fellowshipofthechainring.org

Ricco was caught with a new generation EPO (a blood booster), called cera. Apparently, some numbskull thought that maybe with a new strain of EPO, it might go “under the radar” (I’m really liking the “quote un-quote”). He’s been pulled from the Tour, and he’s got us wondering how deep this doping goes.

I’m glad they caught him; I’m glad the testing is working; I’m glad they’re holding their line; I’m sad there are so many desperate cyclists out there. I can’t imagine what might have happened had Floyd Landis won his appeal.

Now, Ricco’s entire team, Saunier Duval, has exited the tour.

“It’s a team decision not to start the race,” sporting director Matxin Fernandez told AP. “He’s our leader, we can’t act as if nothing happened. We suspend the activities of the team until we know what happened.”

I did my last training ride before Saturday’s MS Bike Ride through the covered bridges. I decided to do some hill training, so I took Little Joe up to Mt. Calvary Cemetary at Barnes & Skyline. It was a fun, albeit short (20 miles) ride. I managed to ride the entire hill without stopping (except for street lights), and I managed to keep from going into granny gear.

The Stats:

• Distance: 20.9 miles
• Time: 1:39 (hey, it was a decent hill and it was in the heat of the afternoon (so I’m not Ricco; sue me!)
• Top Speed: 39.1 mph  

I would have done better on my top speed coming down Barnes Rd., but my shocks in front occasionally cause my computer to ding the magnet, knocking it off. I heard the sound and instantly knew my computer was not giving me a read. I can’t stand not knowing my top speed, so I stopped to fix it (it took me a block to stop). Had I been completely unfettered, I would have easily topped 40.

Route:

• Take Baseline (from Aloha) to 158th
• Left on 158th & head north to Cornell Rd.
• Right on Cornell Rd & head to Barnes Rd. (aka Salzman for a moment)
• Turn right on Barnes (it’s a light just before Salzman)
• Take Barnes up the hill
• Turn to the right when Barnes turns into Burnside (it’s a right and quick left)
• Continue on Barnes to Skyline
• Turn around and have fun coming back

The Lowdown

Most of the route has a beautifully wide shoulder, but the traffic is heavy pretty much everywhere until you turn from Barnes to Barnes (to avoid Burnside). Be careful on Barnes about a mile past the hospital as the shoulder virtually disappears.

Kim Kirchen of Team Columbia takes the yellow jersey from Schumacher in the last kilometer.

I don’t suspect foul play, but according to the Tour’s official website, Schumacher was behind Kirchen when Ricco stood up to sprint to the finish (Ricco did win the stage). When Ricco stood, Kirchen “pulled his foot”—I assume that meant he almost crashed and had to pull his foot out of his pedal. That must have made Schumacher crash. I can see how a crash like this can happen. Stage 6 ended in steep, 10% grade, climb for 1.5 kilometers. I don’t know about you, but I would be standing just for survival, as opposed to sprinting to the finish).

The crash was enough to put Kirchen in the yellow jersey for the first time this year (for the first time ever, I think). Kirchen has been consistently in 2nd place throughout this Tour, so he’s been biding his time patiently. I’m very happy for Kirchen, ever since I read about his performance in the Tour de Suisse, and the fact that he’s on team Columbia (formerly team High Road).

This bodes well for the Fellowship of the Chainring Fantasy Team. As of stage 5, the team was in 139th place (out of over 3,000). This stage will give the team 54 points: Valverde will get 20 points (he took 2nd in the stage) and Kirchen will get 20 points for taking the yellow jersey and 14 points for taking 5th place for the stage,

1. VALVERDE Alejandro (CAISSE D’EPARGNE) 49 points
2. MC EWEN Robbie (SILENCE-LOTTO) 22 points
3. CAVENDISH Mark (TEAM COLUMBIA) 31 points
4. GERDEMANN Linus (TEAM COLUMBIA) 0 points
5. KIRCHEN Kim (TEAM COLUMBIA) 71 points
6. CARDENAS Felix (BARLOWORLD) 0 points
7. SOLER MAURICIO (BARLOWORLD) 0 points
8. SIUTSOU Kanstantin (TEAM COLUMBIA) 0 points
9. CIOLEK Gerald (TEAM COLUMBIA) 18 points

On a sad note, Mauricio Soler, dropped out of the race yesterday after a second crash. I had high hopes for Soler seeing as he was the king of the mountain for last year’s Tour de France.

