Finally!

My sciatic nerve problem has subsided enough to where I was able to get in a few miles on the bike this week. With the exception of a 25 mile jaunt one day with my son, I haven't been on the bike since the beginning of February. I've done rides of 16, 26, 37, and 28 miles this week and have felt great every time out. Tommorow I fly to New Joisey for a couple of days, then to Chicago for a seminar until Thursday. I'll be distracted by thoughts of my bike the whole time no doubt.

Hopefully, I can catch Paris- Roubaix on Versus this Sunday. I'm looking for a Boonen/ Cancellara showdown. Although you can't overlook Freire or Gilbert either.

Oscar Freire threw down an amazing sprint to take Ghent- Wevelgem Wednesday. What a stud!

How does it feel?

To win the Tour of Flanders whilst wearing Belgian colors?

Stijn Devolder had the race of his life and will never have to buy a beer in Belgium again!

Special thanks to the early risers at Podium Cafe for giving "play by play" to those of us who won't cough up the dough for Cycling TV. Y'all are Vin Scully's with keyboards!

My Children

I can't believe my oldest son is 17! His birthday was Friday. My wife and I took him and his girlfriend out to dinner at Bistro, a nice Italian restaurant. It's amazing and fun to watch your children grow! God has truly blessed me with some terrific children.

My oldest is now 17. He's a very sharp, responsible, young Christian. He gets good grades (geez he's sharp!) and has just been made a crew manager at work. He also has a conscience and I'm always impressed at what a genuinely nice young man he is. He's very athletic. Baseball is his first love (as it was mine at his age), but he's developing a real interest in cycling. Cycling wise I think he'd make a very capable climber. I bought him an great old Cilo about a year ago.

My second son turned 15 in February. He's a great kid! He has a real love for God, history, and current events. I'm quite certain he knows more about Constitutional government and history than most adults. He has very high standards when it comes to friends, and carry's himself quite well (quite confidence). He's very athletic and is a vacuum cleaner with a baseball glove. He can really handle a basketball. In fact, he beat me two of three games at 21 yesterday (and swatted the crap out of me one time!). He'll make a good cyclist as he's got quite an engine (I need to find him a bike).

My oldest daughter is almost 12. She's a gem! She's very sweet, pretty, and smart. She's making honor roll in her honors courses at school (A's and 1 B+). She is an exceptionally talented artist and has had several pieces displayed in school art shows! She just made her middle school soccer team as well. I love that she'll watch my favorite British comedy "Keeping Up Appearances" with me and enjoy it as much as I do! What I love most about her is that she's a genuinely nice, caring young lady.

My youngest daughter is 7. She's such a delight. She's quite cute and at her age she's probably more advanced than my other kids were. I imagine it's from having older siblings. She acts way older than other kids her age. She's takes advanced courses at her school and is still bored with them (so she tells me). She reads and speaks like she's 10 or 11 years old. She plays soccer and has an ear for music that we really need to develop. She has a great sense of humor and can make us all laugh hard! What I love most is when she asks me to say a prayer with her every night. It's very sweet. We love to share an apple as well.

There's nothing I love more than spending time with my family! It's what life is all about as far as I'm concerned. Whether it's just sitting around talking, going to the gym, a ballgame, or on a family trip, I love being their father. I'd do anything for them. I guess that's what being a dad is all about.

I pray they'll always enjoy all life has to offer, and have many great memories.

What will it take?

Doping sucks! Having questions about who may be "juiced up" has taken much of the fun out of watching competitive sports. What the hell is wrong with people? Where are our morals?

Alexi Grewal winning Olympic Gold in 1984 was my introduction to competitive cycling. He was always one of my favorite cyclists. I'm proud of him for having the courage to discuss this part of his life. It takes a real man to admit his mistakes in the hope of keeping others from falling into the same trap.

Kudo's to you Alexi!

http://www.velonews.com/article/74053/an-essay-by-1984-olympic-gold-medalist-alexi-grewal

Will others will have the courage to do likewise?

Tour De Trump

I was moving some stuff around in the garage this morning and stumbled across a box of old VHS tapes. Amongst this treasure chest of nostalgia are some classic videos of the Tour De France and Paris- Roubaix from the mid to late 80's. I used to tune into the coverage every weekend and mash the record button. Nothing says "80's cycling" like watching Sean Kelly pound the cobbles of Paris- Roubaix and Greg Lemond and Bernard Hinault sore up Alpe D'Huez! All set to great commentary by Phil Liggett and John Tesh! However, one video gem in particular is priceless. That's the 1990 Tour De Trump. Yep, the Donald was the primary bankroll for what was actually a great East Coast race for a couple of years. The Coors Classic had gone by the wayside a couple of years before (what an awesome race that was) and the Tours of California and Georgia weren't around. It was with absolute delight that I killed a couple of hours this morning watching this blast from the past.

Many of the great Euro teams were there fighting for some very decent prize money. PDM (Holland), Panasonic (Holland), Carrera (Italy), Lotto (Belgium) and "Z" (France), were the most notable. The "Commies" sent an amature team over and one of there riders sported the leaders jersey (Why Hot Pink?) for several stages. America was represented by the much accomplished 7-11 team and a number of primarily US based squads such as Coors Light, Crest, Spago, Subaru- Montgomery, and the US National team. Even the Postobon team from Columbia was there.

These were the last of the bygone days of toeclips, downtube shifters, massive helmets (if you weren't wearing a leather hairnet), and Oakley Factory Pilots.

PDM's Mexi- stud, Raul Alcala bided his time and finally put the USSR's young Vladislav Bobrik to the torch on a very tough ("Hell's Kitchen") stage 13, Catskill mountains- Albany, NY. OUCH!!

I always thought Alcala was a great cyclist and a really decent guy. He won the coveted "Malliot Blanc" (white jersey) awared to the best rider under 25 for the 1987 Tour de France. He also won Tour stages in 1989 and 1990. I'm glad he at least got the overall in this race.

I think I'll dig around in the garage some more. I'm quite certain I have a couple of years worth of "Winning Magazines" in there, somewhere, as well.

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!