http://www.citynews.ca/news/news_10783.aspx

the latest from sim over in the south of france.  you can email sim here: simjetlag@wanadoo.fr

Yes, it's a tough life being a pro cyclist.
 
As I drove back from Belgium after covering a few small local Belgian races (Flanders, Roubaix), I stopped off in a tiny airport in Rodez to pic up Navigator's Pro Darren Lill. 
 
The Navigators are in Europe, and Darren was going to be basing himself in Cadalen, (Chez moi) for a fair portion of his European campaign.  He'd had a fairly stressful time with lots of traveling, health issues and crashes.
 
On our first day home we had to go for UCI blood test for Darren.  But after that most of the week was spent ridding around the french countryside, sitting on the balcony and drinking beer.

 
Yep, it's a great life... those guys have it SO easy... nothing but fun and glory.  Oh but wait... Darren was out there everyday doing 7 hour rides, 5 hour recovery rides and sometimes coming home so tired after hard interval he almost collapsed.

 
Then it was off to a Stage race in Germany... Darren came home with the most aggressive jersey, but after following Milram's leadout train for a week and being pushed around by a tall Pettacchi Darren (who was wearing the best climber's jersey) missed out on the king of the mountains final GC by only 2 points. 
 
The disappointment once he got home was evident... Nothing a few days of beers, DVD intervals and recovery couldn't sort out.  And lets not forget some good Cadalen homemade jam... that Darren seemed to tuck into as soon as he got in the door from training.
 
Ok, let go over this whole Pro cycling glory thing.  The Nav boys only have 1 bike in Europe, so every trip is a baggage/bike haul nightmare.

After a few days he was back on a plane to northern france for a rainy and windy 4 Days of Dunkirk (where things got ugly), then it's off to Germany for another week long race.  The day after the race finishes he flies to London, before traveling up to Birmingham where he rejoins his wife... the next day they are off AGAIN to the US this time.  The scary thing is that that is what life is like day in and day out for these guys.  When do they train you may ask?  In the winter.. once the season starts... well.... 
 
Sim

The Wednesday evening training series at Greenbelt Park is in full swing now, and this past Wednesday saw Racing Union with a strong presence in all three races.  For Racing Union's Cat. 5s in the "C" race, myself among them, it was fun to work together and think strategically as a team.  Our plan certainly caught the pack by suprise.  After pulling through Kevin's strong lead-out, I rode hard to finish second, although the first place guy rode my draft into the final sprint.  One can make out the Union Vanguard rolling in behind with fists clenched to the sky.  Da!  Union!  Da!

Above is a picture I snapped of Mikhail in the midst of the "B" race.  Mikhail and Bryan will be representing the green-and-black at Mount St. Mary's University Criterium this weekend - move forward boldly, comrades!

-- posted by Chris

A study in London (reported here) suggests what I've often suspected, that it can be safer for a rider to "run" a red light than to hang out in the intersection.  Adding even more controversy, the study found that women cyclists could be in more danger because they were less likey to disobey lights and tended to hub the curb.
“Women may be overrepresented in [collisions with trucks] because they are less likely than men to disobey red lights.” Apparently, by running red lights, men are less likely to be caught in a truck driver’s blind spot.  

-RR

this post could also could have been titled "here's what naturally happens when the people who run the country aren't total asses and in the pocket of the various energy industries."  via claudia gonzalez martinez:

http://online.wsj.com/article_email/SB117823466296891497-lMyQjAxMDE3NzA4NDIwMzQ0Wj.html

and featured in the wall street journal no less.  i mean, seriously, how much more obvious could it be?

- sg

Racing Union had three at the Poolesville Road Race on Saturday -- Jeff and me in the 4/5 race; Bryan in the 3/4 race.  I was sailing along pretty well with the lead group until there was a fairly large crash on the 3rd lap.  While I wasn't involved in the crash, I was directly behind it and ended up with a tour of the grassy ditch.  After I got back on the road, I kept slogging away, but ended up retiring when I was unable to close the gap with the lead group.  Newbie mistake on my part, as I didn't realize there was a group of around 15 somewhere behind me, including Jeff, who I could have helped.  Live and learn!  Jeff finished the race with the pack; Bryan ended up in 20th place in his race.

Sunday at Bunny Hop went much better.  Bryan and I represented the Union in the 30+/40+ race.  Both of us stayed with the pack, which caught the break on the linal lap.  Bryan came in 7th in the 30+ and I managed 24th in the 40+  Given all the talk on the D-20 listserv about Cat. 5s not belonging in the 30+/40+ race (I believe I read something about how they were going to drop all of us Cat 5s right off), I was particularly proud of hanging in there and coming in 38th overall out of 60 who finished (I'm pretty sure it was more like 75 who started).  It was a boost in confidence I really needed; and it felt great to be racing with Comrade Billington.  A fun, smooth, fast and safe race - Artemis did an awesome job putting this one on!  Putting on a race that's accessible by Metro is definitely Union-approved.  Below are some photos I took at Poolesville.  (No pictures from Bunny Hop, I'm afraid - I was too busy fretting about my race to snap any!)

