One of the interesting dramas that played out both on the road and in the press was the tension between Lance Armstrong and Alberto Contador. (This Yahoo Sports article sums it up if you don’t know what I’m talking about.) I know that there were two big egos at play and this rivalry/tension/whatever-you-want-to-call-it, but was it nothing more than that? There was something in the back of my head telling me that there was more.

Everything I heard, or read from Lance during the Tour that seemed negative towards Contador, including his post-Tour Tweets, centered around teamwork. Even on the podium, when Astana won the overall team victory, you can see Lance is surrounded by the team, whereas Contador is off on the end.

Then I got the e-mail newsletter from Livestrong.com that provided the “other shoe” that I was looking for. From Chris Carmichael’s wrap-up:

He may not have the same leadership style as Armstrong, but for the moment he has the strength to win anyway. If there’s an improvement for Contador to make, it’s in his ability to marshal the efforts of his teammates and create an environment within his team that breeds unity and loyalty.

So their conflict did center around teamwork. Sure there were too many cooks in the kitchen, but Armstrong played the supportive role of a teammate when Contador needed it, which shows that this wasn’t all about Lance. Contador can’t say the same thing. A perfect example is Lance’s compliments of this year’s performance.

“Contador is that good, so I don’t see how I would have been higher than that, even in the other years,” said Armstrong, who won the Tour seven consecutive times from 1999 to 2005 before retiring. “I think his performance this year would have beaten my performances in ’01 and ’04 and ’05.”

Of course I don’t see this rivalry as a bad thing. Quite the opposite. I think the 2010 Tour de France is going to be epic! Lance will be riding with his new team Team Radio Shack and the powerhouse juggernaut support team that he’s built up over the last decade. Contador’s future is not so clear.

As of this writing, it’s unclear which team he will be riding for. I believe he still has a year on his contract with Astana, but it’s expected that most of the team will go with Lance. So even if he stays with Astana, it would be in name only. Couple that with the fact that both of his Tour wins have come under the supervision of Johan Bruyneel and, at least according to Wikipedia, “Contador dropped out of school at the age of 15 and has very little education” and I see Contador’s assets getting more and more diminished.

However it plays out, I can’t wait for it to play out at the 2010 Tour de France. An epic rivalry at an epic sporting event, with epic coverage courtesy of Versus means nothing but “Epic win” in my book any day. I get giddy with excitement just thinking about it!

The chief reason that I’ve enjoyed reading Dugard’s blog is his writing style. It’s almost effortless and yet it inspires me to push harder and do better. Granted, I haven’t put my butt in the saddle yet as a result of reading his pity prose, but it has bolstered me to do better in work and in the general sense of my day.

Last week Martin had an article that particularly inspired me. It’s entitled “Boston – Roubaix” and I encourage you to take a moment to read it — it’s a good one.

Enjoy!

Luckily, I’m not doing this alone. I am on a team called “KC Cruisers” and we’re riding for Kathleen Cullen, a friend who works for the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation, who was diagnosed with MS about 13 years ago. She’s unable to ride, so we’re riding on her behalf and I need your help.

Obviously the purpose of the ride is to raise money, so I’m asking everyone who reads my blog to make a small donation. Believe it or not, even a small $5 donation is a big help and is greatly appreciated. The only catch, is that it has to be done this week. All you have to do is go to this link and select the “Sponsor Me” image on the right side of the page. From there you can make your pledge online without having to create an account or do anything fancy. What’s nice, is that you can also post a message that will appear on my sponsorship site.

Last year, my goal was to raise $500 and thanks to the readers here, we were able to raise $695.00. It just goes to show you how donations can really add up. This year I’m hoping to raise another $500, so please consider a small donation. $5 really can make a difference and every little bit helps.

Thanks in advance!

Obviously the purpose of the ride is to raise money, so I’m asking everyone who reads my blog to make a small donation. Believe it or not, even a small $5 donation is a big help and is greatly appreciated. The only catch, is that it has to be done today. All you have to do is go to this link and select the “Sponsor Me” image on the right side of the page. From there you can make your pledge online without having to create an account or do anything fancy. What’s nice, is that you can also post a message that will appear on my sponsorship site.

I know that with Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, there’s a been a great deal of charity fund-raising that has probably left most of us feeling tapped out. I know that I feel that way personally, but I would encourage you, if at all possible to make a donation that you feel you can afford. $5 really can make a difference and every little bit helps. Thank you.

This is my second year riding BRAT and this year we will begin at Harrison Bay State Park in Chattanooga and follow along the Cumberland Trail. This year’s ride will overnight at four State Parks and two rural towns. Riders can expect lots of fantastic scenery as they dart in and out of the beautiful Sequatchie Valley while following near the Cumberland Trail. Suffice to say this year’s ride is going to be H i L l Y.

I’ll be gone for a week, but I’m hopeful that I can post a few updates and, dare I say, maybe even a travelogue as I make my way around southeastern Tennessee. Until then, please feel free to make a pledge for my ride on the “Jack & Back” at this link and I’ll see you when I get back next weekend.

The 10-Mile loop is a ride a discovered after moving into our home a few years ago. I was looking for a loop that could give me a decent mileage and also provide a little challenge along the way. After riding and driving around one week, I stumbled upon this route and it’s been my go to route ever since. Being just at 10 miles, it’s easy to accomplish in an hour, but you’ll definitely get a workout along the way.

There are several steep hills along the route which offer a challenge for those looking for hills. The first climb is a fairly small, low grade that’s a little deceptive. It starts just after the school and continues around the corner of Blue Hole onto Pettus. It’s not a hard hill per se, but when your legs haven’t had a chance to warm up, it can be a bit of a bear. There’s also a couple of friendly dogs that sometimes give chase to help crank up your adrenaline at this point too.

Once you turn left onto Old Hickory, there’s a nice downhill to provide a pay off for your climb, but once at the bottom, there’s a slight grade all the way to a nice “pop” of a hill after the turn onto Clubertson. You definitely come out of the saddle for this small climb, but once on top, you’re greeted with a nice twisty descent that snakes down to Mill Creek.

This is one of the best parts of the route. The road hugs Mill Creek and in the mornings it’s not uncommon to find ducks and other small birds welcoming the morning with a brisk bath. There’s only one small “pop” of a hill on this road, so it makes for a nice leisurely ride all the way till you get to Nolensville road.

