I think WADA and the UCI are probably the only ones who were surprised by the Danish study that said the EPO test is less reliable than a coin toss. I really don’t know the answer to the doping problem. I know it will never go away but I am not so jaded that I think declaring a pharmaceutical free for all is right either.

I write with wonder about the giants of our sport. They represent an ideal that we all strive for. It is no secret that even Eddy doped. Does that make his achievements any less spectacular? I don’t think so. Doped or not you still have to do the work. You still have to have the desire. You still have to have the engine. Doping does not turn a mule into a thoroughbred. (Ask Joe Papp) I am not condoning doping in any way, shape, or form. To write off the entire sport because of a few, no I am not going to do that either. I know there are clean riders in the Pro Tour. I think the Slipstream model is a great step and the future of cycling. You can ride and win clean and they are proving it.

I think the responsibility to clean up the sport ultimately has to come from the riders themselves. They know who is and who is not clean. They should be putting the pressure on the cheaters to clean the fuck up or get out. If one of my coworkers was stealing from my paycheck you better believe that person would be dealt with and it would not involve a meeting with HR.

So for all you who asked where are the results from Slipstream I think you now have your answer. Too bad about Zabriskie, dude can’t seem to catch a break. I have ridden MTB’s with him and his skills are legit, does not make sense to me. Anyway speedy recovery Brother Z, and big props to the Argyle Armada.

Yesterday I was riding with Blaze and we were talking about all the crashes in road races. At the local level there is a glut of guys that can put out the watts but somewhere along the line never really learned how to handle their machine. Swerving 2 feet to miss a hole when they could swerve 2 inches, looking over their shoulder and moving in that direction, reachiing for a bottle and moving across half the road. You get the idea and I am sure have seen it first hand at your weekly world cup. In the old days you just needed to stay in the front to avoid the Fred’s. Now there are super Fred’s, with fitness honed by hours of faithfull SRM devotion. These guys are nitro burning funny cars on an F1 course.

I blame one thing. Coaches. Whenever a cat 5 says they won’t be doing the group ride because they have to do 40 minutes of L6 intervals and then send the file to coach, Jesus kills a kitten. No wonder no one knows how an echelon works or how to ride in a group anymore. Back in the day (when the races were really hard) our local group rides were savage double paceline affairs. You were either the hammer or the nail. I spent many lonely miles limping home after getting shelled 40 miles into an 80 ride. My goal was to make it 41 miles next week. Eventually I wasn’t getting dropped. The rides I show up to today we never even work a paceline, we regroup to let the weak get back on. It is rolling T-Ball!

In the interest of safety here is my 3 pronged approach to make better bike riders (3PATMBBR).

- Minimum of 5 ‘cross races completed to learn basic handleing skills before anyone is allowed to enter a crit.

- Group rides are double paceline Lord of the Flies type events. They should be harder than any race.

- No coach or power meter until you get a Cat 2 upgrade. Of course by then you won’t need either.

The Euro Cross Pre Season started last weekend. French guy Phillippe Gilbert rode The Big Ring to a sweet solo victory at Het Volk.   Slipstream rider Mike Friedman rode The Big Ring to a fine 12th place.  These two showed true Big Ring form.  To live in The Big Ring you must be willing to lay it all on the line and go for the win.  If you ride with honor and courage and leave it all on the course you can’t lose, no matter what your final place.  If you sit in and follow wheels all day you will never win. This not to say sprinters are not Big Ring, it just means that if your job is to win the sprint you better damn well win the sprint.   The field sprint is one of the most amazing sites in all sport(unless Alice Petacchi wins), Big Ring for sure.  Still though, the solo win is the most Big Ring way to win. Well done Brother Gilbert.

Brothers and Sisters, The Big Ring is not just limited to time on the bike.  The Big Ring is about living you life with principle and honor. It is tipping the breakfast waitress 20% no matter what.  Donating your old clothes to charity rather than throwing them away.  When you see that homeless guy riding his Magna with 20psi in the rear, offer to pump up his tire. Tip your mechanic with Chimay not Coors.  Just be an example.  BTW these people may not ride bikes, but they are living Big Ring.

Speaking of Big Ring I managed to drag my ass out and see The Railbenders and Supersuckers show this weekend.