Boom, Boom, Boonen

Tom Boonen finally exorcised the demons that have been haunting him during the 2008 Spring Classics season. He entered the velodrome in Roubaix alongside Cancellara and Ballan. The three of them launched the decisive move of the day with 36 km left, attacking an already shreded field out of a leading group of eight. In the lap around the velodrome, Boonen through down a fierce sprint that neither Cancellara nor Ballan could counter. He won by several bike lengths. Cancellara took second and Ballan third. It was the same podium as 2006, but a different order. Gorgeous George Hincapie had yet another unlucky day in Paris - Roubaix. Among the favourites, Flecha and Pozzato had some bad luck too. They both crashed with 60 km left and, while they made it back, they couldn't keep the pace and were spit out the back again as the lead group kept hammering. More from CN, VN and Pez.

Over in the FGBC Spring Classics Pool, it was Team New Shit (Matt) with the big day (840 points) followed closely by Arlene's Is This Your Homeworf, Larry? (800). Andy's Vee Vant Ze Money picked up 80 points on pool leader Creedence Tapes heading into the final three races. Something tells me that Rebellin will show up for these as he usually does, and with a gap of just 170 points separating 1st and 2nd it's not even close to being over yet. Overall, it was a rare day in that every team picked up at least some points. But Rachel and Jonny B came close to being shut out, with 10 and 5 points, respectively.

Four more races to go. It all contines on Wednesday with the Scheldeprijs Vlaanderen. Another chance for some of the slightly less studly riders to shine.

The Top 30:

1 Tom Boonen (Bel) Quick Step - 5.58.42 (43.407 km/h)
2 Fabian Cancellara (Swi) Team CSC - 0.01
3 Alessandro Ballan (Ita) Lampre - s.t.
4 Martijn Maaskant (Ned) Slipstream Chipotle Presented By H30 - 3.39
5 Stuart O'Grady (Aus) Team CSC - 3.57
6 Leif Hoste (Bel) Silence - Lotto - s.t.
7 Stijn Devolder (Bel) Quick Step - 3.59
8 Johan Van Summeren (Bel) Silence - Lotto - 4.35
9 George Hincapie (USA) Team High Road - 5.12
10 Fabio Baldato (Ita) Lampre - s.t.
11 Frédéric Guesdon (Fra) Française des Jeux - s.t.
12 Juan Antonio Flecha Giannoni (Spa) Rabobank - s.t.
13 Manuel Quinziato (Ita) Liquigas - s.t.
14 Wim De Vocht (Bel) Silence - Lotto - s.t.
15 Staf Scheirlinckx (Bel) Cofidis - Le Crédit par Téléphone - s.t.
16 Marcus Ljungqvist (Swe) Team CSC - s.t.
17 Bernhard Eisel (Aut) Team High Road - 5.20
18 Sven Krauss (Ger) Gerolsteiner - 7.18
19 Steven De Jongh (Ned) Quick Step - s.t.
20 Matti Breschel (Den) Team CSC - s.t.
21 Nick Nuyens (Bel) Cofidis - Le Crédit par Téléphone - s.t.
22 Murilo Fischer (Bra) Liquigas - s.t.
23 Roger Hammond (GBr) Team High Road - s.t.
24 Wouter Weylandt (Bel) Quick Step - s.t.
25 Christophe Mengin (Fra) Française des Jeux - s.t.
26 Ralf Grabsch (Ger) Team Milram - 7.20
27 Greg Van Avermaet (Bel) Silence - Lotto - s.t.
28 Steffen Wesemann (Swi) Cycle Collstrop - 7.27
29 Tom Veelers (Ned) Skil-Shimano - 7.34
30 Markus Eichler (Ger) Team Milram - 7.39


Today's Results:

New Shit (Matt) - 840
Is This Your Homework, Larry? (Arlene) - 800
Vee Vant Ze Money (Andy) - 740
Creedence Tapes (Chris) - 660
Little Lebowski Urban Achievers (Ian) - 655
White Russians (Victor) - 585
That Rug Really Tied the Room Together (Tomek) - 445
A Roadie for Metallica (Bill) - 410
Obviously You're Not a Golfer (Charlene) - 410
These Men Are Cowards (Paddy) - 300
Shomer F*cking Shabbas (Donna) 0 200
Bunny Lebowski's Toe (Dallas) - 200
F*ck Sympathy (David S) - 180
Uli Kunkel powered by Karl Hungus (Adam) - 175
Nice Marmot (Hal) - 125
You're Out of Your Element, Jonny (Jonny G) - 125
That Good Sasparilla (Rachel) - 10
Shut the F*ck Up Jonny (Jonny B) - 5


Overall Standings [corrected]:

Creedence Tapes (Chris) - 5395
Vee Vant Ze Money (Andy) - 5225
Is This Your Homework, Larry? (Arlene) - 3795
Little Lebowski Urban Achievers (Ian) - 3405
New Shit (Matt) - 3000
These Men Are Cowards (Paddy) - 2130
A Roadie for Metallica (Bill) - 2085
White Russians (Victor) - 1755
Nice Marmot (Hal) - 1680
Obviously You're Not a Golfer (Charlene) - 1595
Uli Kunkel powered by Karl Hungus (Adam) - 1530
That Rug Really Tied the Room Together (Tomek) - 1490
F*ck Sympathy (David S) - 1305
That Good Sasparilla (Rachel) - 1215
Bunny Lebowski's Toe (Dallas) - 1200
You're Out of Your Element, Jonny (Jonny G) - 1195
Shomer F*cking Shabbas (Donna) - 1070
Shut the F*ck Up Jonny (Jonny B) - 465

OTT: Jim White, A Town Called Amen

Arenberg

Sunday

1. Meet at my place at 9:00 am and/or Starbucks (1740 Pembina) at 9:30 am.
2. Pre-race fuel and friendly banter.
3. Depart for Gravel Road Race (surely there's a better name available) at 10:30 or so.

Be there.

Paris - Roubaix: Poached Preview

The Tour of Flanders is the "Way of the Cross" and Paris - Roubaix is "the Hell of the North." I feel like I'm reading Dante. The forecast calls for rain, which means the cobbles will be muddy and slippery. Bad for the riders, good for the fans. It looks like it just might live up to its reputation as the most savage classic of them all.

Stuart O'Grady is the defending champ. But the oddsmakers don't seem to like his chances for a repeat victory:


CN's preview is a good place to start. Don't miss their rating of all the sectors of pave. VN's preview is shorter, but the Graham Watson gallery is worth a peek. Pez has a preview and a book review of Paris - Roubaix: A Journey Through Hell, as well as a layperson's perspective of the cobbles that helps keep it all in perspective. I've paged through the book at McNally-Robinson. The pictures are stunning and it looks fairly well-written, but I'm still not going to buy it. PdC rates the contenders, explores the best sections from which to launch the winning move, and chimes in with a book review of its own. And finally, steephill.tv supplies a list of classic PR footage.

Official website here; startlists here; live video options here.

Finally, this is as good an opportunity as any to watch the trailer for The Road to Roubaix, a full-length and beautifully shot documentary that's due out soon if it's not available already. I can't wait to see it.



OTT: Teitur, I Run the Carousel

Thursday Anticipation

First race of the new season:


Best race ever? I don't think so. Big prizes if you can beat the provinial team? How about if any of us beats anyone on the provincial team, they lose their spot on the team. And if two or three get beat by aging chumps like us, the whole team loses its funding from the MCA. If you want to throw down a challenge, better do it right.

Last race of the old season:



T minus 50 days to the best event of the season:


Finally, Red Ass 2008 is just around the corner. No poster though. Everything you need to know, including a slide show of last year's inaugural edition--is here. But a poster would still be a good idea. Andy says the route this year is includes more of the hilly terrain that was the highlight of last year's race. I don't see any good reason why there wouldn't be more FGBC participation this time around. If nothing else, the Half Ass is just over 200 kms. Yes, you can do it.

OTT: LK, Eurovision

March of the Marmot

Gent - Wevelgem is billed as a sprinters classic. And unlike Milan - San Remo, it lived up to its reputation. Oscar Freire takes the win. More from CN and VN.

