Grass Track #2: The Good Photos

Thanks Stefan! Be sure to check out the others here.

TNR + Grass Track #2 Report

Gianni the Grass Track Czar came up with another fine program. And it was enjoyed by the best turnout ever. Counting the kids, there were around 20 racers. We are all now just a little bit more ready for cyclocross season to start. Or scared by the reminder of how much it is going to hurt. Good times.









The TNR got off to a late start on account of the good times at the grass track. But we did manage to ride over to the klubhaus. On the way over, we stopped to check in on the new project at Omand's Creek. It is always nice to see our tax dollars being put to good use. I wonder if anyone has any regrets about turfing the initial bridge proposal?



The Secretary and President joined us at the klubhaus. Which is good because we had lots of DarkCross business to go over. Things are going well. Very well. The VP Style also brought a report on the status of our socks. It seems they have hit a production snag. We are still waiting. The tunes were different. We believe this is the first time the English Beat has been on the hi fi at the F&H.

Grass Track is On

7pm at CMU, South Campus.

The forecast calls for good times.

TNR + Grass Track #2

Once again, we begin early with the round two of our homegrown Grass Track Series. So long as the weather cooperates. If the ground is too wet, we will have to postpone until next week. Hopefully the forecast is correct and the rain stops early enough to let the grass dry up a bit. We will head out to check the course later in the afternoon. Check back around 5pm of so to see if the race is on.

Gianni the Grass Track Czar has come up with the following program:



The TNR is not weather dependent. We will ride even if it's pouring buckets. There is lots to talk about as we begin the transition from the SOB to the FOKK.


9:30 pm at my place.

Back 40 Report

Good times, bad times, all rolled up into one hot and sweaty four hour package. Those trails are so sweet, it was hard not to get excited about dropping in for another taste of flowing singletrack every time we came through the start/finish area. But that brutish grassy climb at the end of each lap did not get any easier. So after lap 5, nobody was sad to be finished.

Charlene made sure the Dark Side got a taste of victory. But not without some polemica. Something about an illegal bike change or something like that. JP was also impressive, riding to a solid fifth-place finish. The rest of us were happy to settle for mid-pack mediocrity. Brad took home the Butter Belt and KK supplied some special SOB Ale, so everyone left happy.

We have no photos. But Johhny S stopped slapping high 5s and put down his ubiquitous can of Kokanee long enough to capture the only moment that really mattered.



With that, Operación MUERTO is done and we now officially have nothing but cyclocross on our minds. We are not exactly ready yet. But we're getting closer. In fact, the 5 lap race was really more like four consecutive cyclocross races. Half the season in one afternoon. Bring it on.

Thursday Anticipation: Special Friday Edition

Lots going on these days. It's pretty much a full time job working on our two cx races right now. Everything is coming together nicely. More on that soon. Lots more.

But before we get to cyclocross, we have to finish off Operación MUERTO. We will do that this weekend with the Back 40. It's always the best mtb race of the season that isn't a 24 hour race. And we expect it to live up to its reputation this year. The Tinker boys are excited to debut an all new course, now with more climbing! The forecast calls for good times.

Jonny G, the Cricket, Charlene and I are confirmed for the Dark Side. Maybe JP too. The J-Train and Little M will be riding for the Junior Dark Side. RRR is also showing up, with KK and the Impaler set to SMASH! the course. In case you have been living under a rock for the past 6 months, you will know that this is the big goal of the season for Brad. He's had his heart set on the Butter Belt for a while now. We will all be working for him, or at least not against him. Or will we? Jonny G might not be willing to let it go so easily.

TNR Report

The airport was circumnavigated. It was awesome.

TNR

No racing tonight. Just a straight up summer night ride.

Jonny G is back from his holidays. He has lots of good stories to tell.

9:30 pm at my place.

Geese sock news

Our order was supposed to ship August 1, but our rep. informed me there has been a production delay. Apparently, they ran out of black wool.

It should ship out Monday or Tuesday and he has promised an upgraded shipping speed at no additional cost to us.

More news as it happens...

Speedway Recon Report #1

Good times. Very good times. Our confidence that the speedway will be perfect for cyclocross was only confirmed last night. KK could barely contain himself.

Harry was a little more restrained. But he also loved it.



