220: The Shack and Other Interesting Tidbits.

I saw these photos of Mr. Armstrength yesterday on the Tracko blog. And they caught my eye because they mentioned the name of our good pal Mr. James Selman of Weights and Pulleys at the end. But there seemed to be a bit of a question as to whether or not this is the case...

But I figured that I should get to the bottom of the matter. Indeed James Selman of Weights & Pulleys was the go to guy for the retro Shack kit that that they are using solely during the Tour of Gila. This very obviously worked as a great spot for them to sell shitloads of Mellow Johnny's (also designed by Selman) kits after last years race (which they did) so why not come back this year with something fresh?


This makes perfect sense. And so does that use of Selman for the Design end of things. I mean, sure, they gave the old designers at Nike a chance and look what they came up with? The Mayor of Boresville called, they want their team kits back. Seriously. James gets it. Just forgo or bypass or whatever the eff you need to do to get straight to James next time.


Now, here is the thing that gets me. Take a look at the kits in the photo. I get that you want to stick with some old school Motorola/Brooklyn Chewing Gum Scenario with the black shorts. In fact, I think that is pretty awesome. But why not go all out. Why are these guys wearing some of the traditional MJ's stuff and some not? What is up with that? Why can't we get everyone on the same page?

Also, I recently heard this term "Deck" come into play. Its not a new term by any stretch of the imagination. Kyle Smith used it this past weekend in James Morrison's house and I immediately knew that it was Marketing speak for something, but not what.

As lady luck would have it, Dan Sharp got "a deck" later in the evening, so he was able to show it to me in entirety. Apparently, in the speak, "a deck" is simply the series of photos or a short brief, but its focus is entirely on inspiration (interestingly, Dan's Deck contained some of his own photos, which was weird, but I guess not unheard of.) So, armed with my new knowledge of the system I questioned James on his deck. Yes you read that right.


Turns out he really didn't have one, or it was too long to send, I can't remember. But he did send me some of his own personal inspiration images. And it is pretty easy to see how things got sweet relatively quickly on the MJ's team up end of things. Love the whole big bubbly font scenario going on there.

His statement on the design and inspiration of the kit went like this:

We wanted to originally do a more seasoned, fresh RetroShack kit for the original RS kit, so the Gila gave us an opportunity to try it out. Inspired by the late 70s early 80s era per the old RadioShack mark. And using the alt Mellow Johnny's mark we had done based on muscle cars with the old Trek mark – thought about using DATSUN and Blue Ribbon Sports, but thought best otherwise. With those components, I looked to DeWolf in Vermeer and then kits of sem France-Loire, Fiat, Raleigh Creda, DAF Cote D'Or and of course, RDV in Brookly. Found what worked within the color palette & the various brand(s) / architecture... Keep it simple.


My only other question is this.

Did Lance just name the newest addition to the family Cinco? Like Cinco Technology from Tim and Erik (trying to give you the benefit of the doubt) possibly he meant the powertap replacement bottom bracket thingie...

ps...did I mention that James also designed the new Rapha/Speedvagen kits that everyone saw at the Nahbs show in Richmond, VA. So good.

219: Riding...

I am not riding enough. My legs feel blurry. I like when these shots happen. Most of the time it is because my camera is permanently stuck on Macro (surprise) and I am trying to shoot something further away. But they still end up looking kind of interesting. As if the images were actually burned onto a negative somewhere. Which they are not.

At this point I could put up a bunch of photos about how much I have been riding, and with whom (and now that I mention it I probably will) but when I look at the photos it makes me feel like I have been riding enough, but I have not. Know how I know? Cannot sleep.

The riding on the East Coast seemed to start last week. Dan Sharp and I got in to "The City" as they say, and promptly went and picked up some bikes to ride. Simon went with us as well and we rode down the West Side Bike Highway.


Now, I have a tendency to get a little bit aggro. Or at least I always think that I am being overly aggressive, even when I do not know why. Maybe it has something to do with living on the East Coast for a number of years? You adapt. Like Ice-T did in that movie Surviving the Game. Remember that one? I sure do, because it was awesome. And that was me. Of course I have never been a homeless drunkard that turns into a deadly fighting machine, but there is still time for that.

