Pimp yer fixie yo

A totally unrelated picture of a rodeo

It will be interesting to see how Garmin does in defending the yellow over the next few days. My guess is there will be some real fireworks on Fridays summit finish. A quick glance at the GC and it would seem Quickstep has the most to gain with Chavanel @ 4seconds back. Fucking A, it’s bike season!

I got my Garmin at Backcountry.com, tell them The Rev sent ya!

“The best team won today, there’s no doubt about that,” he conceded sportingly when speaking to Cyclingnews.

“Cannondale raced well together and took advantage of every moment. I tried to make a selection several times but Sagan and Valverde just isolated me. It was a hard, fast race, with the wind making it harder.

Cancellara needs a team! IMHO he also needs to learn some tactics. After Moser had gone clear look at around the 7 minute mark in the video. Fabian in on the front drilling it with Sagan on his wheel. Obviously Sagan is not going to pull through So where does that leave Fabian? On the front doing hero pulls for no real reason. Movistar, Katusha, and Lampre all had multiple riders in the chase. They are only too happy to let Cancellara burn all his matches on the front. If Fabian goes to the back the chase is on them. Once they start chasing he can help. The way he rode even if they wanted to help he was going so hard on the front no one could pull through. Basic stuff. I love that he races so aggressive but if he tempers that with a bit more race smarts he will be hard to beat. Radioshack can not support him in these races, they are built around the shaky Schleck foundation. Fabian is possible the strongest guy out there but he can’t just count on riding away front everyone at will like he did a few years ago.

Hats off to Cannondale Pro Cycling though. They have some serious talent on that roster.

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Competitive Cyclist supports Big Ring.

Time to walk the walk

So clearly it is time for me to stop fucking around. I have been training at Gym Jones all winter and strength wise I feel great. I trust those guys completely and know it is paying off big for me. My time on the bike has been minimal though. That ends today. Point here is The Rev is coming back in a big way. Do I think I can win The Crusher? Yes I really do but I have a shit-load of work to do. I need to drop 12-15lbs without losing power. No problem the Gym Jones crew has my back on that. What I need to do is the miles. Lots of miles. I am going in with the intention of winning, if I don’t then sure i will have egg on my face but honestly I don’t care what anyone thinks. I have a score to settle with that race and as long as I do the work and ride to my potential I will consider my turnaround complete. For me The Crusher is a marker. The point where I went off the rails. Curb stomping that race on my 3rd attempt will close the door on a lot of demons for me.

So where does that leave this site? I am going to make a commitment to post regular updates here on my progress. Not really a training log per say but more of a narrative of what I am doing and thinking along the way. I want to do more equipment reviews, more video. Here is where I need some help. I would love to have people contribute content to the site. Pictures, videos, motivating stories etc. I want to build Big Ring into more of a community. The Wolfe and I are going to be doing a facelift on the site so bear with us in the near term. Keep an eye on the storefront as well as we will be adding items and updating inventory.

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Competitive Cyclist supports the Big Ring dream

The weak can never forgive. Forgiveness is the attribute of the strong.
Mahatma Gandhi

Like pretty much every cyclist in America I watched the Lance Armstrong interview with Oprah. Here is what we know. Lance lied and cheated for years. He went out of his way to crush anyone who stood in his way. He earned millions and started one of the most recognized cancer foundations in the world. Does the good out weigh the bad? Not really the right question in my mind. The real question is what is his motivation to admit to his past? A return to competition is unlikely, same for the huge endorsement deals. Was it damage control so Livestrong could continue? At it’s core I really want to believe Lance is serious when he said he is trying to be a better person. At the end of the day he is the one who has to look into his kids eyes and say “I made a lot of mistakes and hurt a lot of people but I am trying my best to fix things”. I hope he can say that.

When Lance first started winning Tours I bought into the miracle story. I wanted to believe it even though I should have known better I wanted to believe it. I wanted to believe someone could beat back cancer and not only return to life but be better than before. My Mom who lost her battle with cancer in 2011 believed it. We both wore the Livestrong bracelet. We both read the book. We bonded over Le Tour talking about his exploits on the phone after his many victories. It is hard to understand what Lance meant to the cancer community if you are lucky enough to not have someone close to you be sucked into it. He was a source of hope, strength and courage for people who needed mega doses of all 3. Then it all came crashing down. As a cyclist and a fan I was a bit hurt even though on some level I always knew. As someone who has been touched by cancer though I still respected him for what he does for that community.