It will be quieter out there with a bunch of bikes racing around. And probably a little bit slower too. But it will be no less fun. The venue has all the elements to string together a perfect cyclocross course. And it will be especially great for spectators, with some of the best parts of the course bringing racers right into the very heart of the crowd. Call it heaven for hecklers. Brad the Impaler and Johnny S will not be able to contain themselves. Remember how much fun it was at the hill in Altona last year, both on the giving and receiving end of the attention? Here you can have all that and still take in the rest of the race. You won't have to stray too far from the beer garden either.



Spread the word, boys and girls. This is going to be a good one.

It was also nice to see that the lighting will be sufficient to hit all the areas we want to use.



JP and I are heading out there again this morning to see how all those sweet course features actually roll on bikes.

Thursday Anticipation

From Grass Track to the dirt track, there's lots of left turns going down these days. Preparations for DarkCross continue tonight with a visit to the Speedway to take in some stock car racing. It should be an interesting cross cultural experience.

There is still one ticket available for tonight. First one to drop a comment gets it. The racing starts at 7:30 pm. Send me an email if you want to coordinate rides.

Tomorrow morning JP and I are riding out to the speedway to start working on some potential course options. Join us if you like. We are leaving from my place at 9am sharp.

Cyclocross is only five weeks away. Yes, we are starting to get very excited.

More Grass Track Goodnes

Stefan Isfeld showed up with his fancy new camera. That was very awesome. Thanks Stefan and see you on Aug. 16.

Lots more photos here.

TNR Report

Good times at the grass track. The Cricket put on a show. He was pretty much unbeatable.

Post-race rehydration program at the TNR HQ. We were joined by the VP Style who reported that the socks have been shipped. That is exciting. There will be a sock party when they arrive. Stay tuned.

We rode straight to the klubhaus, where we talked about some stuff. The Impaler spent much of the time worrying about his long ride home. He was counting on the Secretary showing up. That did not happen.

Can someone remind me who is planning to show up at the Speedway on Thursday to watch some stock car racing? Remembering is hard. We have six tickets. We could probably get more.

TNR

Another week with an early start for some racing. Can you tell cyclocross season is just around the corner. If you haven't done so already, it's time to break out the cx bikes.

This week's TNR starts with a grass track appetizer. Gianni the Grass Track Czar has prepared a program we think everyone will enjoy.


It will take place at CMU's South Campus at 600 Shaftesbury (southwest corner of Grant & Shaftesbury). Enter the parking lot off of Shaftesbury. We will be on the field to the south. Racing starts at 7pm.

If, for some reason, you cannot make it to Grass Track, we will meet at my place at 9:30 pm. Just like we always do. Whether we ride or head straight to the klubhaus will be determined later.

Clasica San Sebastian

The SOB did not continue where it left off with the 2011 FGBC TdF Pool. Brad the Impaler laid a goose egg and sits in last place after the first race of the 2011 FGBC Fall Classics Pool. JP and Chris O laid goose eggs as well. Fortunately, there is lots of racing left.

King Andy did not lay a goose egg. He's back to being the vicarious racing stud we know and love. With contributions from Gilbert, Devenyns, and Fischer, he had 1025 points and easily won the first race of the campaign. Pete had 800 points to finish second. And Josh pushed Jonah off the third step of the podium. He's not so good at sharing. Josh had 640 points. Jonah had 635.

Full results and overall standings here.

Size up the competition by looking at all the teams in the pool here.

The next race is the Vattenfall Cyclclassic in Hamburg on August 21. By then, the 2011 FGBC Vuelta Pool by then will also be going. Good times.

Fall Classics Pool Entry Watch

It'll no doubt be smaller than the TdF Pool. That one's always huge. Something a little cozier isn't necessarily a bad thing. But there is still room for more. Get your teams in before 9am Saturday morning.

In so far:

Dallas
Chris H
Pete
Josh
Terry
Chris O
Jay
Brad

Thursday Anticipation: Friday Do-Over Edition

The was a poster up yesterday for a brief time. It was wrong. This one is right. Sometimes it takes a couple of tries.


Gianni the Grass Track Czar is back to help us have some fun on the grass and get ready for cyclocross season.

It starts next Tuesday at CMU. Consider it an appetizer for the Tuesday Night Ride.

The track will be on CMU's South Campus, 600 Shaftesbury Blvd. Bring the kids. Kids like grass too.

