Clavicle, shmavicle

The sight of Lance Armstrong holding his right elbow in the international sign language sign for "I have broken my collarbone" was not a pleasant thing to see. It is a bad break (pun intended) for Armstrong in his return to the european peloton and could point to his loss of status as the "Boss" of the peloton after his absence the past 3 years. Or it could be just wrong place at the wrong time. The end result though is that there is now a seed of doubt in Armstrong's participation in il Giro d'Italia. Since this would be his first time in the race, it would be very cool to see him tackling the Giro; a race that has a different character from the Tour de France. Hopefully, Armstrong will mend well enough to participate.

Less fortunate is Tyler Farrar of Garmin who seperated his shoulder and now appears to be out for the classics season. Farrar had huge promise given that not only is he the only man so far this year to not look silly in a sprint against Mark Cavendish, but actually beat Cavendish by going past him in a sprint finish to take a win in the 3rd stage of Tirreno-Adriatico. Talk about something to watch for in the classics! Another bad break for an American rider.

Here on the homefront inconsistent weather, too much stuff to do, and a heavy workload have conspired to keep me off the bike. No whining or whingeing, just a statement of fact (and regret). My short term goals are to finish up all of my National Boards Teaching Certification stuff by Friday (deadline is next Tuesday) and try to hit the Uwharrie mtn. bike race on Sunday. Should be a great way to show how out of shape I am AND be a real motivator for the 6 hrs. of Warrior Creek mtn. bike race on April 4th. Fear not dear friends! Despite my lack of time on the bike in reality, I have been maintaining a brutal regimen of positive visualization and active rest that should prove the key factor to these early spring races. That coupled with copious amounts of landscaping work might just add up to a bit of Belgian farmboy fitness for me.

Turn some cranks for me and I hope to see you on the roads and trails soon!