The worm is turning...

I have come down with whatever funk Owen brought home from daycare. I'm not sure if I'm going to still have a voice tomorrow, so teaching should be interesting. I'm going to limit my students to yes/no questions 'cause then I can just nod one way or the other. It'll be good for 'em...

It has been a while since I last blogged and many things have transpired that were worth mentioning, but the moment has passed. We can never capture the time that was lost, so we should get past it and move on.

The big thing to move on to is the greatest part of the cycling season: CYCLOCROSS SEASON! You can see who the real 'cross junkies are right now. They'll be the guys shuffling around the bike shop wanting to discuss the merits of various 'cross tubulars or feverishly asking when 'cross practice starts (4:30, the saturday after Bridge to Bridge, Zack's Fork Soccer Complex) or asking to see pictures of the new 'cross bikes from different manufacturers. Well, the first fix is almost here fellow 'crossers! There will be a season opening tune-up clinic/race in Salisbury on Sunday, September 30th. Details to follow soon. Jeff and I will get the true whistle whetting experience during Interbike in Las Vegas as the Cross Vegas UCI race will be held while we are there. 'Cross World's silver medalist, Jonathon Page, is a confirmed starter. It should prove to be a fun night of 'cross and beer gardening!

Hopefully some of you will be able to tear yourselves away from doing 181 climbing repeats this weekend long enough to make the saturday morning group ride at 8am. The group has thinned out substantially as Bridge to Bridge draws nigh, but hopefully things will be back to normal once it is over and done with...

Viral attack

I have on very sick and pitiful little baby. Owen has a severe sinus infection that blew up this weekend. It is really heartbreaking to see just how miserable he feels.

Time is in short supply for me right now, so not much posting here. I am happy to report that there was a HUGE turnout at the County Commissioner's meeting monday night. So much public outcry against the proposed Wilson Creek PUD seems to have definitely made the difference. We must remain vigilant so that our open spaces won't be cavalierly developed for such silly reasons as "someone is going to do it eventually". On another happy note, the Lenoir Convenience Center is open! Now get to recycling!

Mark it on your calendar!

Here is more of the story on the proposed development of Wilson Creek. The County Commissioners meeting is this Monday, August 27th at 6 pm. We need as much public opposition to this proposal as we can muster, so please, please, please come out and lend your voice to the cause!

In reading the News-Topic article, I especially like the developer's comment that Wislon Creek is going to get developed eventually. You know, we don't have to roll over and play dead for land developers. Development of wild and scenic areas is not inevitable. But just like any treasure, someone will surely steal it for themselves if you don't protect it!

Got a good soaking on my afternoon commute yesterday. I also managed to break a bolt that holds my panniers to my dropout. Fun times limping it to the shop, hoping that the friction of my fender being pushed against my tire by a pannier loaded with textbooks wouldn't cause the tube to explode going down the one sketchy descent. It broke up the routine of my twice daily rolling meditation.

I enjoy my solo morning commute the best. The air is cool and there is usually a slight mist close to the ground. Traffic is light and I am left to my thoughts. Maybe it is the fact that I am not fully awake when I leave, but the whole commute seems to take on a transcendental mood. I find myself to the point of disconnecting my thoughts from the rest of my body. I can feel myself pedaling from a distance as my mind seems to be more immediate. I kind of dig that feeling...

Immediate attention required!

Our fair county has decided to lift a one year moratorium on development in the Wilson Creek area in order to slip in a big land development deal. You can get the full story here. You can email members of the County Board of Commissioners here. Please voice your opinion to leave Wilson Creek undeveloped and stress the importance of outdoor areas for recreation. The future of Caldwell County lies in the outdoor recreation opportunities that are here and are just now beginning to be truly shared with people from outside of our region. We need to allow the developments that are already being built in the nearby Collettsville area to be completed (and their impact assessed) before irrevocably damaging the beautiful Wilson Creek Gorge area! This will be discussed in an upcoming board meeting. I will keep you updated in an effort to rally some vocal opposition to this proposal at the meeting!

