FGBC Classics Pool: Rules and Riders

Rules: Select a team of nine riders from the list below. You have $30 to spend. Spend it wisely. I've already listed the races. But if you need to be reminded, go here. Send your rosters to fortgarrybikeclubATgmailDOTcom by February 27. Note that the rankings are based on the results for this same collection of races last year. There a few exceptions to account for those studs who would have done much better had they not done only a few races (e.g., Pettachi, Cunego, Sanchez). They may show up for more this year. Then again, they may not. Of course, the same thing can be said for those who showed up for a whole bunch of races last year. With different teams and different racing programs, their priorities might be different. Roll the dice and take your chances. It's called gambling. It's fun. And in this case at least, the stakes are low. No entry fee. A bottle of Half Pints for the winner.

Scoring:

Points for the top 30, as follows:

350
300
275
250
225
200
175
150
125
110
100
95
90
85
80
75
70
65
60
55
50
45
40
35
30
25
20
15
10
5

In addition, since just finishing is an accomplishment in some of these races, every finisher below 30th place receives 3 points.

Riders & Values [updated: Hincapie & Voeckler have been added. I know I said $3 for GH, but that seems a bit low for a guy who has a history of strong, if unlucky, performances at Paris-Roubaix and finished 3rd at the Tour of Flanders and 5th at Gent-Wevelgem in 2006. It all depends on what his schedule with High Road looks like, I suppose.]

Tom Boonen - 19
Danilo Di Luca - 13
Oscar Friere - 13
Stuart O'Grady - 11
Alessandro Petacchi - 9
Daniele Bennati - 9
Davide Rebellin - 9
Marcus Burghardt - 9
Robbie McEwen - 9
Alejandro Valverde - 8
Damiano Cunego - 8
Kim Kirchen - 8
Nick Nuyens - 8
Paolo Bettini - 8
Juan Antonio Flecha - 7
Roger Hammond - 7
Samuel Sanchez - 7
Baden Cooke - 6
Frank Schleck - 6
Mattias Kessler - 6
Robbie Hunter - 6
Thomas Vaitkus - 6
David Kopp - 5
Filippo Pozzato - 5
Gert Steegmans - 5
Phillipe Gilbert - 5
Alessandro Ballan - 4
Graeme Brown - 4
George Hincapie - 4
Karsten Kroon - 4
Luca Paolini - 4
Ricardo Ricco - 4
Stefan Schumacher - 4
Thor Hushovd - 4
Stefan Wesemann - 4
Wouter Weylandt - 4
Allan Davis - 3
Erik Zabel - 3
Fabian Cancellara - 3
Juan Mauricio Soler - 3
Leif Hoste - 3
Matthew Hayman - 3
Nico Eeckhout - 3
[update: 2/28/08] Thomas Dekker - 3
Roy Sentjens - 3
Vladimir Gusev - 3
Allan Johansen - 2
Bert De Waele - 2
Christophe Mengin - 2
Claudio Cucinotta - 2
Enrico Gasparotto - 2
Fabian Wegmann - 2
Francisco Ventoso - 2
Gabriele Balducci - 2
Gorik Gardeyn - 2
Iljo Keisse - 2
John Gadret - 2
Kenny Van Hummel - 2
Manuel Quinziato - 2
[update: 2/28/08] Marcel Sieberg - 2
Murilio Fischer - 2
Olaf Pollack - 2
Rinaldo Nocentini - 2
Roberto Petito - 2
Sebastian Chavanel - 2
Staf Schierlinckx - 2
William Bonnet - 2
Aart Vierhouten - 1
Alexandre Botcharov - 1
Alexandre Usov - 1
Andreas Klier - 1
Arnaud Coyot - 1
Bastiaan Giling - 1
Benoit Salmon - 1
Bert Roesems - 1
Bram Tankink - 1
Christian Murro - 1
Christophe Laurent - 1
Daniel Musiol - 1
Daniele Pietropolli - 1
Danilo Napolitano - 1
Dmitry Muravyev - 1
Enrico Franzoi - 1
Eric Bauman - 1
Fabio Baldato - 1
Frederic Amorison - 1
Gabriele Bosisio - 1
Geoffroy Lequatre - 1
Ghyllebert - 1
Jerome Pineau - 1
Jesus Del Nero - 1
Johan Van Summeren - 1
Jose Rojas Gil - 1
Juan Cobo Acebo - 1
Jukka Vastaranta - 1
Kevin Van Impe - 1
Lars Bak - 1
Lars Michaelson - 1
Laurens Ten Dam - 1
Linus Gerdemann - 1
LucaSolari - 1
Manuel Mori - 1
Mario Aerts - 1
Mark Cavendish - 1
Max Van Heeswijk - 1
Robert Gesink - 1
Ruggero Marzoli - 1
Salvatore Commesso - 1
Serguei Ivanov - 1
Stefan Van Dijk - 1
Steven Caethoven - 1
Steven De Jongh - 1
Stijn Devolder - 1
Tadej Valjavec - 1
Thomas Voeckler - 1
Tyler Farrar - 1
Vincente Reynes - 1
Yaroslav Popovych - 1
Yuriy Krivstov - 1

OTT: Wax Poetic, White Dove

Rock 'n Roll Posengers?