Up until this point, all the roads that we’ve been on have been small country roads with very little traffic. Nolensville road is a highway and thus offers a good deal of traffic. However, for the stretch of this ride, there is a very nice shoulder that is about the width of two bicycles. So for those riders that are a little traffic shy, you’ll have plenty of room in which to feel comfortable. The road itself only has one hill right as you turn onto Nolensville, the rest is downhill, or flat all the way to the county line where I usually take a small break before turning left onto Pettus.

At this point, you’re probably thinking, “But weren’t we just ON Pettus?” The way Old Hickory and Pettus intertwine, it can be a bit confusing, but we’re now at the point where Pettus terminates. Looking at a map will perhaps shed some more light, but regardless of what the road is called, you’ll probably change it’s name to a four-letter word after attempting this climb.

The climb up Pettus is a bit of a bear. In fact, I would say that it’s above a “rolling hill” and could even be classified as somewhat mountainous. It’s not that you’re climbing a mountain mind you, it’s just the grade and scale of the climb is more akin to what you would find in a mountainous region. What adds insult to injury is that when you think you’ve reached the top, it actually fades upwards and you find that you’re only halfway up to the top. For those that stop at the halfway point, you’ll be greeted with a spectacular view of the eastern edge of Williamson county.

Once at the top, it’s time for the payoff and what a payoff it is! There’s about a mile of downhill, that doesn’t require a single pedal stroke until the next intersection. There a no dogs to spook you and you’ll usually be doing around 35 miles an hour so cars don’t present much of a problem either. Once at the intersection, you turn left onto Old Hickory for a brief spell before the road changes back to Pettus. During this stretch, there’s just one small rise, but before we can call it a day, there’s one more challenge left on Pettus road.

Once Old Hickory turns and Pettus rejoins us, there’s a nice hill that will heat up your legs after the cool descent you just enjoyed. That’s the bad news, the good news is that you’re almost done with your climbing and the fastest downhill is just around the bend. You’ll have a nice decent over your most recent climb and your momentum should carry you up the next climb. Then, as you round the next bend, get into a tuck and hold on tight and you scream down the next hill. Riding solo, I’ve reached 40 mph and most recently with Holly on the tandem, we hit 47 mph!

Sailing down Pettus, your descent will speed you on down the road and back across the creek requiring hardly any effort on your part. Just as you’re approaching Blue Hole again, there’s a small hill that continues thorough the turn. You’re now in the home stretch and after a few rolls, you’ll have one more hill before you can turn into the subdivision.

With the ride almost over, it’s easy to relax and regale at all the cycling you’ve just done, but if you’re coming to my house, you now have your biggest obstacle – my street. The big climb on Pettus is longer, but the hill on my street is steeper. Since it comes at the end of the ride, it can be a real humbling experience trying to climb it. If you have a “granny gear” you’ll want to use it unless you’re in excellent climbing shape and can hustle up it. There have been rides that were nice and cool and I haven’t sweat a drop until I reached my street. Once at the top, I’m usually drenched from the climb.

Once you’re on top though, it’s just a short stretch until you’re at my house. If it’s morning, then bacon and eggs await with fresh French Press coffee, or espresso. If it’s afternoon, then a nice cold beer, or soft drink is just sitting in the fridge, but the best part is if it’s a hot day. If it’s hot, then we usually hop in the pool and relax on a float letting the strain of the ride drift away.

So there you have it. That’s my 10-Mile loop and a little bit of what you can expect on the ride. If you’re ever in town, give me a ring and maybe we can take her for a spin!

10-Mile Loop Ride Map (88k)

Not much to go on, but given that the event was free certainly nothing to complain about. My Mom works for State Parks and e-mailed Randy who explained that there would be full SAG vehicle support (No one knows what “SAG” really means or where it came from; in this respect it’s kind of like “Ham”. According to one definition, it is an abbreviation for “Support And Gear.” SAG Vehicle drivers pick up broken down bikes and tired riders.) So it sounded like a great ride and I was really sorry that I wasn’t able to participate.

Holly and Mom both registered and I helped them get their bikes ready for the event. I tried to get them to train some for it, but with only a week, there wasn’t a lot of time. Mom got in two 10-mile rides and Holly only had 1 10-mile ride. Even with very little mileage under their belts, both ladies were ready to go at 6:00am yesterday as I loaded them up. I learned later that they were a little nervous about the ride since I wasn’t able to go, but they showed no signs of it as they were leaving.

I checked up with them a couple of times, but it wasn’t until they got home that I was able to get all the details. They said that there were about 20 riders as best as they could tell. Everyone else passed them, as they were the slowest in the bunch, but they enjoyed the ride nonetheless. Randy Whitworth, the coordinator for the ride, took excellent care of them and the SAG van was always nearby checking up on them. This made me really glad to hear. Since most of the roads were rural, having that level of support made them feel like they were never alone.

They took plenty of rest breaks and thanks to Randy’s support had plenty of extra snacks, water and Gatorade. They ended up having lunch at the Three Corners Market & Deli, where they “had great hamburgers”, according to Holly.

After approximately 5 1/2 hours in the saddle, they made it to the end of the ride, which ended up being around 55 miles all total. Both of my ladies were exhausted, sore and ready to crash when they made it back to the house. They were surprised that they made it all the way to the end, but knew that it took everything they had to make it there.

All in all, they both said that they had a good time. Even though they took a long time on the ride, Randy and the rest of the Henry Horton staff never made them feel rushed. They were the last ones in, but they were made to feel as if they were the first. Neither of them will probably get on a bike for the next week, but both of them said that they would like to do another ride in the future, which is a good sign.

Hopefully I’ll be able to ride with them the next time. Speaking of next time, it seems that there’s another 50-mail ride at Henry Horton in September, but it’s a little tougher. Randy says it’s a little bit more hilly, but who knows, if it works out schedule wise, we’ll try and make it. In the meantime, I applaud Randy Whitworth and the staff at Henry Horton State Park for putting together a wonderful April ride and for taking such special care of their riders.

