BKW: Andy Hampsten, 1986 - Inside La Vie Claire

Belgian Knee Warmers has a stellar article this morning, on Andy Hampsten's recollections of the feud between Greg Lemond and Bernard Hinault during the 1986 Tour de France. For the uninformed, and if you are a normal American you are probably uninformed about cycling, Lemond was promised by Hinault that he would ride for him that year. This was in exchange for the work Lemond did the previous year in bringing Hinault to Paris in Le Maillot Jaune. Instead, in 1986, Bernard was obviously riding for himself. Greg Lemond finished in yellow to become the first American to ever win Le Tour de France in one of the most memorable races in history.

The confrontation is now top of mind as the cycling world is waiting to see what happens when comeback kid Lance "Mellow Johnny" Armstrong and his Astana team are rejoined by 2007 Tour champion Alberto Contador. Words have already been exchanged from the moment Armstrong announed he was coming out of retirement to join Astana. Contador has stated that he isn't riding domestique for Amstrong, who publically thinks that Contador talks too much.

I personally think it's all moot however. Armstrong is 37 years old, 7-time champion or not, and he looked brutalized after his very respectable 7th placing in the recent Tour of California. Two days in he had the craggy, jagged "race face" we usually only see on him after the third day in the Alps. Contador won the 2008 Giro d'Italia and the Vuelta Espana grand tours, the lformer without even training (he was literally sitting on a Mediterranean beach, lamenting his Tour de France snub when he got the call for Italy.) He's already won the 2009 Volto Algarve stage race in Portugal, and is considered a favorite in the upcoming Belgian Spring Classics.

I respect Armstrong for everything he's done for cycling, especially bringing so many American fans into the fold, but I seriously doubt he even be around for the Tour de France, much less finish it. It's a long way to July and it looked like he left a lot on the road in California. There are a lot of new names coming up in cycling to take over his legendary place in the peleton, and Alberto Contador is one of them.

Thursday Hate

Either the bike gods are firmly aligned against me or I am enduring a test of will and if successful will be winning Proctor this year.

When the Max Lelli arrived back in December, my exuberance was tempered drastically by the fact that a certain, now-bankrupt, shop had put it together without a torque wrench, or any assembly paste. Even then, the steering tube was cracked and the fork had to be replaced immediately. I was lucky enough to get the bike out of the shop before the bank chained the doors.

Then about two weeks ago, I was giving the frame a routine check over and found a crack in the seat tube. Taking the seat post out, I found the crack to be about half an inch long coming down from the seat collar, through to the inside. The clamp was also quite ill fitting, too tight even when completely loose.

The only savior in this fiasco has been the willingness of Max Lelli Bikes and my teammate who set the deal up, Emanuele, to resolve the situation immediately. The new frame was shipped from Italy on Monday and arrived this afternoon.

However, when I called with the tracking number, they wouldn't release any other info to me as I was not the shipper or receiver. And when Emanuele called to see if a courior could come pick it up rather than wait for the slated Friday delivery, he was sneakily told no. He would have to pick it up himself.

Imagine his shock upon arriving at the Halsted and Division pick up station to find the box in at least three pieces.

Fedex Fail.

I of course got this news five minutes after walking into the apartment, soaking wet, to find the bike room trash can strewn all over the floor, the couch 45 degrees out of position, a puddle of piss on the carpet, and Kedzie lounging in the off-limits chair. Then the phone rang with Emanuele's news.

Finally, after all that, I had to get on the bike and endure Randy's spin drills - ending with 10 minutes at least 130 rpm. At least I had some motivation. Kicking a Fedex driver in the head over and over and over and over.

Again, Max Lelli and Emanuele have come through in the clutch. The upgraded frame, with an integrated seat post is on the way and will be here Saturday. One teammate says I should stick with my old model as the bottom bracket is stiffer. Any weight savings will be neutralized by the loss in power from the flex. I heard Chippo didn't like it when he tried it, but then again, I ain't putting no 1900 watts against any bottom bracket any time soon. When I talked to Randy about it, he said the bigger issue is the stiffness of the rear triangle, and that both should be frames should be equally stiff.

If anybody has any experience with a variety of stiffness in their bottom brackets I'd like to hear about it. I have above average power for a Cat 4, but nothing that would flex a frame like Chippo. My old aluminum bracket flexed quite a bit more than my current Lelli frame, and I imagine the new frame won't revert back to that.

Oh, sorry I got off track here. Fuck Fedex. And get a Lelli. Just ship it throught UPS. Or just ride in Italy.

Good night.

Motivational Poster of the Day

Week's end is almost here! And so is Cavendish. The man is a fuckin' missile.


