Shop Flooded...Happy New Year!

"But my lips hurt REAL BAD"

So I was J.R.A. (Just Riding Along) when this 18 Wheeler (Big Truck) was passing me in a rain storm (yeah, the one that started December 17th, 10 inches and 13 days ago...but I'm not bitter about it...things could be worse) when he hit a pothole RIGHT next to me. The tire of the truck kicked up this rather large piece of asphalt and hit me on the lip. I was so numb from the cold I did not really pay attention till I stopped at Peet's Coffee to get some food. (Yup, can you believe it, I was HUNGRY!) I had my favorite Blueberry/banana muffin. As I am mowing away at my new source of energy to get me home (all 2 miles), Meg (the Barista) is looking at me kinda funny. I am thinking what's wrong? Is it the fact that I am all dressed up in lycra from head to toe including the neoprene booties and the skull cap under my helmet? Nah, it couldn't be that. Is it the fact that I have been standing in the same place for...oh...two minutes...and there was a puddle around me ten feet in diameter. Nope, I know those looks (believe me, I KNOW those looks) this one was different...this was of genuine concern. Then it strikes me as she is motioning to her lips...she wants me to kiss her...no...not that...I put my neoprene gloved hand up to my mouth and there is blood. That truck drew first blood! I finished my muffin, waved goodbye to my new pseudo girlfriend/barista Meg. Who, by the way, REALLY wanted me to kiss her all dressed up like a Lycra Superhero with a bloody lip, dripping wet in front of everyone in there.

So now, I have a bloody lip and a bruised gum, a bruised ego, and it's raining...still...So I got that going for me. Otherwise, it was another great day on the bike. I just hope that it stops raining before ALL of the roads are flooded. I've got 6 hours to kill on the bike tomorrow so we'll see what did not flood tonight.

Enjoy the ride...

Bravo D!

Bormio, ITA
Daron Rahlves celebrates his eighth World Cup downhill win and takes over the World Cup overall lead.







AFP - Paco Serenelli

"Pedro offers you his protection"

Yo! T, You sent me a lovely card touting your "Pipes". You know the score. Did you get your tickets???? To the Gun Show???? How about a veterinarian? Do you know where one is? Cause these Pythons are sick! "Now bow to your Sensi. BOW TO YOUR SENSI!

You can't take me, but I know you own this guy.

Lucky!

The National Weather Service report reads:
A WIND ADVISORY IS IN EFFECT FOR THE NORTH BAY COAST AND MOUNTAINS
BEGINNING AT 6 AM TODAY. SOUTHEAST WINDS TO 15 TO 30 MPH WITH GUSTS
TO 45 MPH ARE EXPECTED. THE ADVISORY CONTINUES TONIGHT.
A SERIES OF STORMS WILL BEING OCCASIONAL RAIN TO THE REGION DURING
THE COMING WEEK. PERIODS OF HEAVY RAIN ARE LIKELY...ESPECIALLY FROM
TUESDAY NIGHT INTO WEDNESDAY AND AGAIN FRIDAY INTO EARLY SATURDAY.
RECENT HEAVY RAINS HAVE SATURATED THE GROUND AND ANY ADDITIONAL HEAVY
RAINFALL WILL RESULT IN RAPID RUNOFF AND THE POTENTIAL FOR FLOODING
IN LOW LYING AREAS OR FLOOD PRONE AREAS. GIVEN CURRENT RAINFALL
PROJECTIONS...MINOR FLOODING IS POSSIBLE ON THE RUSSIAN RIVER IN
SONOMA COUNTY ON WEDNESDAY AND WEDNESDAY NIGHT. A FLOOD WATCH HAS
BEEN ISSUED FOR THE RUSSIAN RIVER AT HEALDSBURG AND THE RUSSIAN RIVER
AT GUERNEVILLE FROM 6 AM WEDNESDAY THROUGH 6 AM THURSDAY.
HIGH SURF CONDITIONS WILL EXIST ALONG THE COAST WEDNESDAY INTO
THURSDAY.
At least it's not snowing or scortching...just a little wet and windy.

Dinner Rolls!

Check the rolls on the bike...

I can only say that you had to be there....

Take Two!