Kind of sophomoric and cliched. More than kind of, in fact. "On whose Authority? I have none over me." Are you still in high school? Time to sell your fixies, kids. If this keeps up, they'll be selling them at Sport Check before too long. But it's still a good ride. Watch:

Background

To put the poster of the president below in its proper context, especially for those unfortunate not to have been present at the inaugural ride, click here. Ahh, memories. That he managed to muster a smile (or is that a grimace?) and a gesture well-being for the camera is just one among the multitude of reasons that he is our revered figurehead leader.

OTT: Bottomless Pit, Leave the Light On

Thursday Anticipation

T minus 10 days:



T minus 16 weeks:

Tuesday night in image and verse

A spectral presence?
Or merely a foggy lens?
Either way, sweet ride

Desolate river
Punctuated by skaters,
Makeshift zamboni

Sheldon Brown has died
Critical Mass is in court
Adam is depressed

Meagre hockey crowd
Just the one with hurting ribs
Not good for "the book"

Big game tonight. Go Devils!

OTT: The Dudes, Fist

Ride Comrades

The 2008 US Presidential Campaign

Just in time for Super Tuesday comes this brief primer from FGBC associate, the Angry Clown. It's all you really need to know.



OTT: The Subhumans, Celebrity

movie night

as per discussions at icebike - terror's advocate, 7:00 tonight (mon., feb 4) at cinematheque. maybe overpriced beers at king's head.

Ice Bike X

Fast course, blood soaked lungs
Only ten dollars per lap
Wretched off-camber

Results aren't up yet are posted. But I think I remember the top 6 at least:

1. Dan N
2. Rob H
3. Paul B
4. Chris H
5. Olli H
6. Hal L

Decent FGBC turnout, not great. The president built up a new bike for the event. Tinker Tim won the Paddy Wagon. The next generation did well too. Good times had by all. Even the hecklers could be observed smiling from time to time between moments of I'm-too-good-for-this surliness. Too bad the secretary was in Cincy.

Token photos:















OTT: Autumn's Grey Solace, Treasure Box

Hoogstraten

It's Albert again at Superprestige #7 in Hoogstraten. Stybar is second. Sven Vanthournout third. Boom and Albert are both 22. Albert just turned 22 today. Their young legs have way more gas left in them than the tired old legs of Nys and Wellens at this point. Full results and report over at CN.

Andy wins another one and stretches his lead to over 700 points. Can he push it to 1000 by the end of the season? Vic is making a late run for 2nd. Too bad Nys is running out of gas. But my team seems to have even less left in the tank.

Top 20:

Albert - 150
Stybar - 125
S. Vanthourenhout - 100
Simunik - 90
Nys - 80
Wellens - 75
Pauwels - 70
Vantornout - 65
Vervecken - 60
Page - 55
Aernouts - 50
Fontana - 45
Peeters - 40
Berden - 35
Al - 30
D. Vanthourenhout - 25
De Knegt - 20
Bianco - 15
Groenendaal - 10
Daelmans - 5


Today's Results:

Andy - 355
Arlene - 330
Vic - 295
Rachel - 265
Matt - 255
Tomek - 205
Chris - 185
Naomi - 160
Hal - 150
Jonny - 145
Paddy - 70
Laura - 55
Dallas - 55
David - 0


Overall Standings:

Andy - 6015
Chris - 5290
Vic - 5035
Matt - 4590
Naomi - 3995
Arlene - 3710
Rachel - 3655
Jonny - 3265
Hal - 3140
Tomek - 2200
Paddy - 1625
Dallas - 1370
David - 1020
Laura - 810

OTT: The Go-Betweens, The Statue

Krawaten Cross

Fresh off his U23 win in Treviso last weekend, Niels Albert showed he can race with the big boys too. With Boom taking the day off, Albert made sure to win another one for the younguns. Full results at CN.

