holee prize bags, batman!

THE AJM DRAWING IS THIS WEEKEND!

woohoo!

gawdamn, i hope i win one of those badass prizes that were donated to help Andy with his f'ing huge medical bills.

good cause, good prizes, good young man to show the love to.
-

you've still got time to orders some more tickets. The drawing will be at the Giro d'SF on Monday. You can get tickets there, or also through paypal @ andy@jacquesmayniacs.com.

Do it to it!

And Andy is already talkin' about getting healthy and strong for Natz this year. I would not bet against him ~ he's one of the best one-day artists i've ever seen pound the dirt. This is a big race rider.

tiddlin's before the post folks get pissed at

go ahead and sharpen the claws for the caterwallin' i'll be doing later today ... don't worry, i've still got some pain meds left over from the surgery ~ so, i can take it.
- - -

War'n Geissert won the 45 Sprint Title yesterday. Looks like he man-handled the final in short order ... still, i reckon he'll toss out a nice detailed accounting of his path of destruction through the prelim rounds and how it was won.

should be good learnings for us Track-o-philes.

I'm not a match sprinter, but i do love the ins-and-outs of how they duel. feints and mind-games and blasts of ferocity ... oh my!
-

Speaking of the Hellyer'Drome ... and this is just for the locals ... what's up with the listserve peeing contest going on over there? There's an ncva version and a hellyer-something'erother version ... what the frack?

I mean, i know there's some sort of factional playground war between groups over there ... but ferchrissake, i just want the info on what races will be held when - on one list. And honestly, i want nothing to do with the turf wars going on over there regarding whatever they are regarding. junkadonk, can you just solve this somehow?

and please don't anyone comment about who did what to whoever else. i don't want to know any of it. just get the damn notifications on one list so we can be done with it.

christ, what a bunch of juveniles.

(ok, might as well piss a few people off with this post, too)
-

Continuing the track'ins ... Annabelle Holland placed 3rd in the Sprints, too. It looks like she ran into a bit of a juggernaut over there. But it's always hard to tell when you're just looking at results. Hopefully there will be a narrative surfacing of how her rounds went.

The Men's Pursuit didn't go as well for our 35 Men as we'd hoped. Holee crap, there were some fast mo'fos out there yesterday. We saw that the HellMan scorched a 3:41 earlier in the week ... a rather impressive 3 second gap over his nearest competitor. But, the 35 winner went another 3 seconds under HellMan's time. le' ouch.

Peterson was a solid 3:47 - with Palaez only 2 seconds off that ... also posting the 2nd fastest final kilometer of the entire group at a 1:10. That's bloody quick. Peterson is a scientist and did his run consistent and to his abilities. With more training and experience, he will drop a few more seconds next year ... but that winner at 3:48 ... shyte, that's a gawdamn specialist.

Reaney had an off day and it looks like he bagged his 3rd kilo when he saw he was off the mark. Ah well, there's still jerseys in his future. And with the slight possibility that Master's Natz might make it's way westcoast next year ... i see him pulling on at least 1 of those then.

The Madison's are up tomorrow, with more timed events today and, i think, a few more mass starts and sprints today. Can't wait to see how they tumble out.
-

NorCal/Nev CycloCross Districts ... looks like the new promoter, Crazy-Shane, out at Livermore has stepped up to put on the show for us this year. Right on. It will be perfectly positioned at Dec 8th and his crew will have put on a good number of races out there before then to work out kinks on the course and dial it in perfectly. I'm sure the DarkPrince Maile and Uber-Carr will help them with course design, as well.

By now, word has leaked out that the FunkDaddy has pulled the plug on his season because his herniated discs are back and sucker punching him. It's a shame after the sweet rides he put in last year ... however, i will not discount seeing him come December ... just a hunch.

The CycloCross season is nigh upon us. Being injured for the first few weeks sucks for my competitive juices, but does give me ample opportunities to play field reporter. I'll be tossing out coverages on the NCNCA CycloCross site, as well as submitting poo-bah's to CyclingNews.com.

I'm sure each will edit ... copiously.

lates.

little bits

Nice little piece about Mara Abbot on VsNewz, just in case you haven't scooped it up yet.

one thing ~ could maybe the photog have let her know about the crooked Bell helmet? i mean, it's endearing as all get out to see that gingerbread smile and jaunty lil' skidlid notched akimbo ... but, might as well have the thing on straight for a national pub shot.


endearing, though.

