefs and he was the ONE that best fit my ideas about what a President should be. Halfway through his first term, I had doubts. Stayed loyal to the GOP even though I wasn't happy with it or W. Finally, after watching W royally eff things up, lie and yoda-speak his way into idiocy, I had to jump ship.
(with respect to Yoda, W speaks only with the backwardness of tongue, minus the cool wisdomy parts)

As a one time Right Winged, Pentecostal Republican, I can honestly say that it is good to keep an open mind and a willingness to admit when you've made a mistake. There is nothing commanding you to stay fixed in your position if you have come to change your mind. That's one of the best parts of freedom. Now, as an agnostic independent with a serious lean to the left, I applaud anyone who has the balls to stand and say "Oops, I f#$@'d that up" and then turns around and finds a better direction.

Supporting someone you believe in is great (ask David Cook or any one who voted for him). Continuing to support that person even when they make gross errors, refuse to admit their mistakes and promise to continue pushing forward with a faulty plan doesn't make you loyal, it makes you an enabler.

It's like a jungle, somtimes it makes me wonder...

Posting some radom sh!t...

The Giro = Great Bike Racing

Sella's exploits in the Dolomites this weekend were crazy impressive. To summit wins in a row with a second place in the mountain TT on Monday. He's on a small team (that happens to be leading the team competition) that's made a huge impact on the race so far. Great stuff!!

Contador is in Pink and could pull of another Grand Tour victory. Ricco looks strong in the mountains and poses a real threat to Astana. The next mountain stages should be a real shootout.

Can't forget about High Road. The only US ProTour team having a great race.

***

David Millar is bagging on Ivan Basso's return to the peloton, saying that he is neither a hero nor a victim. While it's pretty much accepted that "Birillo" lied his ass off about Operacion Puerto, I find it hard to stomach Millar's comments. I mean, sure Basso lied and probably isn't someone that should be looked up to when it comes to sports ethics, but for Millar to speak out against his return as if his EPO doesn't stink makes me want to want to kick him straight in his argyle clad nards.

Millar admitted his EPO use after getting busted by the cops. Up until that point, he was spouting the standard "I've never tested positive" blahbity blah. It's kind of easy to become "respectable" when facing the threat of jail time.

As far as I know, Basso has not been caught with any banned substances, just his blodd in the hands of a shady doctor. Yes, that cast a HUGE shadow on his career and pretty much ruins his credibility. But come on David, give the guy a break. It's not as if he was caught with vials of EPO in his house.

The funny thing is I'm pretty much a Millar fan- at least in terms of cycling performance.

Let Basso come back and race. Hell, I can't wait to see him at Madera next year. = )

***

Music Fridays: "Handlebars" by Flobots

MF is back!

Kick ass song

"Warriors.... come out and plaaaayay"

The Giro hits the high mountains this weekend and we'll get to see who packed their big boy pants. Contado ready to take the Maglia Rosa? Kloden? Is Ricco going to live up to his own hype and BRING THE PAIN on "his roads". We'll see. Tomorrow is the first of three days of ass whoopidry.

Summit finsih tomorrow, summit finish on Sunday, Moutain TT on Monday. HELL YEAH!!!

Wildfires SUCK!

(picture of Waterman Canyon Fire near Highland, Ca.)
The 2003 Old Waterman Wildfire got within a mile of my home. Friends and neighbors lost a lot in that fire. My thoughts and prayers go out to everyone affected by the Santa Cruz Mountain fire.

Leg Muscle Vitamins

I bought these at Costco and couldn't find them on the banned substance list. Should be good, right? I mean, they're triple strength AND fortified. That just screams GOOD FOR YOU.

What's the worst that could happen? My rocket skates may explode or I'll run myself into the fake tunnel painted on the canyon wall. Eh, reward out weighs risk.

Hmm... maybe all the years of watching Wile E. Coyote and reading Captain America have left me a little numb to the whole performance enhancing thing.

Oh Snap!!!

I love RAI. Daily live coverage of the Giro IN ITALIAN!!!

So, watching this morning, I got to live David Millars' "HOLY $#!7!!!" moment with him. Bike chucked over the barrier, almost thought DM would steal a photog moto and ride to the finish. Tough break (pun) for him.


CIAO!

Longo

Just read that Jeannie Longo is racing Mt. Hood!!! That's too damn cool! She's someone I've admired since I started cycling back in 1983. That's pretty damn remarkable.

I had a last minute invite to work for one the the pro women's teams at Mt. Hood this year, but couldn't pull the strings to cover my Bay Area life while I was away. Would have been cool to see Jeannie in person.

Best of luck to all the ladies racing in Oregon this week!!!

Giro Hero!! Maglia Rosa to Slipstreams' Vande Velde

One helluva accomplishment for Slipstream!! Hopefully their success helps them land a title sponsor (same for High Road) for next year, cuz pro cycling ain't cheap.

Insane Stunt Prime

With Cat's Hill set for tomorrow and the release of GTA IV this week, I'm putting up a special prime:

$51 Insane Stunt Prime to anyone who can launch themselves off of Cat's Hill, clear the park and nail the landing on the opposite side of the course. Impossible? Not if you have GTA physics working for you...

The classic Classic

Liege Bastogne Liege is set to roll on Sunday and I'm gonna pick Damiano Cunego one more time. There are a few other guys that are rolling well right now, but I'm betting on DC to bring the POW WAH.

Schleck, Evans, Gesink and Rebellin will be bringin' the pain, making L-B-L one of the best races of the season.

Team Spirit!!!

Venga! Venga! Venga, Dude!!!

Eff the cowbell's, I'm bringing THE BIG BELL!!

(more proof that higher rpm's is better)

Basso's Baggage

Looks like Liquigas swooped him up before Rock Racing could.

Too bad, Sevilla could have used him at San Dimas. Jorg Jakshe's still available though!!!

Waaait.....Waaaait....almost there....

I hear patience is a virtue. Who made that shit up? Things get done when people are impatient and their lust for the coolest, badassiest thing since Blu Ray integrated bathroom tiles drives them to GET IT DONE.

So, as I wait for the last couple of pieces of my new SystemSix to arrive, I'll meditate on this;

"I am extraordinarily patient, provided I get my own way in the end."
Margaret Thatcher

Damiano delivers!

Cunego beats Schleck to the line with Valverde in third. If only I could pick lotto numbers that easily.

Beer and Bikes

Amstel Gold's this weekend! First of the climbing Classics and one of my personal fav's. (hell, i love all the Classics...)Steep climbs, narrow roads and fast mofo's on two wheels. And it's sponsored by a beer company. Gotta love it.

My pic for Amstel (L-B-L too) is Damiano Cunego. He's got good form coming into his spring goals.

Who do you pick?

Post Ride Eats?

Here's a few of my fav post ride eats (in no particular order);

Pad Thai with Tofu (Zao Noodle Bar)
Shrimp Tacos (Wahoo's Fish Tacos)
Veggie Pizza (Bronco Billy's)

...and a cold Pale Ale.

What do you eat?

Who Will Win Paris Roubaix?

I'm going with Stefan Wesseman (Cycle Collstrop) especially if the weather is wet.

If the cobbles are dry (-ish), then the favorites could shine.
Boonen, Flecha, Hincapie, Cancellara.