Over in the FGBC Pool, the only thing Andy's got to worry about is when people will pony up their $5 entry fees. The sooner the better, folks. Vic takes the win on the day, and Swatty finally cracks the elusive 1000 point barrier.

Top 20:

Albert - 150
Wellens - 125
Nys - 100
S. Vanthourenhout - 90
Stybar - 80
Groenendaal - 75
Vervecken - 70
D. Vanthourenhout - 65
Pauwels - 60
Aernouts - 55
Peeters - 50
Al - 45
Bianco - 40
Berden - 35
Verstraeten - 30
Mourey - 25
De Knegt - 20
Simunik - 15
Heule - 10
Daelmans - 5


Today's Results:

Vic - 365
Andy - 325
Rachel - 260
Arlene - 230
Matt - 200
Naomi - 195
Jonny - 185
Tomek - 175
Chris - 170
Hal - 150
Paddy - 75
David - 25
Laura - 10
Dallas - 0


Overall Standings:

Andy - 5660
Chris - 5105
Vic - 4740
Matt - 4335
Naomi - 3835
Rachel - 3390
Arlene - 3380
Jonny - 3120
Hal - 2990
Tomek - 1995
Paddy - 1555
Dallas - 1315
David - 1020
Laura - 755

OTT: Wax Poetic, U&I

Pre-race Haiku

Sweet ride with Jonny
Icebike course seems rather fast
Don't gear down, gear up

Unless you're in Cincinnati, there's no good reason for not being there. And don't forget to wear the sweetest jersey in the world.

OTT: Townes Van Zant, Tower Song

Ride this afternoon

3pm or so at my place.

Letter from Mexico

Introductory Haiku:

Bicycle Nomads
They're post-oppositional
Not docile bodies

"... the lyricism of marginality may find inspiration on the image of the "outlaw", the great social nomad, who prowls on the confines of a docile frightened order."
-- Michel Foucault

They move about in god knows what numbers, in antic, vanguard brigades of traveling informational protest parties and parades, in groups that emerge like mushrooms overnight then vanish into the demos. They are “post-oppositional,” inclined to throw parties instead of rocks. They embrace an entire mode of being that requires of its practitioners a lifestyle devoted to subversive theatricality, with the hope that, by riding around on a bicycle that has been painstakingly decorated to look like a giant butterfly, for instance, we all might, at some fantasy tipping point, run off and join the circus, too. They are wonder actuators, joggling those who pass them by in automobiles. It’s full-time dream work, yet it requires knowledge of practical skills. It helps if you are able to weld with a torch or sew costumes, for instance—to juggle, to play an instrument, to read the schematics for commercial or household electrical circuitry, to modify bicycles, to spend long hours outfitting them so that they might appear like fantastic bugs. To ask them what they do for a living, as I did a few times out of nervousness or habit, is to provoke from them an awkward silence, to betray, in effect, what seems like an unbridgeable divide between my work-a-day life—saddled with its burdens and deadlines and vistas of deferred happiness—and theirs. An ocean exists between the New Bedouins and squares like me. They don’t do anything for a living. They live for a living.

Read the full story here. It's good writing. More here.

FGBC Spring Classics Pool: The Races

Ooh, ooh, that smell. Can't you smell that smell? The smell of cobbles and mud is around you. The Spring races are just around the corner. It all begins one month from today with Het Volk. Here are the races that will count (with links to last year's results):

Mar. 1 - Omloop Het Volk
Mar. 2 - Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne
Mar. 8 - Milano-Torino [Moved to October this year]
Mar. 8 - Monte Pasche Eroica
Mar. 22 - Milan-San Remo
Mar. 26 - Dwars Door Vlaanderen
Mar. 29 - E3 Prijs Vlaanderen
Mar. 30 - De Brabantse Pijl
Apr. 6 - Ronde van Vlaanderen
Apr. 9 - Gent-Wevelgem
Apr. 13 - Paris-Roubaix
Apr. 16 - Scheldeprijs Vlaanderen
Apr. 20 - Amstel Gold Race
Apr. 23 - La Flèche Wallonne
Apr. 27 - Liège - Bastogne - Liège

Rider list and values coming soon.

OTT: Magnolia Electric Co., Hard to Love a Man

Thursday Anticipation, Part Deux

Courtesy of the editor.


OTT: Sunparlour Players, If The Creeks Don't Rise

Thursday Anticipation

The Reminders series has been moved to Thursdays. It just seems to make sense.






Just 17 weeks away.

OTT: Stars, Take Me to the Riot

CX World Championships: Last Lap

Fast course. Almost a road race.

