simply incredible.

i just got this link from eric marshall.  you should click it and read it.  and then read it again.  once you get through the complaints by james mattis because he didn't get to race, there's some comedy gold to be mined.  in fact, there's a lot to say about this.  a whole lot.  but this one item is simply so wacky, that it must be highlighted.

"Justin [Rogers] politely but firmly told me there was no chance of me racing, even though I knew a U23 racer who was willing to give up his spot for me to race," Anthony told VeloNews. "The problem was not that the field was full, but that USA Cycling had decided to completely close registration a few weeks ago. The waiting lists, which were stacked full for many of the fields, were thrown away.

"In other words, if the first rider on the waiting list was standing right there in the room to pick up his number, and another rider notified USA Cycling that they were not going to race, USA Cycling would not give that open spot in the race to that rider on the waiting list."

"I knew of at least a handful riders who were not going to start the U23 road race, but USA Cycling wouldn't give those spots to riders on the waiting list," Anthony continued. "Therefore, there were far fewer than 125 starters in the U23 road race, and even though I'm [in Seven Springs] and the field wasn't full, I was not allowed to race.

"I don't see how this is fair to anyone. Supposedly the elite road race started with fewer than 115 racers, even though the field limit was 125. There were, however, a number of elite racers on the scene asking to be put in the race, but USA Cycling would not give them the open spots. USA Cycling stated that it would be unfair to let some racers in the race who were behind other racers on the waiting list, even if they hadn't shown up."   (emphasis is mine. -sg)

it's like these issues came out of left field for them.  we have already addressed electronic registration as an innovative and disruptive technology and as a race to the bottom with consequences for the sport.  it's not clear if the problem here was in the registration system or the use of the system.  the fact that the wait lists could not be retrieved from sportsbase online seems very odd.  they must have stored that information electronically after they collected it electronically.  the article above makes it sound as if the hard copy was thrown out and that was the end of the story.  what if someone had spilled a cup of coffee on the start lists?  would they just have sent everyone home?  wtf?

we have two different mabra promoters who just got a wild hair and built their own data-based systems with bar code scanners.  for the record, they are route 1 velo and eric marshall of emi racing, and they should be congratulated for taking the initiative.  i don't think either of those systems would require shutting down registration two weeks before the event.  in our area, even for district championships you rarely see registration shut down more than a few days before the event and waitlist management is fairly standard.  We've all done it on bikereg so it can't really be that hard.

you like the status quo?  admit it, the revolution is looking better and better isn't it?  bring your thoughts in the comments and we'll get the party started.  mabra, sera libre, ahora mismo, venceremos!

- - - posted by scott

greenbelt is cancelled for tonight :: Wed. July 12.

some of you may not know that kevin long was involved in an accident down near fredericksburg on his scooter.  it was not racing related but it was motorcycle related.  he is going to be laid up for a few weeks recovering but he is out of the hospital. 

if you don't know who kevin is, i'm not surprised.  he is an exceedingly good chief referee and a national level motor ref, but doesn't draw a lot of attention to himself.  i have relied on him as a promoter, a racer, and a permit guy and he has always gone above and beyond what was required.  he's a great guy.  he also has some absolutely fantastic stories about riding bikes at tour of california, tour of georgia, et.al.  my favorite is the one of him leading popyvich in the time trial at tour of california.  but for the time being, i will hold off on re-telling and let him relate that story in another forum.  i had hoped to get him and stefan yencha together and try to collect some of the best anecdotes i could from the motor refs.  that may be one of my winter projects.  

below is a photo of the motor corps from this year's tour of california.  kevin is just to the left of the angel.

the inclusion of the angel is actually really appropriate.  at last years tour de toona, aric and i were rooming next to a number of the motor refs and motor marshalls.  i remember one really sad afternoon after a young lady was paralyzed after overcooking a corner in a race.  all of the motor marshalls had taken it very personally.  they see it as their job to keep racers safe.  and even though they often cannot save us from ourselves, they try and try and try.  these guys are often like our guardian angels, keeping traffic at bay or alerting pedestrians to stay off of the course when racers are coming through.  you don't see them often, but they are out there, rain or shine, putzing along on bikes they would probably much rather be running with a wide open throttle.

kevin's recovery will leaves a number of holes as he was working several races in different capacities.  it's the kind of thing you take for granted until it happens.  remember to thank the officials for their help.  they take their own time to support a sport you love.  show them some support as well.

--- posted by scott

(post is updated below)

alec rottier just sent me the link for this.  if you have not seen it, you should take a few moments to check it out.

