Frank Caliendo on Letterman as Bush

Fun Stuff!

T Mobile Disbands

So the end of an era comes suddenly and with little warning. In Germany, the fight against doping has taken on the air of a Salem trial witch hunt. Telekom, one of Cycling's oldest and most reliable sponsors, has decided to pull the plug on it's cycling sponsorship. The team could not outrun it's past. Even with the revamping of the team and Bob Stapleton coming on board and making the team into one of the youngest and most promising in the pro tour, German Media continued to lambast the team. Sinkewitz, while admitting to doping, relayed that the culture on the team had totally changed and he was out on his own slapping testosterone patches on. He reported a culture of doping that while pervasive prior to Stapleton, had totally disappeared. Sadly this press was enough to end the team. Heroically, Stapleton has saved enough money to allow the team to operate for the next two years without any major title sponsor. This guy truly is a hero and comes across as genuine. You get the sense he is really in it for the athletes and the sport and should be commended. The new team operating with the name Team High Road will operate with an in house testing system like last year. Again, making them one of the few teams putting their money where their mouth is when it comes to fighting doping. They will be fun to watch and really demonstrate what can be good about the sport.

1993 World Cycling Championships Finish

Lance's World Championship Win.

Wideawake :: LIVESTRONG LIVE

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone. Be thankful for all you have.

Pro Cycling Update

I have gotten away of late from commenting on Cycling but I think it is time to do alittle update. Slipstream-Chipotle had it's camp this past week to kick off the new team. There are some cool interviews on velonews.com if you get the chance. The new Felt Bikes look awesome. They are such a breath of fresh air. It will be nice to see what the can do. Hopefully they get invited to the races they want to. The new Astana team has continued to pick up riders from the old discovery team with the addition of Chechu Rubiera. Chris Horner has signed with Astana as well. I am surprised by this. I didn't think he would end up there. This team looks stacked. It's like Disco never really ended and just body snatched another team. Weird how it all went down. The rumor is that Trek might even be the bike sponsor. They do not have one as BMC pulled out after Vino and Kash Money got busted for doping. I think Johan is patterning the team very much after The Disco Organization. With 8 tours, he would do well to do so. In other news the new T-Mobile team had it's first meeting and looks to have survived all of the Sinkewitz stuff (He was popped for a Year ban after admitting to testosterone and previously epo on the old T-Mobile under the old regime.) Addidas Says they will pull out after this year but losing a shoe sponsor is not a major hit. Many teams do not even have them. Well that is pretty much all I have for now. Keep reading and I will keep writing.

saturday Recap

It has been a nice weekend so far. Andrea and I went to a the Capella Holiday Party on Friday at the depot. It was nice to hang out. Saturday morning Holly and I hung out and went shopping. She is such an easy going kid. In the afternoon I hit Elm Creek for a lap. I think I had about 20 layers on and still could not get warm. It was about 38 degrees with some wind and just could not find a rhythm. I hate to say it but I think the outdoor riding season is coming to an end. I guess I better get used to spinning indoors. I know, I know Neil, You can always ride outside. Not really my thing to be freezing my butt off. Saturday night Myles went to his G-Ma's for a sleepover. He was stoked. Andrea, Holly and I went to Target and I ran into Andy and his family. Good to see you dude. You have a nice family! I have to tell you that living in Champlin is such a cool experience. I am always running into someone I know at the store or at church. Blows my mind how much of a community this suburb is. Very cool. We then went home and watched tv before crashing out at 1030. I am getting old!

Thoughts......

I don't usually post personal stuff on here. The blog is more an expression of my interests and nonesense that catches my eye as well as the occassional rant about the idiocy going on in our government. But I think it is time for a personal moment. So, I'm on the spin bike in my basement tonight working through some stuff in my head as I often do when I'm on the bike. I Have a beautiful son that lately has been driving me up oneside of the wall and down the other with tantrums and, well, honestly, 3 year oldness. Truly very typical stuff but fairly unrelenting in the late evening. So anyways, I'm on the bike sweating, watching some dumb flick on cable and then a thought popped into my head. "Be his hero first". I am not sure what it means or whether it will resonate with anyone else but it struck me somehow. I think what it means for me is parenting with an eye not to the letter of the law but so that when he looks back 25 years from now, and if he is starting out his life as a parent he will look back and think "yeah, sure that is how it should be done." Sounds pretty simple doesn't it? Well it's not. I think most of you parents would agree. We get caught up in getting the baths done and getting to bed on time and really should spend more time loveing and listening. We're not given a manual or an instuctional video. We play it by ear. We wing it. We go into it equipped with what we were given. Some have great tools and examples to follow. Some have none at all. I know I will fail. Probably a million times, but everytime I do, I will remember to "be his hero first".

Erik Speaks Brings You A Random Rocky Moment

Pink- Dear Mr President - Live

Do you honestly think he listens and that he and his party deserve another chance?

My Saturday

Great ride today from Trailhead. Rode with Jay, Tom, Neil, and Perry as well as a fellow whose name slips my mind. As always Saturday rides are great. The weather is turning colder but the 8:00 start time makes it easy. It sounds like Team Trailhead is forming up (Trailhead Velo Club) as well as plans for Team Strongheart II. I had not rode with Jay in awhile so it was good to see you Jay! We did the usual Fletcher loop to dayton but skipped most of 144 and swung alittle farther out. We then hit Caribou for a coffee. That was the best part of the ride as the weather had warmed up and we were able to sit outside and listen to Tom entertain us. The guy is flat out hilarious and a strong rider too! I hung out with the family in the afternoon and Met Andrea's Family at Panera for lunch. In the evening I cooked dinner and we went for a night time walk. After the kids went to bed I lifted weights and watched Dog the Bounty Hunter. Yes, I was sucked in.

With Mind Bullets! (That's for you Neil!)

Erik