I really believe we all have the power to make huge changes for the better in our lives. No one can do it for you. It has to come from within. If that is where Lance is coming from then I support him 100%. Forgiveness is something we all should earn and have available to us if we are sincere. Is Lance worthy of that? I can not speak for those who have dared cross him over the years that is between them and him. I hope this is the first step in a long journey of growth and healing for Lance and for those he destroyed along the way.

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Competitive Cyclist supports all things Big Ring

I regret that this was the state of affairs in the sport that we love and I chose as my career. I am sorry that I was forced to make the decisions I made. I admit that I didn’t let doping deter me from my dream. I admit that I used banned substances

Yes poor Levi was just a victim, he didn’t have a choice. Eat shit Levi you had a choice and you chose to stomp on the dreams of clean riders. You chose the pay check. You are a liar. Scott Mercier faced the same choice with Postal and he left the sport with his integrity intact. How many top level domestic pros decided to stay stateside because they knew what they would need to do to “pursue their dreams”. You had a choice and even now you are taking the cowards way out and saying you had no choice.

Right or wrong, in my mind the choice was “do it or go home.” For me that was not a choice

No you chose to force clean riders to go home. You fed the greed machine. How many riders did not get contracts because there was no room in the budget because you and your stolen results warranted a bloated salary. Again don’t try and sound like a victim. You knew what you were doing. Own it.

Everyone is human and we all have our weakness. I was never good enough during my “pro” career to have to make the choice Levi and the others made. Dope does not replace talent. Faced with that choice I really can’t say I would have made the right choice either. I mean look at what it gets you. Levi is a wealthy man, lives in one of the most expensive and beautiful places in the world, hob knobs with B list celebrities. All from being able to ride a bike really fucking fast. What would you be willing to do to get that?

I know it is easy for me to sit on my high horse and pass judgement and that is not what I am trying to do. I never had to make those decisions so it is hypocritical at best for me or anyone to say what they would have done. What I am saying is don’t pretend you didn’t have a choice. You made the choice you made, accept it and don’t try to spin it.

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Update
Nice to see Vande Velde and Zabriskie come clean and not play the I had no choice card. Solid guys.

Lifeproof is Big Ring Approved. iPhone 5 cases coming soon

So given my current state I am going back and forth with what defines a good race for me? One of the things I believe in is we all have our own Big Ring. You don’t need to beat me or anyone else to be Big Ring. If your effort is a quality effort that is what is important right? Sort of. I absolutely do not believe in the idea that everyone gets a a ribbon just for showing up. Keeping score matters. So again what is a good result when you are not winning?

This is where ego gets in the way. We all want to think that we are doing our best when we race and train but is that reality? I know last Saturday I gave my all and ended up in 2nd place but does that make it a result I am happy with? My effort for that day was quality and I ended up with a good placing but my effort leading up to that day has not been quality. I know I have been slacking, I know I have missed opportunities to ride and I know I am capable of a lot more than what I am showing right now. I am not riding to my full potential and I know it. So while I am happy that I am still getting good placings I am not going to delude myself into thinking I am doing things right. Bitter truth but the truth none the less. Are you being honest with yourself?

Backcountry.com is a long time supporter of COTBR

Still though I think I can salvage the season as long as I can pull my head out and get some reasonable training in.  I have come to grips with the fact I will most likely be getting my ass kicked for the near futre, hell maybe even the entire season. I am ok with that, sort of.  I will miss all the Sunday races due to work and will be lucky to score any points in October so a series win is not gonna happen. Given the vertical nature of the Mt Ogden course and my current weight a state title is gonna be a very tall order.  Anyway, I will be racing as many races as I can and hopefully find some fitness before the end of the season.

Did you know Backcountry.com has bike stuff now? They do, and you should shop there.

When Gilbert got to the top of the Cauberg with a gap it was all over. No one was going to bring this back. Classy win from a classy rider. Less classy was Friere crying about Valverde not waiting for him? This just proves what a bunch of pussies sprinters are. They are the middle management of cycling. Sitting back while the team does all the work then jumping in at the last minute to take all the credit. Fuck them. Oscar if you wanted to be there at the finish get your ass over the climb. If Valverde had waited you still would not have caught Gilbert and Spain would have no medals.

As dominant as Gilbert was it was nothing compared to the top rope pile driver Mariane Vos delivered. World cyclocross Champion, Olympic Road Race Champion and now World Champion. All just this season! Here palmares even make Eddy looki like a dilettante. Check this shit out.

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