Capital to Capital Century 2010- A Saturday in Hell

It's been two days since I completed the Cap2Cap Century and I'm still amazed that I finished.

This was my third consecutive year riding this relatively flat 100 mile route and I felt fairly well prepared to put in a good day "in the saddle". It's not a race mind you, but I do enjoy competing against myself and trying to improve my best time. While I don't have as many miles in at this point as I did last year (weather, work, etc), I'm certainly not in bad shape by any means. Miles wise January and February were meager. In March I squeezed in 300 miles. April was very good and I pounded out 500. I do the bulk of this on weekends and an occasional office week. Plus, I've spent much of the last year focusing on overall conditioning and I'm feeling like I'm in the best shape of my life overall.

That being said, when I woke up Saturday morning I felt like I could at least equal last year's time of 5 hours and 15 minutes. At 7:30 am a couple hundred of us rolled out on the road to Colonial Williamsburg. Much of the route is absolutely beautiful and the scenery is amazing. We cut through small towns and pass Colonial era plantations on heavily shaded roads. Sometimes the smell of the honeysuckle and gardenia is overpowering!

I jumped into a really decent pace line of about 20 riders and after warming up we were steaming along at an average speed of about 25 mph! I took a couple of good pulls at the front and we rolled into the first rest area. I refilled my bottles and ate a banana and a Clif bar. About 10 minutes later we were off again and clipping along at a good pace. As we were going past some open fields I noticed that we were being helped by a very stiff tailwind and our average speed was now around 32 or 33 mph. While this was deliriously fun heading toward the turn around point, I knew if the wind didn't change directions it would be a suck fest of mammoth proportions on the way back.

At the 50 mile turnaround I ate, drank, and relaxed in the shade for a little bit. It was starting to get hot and the wind was really picking up. I don't like sitting for too long because you start to stiffin' up, so I decided to get moving. I was talking with one of the ride volunteers when someone started yapping over his radio that they need an ambulance somewhere. A rider had been blown into another rider and they both went down pretty hard! Yikes! I took off with a couple of other guys and as we were heading over the James River bridge the wind felt UNREAL! I thought it was because we were on a bridge (duh!) but that was not the case. The bridge is not long, nor steep but it seemed to take forever to cross. We were going about 12 mph!

Once we crossed the river and got into the tree line it was a little better, but not much. We wanted to form an echelon, a great way to get in someones draft in a crosswind. But that doesn't work to well on a fairly well traveled road. The choice was echelon and risk getting thumped by a car or suffer in the wind. We chose the wind. The next 50 miles was by far the worst physical suffering I've ever felt in my life! We tried to stay together but eventually we were separated. You want to help a guy, but you can only do so much. You just go at whatever pace you think you can maintain. I did everything I could think of to distract myself from the pain. I said my Rosary. I asked every Saint I could think of to pray for me. I said an unknown number of Hail Mary's. I recited every prayer I could think of several times over.

The last 25 or 30 miles were a nightmare of freakish pain! I Filled my bottles at the last rest stop and ate again. I was only there about five minutes and took off again with Robert. Robert and I had ridden about 50 miles together off and on during the ride. He unintentionally dropped me on the first "hill" and he was a constant dot on the horizon for the next 15 miles or so. I finally caught him, and unintentionally dropped him about 2 miles later. I actually wanted to quit with 12 miles to go, then I saw a pair of crap filled white jockey shorts laying on the side of the road! How FREAKING BIZARRE! I've seen a lot of debris on the side of the road in my time but I can honestly say that was a first! I thought "if you quit with twelve miles to go after all you've been through today that will sum it all up"! So I put my head down and kept going. With three miles to go I had another first, my quads started cramping like mad! I had to put pressure on certain points to keep them from totally imploding.

When I finally crossed the line I was emotionally spent. I felt nothing whatsoever. No joy. No sense of accomplishment. Nothing. I just sat on a chair and tried not to fall over. I started feeling light headed and having sharp stomach cramps and decided to use a Port o' John. After a few minutes in there the cramps started to get so bad that I decided it was time to vamoose! I didn't want to pass out and die in a portable crapper. That's not a noble way to go and would not sit well with the wife and kids. So I staggered over to some grass and layed down for about 20 minutes.

Finally I felt good enough to partake of the lunch they provided. I had some "Buzz and Ned's" barbecue and tried to drink as much as I could. Carol came and picked me up. She'd been at the soccer fields all day with the girls and was worried about me when she saw how windy it was. Sunday I was not feeling too hot at all, but I'm doing much better today. I still feel extremely weak, but the stomach cramps are almost gone.

I'll be working in Albany this week. Usually I'd already be thinking about the upcoming weekends rides. At the moment it's the last thing I want to think about.