Course Map
Since there wasn’t much on the ride, I took the liberty of using Google Maps, to create the course path that they took. If you want to use Google Maps to browse around on your own, you can use this link. Otherwise you can download the image of the course route that I created.

2005 Duck River Rendezvous Course Map (193k)

Looking over the site, it appears that they’ve made a lot of updates. Although everything is in Adobe Acrobat PDF format, they’ve posted the Release Form, the Daily Rider Registration, Route Description, details on the Accommodations, Food, and even a mini FAQ. The one item missing from the details is a decent map. Wanting to get some idea of the general route, I decided to make my own.

I pointed my browser over to Google Maps and found the starting point, which is at Harrison Bay State Park. Taking a series of screen shots, I created a composite image in Adobe Photoshop. I then drew a path for the rough course, added numbers for each night’s location and then I was done. Piece of cake. Yeah right!

When everything was said and done, I think the composite map does give a good overview of the general direction of this year’s course. There’s no elevation information provided on the map, but rest assured it’s very hilly. Anyway, hopefully the work I’ve done will help other people who may be interested in getting a “big picture” perspective, so I’ve posted it here on the weblog.

2005 BRAT Overview Map (188k)

Hope to see you there!

Mr. Ashby -

Thanks for reading and I appreciate the letter.

Please excuse me if I’m a little short in my response as I’ve been doing corresponding with writers for the last couple of weeks about this subject.

First, you raise several valid points, although I did make a concerted effort to watch the Tour on OLN and read several articles before my own “bottom of the barrel” commentary.

While winning the Tour de France requires incredible mental and physical stamina, which I respect immensly, it doesn’t change my opinion on the sport itself. Maybe by not caring for cycling you (and many others) perceive that as a slight toward Lance Armstrong.

Lance Armstrong has done more than anybody, including Greg LeMond, to raise awareness of cycling in the U.S., you are correct. Yet, it’s still a sport that many Americans only pay token attention to, and it’s 3 weeks out of the year.

If you believe that football is nothing more than “just a bunch of grown men playing grabass,” that golf is “nothing more than over-privileged men hitting a silly ball with a stick” and hockey is “really nothing more than a bunch of ballerinas on ice skates pushing each other around” that is every sports fan’s right, just as it’s mine to see cycling as nothing more than “riding a bike.”

Is winning six Tour de Frances an incredible feat? Absolutely. Physically, it’s much tougher than winning the Masters or even Wimbledon. However, I happen to believe that while it is certainly newsworthy, cycling is a fringe sport in this country and to call it the greatest athletic accomplishment in sports, as many have, is hyperbole.

Again, I appreciate the comments and I hope you will write again in the future.

dave

____________________________________________

“Eat your cereal with a fork and do your homework in the dark.”

Clearly I wasn’t the only one who had written in on this subject, which I was glad to see. I was also surprised that the tone of his reply was very open, honest and somewhat balanced. I think his article would have been much better had he used the tone in his letter in his original article. Anyway, I penned a response and here it is:

Dave,

I have to say that I was quite surprised and also quite pleased to receive such as fast response from you. Thank you for taking the time to respond to my letter.

What strikes me most from your reply is how open and honest it is. Had your article been written with such care, I don’t think you would have had quite as much follow-up correspondence – “I’ve been doing corresponding with writers for the last couple of weeks about this subject.” Yet, I’m very thankful that you’ve taken the time to do due diligence.

You’re reply is spot on for the most part. I too agree that in the American consciousness, cycling is a fringe (although I prefer the term “niche” ) sport. Lance has raised awareness for the Tour de France, but for the majority of Americans cycling is as you said, “3 weeks out of the year.” Where as my focus is hoping OLN will provide full coverage for the Vuelta a Espana (http://www.lavuelta.com/), I would bet most Americans won’t be thinking about cycling again until next July. I wish it were more popular, as I’m sure soccer fans wish their sport were better received in the US, but this is our lot in life for fans of niche US sports.

Concerning my comments regarding football, golf and hockey, they were meant as an illeration and I hope that you took them as such. I have a healthy respect for all three sports and actually enjoy watching two of them. As stated at the start of my letter, I respect your right, or any person for that matter, to dislike any sport. My issue was more to the overall tone of your piece, which did appear to be a slight against Lance. Your response clears up this point. I was happy to hear that you feel that Lance winning 6 Tour de France victories is “an incredible feat”. On the whole, your e-mail response shows balance and fairness. I’m just sorry that this wasn’t conveyed in your article.

I see your point regarding “cycling is a fringe sport in this country and to call it the greatest athletic accomplishment in sports, as many have, is hyperbole.”, in that since it is a niche sport in the US, why should it get so much ink and so much hype? However, I can’t help but think that you may be looking at this through the eyes of “only US sports matter”. Most of the US coverage regarding Lance has done so in a global context and within that context I find it fitting.

Although cycling isn’t as popular as American Football, that shouldn’t necessarily exclude it from these types of comparisons. I think if you stack up the Tour de France against the Super Bowl, or any other sporting world championship, you have to admit that the level of dedication, and physical feat required to win places it very high in the ranks of athletic accomplishments. Yet at the same time, I think trying to compare different sports is akin to comparing apples and oranges.

Is Lance’s accomplishment a greater accomplishment than say that of Mario Lemieux? Well, I suppose that’s best left for debate around the water cooler, or the local sports bar isn’t it?

Once again, thank you for your fast and fair response.

—

Michael T. Ashby
http://www.mashby.com

So at this point it would seem that we’ve both aired our differences and we are agreeing to disagree, which seems perfectly reasonable to me. I don’t know that he’ll respond again, but if he does, I’ll be sure to keep you updated.

Overall, I’m somewhat surprised and happy with this whole “letter to the editor” business. It worked better than I thought it would and I think I may try it again the next time a burr gets under my saddle.

Just in case ANG Newspapers takes Schoen’s article off of their web site, here it is in it’s entirety:

Cycling is just not a big deal
by David Schoen
Monday, July 26, 2004 – 7:09:36 AM PST

POOR LANCE ARMSTRONG. He won his record sixth straight Tour De France and everybody is dogging on him. He doped. He is too military in his approach. He wears the same type of bicycle shorts as the schlock at the gym who does the stair climber while reading the latest John Grisham book.

