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.

More Oddities...

On my way to the airport this morning I passed a meter reader walking down the street playing with a yo-yo (no kidding)! This would seem to be bad P.R. for Dominion Power.

I'm at my gate at RIC and I can't help but notice the young "hippie mother" breast feeding her baby. Her boob is fully exposed, and it's not a pleasant one to glance at. She's quite chubby and has numerous tats in all the wrong areas. She's also letting her other young'un crawl around on the filthy floor. She's already picked up a chunk of food off the floor and put it back in his little mouth. I pray I'm not seated next to her.

I'm on Jetblue the morning and I can watch Direct TV while I'm in the air. They usually have VS. and I can catch the end of todays Tour coverage, that should balance out the suffering I've just been subjected to...

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!

Oddities at the Airport & Elsewhere

I had a short layover at Washington- Dulles airport today. I never cease to be amazed at how "odd" some people are. I was "using the facilities" when some guy sauntered in and used the urinal right next to me. The odd thing was that there was a row of about 10 urinals and I was using one on the far left, the rest were not in use, this guy chose the one right next to me and tried to strike up a casual conversation. I kid you not. I made no eye contact, etc that would invite someone to strike up a conversation.

Odd fellow: "Hey buddy, how's your morning been?"

Me: "Fine, I usually don't talk to anyone while I'm taking a piss."

Odd fellow: "Me either."

Very strange. It also creeps me out when someone is taking a wiz, and feels the need to lean forward and brace themselves against the wall.

I also find it odd when parents let their babies crawl around on the floor at the airport, Walmart, etc. "I don't know where Billy picked up that strange rash"!

Older men who dress "metro" are very odd, some still wear earrings. So are older women who stuff themselves into clothes meant for 12 year old girls.

People who walk barefoot everywhere are odd. Sometimes you see them trolling through a convenience store parking lot, or just hoofing it down the street. No shoes, no worries apparently.

Couples who argue in public are odd. I went to Comerica park last week and caught the Tigers and White Sox (great park!), part of the entertainment was hearing a vicious argument between a husband and wife stoner couple a few rows behind me, "F- bombs" and everything. Their mini- mulleted son looked like he was used to it. I thought they were going to start chucking funnel cakes and nachos at each other.

Adult, video game addicts are an odd bunch. Nothing screams "I'm odd" louder then camping out so you can be first in line for the newest game system, or the newest version of "Wizard of Warcraft". Reading a "cheat book" (and using a highlighter) on the airplane is a sure sign that your odd.

Yards chock full of tacky gnomes, fake animals, decorative flags, pinwheels, miniature lighthouses, and tons of other crap are extremely odd. I bet the inside of the house is wall to wall collectible plates, steins, ceramic figurines, and other bizarre things.

Why?