Astana team for the Giro
Lance Armstrong (USA)
Jani Brajkovic (SLO)
Chris Horner (USA)
Levi Leipheimer (USA)
Steve Morabito (SUI)
Daniel Navarro (ESP)
Yaroslav Popovych (UKR)
Jose Luis Rubiera (ESP)
Andrey Zeits (KAZ)
Author: brian26
If you drive, don’t…
As you may know, I’m not a huge fan of Federal Regulation. A recent story in the Washington Times just makes me look upward and wonder again what everybody was thinking last November.
First, understand that I drive a lot for a guy that isn’t a long-haul trucker – about 30,000 miles / year. I work, play and visit family and friends all over the west coast and I enjoy the freedom that a car provides. And, I see all of the stupid stuff people do while they are driving . Some of them should be relegated to mass transit, for sure, but the vast majority of American motorists kind of get it.
I was also involved with the Mothers Against Drunk Driving program early in my automobile racing career. A team mate / car owner had a relationship with them and we would speak about their cause (the point being that I have long been familiar with traffic safety issues). Some thought that the combination of our affiliation with MADD and being car racers made us more interesting talk show guests and speakers than aggrieved mothers – ya think?
On my last two trips to Seattle, traffic suddenly slowed from a speed 2-5 mph above the speed limit to 20 mph below it. The reason? – signs on the side of Interstate 5 that announce that the speed limit is being “photo enforced”. Are you kidding me? I was told the same story by two friends who on different trips encountered the same phenomenon early in a crossing of Arizona. In those cases traffic was travelling at 80 mph (which can be plenty safe and sane) and quickly slowed to sub 50 mph levels (not so safe).
So, I wonder – are they trying to improve public safety and prevent accidents, mayhem and death, or are they trying to trick people into breaking laws? How about some simplified law that everybody can understand..? I mean, until everybody figures out the easy stuff like you shouldn’t just tool along in the left lane at 55 nibbling on your dim sum, and that the law actually allows bicycles to use the road, we probably have enough rules – don’t you think..?
So finally, we get to the story and the inspiration for this post. The fellow tagged by the Obama Administration to head the NHTSA (National Highway Traffic Safety Administration), despite possibly good intentions, appears to be a nut, better suited to writing traffic law in Pyongyang.
And just for fun – If you want to know what the Transportation Czar’s .04 Blood Alcohol Content means to you, here is a way to find out.
The truth about electric cars – sort of…
The BBC’s Top Gear motoring show did a head to head comparison of the Prius with a BMW M3 sports sedan last year. The deal was that the Toyota would blast round the show’s test track as fast as its little green wheels could carry it and the BMW gas guzzler would follow along behind.
At the end of the test, the BMW returned a shocking gas mileage of just 19.4 miles per Imperial gallon. The eco-friendly Prius returned an impressive 17.2 mpg. Err, right. So if I want to save the planet, I need a fast BMW rather than a rather sad hybrid econo-box.
Ignoring the pathetic gas mileage, the Prius also uses highly-toxic rare metals that have to be shipped halfway round the world to be refined, then halfway round again to be screwed together into a car.
The carbon footprint of this ‘green’ vehicle is astonishingly-large. Taking the energy costs and emissions of building the thing and then safely disposing of the noxious components in its batteries into account, you’d have to drive it to Venus and back before you saw any real planet-saving gains.
When the promo for BBC’s Top Gear says it just may be the best show on television, they just might be right.
These guys get paid to do stuff that, well, I’ve been paid to do but almost always do for free because it was the stuff mom didn’t want me doing – because it was silly, stupid and / or dangerous (meaning FUN!!!).
Also, at Top Gear they are obviously as annoyed as I am by the self righteous, dis-ingenuous claims by the greenies that we must all drive cars we don’t like or be denounced as destructors of the universe… So, they point and laugh – burning gas and thrashing a Prius not really to make a point so much, as to have some fun while irritating a few hippies for good measure. What’s better than that..?
Maybe next Top Gear could do a story about how much green house gas is emitted by angry motorists yelling at Prius drivers to get out of the fast lane…?
You can call me HERMEGULON THE OZONONATOR!!!! wa ha ha ha ha ha….
Hood River Cycling and the Crit Series
These races have taken place on Thursdays in April for the past 5 years, or so, and each year the turnout gets a little bit better. There’s another story sometime about how the series started. My recollection is that the first attempts were made by my good friend and former neighbor, that got me into road cycling 8 years ago, Julio Paredes.
