Update - Achilles Tendon Injury and Recovery

Two weeks ago I was playing basketball and tore my Achilles tendon (almost a complete tear).  From what I've heard from others, the stories of injury are typically the same.  It feels like someone is kicking or hitting your ankle from behind.  For me, I was making a fast move (fast is relative at my age) towards the hoop and thought someone from the next court had come over and stepped on my ankle or hit me with a hammer.  As I looked back to give a yell to whomever ambushed me, I noticed no one was there.  I knew it was my Achilles tendon.    Immediately my mind went to the scene from CaddyShack where Carl Spackler (Bill Murray) tells Ty Webb (Chevy Chase) about Judge Smails (Ted Knight) - 

If he bothers you, I'll take care of him. What you've got to do is cut the hamstring on the back of his leg right at the bottom. He'll never play golf again, because his weight displacement goes back, all his weight is on his right foot, and he'll push everything off to the right. He'll never come through on anything. He'll quit the game.

 Now I didn't injure my hamstring, but I was aware of the need for some levity and also still worry about my golf-swing.

I had surgery just three days after the injury by the great Dr. Boody in Placerville, and then spent two weeks with my right foot wrapped in a splint while staying completely off the foot.  I'm hating the crutches already.  Today the splint came off and I got to view the wound.  Dr. Boody seemed happy that the wound was healing nicely and the stitches were taken out.  

Just today (two weeks after surgery) I got a nice green cast put on.  The kids will enjoy signing it and drawing pictures and since it's waterproof I'll enjoy it much more than I would have if it was plaster.  Four weeks is all I have to endure this cast, then I'll be in a walking boot and it'll be time for some physical therapy and getting this ankle/tendon on the path to recovery.  

My Glory Days and Lance Armstrong

I’m often asked “did you ever race against Lance Armstrong?”  In fact, I did, a few times.  As I sit here with my Achilles tendon newly repaired and a years worth of rehab ahead of me, I hear that Lance Armstrong is retiring (again) from the world of professional cycling.  I raced against Lance during the 90’s and prior to his onslaught of seven wins at the Tour de France.  In fact I raced against him in 1996 in Wisconsin right after he dropped out of the Tour de France, before the Olympic Games and later that year as he announced he was riddled with cancer. Lance did the impossible those next few years off the bike, beating an insurmountable cancer diagnosis and then winning the Tour in dramatic fashion.  Yeah, I read the book “It’s not About the Bike” and was inspired.  After all, I had done several races against Lance and saw first hand his talent.

I was lucky, I also had the chance to race against Levi Leipheimer, David Zabriskie, Tyler Hamilton and Chris Horner to name just a few that have reached the height of the cycling world.  Only Chris Horner (who is almost my age) hasn’t come under any type of drug doping suspicion.  I raced against a lot of great cyclists back in the 90’s and I look back fondly on that.  There were many days of suffering and hard work but it was what I loved and the joy of racing, the competition and camaraderie never got old.

Lance obviously missed that joy and competition after he retired in 2005 as he made a grand pronouncement and comeback four years later.  This time it was about his cancer foundation and spreading the word across the world.  To me, I didn’t care what his purpose was and actually I would have preferred he focus on cycling or cancer but not both.  Why come back as a side show?  If you come back from a sport you were once the king of the hill at, then come back to be that again.  But Lance had this grand scheme in mind to serve humanity and race his bike; at least that was the premise he gave us.

Lance leaves the sport again, having only won a minor race (Nevada City Classic Criterium) and in the midst of the most serious doping allegation to date.  The new allegations are from his former teammate and disqualified (and disgraced) 2006 Tour de France winner Floyd Landis.  These accusations are specific and from a close INSIDE member of the squad back in Lance’s hay-day.  Some of the accusations seem a bit far-fetched, but on the whole they are very damning.  Perhaps Lance knew that his previous 7 tours were tainted and wanted to make a comeback in this seemingly new drug-free era of cycling to prove he could do it clean.  Prove it to himself and to those that drugged with him (and his family) that he really was a stand-up champion.  Without delving into the mind too much, Lance was probably giving himself a way out by saying “see, I can win clean and everyone else was dirty back then…so it’s all relative.”  This is just speculation of course.

To me, I’m glad Lance quit and quite honestly I didn’t revel in the articles that were posted immediately upon his announcement.  I did that the first retirement and there just isn’t anything up-beat to review this time around.   He disappointed me in his approach to cycling during the comeback just as he disappointed me in the news that came out about the possibility of doping.  It’s like I tell my kids, if you aren’t in a position to be in trouble, you won’t be blamed for anything.  Basically there are just too many rumors and stories and specifics that make the chance of Lance being clean his whole cycling career almost impossible.  Very unlikely at least.

I never did any drugs for my cycling, except a few caffeine pills before a race (within the legal limit) and my stomach was a mess the whole time.  I tried the method of working hard and it gave me several years of joy, lots of pain and suffering and great memories.  But I can look back on my time in the saddle and know that every time I did great, it was because of my own ability and hard work.  And every time I did poorly or not quite up to my expectations – well, I’m still trying to find an excuse for those times.  But in the meantime, I’ll relive my glory days with a clean conscience and a few laughs.

The 3/5ths Compromise and Chris Matthews

Just recently there has been some discussion in politics relating to the 3/5ths compromise included in the constitution from the 1787 Constitutional Convention.  It was postulated by Chris Matthews of MSNBC, that this clause to the US Constitution was in fact proof of America’s racist past and more specifically that of our founders.

What is the 3/5ths Compromise? 

Article 1, Section 2, Paragraph 3 of the US Constitution reads:

Representatives and direct taxes shall be apportioned among the several States which may be included within this Union, according to their respective Numbers, which shall be determined by adding to the whole Number of free Persons, including those bound to Service for a Term of Years, and excluding Indians not taxed, three fifths of all other perons.

Reading that clause, it is obvious this paragraph is specific to apportionment for Representatives and taxes.  Remember, at the time of the writing of the Constitution slaves did not have voting rights and contrary to the beliefs of Chris Matthews the 3/5ths Compromise was not about reducing a slave to that of less than one person.

What was the purpose of the Clause?