Long time, no see

I finally have enough time to spout off some more drivel. Life has been hectic this past week and it doesn't show any signs of stopping anytime soon. Just in case you aren't in our area, it is unreasonably, unbearably, bewilderingly hot here right now. Add to that a hefty dose of no rain and you've got yourself a good old-fashioned drought. Commuting back and forth to school has become an exercise in asceticism. Each day, I arrive at the shop from school streaming sweat and red as a fire truck. I can't wait to be able to complain about how cold it is. The nice thing has been that mornings have been cool with a good layer of ground fog and some spectacular sunrises that tend toward the pink and turquoise.

Today was Owen's first day of daycare. He seemed to be pretty fine with the whole thing, but there was definitely stress on our part. I never realized all of the feelings and emotions that go along with parenthood. It is a really primal protectiveness that you feel for your child. It's nice being reminded of your animal nature.

I spent today tubing the New River with all of the students from our school. It was hot and slow. The water level was way down, so a lot of walking was involved. Not quite tiring, but not quite relaxing either.

Jeff and I have committed to going to Vegas for Interbike this year. It's been a while since I've gone, so I'm definitely excited about going. I'm really curious to experience Interbike from the perspective of a shop owner, instead of the employee's perspective. I'll try to give some sneak peek reports from the show while I'm there.

The weekend is nigh and I am truly ready for it. Hope to see you in the shop this weekend!

Pinch me

My new teaching position is better than I dared to imagine. I find myself, in the middle of teaching, having an out-of-body observation of our interaction and seeing that they are actually engaged in learning. It's really weird how these kids do all of the things that you wish for your students to do. You ask them to think about something and "POOF!", they actually think about it. It is a sight to behold...

I've been to busy to actually update this blog in a while. Seems a lot has been going on in the cycling world. I'm watchin', I just haven't been sayin' anything.

First off, Team Slipstream has secured the services of Magnus Backstedt and Julian Dean. I want to point out that my good friend Jason scooped everybody with that tidbit at his blog schnooked in der spurt. A chance encounter with Frankie Andreu at the Charlotte NRC critertium gave him a leg up on everybody.

Secondly, WADA vs. Alberto "the Kid" Contador, who's gonna win that? Contador and Bruyneel have scheduled a press conference (all statement, no questions). I think the pot is on simmer right now, but be looking for an increase in temperature in the near future.

Lastly, Kash Kasheykin (ASTANA) has turned up positive for homologous blood doping in an out of competition test. These guys aren't even racing and they're testing positive! I am beginning to feel beleaguered and bewildered about this whole mess. I know there are clean riders, but are the dopers really this stupid? Would you undergo a procedure that your team captain tested positive for less than 3 weeks ago? Have the UCI controls been so lax in the past that riders new the odds were in their favor if they gambled with doping? And while everyone gets bitter and pissy about doping in cycling, has anyone bothered to take note of Barry Bonds breaking the all-time homerun record with nothing more than a suspicion of steroid abuse? There are a lot of dirty houses out there, not just ours.

Our car got egged and keyed in front of our house last Friday night. I called the police to come and make a report. The officer asked me if I could think of anyone who might do such a thing. I informed him that both my wife and I were middle school teachers, so it could be any number of former students from the past 5 years. He asked if I could "narrow it down". I asked him if he could make a list of all of the people he had pissed off during his career as a plice officer. He said, "Yeah, I see your point." I'm not worried about who did it, it's just a car and it can be fixed.

Luna Cycles socks are in stock! $8.99 a pair, or 3 pairs for $24! Email me if you would like some, but can't make it in to the store. If you have been by lately, you've probably noticed some half finished remodeling of the back area of the shop. Soon, the mechanic's area will be pushed back to the back room in order to create more floor space and to accomodate our new bike fitting area. Come by and check it out as we start finishing it up this week!

Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

I am worn out. We've had 3 open house sessions at school in the past two days. I have given the same 5 minute talk a total of 12 times. I'm beat. In addition, my daily commute is now a 30 minute, one-way ride with a distinctly rolly texture to it. I'm riding my '70's era, dumpster rescued Raleigh Gran Prix which now sports flat bars, 7 spd Deore thumbshifters, and a Brooks B-17 saddle (not like we want anymore kids...). With the Jannd mtn. rack and panniers I think I'm pushing about 45 lbs back and forth to school. And the thought that keeps going through my mind: 'cross season is coming...

