Ironman 2007

This sunday was the Ironman bike ride. Thanks to fellow Loons, Bernie and Patrick, I finished my first century ride. The guys were great and we saw some amazing things. Many fixies and single speeds were out. There were people of all shapes and sizes enjoying the ride. We say a guy doing the 62 mile course on a unicycle. We even met Neil's Dad! The most amazing thing had to be the guy doing the century on a BMX bike. The guy was amazing. Every time we pulled into a rest stop he wasn't all that far behind. Truly amazing! For myself, I finished with a sense of accomplishment and a new appreciation for long distance riding. Speaking of which, Bernie and Neil are going to tackle The RAAM ride this summer as members of Team Strongheart to raise money for Camp Odayin. It is a good charity and they are good people that have been working hard all winter for these kids. So go to the link on this page and buy a t-shirt and make a donation. The kids and the Guys deserve your support!
Ciao for now!

Basso Leaving Disco and More Operacion Puerto Fallout!

As reported on VeloNews.com Ivan Basso has resigned from The Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team. Basso is citing the renewed interest in Operacion Puerto as the reason for his asking to be released from his contract. Basso had only good things to say about discovery and denied being asked to leave. One has to give him atleast some credit for handling this situation the way he has. The investigators can't make up their mind and have proven to be inconsistent in their prosecution of these cases. Discovery knows that with trying to find a new sponsor it would have been very difficult signing a company with the Basso situation hanging over their head. I am sure that this had some part to play in all of this.

In other news Tyler Hamilton has been suspended by Tinkoff for the giro for supposed links to the now expanded Operacion Puerto investigation. Apparently the Spanish investigators are prepared to release a new larger dossier of information with 6000 pages of evidence with as many as 49 new cyclists linked to the case. That would bring the total to over 100. I do however, find it ironic that of all those riders, Basso and Ulrich are the only ones that are being punished in advance. I am all for stopping the riders from riding, but if you are going to do that, then you need to stop ALL of the riders not just the big guys.

Will Ferrell as Bush

This is pretty good.

SNL Weekend Update: Really with Seth and Amy: Gonzales

This would be so funny if it wasn't so TRUE!

Erikspeaks Brings You a Random Rocky Moment.....

Thought you guys could use a little rocky!

Basso not riding in Fleche-Wallone and Liege-Bastogne-Liege and other Cycling Hoolaganism!

As reported by cyclingnews.com and velonews.com Ivan Basso is pulling out of The Fleche and LBL. As predicted here on Erikspeaks the fallout from the Ulrich positive is spilling over into the other riders that were implicated in the Operacion Puerto mess. Hopefully Basso will concede to testing soon and this will be over and done with (either way) before the tour. Alejandro Valverde is denying any involvement and using as reasoning that he was not stopped from riding last year (not "I am innocent") as his defense. This has seriously got to be over with. The giro is coming and there could be alot of riders not riding. On another note, How good have the one day classics been this year. Alot of guys that should have been at the top were there but new riders and riders that have not won in the past, but were close have finally made it over the top. Very cool.... I watched the two hours of coverage on Versus of Amstel Gold yesterday. It was pretty solid. I can't quite understand why you cover two hours of Amstel and then barely cover Paris-Roubaix and the Ronde. Oh well, maybe they've listened to the criticism that has been leveled at them and decided to get rid of all the "where is lance now" crap and get to covering the race.
Ciao For Now!
Erik

Loony Loons Ridin' a New Route!

Steve, Holly,Jorge, and Myself rode from Trailhead this am at 08. We headed down through Maple Grove on the three rivers corridor trail and then headed into Plymouth before heading back up to Champlin. It ended up being a 50 miler today. Nice to see some different scenery and as always good to hang out with people who share a love of the bike. One thing that struck me was how many people were out riding in the parks and on the roads. Every kind of bike and every level of fitness was out today. It was amazing to see how big the road scene is in the western suburbs. Cycling in the post Lance era is surviving and thriving.

Ciao for Now.

Erik

Jorge's adventure at the Tour (of California) !

Jorge and Levi

Jorge and The Floydster

Drool Baby Drool!(Thor Hoshovd's Bike)

Jorge con El Pollo

Jorge and Eki

J.J. Haedo

Basso Up Close and Personal

Big Ole' Thor

Fellow Loon and good buddy Jorge made a trek out to the Tour of California. He has been so kind to share some of his pics from the trip. This has been a long time coming but I wanted to get some of them up on the blog. This is what is great about our sport. Jorge flies out and goes to two stages and meets some of the greatest riders in the world. Next time you go to a Twins or Wolves game see how close you get to the players. Jorge, thanks for sharing your adventure with us. I will try to post more pics in the next week. These are some of the ones that stood out to me.

John McCain singing Bomb Iran

I used to like John McCain but the guy has turned into a total hack. Come on. with all the Civilian Iraquis and US soldiers dying of IED's NOBODY should be joking about bombing anybody. Did you get the question from the guy in the audience. How willing do you think he will be to sign up or send his kids over if bombing Iran escalated into war with Iran? To many people in this country don't think things through. I served and I support the troops. I do not however take their lives for granted.