Above:  Bryan in the 3/4 race; Below: the women's race.

Below: Er, I think this is the 1-2-3 race.

-- posted by Chris

 

-- photos by Scott and Chris                                                                                

 

 

Buried in the Washington Post today was an extremely short piece which is a little more detailed here:  http://news.independent.co.uk/environment/climate_change/article2502076.ece.  Yep, another warning!  The sea ice in the Artic is “vanishing at faster rate than expected.”  Gee, do you think this (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/04/28/AR2007042801188.html) or this (http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070501/ts_nm/usa_air_dc_1) could have something to do with it?

 

I know that global warming is met with some amount of skepticism from some people.  And ideas such as a local team’s efforts at supporting carbon offsets can get people going (http://www.racingunion.org/CommentView,guid,1c527b8c-602b-4799-8f29-21f1aeac5ac7.aspx).  Our good friend Unholy Rouler – who’s become one of my favorite curmudgeons (and I sincerely mean that kindly) – has his own views on the subject.  But, as when the United States sides with the Vatican and conservative Muslim nations on social issues in international forums (http://www.catholicsforchoice.org/topics/politics/documents/2000religionandpublicpolicyatheun.pdf), I have my suspicions when the United States sides with fellow big polluters like China (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/04/30/AR2007043000127.html) on global warming issues.  If the United States is siding with China, it raises an, er, red flag for me - could we be on the wrong side on this one??

 

Regardless, as my dialogue with Unholy Rouler recently shows (http://unholyrouleur-jim.blogspot.com/2007/04/wasser-flaschen.html#links), good people who otherwise disagree on specifics can come to some agreement on some basics.

 

 

 

The bottom line?  Whether you think carbon offsets are a good idea or a scam (or somewhere in between); whether you think global warming is a reality or a global liberal conspiracy (or somewhere in between), some basic environmental principles in your daily life aren’t such a bad idea. My thought is to try doing some really small things, at least at first.  Wash all your clothes in cold water – the clothes last longer and you save some energy.  Plant a tree.  Or, my recent favorite, insist on seafood that’s fished in a sustainable way (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/05/01/AR2007050100446.html).  Monterey Bay Aquarium has some nice handy pocket seafood guides (http://www.montereybayaquarium.org/cr/seafoodwatch.asp).  Any of these things, and more, are easy to do and are really about living in a smart way.  Now, I’m not saying any of these small things will reduce global warming – indeed, some environmentally-friendly things you can do might have little to do with global warming – but doesn’t it all just make sense to attempt to reduce wasteful habits.  After all, frugality is an all-American concept, isn’t it?  Isn’t it Ben Franklin who said “waste not; want not”?

 

 

All this brings me to my final point.  People all over are starting to clue in about cycling as a good, clean, health and fun means of transportation.  Even rural Virginia is catching on (http://www.dnronline.com/search_details.php?AID=5572&CHID=1&key=bicycle&title=&author=&channelid=), and deep in the Shenandoah Valley, it seems that the recently-completed Tour of Virginia might have the added advantage of inspiring some to get out there and ride their bikes (http://www.dnronline.com/search_details.php?AID=10033&CHID=1&key=bicycle&title=&author=&channelid=)  My hometown of Detroit – yes, that’s right! The Motor City!  is celebrating Bike to Work day (http://detroitsynergy.org/projects/detroitbikes/folder.2007-04-26.0153150024/folder.2007-03-16.1917094854/news_item.2007-04-27.1056936960).  Mark your calendar:  It’s May 18^th.  Here at home, in the words of our Dear Leader, a “mighty two-wheeled tsunami of green and black will roll with authority eastward on that morning.”  More on this later.  In the meantime visit http://waba.org/events/btwd/index.php for Washington, DC Bike to Work Day events.

 

...Let the winds lift your banners from far lands
     With a message of strife and of hope:
Raise the Maypole aloft with its garlands
     That gathers your cause in its scope....

...Stand fast, then, Oh Workers, your ground,
     Together pull, strong and united:
Link your hands like a chain the world round,
     If you will that your hopes be requited.

When the World's Workers, sisters and brothers,
      Shall build, in the new coming years,
A lair house of life--not for others,
      For the earth and its fulness is theirs.

 Walter Crane, The Workers' Maypole, 1894

this post by mark kerlin would probably have gone by, unnoticed by many.  and yet that is not correct.  underappreciated by the average mid-atlantic rider, language is the basis of so much that we do.  maybe part of the reason the revolution is not coming along as nicely as we had hoped is that you all are having problems expressing yourselves.  look at kerlin...