A new beginning

My summer is now officially over. Unlike the rest of my fellow Caldwell County educators, I start school tomorrow. This is no great sacrifice given the position and school that I will be teaching in. It is a little bit daunting to now have to face Sophomores in high school rather than the middle schoolers I am used to. This is a welcome change and a breath of fresh air. I will readily admit that I was beginning to get a bit toasty if not fully burned out.

Well, le Tour will not go away. Mayo has tested positive for EPO. Wow, dope your way to 16th place in the Tour why don'tcha? Idiot. And now the big implications about Contador and his Puerto links are picking up steam. If Prudhomme thought the Chicken shouldn't have started, what about "the kid" Contador?

To: Shawn
From: Eddie

Damn;
This Tour just will not die! Check this out, and now there seems to be even
more proof coming out to link Contador to Puerto. I still can't believe that
Valverde is still racing. I mean how hard is it to figure out a code name
like Valve?

I sure love to watch bicycle racing, but I just don't know what is real
anymore.

Take care and good luck with the job.

Yep, those good ol' cryptic code names. Jorg Jaksche copped to the fact that he was, indeed, "JJ". Good thing he admitted it, 'cause nobody could have figured that out. Now, who could possibly be tied to all those bright, ruby red bags of high test blood marked with the code name "AC"? You better believe that teams of cryptographers from Scotland Yard and the NSA are on the case...

Rejoice in the fact that Team Slipstream has signed David Millar, Christian Vande Velde and David Zabriskie. They have also, rather coyly, announced that they have signed a former winner of Paris-Roubaix. Current favorites from our group ride discussions of who this signee might be are Maggie Backstedt and Stuey O'Grady. Whoever it is, these guys are serious about a wild card selection to the '09 Tour. Hell, with their testing protocols, they might be there next year...

finis

Cadel tried valiantly, but Contador felt the jersey slipping away and managed to keep a grasp on the hem. Levi rode with the vengeance of what could have been and layed down the 4th fastest TT in TdF history. How different would this podium look if Rasmussen had not been allowed to start and his vicious accelerations in the mountains had not made their withdrawals from the other riders energy stores. Leipheimer, the consummate nice guy, selflessly rode for young Contador and setting him up for the win. Evans looks to have regained the confidence and promise of his early career to ride with aplomb and tenacity. Contador, recently cleared of the Puerto implications, has managed a win of both the yellow and the white jerseys.

I will not be one of those hysterical and histrionic people who says they won't watch pro cycling anymore or that all riders are doping. This is the only sport I have loved and I have been in love since I was 14. This sport is changing and change can usually be painful and this change is no different. I believe that we are going to go back to a pro cycling like that that existed up until the very early 1980's. Lemond is often credited with a great influence on American cycling and on the use of technology and equipment in the European peloton, but he also did much to elevate rider salaries and usher in a more modern expectation of prize money. Prior to 1984, the winner of Paris-Roubaix received about $2000 for winning the greatest one-day bike race in the world.

The big money corporate sponsors are going to pull back their support for pro cycling. I think we will see the rise of trade teams once again, as the only ones with a vested interest in professional cycling are cycling related companies. As the money shrinks, the large team budgets will disappear and teams will have to run leaner staff numbers. I hope we don't reenter the days when domestiques were true to their title and were in charge of laundry and fixing meals and serving the needs of the team stars both on and off the bike. I remember watching Rabobank Directeur Sportif Theo de Rooj racing for the Panasonic team in the 1985 Paris-Roubaix. He had made the winning break early in the race, riding in horrendously muddy conditions on cobbles slickened to a glass-like polish. This was in the early days of cycling coverage in the states, and it was a taped and edited race that CBS showed with a dramatic narration/commentary by Phil Liggett. In the midst of de Rooj's break, CBS showed a human interest piece on him. It showed him waking up Panasonic team captain Eric Vanderaerden, making breakfast and washing team kits. The most striking thing was how the rider's had their names on their respective room doors. Vanderaerden's name was literally written on a large foil star, presumably to insure that he was treated with the proper deference. Theo crashed out while riding in a straight line on one of the many crowned cobble paths, thus ending his dream of winning the race. By the end, de Rooj's breakaway companions (the enigmatic Patric Versluys and the Daehnens brothers) were caught outside of Roubaix by Panasonic team star, Eric Vanderaerden. Reportedly, Vanderaerden caught the break and said, "I'm here boys, now what are you going to do?" Vanderaerden smoked the sprint and took the win from his domestique competition. de Rooj was interviewed in his team car. He was nearly unrecognizable with head to toe dried, caked on mud. He said, "You're out here riding like an animal." When told that his team captain had won, pain flickered across his demeanor at the thought of what could have been his. He then stammered, "I know I'll never... I know I'll never be the captain of... I know I'll never be the leader of a team." Let's hope that our new cycling era will be able to insure the dignity of every rider, at the very least.

