Sunday, March 29, 2009
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Why does all my web work take far longer than I anticipate? I had planned to go to bed early tonight...not so much
Product Review at Bicycle.net
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Grease Monkey Wipes just got a fantastic review from JT and the guys at Bicycle.net.
Check it out here.
Then get on over to our store and buy some.
Check it out here.
Then get on over to our store and buy some.
Successful Surgery for Armstrong
Thursday, March 26, 2009 0 comments
Seven-time Tour de France champion Lance Armstrong was recovering Wednesday after surgery to repair his right collarbone, which was broken into four pieces in a crash on Monday at the Vuelta a Castilla y León.
In an article posted on the Astana team website, doctor Doug Elenz, the orthopedic surgeon who performed the procedure in Austin, Texas, said it wasn't yet clear when Armstrong would be able to return to racing.
"Normally we see eight to 12 weeks for something like this to heal completely," Elenz said, but added that Armstrong could be back in action before that, depending on his progress.
Elenz and his team repaired the injury with a 5-inch stainless steel plate with 12 screws.
Armstrong was expected to be back at his home in Austin on Wednesday evening. He is then supposed to rest for a week, after which he can begin aerobic training on a stationary bike.
In an article posted on the Astana team website, doctor Doug Elenz, the orthopedic surgeon who performed the procedure in Austin, Texas, said it wasn't yet clear when Armstrong would be able to return to racing.
"Normally we see eight to 12 weeks for something like this to heal completely," Elenz said, but added that Armstrong could be back in action before that, depending on his progress.
Elenz and his team repaired the injury with a 5-inch stainless steel plate with 12 screws.
Armstrong was expected to be back at his home in Austin on Wednesday evening. He is then supposed to rest for a week, after which he can begin aerobic training on a stationary bike.
Broken collarbone for Armstrong?
Monday, March 23, 2009 0 comments
Lance Armstrong crashed hard in Monday’s opening stage of the Castilla y León and first indications appear that he seriously injured his shoulder and might have broken his right collarbone.
There are no official reports yet as the crash just happened at about 150km into the stage on narrow roads, but the Astana rider was crouched on the side of the road cradling his right shoulder.
Armstrong went down in a crash featuring at least a dozen riders as the peloton was cranking up the chase late in the stage. He was seen entering an ambulance cradling his right shoulder. A race organizer told Agence France Press that the American was taken to the town of Palencia and had abandoned the race.
There are no official reports yet as the crash just happened at about 150km into the stage on narrow roads, but the Astana rider was crouched on the side of the road cradling his right shoulder.
Armstrong went down in a crash featuring at least a dozen riders as the peloton was cranking up the chase late in the stage. He was seen entering an ambulance cradling his right shoulder. A race organizer told Agence France Press that the American was taken to the town of Palencia and had abandoned the race.
Armstrong: ‘No guarantees’ to win Tour again
Saturday, March 21, 2009 0 comments
Lance Armstrong says his return to the top spot of the winner’s podium at the Tour de France is no guarantee.
The seven-time Tour champion is confident he will attain a high level come July, but admitted he cannot take for granted he will be the same rider who won barnstormed to seven consecutive titles from 1999-2005.
“It’s hard to say. In the past, I was always riding to win. We’re not there yet. Frankly, I don’t know if I will get back there,” he said Friday in a press conference. “This experiment, if you want to call it that, has never been attempted before. Would I like to be? Yes, I’d like to be competitive.”
At 37, and after more than three years away from competitive cycling, Armstrong cannot count on winning as dominantly as he did during his previous reign.
To read more click here.
The seven-time Tour champion is confident he will attain a high level come July, but admitted he cannot take for granted he will be the same rider who won barnstormed to seven consecutive titles from 1999-2005.
“It’s hard to say. In the past, I was always riding to win. We’re not there yet. Frankly, I don’t know if I will get back there,” he said Friday in a press conference. “This experiment, if you want to call it that, has never been attempted before. Would I like to be? Yes, I’d like to be competitive.”
At 37, and after more than three years away from competitive cycling, Armstrong cannot count on winning as dominantly as he did during his previous reign.
To read more click here.
And in other music news...
Wednesday, March 18, 2009 0 comments
The legendary Roots crew announced the second annual ROOTS PICNIC live in their hometown of Philadelphia! The main stage will host The Roots (2 sets), TV on the Radio, The Black Keys, Public Enemy, Antibalas, Santigold, The Pipes featuring Zoe Kravitz and Busdriver.
Asher Roth, Writtenhouse, Back to Basics – King Britt & Dozia, Dave P. (of Making Time, etc), Kid Cudi are set to perform on the second stage.
The Grammy-Award winning hip-hop stars and newly minted house band of "Late Night Jimmy Fallon," have recently been called "the flame keepers of hip-hop authenticity" by The New York Times. Known for their incessant touring, mind-blowing live shows and conscious and creative lyricism, the Roots will perform two sets of their impeccable live sound at the Picnic.