Armstrong should be grateful sports fans are talking about him at all.

It’s not as though he is winning six Super Bowls in a row or even a record number of Masters titles. It’s flippin’ cycling! Who cares? Lance rides a bike.

We might as well talk about the woman who won her fifth consecutive log rolling gold medal in the Great Outdoor Games while we’re at it.

OK, so Armstrong has the distinction of being the greatest bike rider ever. Well, yippee.

Let’s all do cartwheels and spirit fingers. I know all those kids who wanted to grow up and be like Barry Bonds are ditching their bats and are now saving their money for a yellow jersey and a 10-speed.

I will applaud Armstrong for beating testicular cancer after being diagnosed with the disease in 1996.

It’s not as if he is the only athlete to do so, however. Mario Lemieux underwent radiation treatments for lymphoma in 1993, missed two months of the season and still won the NHL scoring title (160 points in 60 games) along with the league MVP. And didn’t Greg LeMond overcome a gunshot wound to win the Tour de France?

Not to be cruel, but take away the human interest aspect of Lance’s story and all you really have is Kevin Costner trying to win the Hell of the West in “American Flyers.”

We’re supposed to care about the Tour de France because Lance is winning, yet that’s precisely the reason nobody watches.

It’s boring. There’s no suspense, no drama. Armstrong is a victim of his own success.

We already know he is going to win and our collective opinion of his accomplishments will not change no matter how many yellow jerseys Lance captures.

Hey, old guys

Ricky Williams may have thrown every fantasy football keeper league into a tizzy when he announced his retirement from the Dolphins (good thing I don’t have him), but I’d rather see a guy leave too early than stick around too long.

I respect what Barry Sanders and Jim Brown did. Emmitt Smith on the Cardinals? He is the NFL’s all-time leading rusher and won three Super Bowls, yet he felt the need to hang on for a couple more years to try and stick it to his critics. Why?

Nobody wants to see a remix of O.J. Simpson with the 49ers or Reggie White with the Carolina Panthers.

Just walk away!

Bowling for Johannesburg

A colleague at ANG told me a story this weekend about a Little League baseball coach being ejected for getting his lineup card back from the scorekeeper. Apparently there’s a new rule that states something about players and coaches being prohibited from speaking with anybody outside the dugout.

Maybe they should institute that rule in South Africa, where a soccer referee whipped out a gun and shot dead a coach who questioned one of his calls in a local match on Sunday.

One of these days, we’ll realize sports shouldn’t be a matter of life and death.

Whatsamatta U

This week’s letter comes from Bill Cantillo of Castro Valley:

“Great piece about the woeful Clips. I loved the Skippy reference. … Do you remember what a babe Mallory was?”

Oh, absolutely. Mallory Keaton (Justine Bateman) was just behind Samantha Micelli (Alyssa Milano) and Kelly Bundy (Christina Applegate) for’80s TV hotties.

David Schoen can be reached at

dschoen@angnewspapers.com

Reprinted without permission from The Daily Review Online [link]

After reading the above article, I just couldn’t sit idly by. Although I’ve never written a letter to the editor before, I sat down and drafted the following reply. I sent it both to David Schoen as well as the Sports Editor and the News Editor via the ANG Newspaper feedback form Here is my reply for your reading pleasure:

Mr. Schoen,

It’s clear from your article entitled “Cycling is just not a big deal” that you do not enjoy the sport of cycling. Although I’m sorry that you do not share my enthusiasm, I respect your right to dislike and even loathe the sport. However, I do not respect the manner in which you chose to voice your disdain.

The acrid style in which you penned your comments may be your writing method. Maybe you’re the Bay Area version of Howard Stern and thus rely on shock in which to illicit readership. I’m not familiar with your work, so this is only a guess, but my point is that this shallow form of journalism is appalling.

You trash the sport of cycling as well Lance’s accomplishments, but it’s clear that you’re doing so from ignorance. You aren’t familiar with the sport, nor do you understand it, yet instead of seeking to learn what all the fuss is about, you simply choose to voice your callowness through spiteful bile ridden statements such as:

- “It’s not as though he is winning six Super Bowls in a row or even a record number of Masters titles.”

- “Not to be cruel, but take away the human interest aspect of Lance’s story and all you really have is Kevin Costner trying to win the Hell of the West in ‘American Flyers.’”

- “We’re supposed to care about the Tour de France because Lance is winning, yet that’s precisely the reason nobody watches.”

It’s one thing to simply comment on the fact that you don’t care for another sport, but it’s a whole other matter to go to the lengths that you’ve gone in order to “trash talk” it. I wonder how you would feel to read an article trashing one of your beloved sports, such as Football, by someone who just “didn’t get it.” Would you respect their opinion? Would you applaud their work?

To take this to it’s logical conclusion, let’s pretend that all Lance does is “ride a bike”. Using your rationale, then would it be fair to say that football is nothing more than just a bunch of grown men playing grabass? Is golf nothing more than over-privileged men hitting a silly ball with a stick? How about hockey? Is that really nothing more than a bunch of ballerinas on ice skates pushing each other around?

Personally, I find golf to be a little slow, but I chalk that up to the fact that I “just don’t get it”. I don’t see how people can watch it on television, but I understand that a lot of people do. To each his own. By the same token, I may not enjoy the sport of golf, yet I have to respect the efforts of Tiger Woods, or Phil Mickelson in their chosen profession.

To specifically address some of your issues, please consider the following:

- “…nobody watches”
Roughly one million spectators gather along the Tour route each day. In addition, 50 million fans watch television coverage each day. The Tour is considered the third most watched sporting event behind World Cup soccer and the Super Bowl.”
Trek Bikes

- “It’s boring. There’s no suspense, no drama. Armstrong is a victim of his own success.”
Armstrong has done more to raise the awareness of the sport in the US than any other cyclist in history. OLN began covering the Tour back in 2001. In 2003 their viewership doubled and this year it doubled yet AGAIN. Clearly millions of people find the sport massively exciting.
Sports Illustrated

- “We already know he is going to win…”
Lance won the 2003 Tour by 61 seconds. He overcame illness, equipment failure, falls and dehydration during that years race. After 21 stages and over 80 hours in the saddle he won by a meager 61 seconds. Every 5-time Tour de France winner, of which there are a total of 4 in the past 101 years of the sport, were expected to win their 6th and all failed for one reason or another. There are no givens in the sport of cycling.
Velo News

I could go on and rebut each half-assed remark in your “article”, but I think my point is made. Cycling is 3rd largest sporting event in the world and this summer one man did something that no other person on the planet has been able to do and your response is to trash him out of insensitivity and shallowness.

