House of Pain.... Its All In The Name!

I was on the front doing about 25mph 1/3 of the way up Collier Canyon when a motorist decided to tango with our group. The driver of the vehicle (Ford) actually swerved aggressively in front of me and the rest of the pack missing us by a mere 15-20'. He was doing about 40+ mph when he swerved to the right from the opposite lane of traffic. He nearly lost control of his vehicle as it slid from left to right across the road right in front of us.

His move was so sudden and abrupt that I and one other rider had no choice but to swerve to our left into oncoming traffic to avoid hitting him. As we passed him he jumped out of his car, by first throwing open his door in an attempt to hit anyone nearby. He then began yelling, "You guys need to get off of this road." He was immediately swarmed and confronted by 20+ riders with elevated heart rates and a strong distaste for life-threatening moves such as this.

The drivers keys were removed from the ignition of the running vehicle against his will. This was a move to disarm the assailant of his weapon. The drive (Matt?) was obviously and rightfully fearful for his own personal safety as evidenced by his changed attitude. He was very compliant with our request to keep quite and refrain for further stupidity. The hood of his vehicle was bashed in a cocktail of fluids dressed his hood and we rode off to complete the climb, his keys still in our possession.

The cops were called and the episode ended with an, "us versus them" mentality between the automobile bearing officers and the Collier Canyon claim holders. Our wit and presence certainly will not be forgotten by this young man. (idiot of a man really, I mean who tries to take on the likes of Ken Carpenter, Paul Taylor and other very strong willed accomplished athletes?)

Just before we rode off JD of Morgan Stanley so eloquently and clearly espoused to one of the four CHP officers on the scene that, "[officer] we depend on you to protect us and keep us safe from events such as these, that is why we called you. If we can't count on you we will have to protect ourselves."

Lance Armstrong: Shockwave reaches the Common-man

Oh Lance.......

Slip on in- The Air is Just Fine....

Set-up


Estimated Ave CdA (m^2)


Speed (km/h)


Power (W)

Tarmac SL2 | Road Helmet | Drop bars


0.310


40.10


306.6

Tarmac SL2 | Road Helmet | Clip-on aerobars


0.267


40.27


268.6

Tarmac SL2 | TT2 Helmet | Clip-on aerobars


0.256


40.38


261.0

Transition | Road Helmet | Aerobars


0.265


40.17


262.9

Transition | TT2 Helmet | Aerobars


0.230


40.05


229.0

Better ride 100+ miles this thurs.........

Average Thanksgiving Meal Equals 3,000 Calories and 229 Grams of Fat

Thanksgiving is a holiday full of tradition, indulgence and, regrettably, extra pounds! Is there a way to stay fit and still enjoy the turkey feast? The American Council on Exercise (ACE), America’s non-profit fitness advocate, suggests a balance between committing to a fitness regimen and limited caloric intake over several days to stay healthy and trim through the holidays.

“A 160 lb. person would have to run at a moderate pace for four hours, swim for five hours or walk 30 miles to burn off a 3,000-calorie Thanksgiving Day meal,” said Dr. Cedric Bryant, ACE chief exercise physiologist. “Many people start by snacking throughout the day and that combined with the meal can lead to a total caloric intake of 4,500. All holiday delicacies can be enjoyed so long as they’re eaten in moderation and combined with a proper exercise plan.”

Tips to Stay Fit

• You can make up for a feast of rich, higher-fat foods with lighter, lower-fat meals for the next couple of days. Plan for the big meal that day with a low-calorie, low-fat breakfast and lunch. Never skip meals, just limit them.
• Look back and assess your diet over the past few days by recording your caloric intake with a food diary. Have you been over-indulging at recent party feasts? Are there additional celebrations looming? Try eating sensibly in order to afford the extra calories come meal time.
• Don’t panic or feel guilty if your diet seems to have gotten out of hand. When you balance your intake over several days, you have ample time to regain control.
• Make physical activity a regular habit. Beyond burning calories, exercise is essential for good health, stress management (oftentimes a challenge during the busy holiday season) and overall well-being.
• Working out consistently will help jump-start your metabolism allowing you to burn more of those calories from your holiday binge.
• Have a salad, light soup or some fruit and veggies before leaving home or prior to your meal. This way you will feel fuller and less likely to overeat.
• Select only your favorite foods at a holiday buffet and let other guests enjoy traditional fare like nuts, rolls and sweet potatoes.
• Practice portion control. A smaller serving of the real thing can be very satisfying and calorie-trimming.

