So how 'bout that Tour of America?

Don't get me wrong, I want to see a grand tour in America as much as the next guy, but this doesn't seem like a good idea. First off, how do they think they're going to raise $30 million to pay for it? The Tour of Georgia almost didn't happen this year because they couldn't secure funding, and that's an established race that consistently draws a great deal of top-end talent. Second, some of those stages are so long you'd have to time them with a calendar. Third, if someone, anyone wanted to compete in that race, they would have to skip both the Vuelta and the world championships.

I'm going to go out on a limb and postulate that this race will not get off the ground. Let's the stick with the Tours of California, Georgia, and Missouri.

White is the new black, addendum

Cervelo unveiled its new R3 today at Interbike, and guess what color it is? White. Pure, unadulterated white. It is resplendent.


I want to get a bike that's all white. Vredestein recently released a white version of the Fortezza Tri-comp I love so dearly, and I could get some Velocity rims to match. FSA has made finding a white bar and stem easy, so that's no problem. And I've already got a white saddle. Lord knows where I'd find a white crankset, though.

It'd be hard work, but it'd be worth it. Just imagine showing up to a groups ride with a completely white bike, and a fully white kit to match. If I rode in a snowstorm, I would disappear. SWEET.

White is the new black.

That's right. Check out this new stuff from FSA. If there's one thing that screams pro, it's gleaming white handlebars.


Seriously, how cool are these?

Rock Racing

I had heard of the guys at Rock Racing, sponsored by high-end jeans label Rock and Republic and their philandering CEO (but he's a huge cycling fan, so he can't be all bad) from Lando and Ian after Joe Martin - it's a team made up of the biggest badasses in the domestic US arena. Since they are sponsored by a flashy clothing company, they have new kits for almost every race: on St. Patrick's Day, they were green; on Valentine's Day, red; you get the idea. And since they want to bolster this totally awesome image, they have the coolest team car around. Whereas Toyota-United rides around in a Prius, the dudes from Rock Racing drive an Escalade.

And not just any Escalade. A pimped-out Escalade.

Last year, they weren't such a big deal - a team of crit specialists who race pretty well but are not a very good stage race team. But now their new director is Frankie Andreu, so they'll probably be a much bigger deal this year. I'm excited, these guys seem really cool.

Three hours in the saddle today.

And what a glorious three hours it was. Well, I did make the mistake of eating a large burrito about an hour before hitting the path, so I felt like I was about three watts of output away from ralphing for the whole ride. Other than that, it was awesome. Three hours might not seem like much, but I've only done about half a dozen rides, so it's a big deal that I can now easily spend a couple hours in the saddle riding hard.

And I didn't realize how much I missed the familiar tingle of chamois cream.

I love early morning rides.

So here I am, just before 11:30 at night, planning on getting up at 7 to do a few hours on the bike before I go to class. I might be an idiot, but I'm an idiot who gets to enjoy a few hours of the lakefront without those damn rollerbladers.

I love the lake in the morning.

A (partial) season in review.

So, I'm going to go ahead and borrow a brilliant idea from Bryan and recap my season in pictures. Specifically, pictures blatantly stolen from Dan Farnham and the Elkhorn Valley Cycling Club website. Here goes:

The season started off very well with the NE state time trial championships. Matt Landen and Marco talked me into racing it the night before, in spite of the fact that I had never actually ridden a time trial, nor did I have TT bars. But there I was, standing in a chilly parking lot in Norfolk, Nebraska, bolting on Lando's Profile T2+ bars about 20 minutes before the start, and borrowing a kit from Spence because I didn't have one. I was so nervous/excited waiting for the start that I could barely get my feet in the pedals, which was a little embarrassing. But I ended up doing well and looking good doing it:



I didn't do too shabby, finishing the 40k TT in 1:10 or something.
It was enough to put me in second, behind this guy, Dr. Dan Shuldt:

His bike cost about 3 times what mine did, so I don't mind losing to him so much.