And then got to Portland and went, "well, this is going to be easy." And it is. But it makes you just that oh so little bit softer. This is no more apparent then when some 80 year old lady with huge bags of feed (I have no idea what they were) cruises by the window of where you stand drinking Americano's (Quad.) That is when you realize that you have gotten soft. Or at least East Coast soft.

In any case, I had a good time pretending to ride bikes on the East Coast so far....Rich Bravo was certainly there. You could not miss him in that Pink Stowaway. Want. Seriously, the Rapha Racing NYC cats were out and all wearing them and the jealousy swelled up inside me. Like I had not felt before towards the pink one. Well, the jacket that is. Then it went away because the sun came out, but I am sure that it will be back.

Mr. Spriggs (the Fabs Shirt is DOPE) was there (in the Grey Stowaway) and Sam was there Hott, Hott Hotting it up on his Igleheart Conti bike. I drank some of Sam's Kelso Beer throughout the week, and in fact I have taken to asking for it. They do not have it every where, but they should know that they need to be supporting my friends if they do not have it.

We also rode the the Rapha Condor Sharp guys when we were there. One of these people is Kristian House. He rode his face off at Battenkill, crashed, and then rode some more. But before that happened, we rode through Central Park. I rode up next to him and said, "I'm going to take a picture of your ass now." His response was "Yeah, that's ok, people have been doing that all morning." Well, you know what, if my name was on the back of my shorts, I would roll around practically showing it to everyone. Someday.

Tom Southam was also there. He rode his bike too. If you have not seen the most recent Rouleur, you should check it out. He penned a nice essay about the Tour of Britain. Today, actually he told me the title of his book that he is writing. Dan and I mistook it for a sex shop that we thought he was opening, it is amazing what a colloquial difference can make. If you say something to me, and I do not respond for something like 10-20 seconds, I am processing. It is not your fault or mine, just something that is happening.

One of the best though? Dan Sharp. I know, you have heard it before. But he is absolutely KILLING it out here. I get a little camera shy even. Not me personally, my cameras. They do not feel as big enough, or cool enough around his Twin Murdered Out Cannon Mark 5D's. Twin meaning two, murdered out meaning black. Think about it.

And that is how it goes.

Next stop? Boston and then we do it again.

218: Battenkill, a Birds Eye View.

"Are you in a fucking helicopter?" I laughed when I read this text the other day. My worries that my tweets were not going through at this height were instantly dispelled.

How do I get myself into these situations? Well, I demand no less than a helicopter (Embro1) wherever I go, but this time around I had to settle for a L4 Piper airplane, otherwise known as the "Grasshopper." Kidding about the demanding thing, and if truth be told, for the sake of journalism I would think that truth is always told.

In any case, James and I were just about to take off to the start line when Dan Sharp aka Chris Milliman aka Dan Sharp (truth always told) came over to the car with a serious look on his face. "Anyone want to go up in an airplane?" he calmly stated as he leaned in the passenger side window. It was a serious look, but at the same time a little bemused at the situation. My gut reaction in situations like these, be it good or bad, is to say "yes, of course." For example, if Dan had come up to the car and said "We need someone to wrestle an alligator..." I will always be the first to raise my hand. It does not actually mean that I want to wrestle an alligator, it is probably just some knee jerk reaction to being left out of middle school sports, a deeply embedded reaction to being left out of the action.

So, when Dan gives me that stern look that he does, with one eyebrow raised that says "I think we are going to need someone to do this..." of course I say yes. I did not even think beyond the fact that this was something close to my civic duty to god and country. I would be going up in this plane.


From that point on everything happened with such a timed efficiency as to not sway my abrupt decision. Had there been just a moments worth of stall, just a minute of lag-time and surely I would have begged off. Quite possibly Mr. Sweeney knew this from the get go (was it possible that I was visually nervous?) because he kept up quite a banter about how he came to be in love with flying, how the plane worked and all that. He did a good job of keeping it up, because if I had time to get a word in edgewise I might have actually backed out. Especially after seeing the plane that I was about to get into.