The bottom line is that your article is “bottom of the barrel” because you stoop to the lowest levels of journalism in order to attract readership. Although I was angered by what you wrote, I was angered more by your publisher. The fact that he allowed your article to be published is a far greater error. Clearly the standards at ANG Newspapers is lower than your own. That is shocking.

I welcome your response,

–
Michael T. Ashby
http://www.mashby.com

PS. I’m guessing that you’ve already made up your mind and there’s nothing anyone can do to change it. However, I would encourage you to read this brief FAQ to help better acquaint you with the sport and specifically the Tour de France.
CSC Tour de France FAQ

Will it make a difference? Probably not. Will Schoen respond? Highly unlikely. Do I feel better? Maybe a little, but at the end of the day you just have to let it go and move on. Life is too short to educate every ignorant sop you meet.

Want to voice your own complaints of this article? You can e-mail the following people:

Author of the article, David Schoen at dschoen@angnewspapers.com. ANG Sports Editor at jbecker@angnewspapers.com, or you can fill out this Feedback form. If noting else, feel free to pile on and post a comment to this entry.

The first tour I had hoped to make was up to Milwaukee Wisconsin to visit my good friend Mike Rohde during the month of June. He and I planned on doing an extended weekend about like I had done for the Natchez Trace last year. I would fly into Chicago, he’d pick me up and then for the next 4 days, he and I would ride a large loop around his house. If we ran out of time, his wife could rescue us. We had the rough outline all planned out, but as is typical in this day and age, we simply didn’t have the time to make it happen. It was nobody’s fault, we just couldn’t get it scheduled.

With my spring tour cancelled, I set my sights on where I would try and go in the fall. “Ok, so I can’t make two tours this year, I can still make one”, I thought to myself. Ideally, I would get a bunch of friends together and we’d all go riding, but I didn’t limit myself to that ideal. I’m just as happy going solo, so I thought about where I could ride close to home.

While standing in my local REI store, I eyed a Hatch Show Print poster hanging on the wall in the bicycle section. It was for a ride called the Bicycle Ride Across Tennessee (BRAT). My interest was instantly piqued and when I got home, I looked it up on the web to learn more about this ride.

Bicycle Ride Across Tennessee
The first thing I noticed was that the name was a little misleading. BRAT consists of a 375 mile loop and is not a true ride across Tennessee. Of course that is probably for the best because I don’t know that I could afford the time it would take to truly ride across Tennessee. The route starts in Gallatin, TN and makes it’s way south to Rock Island and then loops around back up to Gallatin. According to the FAQ, the daily average is 50 miles, which isn’t bad and there’s even a one day century that’s available for those looking to put in more miles, or just see if they can complete a century.

All-in-all it sounds like a good week. The only thing that has me a little concerned is the fact that it’s fully supported. Some of you may laugh at the idea of not wanting a support vehicle carry your stuff, but I like fully-loaded touring. Will I look like a weirdo by not taking advantage of the SAG vehicle? Will I not be able to keep up with everyone else because of it? Will I even like riding with such a large group? Given that this will probably be the only tour I get in this year, making this decision means weighing all the options.

It’s not as if BRAT is a pleasure cruise, but with hotels, food, and even daily Internet access being provided, it’s about as close as you can get while being on a bicycle. I tend to shun creature comforts while on a bicycle tour, so I’m a little bit leery of signing up for BRAT. I thought about just striking out on my own and make my own route, but how do I know if I like it, if I don’t at least try it? So I convinced myself to take the week off and ride in the 2004 BRAT.

A Wrench In The Spokes
Once I made the decision to go, I next had to make sure it would fit my schedule. That’s when a wrench was thrown in the spokes – I couldn’t do the full week. I have a family obligation in Florida during the later part of the ride, so I can’t take the whole week. I tend to be an all-or-nothing type of person, so this presented a serious problem.

I discussed the issue with Holly and thankfully she was very understanding and even gave me the option of not having to go to Florida. As much as I love riding, I love our family even more, so that wasn’t an option to me. Although I did appreciate the fact that Holly was so understanding. Instead we discussed the possibility of riding as much as I could and having her pick me up on the way. You have to remember that one hour by car is typically one day by bicycle, so it’s not like we’re going to be that far away from our home. So we discussed the logistics and it looks as if this may work. I’ll ride Sunday through Wednesday and then on Thursday Holly will pick me up and we’ll head down to Florida.

Having my bicycle in Florida might be kind of nice, but I’ve ridden in Florida before, and it sucks. There’s simply no roads other than busy highways and the distances are so far apart that it really doesn’t make for a nice ride. Besides, I grew up going to Florida so there’s very little that’s new to me. In other words, I’m covering ground I know fairly well and there’s really no place to ride to that offers anything really new. Florida is great for sitting on the beach, but riding is a different story.

Still In A Bit Of A Quandary
At this point it looks good that I can still do a four day ride in BRAT, which is better than nothing, or…

I can opt to do something on my own. I could always plot my own course running south towards Florida to see just how far I could get before Holly catches me and that would give me a 5th day of riding as well, so that’s pretty tempting. It’s kind of exciting to wonder just how far I could get. Could I make it all the way to Florida? Or…

I could postpone the ride in September and plan on another tour in November. Maybe I could ride out my door and up into Kentucky, having Holly meet me up there on the weekend to pick me up. I went Southwest last November, maybe this November I go Northeast? Or…

There’s plenty of one day rides around Tennessee that I could focus on. Instead of trying to secure a week in which to ride, I could do a weekend here or there. Between now and winter, there are 5 rides that I could take including:

1. Scenic Middle Tennessee Natchez Trace Tour
2. HOT 100 Century
3. Clarksville Sunrise Rotary Labor Day Classic
4. Sequatchie Valley Century
5. Bagels and Bluegrass Ride Across Southwest Tennessee

Most of these rides only cost $25 and could be quite challenging. On the down side, all of these rides are centuries so there’s going to be a larger percentage of Freds, who turn their noses up at anyone not decked out in racing garb. Not that I have anything against people who race bicycles, personally I’d love to have a “go fast” bike, but as it currently stands, I’m a freak in these circles and life’s too short. Or….