Good attitude, fierce competitor, american fun and spunk. One of the heroes, i reckon.
- - -


Devolder named capitan' of the Disco squad for la Vuelta. Man, that's gonna be a intra-squad slugfest of a grand tour ... with Count Brakovich, Devolder and Danielson all looking for/needing (to larger and lesser degrees) results ...

fireworks.

don't think the support crew at that event is gonna have an easy time of it ... soigneurs, mechanics, masseurs may see themselves pulled gumby in different directions by those factions.

can't wait to watch. though, doubt we'll see any of the interweb'views like in the Frenchy version.
- - -

Giro d' San Francisco is this weekend.

grrr ... it's a race to dig and this boy is painted a bit blue that can't play with the other kids. I hope the Minty's get a big showing for their event.

doh, gotta scott ... need to make more time for the scribblins, dammit.

Hellyea'r!

Looks like we got our first Stars n' Stripes of the week.

The Kilo was a pretty sweet opening, with lots of locals getting close to the prize and swarming podiums. But just a few minutes ago, Brian Peterson snapped up the Points title with a monster late race move that put his arms through the pretty jersey.

Steve Reaney was the hammer out there all-night, like we knew he would be ... and he placed 2nd. Palaez almost made it a NorCal sweep o' the podium by taking 4th.

Nice frickin' job, guys.


gawdamn, i hope Reaney wins that Pursuit and Palaez crushes it in the sprints.

can't wait to hear more results.


track rules.

just go necro so i can cut your ass out

moods be swingin' like the sledge right now.


went in for the x-rays of the shoulder and told the dude how my wrist's been flarin'.

so, he says ... ah, let's zap it just for giggles.

navicular fracture ... yippeekaiyaiyay



i'm pissed again ... but, the shoulder is lookin' fabu and Alberto got shit-canned and nobody is stomping my throat with a jackboot and it's just a stupid little nothing-bone anyway.

so fuk'ya ... party is on, baby!

dropplings

Morning read ... since i've lagging on time for tappin's
-

The Horner'view ~

When I was with Mercury we were the number one team -- the best riders on the best team in the States. We go into a race like Redlands and have seven guys on the road race, the Sunset Loop. I'm finishing there with two team-mates and they have one foot in the grave! I'm riding the front to get them over the last climb so they can help me down the descent.

That is an 85 mile race, so you are telling me that a 150 mile race over four mountain passes you can finish with 7-8 guys on the last climb? I don't believe it to be possible. Even with Rasmussen's team, and he had a lot of questions about him, he was arriving with only two guys on the front and one would get dropped on the final climb. That's what I mean by a change.

gotta admit ... i love having Horner in the peloton. The dude is so ... non-Euro. Sabine always gets riled when listening to most the Americans do their interviews over there ... they sound so Euro with their truncated speech and generic responses.

but not Horner ... he's all cheeseburger and "dude, you sat on my roachclip."

I find him refreshing. And you could see in the Velonews video clips (which were a very cool addition to their coverage by the way ... even if I'm not a huge fan of that boulder-boy who did them) - you could see by the clips that Horner knows he's got a future in broadcasting. He would talk long and descriptive about the events of the day. Check them out if you never took a look. [Here's a link to some outtakes, couldn't be bothered to blip up the Horner diaries - and i didn't vid any of these]
-

Anyway, what's up with Lotto not putting Horner on a TT bike for training? I mean, is that for real? I really don't understand Euro-teams sometimes.

gotta jet.

thought i felt an itch

whelp, looks like i'm gonna make another trek to that gawdamn circle-jerk of a town ... Las Vegas.

CrossVegas is on for September 26th and i'm gonna sell a few pints to the horned-one to try and get my shoulder in enough shape to race the scene. i mean ... it's a cross race ... at Interbike.

i gotta go.
-

I'll try and get on the trainer next week and will kill cells to salvage something, anything of the fitness from this year's blood wars.

ah well ~ whatchyagonna do?
-

luckily, i received a can of "heal-all" from the Man that night of the surgery. Sabine braved the dark and demonics to search out the twisted one, wooing and wowing them all with her spandexia kickasschula . He was dutifully impressed and sent back the warm elixir - enough to point me square and straight down that dearly bought and rarely braved road to recovery ... payment due upon completion.

ya'll know the score. it's how i roll.
-

i loathe vegas, though. just despise that fucking place. it really is a bit of a felony that Interbike chooses to keep the cluster down in that pit. Yeah, it makes them money and yeah convenient for traval and it's blahblahblah ...

but fukkinghell folks, it's Las Vegas.