Over in the FGBC Pool, it was Hal's Nice Marmot with the big day. 4 riders in the top 30 (Zabel, Hushovd, Coyot and Usov) for 380 points on the day. El Presidente's Team F*ck Sympathy had Freire for the win but little else, and finishes 15 points back. Uli Kunkel powered by Karl Hungus (Adam) and That Good Sasparilla (Rachel) both cracked the 300 point barrier on the day as well.

As exciting as it no doubt was, what's more exciting is the fact that Paris - Roubaix is up next.

Top 30:

1 Oscar Freire Gomez (Spa) Rabobank - 4.53.06 (42.784 km/h)
2 Aurélien Clerc (Swi) Bouygues Telecom - s.t.
3 Wouter Weylandt (Bel) Quick Step
4 Erik Zabel (Ger) Team Milram
5 Kenny De Haes (Bel) Topsport Vlaanderen
6 Luca Paolini (Ita) Acqua Sapone - Caffe Mokambo
7 Jose Joaquin Rojas Gil (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne
8 Stuart O'Grady (Aus) Team CSC
9 Heinrich Haussler (Ger) Gerolsteiner
10 Roger Hammond (GBr) Team High Road
11 Hervé Duclos-Lassalle (Fra) Cofidis - Le Crédit par Téléphone
12 Peter Wrolich (Aut) Gerolsteiner
13 Filippo Pozzato (Ita) Liquigas
14 Rony Martias (Fra) Bouygues Telecom
15 Thor Hushovd (Nor) Crédit Agricole
16 Guennadi Mikhailov (Rus) Mitsubishi-Jartazi
17 Mark Cavendish (GBr) Team High Road
18 Sven Renders (Bel) Topsport Vlaanderen
19 Tom Veelers (Ned) Skil-Shimano
20 Matti Breschel (Den) Team CSC
21 Koldo Fernandez De Larrea (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi
22 Dmitriy Muravyev (Kaz) Astana
23 Baden Cooke (Aus) Barloworld
24 Michael Schär (Swi) Astana
25 Arnaud Coyot (Fra) Caisse d'Epargne
26 Fabio Sabatini (Ita) Team Milram
27 Borut Bozic (Slo) Cycle Collstrop
28 Renaud Dion (Fra) AG2r - La Mondiale
29 Alexandre Usov (Blr) AG2r - La Mondiale
30 Aaron Kemps (Aus) Astana


Tosay's Results:

Nice Marmot (Hal) - 380
F*ck Sympathy (David S) - 365
Uli Kunkel powered by Karl Hungus (Adam) - 325
That Good Sasparilla (Rachel) - 305
You're Out of Your Element, Jonny (Jonny G) - 280
These Men Are Cowards (Paddy) - 260
Shomer F*cking Shabbas (Donna) - 200
That Rug Really Tied the Room Together (Tomek) - 155
Vee Vant Ze Money (Andy) - 120
Little Lebowski Urban Achievers (Ian) - 105
Is This Your Homework, Larry? (Arlene) - 85
A Roadie for Metallica (Bill) - 80
Shut the F*ck Up Jonny (Jonny B) - 75
White Russians (Victor) - 40
Creedence Tapes (Chris) - 25
Obviously You're Not a Golfer (Charlene) - 25
New Shit (Matt) - 15
Bunny Lebowski's Toe (Dallas) - 5


Overall Standings:

Creedence Tapes (Chris) - 4735
Vee Vant Ze Money (Andy) - 4485
Is This Your Homework, Larry? (Arlene) - 2995
Little Lebowski Urban Achievers (Ian) - 2750
New Shit (Matt) - 2160
These Men Are Cowards (Paddy) - 1830
A Roadie for Metallica (Bill) - 1675
Nice Marmot (Hal) - 1555
Uli Kunkel powered by Karl Hungus (Adam) - 1355
That Good Sasparilla (Rachel) - 1205
Obviously You're Not a Golfer (Charlene) - 1185
White Russians (Victor) - 1170
F*ck Sympathy (David S) - 1125
You're Out of Your Element, Jonny (Jonny G) - 1070
That Rug Really Tied the Room Together (Tomek) - 1045
Bunny Lebowski's Toe (Dallas) - 1000
Shomer F*cking Shabbas (Donna) - 870
Shut the F*ck Up Jonny (Jonny B) - 460

OTT: Citified, Line the Streets

Wood Cross Report

It took feats of strength, intellectual acuity, and consumptive competence to win this one. A triathlon of sorts: (1) a bike race; (2) an activity book with word search, connect the dots, and a maze, not to mention really small type; and (3) beer.

Provisional (i.e., to the best of my memory) results:

Chris
Ian
Johnny S
Luc
Tomek
Hal?
Jonny G?
Darryl?

Bill, Juan Eppstein, Vic, Colin all DNF'd due to physiological failure (eyesight). Luke didn't finish the biking part. And Craig apparently disappeared before we got started.

Token photos, pre- and post-race:




Good times at the Norwood, post-race. It's definitely not up to snuff as a clubhouse though. No Skynyrd on the radio, no FGD, early closing time. F&H forever!!

The gathering ended with a rather vigorous discussion about a potential merger of sorts. By vigorous, I mean only that the poosher was a significant player in conversation. Still, there are some intriguing yet difficult factors to consider here, most of which eventually come back to the question of the sweetest jersey in the world and its wearability. This will take some time to sort out. Fortunately, we have time.

Haiku-Cross has been rescheduled for next Tuesday. Then again, given the way the Haiku Master's been behaving--or rather misbehaving--as of late, I'll believe it when we see it. Still, it wouldn't be a bad idea to start those poetic intervals. Here's mine:

Haiku Dave's smitten
Pull yourself together dude
You can still ride bike

On the ride home, we noticed that the new Stella's is all but ready to open. Good news for Wolseley.

OTT: Radiohead, Reckoner

We Have Confirmation

Free Throws are Hard

Charlene - 82
William - 80
Vic - 79
Cindy - 75
Hal - 73
Cheryl - 72
David - 72
Tim - 72
Agnes - 71
Harry - 71
Jacob - 71
Chris - 70
Julia - 70
Jonny G - 69
Myron - 68
Johnny S - 68
Rachel - 66

Nordic X #8

We don't need haiku
Overrated poetry
Nordic Cross moves on

Try again once more
With Welcome to the Woods Cross
A Tuesday Night Race

Perhaps the poosher and/or his friend Colin would be so kind as to supply some further information. Maybe a race poster.

Meet at my place, 9pm. We'll take it from there.

OTT: Black Mountain, Stormy High

Haiku Cross?

Has anyone heard?
Is the Haiku Master dead?
A race would be nice

Q: Are We Not Men?

A: We Are Devo.

(Stijn) Devo(lder) made a field full of studly one-day bike racers look like mere mortals today. Of course, he benefitted from some nice strategic work by Quick Step too. Devo just kept attacking and attacking. And everyone else in a field of chasers stacked full of contenders looked around to see who would reel him in. It wasn't going to be Tom Boonen. And by the time Flecha put his head down to give it a go, it was too late. Nuyens would eventually catch Flecha to take 2nd place. But neither of them could catch the Belgian Champion. Defending Flanders champ, Allesandro Ballan, was 4th and Gorgeous George Hincapie took 5th place, heading into his main target of the season--Paris - Roubaix. Boonen finished 17th. He looked strong but did not chase hard at the end, since he had a teammate in the lead up ahead. So his form still remains a bit of a mystery. Usual rundown from CN, VN, and Pez.

Over in the FGBC Pool, it was all Team Creedence Tapes today. I didn't think Andy's feat in Milan - San Remo of having the top 4 riders would be repeated. But not only was it matched today. A new high score was set. Devolder, Nuyens, Flecha, Ballan go 1-2-3-4, with Gilbert bringing in another 80 points for 15th place and 5 points for Tyler Farrar's 54th place finish. That all adds up to whopping 1260 point day. So just as Andy predicted yesterday, when we were chatting at Olympia, we have a change on the leader board. Vee Vant Ze Money didn't do too shabby though. They pick up 735 points and now sit 345 points off the pace. Arlene's team, Is This Your Homework, Larry?, had a solid day with 750 points, which was good enough for 2nd place on the day. They also jump ahead of the Little Lebowski Urban Achievers and now sit in 3rd place overall.