Tuesday Night Haiku

Jonny B and me
Gliding down the river ice
Coffee at the Forks

Some IceBike recon
Sedition course previewed too
Shaping up nicely

Big F&H crowd
Eight revellers out to play
Coach Unger was there

Summer race schedule
Lots going on; get licensed
Tinker Creek issues?

Eddie Mercury
Best moustache in rock 'n roll
Or would that be Prince?

Consternation's glare
Honking horns and shaking fists
Are you guys crazy?

OTT: New Young Pony Club, Get Lucky

nodric cross points update

4 down and how many to go???

let's see...sedition cross, haiku cross, and i think one more. so 3 more chances to improve or worsen your standing. the standings after 4:

hal 270
chris 250
dave e 200
jon g 150
vic 140
paddy 90
naomi 90
darryl 90
dave d 70
gianni 70
brad e 60
dave l 50
adam 40
adrian a 40
liam 30
leanne 30
james f 20
jon b 20
president 10
matt h 10
tom 0

someone check my figures - math is hard.

if you have not seen this guy's bikes or read or seen pictures of his rides, you should. sort of makes you think there are no excuses for not riding or racing

a couple more shots of Yerba Cross

the Yerba drinkin' Le Mans start.

first place sippin' mate while others languish.

still dreaming about flying and skidding

got x-rays today... the ribs are still a little messed up... i still remember that moment when I was flying through the air thinking it was going to be a softish landing in the snow, and then it wasn't. turns out they're not fractured, but bruised nicely. so, maybe i'll play hockey and then see those who froze their extremities off later...

So, that crew that made that sweet San Fran short video is working on a full length. You need to see the trailer. Go to Cliquenmove.com and choose channel 2. takes the little short below to the next level... no hands sitting on the bars fixed skid. deeluxe. i'm sure cement doesn't hurt nearly as much as the hard snow i landed on sunday... i better start working on my skidding. like dr. h on my driveway sunday...

Jason

Add to My Profile | More Videos

WIRRR: Windchill isn't Really Real Ride

Yerba Cross in Haiku & Photos

A splendid event
Well hosted and attended
Even perishky

Not so smooth entry
Rider down and bloodied knee
On the host's driveway

Tricky downhill run
Asses over teakettles
Hurting ribs for some

Chewed up rail bed trail
Posed a bit of a challenge
Do not oversteer

Talk of snowmobiles
Adrenaline rushes, and
Decapitations

Final race prep

Ian lunges for the line

Intestinal worries club

Jonny G went out strong and got lost,
but made up ground with his yerba skills

Divine Nectar

OTT: Rockfour, No Worries

yerba cross results

despite Hal's attempt to colour the event with his disparaging pseudo-scientific study (we think mate is carcinogenic, but most of the participants in the study are smokers...), the turnout was rather something. Ten riders. Here are the hard facts for now... pictures and further anecdotal reporting should be along soon enough...

Results:
1. dr. H
2. Alberto
3. Juan
4. Ian
5. Brad E (welcome)
6. G
7. Cousin Adam
8. Secretary
9. The Tenor (Tenacious V)
10. President (DNF) (the old Peugeot finally kicked off)

Congrats to Alberto for taking home the prize which was so kindly donated by Marvin at Marvins Foods. See Marvin for all your Mate needs.

secretary

World Championships

Short and sweet, this one. This report, that is. I've got to get ready for Yerba Cross. All the details available over at CN and VN. Andy rules!

Top 20:

Boom - 150
Stybar - 125
Nys - 100
Vervecken - 90
Simunik - 80
Fontana - 75
S. Vanthourenhout - 70
Heule - 65
Gadret - 60
Vantornout - 55
Pauwels - 50
Groenendaal - 45
Franzoi - 40
Aernouts - 35
Wellens - 30
Zahner - 25
De Knegt - 20
Cichosz - 15
Barenyi - 10
Van Gils - 5


Today's Results:

Andy - 275
Matt - 220
Chris - 205
Hal - 205
Arlene - 165
Rachel - 120
Naomi - 100
Dallas - 100
Vic - 100
Jonny - 80
Paddy - 70
Laura - 65
David - 60
Tomek - 15


Overall Standings:

Andy - 5335
Chris - 4935
Vic - 4375
Matt - 4135
Naomi - 3640
Arlene - 3150
Rachel - 3130
Jonny - 2935
Hal - 2840
Tomek - 1820
Paddy - 1480
Dallas - 1315
David - 995
Laura - 745

OTT: Jesse Sykes & the Sweet Hereafter, Not to Believe

the great trek north

anyone riding to yerba cross?