Pro cycling will survive. We must also keep in mind that cycling is doing far more to combat doping than any other major professional sport. Every sport has its complimentary performance enhancement products, just take a look at the IOC's banned products list. I have to be honest and say that no matter what, I'll be right there glued to the monitor or the tv, soaking in the racing coverage.

le grande finale

I believe in Cadel. Cleared or not, Contador is hinky given the reports that there have been phone calls about his reports to Dr. Fuentes of Operacion Puerto fame. And what to say about Levi? I want to see an American do well, but Discovery is dirty somehow. There is something up with that program...I just don't know what it is. Oh well, tt showdown, should be a good one.

The sky is falling...

no more Chicken...

Damn

Disappointed and dejected.

28:50

I am a partisan no more. Hoping against hope for the rabbit to come out of the hat, I admit that I had unreasonable expectations to see Alexander Vinokourov rise like a phoenix from the ashes and seize this Tour de France as his by rights. After today's stage, Vino' has shown the limits of his superhumanity and has revealed that he is but a man. Now, I am free to watch this Tour without that aching glimmer of hope for a comeback like I had in 1988 when Greg Lemond lacked just a few seconds to take the maillot jaune going into the final stage time trial against Laurent Fignon. Now, I can just watch this fantastic Pyreneean showdown.

Today was amazing with riders attacking again and again, never gaining until they were able to break their competitors. I think that now you get a good idea of who the true contenders are: Rasmussen, Contador, Evans, Leipheimer and Kloden. With two mountain stages and a time trial left, a grand game of cat and mouse is solidly afoot. And now that there is (theoretically at least) no doping, the riders seem to suffer more and to recover slower, paying for their efforts with huge chunks of time in the subsequent days. This makes the fireworks today seem all the portentious for the efforts to come. This could swing favor to someone like Levi Leipheimer who, as Shelly put it, is a "steady Eddie", not capable of matching the accelerations of the pure climbers, but not losing huge chunks of time either. Both he, Evans and Kloden would have to be ranked as the best tt'ers in the bunch at the top and this could spell more swings of fortune for the top 5 come time trial time. At this point, it's a crapshoot.

"You tell'em I'm comin' and hell's comin' with me!" - Wyatt Earp, Tombstone

Tomorrow is looking to be the day that Astana sets the world on fire. After today's tt, the peloton has definitely been served notice of the hard times to come! Vino' uncorked a huge performance today and let it be known that he plans on attacking in the Pyrenees. And remember, this guy doesn't throw down an attack, get caught and then play shrinking violet with the lead group until someone else attacks. No no no, this guy attacks, get's caught and then attacks again. And again. And again. As Golden put it so well this evening, "that guy's not a shit talker, he's a shit doer". (Ah, just a glimpse at one of the many reasons why we're married)

I spent today tubing the New River with my new colleagues at the Early College High School. We had a sort of floating faculty meeting. It was great, much better than I had anticipated. Even though the water level was way down, we were able to float most of the time with only minimal amounts of pushing. I remembered the sunblock, so I am not currently looking like a lobster!

You'd better get up early and watch the stage tomorrow at 7:30 'cause you just don't know what is going to happen! I predict Astana will use the Vino'-Kloden one-two combo to maximum effectiveness in the next few days. I can't wait...

Now it's gettin' spooky...

OOOOOOOOOh, Vino's maaaaaaaaad. Was today a prelude for a wreaking of vengeance upon the peloton, Kazakh-style? When Astana went up to the front and drilled it in the crosswinds, they were throttling everybody for a good 20k at 29 mph. Think about their situation for a moment. Astana hasn't had to do any work to defend or chase anything for the past week. With Kloden riding well and a Vino' wild card to throw, they could potentially put the other contenders into a serious spot of bother.