I could do a combination of all the above. If I postpone the ride, then there’s a better than 50% chance that I may not be able to take part in any tour this year. They say that goals are dreams with a deadline and although it may sound corney, it’s true. Without a deadline, I can see work, or my personal life filling all the time alloted and there will be nothing left in which to schedule a bicycle tour. So as it stands right now, I think I’ll sign up for as much of the BRAT as I can and I’ll try a century or two for good measure.

In The Meantime
In the meantime I’m still getting in a lot of good riding. When I look at my numbers on BikeJournal.com, I’m currently ranked at 804 out of 1350, with a total of 427 miles ridden year-to-date and I’m only 7 miles from last year’s total.

This year so far hasn’t shaped up to be the riding nirvana I had planned on, but it’s far from over and there’s every indication that it could still turn out to be a banner year. At this point, I’ll take what I can get and keep on truckin’

How about the rest of you? Anyone planning on taking any bike rides during the remainder of 2004?

For the past year or so, I’ve been transferring the data by hand into my Palm OS handheld using the handy application DayNotez. I enter all my workout information into it and I can pull it up to see what I’ve done at any time. However, the data is simply a note and there’s not much I can do with it other than refer to an individual ride. Then I stumbled across the web site Bike Journal and expanded my view of how I stack up with other cyclists.

BikeJournal.com is at its heart a journal where you enter in your individual ride information. Once your data is in their database, you can then see trends with your cycling and compare your information to other riders. For example, I noticed this morning after entering my 22+ miles from yesterday’s ride that I’m now ranked 845. I may never reach the year-to-date 12,737 miles of “Hammer”, but knowing my competitive spirit, I plan on climbing that chart. In fact I have “geargrrl” in my sights right now

Of course there’s more to BikeJournal.com than just the journal itself. If anything it’s your online bike persona, where you can enter club affiliations, USCF category, and pictures and descriptions of your bike(s). Suddenly your little weekend rides have a much larger context. How do your average rides compare with other riders? How does the State of Tennessee stack up with other States (we’re 5th)? How did last month’s data compare to this month’s? The best part about all of this is that BikeJournal is completely free. They do have a sponsorship option, but you can enjoy all of the features of the web site for free, which is really nice.

The only negative I can find about the site is that the member profiles are only available for viewing by other members. I suppose this is a security factor, but I don’t like the fact that you can’t see my profile at this link without being a member first. However, if you ARE a member, then add me to your buddy list!

Even if you just consider yourself a casual cyclist, but enjoy riding, I highly recommend that you check out BikeJournal.com. It’s a great way to expand your knowledge of your riding habits and overall ability in a larger cycling community without having to join a club. You can set your mileage goal for the year and then track how well you’re doing, or simply enter notes about the various rides that you do. Either way, it’s an easy web site to navigate and use and could greatly enhance your enjoyment of cycling.

So in the world of cycling, the 2004 Tour de France is the biggest event of the season. OLN has even coined it “The Cyclysm”. As for myself, I simply can’t get enough of the Tour. Last year, I had cable TV and thus had a ton of coverage via The Outdoor Life Network and I watched it every chance I had. I would watch the live coverage in the morning and then the replay at night. This year however, I don’t have cable, so my access to my daily fix is greatly limited. I’m sweating like a hooker in church trying to keep from calling Comcast and ordering cable just so I can get channel 72. Luckily there’s a wide variety of methods that I can use to keep me from going into withdrawals.

The first stop on my daily fix is to go to the official web site for the Tour de France. The first place that I go to is the live audio stream to hear Phill Liggett and Paul Sherwin give some of the finest commentary on any sport I’ve ever heard. I can’t say enough about their commentary. IMNSHO, they define the Tour, without them OLN wouldn’t be where they are today and I’m immensely grateful that OLN streams the audio via the web. I’m able to hear Phil and Paul’s commentary live as it happens, as well as crowd noise and behind the scenes stuff when they go to commercial break. When the stream re buffers I act like I’m having an aneurysm, but otherwise, it’s perfect.

While listening to the dynamic duo, I can also browse the rest of the site to get all the details on today’s stage, as well as Daily Reports from Phil Liggett, Paul Sherwin, Bob Roll and Chris Carmichael (Lance’s personal coach). As if that’s not enough, I also get text messages sent to my phone at the conclusion of each race via their Wireless Updates. One of my favorite tricks is to go directly to the Live Newsflashes page. It’s part of the frames designed official site, but with the Opera Browser, I can load the frame into it’s own page and then set it to refresh every 30 seconds. Actually, I could set it to every 5 seconds, but 30 seconds is fast enough. With all of this input, you’d think that this would be enough wouldn’t you? Well, like I said at the start of this entry, I’m a junkie.

Via RSS, I’m able to stay up-to-the minute with one of my favorite Tour web sites TDF Blog. Frank Steele has taken on the Herculean effort of consolidating everything that is fit to print regarding the Tour. He does a fantastic job and this is my second year in following his weblog. Other sites of note that I frequent include Le Tour Delicieux!, Maillot Jaune and tdf.motime.com. And when everything is said and done, I feast on Graham Watson’s fantastic photos.

If I’m away from the computer, then luckily DeepWeb has released Le Tour 2004. This $4 donorware app gives you the run down on each stage of the tour. It’s been handy to have when I’m awaiting my text message to see who has won the stage. Thanks to Mike Rohde for alerting me of the application.

All-in-all, it’s safe to say that The Tour has consumed my life and will continue devouring my free time for the remainder of the month. I may be caught up in the “Cyclysm”, but I’m loving every minute of it! So far this year’s Tour has been VERY exciting with plenty of drama, in the form of blood, sweat and tears. If you can get OLN on your cable service, you would stand to do yourself a favor by at least catching one of the stages, or wrap up shows. Cycling is a great sport and if you’ve never been introduced to it, now is your chance to experience some of the finest racing the sport has to offer.

