I really dislike social injustice. Sure, everybody says they do, but if this is the case why do people send me "amazed" email when I dare to say something against a large corporation? Do their strong arm tactics threaten even little guys like me? When I wrote the piece on bottled water a few years back I did get a response from an employee at Pepsi simply saying "the author obviously doesn't know anything about bottled water." I believe their first tactic is to just shrug people off as alarmist or uninformed. But small storms do escalate, and now it seems the lid has blown off the fact that bottled water has lower standards than tap and these folks are selling us tap water for three bucks a gallon.
Anyway, after my Walmart rant the other day I received this question from a friend:
In all seriousness, isn't Walmart one of the greenest of the big companies?
You're thinking of Costco.
Walmart is owned by a family who doesn't give a shit about the environment, our world, or the people in it. They give huge amounts of money to Bush and spend less money on altruism that any large corporation in the world. When they've been questioned about this their answer is basically to fuck off. They are continually being sued by their employees, have government charges against them for polluting, abusing workers, and pretty much any other nefarious thing a corporation can get away with. Any type of small business would have been shut down but they just buy their way out of everything.
In one instance they made an nearly an entire town sick by polluting its waterway. They hire illegal immigrants and lock them in the store overnight--the funny thing is that this one made the headlines mainly due to illegal immigrants, not the fact that they were locked inside a building with no supervision. They employ an "anti-union" program that will attack the lives of individuals that attempt to work on employee unity—on a personal level! They think nothing about ruining the life of someone who just wants to improve their workplace.
The main thing wrong with Walmart is that their business plan centers around ruining town centers in favor of Walmart centers, which are placed outside of the town center. For them to be successful, sprawl must be firmly in place, public transportation cannot work, and the traditional town center must die.
This doesn't always work. Occasionally, towns don't patronize a Walmart but under their plan they need assurances when they move into a community from the elected officials with regards to building codes, street development, public trans etc--none of which are good for the town in its pre-Walmart state. Part of their deal--besides paying off the officials themselves--is the revenue the town will get from part of the profits, after the initial set up period. When a Walmart isn't making enough cash they move prior to this time and set up another giant box in an adjacent town, which tends to (because no matter what people still shop there) put the original town under enormous financial strain.
They are one of the leaders of globalization and farm out work to the most competitive country. You can argue that this is the future, and perhaps rightly so, but under the current structure--aided by our friends of leisure at the WTO--it's more or less capitalisms version of legal slavery.
The Daily Show ran a piece about the illegal immigrant issue and were interviewing customers. One woman said something along the lines of "I just don't believe Walmart would hire illegal workers.(sic)" Jon Stewart's reply, "Lady, you just bought a sweater for 39 cents."
On the plus side, they did devise a POP programs that instantly alters the inventory and informs the factories in China (Laos, Cambodia, or wherever) when an item is purchased. This helps those adolescent kids in the developing world be more efficient during their 12-hour factory shifts assembling all of that organic plastic
Monday, August 20, 2007
More Walmart Fun
I really dislike social injustice. After my Walmart rant the other day I received this question from a friend:
In all seriousness, isn't Walmart one of the greenest of the big companies.
You're thinking of Costco.
Walmart is owned by a family who doesn't give a shit about the environment, our world, or the people in it. They give huge amounts of money to Bush and spend less money on altruism that any large corporation in the world. When they've been questioned about this their answer is basically to fuck off. They are continually being sued by their employees, have government charges against them for polluting, abusing workers, and pretty much any other nefarious thing a corporation can get away with. Any type of small business would have been shut down but they just buy their way out of everything.
In one instance they made an nearly an entire town sick by polluting its waterway. They hire illegal immigrants and lock them in the store overnight--the funny thing is that this one made the headlines mainly due to illegal immigrants, not the fact that they were locked inside a building with no supervision. They employ an "anti-union" program that will attack the lives of individuals that attempt to work on employee unity—on a personal level! They think nothing about ruining the life of someone who just wants to improve their workplace.
The main thing wrong with Walmart is that their business plan centers around ruining town centers in favor of Walmart centers, which are placed outside of the town center. For them to be successful, sprawl must be firmly in place, public transportation cannot work, and the traditional town center must die.
This doesn't always work. Occasionally, towns don't patronize a Walmart but under their plan they need assurances when they move into a community from the elected officials with regards to building codes, street development, public trans etc--none of which are good for the town in its pre-Walmart state. Part of their deal--besides paying off the officials themselves--is the revenue the town will get from part of the profits, after the initial set up period. When a Walmart isn't making enough cash they move prior to this time and set up another giant box in an adjacent town, which tends to (because no matter what people still shop there) put the original town under enormous financial strain.
They are one of the leaders of globalization and farm out work to the most competitive country. You can argue that this is the future, and perhaps rightly so, but under the current structure--aided by our friends of leisure at the WTO--it's more or less capitalisms version of legal slavery.
The Daily Show ran a piece about the illegal immigrant issue and were interview customers. One woman said something along the lines of "I just don't believe Walmart would hire illegal workers.(sic)" Jon Stewart's reply, "Lady, you just bought a sweater for 39 cents."
On the plus side, they did devise a POP programs that instantly alters the inventory and informs the factories in China (Laos, Cambodia, or wherever) when an item is purchased. This helps those adolescent kids in the developing world be more efficient during their 12-hour factory shifts assembling all of that organic plastic
In all seriousness, isn't Walmart one of the greenest of the big companies.
You're thinking of Costco.
Walmart is owned by a family who doesn't give a shit about the environment, our world, or the people in it. They give huge amounts of money to Bush and spend less money on altruism that any large corporation in the world. When they've been questioned about this their answer is basically to fuck off. They are continually being sued by their employees, have government charges against them for polluting, abusing workers, and pretty much any other nefarious thing a corporation can get away with. Any type of small business would have been shut down but they just buy their way out of everything.
In one instance they made an nearly an entire town sick by polluting its waterway. They hire illegal immigrants and lock them in the store overnight--the funny thing is that this one made the headlines mainly due to illegal immigrants, not the fact that they were locked inside a building with no supervision. They employ an "anti-union" program that will attack the lives of individuals that attempt to work on employee unity—on a personal level! They think nothing about ruining the life of someone who just wants to improve their workplace.
The main thing wrong with Walmart is that their business plan centers around ruining town centers in favor of Walmart centers, which are placed outside of the town center. For them to be successful, sprawl must be firmly in place, public transportation cannot work, and the traditional town center must die.
This doesn't always work. Occasionally, towns don't patronize a Walmart but under their plan they need assurances when they move into a community from the elected officials with regards to building codes, street development, public trans etc--none of which are good for the town in its pre-Walmart state. Part of their deal--besides paying off the officials themselves--is the revenue the town will get from part of the profits, after the initial set up period. When a Walmart isn't making enough cash they move prior to this time and set up another giant box in an adjacent town, which tends to (because no matter what people still shop there) put the original town under enormous financial strain.
