technical difficulties

i am, by nature, a bit of a fuddy-duddy, as regular readers by now well know. as it relates to television, for the past few years, that has meant a return to rabbit ears. since february, i have lived without who-tv13 [i can't help it, i preferred their local news to kcci's], kdsm-fox17 [god, i love old seinfelds, and 2 and 1/2 men], and who knows what else. but since midnight, it's gone [as it, sadly, letterman and the early sunday morning original star trek episodes at 130 am on kcci...sniff].

totally gone, except for the snow, i assume, as i haven't checked yet.

i'm going to see how long this experiment lasts, which is tough, as the tour promises to be a GREAT one, and i am sorely tempted to reactivate my long-dead dish subscription for a month and then let it go.

we shall see.

my reasons are multiple, and range from purely economic, to political, social, as well as fitness-related. in a fit of picque, years ago, i bought a DVD player, and plugged it in, electrically, but not through the tv. i might just do that, and play old converted from video to dvd tour, giro and vuelta tapes for the past many, many years. i DO love cycling on tv.

but we'll see, i certainly have many other things to do other than watch tv.

let's see if i can withstand my internal pressure to cave.

wish me--and others who are also struggling--luck.

Two time Tour de France champion Laurent Fignon said he can’t rule out a link between his advanced cancer and doping, according to a French TV interview to be broadcast on Sunday.
The retired winner of the Tour in 1983 and 1984, told the "7 a 8" interview program there might have been a connection between doping and the advanced cancer affecting his digestive system, even though doctors assured him this was unlikely.
Fignon, who tested positive for illegal substances twice in the late 1980s, has been diagnosed with an advanced cancer that has spread through his gastro-intestinal system and has metastasized in his pancreas as well. Fignon recorded the TV interview to publicize his forthcoming book, "We were young and unconcerned."
The book describes the life of racing cyclists in past years, including the range of stimulants and corticoids taken by riders.
"In those days everyone was doing it," he explained. "But it is impossible to know to what extent doping harms you.
"Whether those who lived through 1998, when a lot of extreme things happened, will get cancer after 10 or 20 years, I really can't say," added Fignon, who also won the 1989 Giro d'Italia and Milan-San Remo in both 1988 and 1989.

zirbel on top at nvgp!!

tom has been spending his time wisely since the tour of california. let's hope the bissell pro cycling team can keep him in yellow at the nature valley grand prix.

congratulations, tom!!

things they do in colorado

despite regularly messing with cyclists in group rides, the state of colorado does do some things right from time to time. take this example:

Springs woman gets 3 years in death of 2 bicyclists
By Hailey MacArthur The Gazette

COLORADO SPRINGS — Barbara Thomas, 64, was sentenced to three years in prison starting immediately in the deaths of two bicyclists, a judge ordered today.
Judge Gilbert A. Martinez convicted Thomas on two counts of vehicular homicide after she plowed into a group of bicyclists riding down the hill on S. 26th Street, killing two of them. Jayson Thomas Kilroy, 28, and Edgar "E.J." Juarez, 30, were struck and killed Aug. 6, 2008, when Thomas attempted to turn left onto Westend Avenue in her 1986 Ford F-350, a one-ton pickup truck. She was under the influence of prescription morphine and barbiturates, and she was not wearing the glasses required by her restricted license.
"When you kill two people in a reckless manner," Judge Martinez said before delivering his decision, "I don't think probation is appropriate. I don't think the max sentence is appropriate."
Thomas could have been sentenced to as many as six years under a plea bargain.
At the sentencing, Thomas, who takes 18 daily prescriptions and lugs an oxygen tank on her lap in a wheelchair, begged the judge to let her spend time at home with family before being transported to the Department of Corrections. She attempted to lift herself out of her wheelchair, pleading with the judge, who did not change his decision.
"Oh, my god," she said. "Don't take me."
Read what the mother of one of the victims said in court at Gazette.com.

suppose any of the prosecutors in central iowa read my blog?

dogtown cruiser nights!!

everyone is welcome to join us for the very first dogtown area cruiser night, tonight at 600 pm at the drake farmer's market.

pamela anderson knows how it's done: hop on your cruiser [or any bike, for that matter] and come on down to 25th and university, across from the drake diner, and get ready to have some fun as we ride around the town for about 45 minutes or so. NOT FAST, just cruisin'.

tonight the ride winds up at woody's smoke shack at 2511 cottage grove, where woody will have food specials and live music, provided by the ortonville circus, a fine area bluegrass band.

and it's FREE!!

woody says if you want to drink alcohol, bring your own. the smoke shack doesn't have a liquor license, but he doesn't mind folks having fun.

these rides will happen every wednesday night, with a different route and different destination each week. we'll have live music, food and drink specials, movies, and all sorts of cool things.

make it your regular wednesday night thing.

quality family time

i took the grandkids with me to the memorial day weekend of races this year. i've been going there to race and share a little fun for twenty years or more. i've enjoyed friends and their families all this time. i've always said it's my family, this cycling circle i inhabit, and it is.

so i really didn't give it a second thought when i offered to initiate the grandkids on THEIR first exposure to big-time american bicycling. the complications and realities of doing this AND racing myself would remain to be seen and experienced, but i knew it would work out somehow, and it did. and saturday morning, parked in my traditional location at the top of the snake, and my race already out of the way, i prepped the kids for THEIR first race participation. numbers pinned, i gave them final strategic instructions before we began the trek to the start line. they listened intently. for being not particularly verbal, jabari blew me away with his understanding and concentration. both kids have since before birth attended collegiate wrestling meets and tournaments, so they grasp the concept of competition--their dad is no flash in the pan on the wrestling mat, even now, years after his string of 4 all-american seasons at iowa state, he still coaches others year-round--but to see their intense focus really amazed me. i mean, nyla is just four, and jabari is only 21 months [although his RACING age was 3 for snake alley].

this photo STILL makes me laugh, as the kids have completed their warm-ups and hot laps around a street barricade, and each of them collects their thoughts in their own fashion. nyla is so girlie-girlie with her abundant hair-pretties and streamers but her "i'll rip your heart out" look" suggests otherwise. jabari is clearly engaged in his visualization routine. little did i know...

after their races, we relaxed as i always do, heckling others in the afternoon races on the snake, at devil's bend. for you cat 4s and 5s who want to be subjected to this torment, upgrade. i believe wayne and garth said it best: "you're not worthy!" the heckling NEVER begins until after noon. even the devil keeps regular hours.

as anyone who has ever raced the snake knows, it's exhausting. over the years, i gone racing with scores of different teammates and buddies, sharing rides in old vws and vans, and sleeping in beds and on floors in crowded houses and cheap hotel rooms. yet i'd trade them all for this one. i hope the grands enjoyed it as much as i did.

[thanks, maria, for this last photo]

how other folks spend their bicycle time, energy, and $$

the author describes this as an ordinary bicycle with a dual-exhaust pulse jet engine bolted to the side. well, i recognize the brooks saddle and schwinn-style springer fork, and even the cateye cyclocomputer, but beyond that, . . .

well, i'd suggest you go here to read and see more.