THEN HOW COME NO ONE TOLD ME ABOUT OLN’S NEW SERIES “THE LANCE CHRONICLES“?!?!?

Last night my Mother invited us over to her house because she said OLN was having a special on Lance. The operative word being “special”, as in a one-time thing, not as in “this is a new show that chronicles Lance Armstrong so we’re going to have it on one a week!” I was expecting to enjoy my dinner and watch a special that talks about the 2004 Tour and how this is going to be Lance’s 6th attempt to win the yellow jersey, a feat that no other cyclist in the world has ever done. I figured this to be a prelude to the OLN coverage coming up a month from now. So I fix my plate and grab a seat in front of the TV and instead of Kristin Gum introducing the show with the familiar OLN fanfare, I’m presented with what looks like the opening to a serial television show. Then flash the titles “The Lance Chronicles.” I almost dropped my plate. :O

Let me put it into perspective for those of you that aren’t into cycling. Let’s say you really like the Tennessee Titans football team, or pick a team that you’re a fan of. What if there was a show that followed the coach while he was molding the team into Super Bowl champions, from pre-season all the way to the game itself. Would you want to watch it? For those of you that aren’t into sports, take ANY person that you can think of that you admire. Let’s say it was a musician. Would you watch a show that followed the artist from the writing of the song all the way to the Grammys? You bet your ass you would!

Ok, now imagine that you’ve missed a few episodes. You don’t know how many because you didn’t even know the freaking show existed, so all of a sudden you’re in what could be the middle of the series frantically watching wonder what the hell is going on. That was me last night. Anyone watching me would have seen what our government likes to call “Shock and Awe”. Here was a whole world that existed that I didn’t even know about. Sure I knew OLN had fantastic coverage of the Tour de France, but I didn’t know they had expanded to this level. Even the commercials were good! Jason Lee, one of my favorite actors, hyping up the 2004 Tour calling it a “Cyclism” and saying things like “Once upon a time is happening now… in real time”. I was like a 15 year-old girl sitting in front of her television set when the Beatles came on. I literally screamed.

“How was it no one told me about this?” raced through my mind. As well as questions like, “Who would keep this from me?”. But before I could get answers to these questions, the show came back on and it was like salt was rubbed in my wound. In this episode, Lance was riding in the Tour de Georgia. I’ve heard of the Tour de Georgia, but I sure as hell didn’t know Lance was riding in it! Not only that, this particular episode highlighted one of the major stages that dipped into Tennessee. My Mom made the comment, “I know where that is. That’s only about two hours from here.” I cut her a look that almost took off her head and in the vein of Monica Geller said “I KNOW!”

The agony of it all. Here was Lance, back in April, riding in a race just a few hours from my home and I missed it. That was the nail in the coffin of who was to blame – it was me. What kind of fan am I if I didn’t know he was riding in the Tour de Georgia? Yes I knew that he rode in the Ride for the Roses in Austin and that sometimes does a charity ride in San Francisco, but this was his first time in this race and I missed it.

The show itself was pretty good. It wasn’t great mind you, but it did show some insight into what Lance is going through getting ready for this year’s Tour. The other OLN coverage is equally as good, if not better and a one hour visit to my mother’s apartment turned into two in the blink of an eye. With one month left to go before the start of the Tour de France, it’s only going to get better so the choice is clear – I have to get cable.

Not only that, but I need to find a Lance Armstrong RSS feed stat! If you have any suggestions, PLEASE let me know! But don’t forget, “…no sprinkles. For every sprinkle I find, I shall KILL you.”

When last Monday rolled around, I decided to “kick it up a notch” and ride my bike to and from the gym. That would give me a 24 mile ride in addition to the workout at the gym. The fact that it was raining just added to the incentive, because I love the slop. There’s just something refreshing about riding in the rain. Maybe it’s my psyche having flashbacks to jumping in puddles on the way home, I don’t know, but when it rains, I’m ready to ride.

From Dolly to J-lo
I figured that I would need dry clothes once I got there, so I removed my large handlebar bag and instead used one of my rear panniers. I put my Palm and my wallet in zip lock bags, loaded up everything I’d needed to get there have a good workout and get home. This included my silly, but important vest, blinkers and my headlight as well as my workout clothes, etc. With everything loaded into the rear pannier, I headed out down the hill and on my way to Brentwood.

The first few miles felt really weird. It had been awhile since I’ve ridden without my handlebar bag. Almost immediately after I purchased it, it’s been a permanent fixture to the front of my bike. Not having it there made the steering feel very different. It was obviously much lighter and the weight shift took some getting used to. The other thing that I noticed was that having all the weight in the rear seem to make my climbs a little bit easier. I was carrying the same weight, if not more, but having it further back make it easier. It felt like I was pulling the weight instead of pushing it up the hill. It was as if I went from being Dolly Parton to Jennifer Lopez and I definitely liked the change! LOL

Fresh Legs… Get Your Fresh Legs Here
Although I think my weight shift may have had something to do with my ability to climb easier, I think there were many factors that helped as well. For one, my legs were pretty fresh from almost a week without riding. No matter where I ride, there are always plenty of hills that I get to climb. When I read in Bicycling Magazine about how to train for hills, I have to stop and laugh. How can I NOT train for hills, when they are everywhere around me. It would be nice to have some flat terrain to warm up on, but I don’t see how in the world, I can avoid climbing a hill.

My point is that my legs get taxed on every ride I take. In fact the last mile is always the worst because of the hill leading up to my house. So when I’ve taken a few days off, my first day back in the saddle is usually a good one for climbing because my legs are nice and fresh. Monday was definitely a day where my legs felt good and fresh, but like I said earlier, I think there was a combination of things that made the ride go so well. I shifted my load to my rear wheel, my legs were fresh, and what was the last thing? Oh yeah, there was a Lance sighting. :O

A Lance Sighting?
It happened last Wednesday. My mother was coming back from the gym on Cloverland and she said that she passed someone that looked a lot like Lance Armstrong. She said the man was very lean, was decked out in total racing garb and that his clothing wasn’t US Postal, but was more yellow in color and reminded her of the old 7-11 uniforms. As she passed him she said he looked a lot like Lance because she noticed his sharp nose.

