Great article in the NY Times about a guy I knew and climbed a bit with “back in the day.”
One of the last of a dying breed, in many ways this fellow was, and remains an odd sort of a hero to me…
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/30/sports/othersports/30chongo.html?em
(photo from the article.)
If you had any doubt that the giant sucking sounds coming from the economy have gotten people back on bicycles, here’s some more evidence:
http://voices.washingtonpost.com/shoptoit/2008/09/tuesday_tips_buying_a_bike.html
Reams of bad advice from a soccer-mom columnist in the WP. Great stuff!
Make sure you read the comments at the bottom… gotta love the Toys-R-Us bike advice/rant from the fat lady…
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Team Redline Factory Team, based in Seattle, WA announces its final rosters and sponsor lineup for the 2008/09 Cyclo-cross Season. Based out of Seattle, WA but covering multiple regions around the USA, the team will be led by elite team riders with grassroots development programs in each of the regions. Look for Team Redline at many of the USGP CX races, UCI races, National Championships and in your local race scene!
The 2007-08 Roster:
Kevin Bradford Parish – Spokane, WA – Elite Racer
Kristi Berg – Seattle, WA – Elite Racer
Chad Berg – Seattle, WA – Team Leader/Elite Master
Coryn Rivera – Tustin, CA – Elite Junior
Matt Hill – Seattle, WA – Elite Master
Jacob Rathe – Portland, OR – Elite Junior
Randy Iddings – Seattle, WA – Elite Master
Dan Norton – Ronald, WA –“‘Cross Master”
Gian Dalle –of Belleview—Elite Racer
Jason Carnes – Austin, TX, Team Trailer set-up God
This season, which will mark the 15th year of Redline bicycles sponsoring Cyclo-cross riders in America. Since 1994 Redline bicycles has built and tested some of the finest American Cyclo-Cross bikes. Redline riders have amassed several national championships and countless local, regional and UCI Cyclo-cross races.
The team will continue to be led by Director Sportif Tim Rutledge, and Joe Sandschulte will be the Team Mechanic. “Redline bicycles are represented by some of the finest people and athletes in the USA.” – Tim Rutledge
For 2008, the squad will be comprised of Elite riders that will contest the major Cyclo-cross events across the US as well as Elite Team Leaders that will head grassroots development programs nationwide.
We give thanks to the following sponsors of Team Redline: Shimano, Hutchinson, Kool Stop, Selle San Marco, and FSA
I confess; I can’t quite decide if this is as cool as it gets, or that other word that means the exact opposite…
It’s my sister Alison’s aniversary (OK, it’s also Greg’s, but we know how that goes…)
They both work on Wall Street, so I figured that I would buy them a nice little investment bank for a present…
…or, maybe a loaf of french Bread.
Street price seems to be comparable right now…
“I find it quite interesting that a woman who now is running to be second in command of the United States, only 4 years ago had aspirations to be a television anchor, which is probably all she is qualified to be,”
-Lindsay Lohan
Out of the mouths of babes (and morons…)
Dear sweet baby jesus, what is wrong with this country?
Blecch.
First race if the year, and I sucked.
No kidding.
It was like I had a little tiny black hole taped to my fat ass. The sucking was so powerful it dragged a G-damned blackberry thorn into my path and onto, into and through my rear tire.
Blecch.
I was losing about 5 psi a lap. I picked up the G-damned passenger midway through the first lap, and since I started the race with 35 psi, it took me about 3 laps until the fishtailing and sliding through the singletrack got so bad that I resigned myself to making a bike switch.
Yeah. I’m an idiot.
I waited 3 laps to switch bikes because I didn’t have matched bikes. It’s early season, and this year’s gear isn’t in yet. My “B” bike was set up with semi-slick tires on crappy anvil-heavy rims.
It turns out that that setup kicked ass all over the “A” bike. As soon as I switched bikes, I started passing folks.
Damnit.
I finished third today, which isn’t all that bad given the equipment fiasco, but I won this race last year, and there was no way in hell I would have won today even if all had gone well.
I’m not nearly as fast as I was at this time last year, and even though that’s according to plan, it’s still frustrating.
I suck right now, and I hate it. This better work, and I better be flying at Nationals, or I’m….
Good stuff:
– Fun race. Counterbalance put on a nice mtn. bike race today. Let’s face it – S.Seatac just isn’t a great place for a cross race, and at best you wind up with a nice mtn bike race on cross bikes. That’s what we got today. Kudos to them.
– The Hutchinson Pirahnas are really good. They wound up being much faster than the old-standby Michelin Mud tires today. I never would have believed it.
– I’m finally figuring out the Shimano XTR pedals. I’ve been on the Crank Brothers pedals longer than anyone on the planet, pretty much literally – I was riding pre-production test versions waaay before they were available for sale – and having killed over a dozen sets of them, I was ready for something more durable. The Shimanos are definitely that, and (knock wood…) no problems. Nice.
– Demo-ing a Wipperman chain. Seemed to work better than the Shimano one on the “A” bike. More investigation needed, but the “A” bike was having all the usual sand infestation problems attendant to this course, and the “B” bike worked like a f-ing Swiss watch. Go figure.
Enough feeling sorry for myself. Next weekend is the StarCross/Rad Cup double, and I’m going to need to ride out of my skin if I don’t want to look like an angry clown. Time to think happy go fast thoughts, and try to channel some of that Undem-esque new age mind over body nonsense.
Burn some insense for me, mkay? (edit: Yeah, I know I misspelled that. Think about it, OK?)
Lance is back. Tyler is back. Floyd is back. We need Der Kaiser!
Sign the petition at:
http://bringbackjan.blogspot.com/
m
I’ve been in the process of cleaning out my storage locker. Years and years and two seperate businesses worth of equipment. This translates to an apartment crammed full of boxes, bike and guitar parts, bric-a-brac and all manner of filth; tracked in, packed in, and misc.
Today my landlord hits me with 2 day notice of the annual “surprise” apartment inspection.
I. Am. So. Screwed.
You literally cannot walk through the front door of my apartment without turning sideways, and I haven’t been in my bedroom in a week, because there are boxes blocking the door. I’ve been sleeping on the living room floor, because the couch is piled about 3 feet high with old bike clothing and climbing gear. Even if I could see more than the 6 square foot of floor that I’ve been sleeping on, I have absolutely no idea where the vaccuum cleaner is.
2 big UCI races next weekend, food poisoning this past weekend, I’m busy as Hell at work, I still haven’t built up a bike for this season, and now this…
Yeah. That’s just how I roll.
So Pro, Joe…
m
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