(thanks to HTATBL)

Hump Day

February 25th: 178 pounds. (Goal reached. I don't think it's wise to lose any more weight for a guy my size. I had a body fat analysis last week and it was 5.8%.)

8 Days.

(Sniff...) "Apricot?"

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Powercranks. The answer to the question nobody asked. Oh, sorry, PEZ. (Seriously though, I think it's possible to obsess too much about cycling and this is that line.)

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What a great ride home today, although the day started off a bit auspiciously on the way out. I got honked at twice on Lake Ave in Glenview. Single riders always get ganged up on, but I was still surprised. Except for the incident last August, drivers pass with plenty of room due to this road's wide lanes. Leaving work was a completely different story, however. 52 degrees and a stiff wind out of the west had me cruising back east at an easy 25 mph plus on my 30 pound, fendered, squeaking Jamis Coda, Clyde. Too warm for the winter bibs, but not warm enough for bare legs. So I sweated it up in the bibs.

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Roscoe Village is profiled on Chicago Cycling Examiner.

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I got my order of Mad Alchemy the other day. It smells like Junior Mints. I can't wait to use it.

Monday

I took a lesson from Saturday and watched the final ToC stage over both the TourTracker (online) and on Versus. Not bad coverage, I was able to conclude after seeing both at the same time. Versus picked up at 4pm, and did a recap as though it were live up Palamor Mountain to just before the Cole Grade, and then it was live live. Earlier online I was able to keep with the initial attacks, but actually missed the much of the last half of the Palamor climb, where Levi lost contact with his team in order to stay with Jens Voigt. I was watching it sporadically while I cleaned my bike and the kitchen, putzing around after my morning ride.

I had just come back to the computer to see Levi riding in that chase group by himself and instead of wondering what had happened, I just turned on channel 55. Bob Roll was doing his usual start line interviews and Paul Sherwin was prepping the audience on the details for the day's ride, then after the commercial break I was able to see just exactly what led to Levi being exposed like that.

And props to Cav for at least starting the day, but I can't blame Boonen for heading home. No need to put yourself through something like that when the spring classics are just around the corner.

The riding this weekend was another mental sufferfest, building up the callouses on the saddle and in the mind riding indoors. Five of us met in a teammate's garage for four hours on Saturday and three yesterday. I know it was beautiful, but it was still cold, and we'd agreed to get in a max effort rather than drive all the way out to Winfield for the ABD indoor timetrial series.

We watched The Boune Ultimatum and 2003 Rhomandy on Saturday. On Sunday, just as we started the 10K TT effort about 90 minutes into the workout, Indy and Marion were tied up while the bad guys were about to get their faces melted off. Doing another hour of endurance to make our scheduled three hours was the toughest part of the entire weekend. Staring at another hour after nearly 15 minutes at threshhold was nearly unbearable.

But coming home and seeing the peleton amid the palm-trees and the throngs of short-sleeved wearing fans gave me all the hope I need.

One more weekend of this shit - currently reading 14 degrees on my computer screen - and then it's off to 8 days in California. No concerns for me except the wheel in front or the climb ahead.

Nine hours scheduled next weekend. Let's just call Saturday and Sunday "long" and "long." Pray with me we can do it outside.

Versus Hate

Thanks to Versus not picking up the coverage of the Tour of California until an hour into the race, we missed any of work done by Astana to keep the contenders in check on the climb up to Millcreek Summit. By time coverage did start, the break of 10 was already off, and we had to wait until the last lap to see anything interesting, when Frank broke away.

Tactically, the Versus directors should've known that the early action in a stage like today would've been great viewing.

Fail.

More ToC coverage from the Chicago Cycling Examiner, and be on the look out for another entry in the neighborhood series, on Roscoe Village.

That's what I'm takin' about

Let's keep it up people! The Turin Ride High Life Foundation needs your help! Do you have any idea how much we spend a month on chamois creme alone?!?

Please do your part

Brand new posts are up on my Chicago Cycling Examiner page. Please click on them. And have your friends do the same. I have added racing coverage as well today.

I am paid by unique hits (and not very well) so the more people who read it the better. And we all benefit. All proceeds go to the Turin Ride High Life Foundation.

Thursday Hate

You knew this one was coming...

The Weather.

More.

Fucking.

Snow.

And that ride home from downtown last night was excellent. Beautiful. And by that I mean I hated every goddamn 30-mile-an-hour-head-wind, snow-in-my-face, tires-skidding-out, cabs-passing-too-close, fingers-and-toes-frozen 30 minutes of it.