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-8867862777896510907

it's amazing in the same way that cirque du soleil is amazing.  it's sort of numbing, they make it look so easy that you almost take it for granted that it's something anyone is capable of.  maybe this winter, we'll start a junior training program for this kind of stuff.

- - - posted by scott

 

update: mitch ferro who seems to always come though with interesting tid bits offers up the following in the comments.

You might know this already, but this is a UCI-recognized sport with its own UCI world championships and everything.

http://www.uci.ch/modello2.asp?1stLevelID=C&level1=7&level2=1&idnews=1547  

http://www.uci.ch/modello.asp?1stLevelID=MB&level1=0&level2=0&idnews=3977  

- Mitch

man, that's pretty good stuff.  text from the two links:

The first official artistic cycling World Championships were held in 1956. This sport is most popular in Germany, where there are no fewer than 10000 licence holders. As a sport, artistic cycling is a bit like ice-skating or gymnastics. It is a discipline requiring skill, balance, concentration and courage. The competitors (entering either as individuals or in pairs) offer a 6-minute programme with a musical accompaniment. A jury judges the quality of the figures.

 The first World Cycle-Ball Championships were held in 1930. This is an exclusively masculine discipline, with two teams of two players (who act both as goalkeepers and outfield players). A match is made up of two 7 minutes halves. The ball (approx. 18 cm in diameter), which can be struck with either the front or the rear wheel, is filled with horsehair. It can reach a speed of 60 km/h. Inside the penalty area, the goalkeeper can use his hands to stop shots on goal. The goal itself measures 2 m by 2 m. As in football, fouls are punished with free kicks and penalties.

 

hopefully they do not have problems with electronic registration and getting into these events.

a lot of us are confused by what's going on in the tour de france.  or what's not going on in the tour de france.  or what was going to be going on in the tour de france but has now been stopped.  probably.  almost certainly.  kind of. 

we are, of course, referring to dopage.  there's been a little mention of it locally on the m street blog but i do not get the impression that it has hurt turnout for the sweet benefit they are putting together for our local junior teams.  some people blathered on endlessly about it on email lists, confirmign that you don't need to know much about much to blather on endlessly.  and as you might expect, the definitive source of information here has got to be cycling news (follow that link to the bottom for a full and nauseating retrospective) if you're not up to speed.

there's a suprising amount to say about doping.  and much of it has already been said so we won't waste bandwidth.  but there's an area that has not been covered.  how do we talk to our kids about doping?  if your kids have posters up of all the top uci racing stars and were planning to glue their ass to the couch for the cyclgasm, or whatever the hell it's called, and follow ullrich or sevilla or basso, how do you talk to them about this?  we know how to talk with our kids about sex and drugs and peer pressure and even the evil powers of rock and roll.  oh wait, wrong link.  evil powers of rock and roll are adequately covered here.  but how do we talk with out kids about doping?

as a public service, the racing union offers:

a child's first primer on doping in professional sports.

there are some very lucky people out there.  but they are different from you and me.  do you know how?  they get to do something they love for their job.  they ride a bike!  do you like to ride a bike?  most people do.  they ride bikes very fast for very long periods of time.  and they get paid to do it.  the faster they ride, the more they get paid.  it's amazing.

but they also get tired from all that riding.  sports are very physically demanding.  you can get tired or sick from all that riding.  so many people seek the help of a doctor. 

a doctor is able to help you use special medicines to make your muscles big and strong and your blood work even better than it does now.  this is not easy, and the doctors need to work closely with their customers patients.  they sometimes have to use needles.  your doctor may have had to give you a shot from time to time.  those shots probably hurt, but these doctors give shots that make you go very fast on the bike.

the doctors use all sorts of machines and scientific gear to help them do their jobs.  you may not like to go see the doctor, but these cycling heroes do not mind.  they understand that their earning potential is closely tied to how fast they can ride.  so they know that seeing the doctor is a necessary step in becoming a famous bicycle racer.

inside your body is something called blood.  they sometimes pull some of it out of the cyclists.  don't worry, the doctor's won't keep it.  they just borrow it for a while, much like you might share a toy car with a neighbor or a friend from school.  the doctors will give it back just in time for an important event.  they'll take good care of it in the meantime as well.  you can get very sick if the doctors don't take good care of your precious bodily fluids.

the doctors sometimes proscribe medicines which help you to ride your bike very fast for many days.  the names of some of these medicines can be very long and complicated, but you don't need to worry.  in fact, some bike races make it easy by putting the names of the special "go fast" medicines right in the title of the race.