They are one of the leaders of globalization and farm out work to the most competitive country. You can argue that this is the future, and perhaps rightly so, but under the current structure--aided by our friends of leisure at the WTO--it's more or less capitalisms version of legal slavery.
The Daily Show ran a piece about the illegal immigrant issue and were interview customers. One woman said something along the lines of "I just don't believe Walmart would hire illegal workers.(sic)" Jon Stewart's reply, "Lady, you just bought a sweater for 39 cents."
On the plus side, they did devise a POP programs that instantly alters the inventory and informs the factories in China (Laos, Cambodia, or wherever) when an item is purchased. This helps those adolescent kids in the developing world be more efficient during their 12-hour factory shifts assembling all of that organic plastic
Sunday, August 19, 2007
Walmart Sells Bikes *RANT WARNING*
"Has the whole world gone crazy? I'm I the only one who gives a shit about the rules?"
-Walter Sobchek
I got an email from a friend about a decent looking carbon road bike for sale (cheap, of course) at Walmart. My reply was not particularly politically correct. Be forewarned, this is a rant. But just because it's a rant doesn't mean it isn't true.
If you buy anything from those oligarchical asswipes you are fully helping to aid the destruction of the last vestiges of any sort of civilization we perilously clinging to. The place is pure evil, well, unless you love closed-in suburban sprawl housing tracts filled with fat kids that can't leave their four block radius because there are no bike paths or sidewalks and they'll be killed by on overprotective soccer mom in her fucking Hummer. Or unless you eschew any sort of town center, ambiance, quality of living whatsoever.
I walked into a Costco for the second time in my life recently because they are the political "good guys" of the where house store world. I walked out 5 minutes later with the realization that society is dead. Or at least sliding quickly into oblivion. I mean, Christ, it's a place where life experience means absolutely nothing. I saw a guy trying on suits not ten feet away from a mom with four obese children rummaging through sausage. Our society--under the illusion of freedom--has lost all sense of aesthetics, as well as our beloved 'freedom'. In America we are free to work 3 jobs to barely cover rent and shop in a giant box and watch other people's 'reality' on television. Somehow we've been bamboozled. We just don't give a shit anymore.
I mean, hell, I can totally see why prisoners have something like a 90% chance of returning. They get out, can't make enough money to live in our leisure economy, and life in prison probably seems a lot better than wandering around where houses looking for sustenance just so you can go home and spend all of your free time living vicariously though someone else's made up life (3.5 hours per day of TV in America, 5.5 hrs is you include non work related computer surfing). At least in prison you don't have to worry about food and can get some exercise without the risk being clocked by some methhead in a truck.
I wouldn't walk into a Walmart if they were giving away bikes for free.
-Walter Sobchek
I got an email from a friend about a decent looking carbon road bike for sale (cheap, of course) at Walmart. My reply was not particularly politically correct. Be forewarned, this is a rant. But just because it's a rant doesn't mean it isn't true.
If you buy anything from those oligarchical asswipes you are fully helping to aid the destruction of the last vestiges of any sort of civilization we perilously clinging to. The place is pure evil, well, unless you love closed-in suburban sprawl housing tracts filled with fat kids that can't leave their four block radius because there are no bike paths or sidewalks and they'll be killed by on overprotective soccer mom in her fucking Hummer. Or unless you eschew any sort of town center, ambiance, quality of living whatsoever.
I walked into a Costco for the second time in my life recently because they are the political "good guys" of the where house store world. I walked out 5 minutes later with the realization that society is dead. Or at least sliding quickly into oblivion. I mean, Christ, it's a place where life experience means absolutely nothing. I saw a guy trying on suits not ten feet away from a mom with four obese children rummaging through sausage. Our society--under the illusion of freedom--has lost all sense of aesthetics, as well as our beloved 'freedom'. In America we are free to work 3 jobs to barely cover rent and shop in a giant box and watch other people's 'reality' on television. Somehow we've been bamboozled. We just don't give a shit anymore.
I mean, hell, I can totally see why prisoners have something like a 90% chance of returning. They get out, can't make enough money to live in our leisure economy, and life in prison probably seems a lot better than wandering around where houses looking for sustenance just so you can go home and spend all of your free time living vicariously though someone else's made up life (3.5 hours per day of TV in America, 5.5 hrs is you include non work related computer surfing). At least in prison you don't have to worry about food and can get some exercise without the risk being clocked by some methhead in a truck.
I wouldn't walk into a Walmart if they were giving away bikes for free.
I Were In Marketing...
I would make commercials like this. Hmm, I'm thinking I should qualify why--no, not today. If you don't understand, you're probably normal. If you do, then welcome to the club. I will say that the whole premise is the antithesis of what I was ranting on about last time.
Quien es mas macho? Fernando Lamas o...
Stay thirsty my friends.
Quien es mas macho? Fernando Lamas o...
Stay thirsty my friends.
Wednesday, August 15, 2007
The Usual Suspects
"I'm shocked...SHOCKED to see that there's gambling going on in this establishment... Round up the usual suspects."
Uttered over half a century ago, Louie's sarcastic order from Casablanca qualifies the notion of another cliche; the more things change, the more they stay the same.
From the same juggernaut of jouralism that's brough us such earth-shattering headlines as "Kennedy Plane Ruled Out Of Control" and "Collapsed Bridge Structurally Deficient" (ya know, as opposed to bridges the collapse for no reason and pilots that purposefully fly into the sea at a 90 degree angle) we get two zingers in one day.
The first is a study that confirms air pollution puts up at risk. Raise your hand if you didn't know this. Is there a type of pollution out there that doesn't, um, pollute? If so, why would we call it pollution?
The second is more interesting. You can decide whether its informative or insidious. This one informs us that eating more fruits, veggies, whole foods and less meat, ice cream, desserts and other fatty foods will help us stave off cancer. Excuse me, but is there anyone out there who doesn't agree that the former diet will be better than the latter for everything? The study covered cancer patients in remission and who was more likely to relapse. In my experience, I've never seen one instance where a subject on a high meat and dessert diet improved at all, much less over someone on a low-fat whole foods diet.
I can see Louie right now, manning the marketing machine up at Big Meat, "I'm shocked...SHOCKED. Round up the usual suspects."
Uttered over half a century ago, Louie's sarcastic order from Casablanca qualifies the notion of another cliche; the more things change, the more they stay the same.
From the same juggernaut of jouralism that's brough us such earth-shattering headlines as "Kennedy Plane Ruled Out Of Control" and "Collapsed Bridge Structurally Deficient" (ya know, as opposed to bridges the collapse for no reason and pilots that purposefully fly into the sea at a 90 degree angle) we get two zingers in one day.
The first is a study that confirms air pollution puts up at risk. Raise your hand if you didn't know this. Is there a type of pollution out there that doesn't, um, pollute? If so, why would we call it pollution?