2011 FGBC Fall Classics Pool

Still wondering what to do with yourself now that the FGBC Tour de France Pool is done? Don't worry vicarious racing fans. We are back in action with the 2011 FGBC Fall Classics Pool. Here's your chance to follow the best one-day races from August through October.

Pick a team of nine riders using one of the three options listed below.

Option 1

2 Tier 1
1 Tier 2
1 Tier 3
2 Tier 4
3 Tier 5


Option 2

1 Tier 1
2 Tier 2
3 Tier 3
2 Tier 4
1 Tier 5


Option 3

3 Tier 2
3 Tier 3
3 Tier 4

The list of riders can be found here.

Send your team here by Saturday morning at 9am Winnipeg time.

Points will be awarded for the top 30 placings, from 350 for first place all the way down to 5 for 30th. Just like the Spring Classics Pool. There is only one monument in the fall--the Giro di Lombardia--for which a higher points scale will be used. But Clasica San Sebastian (just because I like it) and the Worlds Road Race will follow the same scale as the monuments.

The Calendar:

Clasica San Sebastian
Vattenfall Cyclassic
GP Ouest France-Plouay
GP Quebec
Paris-Bruxelles
GP Montreal
GP de Wallonie
Worlds ITT
Worlds Road Race
Coppa Sabatini
Giro dell'Emilia
Paris-Tours
Giro del Piemonte
Giro di Lombardia

St.Nob XC Report

Good times. Sweet trails. Another dogfest. Best TNR of the summer so far.

Wayne won the rusty spike. It wasn't even close. Overall standings were reconstructed around the fire. They look something like this.

Wayne
JP
Graham
Cricket
Kevin
Hal
Chris
Rene
Brad
Juan

Tinker Tim and Cousin Thomas showed up for the dogfest. We ran into the Hipster on Pembina while we were riding home. He was on the CB750. Very nice.

The confabulatory portion of the evening involved FolkFest, VW buses, Syrian garb, last year's family reunion with Kelly and Mike, the sexual preferences of giraffes, people causing accidents by stopping for geese to cross the road (it's geese), Portland East, CX Worlds in Louisville, and more.

Thanks Kevin for making it happen. We will gladly do it again next year. And thanks Jane for the brownies and for generally putting up with us.

Sadly, there are no photos. So it's almost as though it didn't happen.

Except that it did. Good times.

Meet Me in St Nob

This week's TNR is a special one. So special that we are announcing it already on Monday. Not only will we actually ride our bikes again after a two week break, we will race them. For the second year in a row, our friend Tinker Kev is hosting a race at his secret St Norbert trails. And then he's hosting dogfest in his back yard. Good times for sure.

KK won the rusty spike last year. Can he do it again this year? Or will someone else receive the trophy that is perhaps second only to the much ballyhooed Butter Belt? Maybe it will be a clean sweep for the SOB.

Bring your mtbs. And $5.

Others might consider learning from Kevin's fine example. We are always happy to entertain ideas that others may have for a Tuesday Night Ride. So long they meet our lengthy list of peculiar requirements, of course. We are pretty sure there are better ideas out there than the stuff we manage to come up with. Especially lately. So send us a proposal. If it's a good one, we might ride.

Tour de France Pool Final Update

It is finished. Graham took the vicarious sprint on the Champs-Élysées. With 320 points, he held off the hard charging pair of JP and Greg the Lunchbucket Kid.

Brad the Impaler also held on to win the overall race. Sorry Fraggle. You didn't really think Brad would let that one slip away, did you? He put the word out and his boys responded. Cavendish, Hinault, Renshaw, and Ignatyev all chipped in to make sure the man of the season took the vicarious yellow jersey over the small but bellicose red muppet. In reality, that vicarious yellow jersey translates into a pair of black FGBC socks. They have not yet arrived. But when they do, we will hold a small ceremony at the klubhaus. With photos. And maybe some podium kisses. If anyone would like to volunteer to go cheek to hairy cheek with the Impaler, please let us know. It could be the breakthrough you've been waiting for.

In the end, the Fraggle finished closer to third place than she did to first. That is because Graham put in a fast and furious finish of his own. He finished 71 points behind the Fraggle and just 160 points off the top podium spot.

