in the king and queen's court

Court was in session as the ruling monarch of the riding pools, Andy, shared his wisdom. Apparently it goes beyond simply reading the general cycling news, the rider's pages, and fan pages in multiple languages: One of his cyclecross picks came from a conversation with a riding buddy in Europe who knew that such and such a rider recently connected with a Belgian girl and was now moving to Belgium to live with her family... all to say that he was about to become a more significant player in the cyclecross scene... So here's the checklist:
1. spend time reading the general cycling news
2. learn multiple European languages fluently enough to read all related rider blogs/sites and then fan pages in their indigenous language
3. make personal contacts and visit with retired riding pros in Europe who still breath the sport and know who's moving where with his girlfriend.
4. make lucky guesses.

No problem. I'm going to have to work on #4 though.

Court was also held at Dr. H's place, where it barely appeared as if anything had happened. Marcus was busy getting on with the eating, and the reigning queen was facilitating said eating whilst lounging on the couch. The ladies-in-waiting and courtiers were just sitting around with nothing to do. Looked good. The young prince is off to a fine start.

Finally, watch the nasty hole on Portage, heading west crossing the Route 90 overpass. The president led five witless riders directly over this rebar exposed gaper. Only Cousin Adam suffered the flat, but we all should have had one.

Adios Paddy

Good luck with the move. I'm sure there will be a FGBC Western Road Trip in the future. One of these days. Of all the good times on rides in the last few years, I think the most memorable was this one.

OTT: Neko Case, Stinging Velvet

Marcus

Got 'er done earlier this afternoon. I'll tell you what: Chopper's got nothing on mrs. h. Hard as nails, that woman. So far, so good. Good times.

Ride/Soiree is still on tonight. I might not make it though. You can still meet at my place if you like. We'll be around. Otherwise, head over to the back alley party pit known affectionately known as the Shoppe.

OTT: The Cinematics, Maybe Someday

Tuesday Night Ride: Special Andy Edition

Meet at my place, 9:30 if you like. We'll pick up some Half Pints and head over together. Good times guaranteed. Be there.

OTT: Califone, Pink & Sour

Liege-Bastogne-Liege: El Imbatido

Alejandro Valverde lived up to his nickname today: El Imbatido = The Unbeatable. He found himself in the winning move, with Rebellin and the Schleck brothers. Andy eventually dropped of the pace, and neither of the other two were able to counter Valverde's sprint at the line. Rebellin took 2nd while Frank Scheck finished 3rd. Full reports, results, and photos at CN, VN, and Pez.

Over in the FGBC Pool, Team Uli Kunkel powered by Karl Hungus caps a succesful 2nd half by taking the last race of the season with 510 points. Shut the F*ck Up, Jonny B finished 2nd, with a solid 450 points, and manages to avoid last place overall. That honour goes to Rachel's Good Sasparilla. Team New Shit won the sprint for third place, with 310 points.

Andy's Vee Vant Ze Money had another solid day to secure yet another overall title. He finishes with 6175 points overall, 600 more than Team Creedence Tapes. Congratulations Andy! We will celebrate tomorrow night. Arlene's Team, Is This Your Homework, Larry? rounds out the podium with 4435 points. An impressive showing, especially considering their big hope and highest priced rider, Marcus Burghardt, didn't race at all this season due to a lingering knee injury.

Video: the final km

For a full breakdown of all the races, teams, and riders go here. Be sure to take a look at the second column from the left. That's where you can find the season total for your riders. By far the biggest bang for the buck was Fabian Cancellara: $3 and over 1200 points. And there were many disappointments. Probably the biggest is Di Luca: 13 bucks for 5 points. But there are too many to list, really. Go have a look for yourself.

Thanks to everyone for participating. Good times. Take a few days to recover, but not too long. The 2008 FGBC Giro Pool is less than 2 weeks away. It's probably the most exciting and unpredictable of the three Grand Tours. More info coming soon.

The Top 30:

1 Alejandro Valverde Belmonte (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne - 6.44.04 (38.756 km/h)
2 Davide Rebellin (Ita) Gerolsteiner - s.t.
3 Frank Schleck (Lux) Team CSC - s.t.
4 Andy Schleck (Lux) Team CSC - 0.30
5 Christian Pfannberger (Aut) Barloworld - 0.40
6 Thomas Dekker (Ned) Rabobank - s.t.
7 Cadel Evans (Aus) Silence - Lotto - s.t.
8 Joaquim Rodriguez (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne - 0.48
9 Paolo Bettini (Ita) Quick Step - 1.03
10 Vincenzo Nibali (Ita) Liquigas - s.t.
11 Oscar Freire Gomez (Spa) Rabobank - s.t.
12 Kim Kirchen (Lux) Team High Road - s.t.
13 Robert Gesink (Ned) Rabobank - s.t.
14 Benoît Vaugrenard (Fra) Française des Jeux - s.t.
15 Leonardo Piepoli (Ita) Saunier Duval - Scott - s.t.
16 Matthew Lloyd (Aus) Silence - Lotto - s.t.
17 Karsten Kroon (Ned) Team CSC - s.t.
18 Rinaldo Nocentini (Ita) AG2R La Mondiale - s.t.
19 Bert De Waele (Bel) Landbouwkrediet - Tönissteiner - s.t.
20 Riccardo Riccò (Ita) Saunier Duval - Scott - s.t.
21 Juan Mauricio Soler Hernandez (Col) Barloworld - s.t.
22 Fabian Wegmann (Ger) Gerolsteiner - s.t.
23 Luca Mazzanti (Ita) Tinkoff Credit Systems - 1.13
24 Carlos Sastre Candil (Spa) Team CSC - 1.29
25 Nicki Sørensen (Den) Team CSC - 1.32
26 Oliver Zaugg (Swi) Gerolsteiner - s.t.
27 Alberto Fernandez De La Puebla Ramos (Spa) Saunier Duval - Scott - s.t.
28 Evgeny Petrov (Rus) Tinkoff Credit Systems - s.t.
29 Franco Pellizotti (Ita) Liquigas - s.t.
30 Damiano Cunego (Ita) Lampre - 1.39


Today's Results:

Uli Kunkel powered by Karl Hungus (Adam) - 510
Shut the F*ck Up Jonny (Jonny B) - 450
New Shit (Matt) - 310
F*ck Sympathy (David S) - 305
Vee Vant Ze Money (Andy) - 305
That Rug Really Tied the Room Together (Tomek) - 250
You're Out of Your Element, Jonny (Jonny G) - 245
Bunny Lebowski's Toe (Dallas) - 180
Shomer F*cking Shabbas (Donna) - 130
A Roadie for Metallica (Bill) - 130
That Good Sasparilla (Rachel) - 95
Is This Your Homework, Larry? (Arlene) - 75
Nice Marmot (Hal) - 60
These Men Are Cowards (Paddy) - 55
Little Lebowski Urban Achievers (Ian) - 50
Creedence Tapes (Chris) - 50
White Russians (Victor) - 5
Obviously You're Not a Golfer (Charlene) - 0


Overall Standings:

Vee Vant Ze Money (Andy) - 6175
Creedence Tapes (Chris) - 5575
Is This Your Homework, Larry? (Arlene) - 4435
New Shit (Matt) - 3975
Little Lebowski Urban Achievers (Ian) - 3845
Uli Kunkel powered by Karl Hungus (Adam) - 3330
F*ck Sympathy (David S) - 2785
A Roadie for Metallica (Bill) - 2740
These Men Are Cowards (Paddy) - 2730
You're Out of Your Element, Jonny (Jonny G) - 2595
That Rug Really Tied the Room Together (Tomek) - 2310
Nice Marmot (Hal) - 2155
Obviously You're Not a Golfer (Charlene) - 2145
White Russians (Victor) - 2090
Bunny Lebowski's Toe (Dallas) - 1890
Shomer F*cking Shabbas (Donna) - 1835
Shut the F*ck Up Jonny (Jonny B) - 1815
That Good Sasparilla (Rachel) - 1735

OTT: Cuff the Duke, Remember the Good Times

no race tomorrow but a ride instead

talk of going to the sandilands for a ride tomorrow around 2:00. for those about to race, sandilands is the venue for the next race on the schedule. here is your chance to see what the course has to offer. anyone interested?

also, hoping that mrs. mr. dr. and the good dr. are able to deliver the goods this weekend; looking forward to updates on this.

Liege-Bastogne-Liege: Poached Preview

Last chance for glory in the 2008 FGBC Spring Classics Pool.

CN has a brief preview. CW has a nice overview, including a look at the climbs, and an examination of the redesigned final 10 km. PdC rates the contenders and reflects on what makes L-B-L so great.

Official website here. Startlists here. Coverage options here.

Unibet odds:

Cunego, D 5.50
Valverde, A 6.50
Schleck, F 8.00
Rebellin, D 10.00
Evans, C 11.00
Bettini, P 12.00
Kirchen, K 12.00
Dekker, Thomas 14.00
Kroon, K 20.00
Schumacher, S 22.00
Rodriguez, Joaquim 22.00
Gesink, R 30.00
Schleck, Andy 30.00
Freire, O 35.00

OTT: Be/Non, Garlic

Bike Lanes

An update from the VP Accommodations

Juan posted this in the comments from yesterday's anticipation post, but I thought it worth elevating its own post. Mostly because it's super sweet that he's on the project.