We drove out to the airport. If that is what you would call this one-windsock little strip of grass on the edge of town, to see Mr. Rich Sweeney's L4 "Grasshopper." Not only was this machine completely restored by Mr. Sweeney himself but it did look to be in complete and working order, and was utterly spotless to boot. The working order on one of these quaint little birds of flight contains no real electronic hardware anyway, so I figured that we would be fine. (WTF?) And anyway, this guy Rich has been doing this for something like "a long time" which was his stock answer to my continual badgering. "Don't you worry about that," was another "you just worry about how to fly this thing if for some reason I can't once we are up there." Oh, ok, well, thanks for that.

I clambered aboard the plane and was seated in front. Which, looking back on it how was probably the best spot to be, because again, if I had to see with what simple knobs and pulleys that Rich was flying this plane, I might have backed out.

In a manner of seconds we were up off the ground and moving away from the airstrip. The whole valley opened beneath us. A spotted treeline became a huge maze of simple looking pinecones at that height. Cell phone towers became toothpicks and cars on the road simple ants moving slowly towards their desired destinations. Now all of this is not out of the ordinary in any aviation situation. A jetliner (do they still call them that) or your common passenger bus plane will give the same effect. But what is lost there, that certainly was not here, was the immediacy of everything. Not only did I have a simple door made out of chromoly tubing with some kind of wind fairing on it, but it was only latched shut by the top portion of the window. In other words the only thing separating me from the outside world was a thin sheet of sheet metal.

Maybe not something that I would recommend for everyone, but certainly quite an experience. To see more of the Aerial photos check out the Rapha Blog.

Hans Poot, Peter Rubijono, these are all for you. I was thinking about you the whole time. You would have loved it, and I am not going to lie, it also kept me from being scared out of my freaking mind. Whew. Thanks for that. And a big thanks to Mr. Sweeney, who's straight up passion for flying was the only reason that this happened.

217: Its a Love Hate Thing.

My brain fucking hurts and I just ate a whole bag of licorice. Some days that is how things go. You know the ones, where everything seems to be going along so well, you are about to take a European Busman's Holiday. And Bam! Like an untimely Volcano erupting, your head explodes. However, I'm not going to let this just up and turn into one of "those days." Too easy, and I have my eye on you brain hurt. And besides, the world looks like it is about to come to an end anyway, what kind of problems could I really have?

Ok, I do have one. I can hear people having sex down the hall. And not the kind of sex that makes you sort of cock your head and listen a little longer than you should. Also not the kind of sex that would make you stop in the hallway of the hotel and tense up and listen. This sounds like grunting, sweaty, traveling salesman sex. Which I am guessing it is.

I love New York City, Oh yeah, New York City. Andrew W.K. could not have been more right. The town is easy to love and easy to get really annoyed with really quickly. That must be what happens when you jam that many people onto an island and hope for the best? You get the crazies along with the not so crazies.


Signature Cycles let me borrow an Ellium Race. Nice little bike there. And when I say little, I do mean little, it was smaller than what I am used to riding, but it gave me the chance to think about fit a little more than usual. Molly, Zac (CBS) and I discussed quite a bit of fit questions a couple weeks ago in Seattle and it was fun to think about them in the context of another bike. Or were we discussing the newest Bounce Society video? Can't remember.

And Paul Levine, from Signature is one of the guys who has pioneered, or at the very least, greatly helped advance the conversation of fit in the bicycle arena, so it is always good to hang around there, have a look and listen to what is going on. Grant showed me one of the most mind blowing commuter bicycles I have ever seen.


And these are all the reasons why I love visiting New York City. Even though I feel a bit more comfortable in a town like Boston, it is still a little tame when it comes to the drama. Maybe there is not a great enough mixture of things in Boston. Wheras in NYC it is not uncommon to talk to people about Bicycle Fit one minute and the next find yourself awoken in the middle of the night to the sound of a woman screaming bloody murder. And I am not talking about funny bloody murder, I am talking about someone by themselves screaming at the top of their lungs. A wild beast with no friends to impress. Only sadness and rage to expel. I covered myself with my blanket and tried not to think of a Medusa head floating outside the door to my room.

And then, juxtapose (not the magazine Lance) that with being up at 5:00 am to ride around town with a bunch of skinnier-than-thou professional cyclists from England and you might start to see what I am talking about. It was great to ride through Central Park (never done that before) and ride up next to James Nord along the way. I had seen his tumblr through Velogogo, which is one that I like very much. And then when you are riding along next to someone and look over and go No shit, that's the guy that geeks out on bikes via the interwebs like myself. We talked for a little bit about those same interwebs and also about just how fucking skinny the ankles of all the Rapha Condor Sharp guys really are. Like it makes you feel kind of pervy and weird to not only look at them, but comment on them as well, but still it was really funny..


