Pro Tour Buh Bye

Written on July 15, 2008. Written by The Rev.

Somewhere in Europe a fat lady is singing. 17 out of 18 Pro Tour teams have taken their collective balls and gone home. The Pro Tour idea had potemtial and may have worked if the UCI would have been open to actually listening to the concerns of the teams and sponsors but, the UCI seemed more intent on playing the bully and going forward with their ill conceived vision. Good riddance.

Taking a page from the former Iraqi Information Ministers play book, Chief UCI chowderhead Pat McQuaid told Reuters that teams could face sanctions from the UCI “We’ll deal with that according to the regulations,” said McQuaid “Thay face exclusion from the international federation. It is something we are going to discuss.”

Living in oblivion.

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Downieville ‘08

Written on July 14, 2008. Written by The Rev.

Greetings Brothers and Sisters. For better or for worse I am back in the world of cell phone reception and interweb connection.

Not many things these days live up to they hype. I have heard the stories, read the exploits of Mark Weir and engaged in some lively discussions online with those who have lived it. Still, I had my doubts. I shouldn’t have. Back in the day the NORBA Series was a big traveling circus. The courses were epic, everyone raced XC and DH on the same bike, and there was an atmoshpere of brotherhood that really had to be experienced. Downieville is trying to recreate that. I would say they have succeded in a big way. Ross Schnell and Rachel Lloyd got the wins in the XC and deserve every bit of respect that comes with that title.

If you like doing lots of laps at a ski resort then the Downieville course is not for you. The XC is about as good a test of MTB skill as you are likely to come across. Long climbs? check. Fast fire roads? check. Ripping downhill? check. You get the idea. In the 2:29 it took me I can honestly say I don’t remember ever being so blown after such a short race. Total devastation.

As good as the race was the post race was even better. A free plate of lasagna was waitng for every racer, free pint of New Belgium beer (w/ glass!) and a cool river to soak in. The big air jump into the river was a total blast to watch. (pics here). We left so we could ride in Tahoe the next day so we missed the evening festivities.

Downieville is basically the exact opposite of what the NMBS series has become. The entire event is about participation and appreciating the racers rather then the exploitation and gouging of the NMBS.

Oh yeah, there is a race going on over in France. More on that tomorrow.

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Smoke ‘em

Written on July 10, 2008. Written by The Rev.

The Cobra struck in the mountains today and promptly congratulated himself. Confidence is not something Brother Ricco lack, then again if I was winning Tour stages when I was 23 I would be pretty full of myself too I guess. Brother Voeckler had another nice go off the front, guess he is liking the way he looks in polka dots. Also another good showing by the Garmin/Chipotle men, I really thought Brother Vandevelde was gonna get the V. The way those guys are riding it is only a matter of time before a “Burrito Boy” is on the top of the podium. My heart goes out to Brother Schumacher. That is an awful way to lose Yellow. Keep fighting Brother!

As I write this I am sitting in an Econo Lodge in Reno on my way to Downieville. With the temperature, smoke and acrid smell from the massive wildfires in California I keep expecting to see the devil himself at any moment. The street address of our home for the night? 666 N. Wells Ave. Beelzebub you rascal!

Dancing On The Pedals

Written on July 9, 2008. Written by The Rev.

The move from pro ballromm dancer to Grand Tour stage winner is pretty improbable but, that is exactly what Mark Canendish has done. Maybe my own dreams of going from cube farm jockey to F1 driver/ninja are not as crazy as my finace tells me.

The Scalpel got some new fat skins today for Downieville (thanks F-Train). Probably wont be giving Mark Weir much to worry about but I am gonna go fast. I am going to use the “Better Off Dead” strategy, “go really fast, if something gets in your way, turn”. Looking forward to jumping in the river and cracking a nice cold one at the finish.

Whoa, Didn’t See That Coming!

Written on July 8, 2008. Written by The Rev.

You know as much as I want to hate A Tour and write it off the racing is just too damn good. If you had asked yesterday who would win the TT today I would have said Cancellara without even blinking. Schumacher? Damn, would not have guessed that in a million years. Also looks like Evans is going to do his best to make a liar out of me yet as he took a big chunk out of Valverde today. How about Chipotle/Garmin with 2 podiums in 2 days. I am gonna go program the GPS and ride over to Chipotle for “Le Burrito” tonight.