End Result- 103 miles in 6 hours, 5 minutes.

2009 Capital to Capital Century

Last Saturday I participated in the "Capital to Capital Century" for the second year in a row. The course is beautiful in a way I can only describe as "Southern" in terrain and spring scents. The 100 mile route ventures along portions of the James River, passing colonial plantations and civil war battlefields. Huge portions of it feel like you're passing through a forest. At 8 AM sharp, several hundred of us who were doing the century left Rocketts Landing on the Richmond waterfront heading towards Williamsburg, Virginia's colonial era capital. Rides of 50 and 25 miles left later that morning. Over 1300 cyclists signed up for the various rides.

There's a lot that goes into preparation for a century (if you want everything to go smoothly). Thursday I cleaned the drive train on my bike and did some minor adjustments. I didn't want any "mechanicals" to ruin my ride. Friday night I loaded up the Honda with all the gear I might need and mixed my water bottles (Hammer Nutrition supplements are the best!). The forecast was for the low 80's and probable thunderstorms. Last year was a bit on the cool side and we had a light rain at times. Carol, Jillian, and I got up very early Saturday morning and hit the road. It was nice to have "my girls" there to see me off.

This year I was very prepared, having about 1,100 miles in my legs. In fact, I'd already done rides of 45 (Monday), 40 (Tuesday), and 28 (Thursday) last week to keep my legs loose. So I felt ready for the challenge. My goal was to have a decent time and finish comfortably.

The first 25 was great. I warmed up and jumped into a great paceline of about 15 cyclists and we were clipping along pretty good. I took some fairly long pulls at the front and my computer said I was between 21 to 25 mph. When I'd slide over to let someone else have a go at the front it was really cool to watch the line move past me. I'd slide down until I saw a gap and then move into the line. On the down side; at about mile 20 or so we ran into some pretty rough road. In fact one stretch of chuck holes caused total chaos! The gal next to me bumped wheels with another cyclist and they both went down very hard. Several of us stopped to help. They both had some nasty road rash, but remarkably decided to continue riding! I saw both of them after the ride, bandaged up and happily chatting with their friends. That's pretty hardcore in my book!

During the second 25 I hooked up with 4 0r 5 riders from Rowlett's, a local shop team (They did all the work, I was invited to sit in). We were flying and I rolled into the Williamsburg rest area in good shape! I ate a Clif Bar and banana. Refilled my bottles and rested in the shade for about 15 minutes. I didn't want to sit for too long, when you do that your legs can get pretty stiff. Plus, it was really starting to heat up so I decided to start the trek back towards Richmond.

Miles 50 to 75 were pretty good. Once again I jumped into a pace line and was able to take some long pulls at the front. By now the temp was in the high 80's and it was very humid. I'm a fanatic when it comes to hydration, so I wasn't having any problems, but I started to notice a number of people sitting on the side of the road rubbing their calves, etc. To their credit, the organizer's did provide a "broomwagon" you could call if you had any problems, so I'm sure they were busy.

The last 25 weren't all that bad. My legs were tired, but not destroyed. I backed it down a bit the last 15 miles or so. I had some great company when I teamed up with Craig, a Rowlett's team member. Craig is on their mountain bike team and riding a friend's road bike (A sweet Litespeed!). We were able to pace each other along whilst chatting. Having someone to suffer with makes it go quicker (thanks Craig!) and is part of the experience as far as I'm concerned.

When I crossed the finish line I had a tremendous sense of accomplishment (and I really wanted to park myself in the shade). I grabbed some food and relaxed with "my girls" and fellow cyclists. We swapped tales and just enjoyed each others company. I got a free massage! I absolutely love cycling! Physically, I don't think there's a harder sport from an anaerobic standpoint. It's a great way to stay in shape and it helps you burn stress. I sleep better and it makes me want to watch what I eat. Not only that, I get some of my best ideas for work presentations while I'm riding! It has its own unique "community" and with its rich history it's a great sport to follow as well. I'm hoping to find another century to do later this year. Who knows, maybe I'll just go out and do one on my own...

Capital to Capital Century Prep

This Saturday I'll tackle the "Capital to Capital century" again! It's a 100 mile ride from downtown Richmond to Williamsburg and back. I'm not sure how many people are riding the century, but there are around 1000 cyclists registered for the various rides. It makes for quite an atmosphere. Last year I did it in 5 1/2 hours. I'm in much better shape this year and would like to cut my time down. I've been putting in a lot of time at the gym and have a very decent mileage base this spring. My weight is down and my overall strength is up as a result, so I should feel better the 2nd half of the ride. I've been getting my miles in when I'm home, averaging 40- 50 miles an outing several times a week for the last month or so. I've also found some decent climbs, so I've had a lot more "hill work" this year as well. When all is said and done I'm very pumped for this ride! The route is beautiful, I'm feeling great, and I absolutely love my bike!

