Mayo tests positive

Iban Mayo tested positive for EPO during the last week of the 2007 Tour de France. No comments.

The exciting sport of Keirin

Heard of the name? Probably not. I did just a few hours ago, and its quite interesting.

Keirin is a Japanese bike race that originated in the country in 1948. It is a track event of 8 laps and 2 kilometers. Sort of like an individual sprint, having 6-8 riders rather than two. These riders are motorpaced by an individual riding a moped like bike called a derny. After gradally increasing the speed from 25kmph to about 50 or 60 kmph,
the derny leaves the riders to sprint among themselves like wild beasts with about 1.5 laps to go.

Top speeds in excess of 70 kmph are reached! I'm interested to see what their legs look like :)

Some forums I visited talk about how the riders generate in excess of 2000 watts of power! Ofcourse, thats only for a short time. But putting it into a little perspective, that could light 30 normal electric bulbs, in a very environment friendly way!

A couple of things I was very impressed by this sport. Every equipment and gear used by the riders have to be approved by stringent standards set by the Keirin Association under the Bicycling Federation of Japan (NJS or Nihon Jitensha Shinkokai). Guess what kind of bikes they ride for a gruelling event like this? Plain old Cromoly double butted steel, made by a select few bike makers from Japan ! Thats awesome retro.

No rider will have any disadvantage or advantage over another as far as equipment is concerned. Every bike is checked prior to the race by the Kencha, the inspection
authority. So no bladed spokes, deep rim wheels, Mavics, Zipps or crappy Cannondale frames. No weight weenies allowed... aaah!! Damn it..

Second. Riders have to go through a formal entrance exam before being selected, and go through an entire schooling process. So your brains gets some work to do too..

The event is a huge sensation for betters. Betting cards are available at Velodromes or designated places in the city. Pretty cool. Like horse racing. Japanese riders are paid very well and in 2000 the event became an Olympic sport.

Its not uncommon for people as old as 60 to take part in a race. The average age is around 35.

Check out more here.

Extreme Power

I still "lust" for this bike. Someday, someday :(

And no its not made in Taiwan.

OCLV broken steerer

Hey, remember this when it happened? Paris Roubaix 2006, Big George broke his steerer and off he goes over the handlebars, 30 mins from the finish. It makes for some good television. Poor George broke his clavicle.

I know I'm not getting Trek's OCLV. Be like the CSC boys, ride a steel frame in Hell (superprodigy).

Marcus's accident

Carbon fibre wheel crumples like a beer can after hitting , a what? a dog!

T-mobile rides Giant bikes and Shimano equipment. Someone prove to me that's not a Dura Ace carbon wheel!

Great Cycling Advocacy Video

This is a nice 20 min video from John Burke, President of Trek Bicycles.

Congratulacion Alberto!

Alberto Contador wins the Tour de France. After an amazing ride of a little over 90 hours in the saddle (thats almost 4 continous days, and 3000 kms!), 24 year old has given a fresh face to put on in the record books. What a finish to the greatest race in the world.

Ever since I saw him on cycling.tv's Paris Nice final stage, I knew it took someone extraordinary to pull the victory from Rebellin in such a dramatic way. I was an instant fan then, amazed and surprised altogether at this unheard of name in pro cycling! Ofcourse, I still love Rebellin and wish he had done the Tour.

Looks like Boonen eased off in the final sprint in Paris. Obviously, whats the point of pushing yourself like a silly lad when you know that all those top 5 sprinters were going to end up with the same times. Benatti was awesome though and cunning as a fox, after sucking the wheel of Boonen's leadout guy. 2nd stage victory and lots of paychecks for him! Speaking of sprint, I do have to encourage you to watch Robbie Hunter's hammering style. The bike is all over the road, rocking from side to side like as if the evil spirits in the frame underneath him want to pop out and be set free of the torture. Boy, he's gotta learn to keep his line, and also time his kick.

Lets put the tour aside now. The stories of the past 20 days will make good discussion over a cup of tea for the years to come.

