As I have noted in earlier posts' I commute 40 miles a day 4-5 days a week so I am on the bike alot. This morning I was going nowhere fast and this evening I was going everywhere fast. It made me wonder if there is any other sport that is so hard to pin down when you are going to perform well. Some mornings I can hardly get out of bed and on the bike there's "no chain", other mornings I feel great and there is a chain with an anchor on it. There are times I get on the bike and everything feels wrong; My cleats, I'm squirming on my seat, the bars feel to close or to far, and then, like tonight, it's perfect. A Pro has nothing to do but figure out when or if he/she is going to peak. Will it be to soon or to late; did I undertrain or overtrain; sleep enough or too much; eat enough or too much or properly. And then come race day they still don't know for sure if it's a good day, bad day, or a so-so day. Is it in the body or the head? I assume this is why doping is still going on. It seems it would be alot easier to pinpoint when your going to "be good" with dope in your veins. Of course some people are just lazy trainers and the saying is "you can't turn a donkey into a race horse". I imagine though that you can make a donkey good enough on race day to suffer that little bit more and go that little bit faster with the fore- knowledge of "being good" that day.

So I just rolled over 4,000 commuting miles for the year. Should hit 5k without to much trouble. About half or my 40mile roundtrip commute is on a dedicated bike path with two lanes for cyclist and another lane for pedestrians. Which lane do you think they walk in? I am still constantly amazed at people walking their dog on the bike path and that they, inturn, are in shock some idiot on a bike is asking them to move. My usual line is "try not to kill anybody". The response is usually some form of F-you. One would think that cars would be more of a concern when commuting but people with dogs, kids with skateboards, and sometimes other cyclist are far more of a concern. A young lady riding against traffic coming of the sidewalk had me come within a few millimeters of doing a superman. Other bicycle commuters have tendency to aim their lights up coming toward me and I can't see anything around them. I ride a road bike and am fully kitted up, very thin, and shave my legs so I would be what the local "Community Bike Club Guy" called a "Lance Armstrong Type" with much derision on the local news during bike to work week. It is this type of mentality that is holding a true culture of cycling back in the USA and not really motorist. I think most motorist realize that they can kill a cyclist pretty easily and that they can get into alot of trouble by disobeying traffic laws and injuring a cyclst. That does'nt mean that they are happy about it though.Having said all that; in July of last year I was t-boned by a car and ended up with a 40% compression fracture of my L-1. So why am I not worried about cars? Don't try and run yellow lights on your bicycle. The car wins everytime. I survived and at 42yrs old learned a lesson. Maybe one day I will get creamed from behind but one can't live in fear and until then I will continue on undaunted.

is the advertisments. Yaa! they have a new portal! Yaa! I paid $100 so I could not watch the Giro and Vuelta. Instead I get to watch them on Universal Sports for free with ZERO problems. I really enjoy Brian Smith and Maggie and the overall low key commentary but please how hard can it be! You can go anywere and watch porn for free and Jumptv can't get out of their own way. As an aside, I would really like to not hear Phil and Paul ever again. They both have Lance Armstrong's shit on their collective noses.

It occurs to me that Contador could win a GT with one decent climber and enough teamates to keep him out of trouble in the flats. Obviously they have be able to bring back a break when needed. However, if there are strong sprinters in the race they really only need ride tempo for the first 100km. I have been watching AC for 3yrs now and there will not be anyone for a while to compete with him in mountains. If you notice, his TT "style" is all -out and ugly but certainly effective and for someone who can ride away on a mountain like he can he can certianly suffer with the best in a TT. I know a photographer for HED wheels and during the wind tunnel testing in San Diego this year he met AC, Levi, and Lance. His opinion: AC is completely humble and very shy, Levi is sincere and relaxed, and Lance is a Dick complete with Beatle style entourage. I can only hope that Lance does'nt turn into another Greg Lemond. Anyway, AC has been my favourite rider for a while and I think he will be able to win even without the "strongest team" in the world.  

Alberto Contador will win the next 5 TDFs (barring injuries of course) and there is nothing that LA or JB can do about it. I was very happy and very interested in Lance's comback. I followed him on twitter and watched him in every race he did. It was very cool the way he video posted and had interviews with other riders and took Levi and Horner along for the ride. But Lance showed his ass before and during the TDF. Imagine if in 2001 Johan told Lance that Indurain was making a comback, had joined the team, and the strongest rider would be the leader. I wonder if Lance would have attacked and dropped a few teammates along the way. Alberto Contador is a class act and freely admitted that Lance was a hero and an inspiration. I have been watching AC destroy everyone on climbs for 3 years and he could have won on Ventoux if he did'nt have to drag Lance along.  Andy Schleck is great talent but he will be AC's Ullrich. The Schleck brothers are two of my favourite riders and I wish them the best of luck but just like when you line up at the start of a flat stage with Cavendish your racing for 2nd place. We have some amazing young talent in cycling today and pretty soon Taylor Phinney will be crushing/slaying the Classics and I can't wait. But please Lance show some respect for these kid's and don't pout because you got beat. Unfortunatly Tyler Farrar is on a team that's full of shit with a Team manager that's full of shit. Garmin does nothing but talk: talk, talk, talk. And Tom Danielson should NOT be a pro cyclist. I think I could ride around in the back of Peleton for a year too. Please. They promise alot and deliver nothing and the whole team has the personality of a dial tone. All in all Cavendish and Contador were the TDF, Columbia dominated with Saxo Bank a very close 2nd.

