SB Nation User Blog: Jimbo...

Viewer Suggestions for Universal Sports

Jimbo... — Mon, 18 May 2009 23:52:40 -0000

IMHO, Universal Sports has done an outstanding job thus far with their Giro coverage. The free streaming coverage seems pretty bulletproof (who would have imagined such things were possible?), the broadcast coverage is excellent for those of us lucky enough to get broadcast coverage (better than Versus since they leave out all the rider profile crap and show the racing), and the commentary is, well, acceptable? Worth the money I paid for it? I have seen comments scattered about on such issues as Flash video, etc., but I thought it might be neighborly, given our long history here at the Cafe of helping out our cycling broadcaster friends with our collective feeback, to consolidate comments in one spot. We are givers here. We give...

My only gripe thus far is that their web interface makes it pretty challenging to get to the as-live video without running across a big, flashing spoiler. ZoeRochelle posted a direct link to the cycling schedule, which helps, but I wish I had seen that yesterday when I went to the site looking for video of the Milan parade (my Tivo cut off the broadcast some time before the "racing" started so I had no idea what transpired) only to see "Cav wins it!", or something like that. That is annoying... so unless you have that link saved, there is no way to get to a video without knowing how the stage ended. Personally, I would like to see that changed. Go ahead and put up some flashy pictures from the day, just don't make them of the stage winner standing on the podium, or announce the results in 25 point type on top. Nobody will buy the cow if the milk is free, people. Keep us guessing.

Enough out of me... feel free to chime in below with your suggestions, comments, praise, bile as you see fit.

Palomar, shalomar

Jimbo... — Tue, 24 Feb 2009 04:35:52 -0000

That is Palomar? You call that a mountain? ha. meh. piece of cake...

Park, suit up, check tires, put warm clothes, food, and Asian midget into my backpack (just kidding, she was actually native American), hop on bike and pedal.... steep road... ouch.... pedal, pedal, pant, pant, pant... sweat, sweat, drink, eat, drink, eat... what? I'm only half way? seriously?... ok, time to concentrate... pedal, pedal, pedal... elevation 3000 feet sign! victory is mine!... wait, I thought this mountain was only 3000 feet tall? It's 5000 feet tall? oh... crap... pedal, pedal, drink, wave at the fans, try to catch football thrown by drunken tifosi while pedaling uphill riding with no hands on a 7% grade... SUCCESS!... now try to throw football back to drunken tifosi... uh, not much of a ball sports guy really... ahem... pedal, pedal... take some pictures... smile at the fans... is that snow? why yes, that is snow... ride over some yellow Lance chalk... more Lance chalk... and still more Lance chalk... finally, a Jens! sign and a Flanders flag... turn a corner, look up the mountain and see many switchback still ahead... grit teeth, dig deep, attack!... not really... pedal, pedal, drink, eat, pedal, wave, sweat... elevation 4000 feet sign... guy wearing huge afro wig... cars parked everywhere... crowd getting thicker... weaving in and out of spectators... is that guy wearing green sequined hot pants? Why yes he is (is that Sui? Nope. Sui's hair was longer)... see antler guy, giant elf, a mexican wrestler, a viking, the pope?... pedal... reach KOM... pedal a little more to the true summit.... stop... deep breath... tweet my acomplishment (5329 ft. 11.4 miles. Avg speed 7.1 mph. 1:35 total ride time from base).. feel generally studly until someone tells me that they pros will do it in 45 minutes easy.... grab a $2 coffee, then a $3 beer, put on warm clothing and pick a spot to await the madness...

Thanks to Nikki, I had an idea that there was a break off the front with Jens! attacking from the peloton, but not much more. We could see the riders a mile and a few hundred feet in elevation below, and they were up to us in no time. Jens! was in front with his Jens!-will-hurt-you face on, with Levi close behind. The enormous crowd was going absolutely batshit nuts, screaming, hollering... The crazy fans running by, motos, team cars, cowbells, and pandemonium. It was totally fucking awesome. Some of the riders had pain faces like I have never seen. True suffering. Very impressive stuff. It was all a blur as to who and when, but I did notice that Fast Freddie was Last Freddie that day. But he was doing it. Chapeau... Once the broom wagon passed, I hoped on my bike and joined a few hundred other people for the descent. That was sweet. In no time I was back down at the intersection of highway 76 and East Grade Road waiting for the race. 10 minutes or so later, they came flying by with someone from Rock Racing off the front. But no Freddie. I still haven't watched the race, so I have no idea what happened really, except for who won, but it was still fun, fun, fun to see in person.