Toronto Haiku

U of T, meetings
Old stone buildings, creaky floors
Found a cool bike shop

Yerba Cross tonight
The Paraguayan nectar
Super delightful

OTT: Spoon, The Fitted Shirt

Boom!

... is the new cx world champion of the world. Stybar 2nd. Nys 3rd. The future definitely is now. More later.

prize at the end of the snow

here's the nordic cross trophy, created by one mr. jon b. points for last year's races were a total mystery, but someone made a decision and i ended up with the prize. i suggest a more calculated approach with the following system: last place gets 10 points, climbing by 10 points for each position up the list. in hara curry there were 12 racers so 120 points went to 1st place also, you have to finish a race to get points. based on the first three races of the young season here are the standings:

hal 180
chris 150
dave e 120
vic 120
jon g 100
paddy 90
naomi 90
dave d 70
darryl 60
dave l 50
adrian a 40
liam 30
leanne 30
james f 20
jon b 20
matt h 10
tom 0

yerba cross update #4 - the course

ok, here's a short video of the course. turns out it's nearly useless due to technical difficulties in the single track, but it's a nice opportunity to listen to a bit more Paraguayan folk music.

for your edification: my wife's father spent just over 10 years in Paraguay... a refugee from the war... this is where the Mennonites learned to drink mate. they were struggling to make it in a new, harsh land. the indigenous people, the Guarani, taught the newcomers to drink the nectar and it saved their lives.

anyway, here's the dumb video:

yerba cross update #3 - the yerba cross primer video

yerba cross update # 2 - location and a bit more info

yes, the race will be headquartered at my place, 129 Irving Place. If you are riding, it's all pretty lame until you can move toward the river at Kildonan Drive... then you have very lovely, suburban road. while some of us make the trek from the north on a fairly regular basis, public mockery will be held to a minimum if you simply feel the need to drive. due to time issues, even the dr. may drive this time.

the basement and bathroom will be available at all times. it has, in fact, been suggested that participants bring a bottle of interesting beer to share with others after the race... yes, sitting in the basement for such fellowship will be encouraged.

while the dr has implied such, i will now make it explicit: the race will include consumption of yerba mate at every lap. the president is potentially exempt due to the fragility of his intestinal tract. each racer will have their own temporary mate setup in the garage which will be refilled by the commissionaire.

if mate (mah-tay) is new to you, you need really only know that it is a green tea endowed with all of nature's riches: healthy stimulant. an oxymoron you say. start googling now.

oh, a lap has been carefully counted at 1.39km's. we'll decide on how many as a gathered collective.

videos coming soon.

the secretary

yerba cross update #1 - first prize (new drinker category)

with the doctor gone for the next day and a half, some of you may go into fgbc blog post withdrawal so here come a few posts regarding this next race.

I have secured a lovely yerba mate ensemble for the first rider to finish the race who DOES NOT already own such gear. It has been donated by my good friend Marvin, proprietor of Marvin's Foods... the finest place to buy mate in Winnipeg.

It includes 1kg of Selecta Yerba Mate, one horn guampa (the traditional drinking vessel from Paraguay), and one bombilla (the straw thingy). As a bonus, a brief seminar on properly setting up one's daily drink will be provided.

Here's a quick pic of said prizes:

Mind the Ice? Or is it Ice the Mind?

With IceBike and 24 Hours of Sedition coming up and all kinds of other activity on the newly opened frozen river, here are some timely thoughts from the Angry Clown's little buddy, Sparkling Mike:

IceBike

Pre-reg closes tomorrow (Jan. 25). I just sent in mine. Jonny G's is in too. Don't forget.

Should anyone be interested in helping prepare the course, show up at 9am on Saturday with a shovel at the Forks covered skating circle.

OTT: Wendy McNeil, Such a Common Bird

Paul Bergman and the Decomposers

(Shameless Promotion)

It appears that Paul is playing Friday Night (25th) at Times Changed. He has been told that he will go on between 10 and 10:30. I will be there, on stage as well, playing my role as a decomposer.

g

Yerba, Anyone?

Nordic-X #4 is just around the corner. Well, actually it's on the other side of town for most of us. But either way, it's coming up soon. The Secretary and President have some special NK treats in store. It's really a biathlon of sorts. More Hara-Curry than Canuck Cross in the sense that it involves consumption. But with a twist. There, the consumption was in effect a barrier to riding. Just ask Tomek and Jonny B. But here it's all performance enhancement, Paraguayan style. (Discussion at the clubhouse last night also turned up some other intriguing consumptive combinations, with Hookah Cross and Scotch Cross being the most popular. Maybe next year.) Besides all that, the race venue is a hidden gem. Well worth the trip, this one.



