it is probably difficult for the people who read this blog to understand the dynamics of real sports.  we go on endlessly about the nuances of hills and rolling terrain or the tactical savvy of a bold mid-race attack or the suffering of domestiques as they attempt to tow an entire field, catch a break and maintain their team captain's lead.  and yet we can't discuss the crushing, smashmouth offense that michigan state college football plays.  when the discussion around the keg switches to who was the greatest yankee pitcher from 1986 to 2006, we sort of stare at our shoes and shuffle away after saying "yeah" a few times when it seemed appropriate. 

so rather than wait for you all to ask me about this, i'll save you the awkward social interaction you'd rather avoid anyway by just telling you that michael vick is a piece of shit and that corporate sponsorship is eroding our morality to a point where to speak of right and wrong is a farce.  we have completed the transition of sports from the grecian ideal of approaching perfection to the lowest slime in the sewer.

the sordid details are sordid and you can find them being sensationalized on pretty much any major media outlet.  heck, even npr got into the action.  but the most stunnign aspect of the story to me is here.  vick has been indicted on federal conspiracy charges.  you'd think that might make an impact on a person.  he's made no comment.  you'd think that if he wasn't guilty (and even if he was frankly) that he'd deny it.  nope.

Vick has yet to comment publicly on the charges

so no denial.  not even a non-denial-denial.  he must feel bad about it right?

The indictment hit Vick personally Thursday when shoe manufacturer Nike announced it has suspended release of its Zoom Vick V shoe after "the serious and highly disturbing allegations."

this is unintended irony.  the incident didn't hit him, personally, until there was the threat of losing a shoe sponsorship.  seeing all that damage and abuse and horror?  not so bad.  losing a lucrative sponsorship contract with a company that exploits it's workers the way vick exploits dogs?  awooga awooga, damage control, dive dive.  okay, so if he's guilty of this, he's done for right?  right?!  dogs are man's best friend.  you don't hurt animals.  ever.  so this guy will be fired and his career is over.  done.  finis....huh?

The Beaverton, Oregon, company said in a written statement, "We have not terminated our relationship" and that Vick "should be afforded the same due process as any citizen."

wow.

i'm not one to say that an indiviual can't have due process.  he may not be guilty.  the same way santi botero and tyler hamilton (who incidentally swore on his wife's life on his cherished and recently deceased dog tugboat's grave that he hadn't doped!!11!!1) may not be guilty in spite of testing positive more than once.  for receiving tranfusions of each other's blood. and exhausting multiple judicial appeals.  it's all just a funny french mix up, disney should make a movie like freaky friday. 

...damn, i drifted off real sports back to cycling.  okay, focus.  back to our topic.  sponsorship.  and real sports.  and how they totally don't corrupt your view of what's right and what's wrong.  i just want to juxtapose these last two things to make the point clear:

1. Dogs that didn't show enough fighting spirit, or lost matches, were put to death by methods that included shooting, drowning, hanging and electrocution, according to the indictment. Prosecutors allege that on one occasion earlier this year, Vick participated in killing eight dogs. (link)

2. The Beaverton, Oregon, company said in a written statement, "We have not terminated our relationship" and that Vick "should be afforded the same due process as any citizen." (link)

well there you have it.  for those hoping that we ground ourselves as a culture, and make a stand here, you're mistaken.  you have overlooked that there is now a complete interdependence between "corporate marketing" and "sports!!!" and the precious result of that relationship is dumptruck loads of money.  regrettably, models reflecting the most cutting edge thinking in understanding public acceptance of depraved behaviour all point towards this thing fizzling out to nothing.  we are rapidly accellerating down the slippery slope.  bon route.

-posted by scott

take a long hard look at this:

http://www.cyclingnews.com/road/2007/tour07/tech/?id=/tech/2007/features/tour_tech_607

there is an obvious message here (riders seek the very best materials that they can) and a more subtle message.  the more subtle message is that the wheels are coming off the cart of traditional sponsorship arrangements, proving once again the vast wisdom, scope and insight of the racing union philosophy.

sponsorhsip deals are (generally) mutually adventageous.  high level teams get free product which reduces their operating costs.  (yes, we understand the principles of western economic thought - ed)  simultaneously, the mantra goes, manufacturers get valuable exposure among those who obsessively follow the sport and can market the team and it's image to consumers with more money than common sense.

what this article makes clear is the drift towards an equipment based meritocracy.  racers need to use effective, durable, lightweight and solid components and parts.  they are less concerned with appeasing sponsors and more concerned about getting good results.  so they go with what works.  the re-branding is a charade, designed to keep up appearances.  but the writing is on the wall.  the days of massive entanglement between corporate money and cycling are on the wane and a meritocracy is on the rise.