After attending multiple finishes of the ToC over the past few years, seeing numerous starts, one TT, three prologues, the inside of several VIP tents, the phtog scrum, and a whole lot more, standing on that mountain top, 50 meters from the KOM, after having rode up there using my own two legs? Now that was hands down the best of all... by a freaking mile. Jimbo's advice is that if you ever get the chance to watch a big climb, go for it. Do not hesitate.I can only imagine what Alpe d'Huez is like. Wow...

Here are some photos and one short video...

Sausalito Swallows

Jimbo... — Mon, 16 Feb 2009 22:45:33 -0000

Rain.... cold... grumble... frown... harumph... that pretty much sums up the start today in Sausalito. 44 degrees and raining. 8:30 AM. Yep. Ass conditions...

But, I did get to see a few riders as they rolled out to the start and managed to grab a few photos and one video of the start. None of the riders looked happy in the slightest. They cancelled the normal parade laps around Sausalito and just got to it...

Before the race I asked Jens! if he was going to attack today. "Today is a Jens! day!", yelled I. But sadly, Jens just grumbled something gutteral and angry sounding. So I backed away... Then I asked Big Schleck to smile for his fans, but Frank said "not much to smile about today, grumble, grumble, I want to cry..." Kirk O'Bee was cool to me "good luck Kirk" says I... Kirk says "thanks man!"... and Pieter Weening signed autographs in the rain. Classy.... Then I retired to my waterproof and sound proof suite above the posh Poggio Trattoria to drink wine, eat bacon, and talk cycling with my cycling club buddies. Good times... And it turns out one of them had a VIP pass, which he gave to me. Now I have a VIP pass. Working photog one day, bacon eating VIP the next... imagine what could happen tomorrow?

Santa Rosa Sucks...

Jimbo... — Mon, 16 Feb 2009 04:56:48 -0000

if you are a pro bike racer, or someone from out-of-state mistakenly thinking you are attending a bike race in that "California" place you see on your teevee in shows such as Bay Watch, or maybe if you are a homeless person... But if you came prepared, Santa Rosa was a wonderful place to spend the afternoon.

It may come as a surprise to anyone who watched the race, but it rained today! It rained a lot. Biblical amounts of rain. I was expecting frogs to start falling from the sky any minute, but alas, no frogs...

After a wet drive north, I arrived a bit too late for the Ladie's race (that Emilia is cute as a button. Wow. Jens, do they all look like her there? Cause that might explain why some of you stay there in the winter...). But, I did see the Men come through. They were... well... they were wet. Very, very wet. Wet like an Irish well-digger's ass... or is that "cold" like an Irish well-digger's ass? It probably doesn't matter because either way it's totally accurate.

Me? I was neither wet, nor cold, because I came prepared, remember! Here is my ToC 2009 in-person race attendance checklist...

Waterproof boots? Check!
Waterproof pants? Check!
Waterproof jacket? Check?
Waterproof gloves? F*ck, forgot those...
Twitter-enabled Crackberry? Damn right!

So to cut to the chase, or the lack of a chase as it turned out... Mancebo managed to win after an epic, but nearly spoiled, solo and soggy breakaway. The surprisingly large, but unsurprisingly cold and wet crowd, went f*cking wild when the man finished, his wet arms raised high, with a huge, huge wet grin on his wet face. You could tell that nobody, except Nibali and the Belgian kid, were even chasing, so the racing was pretty limited. But the break away survived. Don't see that every day...

Well, thought I, the race is over now. It's pouring rain. It's getting dark. My hands are cold. What to do? Maybe I should go back to that Russian bar that crashdan mentioned in his "places to meet up" thread? But on the other hand, why don't I just walk through that open gate right over there leading onto the course right in front of the podium stage? The gate through which all the photographers are going, you ask? Why yes, that gate...

Next thing you know, I'm standing front and center in the photog scrum, three feet from the stage, right behind the VS cameraman, and here come Mancebo to get his yellow jersey. It's me, the guy from Getty images, the CNN dude, VS camera guy, probably someone from Gazetta della Sporto, and two dozen soggy others all equipped with multiple cameras with these massive lenses, blah, blah, blah. Me? I have...

Crackberry (with built in flash thank you very much)
My trusty Sony Cybershot DSC-T5 (which does video!)

I was a new-media field reporting dynamo, baby! Tweet, tweet, tweet!. That's what I'm talking about my tweeches!