Robbie's Ridley Noah

Bad ass bike for a bad ass sprinter. Boy, I can just stare at this for hours. By the way, that saddle you see there. Its the San Marco Regal saddle, famous for being used by top sprinters like Boonen and Robbie. This white leather version, especially with the san marco logo embroidered on the leather is so damn rare that I spent 5 days looking all over the internet for one.

After countless hours of research I found there probably might only be two sources you can get this saddle from.

1) A beautiful plain white leather with copper rivets and Ti rails from Richard Sach's website here.

2) Or, with logo on it, from Cecil Walker Cycles from Australia! (As of today 29th July, their website was not working. Keep trying. They're a reputed store.)

Go get yourself one if you have the cash, and you'll seriously thank me for it.

FSA's carbonio thoughts

This article from FSA calms be a bit regarding carbon fibre material makeup for most of today's high end bike components. I've always disliked riding on carbon fibre, but with the leaps in manufacturing technology, proven performance and awesome aesthetics, I can't disregard them anymore. I just may end up getting a carbon fibre bike sometime down the line. Anyway, this is from FSA, read on. Pretty general info... I do like the nail polish solution!

ON CARBON FIBER BICYCLE COMPONENTRY

Dave Anthony and Ric Hjertberg – Design, Research and Development, Full
Speed Ahead 2004

Current bicycle materials technology is appropriating from
Formula 1 and aerospace and approaching the same narrow safety margins of those
fields. So, along with the benefits of ultra-high performance comes the
responsibility and necessity of the user to continuously inspect and maintain
equipment, just as those other fields demand and require. Of course, in F1
or aerospace the user (driver/pilot) is supported by mechanics and technicians.
Most cyclists enjoy no such infrastructure.

In reality, its necessary is for the user to match his/her up-front equipment investment with an appropriate budget for maintenance and repair. This includes both time (education and frequent inspection of components) as well as expense (the cost of engaging a skilled mechanic or the replacement cost of damaged components).

For example, the reliability and cost of maintaining a high-end $100,000 super-car
is not the same as a mass produced $25,000 sports car. In the same way, a
$6000 bicycle has a different maintenance requirement vs. a $1500 bicycle. It’s
up to the consumer to consider needs vs. resources and accept the hidden costs
of ultra high-performance components.

Twenty years ago, composites were already well established in aviation and sporting goods industries, and current composite bicycle components benefit from a further 20 years development of materials and manufacturing. Most of today’s products are
“high tech” far beyond of the technology of 20 years ago, although some are even
more advanced, benefiting from recent developments in composite materials and
design. They demonstrate exceptional strength, durability, and light weight that
older technologies can’t approach.

Carbon fiber components can be extremely resistant to heavy use and abuse. Notice skis, white water kayaks, tennis racquets, sail board booms, and hockey sticks, all made of carbon fiber. At first glance, the material is softer and easier to damage than aluminum. But the outside layer of fibers is often a 3D weave placed exclusively to resist damage (impacts, scratches, etc.). The fibers that do the principal load bearing are safely encased within. So, cosmetic harm to the outside layer is often not as
serious as one might assume.

The dark, varied appearance of carbon components doesn’t show abuse as easily as aluminum. Sure, a ding is disappointing, but years down the road, carbon components often don’t look as beat up as their aluminum counterparts. But as a result, a user can’t always easily identify damaged parts that need replacement. Impacts and hairline cracks are hard to spot.
For small, superficial scratches to the surface clear-coat, an easy cosmetic repair is available. Simply clean the mark and brush on clear nail polish. For a nearly undetectable result, orient the chip facing up. Lay a drop of polish in the recess with a toothpick. When it fully dries, lay in another drop. Eventually, the chip is filled up to its original level. Very light polishing with something like Simichrome can make the damage disappear. We recommend not paying so much attention to the finish.
Well designed carbon components can resist mechanical deterioration very
effectively. Their complex, layered structure creates many barriers to crack
propagation. Certainly, any serious damage recommends replacing the component.
Properly designed carbon components are designed to fail in a controlled
manner without catastrophic failure. Damage to the fiber layer warrants, at the
least, periodic inspection against crack development.

