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July 28, 2006

Turn Left!

Finally, after many starts and fits (due in equal part to weather and other obligations), I made it down to the Oval on Washington Blvd. for the bi-weekly track races. I was genuinely nervous about it--unlike an alleycat, your lack of speed is readily apparent. My goal was to simply not embarrass myself. I had spent the better of two days obsessing over gear selection. By Thursday evening, I had it narrowed down to 48x16 or 45x14, with the latter providing a few more gear inches. After talking with Dave, I settled on 45x14, convincing myself that I would need everything I could. So, I left work early, rode home (likely my second error--my commute is hilly, and even on a slow day, it takes a little something out of my legs), and prepped the Surly by swapping out the cog, replacing the Midges with the track drops, and removing the front brake.

Five other riders showed up, three of them messengers, the others two serious looking racers with rather nice track bikes. It was at this point I made my peace with being last in every race (good thing, too). The first race was a two lap points races. Most of the first lap was slow, then the speed was turned up on the second lap. The group was together heading into the final corner. Here I made tactical mistake number one: I was in front coming out of the turn.

But wait. Before I continue, I think it is important to clarify something. The Oval is not a velodrome. It is an old driver's licensing test course which, thanks to the city and a few deep pockets, was converted to a cycling track. Yes, the corners are banked (nothing like a proper velodrome), but it is considerably longer than your typical track, and the home straight has a hill. That's right. A small rise. Nothing that bothers the roadies, but one a track bike, geared for the flats, it's enough to redline your engine every lap. To make matters worse, corner four dips a bit on the inside, forcing another small rise before the steady incline to the start/finish line. Yes, the inside line is faster, but it is harder. Much harder.

So where was I? Right. Tactical mistake. I was leading the group out, and the stronger riders blew by me. My chance at redemption was to take fourth place, and move in the next race. I was holding it as we approached the crest, but at the last moment the thought of racing immediately made me think "do I really want to do that again?" and I allowed someone to take me at the line. I did manage fifth, but that was little consolation.

Race two: a pursuit, styled like a 1500 meter speed skating event. Two riders started together for a two lap race. Each rider had to hold a lane (inside and outside) for a lap, then at the start/finish line, they would cross. I took the inside line for lap one. I rode steadily, picking up some speed in the back straight (where I could), and I extended that lead a bit more coming out the final corner. Switching lanes I held the lead through the back straight into the turn, but my partner, a rather large fellow named Pat, was gaining, thanks to the shorter line through the corner. I didn't take enough advantage of the higher line coming out of turn four (which carries you beyond the slight rise), and he slipped ahead on the finishing straight. I could hear him coming, the Mavic disc on his Fort humming from the effort. I managed to finish on his wheel, though our times where the slowest of the bunch. I was fairly content though, having actually made a race of it.

Race three: six laps, one point for each lap winner. I had one shot--lap one. I was sitting second back coming out of turn four, and I thought maybe, just maybe I could do it, but someone with bigger legs than I came flying (I mean flying) out of the high line to take the lap. Pat spent it all right there, and sat up. I managed to stay with the bunch through another two laps, then I faded and pulled out. Not bad, I suppose, for someone not used to going that hard over that distance.

Race four: A Madison. 15 laps. We were paired off by organizer, and I would act as a dead weight for the current points leader, Randy. I apologized for my lack of speed while we were warming up, and he just laughed it off. We were a good pair if only because we were the odd men out. Randy was wearing cut-offs, a t-shirt, and a pair of Vans. I was kitted out with cotton shorts, a t-shirt, and my "casual" cycling shoes. Randy, however, was riding a new 3Rensho keirin bike, kitted out with full NJS gear, including Araya rims with Gan Well Pro tubs. I knew seven laps at speed would absolutely crush me, so my goal was to keep contact for as long as possible. This lasted through perhaps four of my laps. Then slowly, the other riders pulled away, and at the last exchange, I apologized again. No worries, he said. All in good fun.

My poor performance managed to drag Randy down from the points lead, though he did take second overall for the evening. I was dead last, as expected. Was it fun? Absolutely. I had no delusions of grandeur--I simply wanted to give it a try. Will I go back? Yes, with a slightly lighter gear. I just don't have the legs to power through the final straight will a tall gear. I never felt terrible on the back straight; it was simply a matter of being able to start a good sprint from turn four. I may fiddle with 48x16 and head down to the track for a spin before the weekend is up, just to see what it feels like. And my goal for two weeks from now? Well, I have two. First, to finish with points (even just one). Second, to drag along a few friends. Misery loves company.