I found a really cool link to some info about my first "real bike"! Man, did I ever love that Fuji!! I don't have any idea how many miles I put on that bike, but it felt like a part of me. I wish I still had it.

http://www.classicfuji.com/ClubFuji_1985_Page.htm

Hell of the North!

Tom Boonen avoided the carnage in the Arenberg Forest and basically brutalized his opponents to win his 3rd Paris- Roubaix in 5 years. He opened up a 15- 20 second gap with 13 kilometers to go and that was that. Never let a two time winner power up the road (easier said than done no doubt)! The Belgian flag should have a cobblestone right smack in the middle of it.

More Important Things...

Last Sunday was a great day! We went to Easter Mass at St. Joseph's, it was a beautiful service and really reminded me of what's ultimately important in life. God and family. God has truly blessed me in innumerable ways, far more than I deserve! I cannot possibly express how thankful I am for all that He has done for me. I'm even thankful for the trials. They've made me a spiritually stronger and more sympathetic person. There's a lot of disturbing things going on in our country and the world on many levels. Most, if not all of it angers and disgusts me. It's as if a fire hose of ignorance has been opened up by and on humanity. However, it's important to not lose sight of the of the many, many wonderful things that happen on a daily basis as well.

I just want to leave "the vineyard" in a little better shape for my posterity. The older I get, the more apparent my own mortality becomes I guess.

Belgian Bad Ass!!

Stijn (Stain) Devolder, and his posterity, will never have to pay for a beer in Belgium again after he won his second consecutive Tour of Flanders! With 261 km of racing in the wind and on some perversely steep cobbled hills, you must have an iron will, legs, and lungs to finish this race, let alone win it! What a perfect stud this guy is!

This week the "Monuments" continue with Ghent- Wevelgem and my personal favorite, Paris- Roubaix. I predict good rides from Fabian Cancellera, Heinrich Haussler, and Tom Boonen. Cobbles, cobbles, cobbles!!

I had a great ride yesterday. It was a beautiful 68 degrees, I did both hills on Old Gun Road and felt great! 44 miles in 2 1/2 hrs! Today it poured rain (urgh!), so I hit the gym after I did my office work. I'm really looking forward to the Capital to Capital Century next month. It's a beautiful ride from Richmond to Williamsburg and back. Last year I was recovering from a back injury, I finished just fine but was suffering a little towards the end. I'm in much better shape this year and want to finish strong.

Today was a pretty good day...

I got my work done early and put in a 44 mile ride (2 1/2 hours)! It's absolutely pouring rain right now and it's supposed to let up tomorrow morning, which is a good thing because Carol & Heather are doing the Ukrop's 10k in Richmond around 11am. If they're lucky, it'll just drizzle a little. This run is a pretty big deal on the east coast. Around 20,000 people are signed up if the news is correct.

My ride went very well. It was cloudy, dry and about 58 degrees. All I needed to stay warm was my arm warmers and vest. It's nice to pedal along the James River and enjoy the scenery before climbing up Old Gun Road. It's not a steep climb, or particularly long, but I hit it at about the 25 mile mark so if I'm not feeling all that great it can hurt a little. Today I felt very strong and blasted up as fast as I ever have! It felt terrific! My fitness level has really taken off over the last two weeks. I've put in a lot of upper body and core work over the winter and really ramped it up the last few weeks. It really feels like it's paying off. I'm not where I want to be weight wise, but I've not been this light in years. I'm very happy now, but I'd like to drop another 10 or 15, I'd be ecstatic!

As I plodded along I thought about how important it is to practice "self denial". From large and small financial decisions, to what we feed our minds, to quantity and quality of food choices; it's a great habit to cultivate in every facet of our lives. I've not always been good at it, but I try and that's a good place to start I guess.

I celebrated my fine day with an Amstel Light.

Pot O' Gold!

The Eighties were an incredible time for Irish cycling! It's not like the peleton's cup was running over with Irishmen, I can only remember four. Two of them were amongst my absolute favorites, Sean Kelly and Stephen Roche. Martin Early didn't get much press but was a very capable rider for Fagor (sweet kits) and PDM. Paul Kimmage toiled for RMO and later penned the very compelling "Rough Ride".

My first look at Kelly was the 1986 Paris- Roubaix. The combo of Phil Liggett's commentary and John Tesh's techno music blew me away. That was the most heroic sporting event I'd ever watched at that point in my life! This race was long, cold, wet and muddy. Over cobblestones? You've got to be joking! These are HARD men!! I wanted a KAS jersey something fierce!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s_onBx2ZSHA

http://cyclinghalloffame.com/riders/rider_bio.asp?rider_id=49

Sean Kelly was a flat out freak on a bicycle! He also won the Vuelta d' Espana!