The bad news is that Falcon Lakeshore group use is closed for construction this season, and I haven't been able to contact Kelvin, the good man who let us into Falcon Creek last year for a very reasonable pre-season rate.
The good news is that I have reserved the West Hawk Group use area. Veterans of the FGBC will recall this was our first camping venue, back when we were better at drinking than riding (especially at night). I'll remember not to park my tent at the night-ride trail head this time.

grand beach race cancelled

in case you were planning to attend the race this weekend is cancelled (damn snow). see here for more info

if you still want to race there is a race next weekend at sandilands. a nice little course, and always a lot of fun.

Fraggle Rocks

(photo courtesy of Dave B)

We called her Fraggle
That was back in '91
Now she's kicking ass

I've let her know that the most significant condition involved in racing for the FGBC is a witty race report. Or at least a lame haiku. Here it is, in her own words:

Balmy pre-storm weather for this first time mountain bike race novice. Intimidation factor was high but few expectations this week. Bad positioning. I had to race against my coaching clinic teacher. Lots of ground to make up in the second half of the race due to above said positioning. Race was too short but fun was had by all. Fantastic endover by over eager start racer. He broke a crank, few minor injuries, quick repair and was back on his bike.

Speaking of ass-kicking, the Honorary Captain received one this past weekend. But he still kicks ass too. Here he is after the Cohutta 100, observing the FGBC post-race rehydration program.


OTT: Far Beyond Frail, Run Away

Thursday Anticipation

Just over one month to go! Maybe the snow will be melted by then.


Also, remember that the next Tuesday Night Ride will involve raising a bottle of Half Pints or two in honour of Andy, King of the FGBC Cycling Pool. Maybe after a few Stir Sticks, he'll start to divulge some of his secrets.

OTT: Agrum, Polar remix

Fleche Wallonne: King Kirchen

For a while there, Fabian Wegmann gave me a glimmer of hope. He attacked 13 km from the finish and held a 20 second advantage going into the last kilometre. It looked like he just might steal the win, which would give Team Creedence Tapes 350 points, and leave them neck in neck with Andy's Vee Vant Ze Money crew heading into the final race of the season on Sunday. But then the nasty Mur de Huy reared it's ugly head and the steep gradients took their toll on the German national champion as the coterie of climbers took over. Surprisingly, it was wheel sucker Cadel Evans who attacked first, with Davide "I love the Ardennes" Rebellin in tow. But the final climb would prove to be a bit too long for Evans and Rebellin too. With 200 metres to go, Kim Kirchen launched a fierce attack that only Evans could follow. Kirchen easily held on for an impressive win, punctuated with a feisty "we'll settle this in France in July" gesture seemingly directed toward Evans just before he crossed the line. Nice. Evans took 2nd and Cunego was 3rd. Wegmann would eventually finish in 30th place, 53 seconds back. Good for all of 5 points. Damn. Full results, reports, and photos from CN, VN, and Pez.

Over in the FGBC Pool, El Presidente's team, F*ck Sympathy, is proving that the F-bomb teams are not cursed by their predilection for cussing. Apparently, they just prefer the hillier late-season classics to the cold and the cobbles of March. 505 points and a second consecutive victory for Swatty's squad. Nicely done. Sitting close to the bottom just a few races ago, they now sit solidly in the middle of the pack with 2480 points. Rachel's Good Sasparilla picked up 350 from Kirchen for 2nd place on the day. And another F-bomb team, Donna's Shomer F*cking Shabbas, finished third on the strength of Cunego. In the race for the overall title, Vee Vant Ze Money picked up 200 points, courtesy of Rebellin's 6th place finish. They now hold a 345 lead over Team Creedence Tapes heading into Liege. Shut the F*ck Up Jonny B is back in last place, and looks to have it sewn up.

The final km:

Top 30:

1 Kim Kirchen (Lux) Team High Road - 4.35.29 (43.45 km/h)
2 Cadel Evans (Aus) Silence - Lotto - 0.01
3 Damiano Cunego (Ita) Lampre - 0.02
4 Robert Gesink (Ned) Rabobank - s.t.
5 Thomas Dekker (Ned) Rabobank - s.t.
6 Davide Rebellin (Ita) Gerolsteiner - s.t.
7 Michael Albasini (Swi) Liquigas - 0.08
8 Joaquim Rodriguez (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne - 0.10
9 Christian Pfannberger (Aut) Barloworld - 0.15
10 John Gadret (Fra) AG2r - La Mondiale - 0.20
11 Jérôme Pineau (Fra) Bouygues Telecom - s.t.
12 Bert De Waele (Bel) Landbouwkrediet - Tönissteiner - s.t.
13 Aitor Galdos Alonso (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi - s.t.
14 Iouri Trofimov (Rus) Bouygues Telecom - 0.24
15 Mikel Astarloza Chaurreau (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi - s.t.
16 Alexander Efimkin (Rus) Quick Step - 0.26
17 Luca Mazzanti (Ita) Tinkoff Credit Systems - s.t.
18 Rubens Bertogliati (Swi) Saunier Duval - Scott - 0.29
19 Stefan Schumacher (Ger) Gerolsteiner - 0.32
20 Benoît Vaugrenard (Fra) Française des Jeux - s.t.
21 Alejandro Valverde Belmonte (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne - s.t.
22 Moises Duenas Nevado (Spa) Barloworld - 0.37
23 Nico Sijmens (Bel) Landbouwkrediet - Tönissteiner - 0.40
24 Christian Knees (Ger) Team Milram - s.t.
25 Matthew Lloyd (Aus) Silence - Lotto - s.t.
26 Matej Mugerli (Slo) Liquigas - 0.42
27 Kevin Ista (Bel) Agritubel - 0.45
28 Vladimir Efimkin (Rus) AG2r - La Mondiale - 0.46
29 Josep Jufre Pou (Spa) Saunier Duval - Scott - 0.49
30 Fabian Wegmann (Ger) Gerolsteiner - 0.53


Today's Results:

F*ck Sympathy (David S) - 505
That Good Sasparilla (Rachel) - 350
Shomer F*cking Shabbas (Donna) - 275
New Shit (Matt) - 260
You're Out of Your Element, Jonny (Jonny G) - 230
That Rug Really Tied the Room Together (Tomek) - 230
Vee Vant Ze Money (Andy) - 200
Uli Kunkel powered by Karl Hungus (Adam) - 165
Bunny Lebowski's Toe (Dallas) - 120
Nice Marmot (Hal) - 95
Shut the F*ck Up Jonny (Jonny B) - 70
These Men Are Cowards (Paddy) - 65
A Roadie for Metallica (Bill) - 60
Little Lebowski Urban Achievers (Ian) - 5
Creedence Tapes (Chris) - 5
White Russians (Victor) - 5
Is This Your Homework, Larry? (Arlene) - 0
Obviously You're Not a Golfer (Charlene) - 0


Overall Standings:

Vee Vant Ze Money (Andy) - 5870
Creedence Tapes (Chris) - 5525
Is This Your Homework, Larry? (Arlene) - 4360
Little Lebowski Urban Achievers (Ian) - 3795
New Shit (Matt) - 3665
Uli Kunkel powered by Karl Hungus (Adam) - 2820
These Men Are Cowards (Paddy) - 2675
A Roadie for Metallica (Bill) - 2610
F*ck Sympathy (David S) - 2480
You're Out of Your Element, Jonny (Jonny G) - 2350
Obviously You're Not a Golfer (Charlene) - 2145
Nice Marmot (Hal) - 2095
White Russians (Victor) - 2085
That Rug Really Tied the Room Together (Tomek) - 2060
Bunny Lebowski's Toe (Dallas) - 1710
Shomer F*cking Shabbas (Donna) - 1705
That Good Sasparilla (Rachel) - 1640
Shut the F*ck Up Jonny (Jonny B) - 1365

OTT: The Say Highs, Tell Me Tall Tales

Tuesday Night Ride Report

Sweet ride with three distinct phases: (1) The Arlington Bridge - Slaw-Rebchuck never-mind-the-bullets loop. A potential race course, but not likely to be utilized for a variety of reasons, not least of which is the liklihood of random gunfire; (2) Garbage Hill. Always a classic. Look forward to a hot dog hill climb sometime soon. Fastest four up the switchbacks with dog in hand advance to the championship round. It will involve beer; (3) the Airport. The parkade was tested. Very nice surface, not ideal for a race venue though. Also, an impromptu ride-through of the Sheraton. Good times at the clubhouse, as usual. Some boisterous Calgary Flames fans took our table though. This aggression will not stand. Man. Oh, and by the way, the Flames suck. There has been a bike theft. G-D little pricks. Specifically, Jonny K-H is down a road bike and another slick two-wheeler as well. This is where we pull together and find him a replacement. A brother is hurting. Be on the lookout.






Token haiku:

Airport Sheraton
Security guard gives chase
Slow doors, a close call

Some are racing tonight: WNRS #1 @ BHP. The newly reinvigorated FGBC racing team, however, will not be out in full force. Some dead weight recently eliminated, a distinct whiff of new life can be detected in the air, however. Or perhaps that was the smell of hot dog production blowing in from St B. At any rate, it looks like things are starting to take off for Team FGBC. The roster has swelled to four, and there is a strong forecast for additional growth. Applications can be sent to fortgarrybikeclubATgmailDOTcom. Serious inquiries will perhaps even be considered too. But they will involve a strenuous test of character. The FGBC does not gauge success by way of podium steps. Lightningrod LeAnn will be representing the home team tonight.