July 24, 2006

Rub-a-Dub

Today was the Rub-a-Dub alleycat, a scavenger hunt style race that required the racers to find various plaques around the city and do rubbings of them, Indiana Jones-style. I dragged along four first time alleycat-ers--Jen, Doug, and our neighbors Seth and Nikki. My poor performances on scavenger hunt alleycats are well documented, so I was up for a nice ride around the city.

As expected, I stared blankly at the manifest for 30 minutes until Jen asked "well, what's the plan?" To which I responded "ummm, dunno, do I?" Doug, being a suburbanite, offered little advice (though he made up for that with good conversation during the ride), so Jen and I tried to map out a route from the chaos. The manifest indicated that our lowest 50 scored rubbings would count (I was worried that we had only planned for 35 stops--hah), so we plotted a good mix of higher valued stops that didn't require any crazy hills.

And off we went. A handful stops in Oakland went by quickly (though we nearly missed several of them--a portant of things to come), and soon we were cruising down Fifth Avenue to town. Once we in town, we missed the Frick building (I mixed up the Frick and the Dominion building, which would be ok except that we passed the Frick building), but hit a handful of other stops in town and in the North Side. As an added bonus, all sorts of folks were in 'tahn for the Bon Jovi concert (duuude, Bahn Jovi? We gotta go dahn for that!).

We dawdled a bit looking for the plaque on the railroad bridge at 10th Street (never found it), and by the time we reached the Catholic church in the Strip District, we had to cut out the Lawrenceville/Highland Park leg in the interest of time. We did manage another stop or two on the way back to Flagstaff Hill, though we could not find the plaque on Phipps Conservatory (we didn't try very hard).

Jen pulled in 2nd place among the women, while I'm sure I finished outside the to 10 for the men. Apparently the winners gambled on the highly valued Spring Garden stops, which required climbing up and over Mt. Troy. We were a bit intimidated by this when we saw on it on the manifest, but looking back it probably would have been worth it, as the climb up and over Mt. Troy isn't all that terrible.

July 20, 2006

Not Dead Yet

After writing an obituary for this year's Tour de France, the race has been completely turned on its ear. First, on Tuesday, favorite Floyd Landis cracked in a most spectacular fashion, losing nearly nine minutes to his competitors. How spectacular was it? Nearly everyone in the peleton was shocked at the result. Oscar Pereiro (he of the 30 minute let-him-he's-not-a-factor breakaway) reclaimed the yellow jersey, and suddenly Carlos Sastre of Team CSC and Andreas Kloden of T-Mobile were in the hunt as well. Commentators everywhere were writing eulogies for Landis and his chances to even make the podium.

What a difference a day makes.

While many other riders might be crushed by such a performance, Landis came back and rode the sort of stage he should ridden on L'Alpe D'Huez. With 128km left in the stage, Landis left his rivals, and never looked back. While CSC and T-Mobile were surprised, they were (rightfully) slow to react, expecting that Landis might burn the wick too early, and crack yet again before the day's last, most difficult climb, the Col de Joux-Plane (which has the distinction of breaking a certain Texan a few years ago). The gamble by Sastre, Kloden, and Pereiro did not pay off, as they could only manage to limit Landis' gains to five minutes, which, thanks to time bonuses, vaulted Landis into third overall, only 30 seconds adrift of Pereiro.

While it is tempting to write the storyline for tomorrow's transitional stage to include a big break by Landis or Kloden or Sastre, look for Discovery to perhaps leave a final mark on the race by looking to get Hincapie or Popovych away in an early break. CSC's Jens Voight will also likely be active, and Sastre will not need him. The race will come down to Saturday's individual time trial, and it is hard not to like Landis' chances. He finished over a minute ahead of Pereiro and Sastre in the race's first TT, so he merely needs a solid ride, where Sastre or Pereiro need the ride of their lives to pull out a win.

July 18, 2006

Where Have You Gone, Lance Armstrong?