GOD I can't wait for training camp. 15 Days.

"Morrissey! Is that you?!? Get your fat ass up here!!!"

Hump Day

A birthday haiku for Newtrøn:

Tattooed, Ninja Stare
Eating fear and shitting watts
Good wheels and big balls

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February 17: 179 lbs.

16 days.

"Yeah, but you're still only going at light speed..."

Food

I read a bit today from Michael Pollan’s January 2007 New York Times article, “Unhappy Meals.” Michael Pollan is the author of “In Defense of Food” and “The Omnivore’s Dilemma”. I haven’t read either book, but from what I have gleaned from people who have, Pollan has a strong stance on the subject of whole foods and food culture versus food reductionism and science.

That is to say, he argues that by reducing our foods to mere delivery systems for macro- and micronutrients we are doing more harm than good. By taking the vitamins and anti-oxidants out of their context and the systems in which they work, we render them useless or even harmful.

Take for instance, the Omega-3 fad. Touted as a benefit of eating fish, we don’t realize that fish obtain the nutrient from green algae - its primary source, along with other leafy greens. As well, the benefits of Omega-3 fatty acids come from the interaction in the body another essential nutrient, Omega-6, which is found in seeds and grains. Within naturally evolved food cultures this ratio is close to one to one and is linked to cell structure and function.

However, with the industrialization of grain-fed, Omega-6-heavy beef production, rather than free-range, grass-raised - and little to no consumption of green vegetables - the western eater receives almost no Omega-3s through intake of whole foods. Supplementing it in pill form is virtually ineffective unless Omega-6 consumption comes down.

The idea of food-culture resonates with me strongly. The so-called “French Paradox” contradicts everything about American food science: a diet loaded with fat, butter, and wine that produces, for the most part a healthy, fit population. The key is in whole foods, Pollan argues, in shunning heavily processed foods, in communal dining without snacking.

All food-cultures evolved along with their environment and available foodstuffs. For example, the majority of humans were once lactose intolerant, some entire populations still are, getting sick when they drink cow’s milk. Yet, certain genes that produce enzymes for its digestion were passed along over thousands of years as humans became agrarian, and spread until the populations adapted. This benefited the cows, too.

The reason I relate to so much to this idea is another book, published several years ago, called “Eat Right For Your Type.” I referenced in a past blog a cancer scare I had, years ago, that led to a massive and permanent weight loss. The falling of the Berlin wall in my life is the still that one life-changing event in 2001.

If you, in our time together, come to understand only one thing that defines me, it is this: I spent two months believing I had cancer and learning about what I had been putting in my body up to that point. It was like somebody had ripped off the heavy blanket covering me on a sunny day, and I will never go back. To eating like that, looking like that, or feeling like that. I don’t have so much of an issue with food itself - maintaining a pretty consistent weight and body size ever since - as I have with the food of the western diet.

Coming out of the battle victorious and armed with new knowledge I still had many questions for my doctor. Such as, why am I still so irregular? I felt terrible all the time, even though I was doing my damnedest to eat healthy, high fiber foods. His answer?

That’s just the American Diet.

Bullshit.

So off to find more information I went and ended up at the homeopathic place on Addison, a block east of Damen. I spoke with a gentlemen there who informed me of Peter D’Adamo’s book, “Eat Right…” and said I should give it a read, being a Type O. He said that Type O’s have trouble processing wheat gluten and it makes them irregular. So I bought the book, then the idea, stopped eating wheat products, and within a week, was shitting like a champion.

The idea is simple, and sound I believe, regardless of any doctors who scoff at the science. Type O is the universal blood, in fact, because all other blood types evolved from it. That is a Type A can receive Type O, but not visa versa. This evolution took place as humans agrarianized and began cultivating more complex and starchy grains, as well as animal for dairy production.

Type Os are a hold over from hunter-gatherers. Therefore they are much less tolerant of grains with gluten, and most dairy products. The more simpler grains - like rice, and rye, leafy natural greens, and lean protein, the better. I don’t know much about the methodology behind D’Amado’s findings, except that it’s worked incredibly well for me.

When I’m able to follow it.

Just try avoiding wheat gluten. It’s nearly impossible to do so without having to constantly explain that you are not some Atkins Diet jerkass. “Come on, have a cookie!” “What do you do about pasta?!” It’s so tiring that sometimes I’d rather just acquiesce, not give the lecture, and then suffer in silence with a copy of Katy’s “People” for an hour under the soothing hum of the bathroom fan.