Stephen Roche was a weapon of mass destruction in 1987! He won the Giro D' Italia, Tour de France, and World Championship; only Eddy Merckx had accomplished that before.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9BrvsSOs920

"It's only a mountain..."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z8woHATqz8E

http://www.cyclinghalloffame.com/riders/rider_bio.asp?rider_id=114

I still have my Carrera jersey (what a team that was!).

Happy St. Patrick's Day!!

Rain, Rain, Drizzle, Drizzle

What a sucky weekend! Sometimes I think the weather has it in for me. The weeks I'm on the road it's 70 degrees and sunny. Lately, the weeks (or weekends) I'm working at home its too crappy to venture out. So I spin on my trainer, which bores me to no end. On the plus side I have been hitting the Y and getting some really good upper body/ core sessions in.

I've been using Hammer Nutrition's HEED drink mix the last few weeks and can't say enough positive things about it! I've used Hammer Gel for about a year or so and love it as well. They have an excellent website with some very interesting articles about their sports supplements; you can check it out at http://www.hammernutrition.com/.

I was up in the DC area this week and had Korean food for the first time. It was teriffic! In fact, I may go on a Korean food tangent. The dish I had is called Bibim Bap. It's a salad of sorts with rice, and several small bowls of a variety of marinated vegetables. You mix them all together and add some of the spicy sauce that came with it. I love variety in my diet and this is something I plan on enjoying again!

If you ever find yourself in Alexandria, VA you should check out Hee Been on Little River Turnpike (http://www.heebeen.com/), you won't be disappointed.

Tour of California Rolls Through the Valley

I had an "office week" last week and was able to watch most of the ToC on Versus. It was great to see a couple of stages roll through the San Juaquin Valley on some of the same roads I used to train on! While we had some very good racing in the Fresno area back in the 80's, who would've ever guessed that a pro peleton as strong as that would roll through the Valley? I was amazed at the size of the crowds along the route of every stage!

Mark Cavendish stormed to victory in Clovis, just nipping Tom Boonen at the line!

He actually sat up a hair to early and was lucky that Boonen didn't snag that win! I Like Cavendish quite a bit. He's young and although some would say he's cocky, I think he exudes the confidence of someone who's racked up a pile of impressive wins. This kid is only going to get better!

The next day the ToC started in my wife's hometown of Visalia. I consider Visalia my adopted hometown and spent a lot of time riding in the foothills around Visalia and nearby Exeter. Visalia has hosted a teriffic road race and criterium every year since the mid 80's.

It was cool to watch the peleton line up at the corner of Church St. and Acequia!













Visalia has always turned out great crowds for the crit every year but they really outdid themselves at the ToC!

Overall the coverage and racing was pretty good. I'll admit my patience was tested with the Lance lovefest that was inflicted on me every day by Phil, Paul, and their sidekick who seems to ramble on. I love Phil Liggett. He's been the voice of pro cycling forever. However, when he starts yammering on about Armstrong I feel the bile start to churn in my stomach. On top of that you had the likes of Landis, Basso, Hamilton, and the rest of Rock Racing soiling the ranks of the peleton. It was a dopers reunion of sorts.

Another thing that needs to be addressed is the idiots running next to the riders on the climbs. Good grief! This is a safety issue and if people don't have the sense to stay out of the way it's going to cost someone their season. There were dozens of fat, wheezing losers sprinting along in asinine outfits within inches of putting a rider on the deck. I wouldn't be surprised if a rider dismounted and beat someone senseless!

I did manage to get in about 120 miles last week. The weather has been pretty chilly, but I picked up a Pearl Izumi Insulator jacket and some new Pearl booties a couple of months ago when I was working in New Hampshire (at a Pearl Izumi store no less). They work great! I've been trying some new embrocation by "Sports Balm" that I bought here at 3 Sports as well. It's very warm, but not overwhelming, with a great scent. Perfect on a cold windy day!

Mowtown is Rundown!

I've been here working for several days and I've got to say, Detroit is a dump! I've been here four times over the last year and it's always the same. Filthy hotels and restaurants, depressing scenery, and roads that remind me of carpet bombed runways! On top of that the wind has been blowing about 30-40 mph all week. That's great in one sense; it cleans the streets by blowing all the trash who knows where.

Good job Detroit!

On a happier note, the weather in Richmond has been pretty decent for putting in some miles on the bike. Last weekend I was able to get in several 40 mile rides! Over the Winter I've been working pretty hard on my upper body conditioning and I can already tell a huge difference from where I was at this point last year.