... stupid bike industry. but it's not my show and rarely my scene. i'm not part of the machine and only a casual observer to that bit of struggle for Piggy's conch.
-

and yet, if i'm gonna split the sin and go down there for some evilry ... might as well do it full-metal and Cross my ass off.

madness.

oh, sweet baby jesus

el furioso done kilt me with this one

performance artsyfartsyness

Yup, I've been slacking mightily with the scribblings of late (and all interweb stuff, actually ... apologies to all emails I haven't returned yet ~ i'm on it asap). I reckon the horse as been clambered back on, though and there will be more floods of hernando-boobery through the tubes.
-

Tracky Natz for the gentrified ~

yup, this week we'll see big showdowns at T-Town ... dayum, gotta admit i'm wishing i was there. Lovin' all the Hellyer'ites popping up on the reg sheets - it will be great to see if the locals can bring home some more titles to circle triumphant around the infield.

Steve Reaney is due for a big pop of champaigne. This is a guy who has been one of the dominating forces in the NorCal racing circuit these past 2 years and is ready to uncork the big result. I see him riding well in the Pursuit and might surprise some of the innocents during that Points Race.

Peterson has been focusing well on his Kilo and I'm quite interested to see the big effort he will pull out in PA. This is a guy who steps up to the big challenge and swings with both fists. I would love to see the flag circling around his collars next year. We have a lot of regulars heading out there out there to contest wills - but a lot of them have captured titles in the past, so we will politely applaud when they bring back more medals to toss in their heavy-laden warchests (Nolan, Hellman, Geissert and all those other Webcor monsters, etc).

But there is curiousity in the possible performances of the new fast man on the NorCal blocks, Steve Palaez. He's been consistently scorching the fastest times in the flying 200s out on the boards and is taking in some good tutoring from the elite old guys we've got stocking wisdom at Hellyer. It should be a very good experience for him and I see him getting nothing but faster next year. He'll also be hitching up with Peterson for the Madison ... which is a good paring in that stocked 30+ event. They'll join local honch's Nevitt and Derdenger in what looks to be a Madness-son of at least 15 teams. Yoinks!

I think we'll only have 2 Hellyer Women pushing pedals at T-Town this year, Annabelle Holland and Libby Digennaro. I haven't been able to watch them race much at the track this year, so don't know what kind of form their bringing to the show, but sure as hell wish them well.

Go get 'em, ya'll. Elite Natz is in October down in the evil SoCal lands ... i think they'll be a number of these same yayhoos showing up for that one, too.
- - -

tinkerbell injury report

well, it looks like Jeffe and my's scars are pretty much identical ... except, of course, mine is much prettier. I'm already taking the sling off entirely too much and pushing movement past the danger zone ... but, you know me - limits be damned.

the real issue of pain actually comes from the stupid f'ing calf. The thing is waay more of a hassle than the shoulder. Bones? I know they heal, and the separation seems to be fitting in nicely. I'll go in on Tuesday to have new scans check for healing alignment and ligament smooshings, but all in all ... it's a simple smash and grab of an injury. You know how to deal with something like that.

But the leg? It's all soft tissue. Thankfully there were no bones broken on that one, but the muscle was damaged so much that they were worried for a few hours about possible toxicity from dying muscle tissue and maybe even compartment syndrome as the damn thing expanded so much the sheath surrounding it was strained to maximal capacity. But in the end, the swelling finally reduced and now i'm just left with the mother of all fukking bands of muscle damage running across my calf.

it's a nice 23c width of pain slice right through the middle of my speed maker ... giving me no walkey-walkey yet and a distinct feeling of crappola anytime i flex the bloody thing. I'll get more info on how to fix up that bugger when i see the ortho on Tuesday. Hopefully i can just self-heal the thing with my own brand of Hernando-uber-therapy (involving copious amounts of stretchery and four-letter invocations of "that-shit-hurts").
- - -

I'm psyched to see that Giant Strawberry and freshly crowned U-23 Champ Max Jenkins is racing his twinkies off with a US Natz contingent across the pond. The GP Tell is one of those bastards of a race where they pool a bucketload of National Teams together and let them shiv each other into bloody messes.