OTT: The Besnard Lakes, Devastation

Snow Crit #3: Done

Snow Crit #3
10 laps around Saint Louis
Cold but still splendid

Haiku Dave was there
Tangled up in his chainring
Jeans turned into chaps

River ice is sweet
24 Hour course tested
Just three weeks away

Haiku Dave is racing again!

Not a chin spike, but impressive nonetheless.

A conflicting appointment prevented the President from racing,
but he did manage to ride all the way out to the clubhouse
from Yerba country. All hail the President.

Results:

Chris
Adam
Del
Dave L
Brandon

Snow Crit #4 goes down on Feb. 12. Venue TBA. Between now and then there's Yerba Cross and Icebike. Good times.

OTT: The Cansecos, Raised by Wolves

Notice the Spring Ride Countdown --->

Thanks to the secretary.

Snow Crit #3 tonight (see below). Rain or Shine. Or whatever the cold weather version of that pithy little saying would be.

And then, from within the warm confines of the F&H, some discussion about Yerba Cross.

OTT: Black Mountain, Tyrants

Snow Crit #3

By Louis Riel Statue, I mean the one behind the Leg, not the one behind CUSB. In other words, we return to the site of Unger's legendary crash into the limestone retaining wall. There shouldn't be any such masonry encounters this time around though. The course is different. Faster, longer, less tight and twisty. More climbing too, as each lap takes us from the river up to the road. And yes, it's a figure-eight.

Pre-race coffee at Osborne Village Starbucks. Meet at my place at 9pm to ride over together or meet there.

OTT: Memphis, I Dreamed We Fell Apart

Boom: The Future is Now?

Tree dominated the field again in Hoogerheide and wins for the second week in a row. It's also his third World Cup win of the season. Very Impressive. All of a sudden the 23 year old is looking less and less like a potential future champion and more and more like the favourite for next weekend's World Championship. Wellens and Vervecken round out the podium. Page, who has been riding better as of late, was 8th, while Nys finished in 12th place. More from CN.

Over in the FGBC Pool, Andy's lead shrinks again, if only slightly. He concedes 45 points but still has a lead of over 300. El Presidente continues his impressive late-season surge. And that's without his top Frenchman, Francis Mourey, who said he was saving himself for next Sunday. He gets points from Gadret, Chainel, and Derepas for 150. All of a sudden it looks like the once-daunting 1000 point barrier is in the bag.

Top 20:

Boom - 150
Wellens - 125
Vervecken - 100
S Vanthourenhout - 90
Groenendaal - 80
Gadret - 75
Pauwels - 70
Page - 65
De Knegt - 60
Aernouts - 55
Chainel - 50
Nys - 45
Vantornout - 40
Heule - 35
D. Vanthourenhout - 30
Derepas - 25
Fontana - 20
Chicosz - 15
Al - 10
Peeters - 5


Today's Results:

Chris - 290
Andy - 245
Matt - 210
Jonny - 195
Hal - 165
David - 150
Naomi - 140
Dallas - 140
Paddy - 130
Laura - 100
Tomek - 80
Vic - 80
Arlene - 65
Rachel - 30


Overall Standings:

Andy - 5060
Chris - 4730
Vic - 4275
Matt - 3915
Naomi - 3540
Rachel - 3010
Arlene - 2985
Jonny - 2855
Hal - 2635
Tomek - 1805
Paddy - 1410
Dallas - 1215
David - 935
Laura - 680

OTT: Tom Waits, I Wish I Was in New Orleans

Weekly reminder

Only 19 more weeks to go.

rock 'n roll

if jonny v's argyle armada is a new and positive story for competitive cycling, then michael ball's rock racing team is surely the antithesis. about a month ago i came across the story of this dork stick while reading the bike snob nyc blog. there is some indication that this guy, as labeled by the nyc bike snob, is the vince mcmahon of the cycling world. evidence of his ideas and views on how he sees himself as a force to be reckoned with in the cycling world can be found here (read the "pro road cycling" entry) , here and here (follow this by reading bike snob's parody of the letter mr. ball would send to steve hed of hed cycling - funny stuff). scary thing is that the honourary captain might become a member of michael ball's rock n' rolling train of mayhem. just because you have more money than you know what to do with doesn't necessarily give you the insight and ability to put together a professional cycling team - if it did, why would you choose cadillac escalades as the team's support vehicle?