Highlights available here (Devo's final attack) and here (the Muur) and here (final km).

The top 30:

1 Stijn Devolder (Bel) Quick Step - 6.24.02 (41.246 km/h)
2 Nick Nuyens (Bel) Cofidis - Le Crédit par Téléphone - 0.15
3 Juan Antonio Flecha Giannoni (Spa) Rabobank - s.t.
4 Alessandro Ballan (Ita) Lampre - Fondital - 0.21
5 George Hincapie (USA) Team High Road - s.t.
6 Filippo Pozzato (Ita) Liquigas - s.t.
7 Kurt-Asle Arvesen (Nor) Team CSC - s.t.
8 Greg Van Avermaet (Bel) Silence - Lotto - s.t.
9 Simon Spilak (Slo) Lampre - Fondital - s.t.
10 Arnaud Labbe (Fra) Bouygues Telecom - s.t.
11 Bernhard Eisel (Aut) Team High Road - s.t.
12 Martijn Maaskant (Ned) Slipstream Chipotle Presented By H30 - s.t.
13 Grégory Rast (Swi) Astana - s.t.
14 Niki Terpstra (Ned) Team Milram - s.t.
15 Philippe Gilbert (Bel) Française des Jeux - s.t.
16 Dmitriy Muravyev (Kaz) Astana - s.t.
17 Tom Boonen (Bel) Quick Step - s.t.
18 Sebastiaan Langeveld (Ned) Rabobank - s.t.
19 Leif Hoste (Bel) Silence - Lotto - s.t.
20 Andreas Klier (Ger) Team High Road - s.t.
21 Maarten Tjallingii (Ned) Silence - Lotto - s.t.
22 Martin Elmiger (Swi) AG2R - La Mondiale - s.t.
23 Fabian Cancellara (Swi) Team CSC - s.t.
24 Carlos Barredo Llamazales (Spa) Quick Step - s.t.
25 Janek Tombak (Est) Mitsubishi-Jartazi - 0.25
26 Frédéric Guesdon (Fra) Française des Jeux - 0.43
27 Thor Hushovd (Nor) Crédit Agricole - 3.18
28 Kurt Hovelynck (Bel) Topsport Vlaanderen - s.t.
29 Pedro Horrillo Munoz (Spa) Rabobank - s.t.
30 Sylvain Chavanel (Fra) Cofidis - Le Crédit par Téléphone - s.t.


Today's Results:

Creedence Tapes (Chris) - 1260
Is This Your Homework, Larry? (Arlene) - 750
Vee Vant Ze Money (Andy) - 735
New Shit (Matt) - 455
F*ck Sympathy (David S) - 365
Uli Kunkel powered by Karl Hungus (Adam) - 360
White Russians (Victor) - 360
Little Lebowski Urban Achievers (Ian) - 350
A Roadie for Metallica (Bill) - 315
Nice Marmot (Hal) - 310
You're Out of Your Element, Jonny (Jonny G) - 235
That Rug Really Tied the Room Together (Tomek) - 230
That Good Sasparilla (Rachel) - 205
Obviously You're Not a Golfer (Charlene) - 75
Bunny Lebowski's Toe (Dallas) - 60
Shomer F*cking Shabbas (Donna) - 60
These Men Are Cowards (Paddy) - 50
Shut the F*ck Up Jonny (Jonny B) - 0


Overall Standings:

Creedence Tapes (Chris) - 4710
Vee Vant Ze Money (Andy) - 4365
Is This Your Homework, Larry? (Arlene) - 2910
Little Lebowski Urban Achievers (Ian) - 2645
New Shit (Matt) - 2145
A Roadie for Metallica (Bill) - 1595
These Men Are Cowards (Paddy) - 1570
Obviously You're Not a Golfer (Charlene) - 1160
White Russians (Victor) - 1130
Uli Kunkel powered by Karl Hungus (Adam) - 1030
Bunny Lebowski's Toe (Dallas) - 995
That Good Sasparilla (Rachel) - 900
That Rug Really Tied the Room Together (Tomek) - 890
Nice Marmot (Hal) - 865
You're Out of Your Element, Jonny (Jonny G) - 790
F*ck Sympathy (David S) - 760
Shomer F*cking Shabbas (Donna) - 670
Shut the F*ck Up Jonny (Jonny B) - 385

Next week is Paris - Roubaix. And before we get there, it's Gent - Wevelgem on Wednesday. It just keeps getting better and better.

OTT: Devotchka, You Love Me

Madness

Memphis vs. Kansas. Sweet.

Current standings:

Charlene - 82
William - 80
Hal - 73
Vic - 72
Cheryl - 72
David - 72
Tim - 72
Agnes - 71
Harry - 71
Jacob - 71
Chris - 70
Julia - 70
Cindy - 68
Myron - 68
Johnny S - 68
Rachel - 66
Jonny G - 62

With UNC and UCLA losing, most brackets are done.

Kansas to win: Vic, Cindy, Jonny G
Memphis to win: Rachel

So, Charlene clinches the win and William will hold onto 2nd place in his FGBC March Madness Pool debut. Nicely done guys. If Kansas wins, Vic takes 3rd. If Memphis wins, Rachel and Hal share the final podium spot.

Thanks to all who have paid up in a timely fashion. The following people still owe me $5: Hal, Vic, Myron, Julia. The sooner the better, folks.

Go Tigers!

OTT: Chloe Day, Dirty Little Secret

Radball

Or Cycleball. Check this out (courtesy of Urban Velo):



If the Chinese can get a curling team to the finals of the world championships within three years of taking up the sport, there's no reason we can't become competitive in this little niche sport. Maybe there's a training wheeled division that we could start in--Old and In the Way style. Crazy Germans.

OTT: Chris Knight, Spike Drivin' Blues

Tour of Flanders: Poached Preview

"Only those who are in top condition can say that the Ronde is not hard. For everyone else, it's the Way of the Cross." That's the way 2002 Flanders champ Andrea Tafi put it. Either way you slice it, this one's a killer: 264 km and 17 bergs--narrow, cobbled and upwards of 20% at times. The weather forecast says it's going to be cold, wet, and windy, maybe some hail. And there are plenty of big contenders to ramp up the pressure. Allesandro Ballan is the defending champ. Tom Boonen won in 2005 and 2006. Cancellara, Gilbert, and Pozzato will be there as well. It all adds up to an electrifying race.

Pez goes all out on its preview efforts, offering up some valuable historical background, an introduction to the 17 bergs/heillegen/climbs, and a rating of the contenders. CN has a preview up as well. VN comes through with a Graham Watson Flanders Photo Gallery. Not to be outdone, PdC also has some thorough coverage, dissecting the hopes of the main contenders and analyzing the climbs, while adding some hypothesizing of the team tactics.

See also the offical website, startlists, and the live coverage options.

Unibet Odds:

Cancellara 5.00
Boonen 5.00
Ballan 10.00
Hoste 11.00
Pozzato 12.00
Nuyens 18.00
Devolder 20.00
Gilbert 20.00
Steegmans 25.00
Gasparotto 25.00
Kroon 30.00
Vaitkus 30.00
chavanel 30.00
Freire 30.00
Flecha 35.00
Klier 35.00
Quinziato 50.00
Eeckhout 80.00

Check out the chaotic situation that developed on the Koppenberg in 2006:



And don't miss this sweet ad from Het Nieuwsblad:



OTT: Wisely, Cracked World View

Thursday Anticipation

Nordic Cross--yes, Nordic Cross--resumes in T minus 3 days. Hopefully the Haiku master and race host will provide further details sometime soon.


And hot on its heels, the final Nordic Cross race of the season. Hosted by Colin and his friend, the poosher. April 8. That's a Tuesday Night.

Avocado dogs in T minus 8 weeks.


The Tour of Flanders is just around the corner. And then Paris - Roubaix the following weekend. It doesn't get much better than this. The usual poached preview is coming. Tomorrow.

OTT: Bloc Party, Flux

Haiku Wednesday

Juan Eppstein's labor
For the good of the people
Duck pond much better

Rutted, jolting ice
Ass. Forest, poor condition
Trail ride truncated

Desolate forest
All of a sudden, one less
Where is Jonny G?