Saturday's tt is the beginning of the weeding out process of the hopeful and the pretenders. I think after Saturday, you'll have no more than ten guys with any legitimate shot. The Chicken has got to have the tt of his life to stay in contention.

Then after Saturday, Sunday's Pyreneean jaunt will whittle down our little bunch of hopefuls to a solid group of 5 riders who can even dare discuss the maillot jaune with any confidence. The Pyrenees should prove to be epic.

Luna socks should arrive next week. I'll post some pics, so if you aren't local email me if you would like to purchase some. Waterbottles are in the works also.

We've started the expansion and remodel of the shop, so excuse the disarray when you stop in.

Don't forget the new Saturday ride time is 8am to beat the heat!

and now a few for the sprinters

Okay, time to look like a hyper astute sports know-it-all. My predictions for the next few stages are as follows: a few guys attack early and stay away for a long time, just when you think they could stay away the sprinter's teams make the "professional catch" and setup for the final 2 or 3 kilometers. Everybody goes really fast and then this one really fast guy crosses the line first. There. Now watch and see if I'm right.

The real days are Saturday's time trial. The Chicken better have his A game for that one 'cause it has some descending and we all know how well he has handled those types of tt situations in the past. Kloden could become a real giant killer on such a stage. And then on Sunday we hit the Pyrenees with a vengeance the likes of which haven't been seen since the K-T boundary event that wiped out the dinosaurs. (Sorry, trying to get back into teacher mode)

I hope that Linus Gerdemann has coughed up the 5 cents that Lucy charges for psychiatric counseling since he lost the white jersey to Contador. Oh yeah, and his T-Mobile teammate Sinkewicz managed to hit a spectator coming down the mountain after Sunday's finish which left him with injuries that forced him to withdraw from the tour and then just happened to test positive for testerone with a 25 to 1 t/e ratio. Remember that Landis' t/e was 11 to 1 at last year's tour, but Matthias Kessler came up positive earlier this season with a t/e ratio of 85 to 1. Due to this positive test German TV has ceased airing coverage of the Tour.

On the lighter side of the Tour, check out this article on the superfan phenomenon at the Tour:
William Fotheringham essay

For those of you without VS. network coverage who can't make it by the shop to watch each day's stage, check out the Euro play by play call by the boys at The Guardian by clicking on the Tour de France - Live! link.

Pardon the mess at the shop right now, we're doing some demo work and remodeling. We'll put the hammers down and hang out when you come in though!

In Vino' veritas

My hope against hope that Vino' was playing possum just a little bit was shown to be false. The man is human after all and I don't know if he can put in the herculean effort needed to put himself to rights in this year's tour. The one thing that is for sure is that he is going to have to be forcibly pried from the bike to give up. I don't so much think that it is pride or hubris, but determination to see the thing through that is keeping him going.

The good news for Astanais that Kloden seems to have had his tether cut and is free to make his own race now. He looked pretty comfortable today and could prove to be a threat in the Pyrenees. Cadel Evans came to the fore today and rode like a man who has confidence in himself. He actually went on the offensive, something I have never seen him do. Contador put in a spectacular attack with a huge, mind-boggling acceleration. All of that is well and good, but the bloom comes off the rose a bit when you can't make such an attack stick and even with the aid of Popo', they were unable to stay clear. Alejandro Valverde is losing massive street cred with the Luna tifosi. Is insistence on riding wheels and attacking out of the group at the end to pick up little time bonuses is the style of a man trying to recapture the halcyon moment when he was touted as the next "big thing". His feeble attacks today were quickly and succinctly nullified and he was left to go for the snatch and grab time bonus at the line.

Levi Leipheimer hopefully has a card to show in the Pyrenees because so far he is not riding like a man that has "it". Better make that a whole deck of cards...

Lastly, Linus Gerdemann better share his safety blanket with his teammates as the run of bad luck continues for his T-Mobile squad. Today, Marcus Burghardt nailed a yellow lab that had wandered onto the course. I got this email from Chris in Tally about it:

From: Chris in Tally
Re: The Yellow Lab incident

Yo. Click on the arrows and check out the Marcus Burghardt-Yellow Lab
collision. That's one solid effing dog.

link to Guardian Photos

There's still a lot of days left in this free for all!

