Giro contenders all a bit sus
After a storming time trial, Denis Menchov leads the Giro d’Italia. Danilo Di Luca has been stomping and storming a bit himself, and he’s still second.
Levi Leipheimer has moved up into third, and the winner will come from this trio. There’s no one further down the list who has shown the dynamism needed to create big time gaps on the mountain stages later in the race. Di Luca is the only one who has looked like breaking up the field in the high mountains.
Sliding out of contention again in, but this time in a time trial, was Mick Rogers, the Australian former world time-trial champ. His ride was at least believable, in the same way as Cadel’s work each year in the Tour.
It’s so sad that any rider who seems to dominating all the others is suspected of being chemically enhanced.
At least Menchov and Leipheimer have had good form all season, and its no surprise that they are challenging for the win. Di Luca seems to me too strong to be true. I hope I’m wrong. I hope that not only does Di Luca never fail a drug test, but that he also hasn’t been taking banned substances. But 15 years of watching the pro peloton tells me otherwise.
Cannondale busted for not fitting a spoke protector disc
From Bicyling mag’s website: This Just In: The Roundup: Cannondale Issues ‘Six’ Recall.
“The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission announced that Cannondale is voluntarily recalling several of its “Six” elite road bike models because they do not meet federal safety standards …. Spoke protector discs, which are required on bicycles to prevent the chain from interfering or suddenly stopping the wheel, are missing from these bicycles, the CPSC reports. This poses a fall hazard to the rider. No accidents or injuries have been reported. The Commission recommends consumers immediately stop riding these bicycles and contact a Cannondale dealer for free repair.”
So every single rider I know who has owned a bike for more than a week has removed the spoke protector disc, which is a useless piece of plastic that performs no function on a modern bike.
In fact, I don’t think I’ve seen a high-end bike, road or MTB in a shop in the last couple of years that does have that disc. But apparently leaving it off the spec altogether is not permitted.
I love the two statements that follow in the quote above: “this poses a fall hazard … no accidents or injuries have been reported”. Hmm.
The South Bank 11 rides again
Photo: Les Hewett
If you use Roman numerals, it sounds like a cricket team: the South Bank XI.
If you spell it out, it might be a caper movie, with special effects & explosions & George Clooney & Brad Pitt: South Bank’s Eleven.
To the ears of some it has the ring of a group of accused persons (the Bali nine, the Guildford four): the South Bank 11.
So while it must be fairly obvious which of us would be played by Clooney when they make the movie, nonetheless I must insist that there were no Hollywood-style stars on this ride. It was a team effort, and the team consisted of 11 riders and 4 support crew.
The riders, in no particular order: Peter Ferguson, Peter Sullivan, Mick Goldspink, Sally Johannesen, Ernie Tye, Rob Wilson, Dean Winchester, Andrew Demack, Tim Slack, Noel Ashford and Bruce Lanham.
The crew: Jane Clarke, Barbara Miller, David Clarke and Les Hewett.
And the challenge: the 2009 Grafton to Inverell Cyclosportif. 225 km, 3800 metres of vertical ascent, one day’s riding.
Did it
Les took this photo of me while climbing on the Gibraltar Range, during the 2009 Grafton to Inverell Cyclosportif.
The ‘South Bank 11′ all finished. A great day out. I’ll have more to say about it later!
Nervousness
Tomorrow we have a team of 15 people (11 riders and four support crew) heading off to Grafton.
On Saturday we will ride the Grafton to Inverell cylosportif.
I hope we’re ready.
I hope I’ve remembered everything.
I hope I’ve trained enough.
I hope the weather’s kind.
I hope we all stay safe.
How can we sleep when our thighs are burning?
A tale from today: the Thighburner
All smiles on the Moggill Ferry, only 20km to go!
Stats that matter:
The group: Andrew, Les, Rob W, Mark, Ernie, Sally, Susie, Bruce L, Steven
Flats = 1
Crashes = 2
Thighs cramping = not really sure, but I heard a few groans around me on the last couple of hills
Pies consumed at Fernvale Bakery = once again, don’t really have a tally, but I’m pretty sure that after we left the bakery staff just closed up for the day and went home with smiles on their faces.
Stops for Rob W to take a leak = 18290347
Stops for the girls to use the facilities = none other than scheduled stops
Lance Armstrong: And good morning to you al …
Twitter / Lance Armstrong: And good morning to you al ….
G’day Lance. How did you sleep last night? Oh, that good.
Ryder H takes on Jonathon Vaughters
Garmin-Slipstream pro Ryder Hesjedal trains on the island of Maui, in Hawaii.
There’s a road which goes from sea level to 10,000 ft, a mountain called Haleakala. The road is 57km or so.
Ryder attempts to break the record for this climb, which, by an interesting quirk, is held by his team director at Garmin, former US pro Jonathon Vaughters.
Ryder Hesjedal :: Haleakala Attempt from Media One Multimedia on Vimeo.
I saw this on Velogogo. I like the way pro teams like Garmin are giving fans a bit of an inside peak into how riders prepare for racing. It’s all part of marketing the team these days. You gotta do Twitter / YouTube (or Vimeo, which is like YouTube but classy) / Facebook, the whole lot.
Mark Cavendish gears up
A new lean Mark Cavendish stepped into the dazzling Majorcan sunshine this weekend, negotiated his way through the mob of photographers that chronicle his every move and carefully adjusted his customised Oakley sunglasses before scanning the road ahead. Figuratively and metaphorically. He is ready for 2009. Bring it on.
via Mark Cavendish gears up for Tour de France – Telegraph.
Quite enjoyed this piece about the superstar young gun sprinter. He has the same “problem” that Australian pros have … the general public has less than no clue about bike racing.
Loved this quote:
“I’ve been back at home on the Isle of Man for most of the winter and, in fairness they get behind me there, but a lady came up to me in Tesco the other day and said ‘bad luck in the Tour de France.’” “Bad luck! I won four bloody stages in eight days. On the Tour de France against every single last one of the world’s greatest cyclists who were all riding flat out. Bad luck. I had to smile.”
Cycling and compassion
Choosing Compassion for Everyday Biking by Kristen Steele
via Cycling on the High Road | Momentum – The Magazine For Self Propelled People!.
Excellent article about how swallowing your pride and anger when you’re wronged by another vehicle is always the better way to go. I must admit that I find this difficult to do.
Here’s a taste:
Seeing the humanity in others is an essential part of cultivating compassion. Jay Ferm, a Madison WI cyclist, says that when he’s faced with a driver behaving badly he “imagines that perhaps they are rushing a kid to the doctor, or are late for a job interview.” He admits that at times he gets angry and, when he catches himself, remembers that he was once “an unconscious road user.”
This article quotes the Dalai Lama, and the Buddhist practice of mindfulness. I would claim empathy and compassion as Christ-like virtues as well.
Major religions of the world unite: cycling is the one true path to enlightenment!