These are all young and viciously hungry riders doing everything they can to impress someone, ANYone into giving them a ride, or at the least, make an impression upon them for future consideration. Hard, hard racing for those boys.

but, it appears like Max is getting a chance to make ... the transition. The transition is when you change focus - your vision no longer sits quietly on the near and small, but instead searches wide and far, on distant horizons for the rare and grand. It is when you see each race as not an end, but as a step.

It's the thousand-yard stare, the mind unnattached, it's ...

the look.
- - -

It will be very interesting to see how NorCal develops in the road scene for next year on the men's side. We've got a few very, very strong young talents pushing envelopes and I'm wondering if there is the structure in our region to see them flourish as best they might.

Right now we have CalGiant being the most influential and high profile regional team. But, how much more can this outfit give to the sport? They have made huge investments in advertising with cycling - pouring dollars into Natz for both road and cross while still fielding one of the best amateur squads in the nation. But that kind of cash is difficult to keep flowing. I think we all need to step up and put their product as one of our staples for purchase. If there is one thing we, as cycists, can sell to a company - it's brand loyalty. So, keep being loyal is my motto.

But, other than Cal Giant, do we have a lot of options for young talent to get support in this, as we all know, extremely taxing endeavor (money AND time)? The Lombardi's outfit has been a long-time daddy-O of the sport and it's been whispered they might be going back to big next year as far as rosters go. That will be good to see. The Davis Bike Club's Elite squad has put together some fine riders these last couple of years and I've seen there names listed on some far-away start sheets, as well. So let's hope those cats keep that long-tradition running.

BPG/Montano Velo might be under a sponsor squeeze next year, which would be a damn shame as they field a lot of quality riders out on the circuits - even though ... god luv'em, they sometimes are their worst enemies when it comes to tactics and putting results to paper (you know i love you guys). And there is the ever-present Webcor/Alto Velo machine that will forever find and shine a diamond or two from the ruffs each year. But, other than that ... we've got a lot of smaller, localized squads just fielding teams as best they can - and often putting in huge rides, no doubt - but still, not really offering young talent exposure to the kind of racing that really forges that ... that transition, i'm talking about.

And we do have some extremely talented young behemoths out there bashing balls every weekend. MetroMint's JBarryO is a madman and needs either be swept into a pro contract or heavily sedated. He's a one-man wrecking crew and should be funneled full-bore into the sport. There's also guys like Rand Miller from up in the NorthBay who is a fireplug of a rider, unafraid to lay it out in any crit or road race. Or from down central-south there's the like of Vince Owens who has been consistently making breaks and doing all kinds of heavy lifting in quality local events.

From Davis way, there's that group of beautifuls that love to light up any race they attend - little hearthrobs like Tyler Dibble, Chris Morales, and S.Rosenthal. Dibble's 39-flat out at Esparto a couple weeks back was one helluva run against the clock and confirms that the boy can throw down some power in the discipline. These are all young talents who can become better. But it takes help. and i'm only scratching the surface of the talent in our region ... there are many more with the ability and drive ... but maybe not the resources.

and we all know ... it takes resources to make it to all these gawdamn races.
- - -

ah ... bike racing.

it's been but a couple days since my surgery and i'm already jonesin' for it bad. i'm gonna have to needle some ligget into my eyeballs, or something.

luckily there's cross coming around the corner. The SwiggBoss is already pounding the drums to gather his Lobster Army to formation ... oh lord, battle fever infects me deep. I've been haunting Rye Bontreg's site for his cool pics of the latest and greatest steeds built up for our berzerker rages.

It pains me to think i'll miss any of the September dirt races ... so, maybe i just won't.
-

oh christ ... i gotta pull the plug on this one. finally have the push to sit in front of the cpu for a while and went all diahrea on the keyboard.
~lates.

short delay in postings

cuz this stuff actually stings a bit


i'm a big fat stupid-head.

Deja Vu

Its so convenient that Jeff has been through this already. I don't need to take a picture of the xray, I just steal his.