TV on the RADIO is touring behind Dear Science, 2008's most critically acclaimed release. Dear Science was named "best album" of 2008 by Rolling Stone, Spin, Entertainment Weekly and Pitchfork Media's reader's poll.
And in a very special performance, Public Enemy will perform It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold us Back along with Antibalas and The Roots – the first time this album will be recreated backed by a live band. Q Magazine summed up It Takes a Nation best when they said, "5 stars. Indispensible - the greatest rap record of all time. A landmark. A classic."
The Black Keys are an American blues-rock music duo consisting of vocalist/guitarist Dan Auerbach and drummer/producer Patrick Carney. Their latest album ATTACK and RELEASE was produced with Danger Mouse. The band recently performed two sold-out shows at Electric Factory as part of their most recent tour.
Santigold (formerly known as Santogold) was easily one of 2008's most exciting breakout artists. Her album and singles "Creator" and "L.E.S. Aristes" were smash hits with critics, fans and artists wanting more as she hit stages and records with artists as diverse as Jay Z, Coldplay, Bjork, MIA, Beastie Boys and many more. Recently featuring on the opening week of "JIMMY FALLON" - Santigold attended high school in Philadelphia and spent time performing as the lead singer of the punk band STIFFED.
Looks like a damn fine day of music to me.
Asher Roth, Writtenhouse, Back to Basics – King Britt & Dozia, Dave P. (of Making Time, etc), Kid Cudi are set to perform on the second stage.
The Grammy-Award winning hip-hop stars and newly minted house band of "Late Night Jimmy Fallon," have recently been called "the flame keepers of hip-hop authenticity" by The New York Times. Known for their incessant touring, mind-blowing live shows and conscious and creative lyricism, the Roots will perform two sets of their impeccable live sound at the Picnic.
TV on the RADIO is touring behind Dear Science, 2008's most critically acclaimed release. Dear Science was named "best album" of 2008 by Rolling Stone, Spin, Entertainment Weekly and Pitchfork Media's reader's poll.
And in a very special performance, Public Enemy will perform It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold us Back along with Antibalas and The Roots – the first time this album will be recreated backed by a live band. Q Magazine summed up It Takes a Nation best when they said, "5 stars. Indispensible - the greatest rap record of all time. A landmark. A classic."
The Black Keys are an American blues-rock music duo consisting of vocalist/guitarist Dan Auerbach and drummer/producer Patrick Carney. Their latest album ATTACK and RELEASE was produced with Danger Mouse. The band recently performed two sold-out shows at Electric Factory as part of their most recent tour.
Santigold (formerly known as Santogold) was easily one of 2008's most exciting breakout artists. Her album and singles "Creator" and "L.E.S. Aristes" were smash hits with critics, fans and artists wanting more as she hit stages and records with artists as diverse as Jay Z, Coldplay, Bjork, MIA, Beastie Boys and many more. Recently featuring on the opening week of "JIMMY FALLON" - Santigold attended high school in Philadelphia and spent time performing as the lead singer of the punk band STIFFED.
Looks like a damn fine day of music to me.
Let the SXSW madness begin
Wednesday, March 11, 2009 0 comments
Bike Hugger is bringing the party back to SXSW with 43% more bike culture. The Mobile Social is an intersection of bikes, technology, and culture. We ride, blog, party, and give away product.
This event is for the Urban Ride. Meet at the Susanna Dickinson House in Brush Square Park.
The BBQ is here...http://upcoming.yahoo.com/event/1372978/
Update: The DJs of the Sun, aka Sycons, are bringing their art, solar energy, and music to the Urban Ride ride and BBQ. Digital, analog, mobile, and powered by solar packs. They’ll mix music while we ride around Austin and party at the BBQ.
Enjoy.
This event is for the Urban Ride. Meet at the Susanna Dickinson House in Brush Square Park.
The BBQ is here...http://upcoming.yahoo.com/event/1372978/
Update: The DJs of the Sun, aka Sycons, are bringing their art, solar energy, and music to the Urban Ride ride and BBQ. Digital, analog, mobile, and powered by solar packs. They’ll mix music while we ride around Austin and party at the BBQ.
Enjoy.
Belated Amgen Tour of California Report
Tuesday, March 3, 2009 1 comments
Yes I know it's late but as they say better late than never...
A few weeks ago I went out to the Amgen Tour of California. This is the biggest stage race in the United States and it was great to see some of the cyclists that I have seen participate in the Grand Tours on television up close and personal.