At the bottom end of the standings, Laura wound up holding onto the lanterne rouge. But at least she managed to avoid the indignity of finishing with fewer than 1000 points. There is always a silver lining. We at the Dark Side are a glass half full bunch. That is why the President always leaves the klubhaus without finishing off his glass of Dark. He may not have had a say in his appointment as our figurehead. But at least he does his best to embody everything we stand for.

Full results and overall standings here.

Thanks for playing everybody. That was fun.

Without any vicarious racing, tomorrow will be a hard day. But the good news is that we get to do it all again soon. The Clasica San Sebastian kicks off the 2011 FGBC Fall Classics Pool on Saturday. The FGBC's Dept. of Small Stakes Gambling will provide more info on that shortly.

Summer of Fraggle?

The Fraggle has just one chin and her voice is not exactly squeaky. But she's doing her very best Cadel Evans imitation with an impressive late surge toward the top of the standings. She finished second behind Andrea yesterday. And she won today's ITT, ahead of Chris O and Chris D. She sits just 34 point behind Brad now. They share Evans, Cavendish, and Gilbert. But if Velits remains in 19th, that's 30 points right there. There is a chance the Fraggle might wreck the Summer of Brad by stealing the lead the Impaler has held for most of the race. Will she go after the Butter Belt next?

Graham has moved into third overall. Rachel drops down to fourth. And Chris O rounds out the top five.

Full results and overall standings are unavailable due to computer issues. Maybe later tonight.

Thursday Anticipation

Now that the 24 Hours of Falcon Ridge is done, our days might be described as 24 hours of DarkCross. There's lots of work going into our night time race at the speedway these days. It is going to be spectacular. Last one across the finish line please turn out the lights.


Thanks to the CycleChick and her minions for the kick-ass poster. Along with our BFF's from RRR, we've joined forces with Winnipeg's best cycling blogger to help us turn this one up to 11. Maybe even 12.

Check out the website for more information. Keep going back, because more information will be added as details emerge. And please prepare yourselves for lots of talk about this one.

Stage 18

Well, that was interesting. Andy unshit the bed he shit on stage 16. Actually, he pretty much smeared it all over the rest of the GC contenders. That was pretty awesome. At least as far as I could tell from checking Twitter every couple of minutes between artifacts in the King Tut exhibit. It's all wide open for tomorrow's last day in the mountains now. That should be fun.

Thankfully Greg the Lunchbucket Kid didn't toss around any feces. This is a family pool. But he did lay a licking on the rest of us. He had 230 points to win the stage. Rachel was second best, with 215 points. And Miriam rounded out the podium. 180 points for her today.

In the overall race, Rachel and Graham each moved up a spot and Hal dropped down from third to fifth.

Full results and overall standings here.

Stage 17

Greetings from the place they call Portland East. Unfortunately, I did not bring my bike. But at least they have internet here, so we can keep up with the vicarious racing.

Call it the Tour of Norway. Young Boss Hogg Jr gave it another go and got it done this time. A day after his compatriot Thor Hushovd won stole a stage out from under his nose. Only Greg the Lunchbucket kid had the wisdom to pick him. But Greg didn't even finish in the top three. King Andy won the stage. He had 210 points thanks to Mollema, Chavanel, and Evans. Steve L finished second with 205 points. Matt found himself on the final podium step after a 175 point day.

No big changes in the overall standings.

Full results and overall standings here.

TNR

Special Hotter than Hell edition.


We will ride. It will likely be another short one. We hope the Secretary will show up to provide us with an update on the status of his chest wound. At the klubhaus we will spend some time debriefing the 24 Hours of Falcon Ridge. And then we will proceed with the usual meandering and agenda free meeting.

9:30 pm at my place.

Stage 16

It was on stage 16 when the the Honorary Captain had a very bad day during the Best Tour Ever back in 2006. Today it was young Andy Schleck's turn to shit the bed. At least he wasn't wearing the yellow jersey when he did it. He's also lucky still to be ahead of whiny little El Pistolero. But he lost precious time to the Grimace otherwise known as Cadel Evans today, not to mention the surprise that is Tommy V.