the doctors spend a lot of time thinking about how to make you go as fast as possible.  they collect data and make things called charts which show how much faster you can ride if you follow a specific "training" plan.  this is often referred to as the science of cycling.

science is filled with numbers and graphs.  lucky for us, the doctors take care of all that hard stuff.  we just get to sit and enjoy watching the cyclists pedal really, really fast.  but we should all remember to say a big thank you to the doctors who are able to make cycling such an exciting and vibrant sport.  thanks doctors!

note: there might be a very small number of you who are amateur athletes and taking performance enhancing drugs to compete in amateur bike races in our local area.  in subsequent installments of the primer, we'll get you all you need to know to explain what you do to your kids or the impressionable young cyclists who are just starting out including plasma withdraw and insertion logs, steroid cycles and cetrifuge operations.  and let's not forget how important cleaning those needles is.  keep the bleach handy!

the union message takes wing, gathering momentum amongst the urbane and the pastoral.  join those who are on the march for progress.  there is an old adage that when one sees a cresting tsunami of change, there are two sides of the wave you can be on.  think carefully on this.

- - - posted by scott

in my post earlier today, i mentioned that we were doubling down on our efforts to bring people under the banner of the mighty racing union.  the red locomotive is picking up passengers and leaving the station.  time to get with it folks! 

comrade rp and i took advantage of the coolish climactic conditions for a short spin around dc to hains point.  outreach was on the menu for this lunchtime ride. 

do not be deceived by the looks of surprise and indifference.  the message was warmly received.  another glorious victory for the union forces.

on a lighter note, some informal pictures from the start of the ride:

on the more serious side, i'm not sure wtf people were thinking out there.  the last couple laps involved people diving between cars and park service trucks.  a very special wtf goes out to the person in the hpc kit for pointedly not letting a car by that was trying to get out of the way of the riders.  nice work.  like it's not dangerous enough out there...

- - - posted by scott

p.s. i'm not calling out m street racing because their blog is tight.  in fact, i would call it required reading.  but their editorial decision not to post the picture of ken's injury is deplorable.  guys, you have to trust us.  we're secretly totalitarians and that means we know something about information control.  and in this case, you're barking up the wrong tree.  the people have a right to know.  that image wants to be free.  the union insists that this image be made available, preferably in a megapixel format.  it needs no accompanying text and speaks for itself.  do the right thing....

a renewed push for the principles espoused in the manifesto begins today.  hardly a retrenchment, we're broadening communications and outreach activities and redoubling our efforts.  we call on all able bodied men and women, between the ages of 7 and 70, to rally under the racing union banner.  is this war?  yes, but it is asymetric in nature.  the diabolical oligarchicy of big cycling must be overturned.  their primary weapon is the subtle tyranny of the status quo. 

now is the time for all able bodied cyclists to come to the aid of the union.

- - - posted by scott

updated below

 

>>>-----Original Message-----

>>>From: Ken Abe

>>>Sent: Friday, June 30, 2006 7:43 AM

>>>Subject: Re: D20: NO JAN ULLRICH IN THE TOUR

>>>

>>>Definitely a blow to the image of cycling.

 

in what way is it a blow to the image of cycling?  i'm not asking this as a rhetorical question. 

 

There are years and years of history of doping in the peleton.  just this morning, i was getting an ebay auction together for an old copy of paris match with a great picture of louison bobet on the cover and photos inside of a rider who dies while riding the tour and the controvery surrounding the "race doctor" and the issues of "dopage".  the date is julliet, 1955.

 

 

 

and not much has changed.  recent studies have shown that among professional sports, cycling has the highest positive rates.  look at the festina affair.  read the books of the people who were really involved.  look at the raids that the italians have been conducting since 1999.  look at the ferocious coverage of lance in the french press.  look at the sad trajectory that musseuw's career took at the end.  can you count the number of cycling heroes who have served suspensions?  are we still hoping that tyler hamilton will be able to race, like a phoenix rising from the ashes?

 

 

seriously man, there's not a lot left to tarnish.  but i think you're looking at it in the wrong context.  you're saying this is a blow to the image of cycling.  it's only a blow to the image of cycling if you held these guys out as some sort of gods: classic, heroic ideals of sport.  their bodies are temples.  the competition is fair and well won.  that shit may have played back when you won a wreath of olive branches. 