Today was supposed to the Le Tour's version of judgement day--the 21 switchbacks of L'Alpe D'Huez, each corner named after a victor, loomed over the peleton as it does so many years. This would, finally, separate the wheat from the chaff, and provide a bit of the drama that this year's race has generally lacked. Many a Tour has been won or lost on the narrow ribbon of tarmac. This year's batch of contenders stood within a few minutes of one another in the general classification, and it was expected that someone, perhaps Kloden, or Menchov, or Landis, would put his mark on this race.

But it wasn't to be. A large break escaped early, and Frank Schleck held off the rapidly approaching chasers and took the stage win. Behind him, Landis, Kloden and Garzelli left a rapidly splintering group of riders, with Landis' ride just good enough to take the maillot jaune. Dennis Menchov, despite being paced by Rabobank's fleet of mountain goats, could do not stay on Landis' wheel, and so went his hopes for victory. Landis never attacked, and Kloden stayed glued to his rear wheel. While Schleck's attack high on the slopes made for an exciting finish, Landis' ride left something to be desired. It lacked that moment, like Armstrong, looking back at Ullrich and speeding off. Or Armstrong turning to his lieutenant Savodelli, and the pair speeding away from the bunch. Yes, Armstrong's victory was always sure, but even in the easiest years, he owned the peleton, and put his stamp on the victory.

Operación Puerto stole the Tour from us before it even began. Lost to the doping allegations where Jan Ullrich and Ivan Basso, who, in the absence of the Texan, could fight it out in the Alps and in the time trials, bringing an excitement and uncertainty to an event that had become little more than a 21 day celebration ride. Gone also was the fiery Khaz rider Vinokaurov, who only knew how to attack, attack, attack. We were left with Floyd Landis, a strong rider who has just started to come into his own, and a bunch of riders who, before the start, might have been content with a top five finish.

There was hope. Landis had a strong early season, winning the Tour of California and Paris-Nice. But he lost two critical climbers to the Spanish doping sting, and that left Phonak open to attack. Could they defend the yellow jersey? We found the answer to that question after the Pyrennes. Landis was content to watch Oscar Pereiro and Jens Voight put 30 minutes between themselves and the peleton, thus putting Pereiro in the yellow jersey. Landis and Phonak contended they took a conservative approach, thus forcing Pereiro's Illes Balears team to control the peleton. This tactic has been criticised by many within the cycling (led by no less than Bernard Hinault), and if Landis is not atop the podium in Paris on Sunday, it will be questioned for years to come.

It is hard to imagine Armstrong and the Discovery "Blue Train" allowing a break to get so far ahead, especially when it challenged the maillot jaune. Armstrong and his Discovery teammates took the leadership role very seriously, and Armstrong did not take dissension within the peleton very kindly (his arrogance being one of his strengths, and weaknesses).

It is worth noting the effort that Pereiro put forth today on the flanks of L'Alpe D'Huez, as the wearer of the yellow jersey. He very nearly held it one more day, which would have been three more days than anyone expected. Illes Balears should be commended for the effort, and Periero proudly defended his prize. It also provides fodder for Landis' critics, as a slightly more superhuman ride from Perreiro would have kept the jersey on his shoulders and forced Landis to work even harder tomorrow. Take the race when you can, Floyd! Don't wait 'til Paris. Make it yours.

Will someone make a race of it tomorrow? T-Mobile, with Kloden, Gonchar, and Rodger at their disposal, should send each off in separate attacks, forcing Phonak's rather weak hand and, more importantly, forcing Landis to counter. Menchov's Rabobank squad is equally flush with climbers. Send Flecha, then Rasmussen, off to attack. It will difficult for someone to unseat Landis now. Even if they could get the yellow jersey, with an individual time trial looming on Saturday, the rider would need a minimum of two minutes on Landis to hope to wear the jersey in Paris.

So indeed, where have you gone, Lance Armstrong? We thought your leaving would be a better, more exciting Tour. Instead we're left with this--watching breaks go away, and hoping one will stick, just to make things interesting. I wanted someone to control the Tour, to impress his mark upon it, to seize it and say "this is mine." What we have, however, is a rider who wishes the jersey to fall on his back in Paris, and nothing more.

July 13, 2006

Fear the Agrarians

Fr. Jape has focused his ire on Anthony Sacramone's recent tirade against anyone who has the nerve to question unfettered consumerism.