The second is more interesting. You can decide whether its informative or insidious. This one informs us that eating more fruits, veggies, whole foods and less meat, ice cream, desserts and other fatty foods will help us stave off cancer. Excuse me, but is there anyone out there who doesn't agree that the former diet will be better than the latter for everything? The study covered cancer patients in remission and who was more likely to relapse. In my experience, I've never seen one instance where a subject on a high meat and dessert diet improved at all, much less over someone on a low-fat whole foods diet.
I can see Louie right now, manning the marketing machine up at Big Meat, "I'm shocked...SHOCKED. Round up the usual suspects."
Tuesday, August 14, 2007
Birthday Challenge Update
We had three birthday challenges over the weekend. So far, only one is up but the site has been updated with new news and awards. Check it out. There was a lot of buzz going on at OR this weekend. It's going to be a big year for challenges. What's yours going to be?
Train hard. Go big.
Steve
www.birthdaychallenge.com
Train hard. Go big.
Steve
www.birthdaychallenge.com
The Usual Suspects
"I'm shocked...SHOCKED to see that there's gambling going on in this establishment... Round up the usual suspects."
Uttered over half a century ago, Louie's sarcastic order from Casablanca qualifies the notion of another cliché; the more things change, the more they stay the same.
From the same juggernaut of journalism that's brought us such earth-shattering headlines as "Kennedy Plane Ruled Out Of Control" and "Collapsed Bridge Structurally Deficient" (ya know, as opposed to bridges the collapse for no reason and pilots that purposefully fly into the sea at a 90 degree angle) we get two zingers in one day.
The first is a study that confirms air pollution puts up at risk. Raise your hand if you didn't know this. Is there a type of pollution out there that doesn't, um, pollute? If so, why would we call it pollution?
The second is more interesting. You can decide whether it's informative or insidious. This one informs us that eating more fruits, veggies, whole foods and less meat, ice cream, desserts and other fatty foods will help us stave off cancer. Excuse me, but is there anyone out there who doesn't agree that the former diet will be better than the latter for everything? The study covered cancer patients in remission and who was more likely to relapse. In my experience, I've never seen one instance where a subject on a high meat and dessert diet improved at all, much less over someone on a low-fat whole foods diet. But the study was very clear to point out the effect of the diet on cancer patients only when, in fact, it improves lifestyles across the board.
I can see Louie right now, manning the marketing machine up at Big Meat, "I'm shocked...SHOCKED to hear that too much meat might be bad for you. Round up the usual suspects."
Uttered over half a century ago, Louie's sarcastic order from Casablanca qualifies the notion of another cliché; the more things change, the more they stay the same.
From the same juggernaut of journalism that's brought us such earth-shattering headlines as "Kennedy Plane Ruled Out Of Control" and "Collapsed Bridge Structurally Deficient" (ya know, as opposed to bridges the collapse for no reason and pilots that purposefully fly into the sea at a 90 degree angle) we get two zingers in one day.
The first is a study that confirms air pollution puts up at risk. Raise your hand if you didn't know this. Is there a type of pollution out there that doesn't, um, pollute? If so, why would we call it pollution?
The second is more interesting. You can decide whether it's informative or insidious. This one informs us that eating more fruits, veggies, whole foods and less meat, ice cream, desserts and other fatty foods will help us stave off cancer. Excuse me, but is there anyone out there who doesn't agree that the former diet will be better than the latter for everything? The study covered cancer patients in remission and who was more likely to relapse. In my experience, I've never seen one instance where a subject on a high meat and dessert diet improved at all, much less over someone on a low-fat whole foods diet. But the study was very clear to point out the effect of the diet on cancer patients only when, in fact, it improves lifestyles across the board.
I can see Louie right now, manning the marketing machine up at Big Meat, "I'm shocked...SHOCKED to hear that too much meat might be bad for you. Round up the usual suspects."
Friday, August 10, 2007
No GMOs At Monsanto Cafe
How ironic is it that a company that spends billions to ensure us that GMOs are safe doesn't allow them in its own cafeteria?
Monsanto Goes GMO-Free - in its Cafeteria
Ode Magazine, June 2007
UNITED KINGDOM. From now on, staff at the British headquarters of biotech giant Monsanto will be eating only non-genetically modified products on their lunch breaks. Foods containing genetically modified soy and corn are no longer available in the company cafeteria. Granada Food Services, which manages the canteen, is said to be concerned about health risks. Monsanto's press department contends the action was not the result of a boycott initiated by worried employees of theU.S. multinational.
For more fun from our favorite GMO juggernaut, check out Millions Against Monsanto
Monsanto Goes GMO-Free - in its Cafeteria
Ode Magazine, June 2007
UNITED KINGDOM. From now on, staff at the British headquarters of biotech giant Monsanto will be eating only non-genetically modified products on their lunch breaks. Foods containing genetically modified soy and corn are no longer available in the company cafeteria. Granada Food Services, which manages the canteen, is said to be concerned about health risks. Monsanto's press department contends the action was not the result of a boycott initiated by worried employees of theU.S. multinational.
For more fun from our favorite GMO juggernaut, check out Millions Against Monsanto
Friday, August 03, 2007
Why You Shouldn't Drink Diet Soda
I keep writing about this but here's a second opinion for you.
No safe haven: Diet sodas linked with health risks
Mon Jul 23, 2007 7:46PM EDT
By Julie Steenhuysen
CHICAGO (Reuters) - Sodas -- even diet ones -- may be linked with increased risk factors for heart disease and diabetes, U.S. researchers said on Monday.
They found adults who drink one or more sodas a day had about a 50 percent higher risk of metabolic syndrome -- a cluster of risk factors such as excessive fat around the waist, low levels of "good" cholesterol, high blood pressure and other symptoms.
"When you have metabolic syndrome, your risk of developing heart disease or stroke doubles. You also have a risk of developing diabetes," said Dr. Ramachandran Vasan of Boston University School of Medicine, whose work appears in the journal Circulation.
Prior studies have linked consumption of sugar-laden sodas with multiple risk factors for heart disease, but Vasan and colleagues also found the link extends to diet sodas.
The study included about 6,000 middle-aged men and women who were observed over four years.
Those who drank one or more soft drinks a day had a 31 percent greater risk of becoming obese.
They had a 30 percent increased risk of developing increased waist circumference -- which has been shown to predict heart disease risk better than weight alone.
They also had a 25 percent increased risk of developing high blood triglycerides as well as high blood sugar, and a 32 percent higher risk of having low high-density lipoprotein or "good" cholesterol levels.
The researchers then analyzed a smaller sample of participants on whom data on regular and diet soft drink consumption was available. Those who drank one or more diet or regular sodas per day had a 50 to 60 percent increased risk for developing metabolic syndrome.
INTRIGUING NEW ANGLE
"The part about diet soda is more intriguing," Vasan said.
He said people who drink soda, whether diet or sugar-sweetened, tend to have similar dietary patterns.
"On average, soda drinkers tend to eat more calories, consume more saturated fat and trans fat, eat less fiber, exercise less and be more sedentary," Vasan said in a telephone interview.
The researchers adjusted for those factors and still observed a significant link between soft drink consumption and the risk of developing metabolic syndrome.
Vasan said there are several theories about how diet sodas could increase a person's metabolic risk.
"One possibility is that diet soda is sweet. Maybe drinking something sweet conditions you in such a way that you develop a preference for sweet things," he said.
"Also, diet soda is a liquid. When you take liquids at a meal, they don't satiate you as much (as solids)," he said.
The caramel coloring of some sodas also may play a role. He said caramel coloring in animal experiments was associated with tissue inflammation. "These are all theories which we have not studied," Vasan said.
He said while the study showed an association between soda consumption and having a higher risk of metabolic syndrome, it does not prove soda was the cause.
"Before people change their habits, we would like to see these data replicated in other studies, he said.
"We'd also like nutrition scientists to conduct additional research to help us understand why diet soda is associated with metabolic risk."
The American Heart Association, which publishes Circulation, said people should understand that the study did not demonstrate that diet sodas cause heart disease and said it can be better to have a diet drink than a full-calorie soda.
"The American Heart Association supports dietary patterns that include low-calorie beverages like water, diet soft drinks, and fat-free or low-fat milk as better choices than full calorie soft drinks," the group said.
The American Beverage Association said in a statement e-mailed to Reuters it appreciated the heart group made clear "the report ... does not show that soft drinks cause an increased risk of heart disease and it recognizes that diet soft drinks are a good option for those looking to cut calories in their beverages."
No safe haven: Diet sodas linked with health risks
Mon Jul 23, 2007 7:46PM EDT
By Julie Steenhuysen
CHICAGO (Reuters) - Sodas -- even diet ones -- may be linked with increased risk factors for heart disease and diabetes, U.S. researchers said on Monday.
They found adults who drink one or more sodas a day had about a 50 percent higher risk of metabolic syndrome -- a cluster of risk factors such as excessive fat around the waist, low levels of "good" cholesterol, high blood pressure and other symptoms.
"When you have metabolic syndrome, your risk of developing heart disease or stroke doubles. You also have a risk of developing diabetes," said Dr. Ramachandran Vasan of Boston University School of Medicine, whose work appears in the journal Circulation.
Prior studies have linked consumption of sugar-laden sodas with multiple risk factors for heart disease, but Vasan and colleagues also found the link extends to diet sodas.
The study included about 6,000 middle-aged men and women who were observed over four years.
Those who drank one or more soft drinks a day had a 31 percent greater risk of becoming obese.
They had a 30 percent increased risk of developing increased waist circumference -- which has been shown to predict heart disease risk better than weight alone.
They also had a 25 percent increased risk of developing high blood triglycerides as well as high blood sugar, and a 32 percent higher risk of having low high-density lipoprotein or "good" cholesterol levels.
The researchers then analyzed a smaller sample of participants on whom data on regular and diet soft drink consumption was available. Those who drank one or more diet or regular sodas per day had a 50 to 60 percent increased risk for developing metabolic syndrome.
INTRIGUING NEW ANGLE
"The part about diet soda is more intriguing," Vasan said.
He said people who drink soda, whether diet or sugar-sweetened, tend to have similar dietary patterns.
"On average, soda drinkers tend to eat more calories, consume more saturated fat and trans fat, eat less fiber, exercise less and be more sedentary," Vasan said in a telephone interview.
The researchers adjusted for those factors and still observed a significant link between soft drink consumption and the risk of developing metabolic syndrome.
Vasan said there are several theories about how diet sodas could increase a person's metabolic risk.
"One possibility is that diet soda is sweet. Maybe drinking something sweet conditions you in such a way that you develop a preference for sweet things," he said.
"Also, diet soda is a liquid. When you take liquids at a meal, they don't satiate you as much (as solids)," he said.
The caramel coloring of some sodas also may play a role. He said caramel coloring in animal experiments was associated with tissue inflammation. "These are all theories which we have not studied," Vasan said.
He said while the study showed an association between soda consumption and having a higher risk of metabolic syndrome, it does not prove soda was the cause.
"Before people change their habits, we would like to see these data replicated in other studies, he said.
"We'd also like nutrition scientists to conduct additional research to help us understand why diet soda is associated with metabolic risk."
The American Heart Association, which publishes Circulation, said people should understand that the study did not demonstrate that diet sodas cause heart disease and said it can be better to have a diet drink than a full-calorie soda.
"The American Heart Association supports dietary patterns that include low-calorie beverages like water, diet soft drinks, and fat-free or low-fat milk as better choices than full calorie soft drinks," the group said.
The American Beverage Association said in a statement e-mailed to Reuters it appreciated the heart group made clear "the report ... does not show that soft drinks cause an increased risk of heart disease and it recognizes that diet soft drinks are a good option for those looking to cut calories in their beverages."
So I Rode My Bike
Been puttin' in some hours on the hippie bike this summer, hoping I'd get a chance to do something long before the winter hits. While I've got some geared bikes, I nearly always reach for the single speed. It's harder to pedal, sure, but other than that it's so much fun that I can't be bothered to change gears anymore. This probably has to do with the 29" wheels more than anything but, I dunno, maybe it just feels like riding when I was a kid back before I could afford gears.
So last weekend my friend Dustin asks me if I'd show his friend Jill, who is visiting from Oregon, around the trails. He's worthless in this respect because he's too busy riding his civilized bike to ever get dirty. Yeah, yeah, he had a race but that's boring. There are trails to explore, so I'd be happy to show them to Jill.
After hearing about the hours I spend doin' stuff she's worried about slowing me down. No worries, I say, I can always just go out again when we're done. Then it strikes me that she can drive and I can simply ride home when we're done. Perfect.
I concoct a big loop through Deer Valley, Park City, and The Canyons ski areas that then connects to the Wasatch Crest, heads down Mill Creek Canyon and back to my house. It looks outstanding on paper. A tour of the mid-Wasatch that features over 50 miles of single track, plenty of climbing, and mainly down hill street riding.
We begin our adventure at While Pine Touring. 10 minutes later and we're lost. Well, not lost exactly but we were not on the right trail. Looking for something called Skid Row we seemed to be on something called Lost Prospector. At least it was going up. We keep taking easternly turns but eventually get dumped into some hifalutin neighborhood above Deer Valley. We roam around looking for our supposed trail and laugh the absurdity of the size of all the homes (still, I could probably live in this area if I had to). We wander around touring homes for too long and then bail and glide down streets to the Deer Valley ski area, where I actually know the trails.
This doesn't help, however, as some trail construction forces us off of Deer Crest and we're exploring again. Somehow we come back down to the base and hit Devo. Um, we're NOT climbing this as I'd ridden down it once and got slaughtered, and end up climbing up the Tour de Homes on the other side of the valley. This is supposed to be the "easiest way down", and just may be, but it's not the easiest way up. I find the only section steep enough to force me off of my bike on this climb. Other n' that, it is technically easy and we do get to tour some more ridiculous homes.
