With a humble H/T to andrewp and his post earlier this week, I was inspired to come up with a FSA DS team using similar tactics based on TV from my youth. There are 2 main rules that I stuck to. 1) Don’t go heavy on pictures - I’m not clear on all the rules anymore, so I’ll stick to some hyperlinks and 2) Keep it simple – I’ll rely mostly on the distant memories stored deep down in the mushy parts of my skull. I purposely did not go-a-googling for fear of ending up on one of those never-ending internet search rabbit trails where you start off looking for heartworm medicine, next thing ya know, you’re staring at pictures of chicks in stormtrooper costumes. Wait. What was I talking about? Oh yeah, using television from my youth to pick a VDS squad. The shows I present below are simply the one’s that came quickly to the forefront of my thoughts as I embarked. The actual details of each TV show and/or its characters may not be totally accurate, but each description is the way I remember them. In other words, your childhood may vary as well as your association to each rider.

Ready? Let’s Roll.

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OK, first of all, the title is nowhere near as cool as in 2009 when perezbike posted My Bike Doesn't Take a Picture of Me, but, meh, it'll work.

Around the time Ted King broke his collarbone in Philly (June), I got an idea for another "post pix of your bike" thread and maybe invite Ted to critique them KoS Style (while he's recovering).  Then Ant1 mentioned someting about posting some photos...and then neither one of us did anything else.  So, since it's officially the slow, cyclocross, no longer road season, here's an opportunity to post a pic or two (or seven) of your bike and give a brief description and/or your opinion on frame/components/wheels and what you like/dislike/would change if you could.

I'll start on the flizzy - 

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OK, now that I've had a couple days to digest, here are some thoughts I'd like to share re: my Sat/Sun in Pittsburgh.  I'll preface my rant by stating my soon-to-be 13 yo son is a big Steelers fan and this was built up as a special father/son weekend.  In that regard, it was a success.

POSITIVES:
1) Pittsburgh really is a cool city.  The waterfront.  The industrial feel.  The iron bridges.  The brick.  The riverfront area around Heinz Field and PNC park was easy to find and walk to.
2) The weather was beautful.  From a football standpoint, it could've been a few degress cooler; but from a "fan-on-foot" perspective, it was perfect.
3) Heinz Field is really set up nice.  Ginormous gates and plenty of staff made entry a breeze.  Wide open walkways & round ramps.  Concessions every 10 feet and bathrooms every 12.
4) Saturday night was National Zombie Night (or something).  Not sure of the details, but there were plenty of freaks marching around zombie style in the streets.  Even though my son forgot to bring his copy of U.S. Army Zombie Combat Skills with him, he recalled enough information to keep us safe.
5) Had a really good Lamb Sandwich at Crystal on Penn Saturday night.

NEGATIVES?  A few - On the flip.

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According to VeloNews' Andrew Hood tweet, Oman pulled out and we're waiting on the "official" announcement  later today.

Richmond 2015 tweet .

Boursorama (via Google Translator) - Did some searching with my slow computer and found some random bit someone posted in my FanShot and found this.

[Added] - From the Mayor in Richmond Times-Dispatch

[Added] - Release from Velonews.

[Added] - Same release from cyclingnews

[Added] - Announcement from Richmond at 10:45 Est

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In La Fleche Live Thread, Chris asked when is the last time someone got a big lead that early and made it stick all the way in?  I threw out Michele Bartoli’s name as a possibility, without actually checking any facts or detailed race results.  I don’t know if it was the last time, but Bartoli definitely threw down on the Mur de Huy in 1999.  Fast forward to today where I spent a good, solid 4 minutes on the Googler checking out one of my favorite riders from the 90’s.

Bartoli won La Doyenne twice – back-to-back in ‘97 & ’98.  I remember the L-B-L race in ’97 where he literally rode Jalabert off his wheel in the last Km.  Check him out looking back for JaJa's teammate, Zulle before he puts his nose on the stem.  In ’98, he decimated the field to solo home in yet a more dominating fashion.  Speaking of fashion & 1998, note the purple & orange colors of his Asics/Carrera kit and the Briko Stingers.  (I mention the purple kit because it occasionally comes up for discussion).

Michele Bartoli was the first classics style rider that made me start to pay more than cursory attention to one day racing.  Look at his palmares.  Dude was a bike racer.

So, here we are halfway through the NFL season and I wonder how your team is doing...if you have one.  In the last version of "Introduce Yourself" or "Who Are You" or whatever it was called (which I can't seem to find), teh Grind Crusher and I engaged in some lively debate re: our respective teams in the AFC South.  Actually, the conversation was more fan oriented than team and, suffice it to say, he's as passionate about his team (Texans) as I am mine (Titans).  There are plenty of NFL Team Fan sites at SB Nation, but I prefer to hang out in the friendly confines of the Cafe.


So, how's your team doing?  Remember to type slow (Steelers fans can't read very fast).

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I'm not sure of the statistics of PdC membership is Pennsylvania, but if anyone is interested in getting together for a no-frills ride, I'll be on family vacation week of August 2 up in the beautiful Hershey/Lebanon County area.  I've negotiated the requisite red-tap, received appropriate spousal permission and reserved storage space in the mini-van to bring and actually ride my bike.  Obviously, I'll have some dedicated obligations, but I actually have more than a few days available for riding that week. 

If anyone would like to meet up for a ride, hit me up at my profile email.  If not, I'll be riding without'cha.

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