Michael's hardware looks exactly
like this. With the 4 screws and the little straight piece and everything. Surgery went well, or as the surgeon kept repeating, almost more to himself than to me, "very very well, very well, it went....very well". Thats good, not that Michael was worried, but I was. I made the mistake of googling the surgery last night and looking at gory nasty pictures of it. How can surgeons do that stuff? No wonder they are all a bit off.

Michael did ask me if the hospital has wireless so he could do an aneasthesia blog post, but I'm nixing that and his readers will just have to make do with me instead. Besides, drooling on the keyboards isn't good reading anyways. I'm at home taking a much needed kitty and blackberries break. Hospitals give me a bad case of the heebie jeebies.

Unlike Jeff, Michael will be staying overnight ( I vividly remember Bunnydoc's no way this should be outpatient rant so I am grateful) and should be up and blogging sometime tomorrow I am sure.

Thanks for the well wishes.

Spanish civil wars

It's not many who will care nowadays ... but, la Vuelta begins as September does.

holee pumpkin patch, charly brown, it's almost time for the leaves to turn and the lap cards to be flipped on another year.

it do pass, don't it.

The Discovery Troupe is lacking in money-bags come 2008 ... and there are a number of fellers involved in the Spanish Tour still looking for security and maybe a bigger hand to swat negotiations with.

The real boy on the bubble is poor TommyD. Count Brajkovic is already touted as a grand tour contender with his lust for power and waifer thin climbing prowess. And STick Devolder is too talented a classics rider for teams not to be setting claws in each other for a chance to gobble him up with a fat contract. But Danielson?

Pressure is a strange force of nature ... it can forge coal into diamonds, or smother a life quiet and forgotten.

Tom Danielson has been regarded as a huge talent for a number of years now. He's shown small steps of improvement and significant setbacks in health and performances under pressure. Some have said he lacks the killer instinct, some have said he lacks support at the crucial moment, and some haven't given two shits either way.

But ... I have a soft spot of admiration for him. Maybe it's because his wife's about as sweet and chill as a glass of southern iced tea. Maybe it's because he's always been the underdog, always been questioned. Maybe it's just because he's got that silly-ass grin on his face most the time and it makes you think he's enjoyed a toke once or twice in his life.


Regardless, this Vuelta is the end-game for TommyD. It's a race that will decide his future as a professional bike racer. If he throws off the shackles of expectation and pressure and performs with the freedom and abandon that his body and his fans have desired for years ... he will rocket himself into stardom and secure another European adventure next season. If he rides anonymously and untested ... then, he should come home to the States and sign with a domestic team. There is no dishonor in that ... the US racing scene right now is as bristling with talent, if not dollars, as it ever has. EVER.

Would it be a step-back? To some, yes. But, in racing in the States ~ he would have home back on his side ... and i think that might be all the guy needs.
- - -

About the same time those Spanish are flyin ... back here we'll be having the US PRO Road and TT Champyships.

Of course, I'm hoping that BJM takes the TT jersey ... but, this year it's going to be a fist full of big-ring swinging wide for the title in Greenville ~ so who can predict what will happen.

Last year we were witness to one of the most amazing displays of bravado since David called Golaith's stone-less. Bajadali was the MAN up against those burglers Hincapie and Leipheimer in the Road Race.

When it was patently obvious that those two were working together, Bajadali threw everything at the both of them ... killing it like any good samurai should ... risking everything for the win.

It was an amazing display of pride and guts and ... balls.

I was a fan of jellybelly before because of Candy's chops ~ but, from that day forward, i was a fan because of Baj's stones. He could have chosen to play the conservative card and race for 2nd, knowing full well that in the final few kilometers they would have 1-2'd him to death.

But instead, he hit them hard and repeatedly in an all-out effort to take the glory from them. And in my mind, he did.

that's admirable.

stubborn, but admirable.
- - -

Anyway, tomorrow morning i go in for the knife work. I'll be off-line until Thursday because of the overnight slumber-party with the sickos.

yay-frickin-ay.

talk ya'll later.
~m

clif rocks

stuff passing the noggin'

i'm digging that Tina Pic won the Natz Crit this year. VanBodyGuilder has been an unstoppable force these past few weeks, and it was nice to see that the Pic'inator still has the gutz to stomp out there after her unspeakable crash from last year.

definitely one of the most dramatic pictures i've ever seen.
-

It was cool to see that Shelley cooked out a 9-spot in the crit ... yet another top-10 in a National Championship for the powerhouse (track, cross, road ...). She's been getting results since February and is prolly gonna kick it strong all the way through to Track Natz. Well, i hope so anyway.