Generation Video Game

The news in the last two days has been very disturbing. Totally not surprising, but disturbing just the same. I am not a censorship guy but I have to wonder that a generation that is exposed to soundbites, news of shootings and violence, movies and videogames simulating urban combat, and constant images of the war is taking it's toll on our young people. Look at the pictures of this guy from Virginia Tech. He is dressed like someone out of an action movie. All Matrix-y with the double glock wielding double shoulder holsters. Firing off images to msnbc in between murderous killing sprees. When are we as a society going to get it? When are we going to realize that we have become desensitized to the tragedy? Real violence has human impact. Suffering is real. Loss is real. Getting shot hurts. Wake the hell up parents. Get your kids to throw a ball.... Take them to the park.... Ride your bike with them.... Quit parking them infront of the latest Helo/Warcraft/Doom game while you stare at the computer. We are all guilty of "easy" parenting but come on. It is obvious we have created a generation of Bright yet very detatched kids. Kids that are having trouble engaging the world and being part of it. They live in a world that is not what it seems. Cyber fantasy and reality is blurring for these kids. We have to pull them out of it. Media is just that.... MEDIA. Holy shit. Wheres the tylenol.......

Cycling Recap

Ogrady wins Paris Roubaix. Very strong and the first time an aussie has one the Race. It is good to see guys that have always been at the front but just can't seem to win come through and pull it off. Stuart is one of these guys. Alas... Maybe Hincapie will pull it off next year. As far as Tour de Georgia, It looks like Jani Brajkovic will steal the thunder from Tom Danielson once again (I am referring to the Vuelta from last year). Jani and Gianni Meersman got into a decisive break and put 29 minutes into the peloton. Jani can climb and there is no way Tommy D or anybody (Barring Disaster) can get that back on Brasstown Bald. Chapeau Jani! He has loads of talent and I think in some respects it shows that the Tour de Georgia is maturing. Having a Euro Rider win in Georgia would bring more interest from other Euro Teams and riders and allow the race to grow and bring even more interest to our sport in the U.S. One could argue that having an American win is better but I think long term we need to think about bringing the sport to The United States at the highest level.

Trailhead ride update

We had 8 guys for the ride from trailhead this am at 9. The general consensus was we needed a new ride so we switched it up and improvised a little bit. John and I finished it up in the park for a 40 miler. It felt good to get out. The power of the internet always impresses me. You fire a message off and boom... You have a solid group ride. It doesn't hurt that cycling is strong in this area and people love their bikes.

Ciao for Now!

Erik

Cobbles, Beer, Cycling

Tour of Flanders..... I am still pissed about Versus coverage. Ghen Wevelghem (did I spell that right?) on wednesday. The revamped Tmobile team takes their first big win. Good for them. It is nice to see a team based on "natural talent" winning a big race. Paris Roubaix on Sunday! Versus graces us with TWO HOURS of coverage. I guess I should be grateful that it is actually on. I guess bad cycling coverage is better that no cycling coverage, but just barely! Multiple Loon Rides on Saturday... Team Strongheart riding in Stillwater, I think there is a separate ride in afton (that might be the same ride...) and a Ride from Trailhead at 09 a.m. Either way you can't go wrong if you are on the bike!
Ciao For Now!
Erik

scrubs - guy love

Scrubs -- Nbc should be paying me for these promos. Seriously funny stuff.
Erik

Laugh of the Day -- Alec Baldwin is the Ladies' Man

Okay, a little break from cycling and me berating W. If you have not watched 30 rock you need to. It is seriously funny.

Blood Samples from Spain Are Jan Ulrich's

According a recent update on VeloNews.com, The samples of blood turned over to German Authorities by Spanish Operation Puerto investigators are a Match to Jan Ulrich. The samples underwent DNA testing. Ulrich's camp is claiming he was set up. As a cycling fan, this makes me very sad. According to authorities, formal charges could be filed soon. I wondered why Jan didn't fight this harder from the beginning. He seemed to just quit when other riders went on to sign on with teams. I know that the Swiss and German cycling federations were being very aggressive compared to the Spanish and Italian cycling federations. It appears there is now actual proof that a rider linked to the investigation was doping. If the charges are true and if Jan is convicted, what does this mean for Basso and Contador and the other riders linked to the Operation Puerto Mess? Should they be tested in a formal investigation (the only condition Basso said he would allow for dna testing is under a court order).
I was just getting back to enjoying cycling again. It saddens me that this is probably just the beginning. Now that they have proof that a rider on the list doped (allegedly) will this be the proof they need to open the investigation back up and go after other riders. It seems a very plausible outcome. The witchhunt that never came to fruition from Operation Puerto might finally occur, ruining yet another cycling season that has shown such great promise so far.

Loon Ride in the Rain

Four of us braved the elements today and got out on a ride through elm creek. What fun! I know two things. I am glad I bought a fender and I need to get a rain jacket. The trails were good and the comraderie was even better so thanks to the guys and I will see you on a ride!