UGH!

There's alot going on right now. Lots of things that deserve to be expounded on. Too bad right now I'm trying to figure out which is my favorite candy; Sudafed nasal decongestants or Hall's throat lozenges. Ugh I feel like crap.

ToC and Smart Bikes in DC

So the ToC is underway. And its a good thing!! Yay the season is here and we're rolling along. One thing I find funny tho; Bob, Paul and Phil have not mentioned word one about the fact that Rock Racing is racing with only 5 guys total. Poor Super Mario is pretty much out there by himself. He did manage a very respectible 3rd the other day. Not bad for an old guy 3 years out of racing. I've got to give it to Rock Racing too. I gave them a bunch of crap coming in, but they put up a bunch of cash, as founding members for the ToC. Cadillac has bought ads. They've sponsored both the "rock racing cam", essentially the helicopter view and the podium girls. Way to put up Michael Ball. Who knows I might buy me a Rock Racing jersey yet. Lord knows I cant afford their Jeans.

And Locally even better news!! Published in WABA's newsletter is news of bike sharing in DC. What I thought was a pipe dream is actually coming to fruition. Smart Bikes is the DC version of the Paris program the has been soo successful. DC's program isnt going to be quite as ambitous to start, but it will be the first in the US beating out even Portland!! We're starting out with a 120 bikes in 10 locations, but given DC's small size, this is a good start. $40 gets you access to the system for a year. A simple swipe of your "smart bike" card and your off to the races for 3 hours. Locks will not be provided in the hopes that people will be using the stations rather than locking them up independently. ZIP Car and FlexiCar both came to DC a couple of years ago and DC turned into the nations most successful car sharing city, over 26,000 members share 700 cars. Lets hope Bike sharing is just as successful. The Website will be www.smartbikedc.com, its not up quite yet, but hopefully soon. The crazy thing is that all this is being sponsored by Clear Channel, one of those mega media companies that are controlling the messages you get to hear on your radio and read in your newspapers.

In Arlington they are expanding bike parking at Ballston, and looking at ways to better protect bikes while they are parked at the Metro stations. Currently the bike rack facilities are out of date and getting run down, they were designed and built during the build-up of Ballston back in the 80's. They are also looking at developing a "Bike Center" to act as depot point for bike traffic and commuters in the area. Go Arlington!! Check out the big plans here

Overall I gotta say its an exciting time for cyclist in the DC metro area. Lets hope that Fairfax county can start to get their act together too.


Go Slipstream!!!

332 more days

Astana is out (so far)

So, did anyone really *not* see the chances of this coming??? ASO which owns the Tour De France and most of the other important races in France has banned or rather summarily not invited Astana to any of their parties this year. Its a huge blow. Especially in light of the fact that other teams who have also been naughty in years not so far past, have been invited to at least the first of the major ASO races, Paris Nice.

I think a good part of ASO shutting out Astana is political as much as anything else. The major tour operators have been battling with the UCI for a couple of years now over invitation lists and wild cards in their events. UCI wants to dictate that the organizers have to have the 20 UCI Pro-tour teams. While the 3 different tour organizers want to have more control over who races in their events.

Dont get me wrong, Astana has alot going against it. It was born out of scandal. When Operation Puerto broke just days before the '06 tour, Liberty Seguros had 4 riders eliminated, leaving just 5 and not enough to start as a team. Alexander Vinokorov went to his homeland and drummed up enough support to buy the Liberty Seguros license and started Astana. Since then no fewer than 4 of Astana's biggest names have been busted for doping, most notoriously Vino himself during last years tour, after proclaiming that all the cheats left with the previous management team.

This year they hire John Bruyneel of Postal/Discovery team fame. Johan is not the most outspoken critic of doping. Some might say that he is actually a bit cavalier in his attitude towards doping as a matter of fact. Tho to his credit he has developed a team policy and policing practice that is certainly as thorough as anybody else's at this point. But history being what it is; and the cries of "but were different now", doesnt helps things any.

So, Astana is out. Partially due to history, partially due to politics. And for all those conspiracy freaks out there, saying that the French are just doing this so they can actually win their own tour; I point out that of the highest placed French rider from last year was Michael Boogard in 12th.

Now enough but bike racing. I've written on it almost exclusively for a while now. Sorry. I didnt intend for this to become a bike racing blog only.

I've started at a gym for really the first time. A bunch of years ago I tried for about 2 months and quit. This time has a better chance of taking. Mostly because both Mrs Culimerc and I have friends to work out with. Makes the whole thing a bunch different. So hopefully, I'll turn my flabby, pasty, white butt into a tone, pasty white butt. Good luck to Me.