 

in my limited travels to other countries, i've never seen the kind of puritanical zeal against doping that we seem to have here.  note that i'm not saying doping is good, i'm just saying that cycling in it's current format (a professional sport with sanctioning bodies and sponsors and budgets, salaries and staffs which would make formula 1 and nascar team owners blush) is not some sort of idealized and fair compeititon.  it's been almost two millenia since that was the case for most any sport.  now, cycling is a business.  big business. 

 

your statement may be true for companies that try to use professional cycling for marketing.  so maybe we should have a moment of silence for the big name sponsors whose stock prices may take a hit and who's quarter over quarter sales may be impacted.  but cycling is so much more than that.  cycling is us racing for fun on weeknights and the weekends.  cycling is spinning along skyline drive.  cycling is taking your kids out on the trail.  cycling is so much more than you're making it out to be.  check with these guys, they know what time it is.

 

let's be clear that with the notable exception of the recent arrival of fuentes, the larger doping issues don't really matter a whole lot around here.  we'll all still watch tour stages.  we'll all still ride and race our bikes and commute to work.  nothing has really changed that affects us.

 

update

I had thought everyone pretty much had this in perspective.  i was incorrect.  for that i apologize.

>>>-----Original Message----

>>>From: Dwayne Neal

>>>Sent: Friday, June 30, 2006 11:49 AM

>>>To: uscf-district20@topica.com

>>>Performance Enhan...

>>>

>>>You so casually call the defamation of characters and the loss of career

>>>simply a matter of entertainment.  I think the confusion here is that the

>>>whole picture is not being considered in context.  The people that have

>>>the most invested in the sport are not the advertisers/sponsors, it is the

>>>athletes.  To just casually say that what happens to them does not matter

>>>as long as the integrity of the sport is saved is not logical or the kind of

>>>justice all people deserve.  The integrity of the sport, indeed all

>>>sports, has been lost a long time ago.  What has not been lost is the integrity

>>>of individual athletes until recently when anyone who has been successful

>>>has been casually accused of illegally enhancing his/her performance.  The

>>>issue of whether or not drug use is criminal, in the end, is irrelevent (except

>>>for the individual athlete).

yes, we all owe a huge apology.  where to start?  raffy palmiero?  barry bonds?  tyler hamilton?  casting aspersions on these people would be terrible.  these people only lied.  repeatedly.  in the case of the former under oath, and in the case of the latter, on the body of his beloved and recently deceased dog tugboat.  that they had not taken performance enhacing drugs.  period.  pinnacles of virtue.

 

now no one said that everyone in the tour is doped.  but you just have it ass-backwards.  bill brings the info...

-----Original Message-----

From: Bill Cusmano

Sent: Friday, June 30, 2006 10:58 AM

 

Let's not get too confused here about the difference between a criminal justice system and what is going on with the current pulling of riders from tomorrow's Tour start.  Yes, the suspensions or whatever they are involve the livelihood of these people, reputations, etc. -- all that is true.  But they are not criminal prosecutions.  What is at stake is the perceived integrity and therefore the entertainment value of what is, at bottom, entertainment.  Commercial entertainment.  If the public perceives professional cycling as a dirty enterprise, the whole point of why the trade sponsors pour their money into cycling disappears.  Poof.  The whole deal becomes a loser for the people who put the money up. 

 

Which the sponsors really would like to avoid.  If that costs the riders their "presumption of innocence" in a civil, non-criminal context, so be it.  They have no presumption of innocence, unless it's in their contracts, which I have to doubt.  Likely their contracts give their masters, the trade sponsors, much more control over the riders' destinies than that.  It's just the deal they struck because they could.  That's commerce, that's entertainment.

this is all about money and sponsors.  i've seen statements from the aso basically stating the position that doping is a sponsorship problem.  from the perspective of the organizers, i'm not saying that they don't care about development of the sport or the health of the riders, though i think we've all snickered about the fact that riders with hematocrits over 50 are given a "holiday" for "health reasons".  what a joke.  this is basically analagous to an office drug policy.  it's not illegal to take them.  it's illegal to get caught because it reflects poorly on the organization.

 

oh, and you're unpatriotic if you quesiton the morality of people who work in an environment like this.

 

- - - posted by scott

As part of the Union’s ongoing advancement of the People’s hobby, a representative of the Ministry of Public Investigation and Redistribution of Knowledge rode to view the W&OD bridge damaged by the recent deluge.  As you can see from the pictures below, the Fairfax county authorities have fairly well identified the crossing in question as no good for you and me.