Riding track bike.
Looking down fiddling with toe straps.
Crash into back of parked car.
Broke three teeth, bent fortk. Larry Black bends fork back, bike then rode
better than before.
I recommend Dr. John Martin Turner, DDS at 1800 Eye St., NW.

this is beautiful free verse.  you think i'm kidding, but i'm not.  check it.  on the second line, the words seem to lollygag, the syllables flowing easily, one into another, like a stream meandering, or a stoned courier weaving around in traffic.  you can picture the beautiful spring day, just out spinning on the bike, and then, wham!!!!  the third line is blunt, stacatto, matter of fact.  reality hits you in the same way the rider hits the car.  the damage is severe, and yet there is a silver lining.  and the lighthearted referral in the last line leaves one knowing that the rider has moved on with life.  many messages may be taken from this text. 

so with this we initiate the racing union poetry contest.  we are fleshing out the details, but we have actual prizes and we think we have an actual poet to use as a celebrity judge.  you must submit your poems by email to poetry@racingunion.org.  there are no formal rules.  express yourself as you see fit.  please avoid being profane simply to be profane: this is a family oriented blog.  we'll post updates as we accumulate prizes and might even have a brief interview with the celebrity judge.  be sure to provide some sort of contact info.  any anonymous poems will be deleted.  you may use a pseudonym, and we will publish the poem with that, so long as we can link the poem back to you.

and now to kick things off, after reading the second half of kerlin's email, with it's considerably less poetic description of a race mistake, i offer a haiku interpretation of his day in reston. 

overcooked the corner
too much speed, too little tire
not brave, but reckless.

two wheel drift.  Uh oh….
muscles the bars over.  too much!
pavement and skin meet.

see kids, it's easy.  now get there and see what you can do.

- - - posted by scott

this past sunday, josh, our current tzar of the racing union ministry of culture and entertainment, made an official state visit to the racing union bunker, deep below the plaza de la revolucion.  his principal purpose was to help restore the glory and utility of a beautiful pinarello he had picked up.  i'm not sure of it's age but the slx tubing andcomponent group give a rough guide.  it has a sweet four color fade and a very old dura ace groupo, including dura ace downtube shifters.  this bike is very much the new-old hotness.  regrettably, i had left my camera at a super deluxe and maximally fun bicycle birthday party that mikhail (our current tzar of making up crappy excuses for why he worked so hard for his teammates and then they couldn't come through and seal the deal) threw for his son nils the day before so i cannot pass along pictures.

but luckily josh got some shots and sent them along.  and here's the main point of the post.  i need help from the people.  josh and i sort of broke down a bunch of parts of the bike to make sure everything was working well.  it was all good except for the bottom bracket.  i don't really think this is a problem per se, but i am very curious about it.  the derailleur cables are routed through a small metal bracket welded to the bb shell.  they were obviously intended to be cable guides, but this seems like a very poor design.  the friction of the cable rubbing against the bb shell can't be good.  i know this was an intened feature.  for example, you can see, if you look carefully, that the bottom bracket has a small plastic sleeve around it.  you can see the two a's from the end of the word "dura" and the start of the word "ace".  if you've worked on old bikes or bought old parts, you'll recognize the sleeve: it's part of the old dura ace bottom bracket and keeps the water away from the bearing assemblies.  it predates the current cartridge system.

here's another look from a veyr similar model that josh pulled off ebay...

so here's the question: should these cable guides be refitted with small routing tubes, with the cable running through the tubes and the tubes running through the metal bracket, to prevent the derailleur cables from wearing themselves or the frame down from rubbing back and forth?  I'm thinking about the old gore "ride-on" cables that came with small sections of bright yellow, hard plastic sleeve to prevent the gore membrane from getting crushed.  does anyone have first hand experience with this?  any suggestions?  i assume people ran these configurations for years so maybe it's not an issue.  any and all help is appreciated.

- - - posted by scott

just got a series of message from sim over in the south of france.  he just got a cushy gig covering a series of races including flanders.  he sent along some nice pictures showing some of the details of the race.  the text is from his emails...

cobbles: "And here's one for the fine people of DC.  If my memory serves me right, people are often complaining about pot-holes in DC and about the state of VA roads.... "

museeuw's super pimp'd ride: You thought Museuw had horse power?  Sure he did... and still does!  Check "da-man's" sweet, fuel guzzling, non-ecological Audi beast...Shuv that in your Eco-friendly pipe and smoke it.  No doubt about it, this one is on steroids...No need for a license plate on this bad boy... if you can't figure out who's car it is... well.... enough said.

and finally, a cake celebrating the event.  i broke out some shots detailing the details.

this one isfor rudy vercaine, the last flandrian in virginia.  when your country has an equally solid traditionat cycling and at sweets, well, you've got to roll hard.  and these guys roll hard.

and once you're done with the cakes, the kids can take the decorations and have little pretend races.  what's not to like.  i declare this union approved.

you can email sim here and reach him on the web through his workplace here.

- - - posted by scott