I became interested in Catholicism last Fall and started attending the Latin Mass at "Our Lady of Fatima" in November. I've had some good Catholic friends for a number of years, but never really discussed religion with them. I always assumed (big mistake) that most of the bad things I've heard about Catholicism over the years were true and hence, had zero interest. However, early last Fall I read an excellent book by Tom Woods; "How the Catholic Church Built Western Civilization" and it perked my curiosity. I had many questions for my friends and they were answered well enough that I decided to investigate Catholicism seriously. Several months and countless hours of study later, I've got to say I've fallen in love with the theology and the Mass. I'll certainly post more about this exciting change in my life in a future post!

Cancer Sucks, And So Do Dopers!

Just when pro cycling is starting to put a dozen or so years of asterisk worthy results behind it, the worst example of "getting away with it" in sports has decided to poison the peleton. Lance Armstrong announced his intention to seek an 8th Tour crown via a carefully crafted propagandaesque 'interview" with Douglas Brinkley in Vanity Fair http://www.vanityfair.com/culture/features/2008/09/armstrong200809?currentPage=1.

It's a very revealing look into the mindset of a foul mouthed celebrity athlete who's hoping to ride his popularity into political office someday.

Like many, I was thrilled (and shocked) when he won his first tour. He'd been a very good classics rider with the potential to be excellent, he even picked up a couple of stage wins, but win the Tour? After Cancer? Wow, what a miracle! His second win was equally impressive. After his third win in a row I really started to have my doubts. Not just about him, but much of the peleton. The speed at which these guys were plowing up the cols was unbelievable (literally)!

My discomfort with what was obviously going on with pro baseball absolutely fueled my suspicion of what was going on in cycling. When I was growing up, most baseball players were long and lean and if a guy cracked 20-25 home runs he had an awesome year. If you hit 30 or more you were a freak. Not many guys could do that. Starting in the early 90's, long and lean

became WWF. Guys started looking like "Hans and Franz" from the old SNL skits, and it seemed like anybody (even Brady Anderson) could go yard at will.

Unfortunately, baseball leadership, ownership, and management knowingly ignored the obvious. Attendance and profits were way up, "it'll be our little secret". I believe the same situation existed in cycling with regards to Armstrong and those he left in his wake. The story was great, sponsorships were up, and America was lapping up the Armstrong story. Sadly, the story is garbage...

• His open association with infamous doping doctor Michele Ferrari is telling.

• Almost every one of Armstrong's main rivals during his run have been identified as dopers (and he destroyed them all riding clean as a whistle?).

• A large number of his former teammates have been caught doping, or have admitted to doping.

• I believe the Andreau's story regarding Armstrong's admission to using PED's.

• I find the Oakley rep Stephanie McIlvain's recorded admission that she lied "on the stand" about what she heard in the Armstrong hospital room nauseating.

• He led the charge in bullying clean riders if they spoke out about doping in the peleton.

Before they let this guy take the line, I really hope the ASO thinks long and hard about the irreparable damage this walking drip bag has inflicted on pro cycling.

Two Wheeled Idiocy

I never cease to be amazed at the sheer idiocy I see as I'm out riding. Usually it's motorists who act like they ate a bowl of paint chips for breakfast. Today I was half way through a 45 miler when I saw the biggest idiot on two wheels I have ever observed. I was stopped in the bike lane at a red light when a "cyclist", riding between the two lanes on my left charged through the red light! Cars literally had to slow down to avoid drilling him! He was about a quarter mile up the road when the light changed, I clipped in and started reeling him in. I rolled along about 50 yards in back of him, amazed at what I saw.

This asshat was riding a Lemond of some sort, with aero bars. He was using said aero bars and was drifting so far out of the bike lane and into traffic that cars had to switch lanes to get around him. He looked at them as they went by, so I have no doubt that he didn't care at the hazard that he was creating. He was wearing an orange "muscle shirt", blue basketball shorts, white athletic socks that went half way up his shins, some sort of "hybrid" cycling shoes, and a cheap helmet that wasn't fastened. He also had some sort of aluminum bottle jammed upside down in his water bottle cage, and a camera bag slung over his shoulder.

As we approached Midlothian Turnpike (a very busy road) I slowed for the red light and he played human "frogger" again, pedaling through another red light. I waited through the light cycle and saw him stopped in front of a Quizno's, drinking from his aluminum bottle. As I passed him, he quickly slammed his bottle into his cage and took off after me. I decided I'd have some fun and would let him get within about 100 yards, then I'd pick up the pace and he'd drop back pretty quick. I did this several times and then he disappeared on a false flat. Either he was drilled by a car, cutting through yet another light or he turned on another street. Honestly, what a piece of work!