The Union Representative arrived at about the same time as these fine and industrious brothers who pretty quickly found a new “alternate route”: use the damn bridge.







After watching them traverse without harm, the Union Representative had the choice of either following their lead, or adding an extra 20 hilly minutes to his ride home by following other suggested routes.

Although the Union Representative has no way of evaluating the safety of this bridge, he believed the changes of its collapse while crossing with 81.6 Kilos of bike, rider and backpack were far smaller indeed then his chances of crashing in a typical D20 Cat 4 race.

Here’s a picture from the other side:

woke up a bit early this morning so I opted for a different route to work.  my plan was to cross chain bridge and take a look at what the river was doing.  there was a sleepy rollout from the undisclosed location.  I rode sort of due east on idylwood.  there i got my first view of some of the damage form the recent storms.

         

the pictures here don't really do it justice.  there are bowling ball size cavities up under the pavement.  they may be larger but I could not tell.  i don't know if these will lead to sinkholes or crumbling pavement or not.  it doesn't look particluarly good.  i rode on and followed kirby (the back side of pete's hill ride) to chesterbrook and then down to the river.  and the river is impressive.

you can see whole tree trunks turning end over end in the eddy currents and you can feel the power of the water.  it's absolutely amazing.  and not more than 100m to the east is a slightly more elevated area that has flooded but it's completely pastoral.  a huge contrast to what seems like an awfully big angry river.

i spun down to the canal to have a look down there as well. 

the canal is topping out.  it's not really overflowing it's banks but there are some areas you need to be careful on.  if anyone is looking for a change of pace from their normal ride, throw a pair of 28's on your training wheels and take a spin on the path.  it's really beautiful, and the size of the turtles down there will stun you.

- - - posted by scott

(updated below)

i talk a lot about class.  it has different meanings.  you often only know the meaning by the context.  we could say that some people have class and some people don't.  and you would understand that this was different in context from saying that some people are obsessed by the trappings of class or engage in class warfare.  today's topic is cyclists as second class citizens. 

but first, a brief digression.  after witnessing what was probably the stupidest commute, the very most idiotic mass migraiton of people ever into dc today, i don't see how anyone can think the alternative transport isn't a great idea.  i got several emails from people crowing about how easy their ride in was.  and good for them, they earned it.  but for most people, bike commuting appears to be somewhere between sort of zany and downright lunatic behaviour.  in giving some thought to why this happens, and also in pondering a few recent bike thefts, i have come to a conclusion which is that few organizations or employers make commuting easy by offering the basic amenities which are required.

to this end, and to highlight the problem, i offer a contest.  i want to search out the least appealing accomodation for biking to work which exists in washington dc.  i want _photos_ that make it entirely clear to what extent cyclists are second class citizens in the commuting food chain.  you may be creative, but your stuff should be first hand and real.

this will be an anonymous contest, no specific contributor name, location addresses or company names will be used.  our goal is not to call people out but to illustrate the dire state of affairs that exists.  to get this party started right, i offer two photos submitted by a friend.  i cannot describe the exact location without giving it away but i can tell you that these photos were taken after the site was cleaned up.  so you can imagine what it was like beforehand. 

those who are not employed, under-employed or work from the home are still eligible to submit.  they are encouraged to do so.  all one must do is highlight a particularly unwelcome amenity or environment towards cycling.  we won't be too critical about it being in downtown dc.  it is my guess that the winning entry will speak for itself and should be rewarded no matter the situation.  so let's roll with it and see what happens.

the more capitalist-minded among you will no doubt be primarily focused on the prize.  the answer is i am not entirely sure what it is.  our valued comrade aric line won a prime at last week's greenbelt "a" race and it's a capitol hill bikes gift card.  he lives in leesburg, didn't think he could use it, so being the generous guy he is, he stuffed it into my jersey pocked and said give it away.  i don't know the denomination.  in fact, i don't even really know that it's a gift card, but that's what it looks like so that's how i'm describing it. 

i'll take photos off list through email, as i don't believe we allow file uploads in the comments.  if you don't know how to get ahold of me, post a brief blurb in comments and i'll drop you a line directly.  i will take links to stuff you find on the web but i'd understandably prefer that you actually visit the site yourself.  - - - posted by scott

entries posted below as they are received

entry number 2: June 27th, morning.  i like the flagging tape here.  it reminds me of the mabra cross courses.  i also like the fact that if you rack on the front, your bike sticks way out onto the side walk and if you rack int he back, your going directly into a bush.  sweet.