Thor SMASHED home another win. He and his Garvelo boys were supposed to be THE team for the spring classics. Their reign of terror did not exactly work out as planned. Nor did Thor's first eight months in rainbows. But they are redeeming their season with a very good showing at the Tour. This was the fourth win of the race for the boys in Argyle and the second for Thor. Predictably, this has KK, Brad and the RRR gang very excited. Even those of us who slagged Thor for his weak early season showing and even weaker victory salute when he did nab his first win of the season are kind of excited for the guy. But we are having a hard time making sense of the fact that not a single one of those Thor lovers picked him for their vicarious racing squad. KK, the Impaler, and Duester Juice all went with the Manx Mouth over their man Thor. Let's hope, for their sake, that the nasty Norweigan won't find out. We would hate to see anything bad happen to our BFFs from the white side. Or is it red? Or Colorado Avalanche purple? Would you guys please make up your minds.

Halberto believed in Thor. He also believed in Ryder Hesjedal. Gianni believes in both of those guys too. And they were both duly rewarded for their loyalty today. Halberto was rewarded with 290 points and a stage win, his second of the race. And Gianni finished second. He had 270 points today. Steve H rounded out the podium with a 250 point performance.

In the overall race, Brad extended his lead over the Fraggle by 60 points. His 80 points from Ignatyev were better than the 20 Peter Velits bagged for the Fraggle. Hal has moved back into third overall, bumping Rachel and Graham down to fourth and fifth.

Full results and overall standings here.

24 Hours of Falcon Ridge Report

With most of the FGBC splitting their time between riding and working, it fell to JP to represent the Dark Side. He did the sweetest jersey in the world proud, winning the Men's 24 Solo race. Well done JP!

Photos courtesy of Paul Verwymeren.

JP had his game face on, so he missed out on all the fun. Fortunately, the rest of us were more than willing to pick up the slack. Between Paul's mid-race keg party, Olympia's midnight dogfest, and an impromptu late night party at the checkpoint put on by the Dark Side's youth movement, the good times meter was turned up to 11.

For race results and photos, visit the official race website.

Stages 13-15

The stage winners were Ian, Dan, and Terry.

Brad still leads the overall race by about 150 points over LeAnn. Rachel is in third place, another 250 points behind. Graham and Hal round out the top five. Way down at the bottom, Laura has taken hold of the lanterne rouge.

The race resumes tomorrow. Let's hope the GC battle gets a little more animated. At least Sammy Sanchez is trying.

Full results and overall standings here.

Stages 11 & 12

Sorry poolies. The 24 Hours of Falcon Ridge has all but taken over. Anyone who has not signed up, do so now. Registration closes in 2.5 hours.

Rachel won the last sprint stage before the "real Tour" began. And Andrea won the first mountain stage. Rachel had 235 points to finish ahead of Val and Chris O. They were tied with 220 points apiece. Andrea's win came courtesy of Sammy Sanchez and little princely Damiano Cunego. They combined for 220 points on the day. Rachel continued her recent run of good luck, finishing second with 205 points. Graham and Ian tied for third. They had 150 points each.

Brad still leads the overall race with LeAnn holding on to second place. But Rachel has moved into third overall. Graham and Chris O round out the top five.

Full results and overall standings here.

There is WiFi at the Falcon Trails chalet. We may get to watch some of the Tour. We may even get to update the standings. But it is also just as likely that will not happen.

TNR Report

There was a ride. It was short. Basically as short as the distance from my place to the klubhaus.

We hung up the last few 24 Hours of Falcon Ridge posters on the way there.

There was some confabulation at the klubhaus. It was awesome.

It was 80s night on the Tunes front. The Smiths started it off and a-ha closed it out. Beautiful.

We will do it again next week.

Stage 10

Terry won it with 270 points. Brad the Impaler continues his victory march through France. He had 230 points to finish 2nd. Patrick rounded out the podium. 225 point on the day for our resident Twitter allstar.

No change to the top three overall. Brad's lead over the Fraggle is 159 points. Hal is another 340 points back. Chris O and Rachel remain in the top 5 but have switched positions. And Marc passed the vicarious lanterne rouge back to Paul.

Full results and overall standings here.

TNR

Last TNR before the Spring Ride, Part II. We will get all of our teams sorted out at the klubhaus.

9:30 pm at my place.