Dan Sharp and I are officially on the road with this trip. You can see some of our adventures over on the Rapha Blog. And Damn if he doesn't Hot It Up with the Camera these days. We have been getting each other pumped and stoked and all that neat stuff that you do on the West Coast for weeks. But now that Mount Vesuvius Part 2: The Reckoning is taking place, that might not actually be the case. Our flight over to see Fleche Wallone has officially been canceled until further notice.

Maybe some other sort of trip is in the works if that will not work out? East Coast Bike Tour? I mean I was really hoping for the sunny shores of Belgium, so what would be second on that list? Seriously, ideas? I thought about saying, you know what, I'm going to wait, I'm going to wait a bit and then go to the tour or something to that effect, but then I realized, I do not want to see the Tour. But I do want to see Fleche Wallone and LBL. (ok, I do want to see the Tour as well...damn, it is such a hard line to walk - enthusiasm is)


PS - whomever sent over the below photo is awesome. I could not put the whole thing up because it is owned and shot by my hero Terry Richardson, but you can look at the whole thing HERE. And you should. Over and Over and Over again. The other Fabs. What a guy.

216: I Heart RBX

Last Years Paris-Roubaix

I walked down the street today. My legs felt like someone hit them with a baseball bat. Not a really smashing blow or anything like that, just one good solid whack to each quad. Maybe with the added bonus of a punch to the middle of the calf - for good measure. However frightful this might sound though, it is not.

It happens mostly when you start out walking. Each and every curb that you step up, or down, feels like one of those awkward super high, or super low curbs. The ones that you feel like you should sort of jump off of, but feel ridiculous doing. Except that they are not those curbs. They are just regular curbs. Maybe it has something to do with the motion of riding? As soon as you swing your leg off the bike that fluid motion that has been a part of your body for the past few hours now becomes a series of broken and jerky movements.

The one thing that it does well is that it slows you down. Or in this case it slows me down. Yeah, yeah, stop and smell the flowers or something to that effect. However I always see or hear something that I never expect. For example, on the way down the street today: I heard the window slide open before I heard the women speak, before I saw her leaning out the window. She was very large and very black, but the words that came out of her mouth left me chuckling to myself for another two blocks. "Romeo! Rooo - Meee - Ohhhh! God damn it, where is shit is that boy when I need him." Eat it Shakespeare.

King Kong.

We rode the King Kong RBX this weekend. That is to say the Paris-Roubaix version of the King Kong Classic. This ride could, or might have been appropriated from its original intent. I would like to think not, but the possibility always exists. Hopefully we can keep it up as a sort of monthly ride (I really just like it as an excuse to try and design another funny flier). Although the very nature of the ride makes it worth getting together.

See the photo below? Does that not look like Roubaix? Ok, so maybe it does not, but the ditch looks a little like it... see the comparison? Well, Chris Milliman sent over some photos for me again. Love that guy. I have seen him in action a few times (Rapha, Ibex, Serrotta, Various and Sundry Cycling Events) but this one, where all he did was shoot photos of handsome looking Italian men. Well, that was pretty awesome to see...

Ditch - King Kong Classic 2010 Edition

Ditch - Paris-Roubaix, 2009 Edition

About to be Ditched - Paris-Roubaix, 2010 Edition

Photo by Chris Milliman

I rode this morning before I got to see the actual coverage from the race. Apparently the Verzus does not want you to watch their coverage either. Wow, never is it more apparent that they are not cyclists, or care about cycling, than when they cut to ads in the middle of THE decisive move of the day (week? year?), and then come back to the race after it has already happened. Yeah, I get it (you told me on twitter) you did cover the move. But eff that, I want to see what happened right up until the moment that the move was made.

No big deal, we can find it on the internet. Besides, the race happened hours ago, so don't you guys think that you could go back and make sure that we get to see the important moves? I just do not like to see people worry about these things. I want all the angles covered, so to speak.