We're having a wine tasting here this weekend. Should be a good time, its kind of like a tupperware party with alcohol. We'll see how it goes. My brother had no last week (that he didnt invited me to crash.....hmmm). He said it was a good time, s much because it was an adult party as much as anything else. Not having chosen a life of servitude to children, all our parties are adult parties. Take your diaper talk somewhere else breeder. Anyway, should be fun, wine, cheese, pate and all that other good stuff. (read bad for your heart).

Go Slipstream

340 days and counting.

What's not news

So maybe whats even more than what is news ( McCain is all -but- the official nominee and Clinton and Obama are the only 2 contenders left for the Dem's) is what isnt news. I havent heard from Rock Racing all week. Its like the first time since early Dec. Maybe they're losing their touch. And this right before the tour of Cali. Oh no!! Whatever will we talk about?? What without Michael Ball, Tyler, Chipo, and the rest of the circus. Oh yeah there's always Astana, who if you didnt know, has not been invited to the Giro. *snicker*.

If your lucky enough to be in Portland Oregon this week, stop by the hand made bike show. If there was ever a bigger festival of bike porn, I certainly dont know what or where it is. $18 at the door never bought a bigger stiffy. Bring on 2009 baby!! I can go to Pittsburg!!

So my weekend pretty much went into the toilet. For those of you who have never had to be "on-call" consider yourself lucky. Fri., I got called out just long enough not to be able to make the gym (and my first appt with a trainer to find out exactly how out of shape I really am). Saturday, as we are cooking dinner, I got called out again, to a customer prem, 3 hours of running around in circles trying to get anyone else to care that a customer is down and needs help. * am Sun. dispatch from a 3rd vendor is scheduled, so I'm up early waiting for calls that never come. Finally 9:30 I go to help anyway. Its pretty easily proved that its really not my problem, but no one else is helping, so I end up baby sitting. TILL 4: fucking 30 IN THE AFTERNOON!! Thanks a fucking lots folks. Way to help out the customer. So either way, I got almost 1/2 a weekend. I slacked last week and I'm gonna try to got what ever over with quick this week. I'm pretty happy with what I'm paid, but I need time off and away.

So, how was your weekend??

I almost forgot!!! The writers strike may be over!! w00t!! I havent had time to look into what the terms are etc. But this is good.

Go writers!!

344 and counting

RIP Sheldon Brown

All of cycling has lost a hero, mentor, sage, and role model. Sheldon Brown died of a heart attack yesterday.

The world may know who Lance is, but he will never contribute 1/2 of what Sheldon Brown has, quietly and without fanfare.

I never met you Sheldon Brown, my loss.

Godspeed.

the season has started

So here we are at race season again. w00t!! I get to obsess and wax poetic about a sport that even participants in find a bit hard to watch. So, goings on in the Tour of Qatar; Team Slipstream continues to impress. Even with the loss of "Big Maggie" to a broken collarbone Slipstream continued to put their young sprinter Chris Sutton in the top 10 everyday, eventually landing him just off the podium for 4th place in the stage race. Congratulations Chris and Team Slipstream.

Maggie says he'll be ready for Paris Roubaix.

Go Slipstream

Does this mean I gotta go buy a burrito now??

I haven't been talking much politics recently mostly because I've been getting over saturated with all the coverage of the primaries and the last state of the union. (thank god! only 350 or so days left) But as it stacks up now it is essentially a 2 horse race on either side. McCain/Romney and Clinton/Obama.

I would perfer to see Romney run only for the fact that I think he is more obviously insane and more likely to melt down under the national spotlight. McCain, just 8 years ago was pulling conservative dems and is a far more savvy politician, far better at fooling people who dont listen carefully.

Now that Richardson is out, as is Edwards and Kucinch (sp?) it's down to who we all knew were going to be there at the end. Clinton and Obama. I have a hard time with Hillery for a number of different reasons. Bush-Clinton-Bush-Clinton is the first. I think that we should have more than 2 families in the white house over the course of 36years (George the 1st was VP in 1980, if Hillery were to serve 8, she'd leave office in Jan '17) That and the fact that as a women in a man's world, I'm afraid that she would make overly aggressive decisions in order to prove that she was every bit as tough as all the guys. Also her vote on the Kyle Lieberman amendment, naming Iran's Revolutionary Guard a terrorist organization, after the Iraq authorization 4 years earlier she should have known better than to allow GW that kind of authority. He immediately ratcheted up the saber rattling until the NIE came out disputing the fact that Iran was seeking a nuclear weapon. And at the end of the day we can still talk about the fact that she has taken more money from the industrial military lobby, the pharmaceutical lobby, and the insurance lobby than anyone else democrat or republican. Did I mention the fact that she is probably the most divisive figure in the race on either side??

Yes I know there are other contenders still in on both sides, but none are going to affect anything, not even Huckabee.

So Super Tuesday is 4 days away, lets hope the democrats havent shot themselves in the foot (again)

All this and Mrs. Culimerc has already said I get to go riding both Sat and Sun. w00t!!