 The Southern states were in effect slave states whereas the northern states were manufacturing with their delegates tending towards the end of slavery altogether.  The Southern states wanted the luxury of counting every slave as property for the purpose of the census and therefore retain power over the Northern states in terms of their representation in Congress.  The true abolitionists in the North wanted slaves to count for ZERO persons and thus creating a level playing field with the South in terms of voting and representation.  Eventually, the true equitable situation would be for all people to be free and have voting rights.  But without a compromise, the South would not sign on and the concept of a United States would be lost.

The Ultimate IMPACT -

The true impact is that the South wouldn’t have joined the final agreement founded at the Constitutional Convention of 1787 if it wasn’t for the 3/5ths compromise approach.  This compromise set in motion the ability to dismantle the Southern states strangle hold on Power (which wouldn’t have happened if they counted every slave as one person).  Think about Slavery as a global concept and the years and years of this evil practice with the consent of country after country and government after government.  Yet here is this newly formed country and government that sets up the concept of ridding slavery altogether and then fights a brutal war totally obliterating slavery within 90 years of it’s inception.  That took progress, patience and some serious divinely-inspired forethought.

Revising History to Score a Political Point?

Maybe Chris Matthews should be forgiven for his mistaken interpretation of the Constitution.  Even Frederic Douglass, the great Black Abolitionist of the 1800’s first thought the 3/5th’s Compromise was a pro-slavery clause.  But after further review of the notes from the Constitutional Convention and discussions with Abraham Lincoln, Frederic Douglass came to the realization that this clause and the Constitution as a whole was an anti Slavery document.

Regardless, let’s not let some blowhard political pundit (Matthews) change history to his advantage just because it serves his purpose to denigrate another person with whom he disagrees with on taxes or healthcare. 

Morgul-Bismark RIP

Way back in the day (the "Olden" days as my kids will soon refer to it) I had a dream of racing my bike. That dream came true and I spent several years racing at a high level. The perks to racing for a Professional team is the goodies and free shwag that you get in exchange for representing the sponsors and killing yourself on the bike. Clothing, helmets, shoes, more socks than you care to wear through in 10 years (I'm still working on some), bikes wheels and nutrition supplies are all part of the package.

My last team bike was an Aluminum custom Morgul Bismark, as pictured here. The bikes had a custom paint scheme that had a chameleon effect when viewed in the sunlight - it changed colors. Morgul Bismark is a famous loop just south of Boulder that incorporates the painful ascent of the "wall" which is about a mile long at it's steepest. This climb was featured in the Coors Classic and also in the movie American Flyer's (with David carrying his bike across the finish line). The legend goes that Morgul-Bismark were names of a cat and dog that were often seen along this route. The decal on my bike had a small drawing of these two animals. This name became legendary in cycling and soon a bike shop was opened on the Hill in Boulder bearing the name. The shop was owned by none other than Davis Phinney and Ron Kiefel. When the shop closed down in the late 90's, the name was purchased by Rainbow Cyclecraft and they began making a few bikes hoping the name would lead to some economic payoffs. I have no clue if they made money on the bikes, but nevertheless the Oilme Professional Cycling team received the benefit of riding their machines for a year or two.

I have moved on from racing and receiving free bikes, but I kept my Morgul in good shape and continued to ride it for fun and to work. Sadly, the bike was stolen from a locked cage wherein my bike was secured with a cable lock. The surveillance tape is fun to watch as the D-bag villain scopes out the scene, breaks into the cage and unravels the bike lock in an astonishingly quick time. He escapes the parking garage riding the bike like he owns it. A police report has been filed.

My stolen team bike wasn't the top of the line anymore and the geometry bestowed a time of engineering past as now most race bikes have a sloping top tube and are made of carbon. The value of the bike isn't going to hurt me as the bike was given for services rendered. However, that bike represented a time in my life of adventure, hard work and the culmination of years of dreaming of racing the big time. Memories are still present in my mind so I am OK with all that...but watching that loser ride off on my bike gave me the feeling that he was snatching my girlfriend and didn't realize what a catch he had.

Post Tour

The 2010 Tour de France is over, summer is on and I am heading back to my last year of law school in just over a week. Alberto's third Tour de France win was perhaps his least impressive and to me it left a little something "wanting." I'm sure this is how the rest of the world felt during the 7 tour victories of Lance Armstrong when they didn't want him to win either. However, last year I enjoyed the race more with the constant attacking of the Schleck brothers and actually seeing gaps emerge from the top riders....gaps not caused by a dropped chain.

While Contador and Andy were very evenly matched, I like a race that has a good chase on the climbs where one rider gets away and the other desperately makes the effort to cut their time losses or catch the guy off the front. But this didn't happen. Also, Contador didn't win a single stage and his showing on the final TT was, shall we say, pathetic. yeah, I know Cancellara is the big stud and wins all flat TT's by a huge margin. But you never saw Lance, Ulrich, Indurain, LeMond or Roche win without being near the top for the final TT.

Next year should be interesting (as always) with both Schleck brothers on a new team (Forming in their home country of Luxemburg) and Contador now riding for their former team SaxoBank/Sunguard.

Other takeaways from this Tour - The french won 5 or 6 stages and took the mtn jersey. This is a rare occurrence in the last 25 years and perhaps it's a sign that truly the peloton is now clean. Also, Team Sky put Brad Wiggins in the hot seat by piling all their tour expectations on his shoulders, to which he crumbled. But I still admire Brad and if he keeps his sights set high, we'll see him once again near the top.

Garmin again posted another gem with their Canadian star Ryder Hesjedal getting a top 10 result. This didn't come as a surprise to me as Ryder has shown good climbing in last years Giro and two years ago pacing Christian VV in the tour up the climbs. The big revelation and excitement for me this year was Chris Horner's top 10 finish. Chris was the highest placing Radioshack rider and his tour consisted of working for others. Chris is a true legend in USA cycling and he is a great interview as well. His strategic mind during a race is well known and it's just too bad that his great result has come so late in his career.

Next up - Vuelta a Espana, Tour of Utah and the US National Champs.