Worry Not Weaver, You Do Indeed have the best Kit - King Kong Classic, 2010 Edition

Don't worry Dusty Chimp, you'll get it next year- Paris-Roubaix, 2009 Edition

You Just Finished and that is Fucking Amazing - Paris-Roubaix, 2010 Edition
(but the cobbles look to have jostled the Bell logo on your helmet)

Photo by Chris Milliman

The one thing that I was bummed to have missed (its Tax time what would you have me do?) is to have played Cyclocosm's game Paris-Roubino. Both BKW and B.Strickland sent over quotes for me to put together into a document. Maybe I will get to that in the next day or so (Better late than never??) but there were some really great ones on Cyclocosm as well. Wonder who won? Probably not Hincapie.

I am purposefully glossing over a few things that happened around the world this past weekend and I'm hoping for more answers as we move into the next few days. One of my favorite cyclists and member of the Embrocation Road Race team Colin Holmes Murphy went down hard at the Battenkill (a few broken ribs and a partially collapsed lung? fucking OW!)...think good thoughts think good thoughts...we are here for you my man.

215: On Battenkill, PR and other such things.

It amazes me how much people geek out about the Classics, the Monuments, these early season races that somehow do not compare to anything else all year. It is No Joke. I do it too.

It is like the Super Bowl every weekend. No big deal. But speaking of the super bowl, good luck to everyone at Battenkill. Seriously. Harness your power animal, or whatever it takes and just effing go for it (power animal suggestions - Pink Hawk, Dolphin, Cougar, Honey Badger, Mountain Goat, Bunny Rabbit, and Marshmallow Peep).

There is also another big one this weekend in terms of the UCI world of cycling*. Who is it going to be? Can Cancellara do it again? You want to say probably not, if we are just basing things on odds. But there is more magic and mystery to these things than even I understand. What happens if these two babyfaced teens have to battle it out once again?

1. Pippo 2. Cancellara 3. Boonen (just a guess).


Found that via a pretty concise little write up about our man Cancel via Pez. It is worth a perusal if only for the photos of the man in Mapei kit (but the write up is a great overview of his already amazing career). Although I would venture that pretty much anyone in Mapei kit is bad ass. I guess that is the way to combat a particularly hideous cycling kit. Make sure that everyone riding in it be unmistakably BAD ASS that way your strange looking kit supported by an adhesive company get the recognition they deserve and thereby making your obnoxious clothing associated with "the cool." Either way, it works.


But this was today.

Chris Milliman Photography

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Riding
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There is some fun riding planned for this weekend as well. Kings Valley tomorrow and then another one of these King Kong Classic thingamajobies. Hopefully the weather either holds or is really shit. Could be either. Could be fun either way.

Also got a sweet snapshot of Joe out riding his fully built, fully awesome Ridley Helium at PIR earlier this week. Thought you might like this one. I am hoping that there will be some photos coming in from Battenkill because last I heard this morning there are something like 8 Embrocation riders in the CAT2 Field. Shite.

Also, check out the finishing tape that we have been working on. Now everyone can "finish off" their handlebars with a little bit of "embrocation" if you know what I mean. Wait, what?



Secret Tip #23: Follow Bill Strickland on Twitter for some up to date Roubaix coverage. I know that last year he talked about doing a live twitter feed through the entirety of the race. And if I know him he is going to have the best seat in the house (in a Press Car with the best driver in the World James Startt) That is all...

214: Hot Damn!

I am sure you have seen this video already, but what about the one above? I never wake up in the middle of the night thinking that I am the first one to have found a video on the internet. However, I had a completely different sentence queued up for a completely separate video and then I found the Merkin one. Pangs of jealousy sweep over me when I watch these guys shred. But the best part is, that I found the above video as I was writing this and it made me forget about the jealousy and just be happy. And then it made me happier when I saw the Embrocation Tshirt in there. Hot damn! It was like Christmas happy (not mine, yours, I make sure that my Christmas' are painfully unhappy as to balance out the world for you.)

I knew I should have ridden more dirt drop in high school instead of the local root strew cow paths that Southwestern Wisco had to offer. Dammit!

Ok, here is a another video and then we're moving on...