OTT: 16 Horsepower, Beyond the Pale

Tuesday Night Ride

The party for Andy, King of the FGBC Cycling Pool, has been postponed until next Tuesday due to a scheduling conflict at the host venue. That's appropriate, really, since it will allow us to celebrate his victory in the Spring Classics Pool as well. So this week it's just a straight up ride.

OTT: Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, Lien on Your Dreams

wanna race?

if you have seen the movie breaking away, this is the race that the cutter's enter. its called the little 500 and more info about the race can be found here

if you really do want to race there are two this week: the first wednesday night race is this wednesday (go figure); followed by the grand beach race on sunday. if you want to ride grand beach and not race, some of us are going on saturday morning to do some trail work and ride (same as we did this past sunday).

Amstel Gold Report: The Kid Rocks

With its 31 hills and uphill finish on the Cauberg, the Amstel Gold Race came off true to form yesterday. A select group of nine--including Damiano "The Kid" Cunego, Frank Schleck, Alejandro Valverde, Davide Rebellin, and Thomas Dekker--approached the final climb to battle it out amongst themselves. Knowing he couldn't take them in a final sprint, Schleck launched first attack. He was able to shake everyone but Cunego, who powered by and took the win. Impressive. He's skipping the Giro to concentrate on the Tour this year. Should be fun to watch. Full results, reports, and photos available at CN, VN and, my favourite, Pez.

The final km:

Over in the FGBC Pool, Team F*ck Sympathy is putting together another late season surge. With Cunego and Dekker in the top 5, as well as Freire and (Nobody F*cks With the) Jesus Del Noro also picking up top 30 points, they collect 670 points on the day. Uli Kunkel Powered by Karl Hungus is putting on a bit of a late season show as well. They have another good day and are now siting all the way up in 6th place. Finally, don't look now, but Shut the F*ck up Jonny took home a solid 480 points yesterday. They now move well beyond the 1000 point barrier that had proved so elusive for the first 11 races of the season. They're not even in last place any more. That distinction would go to Rachel's That Good Sasparilla. Her strategy of picking riders whose names and stylistic preferences place them on the more feminine side of the spectrum that is the peloton clearly did not work out so well this time around. What happened Kim Kirchen? Filippo Pozzato, you clearly have more prettiness than one body can handle. It's starting to work against you. Tone it down a notch or two, and things just might come together for you. Gabrieles Balducci and Bosioso and Lucas Solari and Paolini, what have I done to offend thee? Let's go girls. It's never too late.

Not to be missed is the fact that we have a new overall leader. I told Andy on Saturday that I expected him to take the lead on Sunday. He has Rebellin, who usually dominates these last three races. My team is more of a cobbles team, and the cobbled races are done. Andy said he didn't think he'd win, that he thought my team was strong enough to hold on, but he was clearly just being polite. No need to be polite, Andy. You're the kind of the cycling pool. The professor now has a 150 point lead and should add to that over the next couple of races. Impressive.

Up next: Fleche Wallonne on Wednesday.

The top 30:

1 Damiano Cunego (Ita) Lampre - 6.35.29 (39.051 km/h)
2 Frank Schleck (Lux) Team CSC - s.t.
3 Alejandro Valverde Belmonte (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne - 0.02
4 Davide Rebellin (Ita) Gerolsteiner - s.t.
5 Thomas Dekker (Ned) Rabobank - 0.06
6 Christian Pfannberger (Aut) Barloworld - 0.14
7 Serguei Ivanov (Rus) Astana - 0.18
8 Joaquim Rodriguez (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne - 0.23
9 Karsten Kroon (Ned) Team CSC - 0.27
10 Jérôme Pineau (Fra) Bouygues Telecom - 0.45
11 Fabian Wegmann (Ger) Gerolsteiner - s.t.
12 Simon Gerrans (Aus) Crédit Agricole - s.t.
13 Rinaldo Nocentini (Ita) AG2r - La Mondiale - s.t.
14 Benoît Vaugrenard (Fra) Française des Jeux - 0.51
15 Stefan Schumacher (Ger) Gerolsteiner - s.t.
16 Kjell Carlström (Fin) Liquigas - s.t.
17 Johan Van Summeren (Bel) Silence - Lotto - 0.56
18 Martin Elmiger (Swi) AG2r - La Mondiale - s.t.
19 Oscar Freire Gomez (Spa) Rabobank - s.t.
20 Kim Kirchen (Lux) Team High Road - 1.00
21 Robert Gesink (Ned) Rabobank - 1.19
22 Sandy Casar (Fra) Française des Jeux - 1.27
23 Erik Zabel (Ger) Team Milram - s.t.
24 Jesús Del Nero (Spa) Saunier Duval - Scott - s.t.
25 Matthew Lloyd (Aus) Silence - Lotto - s.t.
26 Alexandre Botcharov (Rus) Crédit Agricole - 1.36
27 Bram Tankink (Ned) Rabobank - 1.47
28 Staf Scheirlinckx (Bel) Cofidis - Le Crédit par Téléphone - 1.55
29 Philippe Gilbert (Bel) Française des Jeux - s.t.
30 Thomas Voeckler (Fra) Bouygues Telecom s.t.


