Cleveland Does Rock!

Literally! I went to the "Rock and Roll Hall of Fame" while I was there a couple of weeks ago. It was quite impressive! The Hall sits on Lake Erie and is very easy to get to from the freeway if you follow the signage. They had a very nice display on The Beach Boys and great presentations on a wide variety of performers and groups. My personal favorites were The Who, The Allman Brothers, Rush, The Clash, and The Ramones. The story on the rise of Punk Rock was very interesting and brought back alot of memories. There was also a cool tribute to Les Paul, inventor of the electric guitar. If you're ever in Cleveland, make sure to visit. Foodwise, I ate several meals at a local restaurant chain called Max and Erma's. Very good food and great service make for a pleasant time. The price was decent as well. By the way, great skyline Cleveland!

Its been freezing cold when I've been home so I haven't been able to ride much at all. I can't wait for the pro cycling season to get started. Het Volk is on March 1st and it couldn't get here soon enough. I really think cycling is starting to get its collective legs under it after several years of doping scandals. Although I don't think we've seen the last of it, I do think our sport has made huge strides in cleaning up. In the classics I think we'll see great racing from Fabian Cancellara, Damiano Cunego (who'll pull his crap together this year), Daniele Bennati, and Tom Boonen (who I think is due to crank it up). I'd love to see Slipstream tear it up this spring!

In the major tours, watch out for team CSC. If Frank and Andy Schleck, and Carlos Sastre can put together a team strategy they'll be hard to beat in the Giro & TDF. Damiano Cunego could do great as well. I don't think Cadel Evans has a team that can help him win a major tour, but he'll continue to be in contention. Sadly, Alberto Contador could win the TDF again. But I'm sorry to say I don't trust him and his new Astana team. DS Johan Bruyneel is bad news considering the number of doped up riders with a USPS/ Disco history. I can honestly say I'll be rooting against them.

I worked in Philly this week and as I was driving down the freeway I passed the exit sign for "Manayunk". My mind went instantly back to the mid eighties and Winning magazine. I loved reading about the Corestates U.S. Pro Championships Road Race. With a 10% to 17% grade, that half mile climb up the infamous "Manayunk Wall" was gruesome to be sure! I remember a picture of a guy with a garden hose, spraying riders down from his front yard! It'd be cool if I could time a trip with a race.