F&H, good times
Skynyrd on the radio
Jonny M showed up

Conversation turned
Ugliest bike in the world?
Specialized Langster



The Book, it watches
Total numbers slightly down
Pull up your bootstraps

OTT: The Afghan Whigs, Debonair

Free Beer!!!!

So who wants to help me move a piano on Friday during the day. We have a truck and will be moving it from an east side Wolesley home to our west side Wolesley home. Just putting the proverbial bug in your ears before the Tuesday night ride.

later pals

g

Hockey is over; we will ride

OTT: Sleep Station, The Last Parade

Creedence Revival at Brabantse Pijl

It was a weekend for winning streaks to come to an end. Or was it? With Tom Boonen failing to extend his run of victories at the E3 Prijs Vlaanderen on Saturday, it was only fitting Oscar Freire's streak at the Brabantse Pijl came to an end on Sunday as well. But just as Boonen and Freire saw their streaks come to an end, Sylvain Chavanel began a little winning streak of his own. He proved that his win at Dwars Door Vlaanderen on Wednesday was no fluke by winning his second consecutive race. In the past, he hasn't even shown up at these races but was racing the Criterium International instead. Now he's looking more and more like a classics stud. At the very least, he'll be a marked man next weekend at the Tour of Flanders. Or will he be working for Nick Nuyens? We shall see. Gilbert and Flecha round out the podium. Another race that usually ends with a sprint finish was won by a late attacker staying away. It's been an exciting season so far. Nothing like yawner that the hype machine known as March Madness has been this year.

Over in the FGBC Pool, all of a sudden it looks like we have a competition again. Having all but conceded defeat to Andy's team of nihilists just one day ago, Team Creedence Tapes showed that they still have some rock n' roll left in their gaunt little cyclist bodies. Perhaps it was the switch from Kraftwerk to Creedence in their earpieces. Or maybe it was the fact that the nihilists were saving themselves for next Sunday. Sissies. Either way, the boys from Creedence Tapes were on fire yesteray and racked up a grand total of 925 points. They pick up 625 points on the nihilists and now sit just 180 points out of first place.

Up Next: the second monument of the season--The Tour of Flanders--next Sunday. The same day the local monument known as Haiku Cross.


Top 30:

1 Sylvain Chavanel (Fra) Cofidis - Le Crédit par Téléphone - 4.44.38 (40.683 km/h)
2 Philippe Gilbert (Bel) Française des Jeux - @ 0.29
3 Juan Antonio Flecha Giannoni (Spa) Rabobank - @ 0.37
4 Giovanni Visconti (Ita) Quickstep - @ 0.38
5 Frederik Willems (Bel) Liquigas - @ 0.40
6 Fabian Wegmann (Ger) Gerolsteiner - @ 0.59
7 Enrico Gasparotto (Ita) Barloworld - s.t.
8 Nick Nuyens (Bel) Cofidis - Le Crédit par Téléphone - s.t.
9 Grégory Rast (Swi) Astana - @ 1.04
10 Nico Sijmens (Bel) Landbouwkrediet - Tönissteiner - s.t.
11 Anthony Geslin (Fra) Bouygues Telecom - s.t.
12 Bert De Waele (Bel) Landbouwkrediet - Tönissteiner - s.t.
13 Pavel Brutt (Rus) Tinkoff Credit Systems - s.t.
14 Karsten Kroon (Ned) Team CSC - s.t.
15 Johan Coenen (Bel) Topsport Vlaanderen - s.t.
16 Rubens Bertogliati (Swi) Saunier Duval - Scott - s.t.
17 Jelle Vanendert (Bel) Française des Jeux - s.t.
18 Carlos Barredo Llamazales (Spa) Quickstep - s.t.
19 Marco Marcato (Ita) Cycle Collstrop - s.t.
20 Mickael Delage (Fra) Française des Jeux - s.t.
21 Kurt Hovelynck (Bel) Topsport Vlaanderen - s.t.
22 Addy Engels (Ned) Quickstep - s.t.
23 Artur Gajek (Ger) Team Milram - s.t.
24 Mickaël Chérel (Fra) Française des Jeux - s.t.
25 Jonathan Hivert (Fra) Crédit Agricole - s.t.
26 Jan Kuyckx (Bel) Landbouwkrediet - Tönissteiner - s.t.
27 Jurgen Van Den Broeck (Bel) Silence - Lotto - s.t.
28 Dmytro Grabovskyy (Ukr) Quickstep - s.t.
29 Christophe Le Mével (Fra) Crédit Agricole - s.t.
30 Geert Verheyen (Bel) Mitsubishi-Jartazi - s.t.


Today's Results:

Creedence Tapes (Chris) 925
Is This Your Homework, Larry? (Arlene) 385
Vee Vant Ze Money (Andy) 300
Uli Kunkel powered by Karl Hungus (Adam) 295
A Roadie for Metallica (Bill) 275
You're Out of Your Element, Jonny (Jonny G) 210
That Rug Really Tied the Room Together (Tomek) 205
Bunny Lebowski's Toe (Dallas) 205
Shut the F*ck Up Jonny (Jonny B) 205
Little Lebowski Urban Achievers (Ian) 200
These Men Are Cowards (Paddy) 200
Shomer F*cking Shabbas (Donna) 175
Nice Marmot (Hal) 95
F*ck Sympathy (David S) 10
Obviously You're Not a Golfer (Charlene) 5
New Shit (Matt) 0
White Russians (Victor) 0
That Good Sasparilla (Rachel) 0


Overall Standings:

Vee Vant Ze Money (Andy) 3630
Creedence Tapes (Chris) 3450
Little Lebowski Urban Achievers (Ian) 2295
Is This Your Homework, Larry? (Arlene) 2160
New Shit (Matt) 1690
These Men Are Cowards (Paddy) 1520
A Roadie for Metallica (Bill) 1280
Obviously You're Not a Golfer (Charlene) 1085
Bunny Lebowski's Toe (Dallas) 935
Nice Marmot (Hal) 865
White Russians (Victor) 770
That Good Sasparilla (Rachel) 695
Uli Kunkel powered by Karl Hungus (Adam) 670
That Rug Really Tied the Room Together (Tomek) 660
Shomer F*cking Shabbas (Donna) 610
You're Out of Your Element, Jonny (Jonny G) 555
F*ck Sympathy (David S) 395
Shut the F*ck Up Jonny (Jonny B) 385

OTT: LK, Tandem Bikes

March Madness Pool

50 games down, only 3 more to go. Here's where things stand heading into the final weekend. The big winner this weekend is Hal. After the first weekend, he was so far down in the scrap heap that one could be forgiven for writing him off altogether. But he's looking pretty sitting in 3rd place right now. The discerning reader will notice that Johnny S's bracket has been included. After he gave it to me on Saturday morning, I ran into El Presidente at the Altona Mall. He seemed to think Johnny's bracket might not be entirely on the up and up. He said something about it being on my conscience if I were to include it. Well, I've decided to include it anyway. I'm pretty sure my conscience can handle it. Besides, he's paid his $5 and he hasn't got a hope in hell anyway, so it's more money for the winners. I'll leave it up to El Presidente stir up some controversy if he likes, though. Just as I'll leave it to Johnny S to defend his good name.

Kind of a ho-hum weekend, all things considered. Davidson gave it a good shot. But in the end, it's a pretty boring bracket. All four #1 seeds advance for the first time ever. Conservatism is rewarded in the March Madness Pool. This is not good. You should be ashamed of yourselves. You know who you are. Dare I suggest that your FGBC credentials might be at stake for such an egregious display of prudence and moderation. A covert operation may be in order. Consider yourself warned.

To help you know how to cheer--or rather, to make it clear just who the enemy is here--I've provided the final picks and the total numer of potential points remaining from here on out. There's still plenty of jostling that can happen in the overall standings. Everything's still pretty much up for grabs. Even Cindy, Vic, and Rachel, who sit way down at the bottom of the pile after four rounds, can still make it into the money if things go their way. Jonny G, however, can not. In his best-case scenario, he can't even catch me. Sucker.