What can explain this little rant of Antonio Sanctimonious? He claims to like pollution, video games, cell phones, and other alleged amenities of urban life that look positively base alongside the real and undisputed goods of city living. I would surmise the man is simply an uncultured buffoon who is perhaps tired of the scant number of online “anarchists” and agrarians (urban or otherwise) who pop up hither and yon, nobodies really, and grab an inordinante amount of attention in the small world of professional religious conservative culture warriors.

Update

Again, via the Jape, Michael Brendan Dougherty lets go against the "anti-crunchies."

July 08, 2006

Le Tour, Week One

The door was wide open. The two pre-race favorites, Jan Ullrich and Ivan Basso, were left off their respective teams' rosters thanks to connections with the doctor at the center of a Spanish doping sting. Americans Floyd Landis, George Hincapie, and Levi Leipheimer found themselves starting as favorites to win the general classificiation. After a week of sprinters' stages (more on that later), today's 52km individual time trial promised to separate the wheat from chaff in the GC. Other Americans David Zabriskie and Bobby Jullich hoped to turn in strong performances as well, though neither had much in the GC.

But the door was slammed shut. T-Mobile's Sergui Gonchar (who's name I saw spelled every which way by the wire services) posted the fastest time, at just over an hour. Though few had him for the stage win, Gonchar is no stranger to riding fast, having won the TT in the World Championships in 2000. The only American up to the task was Landis, who finished second, just over a minute slower than Gonchar. The others? Leipheimer proved the curse of the Dauphine is alive and well, finishing over six minutes (!) off the pace. Short of a miracle in the mountains, his Tour chances are over. A good race at this point might be a top 10 in the GC. Bobby Jullich saw his Tour end in a crash in the opening kilometers. Zabriskie could manage no better than 13th. Hincapie finished a pedestrian 24th, nearly three minutes off the pace. Hincapie, however, is only a minute and a half behind Landis in the GC, so all hope is not lost.

And the week that was. Aussie sprinter Robbie McEwen snatched three stages, and holds a ten point leader in the points standings. Tom Boonen had the best and worst week--he could not manage a stage win, but he held the yellow jersey for three days, an impressive feat in itself (it is worth noting that Boonen, the current world champ, joins Bernard Hinault and Greg Lemond as the only rainbow jersey wearers to hold the yellow jersey simultaneously). Boonen attempted a breakaway on Friday and though it was reeled in rather quickly, he showed great poise and aggression by simply trying to get away. All is not lost for Boonen, as he is second in the points standings, with one more sprinters' stage tomorrow before Monday's rest.

The race moves to the Pyrennes on Wednesday, and two difficult mountain stages should further refine the list of GC contenders.

July 05, 2006

On Parenthood

I was in the middle of long-ish post on place and localism, when I came across this essay by Emily Yoffe, subtitled Advice columnist wonders what America's got against parenthood. Yoffe, in her "Dear Prudence" column at Slate, recently advised a young woman to rethink the policy of remaining childless. This touched the collective nerve of Slate's readers, and Yoffe was skewered for suggesting such a thing. Responding to her critics, Yoffe begins with what is generally considered the traditionalist, conservative argument for having kids--demographics:

What is going on when there is so much scorn for parenthood – the way a society perpetuates itself? Fertility rates are much in the news these days. The United States is rare among developed nations in that it is still producing children at a replacement rate. But many countries collectively agree with the people who wrote to me – that children are a tantrum wrapped in a diaper and not worth the trouble. So, Germany, Italy, Japan and Spain, among others, are going down the demographic tubes, with shrinking pools of young workers to support growing masses of seemingly immortal retirees.

But quickly, she veers into the emotional side of parenthood, and it's here that I stand by her.

In our society, parents do a wonderful job of portraying the difficulties of having children: the financial burdens, the time drain, the guilt, the exhaustion. But we do a lousy job of getting across something else about parenthood: It's fun! When you are experiencing parenthood from the inside, there is an overwhelming pleasure in the funny, fascinating things your children do.

I will take this a step further and say that the worst of times--tantrums, nightmares, soiled underwear--are no match for the tender moments--your child singing his bedtime songs with you, or zooming around the playground on his bicycle with an enormous smile on his face. Those moments melt even the worst stress and frustration. The cynic might call me selfish, but this only looks at one side of the coin. The other side is the discipline of being a parent--sacrificing all manner of things (though, in the end, so many sacrifices don't really that way) for your children, your family.