Hit-N-Run, You should rot in hell for this!

PST PORT COSTA -- A bicyclist who was struck and killed Monday evening by a hit-and-run driver on a rural road in northern Contra Costa County was a longtime electrician for The Chronicle who had taken up riding to spend more time with his sons, relatives and colleagues said.

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Mark Pendleton, 49, of Martinez was struck around 5 p.m. while riding south on McEwen Road near Highway 4 south of Port Costa. A northbound vehicle apparently crossed over the center line and hit him, said Officer Scott Yox of the California Highway Patrol.

Pendleton, an avid cyclist and a member of the Wells Fargo racing team, was returning home on the two-lane road from a training ride. Darkness had already fallen and Pendleton was not using lights or reflectors at the time of the accident. He died at the scene and his bicycle was destroyed.

From debris found at the scene, officers said the car that hit Pendleton may have been dark in color, and the crash apparently broke a headlight or turn signal. Anyone with information should call the CHP at (925) 646-4980.

From 1994 until 2007, Pendleton worked as an electrical foreman at the main Chronicle building at Fifth and Mission streets in San Francisco, in addition to outlying printing plants.

His friends remembered him as a dedicated craftsman who was an expert in the electronic devices throughout the newspaper building, particularly the microwave transmission system that connects the editorial offices to its printing plants.

"He could do anything, and he did it with gusto," recalled a friend and colleague, John Elliott. "He was good at everything around here."

Pendleton, his friend recalled, was a trim, athletic man who took his cycling seriously. He was always in training, and he ordered his morning bagel without butter or spreads and his club sandwiches without mayonnaise.

He was in the habit of drilling small holes into the chainrings of his carbon fiber bicycle to reduce their weight and lighten, even infinitesimally, his load.

Pendleton was a native of San Pablo and a graduate of Pinole Valley High School and of UC Berkeley. He was a longtime volunteer with Community Bible Church of Vallejo, leading camping trips and Bible study groups for young people.

He took up cycling to spend time with his younger son, John Mark, whose doctor recommended bicycling following a knee injury. With his older son, Paul, the three would compete in local amateur races.

Earlier this year, he began riding with his wife, Denise. She took a liking to the sport after picking out a heavy yellow beach cruiser - the opposite of her husband's sleek road bikes. But, she recalled, he didn't care what kind of bike she rode, or how fast she rode it.

"He'd pick out flat routes and stay right with me, the whole time," she said. "He'd never leave my side."

Pendleton is survived by his wife and his sons. Funeral arrangements are pending.

E-mail Steve Rubenstein at srubenstein@sfchronicle.com.

E-Motion Floating Roller Bike Trainer

Sent in from BBI

You, BITCH!

By Emily Katseanes
Tuesday, Nov. 18, 2008 @ 12:38 am

Emily Katseanes

I’m a nice person. I just have one teensy problem. It’s something my mom’s harangued me about for years. She calls it “a lack of compassion.”

It’s not a lack of compassion. My problem is that I have problems. I live in a world so anti-Disney, I practically hate everything. And while this is not a sad situation for me, it does create whirlpools of hate so large they generate their own gravitational fields. And this week, I’m getting sucked into a vortex called “biking culture sucks.”

I’m sick of hearing bikers proselytize their hobby like it’s a religion. Hobbies do not make you a better person on the whole. They make you happy, so everyone else finds you manageable. I hate biking and am sick of people looking at me like I have spiders crawling out of my ears every time I say it. This is a hate born of cool, collected reason and an intense scrutiny of the geared culture.

One of the biggest reasons people embrace biking is to save the environment. This is crap. The environment has always been a problem. People just ignored it until celebrities started endorsing climate change charities. It made climate change the issue du jour (like autism was a few years ago) and when a new “cause” becomes cool, bikes will be left curbside like Christmas trees.