Yesterday's Results:

F*ck Sympathy (David S) 670
Uli Kunkel powered by Karl Hungus (Adam) 525
Shut the F*ck Up Jonny (Jonny B) 480
Vee Vant Ze Money (Andy) 435
You're Out of Your Element, Jonny (Jonny G) 400
New Shit (Matt) 400
Shomer F*cking Shabbas (Donna) 350
That Rug Really Tied the Room Together (Tomek) 340
Little Lebowski Urban Achievers (Ian) 280
These Men Are Cowards (Paddy) 230
Is This Your Homework, Larry? (Arlene) 205
Creedence Tapes (Chris) 120
A Roadie for Metallica (Bill) 110
Bunny Lebowski's Toe (Dallas) 110
Nice Marmot (Hal) 70
That Good Sasparilla (Rachel) 55
White Russians (Victor) 20
Obviously You're Not a Golfer (Charlene) 0


Overall Standings:

Vee Vant Ze Money (Andy) - 5670
Creedence Tapes (Chris) - 5520
Is This Your Homework, Larry? (Arlene) - 4360
Little Lebowski Urban Achievers (Ian) - 3790
New Shit (Matt) - 3405
Uli Kunkel powered by Karl Hungus (Adam) - 2655
These Men Are Cowards (Paddy) - 2610
A Roadie for Metallica (Bill) - 2550
Obviously You're Not a Golfer (Charlene) - 2145
You're Out of Your Element, Jonny (Jonny G) - 2120
White Russians (Victor) - 2080
Nice Marmot (Hal) - 2000
F*ck Sympathy (David S) - 1975
That Rug Really Tied the Room Together (Tomek) - 1830
Bunny Lebowski's Toe (Dallas) - 1590
Shomer F*cking Shabbas (Donna) - 1430
Shut the F*ck Up Jonny (Jonny B) - 1295
That Good Sasparilla (Rachel) - 1290

OTT: Tapes 'n Tapes, Le Ruse

The Honorary Captain

. . . got beat by my buddy Alex at the Cohutta 100 this weekend. He caught the HC just before the finish, and ended up beating him by 5-10 minutes. Alex is a strong rider. But the Honorary Captain won some big badass race in France a few years back. Wierd.

Here's the full story:

It rained all night before the race and continued to sprinkle throughout the first half of the race. The course was rather muddy, slower than last year, but still very rideable. A good number of the big boys of endurance mtn biking were there (Chris Eatough, his Trek teammate Schalk (sp?), Harlan Price, etc.) and they were determine dot hit Floyd hard from the start. The race starts with a 3 mile road climb before diving into singletrack and they just took off. I started midpack and was 15 sec behind before I had even pedaled one revolution. I killed myself trying to catch up, passed a ton of people thereby positioning myself between the lead pack and everyone else, but was still 15 sec behind when they turned off of the road. Except for Floyd I never saw them again. But apparently they kept the pace high the whole time. By mile 30 Floyd was hurting. Most of the singletrack is over by then, but the gravel road climbs are just getting started. It climbs almost endlessly till about mile 65. The Shenandoah 100 links its climbs together with long level road sections where you can recover to some extent, especially if you are a road racer I would assume. But Cohutta is usually either up or down. Anyway, eventually Floyd blew up.

Well, seven and a half hours later I am cruising along on the last 10 miles of singltrack before the finish. I am still pushing it b/c I've been chasing the same guy for the last 30 miles and I am trying to beat my time from last year. (I missed it by 5 min, but still think it was a better ride b/c of the muddy conditions. Last year's winner, Eatough, finished 15 min slower and said he thinks he is as strong, that it was all b/c of the conditions.) For the last 45 min I have been catching and passing riders from the shorter 65 mile race. They all know that they are the slower riders in their ride and we are the faster riders in our ride so they gladly move aside when asked. I approach these two guys stalled out on a slick twisty rooty section and call out "rider back." Although they proceed to move aside the first guys yells "No way fucker. I'm not moving for you." He is also sort of laughing as he says this. As I get right up on them I realize this is FLoyd and blurt out, as if I know him, "Oh hey Floyd. What are you doing here?" He starts to respond "Well ah, . . ." but I am past him and on down the trail. Five miles later I cross the finish line 5-10 min before him. Pretty crazy.