Anyway, as near as I can tell there are now no fewer than 5 cycling “teams” in the gorge – two of them are basically bike shop teams formed for the purpose of increasing the visibility of those shops (selling shit). The others are the result of guys not wanting to spend their money to help other guys sell their shit. We all ride together anyway, and since the cycling community here is relatively small, I have always thought it would make sense for there to be just one team. But, not to be. I’m wondering what I should call the sixth team – for a while I was puting “Team Julio” on my race entry forms, hmmmm…
Again, I wander. Discover Bicycles, the shop who’s kit I wore (for no good reason) was sold last year and the new owner has made no effort to maintain the “club”. My options were to wear the kit of the guys I ride with in Orange County, California (which would give the same race support (none), access to a coach and better equipment support than I ever got here), or to accept the invitation to ride with the other local shop.
The owners of the other shop, Mountain View Cycles, ride and race, grew up here and have had the shop forever. The cyclocross team that they have been building is awesome. I had been asked to join them for the Cherry Blossom Classic stage race and we had a team of 8 Cat 4 guys show up!!! Seems like a no-brainer.
The problem is that the kit is the saddest excuse for a road racing uniform that I recall ever seing. This is a small problem given that most everything else is in order – BUT WHYYYYYYYYY!?!?!?!? At least they have agreed to go to a manufacturer (Castelli) that makes high quality clothing. And it turns out that their graphic design guy fixed the two most obvious problems on his own for the first proof… It still looks like an early 90’s mountain biking reject kit, but at least my ass won’t hurt.
The crit series was 4 races and we had a guy, Andrew,”the big kid”, in 3rd place and within 4 points of the leader. The leader was my friend, Andy, who is new to road biking and I personally encouraged him to race the series. He is wearing the jersey of another small repair shop that one of his buddies owns – as such, he must be defeated!!!
We had totally buggered up the week before – pretty much hammered around in circles and led out the rest of the field. We’re Cat 4’s and we’re not very smart about a lot of stuff – we aren’t supposed to be, really. But, Andrew wanted to win and the guys wanted to help.
This will seem totally obvious to anybody that thought for more than 3 seconds about it, but the plan was to launch a series of attacks – everybody had a job. Andrews job was to do nothing until two laps to go and then follow Tony and whoever else could help to the front and win the sprint.
Sure as the sun rising in the east, Andy and the 2nd place guy had to chase the 2nd and 3rd attacks. They didn’t really have to, but they’re Cat 4’s too (Andy a 5, actually) and just as dumb as us. But, they did have to beat each other – it was the perfect tactical situation for us. We had to do only one thing – beat them. They had more to do and nobody to help them do it.
Just after 4 laps to go was my turn to attack and they both came with me. After getting clear I let the top two take turns beating the hell out of each other for a couple of laps. Then, on cue, here comes Andrew doing his thing – the big kid is tough for short distances… He sprinted well, won the race and the other two finished in an order that allowed him to win the series – well done.
Chrysler Saved?
I’m in the car business and I’ve been paying for ALL of my personal medical expenses for 15 years – extravagant things, like if I get the flu and need to see a doctor…
Just a note to the UAW guys – the rest of us in the business take our pay and benefit cuts when sales drop. As in, that day.
But if this provision made the new Challenger run harder, longer – it was a good investment and I am opposed to removing it.
Enough of PIR
Last night, I “raced” a bicycle at PIR for the second time this year. What a freakin’ cluster…
I’m a Cat 4, and I get what that means. But, for God’s sake, is it so hard to pedal a bike around a 60 ft wide race track without running into stuff..? PIR is quite wide, but not without obstacles – some care and planning are warranted. It’s not like everybody doesn’t know what is possible…
Turn 7 was re-profiled for 2008 and it took a while to figure it out in the car (2nd gear, third gear, early turn in and throttle, rotate the car, etc…) – but everybody did. The bikes nearly came to a stop there once last night and half the field never did work out that the track narrows at exit. WTF?
Team mate E1 and I tooled around at the back of the field after the 2nd prime – both of us having concluded that we wanted to reduce our exposure. The field was crawling and at times became 10 riders wide at the front (blunt end). Every time I queued up to get into a rotation the third guy would sit up… That’s fine – I had helped to organize the chase last week and this time my plan was to let others do some work to see if I had any sort of sprint (I don’t). Maybe everybody else had the same plan… again.