Although I’m glad biking helps some people keep pacemakers out of their chests, I’m not slipping onto Satan’s cycle for that argument either. I was at my physical peak twice in my lifetime. The first time, I regularly and voluntarily ran for several miles a day in high school. The second time, my sophomore year in college, I did several hours of yoga every day. Both times, I had the endurance and energy of a toddler and could bend in all sorts of unnatural ways. However, I was also smoking a pack a week and lived off Twinkies, French fries and Pabst.

Nowadays, I’ve given up smoking and exercising and try to fit green things in my diet. Overall, I feel healthier now than when I had to start my day with a cancer stick and some frosting. So, biking will not make me fitter, happier and more productive. It will make me one of the late, sweaty kids in class with no books and pegged pants. And I’ll probably be so pissed at that state of events, I’d start smoking again.

But by far, my biggest problem with bikers is when they act as though the laws of physics, common decency and the judicial system don’t apply to them. The rest of the world has to choose to be either a pedestrian or a car, but bikers think they can be both.

They think it’s acceptable to leap from sidewalks to car lanes and then go five miles per hour. It’s cool to ignore stop lights, street signs and hand signals. And if a biker runs into a pedestrian or a car, it’ll be like a videogame and the obstacle will disappear in a puff of mist. This is completely untrue and, for a pedestrian or a car, these shenanigans would result in being flipped off, run over and maimed. It’s time for bikers to join the real world and pick a side: stay on the sidewalk or go the speed limit.

I’m not just spouting bile. Bikers are clearly a danger to pedestrians, drivers, smokers, drinkers and people who take climate change seriously and not just as the latest trend. It’s time to unite against the wheel and turn that stinky, sweaty kid in class into the social pariah that he should be. Sweat is never an acceptable aura and biking is not an acceptable behavior.

Emily Katseanes can be reached at editor@nevadasagebrush.com. Now you can write her and let her know what you think, or take her on a "Gang Date"

BBI has a Brand New Bag.....

The next way for him to break himself!

Go JLaine!

The River Ride Bites Another......

Steve Rex, a highly regarded custom bicycle builder, remained hospitalized Monday following surgery to repair a broken hip he suffered in a high-speed crash during a training ride in Sacramento.

Rex, who was wearing a helmet for the ride, is also expected to have surgery on an elbow that was fractured in the crash.

Rex Cycles in midtown Sacramento will remain open while its owner is in the hospital. His two bicycle mechanics will continue with repairs, and Rex says the business will shift focus to selling the factory-made bikes he stocks until he is able to begin building the custom frames again.

The cycling accident occurred toward the end of a training ride involving 40 to 50 competitive cyclists. The ride, which has for years departed Saturdays at 10 a.m., is commonly called "The River Ride" and features sustained speeds of 25 to 30 mph for 40 miles.

Toward the end of the ride Saturday, Rex, a seasoned long-distance rider and racer, was traveling in a pack of cyclists at 30 mph. Two riders in front of him touched wheels and crashed, sending Rex crashing over the top of them.

"I don't know if I went unconscious from hitting my head or from the pain," said Rex, while resting Monday in his room at the University of California, Davis, Medical Center.

Since he opened his business in 1987, Rex has developed a national reputation as a master bike frame builder. He has built some 2,000 frames, measuring, cutting and welding the tubes fit to each customer.

Working alone in his midtown shop, Rex takes four to five months to complete each frame. Most of the custom bikes are made of lightweight steel, some with a mix of carbon fiber tubing.

Rex's wife, Peggy, said the surgery on her husband's hip included inserting a large plate into his left femur and attaching it to the bone with three screws.

The two cyclists who crashed in front of him Saturday were apparently not seriously injured and were on their feet when he was taken to the hospital, Rex said.

Us Defined....

Sent in from Nick:

A typical PRO road team requires a lot of stuff, from bikes and wheels to kits and food. A well-funded team receives this by the truckload early in the season: shelves stocked, bikes built, tires glued, and kits disseminated. For the entire season, inventories of gear are kept in some nondescript, bunker-like warehouse on the edge of town. This is known as the Service Course.

When the team travels to races, the trip begins by backing trucks and team cars up to the Service Course to load up gear before rolling out in search of a victory. When in the field, team trucks and buses serve as the rolling Service Course and small parts, pressure washers, vices, grinding wheels, spare parts, spare frames, and spare kits all have a home in the organized and spotless rolling team shop.