But lately, I’ve really tried get gluten out of my diet. I didn’t have a single piece of pizza at our latest cycling team function last night, and I’ve avoided the cafeteria at work since Day One, 2009. I bring my lunch every day. And empowering myself this way, starting the day off right – “leaving it all behind you,” as Louis Armstrong used to shill - albeit naturally, is really making a difference, and giving me more willpower to keep on eating right.

When you have a hobby like mine, and performance is everything, an issue like this can really take on weight. And with the mountains of California approaching in the distance, having a lighter load makes all the difference in the world.

Sorry to take the tone of this one in a downward spiral, but seriously, I urge everyone to take a more thoughtful look at what they are eating. Think of food as whole food and the whole person it makes you.

Zzzzzzzzzzzzz

Sleepy.

I had a body fat analysis done today.

Still at 180 pounds, I've plateaued. But according to the test I'm at 5.8 % fat. Crazy. I've never been single digits before, let alone this level. I don't need to lose any more weight. Otherwise, I'll start metabolizing muscle and lose power as a consequence.

I had a pretty stellar indoor time trial at Vision Quest with the team last week - dropping an average wattage I don't think I would've hit all last season in freakin' February. I gotta keep a level head through this - to just keep eating healthy, making sound training decisions, and most importantly, keeping everything balanced, beyond the cycling.

And getting lots of sleep. That too.

I want to make it though camp - 21 days! - and come out strong and finally start getting results. Now that I'm on the team's elite development squad, I have an obligation to make Cat 2 in 3 years. This winter has been much more structured and the results are real and quantifiable. The TT last week is solid evidence of that. Also, I feel my bike handling skills are improving vastly, as my time and comfort on the rollers increases. Up to no handed and standing now (not at the same time) and I'm able to tolerate mentally and physically being on them for more than just an hour at a time. Having a high quality saddle that fits is key.

Before I head to bed, I've posted two new articles on the Chicago Cycling section at examiner.com. Please go and read - I've earner over a $1 so far! At this rate, I should have enough for a 12-pack after the Midweek Gem. So do your part - and you'll get a High Life or two in return. You'll have earned it.

Thursday Hate

Just heard ABC News declare that the indoor cycling center that would be built in Washington Park would be replaced with a pool and basketball court.

What a crock.

How many velodromes does this city have? And public pools and basketball courts?

I am boycotting the Olympics in Chicago unless there is something permanent left for cycling.

Hump Day

February 11th: 180 lbs.

23 Days.


"You were my second choice for most likely to have snorted a line of coke off a hooker's ass."

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First, this public service message.

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I know funny, and he's not funny. New Orleans apparently thinks so as well.

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Hmmmmmmm. Any ideas? Maybe my lunchlady got a job with Halliburton?



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1894. This woman was born.

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As if University of Chicago needed to get more exclusive...

Need Your Help...but first...

...how 'bout that ride to work today, Chicago bike commuters? Is this February...or April? Did I wake up in San Luis Obispo this morning? I was confused when I didn't see any palm trees as Big E and I rolled at 6:15 - actually I left at 6:15 to meet him at 6:30, he never showed (flatted) so I left, but he caught me at Lehigh and Dempster. We had a glorious 52-degrees-and-sunny, not-a-cloud-to-be-seen tailwind as we cruised north through Morton Grove and Glenview. It was a bit sloppy - with the last remaining ice-berms draining melt-water into the street to mix with the remaining salt and grime that hadn't been washed away by last night's rain - but we didn't mind in the least. I'll spend another hour tonight scrubbing the kit soaking in the bathroom sink, but I don't care.

On a more somber note, we did pass the aftermath of a horrific two-car crash on Central just south of Devon. It looked like a red sedan tried to make a left turn into the forest preserve parking lot and got T-boned by a northbound silver car. Traffic moves quickly there. Too fast. We passed with in feet of the silver car and saw it empty, with no blood. The right front end of the red car however was completely destroyed and the windshield broken out. If there was a passenger in the front seat, survival looked grim...

False hopes.

I know as well as you do this is a false spring. The cold and snow will be back this weekend, perhaps for a couple more weeks, but today's preview is an announcement that warmer weather is on the way. Cyclists were poking their heads out like prairie dogs all weekend, testing the air, getting an early look. And seeing them all gave me an idea for my first article.

First article?

Yes! I've been made a writer for Examiner.com, the Chicago Cycling Examiner, to be specific. It's sort of the Amway of epublishing. I applied on Craigslist a few months ago, and yesterday I received word from them that I was "hired." I use the quotes because I am supposed to get compensated based on traffic to my articles, but that remains to be seen. I view it mostly as an opportunity to refine my focus, drill down to a more targeted audience, and build a portfolio. It's hard to believe, being hired to write articles based on no experience - almost like when Homer Simpson tries to become an internet tycoon without any idea of how to make money at it. But that's just it - the site makes money on internet traffic through it's advertisers, so I need to drive traffic to my articles.

