HumanPoweredTransport

A Moment Of Silence

Track racing is our NASCAR, only the racers are not protected by a crash cage in cycling. Raise your fist, bow your head, tip out some drink on the dirt, light a candle, chant a prayer, reflect, pay respect, take a moment of silence. Isaac Gálvez, rest in peace with all of the other riders who have been struck from our roles this year. Onward.

Foot Down

If you think it's bad form to unclip through a corner while riding, have a look at around 1:30 into this vid from the 2nd race in this year's Superprestige Cyclocross series over in the Netherlands. That cat in the blue and white Fidea kit is Bad Bart Wellens; he has some mad skizls.

Tinkoff

Lil' Tyler Hambones has officially announced what'd been leaked and rumored for months - he'll be racing again this summer with Tinkoff Credit Systems. That name might ring a bell; the 37 year old Russian tycoon fancies himself a rolleur, training and racing with his squadra. The team has been linked with the au currant crop of suspect riders, including Ulli', Mancebo and Hondo. Not to mention a rumored affiliation with Slimy Siaz. So who is Oleg Tinkoff? The cycling press won't tell you much. Funny how in a sport riddled with drug cases, there is so little information about the real money behind the teams. In many other sports, the team owners' are widely written about. Maybe if our beloved journalists followed suit, more folks like those of us here at HPT would be suspect of teams owned by drug companies and sports betting franchises. Not that there's anything wrong on the surface with Tinkoff judging from the intel that can be dug up in a 20 minute trolling of the web. Little information is available about the Credit Systems part of the business. Oleg Tinkoff is a brewery owner and a resturanteur, although the brewery upon who's board he sits after selling his own brand to them is InBev S.A., the largest brewer in the world. Following the sale and subsequent shift from brewmaster to board member of one of the planet's largest corporations, Oleg opened a successful chain of restaurant/taverns humbly named Tinkoff Restaurants. They are now expanding into Western Europe, providing a perfect need to splash the corporate identity on a sports team. Prior to the whole brew and brats strategy, Ol' egg ran a successful processed food manufacturing company called Darya, which he also sold for a tidy profit. Where the credit arm fits into all of this is less apparent in the financial press. His interest in signing high-profile tainted racers signifies perhaps more of a maverick marketing ploy than it does any links to organized crime. Certainly his racing team - and his businesses - would not be so prominent in the sporting news were he not out signing 'reformed' needleheads. Still, the neuvo-megarich that Oleg runs with are the boys with the biggest warchests in the casino and seem more apt to treat racing of any kind as a win at any cost proposition. If Tinkoff and his team prove to be legit, it's an exciting addition to bike racing - an enthusiastic young mogul injecting new blood into the sport. Unfortunately, it's too easy to recognize every drip of irony in the semantics of the previous sentence as reason to suspect that yet again the fans are mocked by a cursory shrugging off of the drug problem in cycling. By signing convicted or accused liars, dopers and cheats what message is being sent? Should be an interesting season that's for sure, with perhaps more interest off the par cors' than on them. Omerta.

True Turkey

NAHMBS is coming! Can't get enough of the web community vibrations from myspace? Now there's a space for bikes. Hardest cyclocross race in the world; England's Three Peaks - now on video. Rahsaan!! T.J. talks crossly. Personal hypoxicators hit the market, eliminating the need for expensive tents or messy doping scandals. Just don't buy one on National Buy Nothing Day. Instead, go do Undercover Ridazz. C.I.C.L.E. is providing much needed intel on better riding in Los LaLa, including these handy maps. Go ride!

Consorting Cycles

Road rules, to be read daily. Oh Portland. Sellers has migrated, hence news from the Pac-Nor. Not cycling, but northwestish, this doc rocks.
Sammy don't care 'bout no investigative reports, again. Back to cycling, J. Bishop was leading the hardest race in the world when he busted his face. Here's an oldie on makin' fixlike. Link of the month - 50 gifts to buy your bike lover. Viva!

Brunch Of Champions

Chuck Rangel is cra-zee with the reverse logic. Kurt Vonnegut is speaking in LA this year and he has the cra-zee logic down. Following Rangel's lead when they should be reading Mr. Vonnegut, our esteemed leadership is "demonized" for thinking outside the box on environmental issues while attending the UN Climate Change Conference. Other countries are apparently not so smitten with Uncle Sam's stance. For his part, Kofi drank the Kool-Aid. If an 84 year old fiction writer doesn't get you thinking, check out this 92 year old blogger. Three hours on a fixed gear, lord there's got to be a better way. Onward.

Have A Seat

Jon Page has come up with something to do while he recovers from ripping apart his shoulder earlier this season - a cyclocross tour company! Book your Belgian vacation now. Or you could stay home and visit the police state of your choice. More political rantastic ramblings. Eclectic electric mods via Kevin Kelly and his autonomous transportation bloggings. More cyclobabble, good music and a worthy production company. Viva!

La La La-di-da

Back in the land of top-down convertibles. Saving Griffith Park is gaining some ground. Cyclocross is still running hot. Too bad it's supposed to be a mudder's delight. Onward.

Love Cycle LES

A whole slew of cyclonews flows from the sewers of Manhattan this week. The Black Label jousters appear on the weekend section of the Times. Maybe Doyle will get some respect now. Or not. Also in the NYT, an article on high end bike emporiums. The New Yorker puts forth the argument that cycling advocates are zealots. Michael Green begs to differ. Meanwhile sharrows quietly invade the five boroughs. Were you wondering how the elections impacted the cycling community? The League of American Bicyclists let's you know. Apparently there's new terminology for bike commuting. Thank your valve caps for Swobo. In entertainment news, uber-director Ridley Scott made a film about a bike once. Go ride.

Black Tuesday

GO. VOTE. NOW. But first, read this nifty little schpeel about how your vote's already been stolen. Then read this one on how to steal it back. Think something's fishy at your local polling place? Report it. Pat Tillman's brother has something to say, and you should read it. Are army recruiters lying to kids? Patrick Leahy thinks someone's lying to you about what it means to be an American. Meanwhile, the world's oceans will be void of fish by 2050. Have a nice vote.