But what about the small time team, or the independent rider? Anyone who has ever traveled to a race or even traveled to merely ride knows that the rental car and the hotel room are the Service Course. If hotel management ever knew just how resourceful bike racers are, they would ban us like pets and rock stars.

I have built bikes, rebuilt BBs, mixed bottles, glued tubulars, done laundry, cooked for a crew of 10, and hosted post-race parties all from the confines of team HQ - the hotel.

The hotel room is your sanctuary, your temple for the pre-race prep. Ride the rollers, hang your freshly washed kits in the window, and wash the nasty bike that just endured a warm-up of torrential rain and toothpaste-thick mud. Wheels off, bike on the fork tips, shower on: done... then try to get the big chunks to go down the drain. Gear bags and travel cases stack up in the room's corners like freight containers at port; horizontal surfaces become home to the grocery and messenger bags containing the personal items that help us adhere to the pre-race rituals, attempting to bring the comfort that comes from routine.

Like many of you, I seek out the extended stay types with a fridge, microwave, stove, and often, a common living room area with a couch. The added space is always in-demand and offering up the couch helps out a mate and can offset the travel expenses.

Having a PRO bus and support staff would be ideal, but for those of us who live the dream at our own expense, the hotel room is our beacon in foreign cities and a warm embrace during the cold cyclocross months.

So now you know- SC

Eat a Peach..... sad but true...

Tour de Georgia off for 2009

The Tour de Georgia has been called off for 2009, with organisers citing 'tough' economic times as the reason. The race's future had been in doubt, but Georgia is not ready to give up on the Tour. The state's Lieutenant Governor Casey Cagle said that they will use next year to focus on getting the race back on the road for 2010. Cagle, who serves as chairman of the race's board of directors, said this decision will strengthen the race in for future.

Race organisers confirmed the decision with a statement on Friday, which emphasized the event's importance to the state and its intention to return. "Over the course of six years, the Tour de Georgia has attracted 3.2 million spectators, many of whom traveled to Georgia from out of state, and generated a direct economic impact totaling over $186 million. The 2008 Tour de Georgia, our most successful Tour yet, yielded over $38.6 million in direct economic impact for the State," the statement read.

USA Cycling's CEO Steve Johnson expressed his disappointment that the race would be cancelled for next year, and underlined the importance it had for the sport. "Since its inception in 2003, the Tour de Georgia has been an important international stage race featuring some of the top riders in the world. Equally important, it provided the impetus for major stage races in California and Missouri," he stated.

The Tour de Georgia, which began in 2003, has had difficulty with its finances despite providing a strong positive economic impact on the state. It struggled to make ends meet in 2007, and was only held after the the state of Georgia stepped in with financing.

In 2008, AT&T came in as a sponsor in January, but according to the Savannah Morning News, the organisers still failed to pay all the bills, quoting one hotel owner on Tybee Island, the site of the 2008 Tour de Georgia's opening stage, who had been stiffed for all but $8,000 of a $30,246 bill ran up by the race.

Financing aside, the biggest blow to the race may have been the failure of Lance Armstrong to include the race as part of his 2009 comeback. Armstrong's attendance in 2004, the year he won the race, helped grow the event into a premiere race which attracted several ProTour teams and drew thousands of fans. When Armstrong revealed his early 2009 season plans, he included the Tour of California, but opted to head to Europe in April for the Spring Classics.

On a positive note, Dieter Drake, the Anthem Sports CEO, informed Cyclingnews that the increasingly popular Tour of the Battenkill may fill the Tour de Georgia's spot on the UCI calendar. The Classics-style race with dirt roads and numerous climbs in Cambridge, New York, has been given permission to apply for a late addition to the UCI calendar for an April 18-19, 2009 slot.

Banking in America is Sooo Good, We Should Get in this Market!

Rabobank has signed a three-year sponsorship agreement to be a founding partner and the official bank of the Amgen Tour of California beginning in 2009, and extending through the 2011 event.

As part of the sponsorship, Rabobank will present the daily award given to the best young rider for that stage. Each day, all riders under the age of 23 compete for this special recognition. The recipient is determined by his overall placement at the finish line after each stage. During the daily awards ceremony, special recognition is given to the winner of the award as he is presented with the Rabobank Best Young Rider jersey. At the race’s conclusion, an overall winner of the jersey will also be named. Coincidentally, a rider from the Rabobank team has been the overall winner of this jersey for the past two years.