Now all these pro photogs have on these official bibs that say "Official ToC Pro Photo Person", or something like that. Meh. Not me. No bib necessary. Just a blue North Face jacket, yellow PVC rain pants ($14.95), and a take-no-prisoner look on my face. In truth, I'm standing there figuring one of the pro guys is going to rat me out any second and some race official is going to grab me by my soggy backpack and kick my ass out, but then I notice the 4 ft 6 in Laotian grandmother in the purple and tan plaid jacket standing to my left... and I knew I was safe. So I relax, take some shots and a little video while they give out all the jerseys, and settle in to my new-found profession... International cycling new-media twitterati field guy! Who needs press credentials when you have dumb luck? Not me, that's who, or "that's not who"... or whichever is better (Gav, edit please?)...

So here is my official report... It rained a lot. Mancebo got all the jerseys except the "Best Young Rider" (Gesink) and the women's race winner jersey (Emilia, blink, blink, sigh, blink). And then Basso got one for something... "Cutest Smile"... "Best Kisser"... "Best Reformed-Ex-Admitted-Almost-But-Not-Really-An-Actual-Doper on Liguigas"blah, blah....

My work day finished, I went back to the Russian River Brewing Company to see if I could find crashdan (look for a maniacal youngish Colonel Sanders looking guy with glasses and a brown leather hat I'm thinking) but all I managed to find was another excellent Leffe-like Belgian style blond ale, which, in a selfless jesture of solidarity, I dedicated to the fine people of Australia who got jacked up recently.... moment of silence... Then I drove home, stopping at In-N-Out on the way, (just like Horner apparently did), and put on my Snuggie. Oh, Snuggie, why do I love you so?

Night all...

P.S., I don't really have a Snuggie.

For those of you stuck freezing your naughty bits off, I thought I would post a little video of my...

Jimbo... — Sun, 18 Jan 2009 22:21:36 -0000

For those of you stuck freezing your naughty bits off, I thought I would post a little video of my Saturday ride on Mt. Tam overlooking Stinson Beach and Bolinas (where hippies go to hide)... And please understand that this is not intended to be a "neener, neener, look how nice the weather is where I live" taunting sort of thing, just a reminder that no matter where you live, soon that ice will melt, the grass will start to grow, the leaves will come back, and you too will be able to ride without full face protection and heated shorts. All of you that is, except Jens.

Buon Natale Pinarello!

Jimbo... — Fri, 12 Dec 2008 05:06:07 -0000

Hello Pinarello folks. Jimbo here... Yep, me again... Jimbo... Just wanted to, you know, take a minute to touch base... "entrare in contatto" as it were... see how the off season is treating you all....

Molto bene, I expect? I'm sure you've all been hard at work in the factory over there in Italy? Making bikes. Lots of em, eh? Dozens and dozens? Maybe hundreds? Lots of inventory. Yep... Nice... Sucks about the economy... dire.... global credit crisis, loss of consumer confidence, spending way, way, down. What to say? Just bad, bad, bad, really.... But look, I'm sure that you guys are doing great! You must be recession proof, right? High end toys like yours are above the fray? Them rich folks these days? SO rich... Nothing to worry about. Those Prince's will be flying off the shelves. Full steam ahead, baby!...

Hey, any holiday plans? Me? Not so much. Just laying low with the wife and kiddies. Drink some egg nog. Bake some cookies. Maybe open a few presents. The usual stuff. Nothing too fancy. Maybe take a ride or three.Get out there amongst my cycling crazy neighbors... remember them, right? Those dentists and dot com millionaires between the ages of 35 and 55 with a median family worth of two to ten million? Yep, them...

Hey, you guys getting excited about the Giro? How about the Tour of California? Boy, I know I am!... Yep.... Very excited... yep... nothing but excitement here... huge...

So, about that bike lending proposal thingy? You remember that, right... This might ring a bell? Any feedback on that whole thing? Cause I'm hearing nothing on my end... All pops and hisses... the line seems dead... come in Tokyo... ha!... And not to sound fickle or anything, but rumor has it that another bike maker is, well, let's just say they are motivated... ready to make things happen... "eager to play" if you know what I'm saying? Capisci? Now me, I like you guys. We are paisanos, si? Speaka ze English?

Anyway, my email is in my profile. You know what to do... Ringy dingy... Tick tock...

Oh and dire ciao a tua madre per me, va bene? Ciao.

Jimbo

Open Letter to Pinarello...

