John Adams

I've been watching the HBO series "John Adams" the last several weeks. It's based on the book "John Adams" by David McCullough. I've never read the book (so many books, so little time) but this series is absolutely fantastic in every way. I highly recommend it.

In the way of books I've just finished "Paul Revere's Ride" by historian David Hackett Fischer. Have you ever picked up a book and not wanted to put it down? This fellow can really make history come alive. I understand his book "Washington's Crossing" is excellent as well.

El Manzana Grande!

I made my first trip to NYC this week. Now I get it! I've been in most of the major cities in this country and it's one of the most unique and coolest places I've been. It's almost overwhelming. I started out with appointments in Connecticut and worked my way back. On my way to Connecticut I passed the Mets new stadium. It looks great and I hope to catch a game at Shea later this year. It's the last year for Yankee stadium as well and catching a game there is a must! Interestingly, I ended up renting a room at a HoJo in the Bronx. $100 doesn't get you very much nowadays, it was a dump (the HoJo & the Bronx). However, I met someone for breakfast at a "Seinfeld" like diner the next morning and the food and service were great.

If you ever visit a big city you'd be doing yourself a huge favor to use a GPS to get around! Just type in the address and it'll drop you on the doorstep. I have a Magellan and I can't begin to tell you how great it works! Most of my trip has been on Long Island. Since no trip to the area would be complete without "a slice", today I had some great pizza at a Mama Theresa's. If you ever find yourself in Westbury, NY do yourself a favor and check it out. You won't regret it I can tell you that. The eggplant panini I had there last night was excellent as well.

Some things I appreciate about New Yorkers...

• Their bluntness (You can be polite & blunt).
• Their sense of belonging (everyone should be proud of where they're from).
• They (at least the ones I ran into) give great directions.
• They know how to have a great time (when it comes to entertainment, if they don't have it you dont need it).
• They know how to eat (the variety and quality is amazing).

JFK is a pretty easy airport to get around. I was able to get to the AirTrain and to my rental car agency easily. I've been driving a Chevy Cobalt. It's a bucket of bolts, but it's good on gas. I used Jetblue this week and had no problems. Aside from being delayed a few times I usually don't. Their planes are always very clean and have plenty of legroom.

I really look forward to getting to know this city!

O-Hi-O

Last week I made my first trip into Columbus, Ohio. I've got to say, Ohio is a great state to visit. I was in Cleveland several months ago and enjoyed my week. Last summer I found myself in Cincinnati and spent an evening at "The Great American Ballpark". It's a beautiful park and I had an absolute blast. I even managed to snag a ball during pregame BP! So I wasn't surprised that Columbus was a great place to visit as well. What always makes a city stand out is cleanliness, pleasant people, and great food. Columbus has all three! I enjoyed several meals at "Max & Erma's" and some great BBQ at "City BBQ". We're talking North Carolina style pulled pork & great hush puppies! Columbus' airport is clean, has some decent restaurants, and has free wireless internet, which is a rarity nowadays.

I also made an overnight trip down to Northern Kentucky for an appointment. Afterwards I had a couple of hours to kill so I went through the nearby "Creation Museum". I was very impressed! I'm a firm believer in the Biblical view of creation, hence a "young Earth". They present the facts/ case extremely well and it was well worth the price of admission ($20 for adults).

I also got to use my new Magellan GPS this week and it's great! Pop in the address and it drops you on the doorstep! Next week will be a real test because I'm making my first trip to Long Island, NY and Southern Connecticut.

Congratulations to CSC stud Fabian Cancellara, who stole off the front of a strong break and time trialed his way to a win at Milan- San Remo, one of cyclings classic races! Cancellara is having an amazing season thus far. He won Tirreno- Adriatico last week as well!

As for me, I'm still battling problems with my sciatic nerve and have only been on the bike once in the last month and a half. It started out as a back problem. It is getting slightly better, but it's taking a long time. I'm hoping for some real improvement this week.

Elkhart, Indiana = Suckin' on chili dogs, outside a Tasty Freeze...

Last week I flew into Indianapolis and made a 3 hour drive North to Elkhart, Indiana. First, let me say that Indianapolis has a great airport! It's very tidy and has a variety of restaurants to choose from. Elkhart on the other hand is in dire need of a "touch up". It looks dirty and very run down. The roads are some of the cruelest I've had the displeasure of rolling over. Potholes have spread throughout the area like STD's in a public high school. This was made to feel even worse due to the fact that I was driving a Ford Focus. What a piece of crap!


I had a number of completely unforgetable meals. These were consumed in your typical chain restaurants. Try as I might, I didn't see anything local that looked interesting enough to risk a few bucks on. That's pretty sad considering I'm really not that picky. Were it not for the great people I met with this week I'd say that Elkhart has no redeeming qualities at all. I was very amused that as I was driving around on a couple of occasions, one of the local radio stations played several John Cougar Mellancamp songs, thus providing the perfect theme music for my trip. Mellancamp's songs are custom made for Elkhart. Lame tunes for a lame town.


I wanted to make a side trip to South Bend and check out Notre Dame, but I didn't have the time. I also noticed a sign for the "College Football Hall of Fame" in South Bend. That will be a "must see" on my next trip to the area as well. So at the very least, nearby South Bend has something interesting to see.