“We are pleased to enter into this partnership with AEG and to become the official bank of the Amgen Tour of California professional cycling race,” said Ronald Blok, chief executive officer of Rabobank, N.A. “In just three years, AEG has built the race into a highly professional and well-organized event that attracts millions of spectators and cycling fans in California and, increasingly, around the world. Rabobank has a long association with cycling and a century-old heritage of community banking, so our sponsorship of the Amgen Tour of California is an ideal synergy between our commitment to cycling and the growth of our bank in California.”

The 800-mile 2009 Tour of California will make its way through 16 host cities down the coast and through the Central Valley of California. The nine-day race starts on Saturday, February 14, 2009 in Sacramento and concludes on Sunday, February 22, in San Diego County, with a finish in Escondido.

Rabobank has been a sponsor of one of the world’s top elite cycling teams for the past 12 years, including three-time world road champion Oscar Freire and 2008 Tour of California stage winner Robert Gesink.

Best Of ServiceCourse....

As we hit this time of year the "scene" kinda dies down so now's the time to re-visit some o da good stuff!

People Review -

Ullrich Gets a Tattoo????

Jan Ullrich is not negotiating with Team Rock Racing, according to his manager Wolfgang Strohband, who Friday denied rumours which appeared in the Belgian press.

Ullrich was in Las Vegas at the auto convention for his sponsor Terra-S, and Rock Racing manager Michael Ball arranged a meeting with him "because he is a big fan", Strohband told Cyclingnews. "The two got together and chatted about cycling, but there were no negotiations," he clarified.

Ullrich was the first German to win the Tour de France, in 1997. He rode for Team Telekom from 1995 – 2002, and Team Coast (later Bianchi) in 2003 before returning to T-Mobile in 2004. The team suspended him before the start of the Tour de France 2006 after he was named in Operación Puerto, and the German rider announced his retirement from the sport in February 2007.

However, rumours of his return have continued in light of the return of his Tour de France rival, Lance Armstrong.

Reader Submitted: C'mon, Move to Canada!

ok, OK! now, this was sent in, along with many "comments" from readers re: Dead than Red....
Funny..... oh, and now that it's over, we can all just go for a nice bike ride!

Sign O Da Timez......... Sad, These Guys Were Great!

Toyota-United Pro Cycling Team Continues Search for Title Sponsor in 2009 As previously announced on August 15th, the team is in discussions with potential Title sponsors for 2009 and beyond, but no deal is signed as of yet. Toyota-United consists of 14 riders from seven different countries, with representation from the United States, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Cuba, Serbia and Mexico. The team includes current UCI B World Road Race Champion and 2008 Olympian Ivan Stevic, from Serbia. Also on the team are riders Dominique Rollin, the 2008 Amgen Tour of California Stage 4 winner and overall sprint jersey winner from Quebec, Canada, Ivan Dominguez Stage 1 winner 2008 AT & T Tour De Georgia and wearer of the yellow jersey for two days and Jose Manuel (Chepe) Garcia, the 2008 National Time Trial champion from Mexico.

But in the mean time............... it's for sale!! Trucks, Trailers, Bikes, Wheels etc...

INSTRUCTIONS FOR MAKING AN OFFER ON INVENTORY FOR SALE
STEP 1: Open the Excel spreadsheet and note that there are tabs on the bottom indicating different types of inventory. Also, the "Make Offer" cell may be located in a different area on different sheets. The spreadsheet will calculate your grand total for all items that you have made offers.
STEP 2: Fill in the "Make Offer" cell by typing the dollar amount. To the right of that cell please indicate quantity included in that offer.
STEP 3: "Save As" the worksheet for your record and email sean@unitedcycling.com for his review or ask additional questions.
STEP 4: Sean will communicate back to you whether your offer is accepted, declined or will post a counter offer. In general, offers of 25% off the retail prices listed in the spreadsheet for NEW equipment or 50% off of USED equipment have been accepted.
STEP 5: If accepted provide Sean with your credit card information including name, shipping address, credit card type, credit card number, expiration date, and 3 digit extra code.
*NOTE: SHIPMENTS GO OUT WEEKLY.
CLICK HERE FOR INVENTORY SPREADSHEET