Sweet Justice

Looks like the dipshit doctor out in LA will be rocking an orange jumpsuit for five years. More than anything I hope this leads a better future for the motorist-cyclist relationship, whether it be wider shoulders on roads, better education of the laws that do exist, or fewer middle fingers and honking of car horns. Either way, this dude got what was coming to him, plain and simple. While it wasn't mentioned I wonder, if the doc will be able to keep his driver's license when he gets out of the slammer? Regardless, if you got the free moment tonight hoist a point for the three cyclists involved in the accident, and the fact that they will recover from their injuries. Then hoist that pint back up for the cyclist who won't recover from their accidents, cause that's a damn shame. Happy Friday, enjoy the weekend.

Stijn Devolder = Tough

Saw this over at the cyclingsnooze today, and it put a smile on my face. No wonder this guy has been spanking everyone at der Ronde for the past two years, he's one tough dude. Covering 100 miles during a 5 hour ride during a Belgian Winter is f'ing tough. The only thing missing from the article was Devolder stating that for breakfast he eats bowl of nails and broken glass. I especially enjoy the line of, "it is not so cold that you freeze onto your bike." I do wonder at what exact temperature a person would actually freeze to their bike, maybe Hurl and his CRC crew could try to figure that out the next time an arctic blast travels across Minnesota.

I also enjoyed how Devolder kinda threw "Columbian Marching Powder" Boonen under the bus because he opted to train indoors, and escape to Spain, rather than tough it out in Belgium. Granted you can't call a three time winner of Paris- Roubaix a pussy, but if anyone can do it, its the two time defending Tour of Flanders champ, who sees no point in flying to Spain for warm weather training. Who the hell knows I am rambling, and thinking way too much about this, probably because this is the time of year that I curse myself for moving from Tucson to Missoula. For those of you who might have need some motivation to get out and ride/ski in the cold weather, check this read out, odds are whatever weather you are experiencing, isn't as bad as what Jill dealt with.

Hello 2010, my name is Andrew

2010 is upon us, a new year, a new decade, you get the picture. Times to set some new goals, both for bikes, and for life. Snake had a great take on how to approach the new year (as well as some interesting reflection), simply put he summed it up with three words, "do it better". While this appear to be a cliche, Snake has provided me with some great advice such as, "ride hard", "you rode that course with a 16 tooth? thats fucking stupid", and "every ride should either start or finish with a ride through the U of A to look at chicks." So yeah, I'll listen to him again, just try to do things better than I did them before, whether bikes or life.

More good stuff from the New Year, go take a glance at the most recent issue of VeloNews. On page 26 (or around there), there is a nice interview with everyone's favorite Amish looking guy, Fuzzy John. I will say that any press Fuzzy gets he has earned, the hard way, by spanking the competition in whatever race he toes the line at. While in Missoula, Fuzzy enjoys meals at Hob Nob, cookies from Bearnice's, and singlespeeding up Deer Creek Road while towing his son behind him. Good on ya Fuzzy, I'm hoping to bump into you at SSUSA.

That's all thats doing for now, comfortable riding is still a long way off here in Missoula, time to enjoy some nordic, and maybe even try this running thing. Who the hell knows, at least the days are getting longer, which helps my brain forget that its Winter. Welcome to 2010, try to do it better.

A Message for Doug Dale, and 2009 Reflection

It looks like the Old Man Coffee Chronicles powered by Doug Dale is back up an running. In his most recent post he calls out folks from New Jersey stating, "I just hope the folks from Jersey stay out east, they tend to be quite rude. No offense if you're from Jersey, I'd be mad if I lived there too." Lets get one misconception out of the way, people in New Jersey are not mad about the fact that they live in New Jersey, they are pissed that soo many other people live there, which leads to crowding, and bad vibes. Think of it like using an elevator. Using one by yourself or with a friend is just fine, you can either enjoy the peace and quiet alone, or bullshit with a friend. When you are forced to share that same elevator with six other people so you cant move, whatever mood you are in goes to hell. One the passengers hasnt taken a shower since the Clinton presidency, another guy wants to hum along with the shitty music, a third person cant seem to stop farting, the fourth guy is busy talking on a cell phone while wiping the snot from their nose one their sleeve, and they are all in the way of you getting off of the elevator at the floor of your choice, you wouldn't be the happiest person around. That is what New Jersey is like, a whole lot of different people crammed into a small space just breeds rudeness.

While I will not deny that the stereotype of people from New Jersey being assholes or just plain rude exsists for a reason (I just took a long look in the mirror before typing that), but try not to forget about the rest of the Northeast as well. In my humble opinion folks from New York City and the Philly area are just as rude if not ruder than folks from New Jersey. Additionally the terms "Masshole" and "Vermonstor" exists for a reason. It's tough for people from states like New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Connecticut, Massachussetts, or the DC area to go from being rude to polite at the drop of the hat. So Doug, if you do have a crew from New Jersey who stops in your shop, just take a deep breath, politely remind them that they are on vacation, and that they should relax. And if at the end of the winter all the folks from New Jersey were dicks to you for no good reason, I'll buy you a beer. That way, one Garden State representative will have sent some courtesy your way.

Finally, in what is going to be the last post of 2009, allow me to do some reflection of 2009 on a race by race basis.