Cycling wise, aside from a 20 mile spin a week and a half ago, I haven't been able to ride at all. My back pain is almost completely gone, but now I'm having problems with a sciatic nerve. The pain is excruciating at times. I've been going to a chiropractor for a couple of weeks now and it's helping. But my recovery is hampered by my work travel. The only solace that I have is that the weather's been on the crappy side. I've been following "Paris- Nice" on Podium Cafe. Some of these guys subscribe to cycling tv and do a great job of posting a play by play. David Rebellin won the GC today after one hell of a week of racing! It's to bad Gerolsteiner is pulling its sponsorship at the end of the year.


I'm shocked and depressed to hear that CSC is pulling out as well! These are the fruits of doping in cycling! DOPERS really do SUCK!! I do believe cycling is making great strides to clean itself up. I think ASO not inviting Astana to race is a good idea. I think they're wise to the potential mess they'd be inviting. After reading David Walsh's book "From Lance to Landis", listening to Betsey Andreu's interview on The Competitor's radio show, and various other things, I wouldn't trust anything coming out of the U.S. Postal/ Discovery Channel program.

Davey Lopes

I've bled Dodger Blue since I was old enough to know what baseball was. I was weaned on Dodger baseball in the 70's and have the fondest memories of baseball in that era. I spent many an afternoon and evening camped out in front of the TV watching my baseball hero's at their craft. The Dodger infield of Garvey, Cey, Russell, and Lopes played together for a record 8 1/2 years.

I'm very sorry to hear that my favorite player when I was growing up, Davey Lopes, has recently been diagnosed with prostate cancer. Not only was Davey one of the best 2nd basemen of his era, he was a very nice man as well. When I was around 10 years old, I wrote him a letter and he responded by sending me a really great postcard. It's an action shot of him running, helmet falling off the back of his head, obviously attempting to steal a base. It's inscribed "To Mike, best wishes always, Davey Lopes". That nice note made a 10 year olds life A- OK!

I was devastated when he was traded to the A's. It was hard to see him in another teams uniform. It was very weird! I liked Steve Sax and eventually got used to him. But it wasn't the same. I went up to DC and watched a Nats game a couple of years ago. I didn't know it at the time, but he was base coaching for the Nats. That was pretty cool, and brought back a lot of memories.

Davey, may God bless you at this time in your life.

Let the racing begin!

Blink, and a month and a half blows by! I wish I can say it's been pleasant, but I injured my back somehow and the pain has been unreal. On top of that, I've been traveling for work as well. However, on a happy note I've been seeing a chiropractor and I've felt significantly better the last week or so.

Travel wise, I've been to Boston, Albany, Detroit, Indianapolis, and all over Virginia and Maryland. I'm going to start "reviewing" and "rating" some of the cities and towns I visit frequently. Maybe I'll rate some of the airports as well. Maybe I'll start this week, I'm flying into Indianapolis and then driving to Elkhart, Indiana.

My back has kept me off the bike as well, and I'm getting depressed. I did go out last Monday for about 20 miles with my son. He's got a lot of potential! At 16, he's got a lot of energy to burn. I'd love to get both my sons a really nice bike. Right now they share an old Cilo. It's good though, for as much as they ride at the moment. My 15 year old son could be quite good as well. He's got a lot of stamina.

Thank goodness the pro peleton is back on the road and providing me quality entertainment. The Tour of California was great! Het Volk was very good as well, Philippe Gilbert had a quality win for Francaise Des Jeux. The guy is a stud!

Cobbles are insane! Last Saturday, I watched "A Sunday in Hell". That is one hell of a documentary and I highly recommend it to anyone. Paris Roubaix with Merckx, De Vlaemink, Maartens, and Moser! It doesn't get better than that.

Paris- Nice is running this week and it should be a good race if the UCI doesn't screw it up by intimidating the riders into not racing.

Man I love cycling! Last week I was thinking about Bob Brooks. I started riding in Fresno, CA when I was in my late teens. Bob was an older gentleman with legs of steel and Olympic class lung power. He holds a number of records for various cycling disciplines in his age group. I'd see him out on the road sometimes and he was always very kind and encouraging. He doesn't know it, but he was an inspiration to me. I hope he's doing well! Viva Bob Brooks!

I'm very pissed to hear that the the U.S. open Cycling Championships have been moved from Richmond to Providence, RI! What the hell? It only lasted one year in Richmond? I was really looking forward to watching the boys hammer up Libby Hill. When am I gonna catch a break? There was no Tour of Cali when I lived there. When there's finally a good quality race in the town I live in, it's moved after one year!Whatever happened to the Captech Classic by the

way?

That was a great race through the streets of downtown Richmond. I was out of town a couple of years ago when it was last held. I've not heard a thing about it since.

My wife and I celebrated 18 years of marriage last week. I can honestly say I'm a very blessed man. She's a wonderful wife, friend, and mother. I definitely "married up"! We went out for dinner at a new Japanese restaurant called "Kubuki". It was terrific! The chef was quite the showman. He was tossing knives and playing with fire, it was very entertaining and the food was excellent! all in all it was a memorable evening.