HEY P-DOG: BRI IS THE NEW AWESOME

Because not only did BRI win the 1-2 race at Des Moines, but they went 1st and 2nd in the Masters A State Crit Championship. Which means BRI doubled on the day, doubled for the State Crit Championships and are currently in 1st place in both the 1-2 and Master A BARR competition.

SNAP!

I CAN'T WAIT!!!!


I am giddy with anticipation. In IMAX too!

WHAT MORE CAN I SAY?

This Ken Schram op piece (It's about the flow of money-er traffic) was on KOMO 4 news on Monday night and got me so riled up that I thought my head was going to explode.

Apparently the WA State Patrol is citing motorists who are camping in the left lane and impeding the flow of traffic. My response: Fantastic.

I have driven thousands of miles all over the country and the drivers in WA are hands down some of the worst I have ever encountered and most of it revolves around the fact that they are inattentive, never want to get anywhere. and are cut of the passive aggressive cloth. If they are not driving exactly the speed limit then they are driving 5 under, and on top of that they are doing it in the left hand lane, right next to someone else doing the exact same speed. But when I come up behind them, wait patiently for them to get over, wait, wait, wait some more then give them a very quick one touch on-off flick of the lights (you know, the universal signal that anyone in Europe or Canada or the east coast knows means "excuse me, I would like to pass you could you get out of the passing lane")-I am the asshole. Even though they are the ones that are: 1. camping in a lane that is supposed to be for passing, not sleeping in and are 2. not paying attention and checking their mirrors or 3. notice that I am behind them but for some reason feel that it is their duty to keep me from driving faster than the they are driving, in other words, they are the ones being inconsiderate.

I can't believe I would ever say this, but, good for the WA State Patrol for ticketing these lane campers. Apparently Ken Schram thinks otherwise:

"The trooper explains that the left lane is for passing only, which means you also should be constantly weaving in and out of the other lane to get around the slowpokes, but you can't stay in the left lane even if you're doing the speed limit"- Ken Schram

That's right dude, because the left lane is for PASSING. Did they not teach that to you in driving class?

Excuse me while my head explodes.

I can neither confirm nor deny that the following cluster of words may or may not have some meaning within the next few weeks. If they do, you heard it here first. If they don't, well, I didn't really say anything did I?

1. Kaiser
2. Chicken
3. A bike race won by a Tour de France winner
4. Not Wranglers

That's all.

CROSS POLLINATION with P-DOG: TRAINING RACE SERIES DISCUSSION

Again, P-dog scooped me this week on a topic I had been thinking about posting.
Damn you P-dog!!! Here is a copy of the comment I made on the topic of training races:

Yes Andrew, Tuesdays are run poorly. Yes the courses are fun, much better than Seward in my opinion but they are not run well. All of these have happened more than once and they are gripes that I have heard from other riders, not just my typical whining about races around here:

1. Lap cards not being accurate. I was in a 2 man break last year for the majority of the race with a 1-3 field that was small. They gave us 1 to go 2 laps in a row. How hard is it to keep track of 2 guys? Again, the lap card mix up happened more than once.

2. The promoter telling us to keep track of how we finished to help with results. If I was paying $5 for the privilege of using the track, I am ok with that. Since I am paying you ($13 last year, $15 this year) that is your job. Use a camera, get it right.

3. The promoter frequently rings the bell for primes when it is obvious that 2 different fields are coming together on that lap. It happened again last Tuesday. He is not figuring out the re-entry trajectory of the space shuttle, just when would be a good time to ring a prime bell and not contribute to the confusion of one field catching another.

4. The promoter doesn't even take the time to get to know his customers. I know a rider who got 3rd overall in the series a few years ago. The promoter still does not know the rider's name.

5. Finally, and really this is the least of the transgressions: he gives little to nothing back in terms of some pay-back. Thursday night races cost the same amount, and on just about every Thursday there is the opportunity of winning at least most of your entry back for the night. The above mentioned rider who got 3rd overall in the Tuesday series got a multi-tool. When Doug Davis won the Seward series 2 years ago he won $300 and a fleece top. That and the fact that Thursdays are run well, finishes captured on film and the fact that the promoter knows just about everyone (and that most people can ride there) are the reasons why Thursdays are going strong and Tuesdays are not.

Bottom line: Once you reach a certain level of entry fee, along with that comes a certain level of expectation. Charging $15 every week for a training race reaches that level and the Thur series gives back proportionately, the Tues does not. There is a training series that has been going on in LA at the Rose Bowl for over 40 years. It is every Tuesday and Thursday night. There is no entry fee, no prizes, just a start time that everyone knows and a finish line. Sometimes this race has had over 150 riders in it and every time it is contested like the World Championships. That is what training races are all about. If there is a fee to use the course (Seward, SIR) then charge just enough to cover those expenses and put a little in the promoter's pocket to reward him for the effort. If you want to charge a bit more, give back some more effort and some green in return. Your customers will thank you and keep coming back.