Charlene - 77 (UNC vs. Memphis; UNC wins; 17 points)
William - 75 (UNC vs. Memphis; UNC; 17)
Hal - 73 (UNC vs. UCLA; UCLA; 17)
Cheryl - 72 (UNC vs. UCLA; UCLA; 17)
David - 72 (UNC vs. UCLA; UNC; 17)
Tim - 72 (UNC vs. UCLA; UNC; 17)
Agnes - 71 (UNC vs. Duke; Duke; 5)
Harry - 71 (Notre Dame vs. UCLA; UCLA; 12)
Jacob - 71 (UNC vs. UCLA; UCLA; 17)
Chris - 70 (UNC vs. Duke; Duke; 5)
Julia - 70 (UNC vs. UCLA; UCLA; 17)
Myron - 68 (UNC vs. UCLA; UNC; 17)
Johnny S - 68 (UNC vs. Texas; Texas; 5)
Cindy - 63 (Kansas vs. Texas; Kansas; 12)
Vic - 62 (Kansas vs. Memphis; Kansas; 17)
Rachel - 61 (Tenn. vs. Memphis; Memphis; 12)
Jonny G - 57 (Kansas vs. Stanford; Kansas; 12)

OTT: Burial, Shell of Light

ride a f'n bike

i've always thought we should have a band... while there's still time (what with Tom's various plans for a rock opera, and Tenacious V's impending operatic performance, there should be space for a punk band), but, i guess someone beat us to it for now. our lyrics would obviously be in haiku form.
lyrics here.
song here.

E3 Prijs Vlaanderen: Done

Poor Tom Boonen couldn't make it five in a row in the E3 Prijs yesterday. He gave it an honest effort though, easily dropping the peloton while trying to bridge up to the leading group with Fabian Cancellara. In the end, however, they were unable to catch the leaders and the breakaway managed to hold on. Cancellara's teammate, Kurt-Asle Arvesen took the win. Boonen lost the sprint for 7th place to Matti Breschel and had to settle for 8th on the day.

Over in the FGBC Pool, the Little Lebowski Urban Achievers finally lives up to the hype. Ian's team gets 250 points from Thomas Voeckler's 4th place finish, and they add 90 from Hoste, 75 from Cancellara, and 5 for Christophe Mengin holding hanging in until the finish. That's 420 points. Unfortunately, it only puts a slight dent into the fortress that is Vee Vant Ze Money. Andy's team continues to look strong. He adds 365 points to give him 3340 on the season, and an 815 point cushoin to the competition.

Top 30:

1 Kurt-Asle Arvesen (Nor) Team CSC - 4.57.03 (41,003 km/h)
2 David Kopp (Ger) Cycle Collstrop - 0.05
3 Greg Van Avermaet (Bel) Silence - Lotto - s.t.
4 Thomas Voeckler (Fra) Bouygues Telecom - s.t.
5 Janek Tombak (Est) Mitsubishi-Jartazi - s.t.
6 Bernhard Eisel (Aut) Team High Road - @ 0.26
7 Matti Breschel (Den) Team CSC - @ 1.20
8 Tom Boonen (Bel) Quick Step - s.t.
9 Stijn Devolder (Bel) Quick Step - s.t.
10 Staf Scheirlinckx (Bel) Cofidis - Le Crédit par Téléphone - s.t.
11 Michael Schär (Swi) Astana - s.t.
12 Lars Bak (Den) Team CSC - s.t.
13 Leif Hoste (Bel) Silence - Lotto - s.t.
14 Maarten Tjallingii (Ned) Silence - Lotto - s.t.
15 Kristof Vandewalle (Bel) Topsport Vlaanderen - s.t.
16 Fabian Cancellara (Swi) Team CSC - @ 3.38
17 Simon Spilak (Slo) Lampre - s.t.
18 Serguei Ivanov (Rus) Astana - @ 4.15
19 Marcel Sieberg (Ger) Team High Road - s.t.
20 Tom Veelers (Ned) Skil-Shimano - s.t.
21 Stefan Van Dijk (Ned) Mitsubishi-Jartazi - s.t.
22 Mickael Delage (Fra) Française des Jeux - s.t.
23 Arnaud Gérard (Fra) Française des Jeux - s.t.
24 Gianni Meersman (Bel) Française des Jeux - s.t.
25 Heinrich Haussler (Ger) Gerolsteiner - s.t.
26 Aurélien Clerc (Swi) Bouygues Telecom - s.t.
27 Roy Sentjens (Bel) Silence - Lotto - s.t.
28 Raivis Belohvosciks (Lat) Saunier Duval - Scott - s.t.
29 Koen Barbé (Bel) Topsport Vlaanderen - s.t.
30 Ralf Grabsch (Ger) Team Milram - s.t.

Highlights:

They're racing the Brabantse Pijl as I write. With about 40 km to go, it's all coming back together. That should set off a series of nasty attacks and counter attacks before what is very likely to be a sprint for the win.

Today's Results:

Little Lebowski Urban Achievers (Ian) - 420
Vee Vant Ze Money (Andy) - 365
These Men Are Cowards (Paddy) - 330
New Shit (Matt) - 295
Is This Your Homework, Larry? (Arlene) - 280
Obviously You're Not a Golfer (Charlene) - 200
White Russians (Victor) - 165
Creedence Tapes (Chris) - 140
F*ck Sympathy (David S) - 135
Uli Kunkel powered by Karl Hungus (Adam) - 135
That Rug Really Tied the Room Together (Tomek) - 125
You're Out of Your Element, Jonny (Jonny G) - 100
Bunny Lebowski's Toe (Dallas) - 95
Shomer F*cking Shabbas (Donna) - 90
A Roadie for Metallica (Bill) - 85
Shut the F*ck Up Jonny (Jonny B) - 45
That Good Sasparilla (Rachel) - 10
Nice Marmot (Hal) - 10


Overall Standings:

Vee Vant Ze Money (Andy) - 3340
Creedence Tapes (Chris) - 2525
Little Lebowski Urban Achievers (Ian) - 2095
Is This Your Homework, Larry? (Arlene) - 1775
New Shit (Matt) - 1690
These Men Are Cowards (Paddy) - 1320
Obviously You're Not a Golfer (Charlene) - 1080
A Roadie for Metallica (Bill) - 1005
White Russians (Victor) - 770
Nice Marmot (Hal) - 765
Bunny Lebowski's Toe (Dallas) - 730
That Good Sasparilla (Rachel) - 695
That Rug Really Tied the Room Together (Tomek) - 455
Shomer F*cking Shabbas (Donna) - 435
F*ck Sympathy (David S) - 385
Uli Kunkel powered by Karl Hungus (Adam) - 375
You're Out of Your Element, Jonny (Jonny G) - 345
Shut the F*ck Up Jonny (Jonny B) - 180

OTT: Delorean, In Love With the Doubt

Koop-tastic

After the third round, the leader board has a bit of a new look to it. The Koops have made their move. Charlene and Cheryl both picked 6 out of the possible 8 games. Charlene grabs the lead while Cheryl has moved into a tie with El Presidente for 2nd place. Agnes, Jacob and William are right there as well. William still has a clean slate from here on out, but Agnes and Jacob are not positioned so well for the remaining games--e.g., Agnes has Duke winning it all. One crucial game, as far as the top teams are concerned, is the Memphis - Texas matchup. Charlene, Agnes and William have Memphis for the win, while David and Cheryl picked Texas. Jacob will concede 4 points there, as he had Stanford heading to the final four.

Charlene - 61
Cheryl - 60
David S - 60
Agnes - 59
William - 59
Chris - 58
Hal - 57
Rachel - 57
Myron - 56
Tim - 56
Harry - 55
Julia - 54
Cindy - 51
Vic - 50
Jonny G - 49

OTT: Breate Owl Breate, Ghost in the Morning Room

Weekend Preview: E3 Prijs & Brabantse Pijl

The FGBC Classics Pool continues on Saturday with the E3 Prijs Vlaanderen. Apparently, it's named after a highway--the E3. Tom Boonen has won this one for the past 4 consecutive years. Can he make it 5? Team OYNG and the White Russians are hoping so. Previews from CN and PdC. Startlists here. See also the official website, which has details on the course details and each of the cobbled climbs.

And hot on its heels comes the hillier Brabantse Pijl--the Brabant Arrow--on Sunday. It's the final tune-up before the Tour of Flanders next weekend, so expect a deeper field of participants. This one's been dominated by Oscar Freire for the past three years. Starlists here. Preview at PdC, and CN. Official website here.