Once the again the ASO is pissing in everybodies cornflakes and the riders are cowering down to them because they are completly shortsighted. Mabey they have been taking orders so long in their race radios they don't now how to not only think for themselves but stand up for themselves. Brian Smith from Cycling.tv who's opinion I admire greatly has missed the mark when he says the riders should only worry about racing and not about politics. I'm sorry Brian but the riders have ALL the power and are unwilling to use it. The UCI is banging its head against the wall in an attempt to globalize Cycling because the French do not want it. The French only like the French and even then only under certain circumstances. They own the rights to Cyclings Superbowl/World Series and are not willing to accept the idea that ALL the best riders should be at The Tour. There have been severe problems with doping in cycling as well as most other sports but to exclude true contenders is irresponsible (much like LLND) and the riders themselves should want the best against the best. In the end the riders unifying would only bring them more prestige and a bigger paycheck.    

Will anybody ever attack in a race ever again. Christoph Moreau did any won the Dauphine, but who cares about him? I think it is irresponsible as a proffessional cyclist to lose a race by less than 60 seconds and at least not try SOMETHING. It is supposed to be entertainment after all. Use to be the stars would not only attack each other but also their own teamates. Are all that is left of the big names happy with riding tempo for an entire race. I am not speaking of any particular race but as a general feeling. ATTACK DAMNIT!! and you will never be more popular and the sponsers will get more exposure.

why cycling in the U.S. is treated with disdain and it has alot to do with whinny ingrates like the majority of you on this rediculous site. I have never read so much drivel in my life. It is bad enough that most Roadies ride around like their shit does't stink and NEVER wave back to a fellow cyclist. The complaints about Cycling.tv are wholly unresponsible and all of you should be ashamed of yourselves as they provide something that was unheard of a few years ago. I can't begin to write how much I have learned from whatching all those races. If you want it to go back Pre-Lance when there were about 20 cyclist in the U.S. then fine. Otherwise embrace EVERYTHING Cycling.
   If you want better bike lanes and ifrastructure then be kind to motorist and pedestrians alike. I happen to manage a bike shop and I love riding bikes, building bikes,selling bikes, and whatching the health of my customers improve because of it. If grandma is on a cruiser say goodmorning to her don't blow by her like your sprinting into Paris and scare the shit out of her. Be Kind to cycling and it will be kind to you.
   The traditionalist on this site should reconsider their feelings for the Protour because as it expands it will allow more and more European Pros to race in the U.S. Maybe you can afford to fly to Europe for the summer but I can't. Cycling must progress otherwise they may as well be riding 25lb bikes and repairing their own flats; wouldn't that be awesome.    

I realize that the riders simply want to race their bikes and know where they are going and how to train but this nonsense with the organizers will not change unless the riders refuse to show up at any ASO,RCI, or other non-protour liking race organizer's race until they get their collective heads out of their collective asses. No one ever went to a race to see an Organizer or UCI rep. The riders have all of the power but don't know how to use it. How much money would the ASO lose if no PROTOUR teams showed up at their races?
How much would the riders lose? None if they stuck together and furthered their cause against the sanctioning bodies. When does the athelete count? When someone can make money that's when. No atheletes: No money. It has had to be done in other sports and the player always wins but not without some sacrifice.

Seems as though none other than Miquel Indurain is reiterating my point about the power struggles in cycling affecting the riders rights; "The fight against doping is well organized and those who do not respect the rules are punished. I think that the problems of this sport are based on the fight for power among different cycling stakeholders: national federations, squads, and organizers."
The riders are victims every bit as much as the fans are. Doping is bad,bad,bad, but you cannot destoy a career on heresay.

Do you think European (Continental) cycling is trying to discourage American cyclist from racing in europe? Do you think that they fear American domination? Until 1999 when most American cyclist were basically pack fodder there did'nt seem to be a problem but since Lance has really tuned America's ears towards cycling via visiting ths Continent just for races and filling out Le Tour it has been a constant uphill battle. What will happen to poor George Hincapie when he wins Paris-Roubaix this year an pisses off more French promoters? Just a thought. Thanks,Brandon

We are seeing the difference between Civil Rights in the U.S. and Civil Rights in Europe under a microscope. Can you imagine in Pro U.S. sports i.e: MLB, NFL,NBA &NHL. If someone was not allowed to play because they were THOUGHT to have used drugs? European Cycling is full of blowhards and posturers, people with and without authority making and breaking peoples carrers with wild abandon. The press is leading the charge and it is most assuridly anti-American. The sooner the Riders form a union to protect their rights and start boycotting and or stricking from races the better. How would the Organizers and UCI feel if there was no racing season like there was no NHL season a few years ago? No one has ever attended or watched a race to see an organizer, promoter or UCI official. Thankyou, Brandon