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Another hot day, though not quite as bad as last year where it was bad enough to consider calling it off. Still, temps were in upper 80's/low 90's.
Got squeezed in at the start, falling back to about 10th or so before the singletrack. My podium chances were dead already, as I got stuck behind a string of riders. Finally, we popped out of the singletrack and I passed as many as I could before the next section, moving up into about 5th. The only thing hotter than the temperature was the pace being set by the lead guys. I was able to keep pushing along at this tempo most of Lap 1. I nailed the descent into the quarry, but was thrown off at the bottom when the course was re-routed directly to the drop, skipping the last rocky switchback. I hit the brakes and started left and made it through the rocks to the climb. Super technical, steep twisty, rooty/rocky climb. I rode this section about 6 times last week to get it down and I still screwed it up. Had to run the bike all the way up, which sent my heart rate through the roof.
Lap 2 I started my usual fade, only today it was worse. I decided to ditch my CamelBack before the race and just go with a bottle. Big mistake. I was getting super dehydrated and starting to bonk. Adding to the good times was my chain, which kept getting stuck when I tried to get into the big ring. This caused me to get passed by about 4 guys, who I never saw again. Trying to make up for lost time, I never really recovered and felt the bonk getting worse. Somehow, I managed to clear the entire climb out of the quarry, but it took a huge toll. Rolling through the start/finish for Lap 3, I felt like crap. I saw Tom coming up and we spent most of the lap leapfrogging each other. I kept yelling at him to get up to the faster group, he did the same for me. I thought for sure he had the better chance, but in the end we finished 9th and 10th, with me about 8 seconds in front. I'm sure he could have come around, but maybe it was just good karma being repaid from the Dirt Spanker, where he got me by about the same margin. It's all about the team points anyway.
Next race I'm rocking the CamelBack and that's that. It's the only thing I can think of as to why I'm not doing as well as I should be. Oh well. We had a sweet spread of burgers, brats, salads and cookies waiting for us afterwards. Gary's Heiniken mini-keg was quite popular as well, although I don't know how the hell you can drink beer in the hot sun after a race. It took me until 10:00pm to get fully rehydrated, and I haven't had a beer since February.
(Thanks for taking photos, Dana).
"Doctor" Ferrari must have it all figured out. He's got the magic potion that guarantees victory and evades WADA's doping control like a stealth bomber. I'm sure it makes it easier for "athletes" to stare straight into the camera and declare to the world that they are clean. After all, they have never tested positive, have they? Easy to say when you're using a banned substance that hasn't been banned yet because there is no test for it and nobody knows it exists. It's a bit like being a money launderer for the Cali cartel in the 1970's and 80's before money laundering was written onto the books as a crime. They weren't doing anything wrong either, were they? It wasn't illegal.
Pretty good racket "il dottore" has going on. He can handpick the rider to win the Tour, commanding a pricetag of Bill Gates proportions from the highly-gifted but ethically-challenged cyclist who can't win on his own, in exchange for exclusive access to his bloodstream. I wonder how much money Ferrari has bet on cycling over the years?
A 2-year suspensions means nothing to these guys, especially those in the last years of their careers. If you can make a few million dollars, get busted and the worst that happens is that you can't race again for 2 years, or even ever again, the money will win every time. How about prison time for fraud, for starters. A fine of at least double the riders earnings from winnings and endorsements. What about the teams that were passed over for inclusion in the Tour in favor of these doper teams? They should be compensated for being fraudulently denied entry, missing out on lucrative exposure. What a mess.
http://www.velonews.com/tour2007/details/articles/12910.0.html
So the entire Astana team is gone, what a shock that former T-Mobile riders would get busted. I hope every team loses their sponsors and all the advertisers pull their commercials off the air. It'll never happen, so instead I'll just stop watching. There, I'm done. I now have an extra 3 hours of time for 3 weeks in July.
Lance, I still want to believe you. In 1999 as my mom was in the hospital, slowly and painfully dying of cancer, I turned on the Tour and explained your story to her. She had no idea who you were, but she was as proud of you as if you were her own son. She was dying and she started writing you a letter to give YOU encouragement. While she only lived long enough to see that first victory, I know it gave her hope. Maybe not as much for her as for others, as she would tell other cancer survivors and patients your story, despite her own condition, showing what was possible.
So, Lance, I want to believe you. I want that memory of my mom to remain positive, untainted. I want that hope to be real for all people affected by cancer. I still want to hold back tears whenever I think of that first tour victory, just as I did all 7 times you crossed the finish line on the Champs Elysees. Please don't take away one of the last really good memories I have of my mom. People always ask me if I think you doped or not, and when I say you didn't, it's not because I want to believe it, I have to believe it.
A few months ago at Petco some guy asked us if Golden Retrievers shed alot. Uh, yeah. This is what the wind didn't blow away, and that's after being brushed 3 out of the last 4 days.