Race coverage, if available for either of the races, will be listed here.

There's talk of a possible ride in Altona this weekend. I'm heading out there again for the 3rd time in 4 weekends. It might be tough to find a time, but we'll try. Check with Johnny S if you're interested. Hopefully we won't be snowed under by then.

OTT: Sugar, Believe What You're Saying

DDV: FGBC Spring Classics Pool Update

Charlene's Team OYNG (Obviously You're Not a Golfer) wins the day with a nicely diversified approach: 275 pts from Eeckhout, 100 from Fischer, and 70 from Van Dijk to go along with a paltry 5 points from Tom "remember when I was a badass bike racer" Boonen, who finished a disappointing 37th. You can almost hear the Belgian media wanting to come out and say that he sucks, but they can't quite get themselves to do it. In all fairness, though, he crashed yesterday and then didn't seem inclined to take any risks on the wet roads. Still, to put it all in perspective, after last year's Dwars Door Vlaanderen he had already accumulated 1250 points. This year he's sitting at 350. But there are two more races this weekend, so it's not too late to lose hope just yet. At least that's what Charlene and Vic are telling themselves. With 450 points on the day, Team OYNG doubles its point total and now sits solidly in the middle of the pack at 880. If the real Tom Boonen were to show up, they'd be right up there in the top 3.

The top 30:

1 Sylvain Chavanel (Fra) Cofidis - Le Crédit par Téléphone - 4.32.27 (44.04 km/h)
2 Steven De Jongh (Ned) Quick Step - 0.28
3 Niko Eeckhout (Bel) Topsport Vlaanderen - s.t.
4 Andreas Klier (Ger) Team High Road s.t.
5 Allan Johansen (Den) Team CSC - s.t.
6 Gorik Gardeyn (Bel) Silence - Lotto s.t.
7 Martin Elmiger (Swi) AG2R - La Mondiale s.t.
8 Guennadi Mikhailov (Rus) Mitsubishi-Jartazi s.t.
9 Joost Posthuma (Ned) Rabobank s.t.
10 Nick Nuyens (Bel) Cofidis - Le Crédit par Téléphone s.t.
11 Murilo Fischer (Bra) Liquigas s.t.
12 Niki Terpstra (Ned) Team Milram - 0.32
13 Tomas Vaitkus (Ltu) Astana - 0.44
14 Robbie McEwen (Aus) Silence - Lotto - s.t.
15 Wouter Weylandt (Bel) Quick Step - s.t.
16 Markus Eichler (Ger) Team Milram - s.t.
17 Stefan Van Dijk (Ned) Mitsubishi-Jartazi - s.t.
18 Matti Breschel (Den) Team CSC - s.t.
19 Tom Veelers (Ned) Skil-Shimano - s.t.
20 Michael Reihs (Den) Team Designa Køkken - s.t.
21 André Greipel (Ger) Team High Road - s.t.
22 Max Van Heeswijk (Ned) Willems Veranda's Continental Team - s.t.
23 Kenny De Haes (Bel) Topsport Vlaanderen - s.t.
24 Aart Vierhouten (Ned) P3Transfer - Batavus - s.t.
25 Arnoud Van Groen (Ned) P3Transfer - Batavus - s.t.
26 Kevin Neirynck (Bel) Landbouwkrediet - Tönissteiner - s.t.
27 Yoann Offredo (Fra) Française des Jeux - s.t.
28 Daniel Lloyd (GBr) An Post - M: Donnelly - Grant Thornton - Sean Kelly Team - s.t.
29 Kurt Hovelynck (Bel) Topsport Vlaanderen - s.t.
30 James Vanlandschoot (Bel) Mitsubishi-Jartazi - s.t.

Today's Results:

Obviously You're Not a Golfer (Charlene) - 450
Creedence Tapes (Chris) - 415
Vee Vant Ze Money (Andy) - 310
That Good Sasparilla (Rachel) - 310
White Russians (Victor) - 295
Nice Marmot (Hal) - 250
You're Out of Your Element, Jonny (Jonny G) - 90
Bunny Lebowski's Toe (Dallas) - 90
Little Lebowski Urban Achievers (Ian) - 85
Shut the F*ck Up Jonny (Jonny B) - 45
That Rug Really Tied the Room Together (Tomek) - 15
New Shit (Matt) - 10
Is This Your Homework, Larry? (Arlene) - 10
F*ck Sympathy (David S) - 10
A Roadie for Metallica (Bill) - 5
Uli Kunkel powered by Karl Hungus (Adam) - 5
These Men Are Cowards (Paddy) - 0
Shomer F*cking Shabbas (Donna) - 0

Overall Standings:

Vee Vant Ze Money (Andy) - 2975
Creedence Tapes (Chris) - 2385
Little Lebowski Urban Achievers (Ian) - 1675
Is This Your Homework, Larry? (Arlene) - 1495
New Shit (Matt) - 1395
These Men Are Cowards (Paddy) - 990
A Roadie for Metallica (Bill) - 920
Obviously You're Not a Golfer (Charlene) - 880
Nice Marmot (Hal) - 755
That Good Sasparilla (Rachel) - 685
Bunny Lebowski's Toe (Dallas) - 635
White Russians (Victor) - 605
Shomer F*cking Shabbas (Donna) - 345
That Rug Really Tied the Room Together (Tomek) - 330
F*ck Sympathy (David S) - 250
You're Out of Your Element, Jonny (Jonny G) - 245
Uli Kunkel powered by Karl Hungus (Adam) - 240
Shut the F*ck Up Jonny (Jonny B) - 174

Next up is the E3 Prijs Vlaanderen on Saturday. More info to follow.

OTT: All of Your Friends, Local Celebrities Gather at the Watering Hole

Thursday Anticipation

T minus 9 weeks:


OTT: Stephen Malkmus & the Jicks, Cold Son

Dwars Door Vlaanderen: Done

Chavanel wins it. But not that Chavanel. Or at least, not the Chavanel that appears on four FGBC CLassics Pool teams. That would be Sebastian Chavanel, and the winner of the DDV is Sylvain. Sylvain the underachiever, who has a history of not living up to his promise. Sylvain who didn't even appear on our list of riders from whcih to choose. Why? Because he didn't crack the top 30 in any of these races last year. Or is it Sylvain the French (and so non-doped) rider who now has the opportunity to race on a more level playing field? Either way, his win today means that his name will appear on the list of riders for next year.

Full results and report from CN.

Highlights:

It's going to be a day or two until I get around to updating the pool.

Snow Crit #7: Done

Not so much a race
Sweet ride to Woodhaven though
Just me and Craig P

It's winter again?
This is getting really old
Make up your mind, please

Snow Crit #7: An Update

I previewed the course earlier today. Other than the spot where I broke through the ice and ended up in water up to my front hub, it's just fine. Fortunately, we can easily avoid that part. The race is on. Be there.

Dwars Door Vlaanderen: The Cobbles are Coming

With Milan - San Remo out of the way, it's back to the short but steep (18% - 20%!!) cobbled climbs that Belgium is known for. Dwars Door Vlaanderen means Straight Through Flanders or Right Across Flanders, depending on how you translate it. It takes place tomorrow and it marks the beginning of a series of races that ramp up towards the next major goal of the spring classics season--The Ronde Van Vlaanderen (Tour of Flanders) on April 6. In fact, many of the same nasty sections will be featured in the next several races. So starting tomorrow, we will start to get a good sense of who some of the big favourites are for the Ronde. These are the races that Tom Boonen seems to prefer. But while he's got to be considered a strong favourite, he's also been notably silent in the last little while, making his $19 price tag seem a tad exorbitant, especially compared with the bargain known as Fabian Cancellara. Pretty soon we'll know whether Boonen's just been biding his time or if he's really not on form at the moment. Cancellara will be there too. Surely he won't win again, will he? This is more of a Stuart O'Grady race.

Brief preview available from PdC. Startlists here. More info, including maps, on the official website.

OTT: The Decemberists, The Sporting Life

And a Little Child Shall Lead Them?

It's time for another FGBC March Madness Pool update. I'm now only waiting on a bracket from Johnny S. But with 6 more entries received in the last couple of days (4 from El Presidente and his clan), it's time for an update. It may seem a little odd that three of the top four spots are now occupied by people whose brackets have just been received. But to those of you who are inclined to whine: don't. Not only does it make you look pathetic, I've verified that all brackets were completed before play began last Thursday.