I can see by your spandex that you are a cyclist.
I see by your spandex you are a cyclist too.
We see by our spandex that we are both cyclists.
If you get some spandex, you can be a cyclist too.

I must give credit to the Smothers Brothers for their parody of the Streets of Laredo song. I just gave it a cycling twist.

PS - Hey, Bob!

Listen, my children, and you shall hear a cautionary tale of a faithful bike whose persistent noise saved his owner fifty or more dollars. It all started on a cool Sunday morn in April . . .
I first noticed an odd sound during the Vancouver Discovery Walk ride (yes, the walk that’s also a ride). My bike started making an odd clicking noise. I thought I broke a dérailleur by doing bunny hops during the first half of the ride (by the way, bunny hops are so much more fun with clipless pedals). Fortunately, the bunny hopping had nothing to do with the clicking noise—it did, however, lead to a snapped spoke, but that’s another story.

I had not heard this exact noise before, and the last time I heard an odd noise, I discovered that I had the wrong pannier rack. This time, I knew that Little Joe (my bike) was telling me something. I don’t speak mountain bike, so I tried getting everyone within range of my bike to listen and look for odd sounds and movements, but no one could spot anything. By the end of the ride, I decided I better keep and eye (and ear) open to figure out what was wrong.

Fast forward to two weeks later: two nights before Reach the Beach. As I inspected my bike, I heard a clank: the sound of some kind of metal dropping to the garage floor. I looked around, but I could see nothing, so I chalked it up to one of many possible screws, nuts, or bolts that sat precariously on a shelf edge (yes, I need to clean up the garage). Then, upon further inspection, I noticed that my spoke was broken. I was about to feel shamed about all the bunny hopping I had been doing, but then I thought about the fact that this was a mountain bike, and if you can’t bunny hop with a mountain bike, you have no business with a mountain bike, so I chalked that one up to wear and tear.

I took the bike down off of the hanging hook, and it was then that I noticed the disc brake was not working correctly. Something was wrong; the break wouldn’t work at all. Great, I thought [notice the italics], it’s only two nights before Reach the Beach, and I have to get my spoke and disc brake fixed. I did a little internet search and discovered that it could be a disc break drum that fell out. It was then that I figured out the clanking sound; it was my disc brake drum pad landing on the garage floor. I explored the garage floor, and low and behold, there was a flat, little metal roundish looking thing, so I picked it up and wondered how much a replacement would cost.

The next day (the day before Reach the Beach), I dropped off the bike with the drum pad at Performance, and the guy fixed the spoke, and let me know that the drum pad was fine (it turns out that the drum pads are metalic, and there’s a magnet in the disc brakes; it just must have had too much dirt in between the housing and the pad), so he just stuck it back in. So after all the little mechanical mishaps, I figured that the clicking sound riddle was solved—end of story.

But it was not the end of the story. Not more than 2 miles into the Reach the Beach ride, the sound came back. Fortunately, unlike the Discovery Walk, this was a heavily supported ride with bike techs at every stop, so I had an REI tech check the funny noise. Just my luck, as he popped my bike up on the bike stand and explored all gears, Little Joe went mute—no sound at all. He looked it all over, but didn’t see anything out of the ordinary, so he did one last check: he measured the chain. Low and behold, the sound was simply a loose chain. He warned that loose chains must be replaced as soon as possible. He offered to replace the chain for free, but I still would have to pay for the chain, but alas, I had no loose change on me for the ride, so I had to wait.

It took me two weeks before I finally got around to getting a chain, but it only took me about 20 minutes to swap out chains. It’s a good thing our friendly neighborhood REI tech guy caught the problem. Had I not swapped chains in time, I would have to replace not only my chain but my freewheel and one or more chainrings. Of course, the real hero of the story was Little Joe’s persistent noise; had Little Joe said nothing, I would have probably waited another year, and then it would have probably cost me $100 dollars, instead of the $22 dollars for the chain.

And the moral of the story is: listen to your bike.

Performance Bike has a Tour de France Fantasy League competition, and the Fellowship of the Chainring has picked a team. I discovered the hard way last year that I should pick riders who have not been banned (this year I gave myself only 24 hours to spare to get the latest on banned riders). I feel sorry for anyone who picked members from team Astana, seeing as the entire team is banned from the tour this year. The other thing I figured out last year was to check on the formula for winning. Apparently, the yellow jersey is not as important as simply winning jersey points (green, white, polka dotted) and winning individual stages (you can have the best overall time without winning many stages).

