Lost and Found
I got this message via e-mail today:
I found a Fuji Team Super Lite road bike.
If someone can contact me with a serial number and description, I’ll be glad to return it to its owner.
How do you just find a bike?
Matt Lauer Crashes
Matt Lauer has crashed his bike trying to avoid hitting a deer in the road. His injuries were originally thought to be minor, but subsequent examinations have revealed a separated shoulder and other injuries. Surgery will be needed to correct the problems. Reports say that the deer suffered no injuries in the incident.
Lance Crashes
Lance Armstrong fell and broke his collarbone today. This puts his Giro plans in jeopardy. Most cyclists recover in about 4-6 weeks from this kind of injury, but Lance’s physical form will definitely suffer because of his inability to train as hard as planned during the recovery time.
The Return to Soul/Sole Riding
I went on my first group ride of the year last week, and I was far from impressed. The group I went with seemed quite established, and I got a few comments from the group bullies. The first comment I got after rolling up to the meeting place came from a guy that was about 5’8” tall and easily weighed over 250 lbs. He said, “Interesting wheel choice. That is the first I have seen anyone actually ride those wheels.” (sidenote: my wheels are actually really nice). My response was, “That is the first Italian bike that I have ever seen built up with Japanese components.” The ride was o.k., but not great. We averaged 20 mph over 20 miles of totally flatland and hardly any wind. My heart rate probably never broke 110 bpm. That is fine for a recovery day, so I had no real complaints about the lack of workout, but the riding skills of the group is still waking me up with nightmares a week later. There was weaving in and out of the line, shaky water bottle usage, and one guy had some brakes that were about to fall off his bike. After this experience, I had almost decided that I was going to switch back to 100% solo rides in the future. I have small kids and a wife, and I can’t risk their future on some idiot on a Trek with a brake that was never really installed correctly. All week I have been asking myself if I was overreacting. Just when my mind was allowing the possibility of giving the group another chance, I heard about an incident on the Saturday ride, which I did not attend.
Here is the account from someone that was there:
Was I overreacting to my experience riding with these guys last week? I don’t think so. It is back to Soul/Sole riding for me. I would rather get run over by a car than another cyclist. It is more dignified that way.
Dave Zabriskie’s Home Burglarized
A sad note to report today. While Dave Zabriskie was busy taking 2nd place in the Tour of California last week, his home was burglarized. According to DZ, everything is gone…bikes, cars, Olympic momentos…everything. If you come across anything that seems like it might be Dave’s stuff or something that seems fishy on e-bay or elsewhere, please contact me: brian@theroadbike.com , and I will get in touch with him. Thanks.
Tour de Georgia Petition
There is a petition to save the Tour de Georgia. It is a worthy cause, as Georgia is a great race. The problem, however isn’t a lack of interest from the State of Georgia or the current organizers (medalist sports). The problem is that there is no money available to make the race happen. The past three years, the State of Georgia has had to strong-arm large companies based in Georgia to to sponsor the race. This same thing happened in Missouri with the Anheuser Busch sponsorship for the innaugural race. Anytime you need to force a sponsor to get involved, you know the foundation is not very sturdy for a long-term sustainable race. I have been part of a team that was offered the chance to make Georgia happen, and I know for a fact that money is the issue. If you feel the need to sign the petition, please do…it will not hurt, but if you really want to see the Toud de Georgia, start calling your rich friends.
Wanna go see a great race in Europe this year? Do you want to do it as a VIP? Check out Cervelo Test Team travel packages. Some of the packages are spendy, but most of you have more money than you know what to do with,,,,right? All the money in the world, and I would probably double up on the Flanders/Paris-Roubaix packages. It would be a heck of a deal. Imagine meeting and hanging out with Carlos Sastre, Thor Hushovd, and some of the strongest riders out there. Pretty cool.
Thank Goodness!
Lance’s bike has been found. I will sleep much easier knowing that the runaway bike is in custody.
It was the best of times, It was the worst of times.
Wow…is this how Floyd wanted to make his comeback? The storyline was awesome. Two years off because of a doping violation, and the hardcore animal that Floyd Landis is was to be back at the Tour of California to show everyone that he was back. He could show his strenght against the best in the world…Fabian Cancellara, Lance Armstrong, Levi Leipheimer. Out of respect for once winning the Tour of California, Floyd was given the 2nd to last starting time. Floyd could silence everyone with just one 4 minute ride.
Unfortunately, the fairytale ending never happened for Landis. He finished 90th in the Prologue with no real explanation. He didn’t look good on his bike at all. It goes to show you what a big budget can do to get you dialed in on the machine. When Floyd had the benefit of that big budget, he was dialed in perfectly. Not only his fit was right, but everything else was too. Now he is back, and his power coach, Allen Lim is with a rival team now….(you couldn’t expect him to take two years off too). The race is still very long, and there are all sorts of obstacles in front of the riders, but Day 1 did not look good.
Front Page News
So, just in case you haven’t heard yet….Lance had his bike stolen at the Tour of California. Two days later, and the story is picked up by big news sources. Right now, it is on the front page of Yahoo!. Is this really front page worthy? Unfortunately, bikes go missing at these events very often. This is the first time that Lance has had one stolen, but he has multiple bikes, so it isn’t like he will be sitting in the team car because of the theft. I guess I would just rather see a story on one of the many “real” storylines from the Tour of California.