At Silver Lake Lodge we've already been out nearly two hours and Jill's a bit tired "we don't have this much climbing where I ride." That's okay, 'cause now I really do know the way, and it's more or less flat--well, not really flat, but at least rolling. We fill out water, inventory food, eat and people watch, then off on Mid Mountain. Theoretically, the rest of the day should be nothing but fun.
Sure enough, Mid Mountain, even with the new bypass, which requires some climbing, is a blast and now Jill is thoroughly enjoying herself. Deer Valley was packed but there aren't many people on the trail--lucky for a Saturday. We cruise along until we get to the connector with John's trail. Jill is cooked and wants to go down but I determine that riding Mid Mountain and decending Spiro will be physically easier than dealing with John's technical challenges. We continue on MM and are forced to climb just a bit more.
It's all worth it as we hit the mainly view point above Park City. Some folks from Baltimore had made full use of the bench and have a picnic spread over it. The first thing I notice is the flask.
"Brilliant idea," I say. "I should have brought mine."
Before a word is spoken the flask is offered in my direction. A nip of Jamison's never tasted so good. Jill arrives, accepts her serendipitous reward for reaching the high point of her ride, and we hang and chat about Baltimore vs. Park City for a while. This was definitely a civilized time on our hippie bikes.
Jill says her legs are like rubber, but that's cool since she'll hardly have to pedal anymore. The Jamison's should help. We fly down MM to Spiro, where Jill will head back to the car. She looks a little uncomfortable leaving me in a place where, I'm sure, it feels like I'm an awful long way from where she picked me up that morning. I assure her that I'm quite comfy in the situations and happily am on my way.
Between Park City and the Canyons MM can be a little lonely because you are commited to around 14 miles of riding. My next stop, hopefully, would be Red Pine Lodge. I hammered this part because I was slightly worried that it would be closed and it was my last stop for water. Red Pine is only about 9 miles from the Spiro connector. It's a lifeline for long rides up here because, if closed, you've got to descend a couple thousand feet to town and come back up. I wasn't too psyched at the prospect of riding Holly's uphill.
Red Pine was getting ready for a wedding when I got there. The restaurant was closed, so I was glad I took those Gu's from Jill, but I could fill my water. I then rode the rest of MM and, at the end of the Canyons, took the Wasatch Trail connector. This cooked my legs and I had to walk. I'd ridden this once before and it was hard but after 6 hours I just couldn't pedal the grade. This really made me question whether I could do the E100 (and its 18,000+ feet of climbing) on my ss.
I took a short break at the crest. Though it seemed a long way from home it would be nearly all downhill from here. It was also going to get warmer, so I enjoyed the cool mountain air until it felt as though I was procrastinating.
I headed down Great Western to Big Water, then took Little Water because I hadn't ridden it. It was much steeper and more techie than Big but I made it, so it couldn't be too hard. Next was a few miles of pavement down Mill Creek, which was fast and fun. My last bit of single track was the Pipeline Trail. This is a famous trail that everyone seemes to love. I'd run it many times but never ridden it. Compared to everything else I'd done, it felt hot and dusty. I suppose it is a good trail. I'd been getting spoiled all day and was probably a little tired.
I popped out of Mill Creek to another 100 degree SLC evening. At least it was downhill home--well, mostly. It was a little slow due to my not being able to pedal even the most gentle decline but, whatever. It was a small pennance to face for 8 hours of nirvanna.
Tuesday, July 31, 2007
3 Scrapes to the Ground, Baaaahhhh
I did my first official ultra the other day, the Wasatch Speedgoat 50k in Snowbird. This wasn't your typical ultra as it was designed by the Speedgoats, two guys that include Karl Meltzer, the best trail runner in the world. Karl hates running on flat ground. For him, the more rugged the better. The course would end up outdoing their initial estimate of 20,000' of elevation change for 50k.
This was all fine with me. I dislike flat running as well. In fact, I almost never run on flat ground anymore. If I can't get to a trail I don't run, and most of the trails I choose are really more hiking than running anyway. So while I kinda knew this course would suit me, I had no idea if racing such a thing would.
Turned out to be a blast. With 100 degree temps at home, the altitude was just where you wanted to be this day. The air was cool and the wildflowers were going off. And, as it turns out, ultra-running is a lot like what I do when I roam around in the mountains anyway.
The race began with a massive climb to the top of Snowbird. This gave us plenty of time to sort things out and even though I had no clue as to what I was getting into, after about 15 minutes I was in the group I'd be with most of the day. I learned that everyone has strengths and weaknesses in these things. Some can fly on the downhills while others prefer the uphills. I didn't find out about flats because we never had a step of such terrain (the Snowbird tunnel being the closest thing to level).
My forte was anything technical, so I put in an attack going over the top of Baldy to catch a large group before we decended the "ropes" section. I knew this would not provide a challenge and didn't want to end up waiting for people. I ended up meeting another climber in this section, Joy, as she passed me with a cool bold move as I was tactfully waiting for someone I'd caught at a roped section. We ended up with a pretty good gap during this and spent a fair bit of the race together, mainly talking about climbing and her upcoming trip to be old backyard, the Sierras.
The main difference between what I normally do in the mountains was not stopping. Normally I move fast but stop to eat. This, I think, caused some problems with my nutrition and on the last big climb I started to lose it. I couldn't tell if it was lack of water, salt, too much gel or too little calories but something had me on the verge of puking. Greg, A guy I'd spent much of the first part of the race with, caught and quickly dropped me here. He was training for the Wasatch 100 and, I could tell, was going to need to sort this problem out to complete that sucker. While I was a bit worked there was no doubt about finishing. I was moving fine, just not as fast as I would have liked. I'm thinking this is just part of this whole ultra experience.
The final downhill was a steep fast pounding down a loose dirt road. Here I found a place where more rugged shoes would be better than what I was wearing. I generally don't like stiff trail runners but, on a course like this one, they would be an advantage. Guess this is why Meltzer is always pimpin' his Montrail Vitesses.
I was catching someone on the early technical section but as soon as we hit the steep road he reversed this and pulled away. Not wanting to risk getting injured (my so-far successful training goal for the year) unless getting passed was on the line I slowed down. This didn't last too long as near the end I saw Sarah, who'd been with Greg and I for the first third of the race, bearing down on me racing with another guy. I knew Sarah was a fast downhill runner because Greg had been passed and beaten by her at the end of their last race. This caused me to pick it up to hold them off. Thankfully there wasn't a lot more course left.
At the finish I was offered a beer and Ultragen. I accepted both. Of course, beer first. Maybe this was a sport I could embrace. I had no idea how long we'd been out there. It could have been 5 hours, it could have been 10. I was surprised at hearing 6:25. It seemed pretty fast until we heard the course was short. The winning time, 5:40, also didn't seem impossible to me at all as I was tentative during a lot of places I could have gone faster. All in all, I felt okay and wasn't injured, so it was a success.
While the course was short, it also had even more elevation change than anticipated, nearly 12,000' in each direction. This profile would make it the toughest organized 100 in the world. Though I'm not too sure I'd want to do nearly four laps on this course, the proposition of such a challenge is intriguing.