So, without further ado, below are my team picks:

• VALVERDE Alejandro - I wanted a strong climber as this tour favors climbers
• MC EWEN Robbie - I liked what I saw last year, and his name popped up as a sprinter to watch out for
• CAVENDISH Mark - Mark, a Team Columbia rider (bonus right there) is also a strong sprinter
• GERDEMANN Linus - Other than the fact that I like the name, Linus, he faired very well (for such a bargain) as a one-time yellow jersey wearer last year and combativity award winner
• KIRCHEN Kim - Here’s another Team Columbia rider who took second in the Tour de Suisse, which must have many hills in it.
• CARDENAS Felix - I decided to look at Team Barlow, a team I had some respect for, and I explored the rider profiles of all riders that were in the right budget range, and Felix was one of them
• SOLER MAURICIO - He was last year’s King of the Mountains, so I’m going with Mauricio this year
• SIUTSOU Kanstantin - Another Team Columbia rider whose name popped up somewhere
• CIOLEK Gerald - I had $400 to spend and two rider slots left, so I looked for names that rang a bell and then read to see if they won anything (to be honest, I was getting ready to finish the team)

Some of these riders may not pan out at all, but I’m hoping the variety of riding styles of my top riders will pay off.

James Robert Shelton, 59, was found alongside Eola Hills Road, according to the Yamhill County Sheriff’s office. He was part of a Salem Bike Club group cycling from the Capitol through rural Yamhill County and back to Salem.

Shelton was one of about a dozen riders on the hilly, difficult course.

James Robert Shelton was one of three athletes who died in Oregon this past weekend (thanks Triguy for passing on the information). Another was a man (Patrick Findlay, 45) from Renton who apparently died of heart failure during the swimming portion of the Pacific Crest Triathalon, and the third was a man (Slieght Manivong, 34) who was found dead after a 10K charity run in Sandy.

Two of the deaths were heat-related, two were young (in my opinion—I’m months from 40), and all were tragic. Let’s stop for a moment and consider the three men. I want to give respect to their lives and their families and loved ones, which is why I posted their names.

“Man knows not his time” (Ecclesiastes 9:12)

The article said Shelton had a history of heart problems, and it seems he did not have water with him; the ride leader suggested that his water bottle could have rolled away when he crashed, which is possible. I cannot imagine that heat did not play a role. No matter what happened, it’s a good reminder for all cyclists to take extra precautions with the heat (it was our hottest day of the year). I think I’ll add a blog entry on safety precautions for summer rides in the coming days.

Our thoughts and prayers are with the lost ones’ families.

Ever since Discovery dropped their cycling team last year, I’ve been forlorn wondering what will become of Hincapie, what will become of American cycling. It turns out that things are looking up, and Team Columbia is the team to watch out for this year.

I’ve been reading snippets of cycling news and was aware that there was a new team, titled Team Columbia, but for some strange reason, I kept thinking it was the country Columbia. It never dawned on me that it was a team sponsored by Columbia Sportswear, a local company. Well, not only has Columbia stepped up and sponsored a team, but they’ve revamped the stellar Team High Road, with George Hincapie as captain, and the amazing talents of Kim Kirchen, and Mark Cavendish to name a few.

As their previous team name (Team High Road) implies, they are making a public anti-doping statement:

Through this stringent program, each member of the team gives a minimum of 26 random blood and urine tests per year. The volume of test results enables ACE to build extremely detailed longitudinal profiles of each rider so that they can detect small changes in body chemistry that might be caused by doping.

I hate to say this, but only time will tell if they can truly keep to the “high road.” I sure hope they do. I definitely know that they will be the team to watch out for in this year’s Tour de France.

Warning: the following blog is not for the squeamish!

In light of the many tragedies involving cyclists getting killed or severely injured by a bus or car in the Portland metro area, I’ve lately pondered whether I should continue riding on the road. Every time I go out, I wonder if I am taking an unnecessary risk. Should I just quit riding on the road and stick to single track? Is mountain biking more or less dangerous than road riding? Is it better to wrap yourself around a tree or a light post? Is it time to toss my slicks and keep only my knobbies for riding?

When I started riding, Breaking Away had come out on video, and I rode with the Barber of Seville running through my head dreaming of racing through the cobblestone streets of some small French village in the twelfth stage of the Tour De France. This was long before mountain bikes were sold, so when the mountain bikes first came out, I thought who in their right mind would want to ride a bike down a mountain. It seemed obvious to me that mountain biking must be more dangerous. After all, on a road bike, I’m only riding on smooth asphalt for the most part with a few potholes or gravel I need to avoid. Mountain biking, however, conjured up visions of slamming into cacti (I lived in Arizona) or breaking a collarbone as I smashed down onto a rock after doing an endo over a cliff.