All right, so let me get a few things off my chest right now.
1. I have not been so good at this thing...so far. It's difficult when you spend 4 hours a day on the bike THEN work 8-9 hours. By the time I get home, the last thing on my mind is blogging. Food, Sleep & tomorrow's ride.
2. Merry Christmas! "So what are you doing @ 7:20 on Christmas morning?"....well, I got up to ride before I head off to Napa for the days festivities, and guess what....It's raining again. Yesterday was the first day in a week that it did not rain in measurable amounts. Had this been a serious training week, I would be out there regardless. So, this being my recovery week, (with recovery the main focus) I made the executive decision to NOT go out in the dark and wet for 4 easy hours, rather, a leisurely 2 hour spin when the sun comes up. (This has been what I have been saying all week).
3. So much has happened, where to start..? I finished the season out strong. Went to Vegas for the show. Took the month of October off of the bike with the exception of the Tyler Hamilton Foundation ride here in Marin. I hired Dario at Whole Athlete to coach me this year. We started a kick-ass program November 1 (which by the way was a rest day, YEAH). Tyler has invited Nick and I to lead the MS Global ride in September. So, before the ride starts, I think I am going to hit the UCI Mountain Bike World Cup in Schladming, Austria and retire. We went to Scottsdale, AZ for a fundraiser earlier this month. It sure was nice to hang out in a warmer climate for a couple of days. Oh, and I am growing my hair out after 5 years of the same old buzz cut.

And one final comment before I go an jump on the bike for a soggy ride... I must preempt this by saying I am not one to get up on my soap box unless I REALLY have something to say.
This time I am PISSED.
All of us are guilty of allowing the media to conduct a court of public opinion on issues we really have no true right to judge. We do not know all of the facts pertaining to the issue so we let the "unbiased reporters" guide us through a seemingly accurate account of the facts. The facts are usually supplied by a authoritative source, assuming reliability. That's called Media Hegemony...look it up. Well, often times that source is , incomplete, incorrect or misleading, and sometimes, just sometimes (shhhhh)...CORRUPT.
If you wanted a truly accurate report on crime let's say, you should not only read a police blotter, but you should interview criminals as to what they did, (anonymously of course). They are going to tell you what was NOT caught and reported to the police.

Without diving off the high dive of Media Theory and the effects of mass media (alas, my college education is coming into use), I will say this with regards to Tyler Hamilton v USOC/USADA...I know enough to know that I do not know enough to render a judgement based on what has been presented to us and neither do you or the media. Sure, you can report the "Facts", but who is providing them and why? As far as I know, there was a gag order placed on Ty's case. Why then does the accuser (USADA/USOC) feel it necessary to release supportive test information and their entire argument regarding the case to the media (See Cyclingnews report) unless something is fundamentally wrong with their argument in the first case? At least that makes me wonder...are they trying to win the court of public opinion to divert our attention from the truth? If Ty was guilty, wouldn't he be playing the spin game too? Wouldn't he be trying to refute every little point with explanation and excuse? Wouldn't he fold and hide? Why would Ty and Haven hang their reputations and their wealth on his innocence after a ruling AND a 2-1 decision in arbitration? Would you if you were truly guilty? Instead he is standing up and demanding the due process he deserves, despite the shit storm he has had to endure. All for what? Maybe we don't know the WHOLE truth.

I am not naive, there are dopers out there, this we know. I have raced against them. But, there are lots of clean riders too ( I race against them too, and they are FAST as well). Some with seemingly inhuman talent. Just because they have talent beyond belief and can ride to fourth place in the tour with a broken collarbone, does not mean they are a doper. (The last I checked, blood transfusions, HgH and EPO don't boost courage and grit, nor do they lower pain thresholds). So it is established that Tyler is woven from a rare fabric that allows his talent and strength to mix with his determination yielding a seemingly unbelievable athlete. I train smart, and I train hard, but I will never ride like Ty. He has a gift like no other athlete I have ever competed against. So why is it that the media, and it's readers want to believe that evil lurks in every golden moment? Why can't someone work hard, and have talent, and have determination, and finally get their moment of due glory without getting SHIT on in disbelief by the media AND the UCI? Because it sells! All the while it bites the hand that feeds. Cycling will never be the same. To the rest of the world (not our little tribe of fanatics but the world outside our little bike bubble), if you ride a bike fast, you must be a doper. This is the sad truth.

This raises the important question of our responsibility as active participants in life in general, but specifically, the cycling world... what burden do we the readers have? We perpetuate the demand for bad news by supporting it, by believing what we read, by buying the media, by supporting the sponsors/advertisers?
If you're not as pissed as I am, you're not paying attention. Wake UP!

Merry Christmas & Enjoy the ride!