Just when you thought it couldn't get any crazier

Vino lands in a tree and breaks his pelvis, femur, and elbow. Van den Broeck went down in the same crash and was served a concussion with a side of broken shoulder blade. Dave Z broke his wrist and Willems is also out of the race with a broken collarbone. Earlier in the race Vladimir Karpets bodychecked Clenbutador into a spectator. El Pistolero is fine. But Karpets might find himself sent home by the race commissaires. And as if that wasn't enough, a French TV car caught up to the breakaway and threw a viscious bodycheck into Juan Antonio Flecha, which in turn caused Flecha to send Highpants Hoogerland tumbling arse over tit into a barbed wire fence. Turns out Hoogerland's pants weren't quite high enough to avoid all the barbs. Yikes! It's badder than bad out there, boys and girls. As The Stranger would say, "Darkness warshed over the Tour de France - darker'n a black steer's tookus on a moonless prairie night. There was no bottom." Thank goodness they get a rest day tomorrow.

With Vino and VDB out of the race, Vanessa and Pete both lost their two GC men. Vanessa is down to just six riders, having lost Kiryienka earlier in the race. Jay is also down to six riders. Of the 46 teams in the pool, only 16 are still riding with all 9 riders. Ouch.

Thor did not SMASH today. He gave up his yellow jersey to the tongue wagging Thomas Voeckler. RRR is in mourning. But this should keep the French fans excited for the next couple of days.

Over in the Pool, the Fraggle ate a little more into the Impaler's lead. With 245 points, she won today's stage. Greg the Lunchbucket Kid was second with 195 points. Darryl and Val tied for third on the day. They had 170 points apiece.

There is no change to the top three overall. But Hal was one of 9 teams to lay a goose egg today. That is no way to win a stage race. Rachel is now just 22 points from the final podium spot. And Chris O has returned to the top five.

Full results and overall standings here.

Who is Super-Best?

Little M is, that's who. She soloed to the finish line with plenty of time to enjoy her first win of the 2011 FGBC Tour de France Pool, just like her man for the mountains, Rui Costa. In fact, with Gilbert on her squad as well, she had the day's two top finishers. Frank Schleck's 10th place finished helped a bit as well. In all, she grabbed 330 points in the first somewhat mountainy stage of this year's Tour. The Fraggle was second on the day. She picked up a little ground on the Impaler. But not that much, because Brad had 225 points to finish third on the stage.

Brad still leads the overall race. But LeAnn has jumped ahead of Hal and into second place. Rachel found her way into the top five for the first time in the race. She sits in fourth place, while Graham is back in fifth overall. Speaking of back, Marc has found his way back to the back of the pack.

Horner did not start today. There is a little known rule that prevents a rider from starting a stage if he's still unsure about whether he finished the previous day's stage. It sounds like Robert Gesink might be heading home as well. He's also suffering from a crash and lost a bunch more time today. If that is true, the worst hit teams would be those of John, Charlie, and Chris Y. They all went with Gesink and Horner as their two GC men. Ouch. The GC men continue to fall like American soldiers in the War of 1812. Maybe Thor will SMASH his way to Paris in the yellow jersey after all.

Full results and overall standings here.

Still Hungry

The TdF monsters keep gobbling up riders. Today's lunch featured a delicious combination of Beans and Wiggo. The loss of Tom Beans broke little J-Train's heart. That kid loves himself some Boonen. It helps that he confuses the peloton's chief party boy with Boone, NC, from which he has some good memories. The loss of Wiggins, meanwhile, will not be well received down in Durham. The anorexic looking Anglo was a key piece of the pool puzzle for both Chris and Jay. Naomi had him too. A number of other GC hopefuls found their Tour de France dreams flushed down the toilet. Hesjedal and Leipheimer both lost over 3 minutes, while Horner finished over 12 minutes back. Over. Just like that.

There were some riders who made it to the finish line in one piece. That Cavendish kid sure is fast. He finished it off nicely.

Over in the 2011 FGBC TdF Pool, Val and I shared the win with 275 points apiece. That was fun. Chris O had 265 points to finish second. That moves him back into fourth overall. Steve G moves down to fifth as Graham gets nudged out of the top five. The top three spots remain unchanged. That is starting to get a little old.

Tomorrow's finish in Super-Besse should change things up a bit. It's not the high mountains, but that uphill finish should see the contenders show up for some TV time.

Full results and overall standings here.

Thursday Anticipation

There is really only one thing we want to talk about this week. Namely this:


There is lots of talk about the race from the Dark Side and beyond. That is good. It will be better when that talk is taking place around the fire in the middle of the night while the race is going on. Good times, for sure.