To be honest, everyone I know who rides a mountain bike on any even moderately technical ride has crashed and bled or pulled a muscle or something unpleasant. As El Cap once told me, it isn’t mountain biking until you’ve crashed and/or you’ve had to walk your bike because the terrain is too tough (El Cap, you can correct me on this). I admit it; I don’t like to crash, and it’s my goal not to crash whenever I ride, but I know it goes with the mountain biking territory; I know that sooner or later I will crash.

The difference between mountain biking and road riding is that I’m 100% sure that I will crash in the next year or so while mountain biking. I’m not so certain about road riding. I don’t want to brag, but I don’t think I’ll crash while road riding, at least not due to the terrain or my riding ability. If I crash while road riding, I think that the odds would suggest it would be due to an automobile. I can have a perfect riding record, but I have no control over the drivers out on the road. It’s likely I may crash into a rock or tree, but It’s not likely I’ll have a rock or tree crashing into me.

Warning: yucky part coming up. It’s not too late to turn around, hit the back button, log off, whatever you need to do to avoid getting completely grossed out. . . .  Okay, I warned you. I can’t be held responsible for you losing your appetite.

I voiced these ponderings last Sunday at the first rest stop of the Vancouver Discovery Walk Ride (the walk that’s also a ride!) to anyone within earshot, and they mulled it over and seemed a little unconvinced, so I asked if anyone has ever heard of a mountain biker dying from an off-road accident. A rider, who I believe claimed to be a nurse, told us the story about a mountain biker who crashed and severed the top of his lip off. They had to graft half of his lower lip onto the top. She said the paramedics tried desperately to find the severed lip, but alas, could not find it. Their best guess was that he inadvertantly swallowed it.

So, other than the possibility of becoming a quasi-cannibal, mountain biking seems safer than road riding. You’re more likely to be injured while hitting the single track, but the much less common crash during a road ride may have more dire consequences.

What do you think?

Yes, you heard me right. The Vancouver Discovery Walk was actually a bike ride, and a walk, and even a swim. Those zany Vancouverites! Apparently, it’s mostly a walk, but I am happy that they choose to include a bike ride option; it gave me a perfect excuse to join with friends and hit the road.

Triguy was there, but El Cap could not make it. Unfortunately, my bride wasn’t able to share the joy. She’s recovering from bronchitis, and I don’t know about you, but I definitely recommend avoiding cycling while suffering from a lung illness.  

According to the website, the ride is a 50K ride, but in reality, the map (and my cyclocomputer) shows that it’s really only 48K. I was okay with that because I already had an extra 4.7 mile pre-ride and a 5 mile post-ride.

I highly recommend doing the ride, whether you join in the Discovery Walk festivities or you simply want a scenic (albeit flat) ride. We started on 6th and something (near the Hilton) did a loop around the downtown area (I think just to add to the mileage). Unfortunately, I don’t remember the street names, but that part can be modified or skipped. It’s the second section that’s more interesting. We turned left onto Mill Plain Blvd, rode over the train tracks (saw some piratical-looking transients), and then turned onto Lowell River Rd. and took it to the Vancouver lake park.

We ate some cookies and apples at the stop at the park. The highlight was the overweight retriever that begged for food. The people working the stop had their dog with them, and the dog panted non-stop the entire time we were there (the poor dog’s heart must be working overtime). I gave it praise and affection, but not food.

From there, we backtracked to Lower River Rd. Yes, we took Lower River Rd to get to Lower River Rd.; that’s because a mile before the Vancouver Lake park, Lower River Rd. splits in half. Anyway, we turned right on Lower River Rd instead of continuing on Lower River Rd. We then took Lower River Rd. all the way to the end of the road, where a poor sign was shot so many times, that you almost could not read the sign any more.

The second Lower River Rd. was the best part because it followed alongside the Columbia River. It also passes Frenchman’s Bar Regional Park (no Frenchmen were to be found) and Caterpillar Island Recreational area. The interesting thing about that area is a dilapidated shack that’s perched precariously at the edge of a steep enbankment that drops down into the slough (one little push would probably send it plummeting down upon the poor boats below). 

At the end of the road, we had our second and last stop (cookies once again, but no dog). We chatted then turned around and rode back.

The weather was perfect, the fellowship was grand, and the traffic was minimal. Fun was had by all.