As Yoffe points out, parents are changing the world, "saying yes" to the future, one child at a time. Raising children, good children, is the best action we can take to preserve what is important to us and, at the same time, change things for the better. As trite as it may be, kids are our future. Seems obvious, doesn't it? But apparently not everyone gets it.

July 02, 2006

Le Tour

The Tour of France started yesterday. You may have heard. Folks were saying this was going to be the most wide open race in years, and that was before favorites Jan Ullrich and Ivan Basso were suspended by their teams for apparent connections to the doctor at the center of Operacción Puerto. Now the race is most certainly a crapshoot, with no clear favorite. A group of friends have started an informal pool for the winner, so here are my picks:

Yellow Jersey:
1. Landis
2. Valverde @ 1:45
3. Leipheimer @ 2:00

Green Jersey:
1. Boonen
2. Hushovd
3. McEwen

Polka Dot Jersey:
1. Rasmussen
2. Mayo
3. Valverde

White Jersey:
Ummm....dunno, do I? Based on my calculations, Popo is a year too
old (must be younger than 25). I looked at the current classification after stage 1, and didn't recognize a single name.

Team Classification:
1. Disco
2. CSC
3. Phonak

I wish I could take back my points (green jersey) pick--Boonen had a terrible sprint today, and Hushovd was injured when he tried to squeeze next to the barriers. There's lots of racing to be done though. It's worth noting that George Hincapie took advantage of a prime and snuck into the yellow yersey (after losing the prologue by a fraction of a second--literally). Hincapie joins an exclusive club of Americans who have worn the malliot jaune--Greg Lemond, David Zabriskie, and some guy named Armstrong. Hincapie is still (rightfully) downplaying his chances in the general classification, as Discovery has several riders who step up during the time trials and, more importantly, the mountain stages.

July 01, 2006

Rallycat Pittsburgh

The race went off this morning, and 27 brave souls showed up to test their navigational skills against the course. As folks were pouring over maps during registration, I wandered around asking about potential courses through the checkpoints. Some folks were going to brave the hills and unmarked streets between the North Side and Shaler, which made me quite happy as that was my intention in laying out the course, but others had decided to simply do and out-and-back along Mt. Royal. It seemed that there was going to be a variety of paths taken, which would make for an interesting outcome, and good stories for after the race.

This was probably the most diverse crowd I've seen at an alleycat, with a handful of roadies, kitted out in full lycra, a messenger or two, and a random bunch of cyclists. The split between fixed and geared bikes was nearly even, and there were even three women in attendence. At 10:30 AM I sent the racers on their way, and I expected that the roadies would be back in roughly an hour and half, with a steady trickle of other folks following.

And I was right. The five of them came in almost extactly 90 minutes later, all very happy with the course. Since they were going to take the five prizes for the geared division, they said they'd be glad to split the spoils up among themselves, which made my job of distributing prizes much easier. A few minutes later, Dave showed up on his fixie, missing the North Side checkpoint info. I told him he was first fixed in, and he took off again, trying to get to the stop and still land in prizes. Whatever happened, he was flying, and his finishing time was quite impressive.

Soon after that, there was a steady flow of racers returning, all with completed manifests, and all with smiles on their faces. Everyone had a good time, even those that either: A) got lost or B) missing the Vinial Street checkpoint the first time (apparently my directions were unclear, and for that I am sorry). It took roughly an hour for everyone to roll in, but no one abandoned, which made me happy. The fixed gear riders held their own on such a long hilly course, with several filling out the top ten overall.

The prize places were:

Geared
1. Jared Babik
2. Jake Lifson
3. Mike Stubna
4. Ed Krall
5. Charlie Chulak

Fixed
1. Dan Goldberg
2. Dave Krach
3. Dan Wilson
4. Dave Gingrich
5. Joshua Seibert

Women
1. Amy Garbank
2. Thanita Adams
3. Lauren Sloan

Thanks to Surly, Timbuk2, and Crumpler for the prizes. I had so much stuff, I was able to raffle off two Crumpler bags for folks that didn't finish in the top 5, and, overall, 15 of the 27 people walked with something for their efforts. And, better still, the prizes will allow to donate roughly $115 to Bike Pittsburgh. Everyone wins!

Photos from the start are here.