Tough Man Competition

The tour isn't always seen by Americans as a tough man sport. I was just told the other night that in fact cycling was not much of a boy sport even. Well, I prefer to not even engage people like that in conversation about my beloved cycling as they surely won't get the romantic flavor of seeing the brutal climbs of the grand tours or the rugged cobbles of the classics. More stories can be told of near death experiences on the bike through cold and heat or simply overcoming the will to stop when the mind of a mere mortal would have got off the bike many miles or days previous. Wrecks at speeds of 40mph are not unheard of and yet cyclists put themselves into these situations day after day.

This years tour is not short on the already expanding details of a few riders fight to keep riding. Frank Schleck broke his clavicle in three places on stage 3, Cadel rode stage 9 with the yellow jersey and a broken arm and many more are suffering without much fanfare. Garmin cyclist David Millar rode today's stage by himself battling to make the time cut while nursing injuries and some illness. Read about it here.

I remember racing in Colorado Springs-Garden of the Gods, after a night of major intestinal problems. The days near 100 mile race I completed with a bottle of Pepto in my back pocket as my only means of fuel. Needless to say, most "men's sports" contestants would have taken a time out or got an IV at half time. A luxury not afforded the sport of cycling. A real mans game.

Carnage in the Alps

After 9 stages of the 2010 Tour de France, the field has been ripped apart by crashes and the Alps. The 8th stage brought down Lance Armstrong after 3 crashes and a loss of over 10 minutes. One day of horrible luck in the Tour did what other cyclists couldn't do for seven straight years. The 9th stage started with Cadel Evans of Australia in the yellow jersey but by the end of the day Cadel lost over 8 minutes to Andy Schleck and Alberto Contador. It was also revealed that Evans had suffered a fractured arm on stage 8. Cadel battled to the finish and showed a lot of emotion with teammate Stever Morabito after they crossed the line.

Schleck and Contador did battle on the Col de la Madeleine and the fireworks started near the bottom of the climb. While Andy was attacking Contador, the rest of the field went to peices with Lance losing 2:40 and Levi 2:00 by the end of the day. All is lost for Lance, unless we see a repeat of Floyd's dramitic 17th stage performance from 2006, which is unlikely to happen. Stage 10 through 13 are transition stages from the Alpes to the Pyrenees, but nothing is ever easy in the Tour.

Tour de France on the go

So I got the new Iphone 4 and just in time for the Tour de France. Since I don't get to work until just before the stage usually ends, I need my Tour fix from waking up till I get to work. So, luckily the Tour is streaming live on my phone! Versus has a cool application where you can stream the Tour with Phil and Paul - direct from Versus TV. Also, the stages are available to replay at any point.

The great thing is that I am able to hook the sound to my car (playing over my stereo system) and then plop the phone on the dash and watch the tour while I drive into work. Dangerous? Not really. My Land Rover has a nice spot by the in-dash GPS where the phone sits nicely and I mostly just listen as I drive.

Chris Horner's Power

Chris Horner is a vital key to team Radioshack's success this year in the Tour de France. Here you can view his SRM Power data on a stage by stage basis. The upcoming mtn stages will be interesting to dissect.

Chris also provides a daily recap or diary after the stage as well. His writings call for a fascinating insight to the tactics of the greats of cycling.

Fighting for the Tour

Stage 6 of the Tour ended and this fight broke out. No idea what it was about.

Tour de France 2010

Tomorrow the 2010 Tour starts in Amsterdam with a prologue time trial. My prediction is for Fabian Cancellara to take the win and Bradley Wiggins 2nd and Tony Martin 3rd. I hope the Americans can give a good showing with Tyler, Christian VDV, Levi, Lance, Dave Z and Brookwalter.

I hope this tour gives me some joy, I could use some about now.

The Badger / Paris-Nice

The cycling season is under way. Here is a retro picture of Bernard Hinault (The Badger) taking it to some protestors. A young Phil Anderson looks on. Looks like Hinault would be a good guy to help break up a SEIU rally/protest.

3rd Year

I'm over half way through the third year of law school (out of four - night school). I can't wait until it's done and I'm simply stressed about taking the BAR.

This years classes are:
Constitutional Law
Evidence
Business Organizations

Happy Thanks Giving

Avery Skiing

Mason Skiing (on his rear)

Stage 3 - Chris Horner "tough guy"

Chris Horner crashed on stage 3 on the way into Merced. Four other riders abandoned from injuries and one was a broken femur - yikes!


View More Free Videos Online at Veoh.com

Tour of California - 2009

The Tour of CA started on Feb. 14th with a great Prologue TT by the Capital in Sacramento. The crowds were big and the race didn't disappoint. It was a good time. I have been fielding questions about cycling from "non-cycling" people and perhaps this video will help in answering the "how do they go to the bathroom?" type question.


View More Free Videos Online at Veoh.com

New President

I hear that we have a new President...but I can't find much out about him. Maybe the media are ignoring this event altogether.

But seriously, Enough already.

School - AGAIN

My 2nd year of law school is about to begin on August 18th. Mason starts back to school the same day (2nd grade) and he's excited as well. I feel fortunate to have made it through my grueling first year of law school, but I also feel that I didn't live up to my potential. I was very busy with work, the kids and a new found family crises. Although those items aren't going away, I at least think I'm in a better place to navigate around these obstacles for school and end up high in the class rankings.

My classes this year are:
Civil Procedure - Monday
Criminal Procedure - Tuesday
Real Property - Thursday

TOUR DE FRANCE time

The 2008 Tour de France is underway and as always it's been entertaining. If you want to watch or listen to it online the best site to visit is www.cyclingfans.com. I will try and put some links to what I use also.

Mike, Rob and myself will also be picking the finishing placings and we already have two days results under our belts. Today's stage is the 6th stage and here are our picks. (Rob has failed to pick anyone yet...I'll make his picks today)

Mike:
Ricco
Frank Schleck
Stein Devolder

Tyler:
Stefan Schumacher
Kim Kirchen
Valverde

Rob (via Tyler)
Cunego
Menchov
Millar

Law School - one year done

My first year of Law School is now complete with Criminal Law, Contracts, Torts and Professional Responsibility. Criminal Law final took place in February (I passed) and the other three classes concluded in mid May. Just yesterday I received my Torts grade for the final and my overall score. I PASSED! I did well on the final and just "okay" overall; But since my midterm score wasn't good at all I am very pleased. Now I just have to wait for the results on Contracts and Professional Responsibility. I felt pretty good about both of those tests and I had a good grade going into the final.