The NorCal women's scene made a pretty good kick this year, i have to say. VAC had Taitt and Martina both getting top-15s at Crit Natz - and they've had good representation all year long in the stage races and one-day events.

Their Aussie connection with Banks and Mactier paid big dividends and this squad was always in the mix at races. I think that Lisa Hunt put together an amazing first year unit and I look forward to seeing how they develop in '08.


MetroMint had a couple of huge results at SuperWeek this year ... those are big, big results for the regional squad. Eaken and Robertson are fast strong girls who love to race till they drop. And, still - one of my favorite episodes of the year was watching the Minties go nutz in the Kern Classic this year with Van Howeling. Great race, great racing.

CRC's Virginia Perkins is a rider I'll be watching next year. She has shown that she's not afraid to jump straight into the fire at races. The first time I noticed her showing that kind of fearlessness was in the Madera Crit this year. There was a TT later in the day for her, i believe, but she still went full-gas in that crit, even though it was well into the 90's on the F'u-mometer.

Another rider on the horizon for a possible break through next year would be Easton's Mary Ellen Ash. This is a rider that does most her work in the dirt ... but, after seeing her win a few crits this year and getting a chance to look at her ability in the velodrome - i think the girl's got some potential. She's only 26 or 27 and is still learning how to be efficient on the bike. Tough girl, too. Good future.

Touchstone started the year with a flurry of results from their strong-woman Jill McLaughlin. Her win at the Gila crit is definitely one for the memory books. But, we haven't seen much of her in the past few weeks and no word on her whereabouts has reached my ears, so i'm hoping everything is ok on her end.

What a huge talent Jill is - just a classic power rider. She is one of those women that a GC team will use as an "on-the-front" motor all day long. Hopefully Touchstone will keep a good stage racing team together, or maybe one of the more crit-specific teams in NorCal will look to add her to their roster as they attempt a transition into the world of GC.

Another rider who might make a splash next year is Velo Bella's Natasha Perry. I first saw her on a lunch ride that jettisons down Hwy 1 every Tuesday in the sCruz. It was a group of 20-25 riders, and she was one of only a handful that was motoring through a rotation at the front ... just killing it.

She's aggressive, loves to suffer, and has a remarkable ability to recover. She's one of those riders that you have to put the collar on to try and make her conserve energies for when it counts. She raced quite a bit these last couple months and instantly was garnering results for her teammates. i think with the experience of this year under her belt and a nice winter of training camps with us, she's going to have a blast next year and will take the team to the next level.

TIBCO and Webcor are the two consistent NRC squads from our area. The other teams all head to the big events when personal schedules and thin team resources allow ... but, these two teams have committed substantial scrilla to the big dance schedules and the results have shown.

Brooke Miller is a rider that could dominate the landscape for many a year. She's intelligent, fierce, saavy ... and learning to be a better rider. But, she's also a PhD-type yayhoo ... so, the lure of career might snake her away from giving us entertainment with her thighs. The team has done very, very well in supporting her for results this year - and Bastide and Marple have not been averse to getting out there to kick their own results whenever given chance. I was also very happy to see that Katie Lamden snagged a satisfying 2nd in GC at Fitchburg this year ... that's an impressive ride.

We'll see what direction the squad takes next year. Should be interesting.

I believe I read that Webcor is pushing on through next year with their sponsorship. That makes me happy, because I am a huge fan of this squad. I have always been impressed with the abilities of Curi, Rais, and Thorburn. I think they are the best women at stage racing in the US. And you add in that rising uber-talent of Abbott ... and we're talking a tsunami of strength and willpower.

One of my personal favorites has always been the Webcor rider Bev Harper. i think she fits really well into the needed mold of being an excellent ambassador of the sport. She's charming, professional in her demeanor to other women cyclists ... basically, does all the things right that improve our sport. Top notch. But really, you can say that about all the Webcor women ... complete professionals.

Who knows what the squad will focus on next year? ... i mean, there is little else remaining on the domestic front for this team to hunger for. But, it is the Beijing Olympics next year ... and you know that Thorburn will be ready for the TT. And ... i think that Abbott has a very, very good shot at medaling in the road race. But, the rules state only 3 women will be able to race per the Olympic selection criteria ... and with Neben, Armstrong, Pic, LVG, Carroll, etc ... it's going to be one helluva selection process to see who makes the show.