Winter Fun Day Report

Frightening wind chill
Ass. Forest, with two others
Don't be a coward

Same forest loop as last year's 24 Hour race. It's all marked with orange arrows painted on the snow. Since there's not much traffic out there in this weather, they'll probably stick around for a while. And wind chill aside, the trails are pretty much perfect right now. Weekend race, anyone?

OTT: Nirvana, In Bloom

Classic

Let this be considered an advertisement for the 2008 FGBC Spring Classics Pool. Rider values and scoring details coming soon.



OTT: The Operators 780, Indecision

Here we go again

It seems we have another Scheissbike scenario on our hands. In this case, the event was billed as "Winter Fun Day." A day to face winter head-on and embrace it with outdoor games and such. Or so the feel-good saccharine drenched rhetoric goes. I was supposed to organize a short bike race. But then the fear-mongers we know as the media got wind of the windchill forecast for tomorrow. -43 or something like that. All of a sudden, everyone's scared for their personal safety. At least that's how they're putting it. So Winter Fun day is officially postponed until next week, when it promises to be warmer. But I'm out of town next Friday. And besides, I think this posture of defeatist cowardliness exposes the whole premise of Winter Fun Day as a sham in the first place. Kind of like that great "enlightened" commitment to pluralism, which is receptive of otherness so long as it's not threatening in any way. So the race is on, even if it's just me. In and among the trees it'll feel much closer to the balmy -24 high they're calling for. But even if it doesn't: Friday at 1pm in the Assiniboine Forest. If you're looking for an excuse to ride, feel free to show up.

OTT: Working For a Nuclear Free City, All American Taste

Jonny V's Argyle Armada

There's an interesting article on Jonathan Vaughters' much-discussed Team Slipstream experiment--over at ESPN of all places. It will be interesting to see how they do throughout the year. There's been some talk of them as a potential wild card team for the Tour this year, though that's probably a long-shot given the ASO's preference for no-name french teams. But we'll get an early look at them next month, as they're one of an impressive lineup of teams doing the Tour of California. It's hard not to root for JV and the guys. He looks like a professor and apparently has some good taste in wine. I wonder if he wears pleated pants, though.

Among other things, there's also this quote about the honorary captain from his fromer trainer:

"I will not comment on his guilt or innocence," Lim says later. "I'm not so naïve as to think that no one takes drugs, but I'm also not so cynical as to think everyone's taking drugs. If he did dope, he's one helluva conflicted individual, because if there's anyone who understands the distinction between right and wrong, it's Floyd."

Speaking of the honorary captain, anyone want to join me in racing against him at the Shenandoah 100 at the end of August?

OTT: Better Friends than Lovers, Cut & Try

Pleated Pants?

I trust none of this applies to the FGBC.

Tuesday Night Ride . . .

... went down last night, at least for me. The dr. is out.

Back at it next week. Perhaps with another Snow Crit. Once a month isn't enough. It's every other week from here on out.

Hara-Curry: Done

Hot curry, cold wind
Double-edged samurai sword?
Or balanced beauty?

The jury's probably still out on this one. For some the two stages seemed to blend together rather nicely. For others, well, there were problems. One thing is clear, though: Vic and Juan Eppstein can eat them some curry. The two of them put on a dominant display of consumptive mastery last night in the first stage of the race. Three plates each for those two bad boys. Jonny B gave it a good effort, but fell short in the end and never seemed to recover. In fact, he had a hard time keeping up with the neutral lap and then just disappeared. Swallowed up into the windy vortex of cold darkness that was this particular night. Or perhaps he was a casualty of his own exploding stomach. Either way, he wasn't seen again for the rest of the evening. Let's hope he made it home safely. Jonny, are you out there? Tomek also made a late, and rather surprising, attempt at plate #3, but it was clearly an unwise decision on his part. It would effectively end his race as well.

Those of you who witnessed last year's inaugural version of the race will recall not only that nobody managed to finish 3 plates. You will also recall that Haiku Dave, who came closest to establishing that benchmark, was so incapacitated by his attempt that he was unable to ride. By the end of lap one, he was left a bloated and sweaty shell of the man who looked so strong just an hour earlier. Juan and Vic, however, seemed to have no problems on the bike. Not only did they each complete their 2 laps, but in order to stay warm they kept riding while waiting for the rest of us to finish. It was impressive, to say the least.

Nice turnout for this one. 12 racers, with Rachel and James joining in for stage one.

Results:

Dave E
Vic
Chris
Paddy
Hal
Jonny G
Darryl
Dave L
Tomek
Naomi
LeAnn
Jonny B

Photographic evidence:












More from Haiku Dave: here. Nice to have you back, brotha.