Please note that the pre-registration window will slam shut in exactly one week from today. After that, you can still race. But it will cost you $75 instead of $60. No, it is not too early to sign up. Yes, I'm looking at you.

Most importantly, don't be like the Fraggle and neglect to play close attention to the dates. They're on the middle of the poster in big red letters and numbers. Just under the even bigger 24 with the photo of the Secretary riding through it. It would be a tragedy to find yourself double-booked next weekend. Especially if it means you have to miss the race for a family gathering in Altona. Even Altona is coming to the race this year. Or at least there's a team called ABES and BABES on the start list. That should be interesting.

He's Back

Young Boss Hogg Jr, that is. He burst onto the scene in a big way back in the spring of 2009 during the vicarious classics campaign. But he hasn't really lived up to the hype since then. Today's win on stage 6 serves notice that he is still a major talent. That was an impressive finish.

Another 2009 phenom who has been a bit quiet as of late is Greg, the Lunchbucket Kid. He also made a return to the top today. But not quite the very top. Greg had 265 points to finish second. First place went to a new face in the Tour de France Pool, namely Steve G. He picked up the stage win with a 270 point day. The Halfrican found himself on the final podium step with 225 points.

In the overall race, the top three remain unchanged. But Steve G has bumped Chris O out of fourth overall. Graham remains in fifth place. And Paul continues to hold the lanterne rouge. But Marc is still lurking in the same general vicinity.

Full results and overall standings here.

Tour de Carnage

Word of the SOB has evidently made its way to France. The Impaler's army put in another gritty showing today. Not only did they survive the crash filled stage intact. They netted our man of the season his second win of the race. Brad took home 395 points today and continues to leave the rest of us second guessing our picks. Chris O finished second, 40 points back. The Fraggle rounded out the podium. She had 325 points.

After five stages, Brad already has 1316 points. Hal and LeAnn remain in second and third. But Chris O has moved into fourth overall, with Graham also joining the top 5.

Full results and overall standings here.

Now, back to the Tom Beans watch. Let's hope that collarbone is still in one piece.

TNR Report

Cousin Thomas is back in town for the summer. We think that is probably good news. It will take some time to assess the damage he has incurred by way of his recent association with the heaviest bike club in the world.

The Norwood Flats chapter also showed up for the first time in a while. It is always a special treat to have the opportunity to ride with our brothers from the French side of town.



We rode out to the Harte trail to swallow some bugs and assess the new wakeboard park as a potential cx venue. It shows some promise. KK will investigate.



It is a long way out to the perimiter. So a break was called so that the lungs could be refreshed and the shorts rolled up.



It turns out there was a birthday boy after all. His name is Mr. President.



We all did our best Marilyn and serenaded him. He was more interested in talking about his recent flirtation with Lyme disease. It looks like they caught it in time. That is good news. And so, appropriately, he left with his glass half full.



The tunes were dialed out again. The Cars streak has ceded to a streak of 90s nights. That may require some action. As will the uniforms that our table thieving slo-pitch bretheren were sporting last night. The Secretary called geese and moved that our jerseys be removed from the rafters should that atrocity of so-called fashion find its way up there. It was quickly seconded and passed unanimously.

Last but not least, the evening began early this week with a special TRN appetizer. Jonny G, KK, Dr John, and I rode out to the white horse to accompany Arvid to the Leg. He looked strong. If anyone can do it, Arvid can.

TNR

No birthdays this week. Just a straight up summer night ride.

9:30 pm at my place.

But wait, there's more. This week we serve up a special pre-ride appetizer. Some of us are heading out to escort the sensation known simply as Arvid into the city. We will probably leaving sometime between 4 and 5 pm. There was talk of a short media gathering at the Leg when he passes through town, probably around 7pm give or take. If so, a good crowd would no doubt be appreciated. Check in at his website for updates.

Stage 4

Yikes, that was a nasty climb up to the finish. The fragile one eeked out a stage win over a grimacing and hard charging El Pistolero. Had he not reached for down for the imaginary gun he uses for his stupid little trademark victory salute, Clenbutador might have pulled off the win. As it is, he had to settle for second. I do like the sound of that.