I'll be watching.

on the crapper

well ... doesn't look like i can get into the ortho until tomorrow ... surgery sometime after that. which sucks. i'm thinking of firing up the new BBQ, grabbing a shaving mirror, a steak knife, and a third-hand tool and doing the gawdamn thing myself.

so, what ... will it be 6-8 weeks rehab?

screw that.
-

When i was a young buck i didn't know there was anything like bicycle racing. i was one of those ghetto-ball boys who talked shit into pick up games with the samoans and bruthas. but i also got pretty hooked on the baseball. yeah, as a nipper - it was a passion of mine.

i was riding my bike home from a practice once and overcooked a corner, straight into some retiree's mailbox. luckily the front of the property was all gowned in ivy, nice and soft for my summersault over the box after i planted my bars into it.

somethings never change.

i broke my left forearm somehow and was casted from the fingers to the elbow. Unfortunately, i was scheduled to participate in some sort of all-star thingie a few weeks later - and it was of huge importance to me. it was the first time i'd ever participated in an organized sport and i was putting all the passion into it ... that you might expect a little drub fukker like myself to do.

but, there i was - broken lil' wing in a sport that's all hands (i was a 'catcher'). I was devastated. The ER dipshits were casting me up and i told them i had IMPORTANT games coming up. He said "no." I went to the team practice the next day and the coach, a gawdamn swell of a guy if i ever knew one, but he, too, gave me the negatory.

but i told them all to eat biscuits and i got that thing healed in 17 days. 17 days and that cast was cut off and x-rays cleared.

and, as i recall, i played like shit.


but i played.
-

DHolla wins Elite Crit

next step, Pro Podium

jaysuz ... now we'll never get the punk to shattup

CONGRATS, DANIEL!

now that's funny

georgey with me in the ER room ...

surgery this week as i join jeffe in the poo-box.


i'm an idiot.


thanks to all the boys who helped me back to reg and lil' ninja for driving me home. all good now. just me being stupid. cross will be a hair delayed this year.

bummer.

nobody asked

This is why i'll vote for Obama in the primary.


but, i wish she was running instead.


and i won't have any problem voting for Hillary if she wins the nomination.
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and this is why i love Stewart.


he is Man of the Year.


(you really should watch it ... it's not what you expect and better than you'd think)

devil in the details

zig heil!

ze Jensy-Juggernaut has conquered all of ze little people and vins der time trial auf Deutschland.


this cat is uber-alles, baby.


and i only adore him more for the zoolander expression in his canary yellow queer-suit.
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So there's talk of Lippy transfering to Predictor-Lotto to join up with Cadull.

graaayte.


two of the least charismatic riders in the peloton join forces on the team that must be considered the red-headed stepchild of Belgian cycling.

snoresville.

But, there just aren't all that many teams out there nowadays, are there? Unibet folds, Astana is on the edge, Disco cries themselves a river ... that's a lot of people looking for paychecks.

dopers suck.
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I know i'm a total terd-biscuit ... but, there is a strong possibility i will burn some mileage and head up to the great-white-north for that Star Crossed CycloCrit.

I know i don't even have a cross bike built yet ... and i probably won't even step over one until a few days before the event ... but, that's never stopped me before.

There's a skinsuit and a bag full of testicles waiting to spew all over the cross scene up there with the beautiful people. ... I mean, a Twilight Cross race? I'm so there.

bring me the beer garden.

broken

last nite got to watch my girl race a 70 lap Pointer ... it was very cool.

After that, i paid a dollar a lap to get my ass twisted into a knot and have to pull out. Obviously my body was sending me some unwanted signals last nite after a couple days of hard riding.

Sucks to that ... you don't get often to run a nice long 100 lap Points Race against such a fun field. BJM was throwin meat around, BPG had Hooptie, Gio, and McBride in effect, AMD had BInnes and da'Baily uncorking, the StarBerries were giant with Reaney and Millah - and with a pinch of DelVell, the Langster, Big Nelson, and curious George ... it was a gawdamn good group to play with.

ah well. when the plug is pulled, it's pulled. midway through the first sprint the claws sunk in and i knew it was game over.

i hate rest.
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anyway, here's some pics to lookey at: