SB Nation User Blog: 72andSunny

C.TV Giro: Should I?

72andSunny — Thu, 08 May 2008 17:04:45 -0000

I've got the yearly sub, going on year two, and despite the occasional technical glitch, I've been pretty happy with it: I now watch SO MUCH more cycling than ever before --- most of it as it happens!

However, something rankles about kicking down an additional US$30 just for the Giro...

Milan-San Remo and Tirreno-Adriatico are over, so I'd essentially be paying just for the Giro ... Now, it is my favorite race of the year, BUT there's something that sticks in my craw about coughing up additional dough.

I mean, I could wait a week (or two) and spend the same money on the DVD.

So I'm throwing it out there: who's watching the Giro on C.TV and what spurred your decision-making process?

Team High Road WTF

72andSunny — Tue, 29 Apr 2008 20:57:23 -0000

[editor's note, by chris] I'm catching up on reading diaries. This one is even more timely today.

Okay, Worst Kit Ever? True.

However --- and I for one don't mean to turn this into a High Road fan page --- is it just me, or is High Road having a mother-effing great 2008 season? Or has it just been the last week has been good to them?

Chapeau, Stapleton.

Cold & Rainy Weather Tips

72andSunny — Fri, 11 Jan 2008 21:52:03 -0000

It's 45 and rainy/drizzly almost every frickin' day here --- to be fair, I was well-warned about the Pacific Northwest.

Fortunately, for the most part the bikies here are insane enough to ride all year, so I've been (mostly) keeping up the miles. Misery loves company, etc, etc.

However, I could do with other riders' tips, tricks and hacks for the cold weather and rain.

A couple of mine, with which doubtless many are familiar...

Keep in mind, this is all in Portland, where we deal with temps maybe between 35-ish and up ... so I can't recall having to ride with frozen water bottles or a face covered in Vaseline or anything.

1. Rain jacket as thermal layer.
Those $20 PVC rain jackets can really jack up your core temp and help cut down the wind.

2. Sock/bootie layering.
I've been running a thin ankle sock under a pair of wool socks. Over the shoe, I've been experimenting with toe-covers, under track-type booties, under the neoprene zip-up booties.

I've got a pair of fleece-lined booties, but I haven't really noticed a difference between those and the straight-up neoprene ones.

3. Long underwear
Leg-warmers over long underwear keeps the pistons nice and toasty.

4. Double glove it.
I've been running a thin pair of gloves under some fleece-lined ones; it's not quite cold enough here to go lobster-claw, though. Anyone have any experience with the surgical gloves under mittens?

5. Shoe heat warmer inserts --- nope.
There's not quite enough ventilation underneath all those booties to really let the inserts get as toasty as they're supposed to. I picked some up from a outdoor shop for a buck a pack and they didn't really do all that much for me.

6. Ear-covering headband.
A wool cycling hat just got to be too hot under the helmet.

7. Fenders ... and mudflaps that hang to the ground.
Essential for avoiding skunk butt or water-logged feet ... also essential if you want to avoid spraying the guy behind you directly in the eyes.

I've seen mudflaps made from strips of PVC, carpet runner plastic, notebook covers, etc, etc. The store-bought ones aren't quite long enough to reach the ground, which is a real pain in the arse on the group rides.

8. Any other tips for hands and feet?
I've really noticed that the limiting factor on the rides tends to be the condition of my hands and feet --- after a brisk climb or if the pace swings upward, I'm generally warm enough for several hours --- if only I could keep my hands and feet warm. Nothing's scarier than that itchy pain, which is followed by numbness.

I'm constantly telling my wife we'd'a been much better off moving to Girona ...

best,
j

Tips on Cleaning Drivetrain?

72andSunny — Wed, 29 Aug 2007 12:37:04 -0000

Quick update

So based on tips provided here, I hit off Home Depot for some eco-friendly degreaser, a small scrub brush and a bunch of disposable rubber gloves. I also knuckled under and spent $5 on a plastic cassette cleaner from Park Tools --- it has a thin, bristly brush on one end and a semi-circular handle with saw-blade-like teeth. Both the brush and teeth fit between the cogs on the cassette. I went with the less is more strategy and lightly sprayed down the cassette and worked the brush, then teeth in there. There was gunk and crud from the Mesozoic in there, but the brush and handle scraped it all out. Now my cassette is all shiny and clean, it brought a wee tear to my eye! I didn't degrease the chain, though, I just ran it over a soft rag and then applied some Red Lightning of whatever, then wiped off the excess as I clicked through the gears. My next diary entry: I've just moved to Portland, and apparently you need "fenders" and "mudflaps" in winter here? Even perhaps a rain bike? Rain cape? What's a rain cape? Oh man, I will need help with that. I can't buy a new frickin' bike, but I do NOT want to dump the one I've got...

Another Competitor Radio Bump

72andSunny — Wed, 08 Aug 2007 20:51:38 -0000

In light of all the doping chatter, sometimes it's nice to get back to why we pay attention to cycling in the first place: it's the bike, dummy ... I just listened to the interview with Andy Hampsten, and I gotta say, everyone should check it out now --- it is so inspiring!

Competitor Radio

He talks about the Hinault/Lemond beef on La Vie Claire as well as his Giro win, and he talks in detail about the famous snow-covered day he essentially sealed the deal.

He also mentions that in peak times he spent something like 6 days a year OFF his bike. Holy sheit!

I'm gonna do a post sometime soon about how to watch and love cycling in light of all the doping, but for now, this'll help tide everyone over, and it'll make you want to go climb on your own ride.

Rocky II, III, IV Decisions Overturned ...

72andSunny — Mon, 04 Jun 2007 22:26:39 -0000

...After Stallone Caught With Performance-Enhancing Drugs

PHILADELPHIA--In the wake of last month's shocking revelation that actor Sylvester Stallone had been caught with the illegal human growth hormone Jintropin at an Australian airport, the World Boxing Association, in a joint decision with the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and the Screen Actors Guild, has overturned the uplifting, feel-good endings of Rocky II, III, and IV, sources said Monday.

You really gotta hand it to the Onion ...

When can we stop being surprised and angry about doping?

72andSunny — Wed, 16 May 2007 00:22:55 -0000

[editor's note, by chris] OK, one last doping post, since it's well done, before we switch the focus back to the road.

I'll come clean and confess that Ivan Basso is one of my favorite cyclists. I love to watch him turn over those pedals, especially when the road goes up.

So is it time we finally gave up?

Gave up being angry and surprised, that is.

In light of the fact that Basso's finally copped to the Puerto blood bags, Valverde ain't looking so hot, the CSC doc is watching two riders' bloodwork very closely, and Honchar's sketched out, I wonder if it's time we can stop being angry and surprised.

I mean, given what the sport's 100-plus-year history, which is utterly riddled with doping, how is anger even relevant?

I'm not saying we need to lose the sense of outrage, or the desire to continue trying to make it harder to dope, but isn't it time we got rid of the histrionics?

Shouldn't that have stopped with Coppi? Anquetil? Tommy Simpson? Eddie Merckx? Thevenet? Delgado? Kelly? Pantani? Ullrich? Riis? Millar? Heras? Hamilton? Basso? Landis? Ad infinitum.

I remember reading in Coyle's book that the sense of surprised anger and hurt about learning that one's favorite cyclist had doped was a very American response, and I wonder if that holds true.

If the top 20 finishers in last year's TdeF are on the Puerto list, which seems to be more and more plausible as time goes on, who is there left to be angry at?

Hell, if there are 100 names on the Puerto list, that's like 55% of any starting line-up ... and that's on the list from just ONE doctor, never mind the other ones running doping rings out there or the guys just doing it themselves.

If they're all doing it, is it even cheating?

I just say all this because I am not angry or surprised that I won't get to watch Basso versus Vino at this year's TdeF. I'm just sad.

Recovery from knee surgery?

72andSunny — Thu, 19 Apr 2007 03:38:50 -0000

I went under the knife last Wednesday for knee arthroscopy --- turns out I had two meniscus tears on my knee, so they shaved 'em down.

My doctor said resume activities as range of motion permits, but the whole enduring suffering aspect of cycling makes it a bit tricky. I went out for an hour spin today, but didn't push it. Otherwise I'm going stir crazy!

Anyone else have recovery stories from similar surgeries? How long did it take 'til you were on the road again? On the trainer?

jason

YouTube: 2006 Paris-Roubaix

72andSunny — Thu, 22 Feb 2007 05:31:08 -0000

Hey, I know there's tons o' cycling now that the ToC has kicked off and we prepare to head into the spring classics, but what the heck --- I crunched the final 30 minutes of last year's Paris-Roubaix and posted it on YouTube.

Unfortunately, Big Georgie's spectacular crash took place maybe 10 or 20 minutes before these clips, so it's not on there!

The other caveat: it's in Italian, so if you're expecting the dulcet tones of Phil and Paul, you'll be disappointed. (Sorry!)

Part 1
Part 2
Part 3

Riding with The Armstrong

72andSunny — Fri, 08 Dec 2006 22:53:43 -0000

I got this e-mail from my buddy exactly 2 weeks ago, and I don't think he'd mind if I shared it (it is anonymous, after all) with the PCers, not least because I thought it was a realy damn cool story. He lives in Los Angeles.

Although if it's too weird, personal, or invades anyone's privacy (i.e. Lance's), please take it down. I just got very geeked out on hearing the story.

Keep in mind my buddy has legs, i.e. rode a fixie around San Francisco(!) for years.

The text is below.

On Wednesday, Jay-Z was playing a free show in front of the theater where they film the "Jimmy Kimmel Show."

I rode down there to see if it'd be worth making a trip later in the day to catch Jay-Z.

I looked at the stage, and then kept riding towards a climb I've done a few times, but it's been over a year since the last time I did it. It's a tough climb. I was riding and couldn't remember the name of the street, and ended up passing it, so I turned around to head back. Three cyclists were riding towards me, and I figured I could ask them where the climb was.

The three riders were Lance Armstrong, another guy, and trailing them both was a third rider in a Carmichael jersey.

I didn't want to ask Armstrong, but I didn't mind asking the fella trailing. So I asked where the climb was, and he told me to follow them and take a right.

I did and boom, they showed me a new and awesome climb through a park that's closed to motor vehicles.

I passed buddy number 2 and said, "Good morning." He didn't respond. I passed Armstrong and said good morning, and he sort of grunted, "Hey."

I kept on going --- I had to stand on my pedals because it was steep! I didn't want to die in front of Armstrong, though, so i just kept my pace steady.

About three minutes later, I heard a bike behind me, and then a familiar voice grunted, "You're killing me!" Armstrong pulled up alongside me, and I said "How are you doing?"

Armstrong said, "Suffering!" We laughed and rode together for the rest of the climb, which lasted about 7 minutes, and during the ride we talked about a bunch of stuff.

At the top of the climb, Armstrong asked if I knew where I was. I did. He said he was going to wait for his buddies, so we shook hands, and I rode off. As I was leaving he yelled, "Next time take it easier on me!"

It was a great experience.

My buddy mentioned two other things: first, that Armstrong's bike was some incredible Trek bike that made absolutely no noise on the road.

Second, my buddy said Lance was definitely not struggling.