Please click through above, and if you like what you read there, please share it - via Digg, Facebook, Google Reader, etc. Expect to see a more cycling-focused approach of what you read here at The Car Whisperer: maintenance tips, shop reviews, neighborhood exploration and new bikes routes. The moment I get a check, I'll be sure to let you know...and when I get enough to by a 12 pack of High Life - hopefully in time for the Midweek Gem - I'll see you at J.J. Peppers!

What an Asshole

What kind of an asshole shows up to a century ride in 30 degree temperatures wearing no thermal layer?

A Lycra base layer, a jersey, and vest. Plus leg and arm warmers. That was it.

Seriously? Idiot.

You should've seen him as he started to go hypothermic. He was shivering, had trouble speaking clearly, and wasn't able to understand what others were saying to him either. Some guy even offered to trade his lobster gloves for this guy's inadaquate full-fingered ones. I told him he should've just let that asshole be miserable with his frostbitten fingers. Fuck him.

I was already tired of hearing how cold he was when, thank God, he finally peeled off at some gas station about 10 miles north of Glenview, where I heard he sat and warmed his pathetic ass up with a cup of awful coffee while the counter jockey told him there was no men's room and then went back to shouting in his blue tooth headset in Farsi or Pashto or something.

I guess he finally made it home and once he warmed up, ended up on the lakefront for 45 more miles, dodging pathletes "training" and shouting, "on your left!" to slow, frumpy, suburban women named "Blair" and "Rhonda" who were empowering themselves by power-walking across the entire width of the path.

Oh well. I hope that loser learned his lesson. It's better to take layers off than wait for it to warm up. That will never happen as quickly as you need it to.

What an asshole.

Barren

I know that I have only seen it rain
That never has it stormed within my path
I read the pages, looking at the pain
And heard the ruminations on God's wrath.
I cow'r in fear to dwell upon my fate
That's been foretold by corpses walking past...
They cackle at my slick-skinned naivete
With toothless leers and bony fingers crossed.
Expensive clothes and robes now turned to mold
Rotten, sour agelessness of excess
To be undone by no amount of gold -
Illuminating only scars and sadness.
While great swaths of fire, birthed by lightning,
Clear the remains of every living thing.

RIP Lux...

Click here for "New Kind of Kick."

"Like Susie needs dick..."

Yes...like Susie.

Quote of the Day

The new season is a month away. A warning to all Cat 5s - are you sure you want to do this?

"Beware of all enterprises that require new clothes."

---Henry David Thoreau

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Wanted to ride to work today but it's still only 15 degrees outside. Balls.

Hump Day

February 4th: 181 pounds.

29 Days.

"Wrong mailbox!"

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There's a Saris recall. Heads up. A teammate and friend of mine "disengaged" from her trainer during the garage ride I wrote about in this space a couple of weeks ago. It started innocently enough, sounding like someone had dropped an armload of pots and pans. Yet it stretched into time, taking on the sonic urgency of a car crash - metal and carbon scraping and banging...and then I think a riser block scattered past me. I turned around and she was lying on the hard, cold garage floor in shock. Much as I had when I'd gotten cocky on my rollers in that very space once. The plastic bolt holding the leg on had failed, snapping and causing the bike to go crashing down to the right.

I think I'd take a crash on the road any day.

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Sorry for the lack of real content these days. A lot of angst and personal stress has led to a lack of creativity. Don't worry. You know what happens with poets and writers who experience angst and stress...they bore their readers even more than when they weren't writing.

All I will say is this. It amazing how the words you are saying and hearing can make you feel so far away from the person lying right next to you. It was literally like I was shouting across a canyon. Desperate to be heard. To try and make it across.

Thanks for all the kind words I've received from those who've offered. It is so comforting to know I have such good friends who care.

An Open Letter to Michael Phelps

You know, your lawyers could have given any number of professional athletes a call when you signed all those endorsement deals. They have "handlers" that keep them out of situations like this.

I'm just guessin'...but having pictures like this get out ain't the way to keep up on your house payments.

I engaged in behavior which was regrettable and demonstrated bad judgment. I'm 23 years old and despite the successes I've had in the pool, I acted in a youthful and inappropriate way, not in a manner people have come to expect from me. For this, I am sorry. I promise my fans and the public it will not happen again.

"Mom?? I wanna come home! You rented out my room?!? Mom, to whom?!"