Here is one competitor's race data along with the course profile.
While waiting for Sandee, who'd come up from sea level to experience eight hours of hypoxia (the course averaged over 10,000'), I hung out with the ultra crowd who, not surprisingly, reminded me a lot of the birthday challenge crowd. It was a nice afternoon with good people, drinking beer and laughing at the absurdity of what we were doing.
In the end, Sandee and I both picked up some schwag (thanks, Nathan) and I won an award, one of the coolest trophies I've ever recieved. We all got "chicked" by Petra McDowell, which isn't odd for ultra running. And since Karl said he had expected her to win, I'll assume she's as good at this stuff as she looks--which is fast. I was a little beat up (Sandee ran the next day--sheesh) but will probably do some more of these things, or at least this one each year.
Special thanks to the Speedgoats, Scott and Karl, for putting on an outstanding event. Being new to this I asked runners along the course what their favorites races were. "This one's pretty damned good," was a common reply.
Three scrapes, guys. Baaaaahhhhh.
Speedgoat Web Site
Monday, July 30, 2007
Le Grand Boucle of Dope
I've had a few adventures lately, which I'll get to later this week, but first y thoughts on this year's Tour. Another Grand Boucle has come to an end and, unfortunately, the doping news far exceeded the racing news. Pity because it was a damned exciting race. I've been a fan of the Tour all of my life. This year they're telling us 'we've turned a corner' when it comes to doping issues. I hope so, but can't help but be skeptical.
It does actually seem to be trendy amongst the younger racers to be anti-dope. This must be a positive sign and is a far cry from when "Mr. Clean" Bessons was regularly chided by the peloton. But when you hear reports such as this one (Kloden Considers Retirement) it's hard to be positive.
I love cycling and hope it can clean itself up. We recreational cyclists have a battle to just keep our bikes on the road. A scandalous professional scene isn't going to help our cause. But scandals make media and, I'm sure, people will keep trying to uncover them. Sometimes they can actually make a difference. Bravo to the David Walsh's and Betsy Andreau's hope dare--and risk--to take on the big guys. Check out Betsy's candid radio interview on Competitor. This women has some huevos.
Below is a list of the Grand Tour winners over the last decade or so and their status as to being involved in drug scandals. Many of them have minor busts, some received two-year suspensions, and some have had their careers basically ruined, like Ramundo Rumsas, who didn't make the list because he only doped his way to the podium.
Grand Tour Winners
Tour:
Riis - doper
Ullrich - doper
Pantani - doper
Lance - clean?
Landis - doper
Rasmussen (would have been) - doper
Contador - (currently invovled in scandal but luckily protected under Texas law)
Vuelta:
Vino - doper
Heras - doper
Ullrich - doper
Mancebo - did he win? anyway, he came close and is a doper
Menchov - doper
Aitor - doper
Sevilla - may not have won but almost did and got busted. doper.
Casero - doper
Zulle - doper
Olano- doper
Rominger - doper
Jalabert - doper
Delgado - doper
Hamilton, Perez - both would have beens that got busted during the same race for the same offense.
Giro:
Di Luca (still under investigation but cleared on first offense)
Basso: doper
Simoni: doper
Salvodelli: hmmm, he must have a bust somewhere. anyway, his totally erratic performances certainly must mean dope and, for sure, he ate some of Simoni's grandma's cookies. i hear they were quite tasty. in fact, rumor has it that Grandma Simoni, Rumsas' wife, and Haven Hamilton are opening a restaurant at the Olympic Village which will, no doubt, become quite popular.
Garzelli - doper
Pantani - doper
Frigo - doper
Cunego - clean, but he at least got epstein-barr so he doped to get it or, perhaps, passively doped to get it which might actually make him a non-doper which would be rad because most of the white jersey winners from the tour, like him, have gone down too. So perhaps he didn't dope but he was, like, 21, won in a fluke, and hasn't been able to find the same form since, which sounds like text book passive doping effects on a highly talented youngster. if he ever finds his form again we'll probably find out.
Tonkov - doper
Rominger - doper
Gotti - doper
Berzin - doper
But, hey, as bad as all this sounds it's still a beautiful sport. Here's a fantastic montage of the 2006 Tour.
It does actually seem to be trendy amongst the younger racers to be anti-dope. This must be a positive sign and is a far cry from when "Mr. Clean" Bessons was regularly chided by the peloton. But when you hear reports such as this one (Kloden Considers Retirement) it's hard to be positive.
I love cycling and hope it can clean itself up. We recreational cyclists have a battle to just keep our bikes on the road. A scandalous professional scene isn't going to help our cause. But scandals make media and, I'm sure, people will keep trying to uncover them. Sometimes they can actually make a difference. Bravo to the David Walsh's and Betsy Andreau's hope dare--and risk--to take on the big guys. Check out Betsy's candid radio interview on Competitor. This women has some huevos.
Below is a list of the Grand Tour winners over the last decade or so and their status as to being involved in drug scandals. Many of them have minor busts, some received two-year suspensions, and some have had their careers basically ruined, like Ramundo Rumsas, who didn't make the list because he only doped his way to the podium.
Grand Tour Winners
Tour:
Riis - doper
Ullrich - doper
Pantani - doper
Lance - clean?
Landis - doper
Rasmussen (would have been) - doper
Contador - (currently invovled in scandal but luckily protected under Texas law)
Vuelta:
Vino - doper
Heras - doper
Ullrich - doper
Mancebo - did he win? anyway, he came close and is a doper
Menchov - doper
Aitor - doper
Sevilla - may not have won but almost did and got busted. doper.
Casero - doper
Zulle - doper
Olano- doper
Rominger - doper
Jalabert - doper
Delgado - doper
Hamilton, Perez - both would have beens that got busted during the same race for the same offense.
Giro:
Di Luca (still under investigation but cleared on first offense)
Basso: doper
Simoni: doper
Salvodelli: hmmm, he must have a bust somewhere. anyway, his totally erratic performances certainly must mean dope and, for sure, he ate some of Simoni's grandma's cookies. i hear they were quite tasty. in fact, rumor has it that Grandma Simoni, Rumsas' wife, and Haven Hamilton are opening a restaurant at the Olympic Village which will, no doubt, become quite popular.
Garzelli - doper
Pantani - doper
Frigo - doper
Cunego - clean, but he at least got epstein-barr so he doped to get it or, perhaps, passively doped to get it which might actually make him a non-doper which would be rad because most of the white jersey winners from the tour, like him, have gone down too. So perhaps he didn't dope but he was, like, 21, won in a fluke, and hasn't been able to find the same form since, which sounds like text book passive doping effects on a highly talented youngster. if he ever finds his form again we'll probably find out.
Tonkov - doper
Rominger - doper
Gotti - doper
Berzin - doper
But, hey, as bad as all this sounds it's still a beautiful sport. Here's a fantastic montage of the 2006 Tour.
Friday, July 27, 2007
Bottled Water Sucks!