NICE JOB KIEL!
http://www.cyclingnews.com/photos/2008/jun08/naturevalley08/index.php?id=/photos/2008/jun08/naturevalley08/naturevalley086/NVGP-Men-S6-12

Local boy Kiel Reijnen posts up as the top amateur at Nature Valley finishing 10th overall. Kiel really messed his back up in a crash a few months ago but it looks like he is coming back from that injury nicely.

I am psyched for him. Take it from me, this kid is going far. You heard it here.

MORE ON BOONEN:

Even though P-dog beat me to this (as it appears he is on a blogging 2 and 3-a-day blitzkrieg to make up for lost blogging) I too have to say, who gives a shite if Boonen was enjoying some nose candy out of competition? Let's chalk it up to another brilliant decision by ASO to declare that one of the fastest and most popular riders of the current generation is not welcome at their table because he made a bad personal decision that did not cross the sporting line? I was glad to see that his team is sticking by him and that Quick Step renewed it's sponsorship for another 3 years.

Stupid.

THIS WAS HOW MY BALLARD PRO 1-2 RACE ENDED:

That's me in blue under Brad M who is pile driving me into the pavement. The race was about half way over and I started to notice that there was a heavy mist settling in over turns 3 and 4 (dry at 1-2). The thought that came through my head was, "Gee, turns 3 and 4 are starting to look slick...". A few laps later my rear wheel went out from under me like I hit an oil-slicked ice cube and the next thing I knew was that I was sliding across turn 4 knowing the whole time that I was towards the middle of the field and could expect numerous guys to be riding into me. Fortunately 26 years of racing have honed my "Get into the fetal position response".

You can see Russell taking evasive action in the background on a completely different vector than everyone else.

Even though I was wearing gloves, it looked like I was in a bar fight at the Tractor later that evening.

Bike racing is dumb and so am I.

BOONEN TESTS POSITIVE FOR COCAINE-WHAAAAT?!

Story here. And here.

BALLARD: Nice job Grant!

There it is in a picture: the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat.

Grant Boursaw nips DR on the line. What can I say? BRI did a great job controlling the front in the waning laps of the race and looked to have it's 3rd win at Ballard in 4 years after DR got the gambler's prime and a sizable gap with 2 to go. But....the young kid closed down the gap on his own and had enough in the tank to out kick DR to the line. Another BRI win would have been nice, but if we have to lose to somebody, I can't think of a better guy.

Nice one kid.

TODAY'S POST: The weather here in Seattle right now.

The comment: WTF?!
Seriously though....WTF?

RED WINGS!

Enumclaw Picture of the Race:

Look at McKissick in this shot of the Pro 1-2 race. He looks like he is on a coffee shop ride at the top of the climb while everyone else is turning themselves inside out trying to get back up to him. God I hate that guy (not really).

Giro Coverage on OLN (because I refuse to call it by its new name)

I know I really should not be complaining about cycling coverage on television because, well, at least I can get cycling coverage on television. But here is the thing, when OLN has 2 hours of coverage on a Sunday covering the final day of the Giro (or any stage race for that matter) and the last stage happens to be a time trial, why do they have to spend all of 15 minutes doing a recap of the preceding week's stages and then spend the other 1 hr 45 min showing the time trial? The last thing I want to do is watch that much of a friggin' time trial. This year's Giro had 2 awesome mountain stages leading up to the last day and a stage where Jens Voigt stormed off the front for a great solo win. I want to watch that, not some mind numbing time trial. Use the first hour to show more of the exciting stages and spend an hour at most showing the TT.

(note: yeah, I know about Cycling.tv and Cyclingfans.com and all the other on-line outlets, I am talking specifically about what I can watch for free on my big screen television and not have to get up at the crack of dawn to catch)

The Claw 2008

After a thorough beating by the Symmetrics A-Team last year, I decided 2008 was the year I acted my age and raced Masters at the Enumclaw Stage Race. Even as late as a few days prior to registration closing I was still considering racing the 1-2 race. I succumbed however and opted for Masters. That was a decision I did not regret.

BRI went 1-2 in the overall as well as going 1-2 in the crit. (photo courtesy Wheels in Focus: The BRI Blue Train doing the last lap lead out).

That's right, we ruled. It was fantastic. I was a water carrier for the weekend since time trials are not my thing and we have infinitely better sprinters on the team than myself (since I don't possess a single fast twitch muscle) for the criterium. The entire team really raced well together and did what needed to be done in the final stage road race to place our guys 1-2 in the overall. Hats off to Carter as well who also fielded a strong team. It was fun racing against those guys.

Stanley Cup Playoffs

Four words: Wow, what a game!

The Penguins tie the game with an open net goal with less than a minute in regulation and win 4-3 in the 3rd overtime.

Disclaimer: I really only pay attention to hockey during the playoffs. My two favorite teams to follow: The Red Wings and The Penguins.

Go Red Wings.