Carey SH pointed this one out to me when I was doing a write up on the Gucci-like SRAM Force (what would Red be? D&G?) that we are putting on our Conti bikes. The short little piece shot and edited by Dave Christenson is pretty amazing, but then again, for those of you who know Chad, well, he's pretty amazing.

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What Else?
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What's New BQ had another interesting one today with his post "Surrogate Belgium." I like it when he says "Sneer as they may, I know I could drop every last one of those fuckers (who doesn't have the same thought?)" Are you with me Surrogate Cyclists? We can do this! Overthrow these....these... fuckers....these who call themselves the modern day bastions of cycling. (insert giggle — you were giggling when you wrote that right BQ?)

Now, I can take a practical joke just like the rest of you, and I certainly have the loveliest of lovely relationships with our voluptuous (purposeful insertion) vixen Hyperbole, so if the joke is on me, well then so be it. But really? Every last one of those fuckers? (Wait, am I one of those "Fuckers"??) Now, I have ridden many a times with my good pal Ben Lieberson (who, coincidentally is all over the new catalog) and I would bet nearly anything that you, BQ, would not be able to drop my pal Ben*.

You know why? Because he has nothing to lose for one. And two he really, really, really likes riding his bikes. And last because he's the fastest "fucker" on a bike that I have ever met. Ok, well, I met Lance Armstrong once, but still, you get my hyperbolic reaction here right?

God, this almost feels like one of those old timey Duel things. If only I had a Leather Town Glove within reach I would strike you across the face, bite my thumb at you, and then politely advise you to attend our next Gentleman's Race. Sigh. But I know you would never show.

Or would you?

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What Else? Part Two: More Real Humor Please
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213: Clash of the Titans

Photo by Chris Milliman

There really is not much to say when, seated I might add, Mr. Cancellara straight up CANCELS all the odds that Tom B. is going to win at today's Ronde van Vlaanderen. I keep hearing "Seated Till April, Seated Till April" while watching that move over and over. Even though it was not so much of a move as it was as that Cancellara was seeing different lines than Boonen.

If this is any indication of that, well, Cancel is going to crush a few more hopes this spring.

That familiarly disheartening sheepish look that some of the cyclists took on as they dismounted their bicycles (Devolder's was particularly heartbreaking) left me in amazement over what happens lest you miss that winning break. This will be an all to familiar sight to those riders next weekend at Battenkill that do not make it over the top of that dirt climb in the front. I am in no way bragging and was thankful to make it there last year after missing it on the previous two attempts. Godspeed to the throngs that will partake.

Looking back through this time last year brings up more than a few memories of the bleak landscape (not Battenkill, Belgium). The bars, all smelling the same with cigarettes, spilled beer, and possibly the scent of windburned skin, if there is such a thing.

Belgium — Part Two: Entry One
April 3, 2009

In any case I missed that God forsaken land so much I thought I should go back. D. Sharp and I just bought our tickets to check out the Fléche Wallone, and LBL. Sure, sure we are going to miss next weekends Monument Roubaix, but this way it ensures that we get to see two new ones in quick succession.

This will be the one (similar to last year) in which we explore the country that has produced some of the best cyclists ever to have lived. You could go straight to the top of that list (Merckx) or just jump around however you like (the immortalized Vandenbroucke, or the DeVlamaenek's, as well their contemporaries Boonen, Devolder). I was reminded of this train stop when reading Bill's new book. He takes a page (just one, and he does it so well) to describe the effect of Merckx on the cycling world this is near the end of the page by the way, after the description linking the Grand Tours to the Super Bowl and World Series.

"In his peak years he was victorious in one-third of all the races he entered, an unheard-of and still unmatched ration in a sport in which four of five wins a year make a rider one of the best there is. It's no stretch to argue that this cyclist ruled his sport in a way Michael Jordan and Roger Federer combined don't equal. For all of this, Eddy Merckx had a subway stop named after him." (Pg 14 — Tour de Lance )

All just background for the conversation on Lance though. You know, the one that you had today with your buddies while you were punching each other in the arm and rooting for Cancellara and Tornado Tom at the same time. Shouting out "no! Yessss!" and not really caring because either of those two winning makes you happy. Although, it helps with the 'putting him into context' part, if you will.