-sg

the racing union patriotism portal, dim for a period too long, is now afire with the message of the glorious revolution in cycling and the social order.  as with the enlightened europeans, we have taken a prolonged vacation through the hot summer months and return, committed to our work, tanned, rested and revolutionary.

we return,this fine morning, with something for the younger revolutionaries.  and end to the subtle tyranny and mind control that most of the pablum that passes for children's literature has become. 

http://buyo.blogspot.com/2006/09/really-revolutionary-engine.html

it's got it all.  rabble rousing, solidarnosc and social unrest.  what child, worth their salt as a revolutionary could deny the stirring message and gripping plot.  those who espouse maoist-unionist thought may feel that the failure of the engines to make a show of the execution of the fat controller is weak, and the rationale for excluding this sort of thing from children's literature weaker still.  the majority of you who avow marxist-leninist-unionist thought should find the end appealing and suitable.

hasta la victoria siempre, venceremos!  union!  union!

-sg

• Condemnation:  WashCycle (http://washcycle.typepad.com/home/2007/06/terry_lynch_sav.html#comments) points to a City Paper article giving an assist to Terry Lynch, the Executive Director of Washington’s Downtown Cluster of Congregations, in the city’s attempt to steal bikes from downtown streets.  The self-righteous Terry Lynch is a contradiction: his opposition to what he deems “abandoned” bicycles on the city streets is all about his admirable goal to make downtown Washington more livable; yet his definition of “livable” is oft-times bizarre.  I recall his successful efforts several years ago to re-route the St. Paddy’s Day 10-K from the city streets of Washington – the real Washington – to the monumental core instead.  Why?  Because he felt the 10-K discouraged people from going to church because of a disruption of traffic patterns.  I still recall his statement that, because beer was to be served at the finish line (It’s a St. Patrick’s Day event, for crying out loud!), the event sent the message that, instead of going to church, people ought to go downtown and drink beer.  Nevermind people who don’t go to church.  Or people who go to church and would like to drink beer too.  Or people who are simply there to enjoy the running.  I shudder to think how Lynch would take to a bike race downtown.  Narrow-minded thinking doesn’t allow for imagining the possibilities, and Terry Lynch demonstrates that.  A bunch of people running on downtown streets, followed by an after-race party downtown strikes me as a great way of making the city streets come alive and more livable, but the Reverend Lynch apparently knows better – just as the Reverend Lynch apparently knows which bikes are abandoned which are not.

• Praise:  A special shout-out to www.GamJams.net.  Several of us Racing Unionistas have enjoyed for some time this newsworthy and notable blog single-handedly created by a member of Artemis who’s love and enthusiasm for the sport of cycling is clear and downright infectious, but its nice to see his acknowledgment (http://www.gamjams.net/2007/06/keeping_tempo_6_3.html#comments) for Racing Union’s efforts to advocate on behalf of all who toil on two wheels:  racers, commuters, and recreational cyclists.  Thanks for the kind words, and back at you, GamJams!

-- posted by Chris 

--posted by Bryan

i was fairly bummed out this morning.  i had one of those unusual commutes where nothing goes right.  my fellow commuters who were using four wheels instead of two seemed especially anxious and lacking in patience or compassion.  so i opted for a less direct but lower key route than usual.  given the poor start to the day, it was rather uplifting today to see this...

http://www.fabb-bikes.org/blog/2007/06/fairfax-county-gets-serious-about-on.html

and specifically, this:

http://www.fabb-bikes.org/blog/bikertltr1jun2007.pdf

i don't think there's any question at this point that progress is being made.  it's incremental, but it's being made.  i've posted a bunch of stuff here about groups like fabb.  i've gotten some supportive mail and some notes that question whether there's really a difference being made.  i think that what's especially valuable here is that there's a solid effort to work in conjunciton with county government to present a unified approach.  vdot is like any governmental agency: they have more work that they can reasonably accomplish, more stakeholders than they can ever satisfy, and all sorts of people with opposite ideas controlling their budget.  groups like fabb are taking advantage of this by building concensus and seeking incremental change.  and this will be simple to evaluate as well: either the work will be done or the work will not be done.  for every one of these projects that get's completed, especially if it's near you and you utilize it, consider a thank you to the county supervisors.

- posted by scott

I've commented here recently about how Che Guevara rode a bicycle.  Not too much of a surprise, as riding a bicycle IS a revolutionary act.  Che was also following in the footsteps of Lenin.

Writer Nadezhda K. Krupskaya published “Reminiscences of Lenin” in 1933, and recalls of Lenin’s time in Paris from 1909-1910:

“Studying in Paris was very inconvenient. The Bibliotheque Nationale was a long way off. Vladimir Ilyich usually cycled there, but riding a bicycle in Paris was not what it was in the suburbs of Geneva. It was a great strain. Those cycle rides tired him out. The library closed at lunch time. There was a lot of red-tape in the arrangements for ordering books, and Ilyich swore at the library, and while he was at it, at Paris in general. I wrote to a French professor who had been giving French lessons at the summer courses in Geneva, asking him to recommend some other good libraries. I received an immediate reply, giving me the necessary information. Ilyich made the round of all the libraries mentioned but none of them was suitable. In the end his bicycle was stolen. He used to leave it on the stairs of a house next door to the Bibliothetque Nationale and pay the concierge ten centimes a day for it. When he came for the bicycle and found it gone, the concierge declared that she had not been hired to look after the bicycle but only to let Ilyich keep it on the stairs.