But, we’re Cat 3’s and 4’s – and this isn’t the friggin’ Tour de France… It isn’t necessary to force your way between the barrier and the field in a sprint for a possible 10th place finish!!! If you F***ed up the last lap and started the sprint 30th – you can give it a go again next week…
Somebody is going to get hurt, and I don’t really feel like I need that right now. Racing is always a calculated risk – and the calculation says to stay away from PIR for a while. But, I need to race something, somewhere… I’m not much of a climber, but maybe the Tabor series will be more sensible – everybody has to work or get shelled there… Maybe stick to the Cat4 40+ races and the harder road races or mountain bikes. Maybe I should focus some more time on making sure a fast car is available for Rose Cup… aaah, the warm, friendly and happy security of a roll cage…
On the up side, Wes ended up 3rd on the night – pretty good for a Cat4 in a 100 plus rider Cat3/4 field. Well done.
But, In the end, E1 ended up on the ground on the second to last lap after riding us back to the front with 2 laps to go. It sounded like somebody had steered him into the barrier on the finish straight – why go straight when you could be having so much fun turning..? One of the teenagers elbowed his way between me and the barrier (using his body as first notice that he was coming through) and sprinted into the back of two guys who had sat-up after mis-timing their final efforts. Brilliant!!!
I feel like I dodged one (or eight) last night.
Hood River and East
Pretty much as close as you can get to a flat ride around here. The ride starts next to one brew pub and ends next to one that has outdoor seating (there are coffee shops near by, as well).
The route follows old Hwy 30 out to The Dalles and continues east to an 18 mile loop that starts by following 15 mile creek on lightly traveled rural roads.
This is a ride that friends have used as a training ride for newer riders preparing for long (100 mile plus) organized rides.
There are plenty of amenities (including food, drink and a bike shop) available in The Dalles, so it is an easy ride to do unsupported.
77 Miles and 4,200 feet of climbing.
Orchards and Desert
Most of the rides from Hood River cover roads to the south (up the Hood River Valley), or to the east (including The Dalles). This ride does a little of both and covers one of the epic Gorge climbs (7 Mile Road).
This ride never exceedes 2,000 ft in elevation, which makes it a good early season option for avoiding poor road conditions and colder temperatures. In the summer months The Dalles can get very warm and this ride is best done on a cooler day or with an early start.
This ride starts at Egg Harbor (a good place for breakfast, and you’ll need it) and ends in front of 3 Rivers Grill (a good place to sit on the deck and have a frosty cold beverage).
From Hood River you work up the West Side of town The roads are light with traffic and pass through orchards and one of the town’s golf courses. You then cross the Hood River and up a short hill toward the town of Odell before crossing The Valley to the east for the ride back down East Side Road.
Now, back in Hood River, travel east on old Hwy 30. Hwy 30 from Hood River to Mosier is now a very wide bicycle trail (beware of loose dogs, unatended children and bewildered tourists – travel cautiously). From Mosier keep riding east on lightly traveled roads through more orchards, with views of Mt. Adams and the Columbia River. This portion of the trip includes a twisty 2 mile decent from Rowena Crest that is so beautiful that many car and motorcycle manufactures choose to film advertisements there.
Once in The Dalles, work your way over to 10th Street and continue east to Cherry Heights Road (near the center of town). Cherry Heights gains about 1,000 ft before the first little decent and then rolls before beginning a decent back toward the west end The Dalles and the start of the 7 Mile Road climb.
Here you can turn left and tackle the 1,500 ft climb (it’s kind of a shortcut) that will then decend to Mosier. Or, you can continue another mile or so back to Hwy 30 and return to Hood River over the same route on which you came. The climb is worth the trouble, however. There are spectacular views any time you choose to look for one and the decent will permit you to reach speeds that you have believed are myths told by comentators of bicycle races on television
If your goal is to see it all in The Gorge, this is a good start..
72 miles and 6,000 feet of climbing.
The Dalles and East
This ride starts in downtown The Dalles – next to a Taco Del Mar (good fast food) and a Tavern that serves a decent burger and sandwiches (Zims).
Leave The Dalles to the east and complete a loop on lightly traveled roads through farm land.
37 Miles and 1900 ft of climbing.
Lyle to Goldendale Loop
This ride starts at the Lyle Cafe (small town diner) and immediately climbs 5 miles to a plateau filled with ranch land.
Wind your way toward Goldendale, then return down the Klickitat river which has some of the most scenic road you’ll find anywhere.
64 Miles with 3200 feet of climbing. Possibility of windy conditions.