There isn't much time to rest however, as Monday (06/02/08) I start in with summer elective classes. I think I'll be taking Family Law and Bankruptcy Law. This will work me over pretty well as the classes only go for a month but are M-Thur (each class being two nights a week).

Stay tuned.

Tax Day

Taxes are due today. I can't wait to see a few broadcasts tonight showing people dropping off their forms at the post office at midnight. Why are these people not filing their taxes online?

I thought a Ronald Reagan quote was appropriate for today ~

Republicans believe every day is the Fourth of July, but the democrats believe every day is April 15.

Tour of California - 2008

Stage 1 - 2008 TOC. Awaiting the field at the sprint spot in Tamales, CA. (John, Mike, Rob and Tyler). We rode from Sausalito, 55 miles.

Criminal Law Final - DONE!

Our first final was last night in Criminal Law. We had 3 questions to finish in 2hrs and 15 mins (45 min each) and the test was worth 70% of the overall grade. It felt like it went really well as I completed it with time to spare (to clean up the test and fix mistakes) and after talking to my classmates I felt that I hit all the issues and with some depth to my analysis. Hopefully I did good enough and it would be great if I did really well.

Now I have a few months until my Contracts and Torts finals.

Midterm update and Finals prep

We have got all our midterm grades back now and here is my breakdown. Just a note: the midterms are only worth between 25% to 30% of the overall grade and the remaining 70-75% will be left for the final. So a poor midterm won't really break your chances if you do well on the final. By the same token, you don't want to do so poorly on the midterm that you are forced to do overwhelmingly well on the final (which seems impossible).

I passed my Criminal Law midterm and did the best on Contracts. Torts, however, I did the worst on and I am at the low end of passing. I made some stupid mistakes on the Torts midterm, so that grade is very much salvagable. Also, the Torts midterm was only 25% and therefore the final is big.

On February 6th, I have my Criminal Law final. I am feeling prepared. We are encouraged to turn in previous exams to our professor and he will grade them. I've been getting high B's on them, so now I just need to transform that to the actual test. Wish me luck!

Midterms are over

I passed my criminal law midterm, Yippey! I just finished my contracts and torts midterms and I suspect that I passed...or maybe I hope I passed. OMG, what if I didn't pass. Okay, I have until January to relax and not worry about school. Then it will be full-bore studying for my first FINAL in criminal law the first part of February. Wish me luck!

First Midterm down - 2 more to go

We had our first midterm this past weekend in Criminal Law. It was a fun 2.25 hrs and 3 questions. I really feel that I did well and I felt good while taking the test. I was prepared and only the time constraint was going to hold me back. The more I think about the test the more I think about mistakes I made or something I forgot and that is making me go crazy. I think I did well enough to pass, and really for me that is the goal. If I was going to school full time and not working maybe I would try to be the brain of the class. But with work, kids, personal problems and school, I'm just looking for a chance to be around in 4 yrs to take the BAR.

I have two more midterms in December - Torts and Contracts. Those will prove to be tough, I know. I'll post on my Criminal law results when they come in.

Tyler

One Month and much less sleep

So my first month of law school is about over and here is what I have to report. I'm sleeping a lot less and starting to get used to it. I'm getting acclimated to working and studying and not sleeping. (did I mention something about needing sleep?) I haven't been exercising enough and only getting to do my "prison workout." [the prison workout entails doing push ups and sit ups or crunches in my room between reading].

The hardest part is learning how we are expected to study and learn. We have definitions of crimes, torts or contracts (disputes) and you have to know these by heart - forwards and backwards. Once again I'm enjoying what I'm doing, but as of yet I haven't had a test so that will all change I'm sure. Most of my classmates are nice and I've found a small group of people that are really cool and smart. Of course, doing the work is more than conferring with your classmates and hard work is what I have to do.

So the theme is; I'm getting a lot less sleep and I hope I can maintain this pace. Wish me Luck!

Study Hangover

I was up until 1am studying, or at least trying to re-learn how to study. Then a little after 7am the house was bursting with kid noises and so we went to the waffle barn for breakfast. I might have to take a nap today, but I'm back at the books already and its not even noon here yet. Contracts is basically done for next week and so I'll be moving on to Criminal Law. I figure with work and family, I'll have to pound the books on the weekends. My poor Tivo is really going to miss me.

Due to my late night, I didn't get a bike ride in today. My old teammate and friend, Mike Dempsey, was wanting me to do the Mt. Tam hill climb later this year. There is nothing quite like have a 50 yr old lady pass you half way up the climb, so maybe I'll not embark on that one this year.

First week update

The first week of Law School is complete and it's going to be tough. The good thing is that I've met some nice people in my class but they aren't going to be taking my tests for me, so I'll have to be studying hard. There is lots of reading. Lots.

Law School anyone?

Have you heard the horrible news? I'm going to law school. I'm doing an evening program with that will take 4 yrs instead of the usual 3 yrs of hell. Honestly I'm freaked out about it, but also very excited at the same time.

My first year classes are:
Contracts
Criminal Law
Torts
Legal writing

I'll try to write a bit about what I'm doing for the sake of those interested. Keep your fingers crossed for me.

Tour de France - 2007

You can see stage by stage video highlights of this years tour at the cyclingnews.com website. Even with all the drug issues and speculation I still enjoyed the drama and the racing. The Discovery team has officially disbanded as of the end of this season, and so the winner and the 3rd place riders are now looking for work.

Stage 15 Recap

Stage 15 recap video.

Stage 14 Recap

Stage 14 highlights.

Disco is back in fashion

Well we probably won't see the return of platform shoes, Bee Gees and Disco ball but "Disco"; The Discovery Channel Cycling team, took it to their rivals in the Tour de France today. Alberto Contador won the stage in a mtn top sprint over Yellow Jersey wearing Michael Rasmussen and then we saw Levi Leipheimer come in 4th just 40 seconds behind.

What impressed me today was the poise and maturity with which Levi rode today. It was obvious to me that following the first 2 big attacks that Levi wasn't intereted in chasing them down IMMEDIATELY but rather just accelerated a bit and then rode back to the group. The desparate chasing of any attack by Cadel Evans eventually spelled his doom as he couldn't hold the pace by Rasmussen or Contador and not only drifted off their wheels but slip backwards past the chase group of Levi, Sastre and Soler. I believe that if Evans had held a more controlled and possibly smarter sense of riding he would have been in with Levi and quite possibly been contending the stage win after helping Sastre bridge back to Rasmussen and Contador.

