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Thursday 29 April 2010
A return to Gila - Lance Armstrong 2010
Big week for racing. First there was Liege-Bastogne-Liege. Then the Tour of Romandie kicked off today, a prelude to the first of the Grand Tours, the Giro d’Italia, which is (gasp) not even two weeks out. And then the winningest Tour de France racer ever will on Wednesday be…riding a non-UCI ranked event in New Mexico which nearly went extinct last season.
That’s right, Lance Armstrong is racing the Tour of the Gila again, along with teammate and defending champion Levi Leipheimer. Because the Gila is a national event only, Armstrong, Leipheimer and RadioShack teammate Jason McCartney have to jump through a few UCI hoops that caused some issues last year: only three riders from a ProTour or Pro Continental team can enter, and they can’t race in ProTour team kit.
So, like last year, they’ll race under the Mellow Johnny’s bike shop banner. But this is a not a lark; while Alain Gallopin heads up the effort at Romandie, none other than RadioShack general manager and head honcho Johan Bruyneel will be driving the team car at the Gila.
(RadioShack won’t be the only team in disguise; three Garmin-Transitions riders - Tom Danielson, Dave Zabriskie and Tom Peterson - will race for Zabriskie’s DZ Nuts company.)
Armstrong’s presence at the Gila last year may have helped save the race. The event is a longstanding fixture in domestic racing but ran into serious funding difficulty. Then, in March, SRAM - a sponsor of Armstrong’s team (Armstrong also has a small ownership stake in the company) - stepped up for title sponsorship. Rumors of Armstrong’s attendance began circulating at the beginning of April and his appearance drew fans and media to Silver City for the event.
But that doesn’t explain why Lance is racing there again. Last year, he was recovering from a broken collarbone and needed to get some race miles in before heading to the Giro d’Italia. The Gila was a great option: close, lower-profile and lower-stress than most European events, but with lots of vertical.
This year, RadioShack isn’t racing the Giro and Armstrong’s pre-Tour preparation hasn’t been derailed by any crashes. As Bill Strickland points out, it’s usually a loser’s game to try to read Armstrong’s intent. But I’m a loser, so I’ll bite: why is Armstrong heading to Gila?
I have no firm info to back it up, but my hunch is that he’s going there because he enjoyed it. The Gila for Armstrong played a role akin to his trip to Boone, North Carolina in 1998. That spring, defeated and demoralized in his attempted return to racing, he considered retiring. A riding camp in the rain with Chris Carmichael and Bob Roll changed his perspective and, well, we all know what happened after that.
Prior to his crash at the Vuelta Castilla y Leon last year, Armstrong looked like a 38-year-old guy who’d been out of the sport for three years. He was a bit heavier than we remembered. He wasn’t time-trialling as well. His fellow pros said he looked nervous and out of place in the pack.
But after an intensive rehab and training session in Aspen, Armstrong’s trajectory was straight up - second at Gila behind Leipheimer; 12th at the Giro, riding into form and looking thin and fit; and then third in the Tour. The racing at the Gila was central to that recovery.
Even more than that, though, the Gila was where Armstrong first seemed to enjoy his return to racing. Prior to that, he was dividing time between training and Livestrong initiatives, prominently tweeting every time drug testers showed up and claiming various conspiracies aimed at preventing him from racing the Tour.
At Gila, he was relaxed. His Twitter feed grew lighthearted with jokes and pictures of the dinner table. He seemed, for the first time since his comeback, to actually be having fun. If I had to guess, I’d say that’s why he’s back.
Courtesy of bicycling.com
Tuesday 27 April 2010
Sunday 25 April 2010
Friday 23 April 2010
Wednesday 21 April 2010
Tuesday 20 April 2010
Monday 19 April 2010
Forty years after the first Earth Day, the world is in greater peril than ever. While climate change is the greatest challenge of our time, it also presents the greatest opportunity – an unprecedented opportunity to build a healthy, prosperous, clean energy economy now and for the future.Earth Day 2010 can be a turning point to advance climate policy, energy efficiency, renewable energy and green jobs. Earth Day Network is galvanizing millions who make personal commitments to sustainability. Earth Day 2010 is a pivotal opportunity for individuals, corporations and governments to join together and create a global green economy. Join the more than one billion people in 190 countries that are taking action for Earth Day.
http://www.earthday.org/earthday2010
Thursday 15 April 2010
Wednesday 14 April 2010
Allan Weisbecker - Water Time
If one man has lived life to the full, Allan Weisbecker is the man. His books only skim the surface of his life but are compelling reads. `Can't you get along with anyone' is only for the dedicated fan, but the first two are classic must reads. Water Time is a move into film making, and if the first 7 minutes are anything to go by the movie will be a classic to. The man is a legend.
Tuesday 13 April 2010
Amstel Gold Race 17th April - Lance or no Lance?
The Amstel Gold Race is Holland’s only road cycling race of any importance on the international cycling calendar. The riders compete in the hilly area around the town of Valkenburg, and also go into Belgium and Germany.Steep climbs in Limburg
It is not just the approximately 250 kilometers the cyclists have to cover that make this a tough race, the twisting and turning in the many villages they ride through is not exactly easy either. During the race, the riders have to ascend some 20 short climbs, including the Cauberg, Keutenberg and Eyserbosweg. Some of these climbs are very steep and make for an exciting competition.
Howies Hand Me Down Backpack
Howies say - The idea was to create high quality bags that could stand the test of time. Not only did the design need to result in bags that had the right mix of materials and construction to actually physically survive multiple generations, but they had to have an aesthetic appeal that could endure the chronic wild swings in fashion.We recruited Chad Yonkman, a well respected Vermont based designer to help us develop the bag. Here are his thoughts on his design approach.
“The selection of heavy waxed canvas and leather fulfilled the requirements of durable performance and timeless appeal.
The aluminum zips and hardware are strong and rust-proof. The custom-designed “hook” buckles provide easy access and secure closure to the main compartments of the bags without any breakable moving parts.
The bags have simple flap openings rather than zipped access to the main compartments. Main zips tend to be the area most susceptible to failure.
The die-cut leather lash patches on the HMD bags pay obvious visual and functional homage to vintage rucksacks – a fitting symbol of classic durable utility.
The integration of multiple storage pockets, laptop sleeves, etc. brought modern function to these timeless designs.”
I say - Best bag I have, good for everything never lets me down, but glad it was a Christmas present because it needs to last a life time at that price!
http://www.howies.co.uk/product.php/1600/92/
Tuesday 6 April 2010
Saturday 3 April 2010
Friday 2 April 2010
Tour of Flanders
This will be the big one, Lance Armstrong has been include in the Team RadioShack Squad for Sundays race.
Thursday 1 April 2010
It's Nice That............
Talking of desirable magazines, It's Nice That.......... is an advert free magazine with some great editorial. And yes issue 1 is completely sold out and very collectable. Issue 2 and 3 available now (possibly).
What is all the fuss about ?
If you look on ebay you will see issue one of Rouleur magazine now demands 3 figures. Insane, and ridiculous. Now I am sure that people feel the need to have every copy but really to the tune of £120+. Come on Rapha, do the right thing and re issue number one in a second edition so people can complete their collection.
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