Next up: Beatrice, for the Monumental Memorial Cycling Weekend. It sure was monumental for me, but for the wrong reasons. Started out well, but hooked bars with some dude going up the hill on lap 2 and ended up thrown into the ditch at the side of the road. One destroyed right shifter and one torn quadricep later, I was driving home with a few ice packs on the thigh. A before and after shot:

Before

After

So I took a week off before getting back on the bike at the Norfolk Classic Omnium. This one ended a little better: I got third in the TT, behind Bryan and wonderkid Jerry Smith from Brookings. Took first in the sprint finish in the road race, ahead of Jerry and some old Masters guy in our break. Bryan watched my ass in the crit and led me out beautifully so I could outsprint Jerry once more, and I took the overall in the 5s. My first taste of victory, and I was addicted.


Unfortunately, I wouldn't be tasting a lot more of that anytime soon.

Took fifth in the Kansas state RR championships, which was disappointing, because that race was mine to lose. And lose it I did, rather spectacularly: I forgot my own front wheel, I didn't eat, I raced stupid - but I learned from it.

But then I crashed, and I think it looked something like this. At least I hope it did, because Marco Velo over there wiping out on the Kemmelburg looks pretty badass. Anyway, I've just gotten back on the bike now, at the time of year when everyone else is winding down. Oh well, I'll have to kick some serious ass next year. Sorry for the absurdly long post, but I think it's worth it.

Today is the best day of my life.

It's free burrito day at Chipotle. So I got three.

That's like 3,000 calories, so I'm gonna have to ride a ton of miles tomorrow. But it was totally worth it.

I'm back!

So I went for my first ride after crashing out on Sunday. I have never been so happy to be on a bike in my life. My arm was sore, but more than that, I just couldn't keep myself up with my right arm. It made me look pretty lopsided. Also, I can no longer steer. I used to have at least a little bit of grace on the bike, but now I look like every old schmuck out there with a POS mountain bike. Weaving a little, looking like a drunk. It's awesome.

My legs were okay. This was the first time I've gotten tired on a flat 20 miles, so that was a little sad, but I got in one 30 mph sprint and a few other good bits of speed work. My lungs are shot, though. Totally awful.

On another note, I tried out the kit with the bright white arm warmers for the first time, and I LOVE THEM. They look pretty sweet. Especially with the red gloves.

So, I'm back. And I'm not planning on crashing any time soon.

So maybe it's been a while since my last post.

A lot has happened, though - moved up to Cat IV, then shattered a collarbone on a training ride. It displaced into my trapezius muscle and I had to have surgery to fix it. I haven't been on a bike since.

Moved back to Chicago for school, so I'm back in the land of shitty team rides and totally flat bike paths. I suppose that's good, because of the base mileage I have to put in and the fitness I have to regain, but still. I get bored easily.

On the other hand, I had been thinking about upgrading to nicer handlebars for a while, and when I crashed, I busted my old ones. So now I've got a sweet new FSA Wing Pro alloy bar on, which I already love. Jason at Bike Masters replaced my old sparkling white tape with some 70's throwback red-black-and-white speckled stuff. It's interesting, and it's growing on me. At first I hated it, but now I love it.

Got a new front wheel too. I crushed the old wheel so badly that the tube won't come out. I smashed the valve stem into the rim. It's pretty ugly.

I have never been so eager to get back on a bike in my entire life. It puts me in almost physical pain to see my Tarmac lounging in my room gathering dust. I should be back up soon, though - once I get into physical therapy again, I'll be out on the roads. I have to get a new helmet, too, I shattered the old Atmos. Which is too bad, becuase I got that thing for EP, and I don't know if I'll be able to get another one that cheap. Oh well. Brian and I are in the same boat here.

More later, along with some pictures, once I find out how this thing works. In the mean time, check out these gruesome shots.