Our next big Ride....

Last time it was the Colorado Rockies...this time the Canadian Rockies :)...Not to mention I think Lance and Eddie will be great additions to the group. Check out the details at Pez Cycling.

At first I thought it was a little pricey with a mandatory donation of 25,000 plus staging cost estimated at 20,000. Then I realized they were quoting Canadian Dollars, at the current exchange rate that's only around $38,000 or $40,000 US...SIGN ME UP!

On the other hand...that's still a lot of money just to be dropped...

Love a good Gadget...

Check THIS Out!

Friends with Connections....AWESOME!

SuperDave has never been one to brag but in 15+ years of friendship you would've thought that he might mention that he and "The Cannibal" were such close friends. Most guys just drop a check in the mail to settle up on a cycling trip, but not SuperDave...David took the time to have his buddy Eddie ink me an autographed photo, and judging by the caption, Eddie knows David pretty good.

Much Appreciated!
And I promise this, if I can't get any takers on EBAY I'll treasure it forever. :)

Katrina - New Orleans....Play by Play!

Nice overview! I think this is by far the best explanation of what happened when, and how it affected the different areas in and around New Orleans.

Check it out HERE!

Cheaha Recap...EPIC!

Left: SuperDave and Taylor arrive right on time...well more like fashionably late... actually, they were damn close to being left :)

Below: Ward's bike hauler loaded with all eight bikes and ready to roll. Precious cargo...the value of the bikes surpassed that of the truck.


Well, we've survived Cheaha for the third year running but BOY, DID IT HURT!

Our group included eight riders, mostly Cheaha veterans; Me, Char, SuperDave, Ward, Don, and Doc...along with two new comers; Cody and BBT.

Unfortunately, the forecast was for a long rainy day so the total turnout was around 320 riders instead of the 600+ anticipated. Actually, after an hour of light rain at the beginning it turned out to be a beautiful day, at least weather wise. Cheaha is miserable enough in my opinion, to the point where rain really isn't a factor. However, it was nice having dry roads for the 50 mph descents.
I think everyone suffered his or her own horrors and the consensus was that it was brutal but all and all I think everyone had a good ride.

5 of us did the full 102:

SuperDave smoked it as always.....05:54
Not the most punctual guy I know, but one hell of a cyclist...and my hero :)

I managed.........06:26
Five minutes better than my PR from last year but the price I had to pay seemed Huge! I was above 90% of my max HR for 4:52, 2:26 of that I was above 95%!

BBT......07:09
First view of Cheaha with a 39X25, gets my ride of the day honors! Well Done!

Doc.......07:52
While off his time of 07:15 from last year, considering his limited time for training, I thought it was awesome that he could finish...he's all about the suffering.

Don......08:28
A full 30 minutes off his time from last year...Impressive!

Char kicked @ss making it to the third SAG and back (67 miles) in 05:04 so I was super proud of her. Ward managed to make it to the second SAG and back (47 miles) in 03:40 refusing to let a little thing like major hip surgery slow him down. Last but not least, Cody managed to put in a good 20 miles before falling into the temptation of stopping at a local fire station and talking a fellow firefighter into giving him a ride back to the start. Not bad considering this was only the second time Cody had put his bike on the road. All and all...a great trip!

Check out the full results here!

D-DAY!

Cheaha is upon us!
For motivational purposes I offer General Dwight D. Eisenhower's D-Day Message.

Order of the Day: 6 June 1944...

Soldiers, Sailors and Airmen of the Allied Expeditionary Force!

You are about to embark upon the Great Crusade, toward which we have
striven these many months. The eyes of the world are upon you. The
hopes and prayers of liberty-loving people everywhere march with you.
In company with our brave Allies and brothers-in-arms on
other Fronts, you will bring about the destruction of the German war
machine, the elimination of Nazi tyranny over the oppressed peoples of
Europe, and security for ourselves in a free world.
Your task will not be an easy one. Your enemy is well trained, well
equipped and battle hardened. He will fight savagely.
But this is the year 1944! Much has happened since the Nazi triumphs of
1940-41. The United Nations have inflicted upon the Germans great defeats,
in open battle, man-to-man. Our air offensive has seriously reduced their
strength in the air and their capacity to wage war on the ground. Our Home
Fronts have given us an overwhelming superiority in weapons and munitions
of war, and placed at our disposal great reserves of trained fighting men.
The tide has turned! The free men of the world are marching together to
Victory!
I have full confidence in your courage and devotion to duty and skill in
battle. We will accept nothing less than full Victory!
Good luck! And let us beseech the blessing of Almighty God upon this great
and noble undertaking.

SIGNED: Dwight D. Eisenhower

Interesting...
Imagine a few quick edits...Cyclist for Soldiers, Cheaha for Nazi's, 2006 for 1944, etc. etc.
And it seems to work quite well!

Tomorrow morning...Wheels up 0700 hrs...GOOD LUCK MEN...and Char!

Giro - Serious...REAL SERIOUS!

Comments from Sean Yates after doing Giro recon with Tom Danielson...

"Yesterday we went to look at the finish on Plan de Corones. You can see from the pictures that they are still building the road, if that's what you could call it, it is really bad, we are going to use 33-28. It will be interesting to see how they manage to get up it, not so much the leaders, it's the rest of the peloton that I am worried about."

33-28....Wow! It's got to be SERIOUS, REAL SERIOUS!!

More at Sean's website.

Keep your friends close, and your enemies closer...

Cheaha is still four days off and the attempts at sabotage are already starting.

My Buddy Ward...Makes a walmart run the other day and was nice enough to pick me up, NOT ONE BUT TWO OLD FASHIONED PUMPKIN PIES. Now Ward knows I'm trying to eat right...And he also knows I have an almost irresistible addiction to these damn little pies...And he thought of me...THANKS BUDDY, APPRECIATE YOU!