Levi's tactics were even more savy as he forced Sastre to Chase as Levi wasn't going to chase down his own teamate. There is still about 400 km to race in the giant mountains and yet today we saw riders reacting like it was the last mtn stage of the tour. This will only play into the hands of Levi who appeared to do the least amount of work today of all the favorites, only lose 40 seconds and moved into 4th place overall. Well, he still has to catch Rasmussen.

Alpes Recep: Stage 9

Video update of Stage 9

2007 Tour de France - First 3rd Review

The first 1/3 of the 2007 Tour de France is now complete and I feel a bit lame for not posting a thing about it. Of course, my hundreds of readers (Mike, Rob and Matt) probably don't really care. Okay, but I like posting big flashy pictures of cycling and making predictions for all to read, so I'll try to get this up to speed for the following 2 weeks.

As expected the peloton this year is suffering from what Discovery Director Johan Bruyneel calls the "Postal virus." What he means is that for the past 7 yrs (not counting last year) postal took control of the race when it hit the mountains and only allowed attacks that it deemed as non-threatening. The evidence of this control was probably the great escape of Floyd in stage 17 of the 2006 tour where it's been documented that the big teams only put on a concerted chase for under 20km allowing Floyd to appear God-like and give credence to his positive test. But I digress. Another factor in making this race so wide open EVEN as we now leave the Alps is that besides the prologue TT, we haven't undergone the proverbial individual TT that shifts around the top 10 in the first week. We still have about 110 km of TT racing still to come along with the monstrous Pyrenees mountains.

Revelations of this Tour:
Alexandre Vinokourov - Vino had a nasty fall that required stitches in both knees and has been suffering ever since to hang on. It looks like the Astana captain might be conceeding his leadership to Andres Kloden who sits in 8th place just 3:50 off the lead

Denis Menchov - Although Menchov was considered for a top 5 in my opinion, I wasn't looking towards the Russian to win this years tour. But I didn't expect him to crack so quickly in this years tour. Much like Astana, the leadership is shifting at Rabobank also from Menchov to Michael Rasmussen. But unlike Astana, I don't think Rasmussen has the TT ability to actually win the tour like Kloden does.

Alberto Contador - The young Discovery rider has the most amazing kick when he attacks up-hill and so far he looks deadly and all others should be worried. But this is only his 2nd tour (finished around 35th in 2005) and he is not sure how his body will react in the 3rd week.

General classification after stage 10
1 Michael Rasmussen (Den) Rabobank 49.23.48
2 Alejandro Valverde Belmonte (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne 2.35
3 Iban Mayo Diez (Spa) Saunier Duval - Prodir 2.39
4 Cadel Evans (Aus) Predictor - Lotto 2.41
5 Alberto Contador Velasco (Spa) Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team 3.08
6 Christophe Moreau (Fra) AG2r Prévoyance 3.18
7 Carlos Sastre Candil (Spa) Team CSC 3.39
8 Andreas Klöden (Ger) Astana 3.50
9 Levi Leipheimer (USA) Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team 3.53
10 Kim Kirchen (Lux) T-Mobile Team 5.06

The Oscar Pereiro pick

Oscar Pereiro sits on the precipice of being awarded the 2006 Tour de France and yet I find myself begrudgingly adding him as a top 10 07' Tour contender. It's not out of spite from the Floyd Landis affair and the fact that Oscar has made some comments that weren't that sporting but more to do with what I see as the biggest gift ever in professional cycling.

Before I break down Oscars previous tour results I will state that we saw two Oscars in the 2006 Tour. The first Oscar found himself in 46th place at 28:50 behind the Yellow-clad Floyd Landis after 12 stages and one brutal day in the Pyrenees. The 2nd Oscar held onto the yellow jersey (after being allowed to gain 29:57 on stage 13) and did a valiant job of staying with the leaders of the tour until that fateful stage 17 where no one could stay with Floyd.

Oscar has only done 3 tours: 2004, 2005 and 2006 finishing 10th, 10th and 2nd. Hey, that is pretty good and it shows the progression in ability, maturation and fitness you'd expect from an upcoming tour contender. Or does it?

The 2004 Tour Oscar finished 10th over 23 minutes behind the then six-time winner Lance Armstrong. When you look deep into the stages you will see that Oscar had some good results in the flat stages as well as a few very good results in the mountains including a 6th place on stage 12 and a 14th on the ITT up Alpe d'Huez. But oddly Oscar couldn't take this result and build on it for 2005. He drifted to 30th after the Alpes and was allowed to drift off the front with a big group, eventually getting 2nd place to George Hincapie but gaining over 5 minutes. In the next few days Oscar would win a stage while being allowed once again a big leash in gaining 3 minutes and then another day of gaining 4 minutes. By the end of the 2005 tour Oscar secured another 10th place at 16 minutes behind Lance Armstrong. If he was a true contender he wouldn't have been allowed 12 minutes leeway from the Tour Patron, Lance Armstong.

The 2006 Tour was heading the same direction as his previous tours until the in fighting and decision by Oscars former team (Phonak) to let him take the jersey and the pressure off of Floyd.

In the end this whole experience may have created a new Oscar and another Claudio Chiappucci type rider, or maybe we are just seeing the biggest gift in cycling since Maurizio Fondriest lucked into the 1988 World Championship title? This I am sure of, Oscars days of gaining big minutes in the Tour while others watch is over.

Cycling Update

Floyd Landis Arbitration Trial
Sorry I didn't post anything concerning Floyd's arbitration trial. It was quite interesting, enlightening and depressing all at the same time. The best coverage of the trial can be found at the Trust but Verify blog.

Giro
The Giro brought out more TV viewers in Italy than what they have had in quite a few years. I found the Giro enjoying, but not overly exciting. Danilo Di Luca was a worthy winner and I think I would enjoy seeing the climbs on DVD. Andy Schleck, just turning 22, was the true surprise of the tour finishing 2nd and under 2 mins behind the eventual Pink Jersey wearer Di Luca. It reminds me of a young tour 2nd place finisher in 1996 who went on to win the next year and take a ton of 2nd places during his career - Jan Ulrich. Maybe I'm jumping the gun on that one, we shall see.