Riding a bicycle in Paris and the suburbs required great care. Once, on his way to Juvisy, Ilyich was nearly run over by a motor-car. He barely managed to jump clear, and the bicycle was wrecked.”

Let’s repeat that last bit:  “Ilyich was nearly run over by a motor-car.  He barely managed to jump clear, and the bicycle was wrecked.”  Is there any wonder how and why the revolution occurred? 

--posted by Chris 

Saturday's Quicksilver race made for a nice outing with four of us in the 30+ race.  Below are some snaps from that one.  I have no pictures from the Cat. 5 race (in which Kevin placed fourth and I got a seventh place), because I was busy ... er ... racing.

- posted by Chris

We have a Bike to Work Day, just concluded, in the Washington area.  But, as I heard on CBC radio this morning, in one of my favorite cities – Halifax, Nova Scotia – they have a whole week devoted to bicycles - “Bike Week” is happening right now (http://www.halifax.ca/bikeweek/). 

Halifax is truly a civilized place – that’s not only because it home to one of the best museums around, the Maritime Museum of the Atlantic (http://museum.gov.ns.ca/mma/index.html), and the part-time home of the Bluenose II (http://museum.gov.ns.ca/bluenose/index.html) - a replica of the famous racing schooner which appears on the Canadian dime, and a grand tribute to the common man (http://www.currencymuseum.ca/eng/learning/coins_dime.php). 

I’ve been to Halifax on several occasions, and each time I’ve gone, I’ve been amazed at the behavior of motorists towards pedestrians and cyclists:  cars often literally screech to a stop if you so much as lift your foot over the curb to cross at an intersection.  The municipality is also a green – not only do they require residents to recycle, they have a “green can” municipal composting program (http://www.halifax.ca/wrms/greencart.html).  Truly, Halifax is smaller then Washington, but it is the unofficial capital of Atlantic Canada, and it’s a place from which we here in Washington can learn a great deal.

-- posted by Chris

I've just started reading Jon Lee Anderson's 1998 biography of Che Guevara, "Che Guevara:  A Revolutionary Life."  (http://search.barnesandnoble.com/booksearch/isbnInquiry.asp?z=y&endeca=1&isbn=0802135587&itm=4)  It's a good read thus far, though I'm early on in the book - he's in Guatemala right now, witness to the US government/United Fruit Company-sponsored coup against the democratically-elected Arbenz government there (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jacobo_Arbenz_Guzm%C3%A1n).  His dislike of the United States is just developing - when you read some of details of US policy in that part of the world (though this book doesn't get into too many details), there's little wonder how that could happen!

What does any of this have to do with bicycles?  Well, check out the photo.  Lots of people know all about the popular movie from back in 2004, Motorcylce Diaries (http://libcom.org/news/article.php/review-motorcycle-diaries-che-guevara), which was about a trip Guevara made through Latin America by motorcycle with a friend.  That's in the book too.  But, prior to that trip, in 1948, he ventured off to remote Northern Argentina from the city on a bicycle equipped with a motor - the one he's sitting on in the photo.  Not quite a bicycle, but certainly not a motorcycle.  He put in a lot of pedaling on this thing, apparently - and a lot of road-side repairs.

- posted by Chris

Attention Commrades! The following message is being brought to you by the Supreme Council for Propogation of Message and Truth!

Begin transmission:

"In an attempt to broaden the reach of the Racing Union’s message throughout all facets of the two wheeled revolution and to truly realize the organization’s potential, we will be branching out our repertoire to include a few mountain bike races this season. We will plan to get out for at least a couple of Greenbelt-esq. Wednesday’s at Wakefield rides and also plan on competing in the Cranky Monkey Series which includes two races at Wakefield, one at Fountainhead and one at the Quantico Marine Corps Base.

If anyone would like to join us for any of these races please feel free to do so. The Union will be present at many if not all of the these races and will look to continue the growth of the revolutionary army by digging deeper in to the world of cycling. The chasm that is found between the different sectors of cycling is no longer acceptable and the Union must work to eliminate it. The time for partisan bicycling politics is over; let’s reach out to our brother’s and sister’s on two wheels, no matter how fat those wheels may be and revolutionize the cycling world from all angles!

Revolutionary points WILL be awarded to alternative forms of transportation including but not limited to: public transportation, riding of bikes to the race and car pooling (the more people in the car the more points awarded). The driving of an SUV with one passenger and bike will result in a large net loss of revolutionary points."

End transmission.

This Message has been cross-posted by Comrade Kmax aka Max aka Blud aka Maxblud aka Kevin

when i first read this, my thought was: did kay mean "decompensation" as in a business man who has lost his meal ticket?  that would have been remarkably crass, though in this case, it would also be a brilliant freudian slip. 

i was wrong and that was made clear to me here.  i still think that "destruction" would be more appropriate on many levels.  also in the running are demolition, devastation, dissolution, disaster, downfall, debacle, disintegration, decay, and diminution.

-sg