I just logged my first century last weekend with some pals from Team PBDH (our loosely organized weekend ride group from work) and I have to say it was pretty fantastic. For those not aware, the STP is a double century ride from Seattle to Portland and people typically do it over the course of a weekend by spending the night somewhere near the 100 mile mark. We decided to press on a bit farther and planned our stay in Castle Rock, so my first century actually topped out at healthy 136 miles. I'm not gonna lie, it was challenging…
Fantastic 2007 Tour de France photos from the portfolio of Brent Humphreys. Click on the Projects link on the far right.
Link via Freeman Transport.
Riccardo Ricco gives back his polka dots and heads home with the rest of the Saunier Duval team. What are these knuckleheads thinking? Ricco kept a picture of Marco Patani in his pocket so I guess it was only a matter of time. Read the NYT article.
Stopped by the Seattle Bike-In on Sunday. Some teens from Issaquah were tearing it up on the stage while an overly mellow crowd offered a few yelps of encouragement. (I haven't heard 3-chord angst like that in a long time.) Sadly, I didn't have time to stay for the films as it was getting late and work was piling up. (Spent the whole day riding in sun.) Before leaving I did manage to witness the operation of a fine invention that paired a bicycle with a blender. Bike smoothies!
Despite the unconscionable removal of Team Astana (and two members of last year's podium), the 2008 Tour de France is pretty exciting stuff. Christian Vande Velde looks strong enough to be on the podium, but he's got a lot of work to do in the next 2 days. Big mountains start tomorrow and L’Alpe d’Huez is set for Wednesday. Read the NYT article.
In a nutshell, we are trying to prove that a Kenyan who comes from the land of marathon champions, and who probably might be a good runner, can also be an exceptional cyclist. theafricancyclist.com
Caught the Cycle U Street Sprints at Cyclefest during my evening ride tonight. Cat 1 racer Adrian Hegyvary (pictured above in blue) took the win with some fancy tire sliding in the turns. (Dave and I took a paceline class from Adrian earlier this year and he seems like a pretty cool guy.) Looks like he also has a blog documenting some European race exploits form last year.
Some interesting designs for new bike racks can be found over at nycityracks.com. Also check out the Flickr Bike Rack pool.
At the very same time that angry cyclists were battling cranky automobile operators me and the wife were relaxing in the grass at the Marymoor Park Velodrome watching the Friday night track races sipping cold beer and eating hot dogs. And here's the deal: track racing is awesome! I can't imagine a cooler place to be on a sunny Friday evening.
I’ve always found the concept of "The Greater Good" to be flawed in that the greater good ultimately requires the superiority of goodness in a society over that of it’s members. Ayn Rand would define this same flaw by saying that the good of some takes precedence of the good of others, with those others forced to become scape goats for the greater good itself. That said, I think it’s time Critical Mass sacrifice itself for the greater good of cycling.
I like the idea of clever civil disobedience: Finding ways to inspire others while vilifying injustice. It’s the American way after all, and I think Critical Mass had this in mind at its inception—inspiration through an uproarious challenge of the status quo. And despite the hard truth that anarchy will always fail, Critical Mass has held on for some time as a leaderless, mostly positive agent for bicycle awareness at any cost.
Rapha is easily my favorite outfitter of expensive European bicycle gear. They have a great design team and the quality is top notch. Rapha is also a group of dedicated epic riders and recently they've been spending more time on this side of the Atlantic—with a lot of it right here in the Pacific Northwest. You can follow their exploits over at The Rapha Continental on the Rapha website.
BMX makes its Olympic debut August 20. 15 foot jumps!
Great article in Vanity Fair on this whole return of Lance business. Should be interesting…
Our own Dave Cole makes the Seattle Times in an article about commuting. Check it out. (Nice work Dave!)
Proper mainTAINTanance of the perineal area is essential during high level training and racing. Nothing can ruin stage race success faster than an infected saddle sore.
—Dave Zabriskie
Check out dz-nuts!
Joff Summerfield pedals around the glob on an old-timey time penny farthing and lives to tell the tale.