What can I say? Viva la France! I may have to take El Hammermeisters advice and get a dish when I get back from Downieville. Speaking of Downieville, anyone have tire recomendations? I have been running some 1.9 Kenda Karmas but, I think a fatter one would be better. Just guessing though since I have never done the race. Any insight would be appreciated.

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Bike Racin’ and Such

Written on July 7, 2008. Written by The Rev.

This past weekend here in the 801 we had our Mountainbike State Championships of The World. Yeah, I got worked. Still though, it is the first time my slack ass has raced in the dirt this year. So even as I was getting beaten down faster than the US dollar I was pretty happy about it. Followed it up with a BBQ at the Big Ring Compound. Not a bad way to spend the day.

A Tour de France started this weekend. Gotta admit I have yet to see a stage as I have never had (and never will) had cable. I have been following it online and ate “Le Burrito” at Chipolte today. Despite it’s problems it is still the big show as far as the skinny tire portion of our sport. It does have most of the best riders and is still a big spectacle.

I think Valverde is the man for this year and the 1st stage did nothing to change my mind. I like Cadel but I just don’t think he races well under pressure. Back in his MTB days he only won when he was the strongest guy of the day and just ran away with it. He still seems like that on the road. He just does not seem to find that little bit extra when it is close. I hope he can pull it off but, I just don’t see a weakness in Valverde.

It has been a long time since I have said this but, Trek has a pretty cool idea here. With gas not coming down in price anytime soon (ever) more and more Americans will look to the bike as a means of transportation and vending machines are something that everyone knows how to use. Ideas like this will make cycling seem like less of a fringe sport and something that anyone can do. Plus, how sweet will it be to be able to buy a tube at 1am when you pinch flat after casing your rear wheel into a curb riding home from the pub?

Remember Brothers and Sisters

Written on July 3, 2008. Written by The Rev.

This is the last 4th under the Govenor Bush Regime! Go ride your bike.

It is About The Bike, Stupid

Written on July 2, 2008. Written by The Rev.

Just when I thought the Segway was the pinnacle of the type of extremes fat, lazy Americans would go to to avoid any sort of exercise along comes the Uno. Hey Mr. Engineer type. Did you know there is already a non polluting vehicle with style and it was invented in the 1800’s. It is called a bicycle, that problem is solved. Maybe you could design a non coal fired power plant to produce your “clean” electricity. Besides, compared to that abomination recumbent guy in knee socks is Steve McQueen cool.

BTW nice glasses Britney. I just figured out where I had seen something similar.

They See Me Rollin’, They Hatin’

Written on July 1, 2008. Written by The Rev.

Here in the 801 the local media does a prety good job of trying to keep everyone inside for fear of well, pretty much everything. The other day TSTBMBR was running up in Mill Creek Canyon (for those not of the 801, it is a popular dog walking, running, and biking spot. It is about as dangerous as a Nerf ball) and she got approached by a local Fox News affiliate and was asked what “precautions” she was taking to be running on a heavily trafficed trail in broad daylight! Her answer was something along the lines of “Well, I put my running shoes on…”. We didn’t watch the news but I am sure they put it between a “Your Lawn Could Kill YOU!” and “This Kitten is so Darn Cute” type story.

Every once in a while though a real news story will slip into the paper. I found this story today. At first I thought it was a joke but I did some research and there really are trike gangs out there, no doubt with strong MS-13 ties. The means streets of Utah County, that place aint no joke. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.

Now Go Away Floyd

Written on June 30, 2008. Written by The Rev.

I am sure Floyd is the poster boy (if they have those) for Amish parents warning their kids of the danger’s of electricity and other modern tools of the devil. Once you flick that switch using dope is only a matter of time….

Have you ever wondered what would happen if you had a National and no one came? Well if you were at Deer Valley this weekend you would have your answer. Back in the day the Expo was like a public version of Interbike. Now it is little more than a few team trailers and a Cliff Bar booth. Sad really. Outside of the Bush administration it would be hard to find a better example of running a once great institution into the ground.

Here is some Tex Perkins fer yer Mundee…