Carbon fiber components can deliver outstanding fatigue properties. Typically, the fatigue life of carbon components is far superior to that of aluminum alloy components. Carbon fiber composites are very corrosion resistant, they are essentially reinforced plastics. The specter of galvanic corrosion of adjacent metallic
components is controlled through proper design of bonded metal-composite joints;
thorough coverage of fiber with resin and non-conductive interfacial barriers of
glue and/or glass-fiber and surface clear-coats to electrically insulate the
joint prevent galvanic corrosion of neighboring metal components.
In our industry, carbon fiber is far from being fully harnessed. Design is taking huge
leaps forward. With metals, the technology is also advancing but at a far slower
rate. Conventional metal bicycle parts are nearing their theoretical potential,
but fiber composites have still un-tapped potential. Big developments lie ahead.

Tour de Kazakh!

You might have already seen this, but just for memories. Obviously, seems like a Borat impersonator. Or maybe not. Liggett I think refrained from commenting, maybe he wasn't even aware of the movie. The only person that laughed most was Bob Roll..

I double considered putting this picture here, I couldnt hold back. What absurdness! Do I see Eric Zabel on the left smiling there? (Apparently, Zabul can even climb better than most top sprinters.Bravo!)

TDF Highlights (Super Hilarious)

Vino's crotch mantle

Selle, the Italian saddle manufacturer, is quite commonly seen in the peleton these days, warm under the buttocks of notables like Robbie Mcewen and Tom Boonen (both prefer the same saddle, the beefed up but timeless San Marco Regal, which I'm getting my hands on soon!)

Selle Italia and Selle San Marco, I do not know if they are sister companies under the same name. Or else, Selle might mean 'saddle' and Italia and San Marco are two different things.

Anyway...

Talking of beefed up! Look at this baby. An Italia Flite Carbonio, white with custom etched graphics, just for Vino's blood doped bum. Yeah! Looks quite comfy, wouldn't you say? 

Richard Sach's Cyclocross experience!

The Tour - A Pharmaceutical Farce!

Right. Thats what reporters are calling it.

Believe me, no one can cover cycling like in a controversy. As you might all be knowing by now, the CHICKEN has been thrown out of the Tour. Within 24 hours, there were 1000+ news articles covering the story all over the internet.

Christian Moreni is the latest suspect for a positive testosterone test. His team, Confidis, is sent home and Bradley Wiggins is just pissed off! Cant blame him, after putting the best of his training to the test, he must have rode the best rides of his life so far. Now he has to sacrifice everything that he came hoping to do because of an idiot in his team. What a shame!

Now what is this year's Tour coming to?

Race organisers say the Tour will go on. Others, like this reporter, firmly thinks that the Tour this year should be pulled off under the legs of the riders, so that everyone clearly understands the severity of the embarrassment to the sport. We may be left to ask ourselves, what is the future really of this sport. Is a 100 years
just too much for the Tour to take, and as if out of some magic book, all the evil knowledge of human body and the pharmaceutical industry are taking out the very substance of the grand race - a showcase of pure human performance, mental and physical.

Its funny. He claims that Alberto's potential Tour victory will leave fans and sponsors politely accepting the fact, but now will start to ask , 'How did he beat the dopers?!' Silly as it sounds, thats how grave a situation the sport is. The Tour winner may no longer be a public hero, because he can't be a champion for his own sport. He leads a bad example. He may no longer be a climbing God, or a sprinting rocket. 

All the credits for those performances will be taken by the pills at the pharmacy.

Or someone else's blood.

Pelo Pics

The Chicken meets the chicken! Hahaha...

Look at the rabid fan on the left. Put some clothes on and ride a bike duuuude!