Over in the FGBC Pool, Halberto won the stage and padded his overall lead. He had 275 points on the day thanks to contributions from Uran, Hushovd, Kloden, Rojas, and Hesjedal. A very well-rounded, blue collar effort, demonstrating that picking the big stars doesn't always pay big dividends. Halberto extends his lead up to 26 points over Brad the Impaler, who continued his strong early showing with a second-place performance at Mûr de Bretagne. The Halfrican grabbed the final podium spot by pipping the Fraggle at the line. But it's not all bad news for our bellicose little red muppet. She's moved up into third-place overall. Halberto and the Impaler are threatening to run away with it, though. The Fraggle is almost 200 points back.

Paul has handed off the lanterne rouge to Marc, another vicarious racing rookie.

Full results and overalls standings here.

Results, Finally

We have results. Sort of. I can't find any individual results for the TTT. Which means it's impossible to determine whether anyone got dropped. So all riders have been given the score of their team. Even Eisel, who we know was dropped. If anybody can find those individual results, please post the link in the comments so we can make the appropriate changes.

Brad the Impaler won Stage 1. Charlie took Stage 2. Dallas and Darryl shared the win in Stage 3.

Hal leads the overall race by just 6 points over Brad. John is in third place, another 122 points back.

The Lanterne Rouge is currently being held by Paul, aka Mr. Cycle Chick. With just 52 points, the vicarious racing rookie already finds himself over 600 points off the pace. Ouch. Welcome to the Pool Paul. It is a long race. No need to panic just yet.

Full results and overall standings here.

More results coming after today's stage is finished.

Where's the Beach? Report

Operación MUERTO began on Sunday in Stead. We are declaring it mission accomplished for the Dark Side. You will recall that the goal of this assignment was described as follows: "This notoriously demanding mission is dedicated to the task of cultivating an essential, if somewhat paradoxical, character trait of the successful cyclocross racer, namely the desire to keep riding hard even when things really start to suck." There was a lot of suckage. It sucked early and often. Cousin Adam got lost. Jonny G's legs seized up. I hurled. But we kept riding. And desiring. And in Jonny G's case, at least, we even kept smiling.



So it is safe to say that the three of us are just a little big closer to being prepared for cyclocross season. JP and Charlene did not appear to suffer any significant suckage. JP finished second overall and Charlene was the fastest woman in the 66 km race. That is good too. We are not opposed to finishing on he podium. Some might be concerned that this absence of relative suckage might come back to bite them in the ass come October. But we are confident those two will be okay.

This was also the first race of the SOB. The Impaler summed it up this way: "that was the hardest one yet."



Gianni rode the whole thing on a bike made for riding in winter. It was not winter. Not even close. So it seemed an odd decision. But those fffat tyres did have their place. His rig may have slowed him on the steep, loamy hills that Lindsay managed to carve into the course. But in the infernal 3km sandbox that closed out each lap, he just floated right over top.

The Pool is Full

Specifically, we have 46 teams playing in the 2011 FGBC TdF Pool. Take a look yours and check out the competition here. Let the second guessing begin.

There is still quite a bit of data entry to do. There are also birthdays to celebrate and races to race. It will take a little while before we have any results. But if today's stage is any indication, we are in for a very interesting three weeks. Hold tight. This will be good.

TdF Pool Entry Watch

[Update: 12:21am] We seem to be growing by fives. Steve G, Laura, Chris Y, Andy, and Val have waded into the pool. We are now at 37. Only 7 more hours to go.

[Update: 6:17pm, back from Canada Day street party] Five more teams: Paddy, Naomi, Vanessa, Terry, and John W. That brings us to 32. The Honorary Captain has declined our invitation. Just over 12 hours left to get your teams in.

[Update: 1:45 pm] Entries continue to flow into the pool: Charlie, Kim, Patrick L, Darryl and JP are in. That brings us to 27.

Because peer pressure makes the world go 'round.

We are off to a strong start so far, with over 20 teams submitted in the first 24 hours. Let's hope the holiday here in Canuckistan doesn't slow things down too much.

Remember, the deadline is bright and early tomorrow morning.

Here's the roster of teams submitted so far. The list will be updated throughout the day.

Chris H
Dallas
Ali
Matt H
Steve H
Mark R
Chris D
Graham
KK
Vic
LeAnn
Ian
Hal
Marc
Auckland
Andrea
Paul
Adam
Brad
Pete
Steve L
Chris O
Charlie
Kim
Patrick L
Darryl
JP
Paddy
Naomi
Vanessa
Terry
John W
Steve G
Laura
Chris Y
Andy
Val