I guess it works because no one can mention anything about Professional Cycling these days without muttering Lance Armstrong under their breath. The tough thing is not knowing. Not knowing why you are muttering his name, not knowing why you hate him, or love him, only knowing that apparently both of these emotions can exist at the same time. Hence, the mutter.

Photo by Chris Milliman

Well, Milliman also captured one of Lance today. And whatever you do, Lance, to maintain that hawkish look of determination, well, you just keep on doing that one as long as you can. Only, at some point you are going to have to lose the bib-extensions, because they just look ridiculous and out of place in contrast to the graceful-yet-forceful pushiness of the Belgian landscape. You might be able to get away with that in the Tour, but not here.

Although at the same time it is comforting to be reminded that he gets covered in the same shit and grime that the rest of them do. Or, rather, that he is getting covered in that shit this year, for a change. What tactic is this Mr. Armstrong? What secrets do you hold in store for us as the year progresses (see, there I go talking about him again.)

"We pass Menchov, who's been dropped. Bruyneel looks out at him and says, "Menchov." A pause. "That's Menchov there." There's Both awe and regret in his voice, as if we're driving by a dying lion our safari party shot. Saxo goes to the front and jumps the pace, and the gap to the break comes down to about 3 minutes. Up ahead , the break is splintering under its own attacks." (Pg — 251 Tour de Lance)

Not really sure what the above quote has to do with the events that unfolded today although reading it out loud to Kyle and Molly seemed like the right thing to do this evening. And when you say something out loud it sounded a little more right than when I just typed the words. Menchov was not there but the the dying lion surely was. No matter who you decide to give that moniker to. This thought, that not only was the dying lion part of the mis-en-scene but was also somehow caused by the whole heaving throng that was cannot be escaped.

It is going to be a good year, or at the very least, interesting.

212: Ride Studio Cafe.

Has anyone been in to see this Ride Studio Cafe? What can you tell me about this place? I saw some "leaked" photos from their opening this past weekend. Marty - I know you were there, (and this is where I pull you aside) How was it? Seriously, this is the concept that we have all talked about, the perfect combination of nice bikes and...say it... coffee. I know that there is one such cafe somewhere in Florida, but have never been there.

Alex Whitmore of Taza Chocolate told me about it a couple years ago. But, then my mother met the owners mother in Arkansas some where. That is where the story gets a little muddled, as I cannot remember the name, and we should not dwell too much on these details. Juan Pelota, that is another one of these such things.

I have been to that one and I will tell it to you straight. The combination of shopping and coffee is deadly to say the least. How apt was I to sit down and peruse every pair of Sidi's that were in stock merely because the coffee was hot and fresh and good? Very. Cannot wait to go back to Austin and cannot wait to check out The Ride Cafe.

Which, if you are not up to your neck in runoff you should head over and check out tomorrow night. Seven is donating a whole frigging bike. Which is pretty awesome. I did get to see Mo's bike earlier this year when she was out here for Nationals. I saw it a few times, but the only time that I got to sit down with it was actually the day of the race. You can find that here if you are interested.


There will also be some Embrocation action in the midst. Mo's part time husband and full time mechanic, (or is it the other way around?) Matt Roy wrote a nice little essay for Embrocation Volume5 this time around. "The MM Racing Service Course is an ever changing fusion of ideas, observations and tricks that I've picked up along the way." How can you argue with that logic?

And speaking of bicycles. Steve Francisco send over a few photos of his Ridley all built. Shit, that is a good looking bike, but you know what would make that bike look really good? Well besides Steve that is? Embrocation Decals.

You know, give it a few bits of Flare, not that it needs it. But the Lion of Flanders seems pretty fitting (for when Kim Kirchen wins this weekend that is.) My money is on either Cancellara or Kirchen. The Big One because I think that for some reason the Swiss rider just wants to win this race, and that is enough for me. And that little chain episode from last year better not happen again...because then he will be really pissed. And Kirchen? Just because I want him to win....that is all.


In Other News:
Not to worry if you cannot make it out to tomorrow night. I cannot because I do not live anywhere near the BoLex (that's Boston/Lexington) area. Though fear not, because if you can't make it, there are other options. One of those options would be to stay in and watch a movie. Oh, what is that? You want a suggestion?

I think that Birdedemic should do the trick for you. The whole catalog at Severin Films is at least worth a perusal.