To be very honest with you, I think its terrible that everyone calls Rasmussen a chicken. Alright, granted that some riders in the peleton are known by certain names. For example, Hinault was named "The Badger" because of his aggressive riding style. But chicken?! Chicken is the worst thing to be called... haha, sure Rasmussen looks like one. But rider database says he weighs more than Contador, and ofcourse there are much lighter and smaller riders in the peleton. Chicken can't have a power-to-weight ratio like Rasmussen's... I feel a bit bad for the man, and I'm not ready to call him that until it is proved that he DOPED! Until that point, its going to be a self esteem issue for the poor Dane.

This picture is funny. Soler, with little experience riding in a grand tour, is downing everything he can find around him, to muster the energy to stay with the leaders. With his weird cycling helmet on, he reminds me of a character from ET hurriedly climbing up the slopes after a heinous crime. Brave Soler!

Cadel Evans - boy, does this man have the courage or what. I say balls!! However, he doesn't look too graceful in a stance like this one here, where the reporter must have been prudent about Evans puking all over him.

Rasmussen has a tattoo , or is it just me? Wonder what is says? Suppose the chicken has a dragon on his right shoulder? Hmm...

Great pics though. Epic man. Epic!

Note : These are courtesy of PezCycling News. http://www.pezcyclingnews.com/?pg=pelopics/pelopics07/pelopics-jul07c

The Real Cyclist

And... the man of the year award goes to ....

Something is just weird about him...

Notice anything fishy? The way he sits, talks... his body language. Its funny.





Boonen's comments.

My Rides in Weeks Ahead - 300+ Kilometers

I'm going to be doing quite some riding in the next few days, and weeks ahead.

10:00 AM July 14th - Going to rock out my bicycle on an trainer and ride at 70% Vo2 Max Power Output...

9:00 AM July 15th - Road Race in Buffalo called Corfu West.

If that doesn't work out, I'll probably end up doing some 8 or 10 hill repeats on this local climb in Lockport. Thats some 15 miles one way, so it'll be a sweet 50 miles in total.

July 19 : Jean Masse' Memorial Local Criterium Race - 30-40 mins of high speed action! I'll try and stay with thefront pack, usually its just too darn difficult for me because I don't do things right. I have to find a sweet spot.

July 21 : (If weather willing...) A super cool 1 day 100 mile ride through the hilly village of East Aurora and back. Thats some 4500 feet of climbing in total.  Let's call it Tour de Sore. I named it! Some guys from our collegiate cycling club might also join, so its going to be sweet. I hate being lonely for a long onee...

August 6th-11th - The Tonga Denali Tour, a Tri State bike ride from Connecticut to Massachussetts and then back to Oneonta (around the Catskills).. I don't have much official information about it, but its more like a 200 mile ride, so we could be doing 30-40 mile rides everyday for a week though some awesome hilly roads and the excellent scenery offered by the Hudson River Valley. 


I'm positive some of these rides will continue to make my leg sore and my lungs heavy, 
but hey, theres tremendous fun in this suffering. You don't get it, do you?

Try riding a bike!

Tour's most difficult climb?

Whats the most difficult climb in the Tour de France this year? 

I don't know, but now I want to find out. Okay, maybe I knew this a bit late, but 
seemingly the legendary Alpe d'Huez, the staggering uncategorised 13.1 km climb at 8.1% with 21 hairpin turns (ooooph thats a pain!) is not featured this year. Since it is located in 
Isere, France.. I did not find it anywhere in the 21 stage profiles of the Tour. So, the riders
probably won't go on Alpe at all.

Then what?

Look at Stage 8 : Le Grand-Bornand Tignes (165 km).

Mountain passes & Hills
Le Grand-Bornand Tignes - 165 km
Km 15.5 - Col du Marais - 3.8 km climb to 4.1 % - 4 Category
Km 22.0 - Côte du Bouchet-Mont-Charvin - 2.0 km climb to 7.1 % - 3 Category
Km 46.5 - Col de Tamié - 9.5 km climb to 4 % - 2 Category
Km 99.5 - Cormet de Roselend (D.925-D.902) - 19.9 km climb to 6 % - 1 Category
Km 136.5 - Montée d'Hauteville (N.90-V.C) - 15.3 km climb to 4.7 % - 1 Category
Km 163.0 - Montée de Tignes - 18.0 km climb to 5.4 % - 1 Category

Now that's a hilly stage!!! At km 99.5, the boys will go 19.9 km at 6% straight up on a Cat 1! That will be a pain!