On a happier note, I found a really sweet batting glove on the road today! It fits me perfectly! I know some cyclists find all sorts of sweet "road treasure" (money, tools, etc), that hasn't been my experience. Then again, I'm not scanning the side of the road as I ride either. I did find a nice padlock with the key still in it several months ago; but that's been about it. All I usually see is trash and road kill.

Congratulations Carlos Sastre!!

Carlos raced a beautiful Tour de France! His win on Alpe d' Huez was classic! His defense of the Yellow Jersey in the final time trial was inspiring! Viva Sastre!

Overall it was a great race. CSC was extremely strong and did a great job of controlling the peleton when it was necessary. They were in (and controlled) all the important breaks and had a couple of stage wins. Andy Schleck won the White Jersey (older brother Frank was in Yellow for a couple of days and finished 6th). CSC handily won the team classification. I have to admit though, I'm still uncomfortable with Bjarne "Mr. 60%" Riis running the CSC show.

Cadel Evans rode a good Tour, but came up 58 seconds short. When your team sucks and can't help you conserve energy for when you need it, it takes a toll. He didn't have the legs in the final time trial.

Team Columbia had an awesome Tour! Kim Kirchen was in Yellow for awhile and finished 8th. Cavendish won 4 stages, they picked up a couple of other stage wins as well.

Gerolsteiner had a good Tour with Kohl taking the best climber classification and finishing 3rd. Stefen Schumacher surprisingly won both time trial stages.

The French had something to be happy about with Cofidis & Credit Agricole both picking up a couple of stage wins. Ag2r's Cyril Dessel picked up a tough stage win as well.

Happily, Garmin- Chipotle had a great Tour with Christian Vandevelde finishing 5th. They've really layed some groundwork down for the future.

Yes, some idiots were caught doping. But they were caught and tossed! That is positive in my eyes, cycling is confronting the problem and sending a message! Overall it was a great, very competitive race.

Mark Cavendish!!

Three stage wins (so far)? The bloke from the Isle of Man is blazing FAST and Team Columbia is doing an amazing job setting him up! He's the first Brit to win three stages in the Tour de France and at 23 years of age seems to have a terrific future ahead of him. He also picked up two stage wins at the Giro d'Italia, which is certainly no small feat. He's also a very accomplished track cyclist as well, with his eyes set on the Olympics.

Cadel Evans is sitting comfortably in Yellow, resting up for what is sure to be some expolsive stages in the Alps. Lotto is perceived as being a somewhat weak team and I agree. However, Evans is an expert at taking advantage of the work of others and is going to be very difficult to beat.

Frank Schleck and Carlos Sastre remain very dangerous. CSC is firing on all cylinders.

Christian Vandevelde and Garmin- Chipoltle are doing an amazing job! If he plays his cards right, who knows what could happen?

As for Ricardo Ricco testing positive for a new form of EPO, why is that a surprise? He idolized Marco "Drip Bag" Pantani for heavens sake! Pantani was a farce as far as I'm concerned. As I watched Ricco "work his magic" on Super Besse, I couldn't help but be suspicious. Piepoli and Cobo should be suspect as well. Good riddance Saunier Duval! I'm happy that a test has been developed to detect this new form of EPO and that cycling is trying to clean up their mess. I don't see this as a setback at all, it's progress.

Gig Harbor, Washington

Boy have I been busy the last month! I've been in Detroit, Columbus, Indianapolis, and Long Island. Now I'm sitting in my hotel room in Gig Harbor watching the Tour on Versus. The first week has been awesome with Team Columbia and Garmin- Chipotle "making themselves known"! I was really hoping Christian Vandevelde would pull off the stage win yesterday; at least he got some great camera time. Kim Kirchen has had a great first week!

Personally, I've put in some pretty good miles the last few weekends when I've been home. I've been averaging 40 miles or so, Saturday, Sunday, and Monday. The legs have felt great!

Being back in Washington State this week had been great. We lived in the Tacoma area for several years before moving to Virginia. Seeing Mt. Rainier again has brought back a lot of wonderful memories. Tonight, we had a staff meeting at a colleagues home on Fox Island. He grilled some Sock Eye Salmon for us and we dined on his deck, right on the water. Nothing beats seafood and wine on Puget Sound!

Steve Carell on the Letterman Show

I'm a big fan of "The Office". In fact, it's one of the very few TV shows I watch. I happened to be surfin' through the channels last night and Letterman was interviewing Steve Carell about his upcoming movie "Get Smart". The subject of cycling came up because Lance Armstrong was making an appearance later in the show (ugh!). Apparently Steve was brought up in the Boston area and did some road racing in his teens! He brought up the fact that he used to shave his legs (for cleanliness in case of road rash) and wear a leather hairnet ("it's only function was to keep your brains in if you crashed")! He was very conversant in regards to cycling and is a very funny guy!