OTT: Jim White, Strange Candy

Amstel Gold: Poached Preview

The cobbles are all but gone, as are most of the hard men who rule them. For the end of the spring classics season we get hillier terrain and a decidedly skinnier peloton. Amstel Gold kicks it off Sunday. And the hills only get harder with Fleche Wallone on Wednesday and Liege-Bastogne-Liege, which wraps up the season next Sunday.

One other thing about these next three races is that they often give us a sense about who is on form for the Giro d'Italia, which is coming up in just a few weeks. Pay attention, because the FGBC Giro d'Italia Pool is coming soon too. Once the startlists are out, I'll get a list of riders and values up and you can have at it again for the next round. Good times.

CN covers the basics, and includes a brief run-down of a suddenly very different looking list of contenders. Pez also has a nice preview, chalk full of photos. CW also does a nice job. And PdC chimes in with its own rating of the favourites.

Startlists here. Official website here. Live coverage options here.

Odds:

Valverde 7.00
Rebellin 7.50
Cunego 7.50
Ricco 10.00
Freire 11.00
Kirchen 12.00
Schleck F 12.00
Schumacher 13.00
Dekker 14.00
Kroon 17.00
Gilbert 20.00
Hoste 22.00
Rodriguez J 25.00
Gesink 25.00
Wegmann 30.00
Nocentini 35.00

OTT: Wisely, Cracked World View

Dept. of Inadvertent Self-Mutilation

For Gianni:


Dear Omand's Creek Pole
I've dodged you so many times
Why do you hurt me?

OTT: Hinterland, Detwiller Pavilion

Thursday Anticipation: Late Edition

This just in, via the poosher. I don't know why it comes out blue. The entrails are red on the one I'm trying to upload. And it's actually kind of legible too. Oh well. Basically it says there's a bike race at St Vital park on Saturday at 3 pm. Part of some worldwide chain of races or something creepy like that. Maybe you have to light a candle and hold hands and sing kumbayah or that Coke commercial song from the 70s. I don't know. Be there to find out.


Also, the next Tuesday Night Ride will be in honor of Andy, king of the FGBC cx Pool and quite possibly the Spring Classics Pool as well. BYOHalfPints. Ian's bringing a projector and Dallas will supply some video. It'll take place in a windowless room off some back alley west of the F&H. Needless to say, be there. Side bets on how many slices of greek pizza Alberto will consume.

OTT: Tinariwen, Assouf

Thursday Anticipation

T minus 42 days:


OTT: Violent Femmes, American Music

Boonen Pulls a Zabel

We were just talking about this. And now it happens again, right in front of Zabel himself, no less. I think the pictures speak for themselves:





Full report, photos, and results at CN and VN.

The day's big winner in the FGBC Pool was Uli Kunkel Powered by Karl Hungus (Adam). With both Cavendish and Zabel they pick up 600 points and stand on the top step of the podium. They're flanked by Team OYNG and a surprisingly competent You're Out of Your Element, Jonny, with 550 and 525 points respectively.


The Top 30:

1 Mark Cavendish (GBr) Team High Road - 4.59.15 (41.503 km/h)
2 Tom Boonen (Bel) Quick Step - all s.t.
3 Robbie McEwen (Aus) Silence - Lotto
4 Erik Zabel (Ger) Team Milram
5 Stefan Van Dijk (Ned) Mitsubishi-Jartazi
6 Fabien Bacquet (Fra) Skil-Shimano
7 Gregory Henderson (NZl) Team High Road
8 Wouter Weylandt (Bel) Quick Step
9 Daniel Musiol (Ger) Team Volksbank
10 Borut Bozic (Slo) Cycle Collstrop
11 Mattia Gavazzi (Ita) Preti Mangimi
12 Kristof Goddaert (Bel) Topsport Vlaanderen
13 Roy Sentjens (Bel) Silence - Lotto
14 Bjorn Thurau (Ger) Team Volksbank
15 Matthé Pronk (Ned) Cycle Collstrop
16 Graeme Brown (Aus) Rabobank
17 Sebastian Siedler (Ger) Skil-Shimano
18 Raynold Smith (RSA) Cycle Collstrop
19 Sjef De Wilde (Bel) Willems Veranda's Continental Team
20 Eduard Bogaert (Bel) Profel Prorace Continental Team
21 Jurgen Van Loocke (Bel) Willems Veranda's Continental Team
22 Christopher Froome (Ken) Barloworld
23 Kenny De Haes (Bel) Topsport Vlaanderen
24 Geraint Thomas (GBr) Barloworld
25 René Weissinger (Ger) Team Volksbank
26 Christoph Sokoll (Aut) Team Volksbank
27 Niko Eeckhout (Bel) Topsport Vlaanderen
28 Jarno Van Mingeroet (Bel) Mitsubishi-Jartazi
29 Harald Starzengruber (Aut) Elk Haus - Simplon
30 Maxime Vantomme (Bel) Mitsubishi-Jartazi