Look at stage 9 : Val-d’Isère - Briançon (159.5km).

I don't know if Alpe d'Huez comes somewhere in this stage. Maybe not. Here's what is known:

Mountain passes and hills :

Val-d’Isère Briançon - 159.5 km
Km 15.0 - Col de l'Iseran - 15.0 km climb to 6 % - H Category
Km 99.0 - Col du Télégraphe - 12.0 km climb to 6.7 % - 1 Category
Km 122.0 - Col du Galibier - 17.5 km climb to 6.9 % - H Category

Look at that last one there. 17.5 km at 6.9%. We won't miss the great Col du Galibier,
deemed to be the highest point in the Tour de France where legendary cyclists have shown
spectacular performances in the past years. Note however, in the stage profile, that Col 
de I'Iseran is 2770m, more than 100 meters above Galibier. Technically, that shouldbe the
highest point this year, when riders will breathe most hardest and meet the angels of cycling.

Now lets go to stage 15 : Foix Loudenvielle - Le Louron (196 km)

Mountain passes & Hills

Foix Loudenvielle - Le Louron - 196 km
Km 27.5 - Col de Port - 11.4 km climb to 5.3 % - 2 Category
Km 98.5 - Col de Portet d'Aspet - 5.7 km climb to 6.9 % - 2 Category
Km 114.0 - Col de Menté - 7.0 km climb to 8.1 % - 1 Category
Km 159.5 - Port de Balès - 19.2 km climb to 6.2 % - H Category
Km 184.5 - Col de Peyresourde - 9.7 km climb to 7.8 % - 1 Category

This could easily be the most difficult stage! The Col de Mente, at an amazing 8.1% gradient is sure to make some dizzy, I would most certainly puke going up that at racing pace!

Hold your horses though. When the riders are in Mazamet for Stage 14, lots of pain mightawait them.

I mean, just look at this staggering profile.

From 187 m at 67.5 km, riders will be riding at almost a constant uphill until the 94th kilometer,
when boy, that road will rise above their wheels like a rug. The boys will be going straight
up to Port de Pailhères.

Check out the info :

Mountain passes & Hills

Mazamet Plateau-de-Beille - 197 km
Km 9.0 - Côte de Saint-Sarraille - 9.0 km climb to 5.3 % - 2 Category
Km 146.5 - Port de Pailhères - 16.8 km climb to 7.2 % - H Category
Km 197.0 - PLATEAU-DE-BEILLE - 15.9 km climb to 7.9 % - H Category

Even though are two "H" category climbs (God knows what H stands for, if you ask me,
I would guess HORRIBLE!) in stage 9, stage 14 will most likely be the killer course, with both
those climbs looking solid at excess of 7%, 15-17 kms each.

17 km  = 10.6 miles.
1711 meters of climbing from kilometer 94 to 176.5.. thats 5612 feet of climbing in 82.5 km or 51.56 miles.... That, according to me, will take 
a lot of nerves.

I mean, who knows whats the most difficult. Its purely subjective and will depend upon the race
conditions, breakways etc. The pressures will be immense, I would say, in each of these
stages.

I'm just worried about who the King of Mountains will be...and who will take that Yellow Jersey
away from Cancellara and when. I put my hopes on Vinokourov, but he has been known to break at the wrong times. I really want him to win!

Source info : http://www.letour.fr

How the Tour Works

Picture courtesy of www.velonews.com.