SSAZ: good trail, great friends, 70 degrees in January, nuff said
Barking Spider: decent course, big field
Wimmers ICUP: Had Holmes, Doug, The Rev, and Blake not been there, I wouldnt have loved it.
Coyote Classic: HOLY SHIT! I must be kinda fast
24 Hours of Rapelje: Mother Nature put everyone in their place, but great time none the less.
Firecracker 50: Cramps from dehydration suck.
XC Nationals: Rode like shit.
Galena Grinder: Back to feeling fast.
Laramie Enduro: Getting cheered on by the family was great.
Pierre's Hole 100: CRV is now on life support.
SSMT: I'm still surprised that people did what I told them to do, and that I still havent been sued.
Moose Cross: Fun times in Idaho
Rolling Thunder: I bet if I didnt have that car bomb on the second to last lap I would have been on the podium.
MuleCross: The Mules know how to have a good time, and put on a great race.
Big thanks to Hellgate Cyclery and Missoula Bicyle Works for keeping my gear working, Drunkcyclist, and Surly for supporting SSMT, Dejay Fuzzy and Scooby for the race friendship and advice, and probably the biggest thanks to the family for their support.

One last rambling to promote one of the first events of 2010. SSUSA is just around the corner, and this one will be one for the books. 45 miles of desert mountain biking is just what the doctor order to keep your sanity during the winter.

Happy New Year!

Not Over Yet

Did one of my favorite things last night, watch the Giants beat up on an NFC East team last night, while drinking Troegs, and bullshitting with an old friend. Big Blue flat out spanked the Skins last night, and kept their playoff hopes alive. The Skins looked like a high school JV team out there, but everyone in the world will be hoping for them to rally next week against the Cowboys. Sure it might seems pathetic to devote a whole bunch of energy to various football teams, but bikes are not the priority this time of year, the NFC East playoff race is. Im just happy I'm not stuck rooting for the Seahawks, like other bike racers from the Big Sky.


Speaking of bikes, looks like 'ol Cross Reverand Proctor has US cross racing on lockdown. I was hoping that back in November I was gonna get a ring from him saying something along the lines of, "Sure they dont have a SS cross class across the pond, you barely raced cross this year, the last time you had anything that resembled fitness in 09 was back in the beginning of August, but I remember how you helped me after I went down at Mulecross, so pack your bags, cause youre coming to Euro Cross Camp." No such luck, I'm in New Jersey, while the real players are over there in Belgium, where they should be.

That's all I got for now, so Happy Holidays, eat, drink, be merry, drink some more, take a nap, then get up and drink again. My gift to everyone are the links below, enjoy.

Eddy Merckx- Stars and Watercarriers Part 1
Paris Roubaix - Old School Style
Run Run Rudolph
Fatty lived the dream

Trainer Rides - NJ style

Back in the Derty Jerz for the Holidays, meaning exercise either comes in the form of trail running over in the Reservation, or riding my dads bike on the trainer in the basement. I have little desire to run in the reservation, despite the fact that it would provide a nice dose of Vitamin D. Alas, that means I get to rock out on the trainer in the basement. Lucky for me Dad and I are similar enough in feet size and height that I can get away with using his bike, and shoes, so all I had to bring was a pair of shorts and some shirts. The good news is that I can bring down a laptop, set it up on the ping pong table and keep my brain occupied. Big thanks to Big Jonny for posting up "The Impossible Hour" about Ole Ritter chasing the hour record, that was some good stuff. Here is what riding a trainer in my parents basement, using borrowed gear is like.


Old Cannondale tucked into a corner next to the ping pong table and surrounded by deck furniture.


My old MTB shoes I bought back in high school, they still fit


The view from the bike, a post, fake flowers, treadmill, board games, and other random crap shoved into a closet.


When was the last time you saw grip shifters on drop bars?


Keeping the bike secure, McGeyver style

My motivation, 21 year old Scotch

The Dope Show, It Never Ends

Cracked open the Times yesterday, and while reading the sports section came across this article. Looks like with the right people coming forward to name names, this could turn into the Canadian version of Operation Puerto. The good news is that it there was no mention of any cyclists working with this "Icehole" (an asshole from somewhere cold). The bad news is that athletes are still cheating, and some doctors will do anything to help them. Any time I read about a doctor who is perscribing HGH to people over 40, only so they can slow the effects of aging, it seem fishy to me. Odds are if this doctor is willing to give a rich guy/gal steroids for the right amount of money, they would probably be willing to give athletes steroids as well.

It was nice to see that this doctor carrying Actovegin in a medical bag while crossing international lines. For those of you who have never heard of Actovegin, go find a copy of "From Lance to Landis" by David Walsh, and read the epilouge/afterword. It is a quick story of a mountain biker from the states dumping out a quantity of Actovegin, rather than trying to smuggling it across the pond for a pro roadie friend. The pro roadie friend who wasn't named turned out to be Michael Rasmussen, and we all know that he is both 1.) honest, and 2.) completely opposed to doping.

The bigger news from the article was the athletes who have worked with this doctor who could potentially be brought down from this doping scandal. Sure Operation Puerto took out four potential contenders from the 2006 tour, but this could take top athletes from various sports. Tiger Woods was named in the article, and if it turned out he had doped in his career, this would complete the fastest free fall from grace in the history of sport. Last summer the Dara Torres story seemed too good to be true, turns out it may have been. Donavon Bailey was once the "worlds fastest man", and for good measure there were two NFL players thown in the mix as well. I know, people are innocent until proven guilty, but it just seems like it has been so long since an athlete who was named in a potential doping story, and the story turned out to be false. More than anything I just hope that authorities figure out what is going on here sooner rather than later, and get this whole mess cleaned up.