For those of you who think you know what you're doing, the results may be a little humbling. The current leader is all of three (or is it four?) years old. Then again, something tells me he may have received a little help. Either way, the Altona village coalition of El Presidente and Co. is looking strong in the early going.

Jacob S - 47
David S - 45
Rachel - 45
Agnes - 44
Tim R - 44
William S - 44
Charlene - 43
Chris - 43
Harry - 43
Cheryl - 42
Myron - 41
Jonny G - 40
Cindy - 39
Hal - 39
Julia - 39
Vic - 38

Once I get the bracket I've been promised from Johnny S, that will bring the total up to 17 entries. This gives us a pot of $85. The winner is poised to receive $50, 2nd place gets $25, and 3rd place gets $10.

OTT: Dolorean, To Destruction

Snow Crit #7

It seemed for a while that the series was due to end prematurely, since a snow crit without snow isn't exactly a snow crit. But with the snow this afternoon and more expected this evening, the race will go ahead as originally planned and the spring race series will have to wait for a little while longer. Pre-race coffee at Roca Jacks, across from the park. Meet at my place at 9:30 to ride over together or meet at the coffee shop a little later.

Hopefully the Foo Fighters show will end in time to allow those who are attending to join us at the clubhouse.

OTT: Get Him Eat Him, Present Tenses

MSR: The Video

We pick it up with just over 7 hours of racing already completed, just before the foot of the Poggio. Even though we all know the outcome by now, it's still a thing of beauty. Fabian's a stud. Watch:

OTT: David Bowie, Glass Spider

March Madness Pool Update

I'm still waiting to receive at least seven brackets, so this is incomplete. But at any rate, here's where things stand after the first two rounds given what I've got.

Rachel - 45
Tim R - 44
Charlene - 43
Chris - 43
Cheryl - 42
Myron - 41
Jonny G - 40
Hal - 39
Julia - 39
Vic - 38

Only one team has already lost its pick to win it all. That would be, um, me. I've already turned the page. 2009, bring it on. Go Davidson!

OTT: The Details, Reunion Souvenirs

Fabian Again

Fabian Cancellara destroyed the dreams of the sprinters in Milan - San Remo yesterday. He managed to stay close to the attackers on the Poggio, and caught them on the way down. Then, when he decided to hit the gas with 3km to go, nobody could follow. He TT'd his way to the finish line in San Remo with a dominant, jaw-dropping show of force. Yikes. Full reports, results, and photos at CN, VN, and Pez.

Top 30:

1 Fabian Cancellara (Swi) Team CSC - 7.14.35 (41,142 km/h)
2 Filippo Pozzato (Ita) Liquigas - 0.04
3 Philippe Gilbert (Bel) Française des Jeux - s.t.
4 Davide Rebellin (Ita) Gerolsteiner - s.t.
5 Mirco Lorenzetto (Ita) Lampre - s.t.
6 Anthony Geslin (Fra) Bouygues Telecom -s.t.
7 Rinaldo Nocentini (Ita) AG2R La Mondiale - s.t.
8 Oscar Freire Gomez (Spa) Rabobank - 0.05
9 Thor Hushovd (Nor) Crédit Agricole - s.t.
10 Kurt-Asle Arvesen (Nor) Team CSC - s.t.
11 Alessandro Bertolini (Ita) Serramenti PVC Diquigiovann - s.t.
12 Enrico Gasparotto (Ita) Barloworld - s.t.
13 Raffaele Illiano (Ita) Serramenti PVC Diquigiovanni - 0.08
14 Inigo Landaluze Intxaurraga (Spa) Euskaltel - 0.11
15 Franco Pellizotti (Ita) Liquigas - 0.12
16 Alessandro Ballan (Ita) Lampre - 0.13
17 Erik Zabel (Ger) Team Milram - 0.14
18 Alessandro Petacchi (Ita) Team Milram - s.t.
19 Baden Cooke (Aus) Barloworld - s.t.
20 Nick Nuyens (Bel) Cofidis - Le Crédit par Téléphone - s.t.
21 Martin Elmiger (Swi) AG2R La Mondiale - 0.15
22 Enrico Rossi (Ita) NGC Medical - OTC Industria Porte - s.t.
23 Ariel Maximiliano Richeze (Arg) CSF Group Navigare - s.t.
24 Xavier Florencio Cabre (Spa) Bouygues Telecom s.t.
25 Julian Dean (NZl) Slipstream Chipotle Presented By H30 - s.t.
26 Aitor Galdos Alonso (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi - s.t.
27 Lloyd Mondory (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale - s.t.
28 Manuele Mori (Ita) Saunier Duval - Scott - s.t.
29 Tom Boonen (Bel) Quick Step - 0.16
30 Arnaud Labbe (Fra) Bouygues Telecom s.t.

Over in the FGBC Classics Pool, 5 teams have Cancellara. Team New Shit has both Cancellara and Rebellin, for a solid 615 point day. But it's all about Andy's Vee Vant Ze Money squad in this race. His team includes Cancellara, Pozzato, Gilbert, and Rebellin. The top four finishers of today's race! Throw in 5 points for Leif Hoste and it's a whopping 1180 point day. He now has 2665 points and a 695 point lead. Yikes.

Today's Results:

Vee Vant Ze Money (Andy) - 1180
New Shit (Matt) - 615
Little Lebowski Urban Achievers (Ian) - 495
These Men Are Cowards (Paddy) - 495
Creedence Tapes (Chris) - 430
A Roadie for Metallica (Bill) - 370
Is This Your Homework, Larry? (Arlene) - 365
That Good Sasparilla (Rachel) - 305
Nice Marmot (Hal) - 215
F*ck Sympathy (David S) - 150
Shomer F*cking Shabbas (Donna) - 105
You're Out of Your Element, Jonny (Jonny G) - 90
Uli Kunkel powered by Karl Hungus (Adam) - 90
Shut the F*ck Up Jonny (Jonny B) - 30
Bunny Lebowski's Toe (Dallas) - 25
White Russians (Victor) - 25
Obviously You're Not a Golfer (Charlene) - 20
That Rug Really Tied the Room Together (Tomek) - 20

Overal Standings:

Vee Vant Ze Money (Andy) - 2665
Creedence Tapes (Chris) - 1970
Little Lebowski Urban Achievers (Ian) - 1590
Is This Your Homework, Larry? (Arlene) - 1485
New Shit (Matt) - 1385
These Men Are Cowards (Paddy) - 990
A Roadie for Metallica (Bill) - 915
Bunny Lebowski's Toe (Dallas) - 545
Nice Marmot (Hal) - 505
Obviously You're Not a Golfer (Charlene) - 430
That Good Sasparilla (Rachel) - 375
Shomer F*cking Shabbas (Donna) - 345
That Rug Really Tied the Room Together (Tomek) - 315
White Russians (Victor) - 310
F*ck Sympathy (David S) - 240
Uli Kunkel powered by Karl Hungus (Adam) - 235
You're Out of Your Element, Jonny (Jonny G) - 155
Shut the F*ck Up Jonny (Jonny B) - 130

The races come fast and furious over the next little while, as we return to Belgium for three races within the span of a week: Dwars Door Vlaanderen (Mar. 26), E3 Prijs Vlaanderen (Mar. 29), and De Brabantse Pijl (Mar. 30). This is an opportunity to score some points from your $1 guys. The next big one is the Tour of Flanders on April 6.

OTT: Dead Confederate, Get Out

MSR

The FGBC Spring classics pool resumes tomorrow with Milan-San Remo, the first of the so-called monuments. In other words, it's a big one. With more than a few years of history on its side. Among other things, this means that everyone will be there. Especially the sprinters. So those of you with Freire, Pettachi, McEwen, Boonen, Hushovd, among others, tomorrow could be your lucky day.

As for the race, basically it's 290 kms worth of rather boring riding to shed the chumps, and then the Poggio with 6km left to launch a few breakaway attempts for the sprinters to chase. More often than not it comes down to a bunch sprint. It sounds like everyone's annointed Oscar Freire as the odds on favourite to win it. But every now and then one of the attackers is able to stay away. That's what I'm hoping for. Team Creedence Tapes is not exactly built around sprinters.