Saturday, February 14 - Loaded up the family truckster and began the drive to California. The initial plan was to get to about an hour within Arizona and call it a night. But once we got to about an hour away from our hotel, I knew I still had a few more hours of driving in me, so we canceled our reservation and pushed on. Tucson, check, Phoenix, still feeling good, but should have checked the map, as after Phoenix there is nothing for about another 150 miles. Well there is nothing to do now but push-on unless we wanted to sleep in the car in the middle of the desert in Arizona. Um, no. So finally arrived in Blythe, CA at midnight Pacific time. Nothing like 17 hours of driving to get your trip started.
Sunday, February 15 - Woke up pretty early and luckily only had about 3 hours of driving to Rancho Cucamonga, where we were staying with family. Basically did nothing all day but lay around, and nap, and eat (including my first experience with In-N-Out burgers, and that was so amazing it will get its own post), and nap some more.
Monday, February 16 - This was supposed to be a pretty easy travel day of about 5 hours from Rancho Cucamonga to Ripon. The optimal word is "supposed" to be. Unbeknownst to me at the time there is really only one major way to get from southern California to Northern California inland and it is through the Grapevine. Well California was having terrible weather and the Grapevine (a twisty, mountainous section of Interstate 5) was closed because of snow and ice, so we had to detour and take a secondary route that was also experiencing weather and our 5 hour trip turned into about 8.5 hours. Luckily we made it through safely, and had a great dinner waiting for us at my Aunt's.
Tuesday, February 17 - This was our first day to pick up the tour, and the weather was still vile. Temperatures were in the upper 40s and it was raining cats and dogs. We arrived at the Stage 3 finish line in Modesto about 2.5 hours before the boys came in and after walking around at the finish line festival for awhile we decided to get out of the elements and watch some of the coverage on Versus. After about 30 minutes of this we headed back out and luckily the rain had tapered off. It was amazing that even with slick streets the riders still came barreling into town at such high speeds. After the finish it was another 2 hour drive to Fresno. After a few beers and some pizza it was time to turn in for the evening.
Wednesday, February 18 - The Stage 4 finish was in Clovis which is only about 15 minutes from Fresno so we were able to sleep in a bit. Also the weather had changed and the sun was shining and it was beautiful. Now this is what California was supposed to be like. Clovis really did it up right and they had a huge turn out. After walking around for an hour or so we posted up by one of the video boards about 300 meters from the finish line. It was here that I bumped into my friend Kevin, who I met last year at Pro Night at the Driveway Crit. He was driving the team bus for Toyota-United at the Driveway and was driving for Team Garmin-Slipstream for the AToC. He is such a great guy and it was great to see him again. So we posted up and watched the board until the riders came flying into town. Mark Cavendish of Team Columbia Highroad won the stage and clocked in at over 42 MPH in the finishing stretch.
Thursday, February 19 - Woke up pretty early in the morning and began the drive to Paso Robles which was the Stage 5 finishing city. After about 2 boring hours of driving we pulled into Paso and it was a really cool little town. Very nice people, beautiful weather once again, etc. Was able to post up at about 200 meters from the finish in front of a video board. Once again it is amazing to me the speeds these guys reach as they come into town sprinting to the finish. Cavendish won again. After Paso it was back in the car for about another 2 hour drive to Los Alamos (right outside of Solvang). In Los Alamos we found an awesome little dive bar right by our hotel. Had a few drinks, had the locals buying us drinks, buying locals drinks, it was just a great time. The hotel itself was a bit sketchy but whatever.
Friday, February 20 - Solvang. This was Stage 6 and it was a 15 mile time trial around the city. Solvang is an amazing little hamlet in the middle of California. It looks like someone took a piece Holland and uprooted it and place it in Cali. This was by far the most fun as since it was a time trial the start and finish lines were within a block of each other. Plus we were able to see the guys warming up on their trainers, walk out on the course to see the first turn, walk to the start house to see them leave, and then head over to finish to see them come in. Just amazing. Plus Solvang is such a cycling crazy city it seemed that everyone was a cyclist. After the time trials ended it was back on the road, and unfortunately time to sit in some traffic in L.A. Nothing like L.A. on a Friday, during rush hour. Oh well the day was amazing what is a little traffic.
Saturday, February 21 and Sunday, February 22 - On the road again back on the road to Texas.
All in all it was an amazing trip seeing some amazing cycling. Congrats to Levi for winning especially now that news come out he had a fracture at the time.
If you are interested in seeing my pics from the trip they are uploaded here.
Eventually I hope to get off my duff and make a movie of the footage I shot, but until then...
Enjoy the ride.
A few weeks ago I went out to the Amgen Tour of California. This is the biggest stage race in the United States and it was great to see some of the cyclists that I have seen participate in the Grand Tours on television up close and personal.