Jimbo... — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 23:22:38 -0000

Dear Pinarello,

Please allow me to introduce myself. My name is Jimbo... I am a avid cyclist and frequent commentor here at the Podium Cafe, the nexus of all things cycling related. Please, make yourselves at home, poke around, read the posts, get to know the natives, comment if you feel so inclined. And have something to eat, you look too thin...

So you and I have never met, but I am a big fan or your bikes. Huge fan. Huge... And I love that Prince... the bike I mean, not that short guy in purple from Minneapolis, Ha! Never heard that one before, I bet, huh?... Anyway... nothing makes me happier than riding my bike, or live blogging a pro cycling race with my fellow bike freaks here at the cafe, except, that is, live blogging a pro cycling race being won by someone riding one of those sexy Prince Carbons!. Love that bike. The curvy lines, the bold color scheme, the forks... ah, those forks... just thinking about those sexy forks makes me feel kinda funny... Ah, but I digress...

Alright, enough chit chat. Here is what I want. I want you guys to lend me a Prince Carbon. In return, I will ride the crap out of it and document my joy on this very website for all to see. And you will make me a happy man. And Gavia wants one too.

"What do we get?", you may be asking yourselves. Well, my fine Italian friends, you get this... eyeballs!... lots of eyeballs. And in my case, you get the actual living eyeballs of all those potential Pinarello owners who ride bikes in Marin County, California, the land of milk and honey. I am talking about hundreds of rich stock brokers, dentists, and entrepreneurs who ride, and, if I am not being too fatuous, who ride expensive bikes. These folks love expensive bikes. They buy tons of them and the more expensive, the better. Seriously. A weekend on the bike path from Sausalito to Mill Valley is like a parade of high priced cycling porn. Colnagos, Sevens, Serottas, Orbeas, Willier, Cervello... you name it... But sadly, not that many Pinarellos. Which is just wrong. Now, ask yourself. Why might that be? Simple, lack of exposure! See? So let's make this happen. It will help us both. Gavia wants to help also. Her town does not have enough Pinarellos either.

Oh, and as Competitive Cyclist says...

"The Prince Carbon is built from carbon fiber sourced strictly from Japanese textile giant Toray, a supplier to virtually every aerospace company worldwide. Pinarello raves how Toray's quality control and testing protocols are as intensive as you'll find anywhere in the composites industry. Pinarello chooses 50HM1K carbon for the Prince Carbon -- a high-modulus carbon that has a tensile strength of 50 tons per square cm (50HM), and an exterior weave of 1000 weaves per crossing (1K). This allows Pinarello to use substantially less material while still maintaining optimum strength and rigidity. Sprint in a 53x12 or launch an out-of-the-saddle attack on a climb and the last thing you'll feel will be frame flex. Higher quality carbon also allowed Pinarello to build their lightest-ever frameset: The unpainted weight of a Prince Carbon is sub-900g..."

Booya! No idea what half of that means, but that kind of language is like chocolate icing and sprinkles on a bacon sandwich, baby! So throw a pair of Zipp wheels on that bad boy, tell the guy down in shipping to call UPS and tell them they have a pickup! Destination: Jimbo's garage. Oh, and make sure you send one to Gavia too. That is key. She is good people and she writes good too.

Ciao!

Jimbo...

[Note by Jimbo..., 10/25/08 3:55 PM PDT ] Pinarello people, I need a sized 56 frame, please. Here are the specs of my current bike. Any color is fine, as long it's black, red, yellow, white, or some combo thereof, but this color scheme will get you multiple posts. That I promise. And you can contact me via the email address on my profile.

[Note by Jimbo..., 10/25/08 10:07 PM PDT ] Forgot to mention that I'm one quarter Italian. Tuscano. Mothers side. That makes us related, right?

US Olympic Cycling Teams Announced

Jimbo... — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 19:03:09 -0000

VeloNews has the article. Looks like the road team is Hincapie, Leipheimer, McCartney, Vande Velde and Zabriskie. No love for Horner. The TT'ers will be Levi and Zabriskie. The article has details about the ladies as well as the track squad. Kristen Armstrong is the only qualifier so far for the women's road race .

[deleted: hot dog-related chatter inserted to make the minimum word count. Something about bratwurst, condiments, hot grits, midgets, etc etc ... (ED)]

"I'll make love to you, like you want me to, ..."

Jimbo... — Thu, 22 May 2008 04:56:09 -0000

"I'll make love to you, like you want me to, ..."

For Sale Cheap! Hardly Ridden!

Jimbo... — Tue, 13 May 2008 04:49:24 -0000

For Sale Cheap! Hardly Ridden!