Drugs
Speaking of the 1996 Tour, winner Bjarne Riis has now admitted to being doped with all sorts of stuff and especially EPO during that time and that tour specifically. The UCI is clamoring that Riis give back his title (they can't do it however as the statute of limitations has run out - 8yrs). But let's review the podium for the 1996 Tour:

1. Bjarne Riis
2. Jan Ulrich
3. Richard Virenque

Jan Ulrich was part of the 1996 Deutsche Telekom team that is all but admitting to mass doping and Jan retired in disgrace with possible ties to Operation Puerto. Virenque was implicated in the 1998 Festina doping scandal and admitted later on that he doped. So who gets the title? I guess you could hand it to Frankie Andreu - oh wait, he admitted to doping in prep for the 1999 tour

Tour de France
The upcoming tour is probably more open this year than last year and here are my preliminary favorites, in no particular order

Alexandre Vinokurov
Levi Leipheimer
Andreas Kloden
Tom Danielson
Denis Menchov
Carlos Sastre
Alejandro Valverda (pending Operation Puerto investigation)
Frank Schleck (Andy's older brother)
Oscar Pereiro

I think Oscar doesn't have a legitimate chance at making the top 5 and I would think a top 10 is about the best he can do. But since he got 2nd last year (thanks to a 30 min gift) I must put him on the list.

That's all for now - TJ

Intervals?

This week I embarked on a set of intervals up a small and very steep hill about 40 mins ride from my house. Since I'm not in that great of shape, this little hill repeat is quite brutal and I've been using my 39x26 (yes, 26) gearing to get thru it. I'm just getting myself into the groove of doing these and therefore I only did 4 this week. Profile shown below:

Back to Cycling

I've been back to cycling a bit more and possibly I'll be racing this year some more. Thanks to my friend Rob Zabrecky for the tip to this really cool website, Bikely, that I can track my routes and see the elevation profile, all my routes will be available to view soon. Here are two rides I did this past week.

This ride is one through Rocklin, a ride I used to do with the Spin City group every Sunday:

And here is a fun ride to the foothills in Penryn, near Auburn.

Tour of California

I took my daughter to the 2nd stage of the Tour of California's finish in downtown Sacramento. It was a cool finish and it was nice to see and talk to Chris Wherry and Chris Baldwin of Toyota United Pro.

Is that a spin-move?

This clip is one of my all time favorites and I first saw it on ESPN with Craig Kilborn commenting "is that a spin move? This is the best fight since Tyson and McNeilly." It can't be easy fighting in those dang cycling shoes, and with no upper body. Circa 1994...

French "Gall"

The President of the French anti-doping agency, Pierre Bordry, had some comments to make about the Floyd Landis case. However, he made one glaring comment pertaining to the newly admitted to "administration error" made by the lad. (The lab incorrectly indexed Floyd's B sample with the wrong ID number and then corrected it later - which supports the Landis team's claims of slopping work at the lab).

Mr. Bordry remarked:

"For his defense, M. Landis uses all the legal means that he wants. If he reveals that the laboratory made errors - formal, or substantial - it would be good if we were officially informed so that we could respond, on the form or on the substance (of the accusations). However, I note that, at the moment, Mr. Landis prefers to organise press conferences to give his arguments: we're moving out of normal procedure here."

Part of Floyd's defense is that the lab in correctly (and illegally) leaked the information of his positive "A" sample test when the results aren't usually even made public until after the result of the "B" sample. Now the French are upset that Floyd is disclosing the errors made by the lab to the public and that his entire defense is being made public. The French seem to be expecting behavior accounted to them that they certainly are not giving towards Floyd and other riders (This same lad was found legally at fault for similar actions with Lance Armstrong). This would be like during the court case of a wrongful death suit with a hospital where the hospital doesn't want the facts known public and if they are found that they need to be informed about them first so that the Hospital can react to the public first.

I think it's all about the fact that the French (and this lab specifically) believe there is NO way they can do any wrong and therefore the ends justify the means.

Whiners and image

Jens Voigt (former teammate of Ivan Basso) is now complaining that the signing of Ivan by Discovery is bad for the image of cycling. So.....Ivan has been cleared to race and so have numerous others that were wrongly implicated in Operation Puerto that rocked the cycling world just at the start of the 2006 Tour de France. I'm at a loss as to what Ivan and the others are supposed to do in this case. Are they to NOT try to get a team and race just so that Jens can feel better about his sport? If there is NOTHING on Ivan, then it would appear that the image being damaged here is that of the authorities that wrongly accused the cyclist and attempted to ruin their careers.

I think it's the Euro mentality that puts forth the "feelings" and image over "innocent until proven guilty" that is what drives the US.

Discovery Channel picks up another Superstar

Lance Armstrong is confirming that the Discovery Channel Cycling team has signed Ivan Basso, the 2006 Giro di Italia winner and 3rd in the '04 Tour and '05 Tour de France runner up. Of course Ivan has some possible legal issues with the Operation Puerto stuff, but he's been cleared for racing. Also, I suspect that the Discovery Channel management would not take on Basso if they were worried that he might guilty of cheating. The US based cycling squad now has another big-time winner for this years Tour and Ivan should be a possible winner for several years to come (Depending on the legal issues he might face and how others such as Floyd Landis fair in their own battles).

Landis puts forth his defense

Floyd Landis and his legal defense team have put forth their case and posted it to Floyd's website for all to see. Also they have requested an open trial as they want to expose the sloppy and botched work of that by the French laboratory and the supposed railroad job by the UCI by convicting Floyd in the press before his case was even under review.

The recent Tour de France champion also just underwent hip replacement surgery and evidently everything went as planned.

Thoughts of the "first" American Winner

I saw the "FEARLESS" episode about Greg LeMond on OLN (soon to change it's name to "VERSUS") last night. He was an amazing cyclist but I came away with a few thoughts. He states that in 1991 he was the strongest he's EVER been going to the tour but the Peloton was "different" as the speeds were amazing and that he blames doping for his losing.