OTT: New Pornographers, Failsafe

Tonight: Nordic Cross #3

Eat, ride, maybe bleed
Don't forget your samurai
It's Hara-Curry

This'll be the third race in nine days. 2008 is off to a good start.



OTT: American Catastrophe, The Well

Tree Tops in France

Lars Boom--the Tree--rode away from the field at the very start of the race today and never looked back. He wins his 2nd World Cup race of the season and is looking more and more like a legitimate threat for the World Championship in two weeks. Wellens and Mourey round out the podium. Nys finishes--gasp--8th. He's washed up. Full results, report, and photos from CN.

For the first time in five races, Andy didn't win. I did. But he only concedes 30 points, so it's still a sizeable lead for the professor. The big news of the day in the FGBC Pool is David S. Apparently inspired by the opportunity to race in front of the home crowd, his mostly French team netted him 180 points. Mind you, it was on the strength of just two guys--Mourey and Gadret--the only 2 riders to earn him points all season. Still, that's almost as much as he's earned in his last 9 races combined. It's got to feel good to be El Presidente today. If only they raced in France every weekend. With 780 points, he now has an outside shot at cracking 1000 by the end of the season. The only downside to all this is that it all but ends the race to avoid last place. It's looking like Laura's got her name written all over the lantern rouge.

They race again next Sunday. It's the last tune-up before the World Championships.

Top 20:

Boom - 150
Wellens - 125
Mourey - 100
Vervecken - 90
Gadret - 80
Pauwels - 75
Stybar - 70
Nys - 65
Simunik - 60
De Knegt - 55
Aernouts - 50
Al - 45
Page - 40
Groenendaal - 35
D. Vanthourenhout - 30
Fontana - 25
Van Gils - 20
Belgy - 15
Cichosz - 10
Verstraeten - 5


Today's Results:

Chris - 325
Andy - 295
Jonny - 200
David - 180
Hal - 160
Matt - 150
Tomek - 150
Naomi - 140
Dallas - 120
Paddy - 115
Arlene - 110
Vic - 95
Rachel - 95
Laura - 40


Overall Standings:

Andy - 4815
Chris - 4440
Vic - 4195
Matt - 3705
Naomi - 3400
Rachel - 2980
Arlene - 2920
Jonny - 2660
Hal - 2470
Tomek - 1725
Paddy - 1280
Dallas - 1075
David - 785
Laura - 580

OTT: The Devil Makes Three, Graveyard

Coming Events

Letter from Minneapolis

First, watch this.

Riding in winter? Check.
On trails? Check.
One gear? Check.
Goldsprints? Hmmmm. This might be worth exploring further.

Who's going to volunteer to look into it? The president can talk to Laurence. That's what he does best. But we'll need someone to explore the technological side of the equation. Here's one option [thanks Dave]. The article mentioned below speaks of another more hi-tech version. If Saturday nights at the F&H are karaoke night, I don't see why Tuesday's couldn't be reserved for 20 second indoor sprints. If nothing else, it should work to keep the Earle's crowd away.

More info here, from the Star-Tribune. Nice media coverage of the local cycling scene down there, by the way. What do we get? Perpetual talk about paths for commuting, but not much more.

Not into riding on trainers in bars? Those crazy kids in Minneapolis have stumbled on another great winter cycling idea: riding the walkways. We could start at the Bay, ride to City Place, or whatever it's now called, and back. Then repeat for an hour or so. Thrown in some stairs at Portage Place, maybe a barrier or two, and we've got ourselves a Nordic Cross event. We'd have to prop the doors open and pay off some security guards, no doubt. Anyone got well-oiled connections with downtown property management folks?

OTT: Sunset Rubdown, Winged/Wicked Things

I'm getting hungry just thinking about it

Or maybe it's early-onset nausea that I'm feeling. Either way, the editor has spoken. And it sounds like he's about to serve up the hottest racing experience of the young year.



Note that this is a Monday. A slight departure from the consistent and rock solid timing of races you've come to expect from Nordic Cross. The editor offers the following explanation for this mysterious deviation. I quote:

the date was set to reflect the wishes of last years near-champion Dave Larson. i hope many folks can come just to witness that particular part of the spectacle.
--the editor

You won't want to miss this.

It's been a busy day for the editor. He's also requested that I post this:



The discerning reader will recognize that this little gem has graced the FGBC blog before. It's one of a series of Errol Morris ads for Miller. They're all worth viewing. In fact, they just might make a perfect advertising complement to those Flight of the Conchords excerpts posted earlier.

OTT: Manchester Orchestra, I'd Rather Have

turns out they like bikes too