Startlists here. Previews available from CN, VN, and Pez. For information on where you might be able to watch it, go here.

With MSR on our minds, this is probably as good time a time as any to remind ourselves that it's usually better to hold off on your victory celebration until you're sure you've actually won. Let's call it Zabel's law after studly Erik Zabel, who forgot this crucial nugget of bike racing wisdom at San Remo a few years back, getting pipped by Friere at the line.

Evidently someone forgot to explain the importance of Zabel's law to this guy:

Don't let it happen to you.

For those of you splashing around in the NCAA Pool, all I have to say is this: you only need one. One point that is. A one point victory is still a victory. And at the end of the day it's only wins and losses that count. Phew. I will update once I've received all the brackets. Go Devils!!

OTT: The Drawbacks, Couch Buddies

Rides

Looks like there are a couple of options shaping up. More info here.

Thursday Anticipation

The Haiku Master has spoken:


Basically, we have a date. Further details (i.e., where and when) will get here when they get here. Be patient. Relax. And consider it part of your race preparation. You can't write a decent haiku with your sphincter in a knot.

T minus 10 weeks:


It's officially spring today, but it feels like winter has rebounded a little bit. The longer it hangs on, the greater the likelihood of having to utilize the tip-toe technique so deftly exemplified here by Jonny G. It's been a few years since we've had those sorts of conditions for the Spring Ride. Maybe we're due. It wouldn't be the end of the world. And there's nothing we can do about it anyway. And, no, you can't tip-toe with your sphincter in a knot.

OTT: Hayden, Where and When

movie tonight - good friday ride

late notice, but for those who can, tonight at cinematheque: "joe strummer: the future is unwritten"

paddy is off to bhp for noon on friday - join him, its a great place to ride. little early for those who have lunch commitments. looking for a ride a little bit later than that, anyone interested? will probably start in the city and head west, may try and find some gravel road for fun.

Hummelt Hockey: Done

Colin has new brakes
Put to the test on Portage
Did not work so well

Parkade race coming
Traffic circle crit as well
Maybe some tunnels

The President said
"This time, for sure, I'm riding"
There's always next time

Hockey is over
Les's offensive odour
Torments them no more

The honorary capain's appeal hearing begins today in NYC. All you need to know about it, and more, can be found here.

OTT: The Lovetones, Say You Will

Tuesday Night Ride

With the snow on its way into the sewers and the looming end of the Snow Crit series, we shall head downtown to scout out some potential locations for the spring and summer version of the Tuesday Night Race series.

And then it's back to the clubhouse to celebrate the end of another season of Hummelt Hockey. We have reason to hope our stick-wielding bretheren will be less distracted from here on out.

Juan Eppstein has put the matter of Spring Ride accomodations on the agenda as well.

OTT: Seafood, Little Pieces

FGBC March Madness Pool

Because there's more to life than bikes and bullshit. There's basketball.

Print it out. Fill it in. Cross your fingers. $5 to enter. Completed brackets must be in my possession by Thursday morning.

Same scoring system as usual. 1st round picks worth 1 pt, 2nd round = 2 pts, 3rd = 3 pts, etc. Except that the final game is worth 7 pts. Winner gets 60% of the pot, 2nd place gets 30%, 3rd gets 10%.

Go Devils!

OTT: Marvelous Darlings, I Don't Wanna Go to the Party

ride report and movies

great to get on the bike and ride on dry roads. it was a breezy ride at times (as it usually is at bhp), but a ton of fun to actually role along at a decent clip with no stops and few cars. anywhere from 35 to 50 k of riding was completed. did not bring the camera, but others had theirs, hope they will be posting some pics soon. the following group enjoyed the ride:

tom
colin
luc
paddy
deanna
scott
tim
kevin
dallas (briefly forgot that he was there atop of his rig)
brad e (who joined up later)
ron???

look for more rides every weekend from here on in. possibilities include a good friday ride.

looking to switch monday night movie to wednesday. on tap: "joe strummer: the future is unwritten." maybe we could make this the tuesday night ride?

Hey Bosses, Read This

From the Seattle Post Intelligencer:

Employees at Seattle law firm Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro recently got a big incentive to take up the sport. Management promised bicycles worth $3,500 to any employee who pledges to bike to work three months out of the year.

Firm managing partner and cyclist Steve Berman said he wanted to find a way to reduce the firm's carbon footprint and encourage fitness.

Berman said he gets the bikes at cost from Ridley Bicycles for about $1,800.

So far, 35 of the firm's 100 employees have signed up. Berman expects to hand out the bikes by May, and it will cost the firm $63,000.

The price was worth it, he said.

"As an employer, I was, like, over the moon in terms of the positive reaction that I got for this," he said. "First, I was worried that some of my partners would think that I was wasting firm money."

Sounds like a win-win scenario to me. Full story here.

Also worth reading is Slipstream rider Will Frishkorn's account of his close encounter with a hooved beast during last weekend's Monte Paschi Eroica:

In my report on eroica I forgot to mention one of the craziest things I’ve ever seen. We’re flying down this hill and see these 2 deer off in the field to the left. All of a sudden they’re flying towards us, one jumps over the field, and the other tries to go straight through, full blast. It t-bones the guy 2 ahead of me, fully takes him and his bike off into the ditch, and the rest of us fly by unscathed, fur flying through the air. Guess poor bambi didn’t make it, and the rider had a quick trip to the hospital. Unreal. Pretty much thought I was going to die. Lucky that deer was moving so fast…. Crazy.

And finally, check out the last few kms from yesterday's stage 3 of the Tirreno-Adriatico. "The wall" of Montelupone. 20% grade. And not just once but twice. The motorcycles were crashing. And some riders had to resort to pushing their bikes up the hill. Ouch.

OTT: Spoon, My Little Japanese Cigarette Case

sunday bike ride

time to start putting on the miles. sunday is suppose to be niceish, anyone want to go to bhp for mindless laps on the pavement? thinking 2:00 would be a good time (leave the city at 1:30) - ride for 1.5 -2 hrs. gears, no gears, mtn, cross or road bike - ride what you got.

from gianni

http://www.dothetest.co.uk/

cool

Thursday Anticipation

Only 11 weeks away:



As if the anticipation of the Spring Ride isn't thrilling enough, I hereby officially unveil another exciting FGBC event for your anticipatory pleasure.


A few comments: first, the date isn't exactly set in stone. Mostly, I needed something to put on the poster. But July seems to me like a good time, since it's more likely to be hellishly hot. It's also far enough away to allow for a handful of shorter reconnoitering missions before finally settling on the details of the route. Second, I'm genuinely ambivalent about whether to approach this as a group ride or a race. I can go either way, and will heartily support whichever option seems most likely to secure the greatest number of participants. Third, the route: we'll begin at Tinker and head west, initially following last year's Red Ass route. But we'll depart from the Red Ass route after the first valley crossing in order to more fully take advantage of the hills and the valley. We'll stay on 201 until about Snowflake, which will allow us to climb up Suicide Hill. Then we'll snake our way back and forth across the valley to take in as much of the hurt that the climbs have to offer and the thrill that the descents will provide, before eventually making our way back to Tinker. Comments?

Also, I have spoken with the Haiku master, and we have determined that Haiku Cross will be on April 6. More info and an official poster coming soon.

And finally, a lecture: "What Does Planning a City Around Cyclists Look Like?" by Anne Vernez Moudon, Professor of Urban Design at the University of Washington. March 14 (tomorrow), 1pm at CMU. It's open to the public. Be there!

OTT: Gavin Froome, All Night

Snow Crit #6: Done

Omand's Creek climb fest
Heavy legs and burning backs
20 times uphill

Results:

Chris
Luc
Jonny G
Bill
Colin

If the snow sticks around, Snow Crit #7 is on March 25.

Good times at the clubhouse, as always. Only one more week of Hummelt Hockey. Then it's the Foo Fighters. And then it's full on FGBC Tuesday Night Ride time.

Token photos:








A poem for Vic from the drunk guy:

Hey--Randy Dutaime!
It has been too long, my friend
Why are you leaving?

OTT: The Details, Reunion Souvenirs