Do you Remember?

Growing up in Fresno in the 70's and 80's wasn't so bad. As I was driving today I had some flashbacks of that era, I'm sure most of this isn't unique to Fresno.

I used to go to the midnight movies with my slightly older Uncle and Aunt. Admission was a couple of bucks. I was about 13 or 14, nobody "carded" me. I can remember seeing "The Rocky Horror Picture Show". The crowd that attended was every bit as bizarre as the movie! The Zombie classic, Dawn of the Dead was playing quite often. I also remember seeing the Punk Rock documentary "The Decline of Western Civilization". The line into the theatre reeked of clove cigarettes and everybody seemed to have some booze stashed on them.

I remember when the TV went to "snow" or multi-colored bars at midnight! Just after the National Anthem played whist you viewed a picture of an Astronaut holding the American flag.

I remember listening to Vin Scully call Dodger games on my small radio. That man can paint a picture over the airwaves (what a voice!). I remember Walter Alston.

I can remember hearing Gordon Lightfoot songs on AM radio for some reason.

I used to have an 8 track tape player that looked like a robot. I believe it was called 2XL. I remember having 8 track tapes for AC/DC, Blondie, and the Village People, how's that for musical variety! I had a pile of vinyl albums and 45's. I also used a giant cassette player to record songs off the radio. I remember yelling "shut up!" at my brothers and sisters because I was afraid the noise they were making would drown out the song I was trying to record.

I remember there was a local drug store who would give kids stamps if they collected the shopping carts in their parking lot and from the surrounding neighborhood. You'd stick the stamps in a little booklet and when you filled the booklet you could turn it in for a free ice cream.
In the Summer, the parking lot would have 9 or 10 kids harvesting carts. What a hoot!

Sometimes, I wore a plastic Dodgers batting helmet to school (in the 4th or 5th grade, not high school just in case you were wondering).

I walked to school, or rode my bike (without a helmet). When Spring came around I brought my ball glove with me, like most of the boys. We played baseball at recess, with a real baseball. In the Fall and Winter, we played football. Or, had a rough game of "smear the queer".

My grandma bought me Avon cologne that came in a bottle shaped like a car, along with an arrowhead necklace.

I remember rotary phones. CB radios. Atari. Drinking from a garden hose. Teachers dressing up to teach. Alpha Beta supermarkets. Tomato sandwiches (I still love 'em). Jars of sun tea of my grandma's front steps. The hum of the fan in my room.

I remember a long drive from Fresno to Sacramento in the back of my dads pickup truck. We never wore seat belts, I don't even know if our car had 'em.

I remember the smell of grape vineyards and orange groves.

I remember when scary movies were just scary, not virtually Satanic! I used to keep count of how many times I saw Star Wars, it seemed important at the time. Jaws scared the hell out of me.

I remember my first bike. It was yellow, with a "banana seat" and chopper style handle bars. My brother had a matching one. We'd ride around the neighborhood pretending we were "Jon and Ponch" from CHIPS. We'd even park them next to each other in the driveway.

In the early 80's I fell in love with cycling. It was an era of steel frames, downtube shifters, and toe clips! The pro peloton was sprinkled with the jerseys of KAS, Peugeot, Hitachi, Gis, Fagor, Bianchi, Panasonic, Carrera, La Vie Claire, Renault, Del Tongo, and eventually 7-11. Bernard Hinault was the Patron!

Life wasn't all so bad ya know?

Insight from BKW

Padraig from "Belgium Knee Warmers" waxes profound.

http://www.belgiumkneewarmers.com/2008/05/well.html

This Week...

I've been working in Virginia & Maryland. We've had rain in bucket's it seems and everything is so green right now! Earlier this week I was out on the bike (rides of 30 & 50 miles) and was amazed at how fragrant the Gardenia and Honeysuckle is right now. Those scents are a blessing from God as far as I'm concerned!

I met with some wonderful people in Charlottesville and Buena Vista. Then drove up the Shenendoah Valley to Hagerstown, Maryland. What a beautiful drive! I brought my bike with me on this trip and did about 12 miles around Hagerstown before it started pouring rain. I hadn't cycled in rain like that in quite some time! Happily, it didn't bother me a bit. I was enjoying suffering on the hills around Hagerstown and the rain just seemed to make it "cool" for some reason. I had to wash my kit in the sink when I got back to my hotel room.

My evening appointment cancelled. So I drove down to D.C. and met a colleague who's on vacation. We bought some tickets off a scalper and watched the Nationals and Phillies while we "talked shop". Great ballpark! It has an old school feel to it. Too bad the Nationals are such a crappy team. They were shelled 12-2. Ryan Howard hit a couple of absolute bomb's for the Phillies.

