Boo

I have not been biking. I have not been doing anything but working, getting my ears yanked off by a toddler, and sleeping poorly. I moved to a house across town. It's at the foot of a pretty monster hill. Why they even use this hill in the tour of california. It's pretty big. Da(umb) Robot gets a boner over this.

I do not. I am now an even worse cyclist and my move from a triple to a double has turned into an epic fail. I went from just barely being able to do moderate hills, to not even being able to make it up the hill to my house. So I did what anyone with some cash burning a hole is his pocket would do. I bought a new cassette.

However, I did something that only I would do. I bought a 14-23 cassette. Which is much harder to climb with than the 11-25 I currently have. Not the little sprocket dummy. The big one. Ugh. Good thing the place I bought the cassette from will take it back.

Oh and it gets worse. I really stopped paying attention to this blog. Then I return and find out that Da Robot has taken it into a new hardcore realm of cycling that I'm pretty sure will make fun of me and spit espresso at me when I try to click the "Publish Post" button in a few minutes.

Shit, I'm just trying not to have a heart attack on every steep hill and my blogmate is a fanatic who may or may not have designs on kidnapping euro cyclists, keeping them in a well in his basement and having them rub lotion on themselves then putting the lotion back in the basket. You think I'm being a funny guy, but I'm serious. The good news is I don't think he checks this blog anymore either. So maybe I'll try to wuss this thing out.

Roubaix, bitches! Roubaix!

Moser

I've taken delivery of an early '80s Moser 51.151, the bike released to commemorate Moser's setting of a new record for the Hour, 51.151 kilometers.

It's a little '80s ugly, and it's built out with Shimano 600 components, so I'm going to try to rework it with Campagnolo bits and pieces, but I'm WICKED FUCKING PSCYHED.

I had been mulling dropping a chunk of change on something new and shiny and high tech, but in the end, I thought it better to spend a little money on something old and classic and still quite good.

I bought a bike, rather than a fetish.

I'll get a picture for you.

More on the UCI Radio Ban

Just a follow on from my comments about the UCI radio ban:

Cycling News - Michael Barry

It's nice to hear a pro rider saying the same things I was thinking.

More inspiration

I could literally watch this kid ride all day, then get a quick nap, get up, and watch him ride some more.

He's not human. He's a robot designed to kick ass.

Just some quick comments

1) The UCI has moved to eliminate 2-way radios from the pro peloton. I won't get into all the pros and cons of this move, but there's an article here on VeloNews about how Johan Bruyneel and Bob Stapleton think it's a bad idea. They say riders will be less safe without radios, but the truth is, in my opinion, Bruyneel and Stapleton just fear what will happen if they can't exert complete control over what their riders do on race day. Somewhere Bernard Hinault is chuckling to himself.

2) I'm happy for Cadel Evans. I've always liked him as a rider, even when he's come off as a whiney prick. Full disclosure, Evans is of Welsh descent, and I'm a Welsh robot, so he's been a natural favorite for me. Anyway, it's good to see him come good at the end of the season, and I'd add, not all too surprising that he wins his biggest race, not supported by the sad cast of Silence-Lotto, but rather by the aggressive riding of his countrymen. Note to Silence-Lotto, this guy can win big races if you support him properly.

3) There's talk Astana will lose their ProTour license. Duh. If you're running a show where teams are allowed to go without paying their riders for months at a time (keep in mind this is the very top division of pro cycling) and keep your license, you're running a pretty crappy show. Full disclosure on this one, I want Alberto Contador out of that team, so we can see him race Schleck, Wiggins, Evans, Menchov, Armstrong, et. al. on an even playing field, instead of hamstrung by a crew of cut-rate Kazak cyclists led by unrepentant doper Vinokourov.

4) I find myself plunging deep into fall without the benefit of a single road bike in my collection. What happened? How did I arrive here? And how can I solve this intolerable problem?

Cross Season

So, it's cross season. I've never ridden cross competitively, though my everyday bike is a cross bike, set up fixed for city bombing. I've had it off road, and it's what we, in New England, call "wicked fun."

So in honor of cross season, here's a video I ripped off of the Embrocation blog:

SCHOOL OF CROSS from Dave Christenson on Vimeo.