The Giro d'Italia 2006

I think this is cool. This was a great Giro.

Hincapie a no-go for the Classics!

Courtesy Graham Watson

So, George broke his wrist yesterday working for Levi. It sounds like, per cyclingnews.com, that he is going to have surgery to fix the break. I feel bad for the guy as he has been preparing for a shot at Paris-Roubaix or one of the other classics. This was probably his last realistic shot at one of the major classics. It would be nice for him to have one of the majors to cap his career off. Maybe a world championship. I think he has it in him physically. I do however think he lacks that killer instinct you need to finish a one day race off. I guess you never know. He could very well prove me wrong. And Paris Roubaix has been one by many guys in their mid to late 30's. I do think George is jinxed somehow. I guess we shall see........

Jens Voigt - Tour of California Stage 4

Jens is flat out my favorite pro rider. His interviews are great and he shows excellent class on the bike. Forget the mainstream pro athletes, If you want to show young people how to be a true sportsman show him or her Last year's Giro and you'll know what I mean.

GREATEST AMERICAN VIDEO

Oh yeah. The best theme song intro ever. I can just see the remake now... And yes Owen Wilson would have to play "the greatest american hero"

Mr. Deity Episode 1: Mr. Deity and the Evil

You can check out the whole series on You tube. Very smart......

Tour of California

Bettini And Basso

(Courtesy of the Paceline)

Cycling coverage on Versus starts tomorrow. The Tour of California kicks off and it looks to be a great season. The ToC looks to be developing into the premier stage race in the United States. Now if they would just add a mountain stage to say, Big Bear or Wrightwood. I think California has so much potential. I hope the fans turn out in the post lance era. Now if the weather around here would start to warm up. We are about 3 weeks from daylight savings time. I am psyched. The Orbea is sitting in my office getting lonely. Tom and I are heading to Welch tomorrow for a day of snowboarding. I will try to post video. It may be the only time I get out all winter.

Idiot of the Week

I am taking a minute off from politician (and in particular President) bashing to point out what an idiot Tim Hardaway is. When I heard his comments a couple days ago (which included "I hate gay people"), I was floored. I know people think this way, but to hear it so blatantly and casually really caught me off guard. It is disapointing as I have been a fan of Tim Hardaway as a player. I think I even have a couple of Rookie cards stashed in a closet somewhere from when I was a kid, collecting basketball cards. I know, I know I was and am still a confirmed geek. I guess I should have sold those suckers off! But now back to bashing Timmy. His half hearted attempt at an apology made this even worse. Tim I think it is you that should be traded. I just don't think we would get anything in return. To be honest, that would be okay with me. Congratulations, Tim! You are my idiot of the week.

Ali G - Pat Buchannan

Ali G for president. Pat buchannan is a dumbass but he is better than Bush. Respect!

The Scooter Libby Fairness Fund

I ran across an article on cnn.com today describing the case with Scooter Libby and what is going on. I won't go into most of it because it pisses me off and mostly because I could never do this issue the justice it deserves. What I found interesting in that it pertains to Floyd is that Ol' Scooter boy has his own legal defense fund. Admittedly, I am naive in such areas. Seeing as that Scooter is in a whole bunch of trouble, He probably needs someone else to pay for his defense. I imagine if he rolled over and spilled the beans, many other people would get busted (Ahem, Mr. Cheney sir!). Anyways, The whole point is that Floyd is just as justified as old Scoot Scoot in raising money. Floyd didn't out any undercover agents to gain political revenge either. He just got screwed by that lab. Who do you think the French like less, Dick Cheney or Floyd?

The Floyd Fairness Fund

As many of you know, Floyd has set up a foundation to assist in the funding of his legal defense with regards to the doping charges leveled against him. While my gut feeling is that Floyd is the victim of a sloppy lab, I am unsure about the idea of soliciting donations for a legal defense. I guess what it comes down to is that it is a free country and Floyd is doing what he can to get back in cycling and defend his Tour De France crown. Who can blame him for that?

I have added a poll to the blog. Vote. We'll see what you guys think.

Let the Fun Begin!

Tom and Ivan

(Courtesy of the Paceline)

So the pro camps are wrapping up and Tour of Quatar has just finished. For many American Cycling fans the Tour of California starts the beginning of the season. There are many unanswered questions. Will Basso regain his form and be allowed to race in France? Will Levi regain form? Can Tommy D emerge as a serious contender or will he just continue to be the "next great white hype"? Will Ulrich find a team?
What will happen in the saga of the grand tours vs. the uci? And last but finally not least.... Will Floyd ride again? With all of this controversy it is easy to become jaded and just say "Screw it. I'll just ride my bike." Ultimately it might come down to that, but as a cycling fan as well as a rider, I have to hope that this mess will get cleaned up and we'll be able to cheer these guys on once again.

U2 and Green Day

Andrea and I were in Cancun a few months ago and took a look at the rebuilding going on there. That city was totally devastated. It is now 95% rebuilt. Mexico has earned a United Nations award for the effort. Meanwhile we have a major American City sturggling and a entire region of this country largely forgotten by this administation. Bush has just requested another $100 billion for the wars in the middle east. Anyways, Check out this video by Green Day and U2 about Katrina. So put this post in your pipe and Smoke it!
Erik

The Weather

On days like today All I want to do is sit in the house and hibernate (11 below). I have to get two work outs in this weekend as the week was a total wash (weights and cardio only once so far). While we are on the subject of Weather, check out the new weather add on from The Weather Channel for the blog. It is amazing how much crap you can add to blogs if you really wanted to. It is super bowl sunday and I could honestly care less.

I was at trailhead last night with a friend of mine that is looking at getting a roadbike. As usual they took alot of time and helped Gil out. He didn't buy one yet but I think they provided good insight and we might have a new rider for saturday mornings in the spring. Now, if it would just warm up. It is always amazing how much cycling is growing. It is a great sport. What else is there to say about it that you don't already know.

Stay warm.