MAIN COMPETITION

There are a number of official and unofficial competitions that are contested in the Tour. The key competitions are :

• The General Classification – The winner of the General Classification is the rider with the lowest cumulative time over the entire race. Since 1919, the leader of the GC at the end of the previous stage wears a yellow jersey on the following day’s stage. Standings in the GC are reported with the total time of the leader and the number of minutes and seconds slower each of the other riders is than the leader. The standings for the GC are subject to two adjustments. First, riders can earn “bonus” seconds (more accurately, deductions from their cumulative time) by winning or placing highly in a mass start stage (as much as 20 seconds off for winning one of the flat stages in the first week) or by being one of the first 3 riders across pre-determined points on the course called “intermediate sprints”. The second adjustment is that, for reasons of safety, all riders who cross the finish line in a group are credited with the same time, even if it takes the group a number of seconds to get across the line. Also, if there is a crash within 1 km of the finish (as in Stage 1 of last year’s tour in which Tyler Hamilton broke his collarbone), all riders in the group that crashed who eventually cross the finish line are credited with the same time as the rest of the group. The combination of bonuses and “same time” finishes means that aggressive riders who make long break-aways (and thereby get the intermediate sprint bonuses) and strong sprinters (who typically get the stage winner’s bonuses) fight it out for the yellow jersey early on – and the gap between first place on the GC and 100th place is measured in a handful of seconds. Once the race hits the mountains (or a large break-away succeeds – as in the stage to Pontalier in 2001), gaps of many minutes open up in the GC and the tight fights for a 2 second bonus in the first few stages are soon meaningless.

• The Points Competition – In addition to the GC, there are a number of other competions within the TDF. After the GC, the next most important is the points competition. Riders earn points based on the order of finish in each stage. For example, the winner of a mass start stage earns up to 35 points with lesser points awarded to finishers down to 20th place. In addition, a handful of points are also awarded at each of the intermediate sprints. The leader in the points competition wears a green jersey. In each of the last 3 years, the final winner of the green jersey has not been decided until the very last stage finish at the end of the Tour.

• The King of the Mountains competition – The next most important competition is the climbers’ points or “King of the Mountains” competition. Over the course of 3 weeks, the Tour goes over a number of mountains and mountain passes. Key stages finish at summits in the Pyrenees or the Alps. Each of the major climbs in the Tour is categorized based on its level of difficulty from a relatively painless category 4 up to long, steep category 1. The nastiest climbs of all, like the Galibier, Mont Ventoux, the Tourmalet and the Alpe d’ Huez, are classed as “hors categorie” or “outside of the classification”. Points are awarded to the first riders over the top of each climb – the tougher the climb, the more the points. The leader in the KOM competition wears a white jersey with large red polka-dots.

• Other Competitions – Prizes are also available for the leaders of the Team Competiton – a separate GC based on the total time of the first three riders on each team (exclusive of bonuses) on each stage. The leader of the Best Young Rider competiton (the highest placed GC rider under the age of 25) wears a White Jersey. A purely subjective assessment by the race officials determines who has the honour of wearing a red race number as the leader in the Most Aggressive Rider competition – awarded to the most stubborn of the break-away specialists. There is also the unofficial “competition” not to be the Lanterne Rouge – the rider in last place on the GC.

TYPES OF STAGES

Each racing day, the riders race one of the following types of race:

• A Mass Start race – most of the stages of the Tour are mass start races. The riders all start off together to cover a set route from one town to another. The stages in the first week to 10 days of the Tour are normally relatively flat. Later in the Tour, stages will involve riding up and down mountain passes. The winner of the stage is the first rider across the finish line.

• An Individual time Trial – Each year the Tour will include about 3 stages that are run as individual time trials. In an ITT, the riders start out one at a time at a set interval. Each rider is timed separately from the moment he is scheduled to start until he crosses the finish line. The rider with the lowest time for the day is the winner of the stage. In 2004, the first long ITT will be run very late in the race on a course up the Alpe d'Huez on stage 16.

• A Team Time Trial – The TDF usually includes a Team Time Trial stage. A TTT is like an ITT except that in a TTT, all members of a team start off together. If all goes well, the team rides together over the whole course and all members of the team are credited with the same time as that of the 5th team member to cross the finish line. Riders who cannot keep up with their team-mates, however, are on their own and will be timed individually. In a controversial decision, the Tour organizers have decreed that in 2004 no rider on a team that finishes within the time limit on the TTT stage will lise more than 2.5 minutes on the General Classification regardless of how far back the team finishes from the winning team.