Finally this topic is getting some play. This was a headline topic today. I'm proud to announce that my town is one of two--so far--that are trying to ban this junk.
Bottled Water From The Tap
I wrote an article on this a couple of years back. At the time I got a lot of shocked responses, including one from Pepsi saying that I "didn't know what I was talking about". I got another from someone saying "I trust companies like Coke and Pepsi with my health..." Say what? This is probably why our obesity rates continue skyrocket.
I love the part where they say they don't make much money on bottled water. Um, right. Run some tap water through a reverse osmosis filter and sell it for 3 bucks a gallon. Are you kidding?
Here are some more stats and my original article:
What's In Your Water?
Bottled Water From The Tap
I wrote an article on this a couple of years back. At the time I got a lot of shocked responses, including one from Pepsi saying that I "didn't know what I was talking about". I got another from someone saying "I trust companies like Coke and Pepsi with my health..." Say what? This is probably why our obesity rates continue skyrocket.
I love the part where they say they don't make much money on bottled water. Um, right. Run some tap water through a reverse osmosis filter and sell it for 3 bucks a gallon. Are you kidding?
Here are some more stats and my original article:
What's In Your Water?
Coffee, Exercise, May Help Fight Skin Cancer
"I'm stayin'. I'm finishing my coffee.
Enjoyin'
my
coffee."
Walter Sobchek
From the wires. I will probably wait for some more research before I stop slathering on the sunscreen but I will continue to have my coffee and, ya know, exercise.
Exercise, Coffee May Help Fight Off Skin Cancer
Enjoyin'
my
coffee."
Walter Sobchek
From the wires. I will probably wait for some more research before I stop slathering on the sunscreen but I will continue to have my coffee and, ya know, exercise.
Exercise, Coffee May Help Fight Off Skin Cancer
Wednesday, July 25, 2007
Interactive Obesity Map Since 1985
Even with all of the info and available help we now have this trend continues to rise at an alarming rate. Scary stuff.
http://www.cnn.com/SPECIALS/2007/fit.nation/obesity.map/
http://www.cnn.com/SPECIALS/2007/fit.nation/obesity.map/
Doping and Le Tour - David Walsh Interview
Not surprisingly, I've been bombarded with email the last few days about the Tour. It's been so crazy that I haven't even known what to say about it. With Vino's bust, the only rider that I've heard of who has worked with Dr. Ferrari and hasn't been busted is Lance. The Rasmussen case is also interesting. The story of the smuggeled drugs was in From Lance to Landis but no one was named. Furthermore, the original of "men in black" (riders who train in un-marked clothing to avoid detection) was Armstrong. If you watched The Lance Chronicles, he never trained in his Postal/Disco kit. Always in plain black. This, apparently, was one of the things both Vino and Rasmussen did that put them on WADA's radar. Hmmm.
Well, I think things in cycling will begin to improve. WADA seems to have gotten serious. And with a sponsor throwing their own rider off of the team while wearing the yellow jersey it confirms the end is no longer justifying the means in cycling. Bravo. With more and more young riders strongly anti-dope, the situation should begin to steamroll. Let's hope so.
Anyway, here a LONG interview with David Walsh, conducted by two guys famous in the multi-sport world, Paul Huddle and Bob Babbit. It's very interesting--dare I say required listening if you are a fan of the sport.
Walsh Interview
Well, I think things in cycling will begin to improve. WADA seems to have gotten serious. And with a sponsor throwing their own rider off of the team while wearing the yellow jersey it confirms the end is no longer justifying the means in cycling. Bravo. With more and more young riders strongly anti-dope, the situation should begin to steamroll. Let's hope so.
Anyway, here a LONG interview with David Walsh, conducted by two guys famous in the multi-sport world, Paul Huddle and Bob Babbit. It's very interesting--dare I say required listening if you are a fan of the sport.
Walsh Interview
Thursday, July 19, 2007
Scary Study
At least I shouldn't be out of work anytime soon...
Study: 75% of U.S. overweight by 2015 if current trends continue
An analysis of 20 studies indicates 75% of U.S. adults will be overweight and 41% obese by 2015, if people keep gaining weight at the current rate. Results showed each age group is getting heavier, and researchers fear obesity could eventually become the leading preventable cause of death in the country. Reuters (7/18)
Study: 75% of U.S. overweight by 2015 if current trends continue
An analysis of 20 studies indicates 75% of U.S. adults will be overweight and 41% obese by 2015, if people keep gaining weight at the current rate. Results showed each age group is getting heavier, and researchers fear obesity could eventually become the leading preventable cause of death in the country. Reuters (7/18)
Tuesday, July 17, 2007
And Then There Were Nine
The Tour couldn't be different than during the Armstrong era. With no real favorites riders are all looking at each other and no one team dares to try and take control of the race. The cynical might even say that, sans dope, no one is sure what they're individually capable of either. And cynical or not, you can't argue the fact the race is a lot slower than it's been in years. And the riders are the same, so what could the difference be? Anyway, the result is some interesting racing, for sure.
Today we leave the Alps and the race is whittled down to 9 true contenders, minus a few of those from the preview. Most missed will be Vino, whose injuries form a crash have been too much to overcome. With Denis Menchov also losing the pace today, both Astana and Rabobank now have clear leaders to work for.
Here's a quick rundown on those left in the GC fight.
Michael Rasmussen, Rabobank - With nearly 3 minutes in the bank he's going to need more time with 100K of time trialing to come. Last year, he lost 14 minutes during the tt. This year, he came in 166th in the prolog. Luckily, there are some big mountains to come. Overall chance to win: very small.
Alejandro Valverde, Caisse d'Epargne - The "sprinter who can climb" or "climber who can sprint" is now my favorite to win, since he also now can time trial too. He will need to drop a couple of guys prior to the final time trial because those sprint wins at the summits aren't going to give him enough of a buffer over Kloden or Evans. His team is also very strong and may need to employ a bit of stategy to pull this off.
Iban Mayo, Sunier Duval-Prodir - One of the few climbers every to drop Armstrong in the mountains, his form has been erratic his entire career. He's riding very well but isn't a good enough time trialist to win the whole thing.
Cadel Evans, Predictor-Lotto - Riding very strong he's now a major favorite. Almost a cinche for the podium, at least.
Alberto Contador, Levi Leipheimer, Disco - Contador is a "future star" whose time may be arriving a bit early. If he has a good TT on Sat, Levi may have to work for him. But Leipheimer has been timing his form to come good in the Pyrenees and he hasn't lost enough to be counted out. It's all oh-so interesting for Discovery. Bruyeneel is a great tactician, making the Disco boys a major player once again.
Christophe Moreau, Ag2r - At 36 winning the Tour doesn't really seem possible. His form is very good and it would be nice to see this classy rider get on the podium. Unfortunately, his time trialing ability has been sacrificed a bit to improve in the mountains and he hasn't been gaining the time he needs. His chance for the podium looks pretty slim, but my fingers are crossed for him.