1. He says "training is training and they weren't doing anything different than I had all my life."
- except Greg, maybe they weren't eating Ice cream all winter and came into the season fit...unlike your typical yearly routine.

2. He also says his Mitochondria-whatever disease wouldn't have allowed him to win anyway - Then why blame the doping?

3. Greg says the outrageous speed was the result of doping and therefore by default (since he didn't dope) he was bound to lose
- But the problem with that is that until Dave Z last year, Greg had the FASTEST ever TT average speed in the Tour History. I mean, that was in 1989 and lasted until 2005. That's 16 yrs and shouldn't we be saying that he was doped for posting that speed?

The whole thing just ended with a bad taste in my mouth as Greg leaves with the comments "I could have dominated cycling - But I wasn't given the opportunity". How sad as I think he DID dominate and he made the most of the opportunities he was given.

Landis Wins 2006 Tour

Oddly I didn't blog at all about this years tour and yet there is just so much to write about. Highlights are:

*Floyd Landis declares he will need hip replacement surgery after the tour.
*Levi flops in the TT and winds up 5mins back of Floyd.
*Floyd takes the lead through the Perynees while looking very strong.
*Floyd allows Oscar Pereiro to take the lead after being 30min's on GC.
*Floyd looks super strong up L'Alpe D'Huez and puts more time on Menchov, Evans and Sastre and takes the lead over Oscar.
*Floyd detonates on the climb to La Toussuire and is 8:08 behind Oscar and hiding in 11th place. Floyd doesn't make excuses but says the battle is not over, although winning the tour is most likely not going to happen.
*Floyd writes himself into tour Lore by scorching the field and riding on his own over 5 mountain passes and solo for 130k. Floyd ends up 3rd and 30 secs out of first place.
*Floyd get's 3rd on the final TT and has a lead of 59 sec.
*Floyd wins the tour

I was glad to see Oscar stay in 2nd place. Which means it all worked out for Floyd letting him go up the road and it all went wrong for T-Mobile and CSC for allowing Phonak to dictate the race and for just letting Oscar go up the road. I mean, TMob and CSC could have chased, but we saw in the stage #17 to Morzine that given the role to chase, they don't do so good (but then they were chasing Uber-Floyd).

2006 Tour de France Links

I've been watching the Tour at nights at home (thanks for Tivo) and listening to audio and viewing videos while at work. I thought I'd list out my sources for those of your that might not have found these. Enjoy.

Let's start with a good visual of all things cycling:
Daily Distractions from PEZ Cyclingnews

Audio - LIVE tour coverage from Eurosport
www.eurosport.com

VIDEOS of the Tour and behind the scenes:
Velonews
Cyclingnews diary - Levi Leipheimer
OLN-TV Daily Videos
Eurosport Videos

Cycling sites that give live text updates:
Cyclingnews.com
Eurosport live!
Official site of Le Tour de France 2006
The Daily Peloton TDF site

Look at my cycling sidebar for more good links. A few highlights are:
The Paceline - Discovery teams site
ProCycling Magazine
Graham Watson
Cycling Post
Bici Race - Italian based site with a US bias

Enjoy and I'll be posting on the tour soon.

World Cup is upon us

Boston Herald newsclip - Just for Marc Dunn

Ivan Basso - Half way to the Tour double

Ivan Basso put on a display in winning his first Giro d'Italia (Tour of Italy) by 9:18 over Jose Gutierrez and 11:59 over two time winner Gilberto Simoni. Basso is now the favorite for the upcoming Tour de France with Lance Armstrong retired and Jan Ullrich dropping out of the Giro (and way back).

The past 2 years has seen only Basso being able to hold Lance's wheel in the Tour and he showed all those in the Giro that they can't hold his wheel. But putting the smack down on those in May, just might come back to haunt Ivan come July. Remember Iban Mayo in the Dauphine a few years ago as he ripped Lance and everyone else apart in the ITT up Mont Ventoux, only to whither in the mountains during Le Tour de France.

It was a bit disappointing seeing Tommy D get sick while in the top 5 and not really ride to his capability and even more disappointing to see Paulo ride so poorly. He was never in contention.

Back from golf

My brother-in-law, myself and two other guys did a golf trip up to Sunriver, Oregon (Bend Oregon area) and we played around 110 holes from Thursday thru Sunday. We hit Running Y Ranch in Klamath Falls both up and back. In Sunriver we played the Woodlands and Meadows courses and also Crosswater, which ripped me good. We all played well and I was in the 80's with a 79 and an 82. The first day at Crosswater I got an 85 or 86, so I was happy with that. The downfall is that I was off my bike for over a week and now I'm so entranced with golf I don't feel like riding. But the saviour in that line of thinking is that I just blew a bunch of money so I won't be golfing much right now. Onto the bike it its! Hmmm, I would really like to buy a new bike or a bunch of new stuff. Probably not.

Back on the bike

Two weeks ago I did a monster ride up through the foothills and the lower climbs of the Sierra's with 3 other guys. It was about 6.5 hrs and unfortunately I only had a 39x23 gear for the climbs. We went up some long steep climbs that I really needed at least a 39x25 for, at minimum. One such climb was called "prospector road" off of Hwy 49, before we got to Georgetown. This climb I did about 4mph the entire way up and my knees about popped whenever I tried to climb sitting down. The good news is that I didn't stop on the climb or on any of the numerous climbs and for the entire ride I didn't bonk either.

I followed up that ride with some good workouts that week and then a nice hard ride last Sunday as well. My intervals are going fine and I'm seeing some big improvements on my stamina, weight loss and power. I still need more time during the day to ride and really get my fitness to a better place. I would ultimately like to do some Masters racing and look to do Masters Nationals. But I still have to golf, so that's a tough one.

Cycling Videos

Cyclingnews.com has two short videos of Paris-Nice and Paris-Roubaix with Phil Liggett and Paul Sherwin do the commentary. Enjoy.

Paris-Nice
Paris Roubaix

Colorado Cyclist Classic Stage Race 1995

Here is a pic of me going over the climb at the Garden of the God's circuit race in 1995. The World Championships were in Bogata Columbia that year and none of the big pros wanted to train there. So we had the privelage of racing Indurain, Armstrong, Hamilton and about anyone that was a big time racer in 1995.