OTHER THINGS TO KNOW

There are 21 teams taking part in the Tour this year, and there are 183 riders in total. Each team is supported by team cars that drive behind riders offering spare tires, wheels, and whole bikes in case of accidents. The person who usually drives the team car is the head coach, or director for that team and is known in French terms as "Directeur Sportiff".

Each rider or lead rider in a team's training protocol is so devised by his coaches that it is ensured that he peaks at the start of the Tour. Peaking means reaching ones highest and most optimum performance point that year, when he's most likely to achieve his maximum for that year. This is an interesting subject in sports science called Periodization.

Interesting thing about the Tour is that, as Phil Ligett remarked on Versus TV the other day, the Tour is the single most prestigious race in a cyclist's career, and that you may or may not be employed if you win a lot of other races. Once you win a stage in the Tour, you stay employed for sure!

Tour Trivia

For people who know nothing of the Tour de France, here's a nice historic tabulation of the great race beginning in 1903. It will make an interesting read.

For teams, sponsor information, and jerseys, look here. It would be nicer to have a website that told possibly everything, including rosters, what each rider specialized in, etc. Must I have to buy a special Tour de France guide to watch out for that, or must I play the official computer game?

I think its spectacular. Everyone should be talking about it. Apparently, I feel like I'm the only person excited about it from western new york. Not interested to know who's going to win, but I'm literally in the Le Tour cycling mood!!!! If by a stroke of the supernatural, the atlantic ocean yields a path to the riders to cross into the United States, man you bet I'll be hererunning besides them! Haha....! Crazy am I, eh? I'm freaked out.... !

Speaking of the Tour history, a great thing I have with me on my computer is the History of the Tour de France, a superb documentary on the Tour, its champions and their lives. I'm not sure where you can buy one from, I got mine from here. :) Le Tour de France is here, if you know how to handle bittorrent files. 

To conclude the day, here's an interesting read on Robert Millar, one of Britain's top cyclists. Nowadays, no one hears about him. Why? I don't know. Read.

Once you conquer a great race of truth as the Tour, you acheive the path to instant hero-dom. Your pedal worthiness is now instant value, value for your sponsors, your village, your country,
your family. If you're shrewd like Lance, you'll probably end up making millions of dollars a month, a super-luxary home, tons of media contracts and ad campaigns...you name it.  You are household.

Some, like our Robert Millar though, has disappeared off the face of the earth. 

That was a nice week!

A post race snap in cool down mode. Hows the cycling cap? :)

Alleghany State Park!

Looking back at the week, I raced the superfast Jean-Masse Crit, and did the Racoon Rally 25 mile road race in some of the hilliest roads I've been. I'm not sure of my standings in the race, but I did have a sprint finish up on the last climb. I was sucking the wheel of a local American racer, and about 60 meters to the finish , I broke off from him and edged past him at 19-20 mph while racer organiser and friend Larry Mordue cheered me on....


Looking back at the race yesterday, I am surprised I was strong enough to take the decision to sprint. It was good training, and I think I'll do more of it from hereon.


Oh did I tell you.. Some really young kid with a street bike and panniers was with us in the main pack and I was surprised he could take the 26 mph speed so easily. I keep imagining of the wonders of DRAFTING.... boy saves a lot of energy. I saw it first hand right there. The guy was racing with platform pedals!! Just awesome and hardcore....! Larry told me later that day that he finished the race, because on the climbs I never saw him!


Later that afternoon, after the races, we witnessed some hardcore trials, on trial bikes. Trialists (if you will) ride a special bike and maneuver them across boulders as big as houses to finish a short course. Bunnyhopping and balance are the names of the game, and every time you put your feet down, and your points increase. The person with the lowest points win. Amazing stuff. Never seen this anywhere before!


Letting that week go, I have to head to Church in a while, and rest my slightly sore legs. I'll post up my race results as and when I get it, including a photo from a pro-photographer who clicked me on the second climb.