I'm rested already, let's see some racin'

Sunday has just whet my appetite now. Come on, a rest day in the middle of the alps? Well, I know Vino' and Klodie needed it, so that's a bright spot in this dull shades of gray rest day.

Now tomorrow starts off in some serious no joke territory right from the gun. A note to the Chicken: now that you flew away on the first real mountain stage and then went and ran your mouth about wanting to win the tour, you're probably not gonna be given nearly as much freedom as you got on Sunday! Rasmussen needs to take some more serious time out of the other main contenders. Remember, there is still 100km of time trialing on tap in this race.

As for the in-betweens like Evans and Valverde, they need to show a willingness to go big in a do or die kind of style. The days of conservative racing to make the podium on a step below Lance are long gone my friends. I don't think someone is gonna have this tour by the scruff of the neck until the Pyrenees, at least. Remember that we will have the Tour on at the shop all day, so stop by and play hooky from life for a while.

Due to the incessant rise in temperature, the Saturday group ride will start at 8am instead of 9. Please help spread the word! Luna socks are on the way from DeFeet, we should see them in a week. Next up are waterbottles, new Luna t-shirt designs, and Luna jerseys and shorts (on the horizon, so to speak)!

Chapeau!

In a true edge-of-the-seat performance, today's stage was one of the most electrifying in years. Hats off to Christophe Moreau for showing more aggression and heart than any frenchman since Thomas Voeckler held the maillot jaune. You can definitely see who is a contender and who is a pretender at this point. Cadel Evans and Alejandro Valverde did not acquit themselves like men who think they can win the tour. Their insistence on merely following wheels and looking to others to do the dirty work does not bode well for them. A true contender has got to have the wherewithal to lay it out on the line and hammer a move home. By marking Moreau and working against each other in a potentially dangerous move, they showed a timidity that speaks volumes about their chances for the overall.

Hats off to Linus Gerdemann who rode with aplomb to lose the Maillot jaune by only 10 seconds or so to a positively unstoppable Michael Rasmussen. Linus must have cuddled his blanket last night because he truly rode beyond his years, especially given the soul crushing fall suffered by T-Mobile team leader Michael Rogers, who went from the virtual yellow to DNF in a blindingly quick flash.

Vino' lost time, but limited his losses and made it to the rest day. The bigger story was how Kloden worked so hard to keep Vino' in contention and even waited for him. Remember how much promise they showed together (along with Jan Ullrich) on T-Mobile? How could that team not utilize those 3 weapons against Armstrong? With three big guns like that, they should have blown Armstrong away...

Last but not least: Rasmussen has asserted himself as a danger man, but the big question is his time-trialing ability. Another big scary wild card is Alberto Contador. That guy was climbing like a scalded dog after his wheel change. Just remember the old adage: good days in the Alps mean bad days in the Pyrenees; bad days in the Alps mean good days in the Pyrenees. The one thing that is for sure now is that the shadowboxing is over. It's put up or shut up time.

Merde

Despite a plethora of frenchman in the big break of the day, there was no french win on Bastille Day. Le pou pou. However, Linus Gerdemann absolutely immolated himself to take the stage, the maillot jaune and the maillot blanc. It looked to me that he was in some sort of quasi-religious state of agony towards the end of his little solo jaunt. In all his effort it appeared that he forgot to drink any water and the salt goattee encircling his rictus-like smile could signal a brief reign in yellow for Linus. Hopefully he is sucking down the saline iv's this evening trying to reverse his dehydration.

Vino' finished in the bunch with all of the other main contenders. He managed to blow out of all of the stitches in his knees and elbow. He finished dripping blood from all of his wounds. My word of advice to Astana: superglue. Oh yeah, and duct tape. Glue him together, tape him up and send him out on his merry way.

Tomorrow's stage looks to be a real beeotch. Vino says he wants to limit his losses tomorrow and then recuperate during the rest day monday. We shall see...

You can follow the physiological live data of select riders mapped in real time on Google Maps at this site.

Last, check out this techno song about Tom Boonen (thanks for finding it Jeff!)


Tommeke, Tommeke, Tommeke, Tommeke, Tommeke, Tommeke!