Racing from 1996

1996 Colorado Superweek Omnium. Tyler in a break away - on 4th of July!

Tour of California

The Amgen Tour of California has been terrific so far and it's been great to see the American riders and Domestic teams doing well. The newly formed Toyota-United Pro team has two stage wins with Jaun Jose Haedo taking them both in impressive sprint finish fashion.

The overall lead has only been contested by Amercans as local bay area resident Levi took the lead for the first two stages, then giving it over the Discovery Channel's George Hincapie. However, Phonak team leader Floyd Landis put the hurt on everyone in the Time Trial and now has a nice lead of 0.29 over another American Dave Zabriskie of CSC. The next several stages don't seem to have enough climbing to change the overall outcome and I fully expect Floyd to take the overall win.

One complaint is to ESPN and it's coverage. The coverage is above average and I will accept that for what it is. Cycling on TV in the USA. However, as the race is shown at 10pm pst I Tivo it to watch the following day. ESPN has been showing college basketball games on ESPN2 prior to the race and you can never know for sure when the games will end. So far I've only seen the finish of 2 stages as the other ones have cut off recording prior to the finish. It's very annoying and I can't wait for cycling on OLN again. OLN knows how to present cycling.

Happy St. Valentine's Day

Although V-day isn't the massacre that Capone dished out in 1929, it can have the same effects if not taken seriously enough.

The picture says it all.

Happy Valentine's Day and may you get what you want and need today.

Tyler Hamilton Suspension upheld

Tyler Hamilton's suspension for a positive blood transfusion test result was upheld this weekend. Tyler can return to racing in September of 2006, at which time he'll be 35. This case had so many variables and odd quirks that I have a hard time swallowing the guilty verdict. I understand the need to punish the dopers (although this wasn't a positive drug test, just positive for taking a transfusion of someone elses blood) but when you have strange occurrences and some false positive results it's difficult ruining the career of an athelete that may be innocent.

Another note on the positive test issue in regards to Roberto Heras. You have to question the test itself and ask yourself why would Heras be tested positive on the very last day of the Vuelta and note earlier in the race. Heras was leading Menchov by over 4:30 going into the final time trial and so why would he need to be drugging up for the time trial? Also, if he was doping the entire race, why didn't the test find him positive earlier? It's odd indeed.

JANKE.CC

Cycling Season kicks off

The cycling season has officially started and at two remote places around the globe. The Tour of Qatar and the Tour de Langkawi (Malaysia) and soon the Tour of California. Look for updates soon.

JANKE.CC

Aaaahhh, isn't that cute!

Avery....just over a year old.

Avery is walking now......

Remember her?

According to Snopes.com, this quote isn't a real one. But that sure looks like a really big billboard and will probably stain her reputation.

Here are some of my favorite pictures of the downside to cycling

The Infamous Lance Armstrong Crash in the 2003 Tour

Cyclingnews.com

2005 Tour de France.

In the women's stage 2 sprint (Redlands Classic), Lyne Bessette (Saturn) failed to control her bike after running over teammate, Ina Teutenberg (seated), who had prematurely raised her hands in victory.

George Hincapie (USPS), Johan Museeuw and Servais Knaven (Domo) look like creatures from another planet on the pavé.

Cyclingnews.com

Cyclingnews.com 2005 Pictures of the Year

Cyclingnews.com
Robbie McEwen head butts fellow Aussie Stuart O'Grady while Tom Boonen takes the win.

Pic of the year #2

Cyclingnews.com

A group climbs the Galibier.

Pic of the year #3

Cyclingnews.com

No great cycling picture gallery is complete without a picture of Paris-Roubaix.

Pic of the year #4

Cyclingnews.com

Europe has some amazing views, and they look even better with a bike race.

Pic of the year #5

Cyclingnews.com

Picture of the year #5. Great sprint photo with Eric Zabel edging out Bennati and McEwen.

ill mitch - American Success Story

This isn't about cycling or politics. But sometimes, something is too important NOT to mention. Ill Mitch...he could be the next great "thing".

Chris Horner interview

I know I've blabbered on before about Chris Horner, but he is a great success story and one of the best tactical riders I ever met or raced against (Although Jonathan Vaughters was great too). He is truly gifted at being able to read a race and react to it. It also helps to be extremely talented physically and strong as an ox. Chris should be looking for another great year in Europe riding with another good guy American, Freddy Rodriguez on the Davitamon-Lotto squad.

1 finger, 2 fingernails

Circus freak? Perhaps. My lovely sister took my finger off with the hinge of the door when I was just over a year old. But luckily the Doctor did a decent job of sewing it back on. The finger is fine, but I now have two fingernails growing from that one finger. Some say I'm cursed, others say I'm blessed, I just think it's more difficult to keep clean.


I haven't found a way to cash in on my sisters brutality or my disfigurement but I'm forging ahead with a few thoughts in mind. Maybe I should take a few pictures of my scars from years of racing and hitting the deck from 35 mph. Maybe. But for now, just another finger shot!

Racing for 2006

So I cut my racing and riding totally off in July this year. The reason? Well, there were actually a few.

1. It was really really hot and this isn't my job now.
2. I was golfing more and went on a great golf trip to Bandon Oregon. I decided to spend more time on the range than in the saddle.
3. My job at work changed and I was putting in more and more hours. Therefore I wasn't getting off work earlier and had no time to ride.
4. This isn't my job anymore and so I was really lazy. Did I mention that I was golfing more?

I feel a strong need to start riding again but the weather is COLD (not quite Colorado cold, but still cold) and it's just always dark outside. Time to get the indoor trainer going and the 3rd bay in the garage setup. Here is to a strong 2006 season.

Colorado Springs Bike Shop Theft

I have many memories of my first season racing in Colorado (1995) and one is of a cocky guy with very nice bike equipment, Reese Houghton. Reese was from Colorado Springs and worked for Colorado Cyclist, a giant online cycling store. He always had the nicest stuff and a cute girl by his side.

So now it turns out he's a crook and got caught steeling over $380,000 worth of cycling goods from a local store in Colorado Springs and then selling it on EBAY. Having worked in a bike store I know it's a tough business to keep afloat and then you get a guy like this undermining the entire operation. I hope he gets what is coming to him.