Today's Results:

Uli Kunkel powered by Karl Hungus (Adam) - 600
Obviously You're Not a Golfer (Charlene) - 550
You're Out of Your Element, Jonny (Jonny G) - 525
Is This Your Homework, Larry? (Arlene) - 360
A Roadie for Metallica (Bill) - 355
Shut the F*ck Up Jonny (Jonny B) - 350
White Russians (Victor) - 305
Little Lebowski Urban Achievers (Ian) - 280
Bunny Lebowski's Toe (Dallas) - 280
These Men Are Cowards (Paddy) - 250
Nice Marmot (Hal) - 250
That Good Sasparilla (Rachel) - 20
Vee Vant Ze Money (Andy) - 10
Shomer F*cking Shabbas (Donna) - 10
New Shit (Matt) - 5
Creedence Tapes (Chris) - 5
That Rug Really Tied the Room Together (Tomek) - 0
F*ck Sympathy (David S) - 0


Overall Standings:

Creedence Tapes (Chris) - 5400
Vee Vant Ze Money (Andy) - 5235
Is This Your Homework, Larry? (Arlene) - 4155
Little Lebowski Urban Achievers (Ian) - 3685
New Shit (Matt) - 3005
A Roadie for Metallica (Bill) - 2440
These Men Are Cowards (Paddy) - 2380
Obviously You're Not a Golfer (Charlene) - 2145
Uli Kunkel powered by Karl Hungus (Adam) - 2130
White Russians (Victor) - 2060
Nice Marmot (Hal) - 1930
You're Out of Your Element, Jonny (Jonny G) - 1720
That Rug Really Tied the Room Together (Tomek) - 1490
Bunny Lebowski's Toe (Dallas) - 1480
F*ck Sympathy (David S) - 1305
That Good Sasparilla (Rachel) - 1235
Shomer F*cking Shabbas (Donna) - 1080
Shut the F*ck Up Jonny (Jonny B) - 815

Full breakdowns here.

OTT: Shearwater, Whipping Boy

Final Nordic Cross Standings

Haiku Cross results and haikus are up over at Haiku Dave's site. Wish I could have been there. I did manage muster what little energy I had last night to compose a haiku, at least.

Riverwalk's flooded
Omand's Creek will soon be too
Springtime in the 'Peg

Based on Hal's scoring system, the final Nordic Cross standings are listed below. Full breakdown here. What's most impressive is the sheer length of this list. 42 people participated in at least one race. Not bad, boys and girls.

Chris - 760
Hal - 730
Ian - 620
Jonny G - 610
Dave E - 490
Johnny S - 430
Tomek - 380
Vic - 330
Paddy - 300
Darryl - 270
Luc - 260
Dave L - 200
Brad - 190
LeAnn - 180
Unger - 180
Albert - 180
Haiku Jeff - 160
Adam - 140
Gavin - 140
Dave D - 120
Naomi - 100
Matt K - 100
Curt - 100
Aiden - 90
Penner - 90
Colin - 90
Charles - 80
Dan K - 80
Jonny B - 70
Al - 60
Steve W - 60
Bill - 50
James - 40
Adrian A - 40
Jonny N - 40
Bruce - 40
Liam - 30
Tom K - 30
Paul B - 20
Julia - 20
Matt H - 10
Luke - 10

OTT: Chin Up Chin Up, We've Got to Keep Running

Minutes of Nordic Cross 2008 - season closed with Haiku Cross

present: dr. mister, colin, gianni, haiku dave, jonny g, jonny b (post race), tom k (very nice first appearance), jonny s, secretary, tenacious v. I think that's it. Please raise your hand if you were missed.

no matter ones' meta narrative, thanks is in order for a fine season. Haiku Cross ends this season. Celebration was thick in the air at the closing ceremonies. Haiku after rousing haiku was read (after some difficulties reading the cursive were ironed out)with rousing aplomb . In a stroke of brilliance, the haiku meister secretly served each racer with the very same theme, so we covered the width and breadth of "spring" as only the FGBC can.
"we are exactly
what we are, we are exact-
ly what we are yes"

Stay tuned for the results.

secretary

Bicycle Repairman

Courtesy of the poosher. He even rubs his hands together the same way. Spanish subtitles are a nice touch too.

Haiku Cross

9:30 at my house.

sunday race pics

at the start of the day it looked like it would only be three racers and a group of fans. funny thing happened once we all arrived at the race, the fans decided to also join the race.

racers for the day:
dr. h
dallas
ian
paddy
vic (entering his first race - he may be smitten)
major tom
alberto
haiku dave

good time was had by all. i think vic has thrown down the gauntlet for the other fgbc members - formal racing is a blast.

Paris - Roubaix: Final 20 km

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