Calos Sastre, CSC - CSC is a formidable team and won't go down withouth a fight but Sastre has showed nothing yet to indicate he can do anything but follow the best riders. Maybe he's waiting for the Pyrenees, which I'm sure is the psyche card CSC is playing, but is it a reality? Not likely.
Andrea Kloden, Astana - Having finished on the podium twice, Kloden is now the major favorite to win providing his injury isn't too bad, which it doesn't appear it is. He lost a bit of time to wait for Vino the other day and it could cost him. But when on form he's the best time trialist of the contenders. It figures that the others will need to drop him in the mountains; something they haven't been able to do yet.
Starting Saturday, it should all get very interesting.
For coverage, if you don't have Versus they have dropped their live feed, so check with:
www.cyclingfans.com
for the lastest possibilities.
Today we leave the Alps and the race is whittled down to 9 true contenders, minus a few of those from the preview. Most missed will be Vino, whose injuries form a crash have been too much to overcome. With Denis Menchov also losing the pace today, both Astana and Rabobank now have clear leaders to work for.
Here's a quick rundown on those left in the GC fight.
Michael Rasmussen, Rabobank - With nearly 3 minutes in the bank he's going to need more time with 100K of time trialing to come. Last year, he lost 14 minutes during the tt. This year, he came in 166th in the prolog. Luckily, there are some big mountains to come. Overall chance to win: very small.
Alejandro Valverde, Caisse d'Epargne - The "sprinter who can climb" or "climber who can sprint" is now my favorite to win, since he also now can time trial too. He will need to drop a couple of guys prior to the final time trial because those sprint wins at the summits aren't going to give him enough of a buffer over Kloden or Evans. His team is also very strong and may need to employ a bit of stategy to pull this off.
Iban Mayo, Sunier Duval-Prodir - One of the few climbers every to drop Armstrong in the mountains, his form has been erratic his entire career. He's riding very well but isn't a good enough time trialist to win the whole thing.
Cadel Evans, Predictor-Lotto - Riding very strong he's now a major favorite. Almost a cinche for the podium, at least.
Alberto Contador, Levi Leipheimer, Disco - Contador is a "future star" whose time may be arriving a bit early. If he has a good TT on Sat, Levi may have to work for him. But Leipheimer has been timing his form to come good in the Pyrenees and he hasn't lost enough to be counted out. It's all oh-so interesting for Discovery. Bruyeneel is a great tactician, making the Disco boys a major player once again.
Christophe Moreau, Ag2r - At 36 winning the Tour doesn't really seem possible. His form is very good and it would be nice to see this classy rider get on the podium. Unfortunately, his time trialing ability has been sacrificed a bit to improve in the mountains and he hasn't been gaining the time he needs. His chance for the podium looks pretty slim, but my fingers are crossed for him.
Calos Sastre, CSC - CSC is a formidable team and won't go down withouth a fight but Sastre has showed nothing yet to indicate he can do anything but follow the best riders. Maybe he's waiting for the Pyrenees, which I'm sure is the psyche card CSC is playing, but is it a reality? Not likely.
Andrea Kloden, Astana - Having finished on the podium twice, Kloden is now the major favorite to win providing his injury isn't too bad, which it doesn't appear it is. He lost a bit of time to wait for Vino the other day and it could cost him. But when on form he's the best time trialist of the contenders. It figures that the others will need to drop him in the mountains; something they haven't been able to do yet.
Starting Saturday, it should all get very interesting.
For coverage, if you don't have Versus they have dropped their live feed, so check with:
www.cyclingfans.com
for the lastest possibilities.
Wednesday, July 11, 2007
My Legs Are Killing Me
I haven't posted a training report in a while but I have been training. Lately, my life's been nothing but training and work. But after a month of weddings, birthday party(challenges), and my parent's 50th anniversay surprise party, I'm happy to take a break from any social activities.
With a couple of upcoming events I've been doing a bit of trail running and riding my hippie bike a lot. It's been 100+ most day down in the valley so as soon as it's too hot to work, I've been heading up the canyons to train. In the last 5 days, I've put in about 20 hours on the trails, mainly above Park City but also one "run" at Snowbird to recon the Speedgoat 50k, which is going to be one of the hardest races of its length in the country (nearly 11,000' of gain over 50k). Here's a view from one of the summits looking down at part of the trail.
The above pic is me on the top of Baldy. Supposedly, the race has a technical section here but my recon revealed nothing but about five minutes of class 2. This is not going to be the advantage I'd hoped for. Anyway, I'm not really an ultrarunner, so I'm not racing this race, exactly. I'd really need about an hour of class 5 in order to offset the disadvantage I'll have against these guys. So I'll probably spend plenty of time kickin' it at the espresso bar in the Snowbird tunnel.
Yesterday I did another 4 hours above Park City on my training/fun (heavy) bike. My legs are cooked. Time for some recovery.
Gratuitous moose shot. I wonder when one of these guys is going to chase me. I keep finding myself a few feet away.
Monday, July 09, 2007
Lance to Landis: Le Tour or Le Suck?
One of our local races made up yellow shirts with "Le Suck" on them. I can see why. With in the insane doping problems surrounding the sport it's hard not to be cynical. The only Grand Tour champion in the last decade who hasn't been busted, Lance, may have been the most guilty one of all. At least that's the opinion in the racing world. And the publication of From Lance to Landis does nothing but add fuel to the fire. This work may not hold up in court but you can't read it with an open mind and not know it's true--at least to a degree. It would be impossible to make up. Not only that, it makes perfect sense if you know anything about doping and sports performance. And, well, when you race your bike and hang out in that world you meet people who've worked/ridden with people.... The big thing I learned from this book was that all teams don't necessarily dope. All have turned a blind eye to it but some programs are leaders and others followers. Postal, um, sheesh. You've got to read it if you enjoy the subject. So, anyway, bike racing has a big black eye at the moment.
But I love bike racing. I love the Tour. C'mon, doping has existed in sports--all of them--as long as there has been performance-enhancing drugs available. Armstrong may have doped to the gills but he still worked harder than everyone else. Dope didn't win him the Tour. Hard work did. Because, ya know, Ullrich and Basso were on the sauce too. If they want to rid the sport of drugs, they need to rid the sport of doctors, which may mean ridding it of money. But that still won't do it. People were regularly doing drugs during my high shcool days! College? Of course. Everyone joked about it. Anyway, cycling has done a lot more to combat this issue than any other sport. And it deserves some credit. I think it's getting better. Dope or no dope, you've still got to train like a maniac and race your bike.
Last year I blogged in depth about the race. This year I won't have the time. But for those who would like to learn more about bike racing, you can read through them starting here:
http://steve-edwards.blogspot.com/2006/07/explaining-tour.html
The race began in England to "the largest crowds I've ever seen" according to most everyone. Today they're in Belgium, it's raining, and the crowds are still huge. Long live cycling!
It's an open race and should be great. You can check it out live on the net on Versus streaming video which, thankfully, is only Paul and Phil and no Al Trautwig.
Versus network
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