Saturday, February 14 - Loaded up the family truckster and began the drive to California. The initial plan was to get to about an hour within Arizona and call it a night. But once we got to about an hour away from our hotel, I knew I still had a few more hours of driving in me, so we canceled our reservation and pushed on. Tucson, check, Phoenix, still feeling good, but should have checked the map, as after Phoenix there is nothing for about another 150 miles. Well there is nothing to do now but push-on unless we wanted to sleep in the car in the middle of the desert in Arizona. Um, no. So finally arrived in Blythe, CA at midnight Pacific time. Nothing like 17 hours of driving to get your trip started.
Sunday, February 15 - Woke up pretty early and luckily only had about 3 hours of driving to Rancho Cucamonga, where we were staying with family. Basically did nothing all day but lay around, and nap, and eat (including my first experience with In-N-Out burgers, and that was so amazing it will get its own post), and nap some more.
Monday, February 16 - This was supposed to be a pretty easy travel day of about 5 hours from Rancho Cucamonga to Ripon. The optimal word is "supposed" to be. Unbeknownst to me at the time there is really only one major way to get from southern California to Northern California inland and it is through the Grapevine. Well California was having terrible weather and the Grapevine (a twisty, mountainous section of Interstate 5) was closed because of snow and ice, so we had to detour and take a secondary route that was also experiencing weather and our 5 hour trip turned into about 8.5 hours. Luckily we made it through safely, and had a great dinner waiting for us at my Aunt's.
Tuesday, February 17 - This was our first day to pick up the tour, and the weather was still vile. Temperatures were in the upper 40s and it was raining cats and dogs. We arrived at the Stage 3 finish line in Modesto about 2.5 hours before the boys came in and after walking around at the finish line festival for awhile we decided to get out of the elements and watch some of the coverage on Versus. After about 30 minutes of this we headed back out and luckily the rain had tapered off. It was amazing that even with slick streets the riders still came barreling into town at such high speeds. After the finish it was another 2 hour drive to Fresno. After a few beers and some pizza it was time to turn in for the evening.
Wednesday, February 18 - The Stage 4 finish was in Clovis which is only about 15 minutes from Fresno so we were able to sleep in a bit. Also the weather had changed and the sun was shining and it was beautiful. Now this is what California was supposed to be like. Clovis really did it up right and they had a huge turn out. After walking around for an hour or so we posted up by one of the video boards about 300 meters from the finish line. It was here that I bumped into my friend Kevin, who I met last year at Pro Night at the Driveway Crit. He was driving the team bus for Toyota-United at the Driveway and was driving for Team Garmin-Slipstream for the AToC. He is such a great guy and it was great to see him again. So we posted up and watched the board until the riders came flying into town. Mark Cavendish of Team Columbia Highroad won the stage and clocked in at over 42 MPH in the finishing stretch.
Thursday, February 19 - Woke up pretty early in the morning and began the drive to Paso Robles which was the Stage 5 finishing city. After about 2 boring hours of driving we pulled into Paso and it was a really cool little town. Very nice people, beautiful weather once again, etc. Was able to post up at about 200 meters from the finish in front of a video board. Once again it is amazing to me the speeds these guys reach as they come into town sprinting to the finish. Cavendish won again. After Paso it was back in the car for about another 2 hour drive to Los Alamos (right outside of Solvang). In Los Alamos we found an awesome little dive bar right by our hotel. Had a few drinks, had the locals buying us drinks, buying locals drinks, it was just a great time. The hotel itself was a bit sketchy but whatever.
Friday, February 20 - Solvang. This was Stage 6 and it was a 15 mile time trial around the city. Solvang is an amazing little hamlet in the middle of California. It looks like someone took a piece Holland and uprooted it and place it in Cali. This was by far the most fun as since it was a time trial the start and finish lines were within a block of each other. Plus we were able to see the guys warming up on their trainers, walk out on the course to see the first turn, walk to the start house to see them leave, and then head over to finish to see them come in. Just amazing. Plus Solvang is such a cycling crazy city it seemed that everyone was a cyclist. After the time trials ended it was back on the road, and unfortunately time to sit in some traffic in L.A. Nothing like L.A. on a Friday, during rush hour. Oh well the day was amazing what is a little traffic.
Saturday, February 21 and Sunday, February 22 - On the road again back on the road to Texas.
All in all it was an amazing trip seeing some amazing cycling. Congrats to Levi for winning especially now that news come out he had a fracture at the time.
If you are interested in seeing my pics from the trip they are uploaded here.
Eventually I hope to get off my duff and make a movie of the footage I shot, but until then...
Enjoy the ride.
On the Cusp
Sunday, March 1, 2009 0 comments
Have you ever been right on the edge of something beyond yourself? That is where I teeter right now. Just too out of shape to participate in a race but just wanting to do it just for the sake of racing. So close, but yet so far. Soon enough I will sign up for a 35+ 4/5 race, just to see what I am made of.
Maybe I have to wait till the Driveway. Who knows?
Maybe I have to wait till the Driveway. Who knows?
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