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Racing Round-up

Jan Ulrich lost his home-country tour, possibly because his mechanic mounted a front aero wheel backwards for the final time trial.  Can you say 'your fired' in German?  American Levi Leipheimer won the overall and promptly took a nap.

The Single Speed World Championships (SSWC) went down last week in Pennsylvania.  The usual cast of freeks participated, as noted by the esteemed Sir Keith.  More verbage via the SS Outlaw. As you may be aware, the mens and womens champion are traditionally tattooed and/or branded at the end of the race in lieu of a trophy, prize money or champagne shower.  For reasons known only to Eric Roman and his drunk cohorts, this year the winner was decided by holding a go-cart race after the actual bike race.  The winner of the go-cart race is your new World Champion.  WTF?!??!  Joining in the chorus lead by Drunk Cyclist, So'Cal Mark and others, we here at HPT would like to formally recognize the cyclists who won this year's championship; Abby Hippely for the women and Jesse LaLonde for the men.  Efforts are underway to find tattooists in each racer's respective hometown to get them the ink they rightly deserve.  Fund raising might be neccessary, stay tuned.

This weekend if you're in NYC, head over to Central Park and check out the GS Mengoni Grand Prix.  If you're overseas, the Vuelta starts today in stinky hot Spain.

French Twist

The recent allegations out of  France against Big Tex are interesting.  There are possible violations of ethics and rights at stake on the part of the journalists who wrote the story.  Marie Le Blanc  (the head of the Tour de France) is on the payroll of the same paper who published the story.  The timing of the publication just days after LA and GW had thier little cyclism in Crawford is not to be taken lightly.  The whole thing is a travesty.  Of course there is doping in all sport.  Making Lance the target is not the sollution, especially with old B samples, leaked information and all the other holes in the mess they've written.  By shouting without having sufficent back-up, the L'Equipe journalists and editors have made a grave mistake and done diservice to the very real and neccessary fight against drugs in sport.

Rollin' In Crawford

Dave Zirin makes some interesting observations about King Lance's recent and much ballyhooed cyclism with Her George Jr. in this link from Common Dreams.  Meanwhile, the frogs still harp about Lance's alleged dope abuse back in 99.  99?!?!?  Some lab testers refute the validity of the tests in question, while the head of the TdF calls for Big Tex to offer an explaination.  In '99, Tex was eighteen months out from the all clear in his battle with cancer when he won his first TdF.  While he was fighting the cancers in his system, or specifically, the brutal chemo treatments, he had to be on courses of EPO or similar meds to keep his red blood cel count up.  Steroids are also usually prescribed to counter-act the strength sapping radiation treatments.  Certainly within two years of fighting cancer a survivor would be on some type of maintinence program that would possibly include blood boosting and strength enhancing drugs.  Could this finally be the moment when the obvious connection between cancer and EPO is revealed?  Doubt it. 
Just remember though - heroes all fall. 

Random Education by Moonlight

A jaundiced moon hung low in the smoggy dusk of LA last night, fattened by the slothful desk jockeys returning home for the weekend.  It was lovely; big and yellow, suspended shimmering in the bands of heat on the horizon.  The perfect evening to jam out some miles on the newly fixed 24”.  Northbound I did roll, ducking and dodging through the neighborhood, keeping la luna at my back.  When I reached the second crossing, I doubled back over the river and on to the southward path, now in perfect position to spin while savoring the view.  Ahead was another rider, rare at this late hour.  Approaching, I saw he was older, worn by the road and probably the mean streets too.  We had some stairs to climb ahead of us and I rolled up on him as he dismounted.  Called a hey howdy to let him know a friendly was behind him.  At the top of the steps we got to talking.  Laurence was riding a Peugeot plucked from the trash, perfect with Campy wheels and old Mafac brakes.  Said he had eight bikes, didn’t care when his MTB got swiped while he was getting a hummer under the trees in the park.  Told me through his cracked teeth that the origins of a certain familiar curse came all the way back in 1462.  Apparently, to sleep with a member of the royal court, permission had to be granted in writing, thus fornication under consent of the king became our favorite four-letter word.  “Where’d you get that?” I laughed, having heard a few versions of the ‘origins’ story before, but never this one.  “Book called ‘Foxfire’” he shot back, and I flashed to the worn volumes I had thumbed through as a child in my Grandparents backwoods home.   I hipped him to the Bicycle Kitchen, told him they’d groove on his dumpster dive roadie.  As we parted ways, he hipped me to the fact that not running a headlamp at night could bag me a 380.00$ ticket.  Fuck, indeed.

Fixed Two Four

Update:  On Fixed Gear Gallery now.

This rig should show up on Fixed Gear Gallery soon, but here's a peek at the latest Squadra Obscura weapon.  Fireman's is a small batch bike company based in Don't-Mess-With-Austin-TX.  They made a run of these 24" racers a few years back, and now they've got another run for sale.  The bike pictured here is from the first batch and served as a freewheelin' singlespeed for taco runs and trips to the post office in the city of Lost Angels.  Last night we got all inspired (Shiner Bock) and loc-tited on a Surly track cog, stripped off the Paul's MotoBMX brakes and voila - fixed gear  thrills.  54 gear inches, pure 1x1 ratio with a 18x36. Still used for taco runs and other sundry duties around the hood.  Full parts spec will be included with the FGG entry.  Viva!

Tele And Le Tour

The post formerly known as 'Tele and Le Tour' is currently residing at Just Riding Along.

In a fit of likemindedness, both Jonathan and I posted the same thing at the same time.  In light of the fact that it was his request for me to rant on about television coverage and the TdF, I've pulled it from here and let it live it's rightful life over there on Jon's blog.

More sooner.  Viva!

Battle Rhyme

Roll along, cyclist roll on

For our fat-tire brethren
To our skinny 23cm sisters
Our track stars, gate aces,
Crit kings, time-trialers, dirt jumpers
Big hit huckers,
All-night single speeders,
Trialsin’ fools,
Across Alaska adventurers,
Grocery-fetching townies,
This year’s trend fashionistas,
Shaggy legs, or skin shaved slicksters
Full-face armor or little to the imagination Lycra
Sew up tubbies or Schrader valve tradition
Lance worshipers, ‘cross mudders,
Pork chop lowriders and fix fanatics
This is a battle rhyme for our souls
Subcultural difference is a fraud
There is no change between tribes
The local park pick-up crit
Sparks the same juices as the
Alley cat to the local tap
Weekend sprung knobbie warriors
Wail the same war cry of joy
As Sunday’s masters’ group ride 
Flatland spinners and track stand sprinters
Dirt jump flyers and century veterans
We share a common bond so
You, randoneer, best not
Look down-schnoz
At the hardtail trail railer
And you freerider, why must you
See with indifference the BMX ace
Who should recognize his kind
Winning world stripes on the track
Where on the boards you’d be wise
To not snub the alley cat couriers
Who ride the same fixed rigs
As do LES wannabies
3/4 pant pedal pushing  hot summer fashion
Don’t be critical of the masses
Tallbike chopperheads, torch in hand
Do not dismiss the miss with the ledsled
Double pounder bouncing downhill
Hucker ace’s, do not harrumph
The criterium crackpots on their carbon
Paper-thin machines
At every core, no bike is different
No rider less the same
We bond on the breeze in our teeth
The perfect human-machine interface
At our feet’s fingertips, tears of speed
Pulling from our eyes

Ride along cyclist, ride on