Capital to Capital Century

On Saturday I did my first century! The ride was from Virginia's modern capitol, Richmond, t0 Virginia's first capitol, Jamestown and back. Riding 100 miles is amazing to me in a couple of ways. First, back in the mid- 80's to mid- 90's I was a cycling fanatic. I trained constantly and raced cat 4's off and on. However, I can't remember ever doing a 100 mile ride. It's possible, as I didn't have a computer at times, but I'm fairly certain I didn't. Second, I've been recovering from a bad lower back injury that occurred in February so my mileage hasn't been what I'd like.

During the week I did rides of 30 (Sunday), 40 (Tuesday), and 42 (Thursday) and planned to do the half- century Saturday. After Thursdays ride my legs felt great so I decided to try the century Saturday morning as I registered. The routes I ride around Chesterfield County are somewhat hilly, and when I saw that the century course was pretty flat I knew I could do it. The only thing that concerned me was my back.

The weather was great! Mostly cloudy, starting in the low 60's and warming to the low 70's. The route was mostly down beautiful picturesque back country roads! Passing farmland, historical plantations, and Civil War battlefields.

Hundreds and hundreds of cyclists turned out riding everything from department store clunkers to top of the line professional road bikes on routes of 25, 50 & 100 miles. There were even a couple of recumbant's (ugh!), but to each their own. I love my fellow cyclists. I really do. There are very few that I've found intolerable. You can't hang with a nicer bunch of people. Old and young. Rail skinny and fat. Male and female. Vet and newbie. I respect them all. Why? Because they're trying something I love dearly. Riding a bicycle. I don't care what the distance or reason is, it's the act of riding itself that I respect.

I mostly ride solo, so I knew virtually nobody there. I hoped to jump into a pace line of some sort and work with others. I had a plan in my mind as to how I would pace myself so as to finish in half way decent condition. I broke it down into 25 mile increments, stocked my pockets with Fig Newtons, a few Power Bars and Power Bar gel packs, and started off on my own. There were several well stocked stops along the way. These were manned by volunteers from RABA, the Richmond Area Bicycle Association, and they did a wonderful job!

The first 25, absolutely no problem. I stayed in the small chainring for about 10 miles and warmed up, then jumped into the big ring and just cruised along. Mostly flat, with some very small climbs and descents. I made a note of those. I knew that they'd feel a little different on the way back with 75 miles in my legs! I rolled into the first rest stop (which would also be the last rest stop) and refilled my water bottles. I could've jumped into a pace line of about 20 people, but I noticed 3 or 4 were using their "Tri- bars" in the pace line. Stupid and dangerous unless you've got some serious experience. They didn't look experienced. I'll pass.

The second 25 was great! I worked with 3 or 4 other riders for awhile, then tried to bridge up to a pace line of about 20 riders. I chased for about 7 or 8 miles, but there were a number of cars that were in between me and the tail end of the pace line. The traffic made it impossible to safely bridge so I had to stop chasing, plus I didn't want to over exert myself knowing I still had quite aways to go! At the 50 mile mark, I rolled into the parking lot of the Jamestown high school rest stop feeling very good.

By the end of the third 25 I started feeling it a little bit. I got into a pace line of 9 or 10 riders and we were flying! Much of this part of the route back was entirely different from the route in. There were some small hills that I wouldn't have noticed at 25 miles that hurt at 70 miles and on one of the hills, I dropped off the back of the pace line along with a couple of others guys. I worked with them for a bit, they faded and I found myself alone, except for the occassional rider I would pick up every now and then.

At 75 miles I rolled into the last (first) rest stop, refilled my bottles, ate a little, grabbed a free Red Bull for my post ride celebratory drink, and headed out. The last thing you want to do at this point is stand around and let your muscles get stiff. You need to keep the legs moving!

The last 25 were exactly what I was expecting. Pretty painful! Especially the last 10. Those very small descents within the first 25 I mentioned now felt like HUGE climbs. My legs were in fuego! My neck and shoulders ached! However, I had absolutely no problems with my lower back! I took turns working with this guy on a sweet Cannondale (he did most of the work to be honest). He was quite impressive. He looked to be about 6'4 or 6'5 and had calves Thor would envy! I lost his wheel with a couple of miles to go and rolled in like I rolled out. Solo.

When all was said and done I did my first century in 5 and 1/2 hours, for an average speed of just over 18 mph. I was thrilled! I sat on a park bench for awhile and watched as dozens of my fellow cyclists rolled in. Old and young. Rail skinny and fat. Male and female. Vet and newbie. It made me smile to see them smiling. I really feel a sense of accomplishment, and look forward to doing another century soon.

Mrs. Roadie insisted. It'll be 10 times worse by the end of summer!