Got out for a nice leg burner yesterday with some of the R&G boys. 70 miles from Withrow up to Trollhaugen and back. Weather could not have been better. Lots of rollers, a couple of nice climbs, and some good tempo. After a shaky hill ride last Wednesday, I'm happy with how the legs responded. Felt good on the climbs and I was able to ride strong the entire time, setting tempo most of the way. Hopefully this will carry over to the mountain bike. Oh yeah, um, note to Minnesota: take a look across the river at Wisconsin to see how to fund highway maintenance. Even the Rustic Routes were in better shape than the main drags in the Land of 10,000 Potholes. There is some sweet riding over there in my homeland.
Top: Zoe, Siggie, Sadie, Jack, Me.
Bottom: Sadie & Bob. Bob was rescued by a friend from a puppy mill. Despite his horrible treatment as a puppy, he is a super sweet dog. It took a little while for him to get comfortable, but he was mixing it up with the others and having a blast. If you are looking for a dog, please consider a rescue dog or adoption. If you choose a breeder, make sure they are reputable and the animals are treated like family, not products.
Zoe had some friends over for her 3rd birthday party. Sophie, Bob, Sigfried, Sadie (and her boy Jack) had fun chasing each other around the yard, splashing in the pool, and trying to steal people food from the table when the opportunity presented itself.
I love this guy. You never see him in the peloton until about 200 meters from the line and then , somehow, some way, he squeezes through an army of elbows at 40mph and wins. Yesterday he got caught in a crash, was sent over the bars and got banged up. He was completely off the back, and even with his entire team just totally drilling it, it didn't seem like he would even reach the peloton, let alone make his way back to the front. So, final kilometer to the line and Quick Step has the perfect lead-out in place for Tom Boonen. He can't lose, right? Then, about 100 meters from the line, from out of freaking nowhere comes McEwen, completely smoking everyone for the win. It wasn't even close. That was awesome. That is why I watch the TDF. That is why you NEVER give up in a race, no matter how dismal things look.
Photo from VeloNews.
This race is always hot, this year was no exception–mid 90's and humid, with a sun-baked climb to the top of the ski hill right at the start. I couldn't clip into my left pedal until about the first switchback of the climb, which dropped me further back than I wanted to be. This climb is on loose-gravelly singletrack, with very little room to pass (there are wheel-eating holes on either side of the trail from erosion, and more than one person went down), so I did my best to avoid the crashes and started passing about halfway up. I think I got into about 3rd or 4th at the top, and was able to hold onto top 5 for the first lap. I even caught and passed Jason Walters (and then I promptly spun out on the Staircase climb right in front of him, sorry bro). I was feeling pretty good, or so I thought.
Lap 2, second time up the climb I was really feeling the heat. I could tell I was slowing and needed to recover. I tried to push it into the singletrack, but was still a bit woozy. I was able to hold off most challengers until the bottom, where about 4 guys got around me, one of them my teammate Jamison. There's a wicked, technical downhill section called "The Luge". As I made my way down I saw Jamison down off the trail with his bike on top of him. He was okay, but his race was over. Too bad, he was flying and I'm sure he would have caught Walters for some team points. About 10 seconds later I almost ate it after taking an s-curved downhill way too hot. My ass was about as far over my back tire as I could get it and I still thought I was going OTB. The tires finally gripped and it was back to racing. (Note to self: replace brake pads before next race.)
Lap 3, climb felt a bit better. The cold water splash from the feed station worked wonders and I was able to ramp it up a bit. I had lost some ground on Lap 2, but at least now I was able to maintain my pace. I could hear someone right on my wheel through the "Maze" section on the bottom, and could see Tom and a few others not too far behind. I gave it everything I had up the Staircase climb, passing one rider at the top of the lift. He grabbed my wheel and was right on me through the entire Luge section. When we popped out of the woods for the final 200-300 meters to the line, I popped it into the big ring and hammered. He was still right on me when we approached the final left-hand bend to the line. This is singletrack cutting across the grassy ski hill. He tried to pass on the outside in the grass which gave me the advantage and I held him off for the sprint finish. That was a lot of work for 8th place, but a small victory nonetheless.
8th out of 30 in my age group, 12th overall out of 98 Sport riders. 3 weeks until Red Wing to work on that second lap recovery and endurance. It was nice to have teammates to hang out with after the race, glad I joined PCR. Should have some photos soon.
Jen snapped this the other night before the sun went down. How can you not love that dog? If we charged money to everyone who asked to pet her when we take her to a bike race, I'd have the entire season paid for.
After 5 years of staring at ratty old doors and trim, I finally did something about it. The hardest part is getting everything level and plumb, especially in our house where everything is out of whack. I've got 3 of 6 installed, 2 completely done (installed, stained, hardware). Lot's of prep work, sanding and staining each surface twice, but totally worth it. Even without the trim installed it looks so much nicer (see second photo showing new door on left, old on right). Top photo you can catch a glimpse of the project supervisor peeking through the door.