Ok, now you may be sitting there reading this thinking that I’m a complete loon for believing this. I mean why would Lance Armstrong be cycling in Nashville of all places? Well, because he’s been linked to Cheryl Crow for quite some time and she bought a house here last year. I don’t know where her house is yet, but she does own a home in the Nashville area. So I can imagine Lance being in Nashville to visit his girlfriend and going on a ride in the afternoon. This close to the Tour de France? Yeah, probably not.

But as I made my ride to the gym, covering the same ground that “Lance” may have covered, the thought filled my mind with flights of fancy. What if Lance rode past me? What would I say? Would I try and keep up? Could I even hope to keep up? What if he was impressed with my ability climb given the weight of my bike, panniers and my big fat ass?

So as I made my way down Old Smyrna Road visions of Lance danced in my head as my cadence stayed high and my speed with it. The funny thing was that it didn’t feel like I was working all that hard. Although I knew that I was pushing it a little bit, I had a smile plastered from ear-to-ear and I wasn’t heaving for air in any way shape or form.

Nike’s & Nautilus
Once in Brentwood, I made a quick stop at REI. 10 years ago, two days before Holly and I were married, I purchased a pair of Nike Air Madas. They were a new type of low hiking sneaker and I loved those shoes. I literally wore the sole out on them and I’ve missed them ever since. With Holly and I going to the Mayan Rivera next week, it seemed like a good time to find a replacement pair.

Unfortunately, they didn’t have any Nikes, but they did have a nice pair of Merrells that I took a fancy to. After trying a few different brands of trail shoes, I opted for the Merrell Phaser Infernos. They have a nice firm sole that remind me of cycling shoes and they are so comfortable. To round out my purchase, I bought three pairs of REI Merino Wool Hiking Socks too. GREAT socks.

I loaded up my purchase into the pannier and continued on to the YMCA. Once there, I locked everything up, checked in, grabbed a towel and made my way to the locker room. I had to laugh a little as I passed the spinning class. I mean no disrespect. Spinning classes are a great workout and I have no fantasies of being able to hang with the instructor, but you have to admit that after you’ve been cycling for 12 miles in the rain, the idea of pedaling a stationary bike in a dark room listening to techno music and having an instructor scream at you seems a bit absurd.

Thanks to the fenders on Juliet, my shorts were pretty much dry, so I just changed shirts, toweled off my head and made my way to the machines. There I found Holly and my Mom lifting 5lb dumbbells working on their triceps. We worked out together as I hit all the upper body machines. When my body was feeling shaky and my upper body was spent, it was time to head back home.

As I was loading up, Mom and Holly came out of they gym and tried repeatedly to get me to load my bike up and let them drive me home. It was raining pretty hard, but there was no way I was going to pass up this ride. With my reflector vest on, my blinking tail light on and my headlight illuminating the road in front of me, I pushed off and out onto the open road.

Being Eight Again
My path home was the back the same way that I came. It was a little after 8pm. Although it was dark, the overcast sky was illuminated from the street lamps and the moon and with the occasionally lightning strike. The brightly lit sky didn’t help light my way, but it did treat me to an amazing light show. My headlight gave me all the light I needed to make my way and with the vest and tail light I lit up like a Christmas tree anytime a car would pass, although there were few cars on my route.

This time I had no fantasies of Lance riding along side me, but my cadence was off the charts. It was as if my legs couldn’t go fast enough. Forget form, my legs were just pumping up and down like two pistons. It reminded me of riding a bike as a kid when you’ve maxed out the gear you’re in and all you can do is spin your legs. At any moment I could see myself kicking my legs out to the side as I sailed through a puddle and my pedals spinning madly beneath me. I wasn’t riding a fixed gear bike, so that wouldn’t happen, but don’t we all remember that feeling?

For me it was a purple and green bike I won at an Easter Egg hunt at D.H. Holmes. It had a big green vinyl banana seat with green sparkle vinyl tassels at the end of the upright handlebars. I’d race my friends, but given that it only had one gear, there was only so fast that you could get and then you’d just throw your legs out and let the pedals spin beneath you because your legs couldn’t keep up. That feeling was akin to flying, but at some point you’d have to find a way to get your feet back on the pedals so that you could slow down and stop. Although brief, having your feet free of the pedals was akin to flying for me at that age and I had totally forgotten about that memory until Monday night as I stomped my way back home in the rain.

Once on Holt road, there were a few cars that passed me and I could only imagine what I looked like. I could just picture a man driving home from the store. As he drives down the road, he spots a cyclist coming the opposite way. Looking over as he passes, he sees a 36 year old man wet from head to toe, with his eyes wide as saucers, a big open smile from ear to ear and his tongue hanging out catching rain. I must have looked like Tom Hanks in “Big” as I rode past and I couldn’t have cared less. I was living it.

In A Word… Spectacular!
Just when I thought it couldn’t get any better, I would see a lightening strike in the sky, miles away from where I was and I would suddenly have a “woo hoo” moment followed by an “oh crap” moment. Seeing the lightening was exciting, but it would quickly humble me that I was nothing but a pimple on the ass of the earth and that I was nothing compared to the power I had just witnessed.

As I made my way south down Nolensville Pike, I found my self higher than Culbertson Road, the road I was about to turn onto. I looked down across a wide field where Culbertson and Nolensville Pike and was made speechless by what I saw. The illuminated sky, dimly lit the field below and from my vantage point millions of firefly twinkled in the field. It was as if the entire area was sparkling with Christmas lights. I had never seen anything like this and it was such a awe inspiring sight. Instantly the thought ran through my head, “I’m supposed to be delighting You my Lord and yet here you are showing me such wonders!” All along Culbertson, on either side of Mill creek, were fireflys twinkling in the fields. It was like God created my very own Electric Light Parade and all I could do is smile and laugh at the wonder of it all.

Ten minutes later and I was home safe and sound, although soaked to the bone. As Holly opened the garage, happy to see that I had made it home safely, I was instantly back to age 8 as I told her all the magical things that happened on the way home. It was by far the best night ride I’ve ever had. I’ve tried to describe it as best as I can, but there’s so many little things that happened that I simply can’t put into words. All I know is that it was 24 miles of complete joy and was a reminder of why I enjoy cycling as much as I do.

I was a kid again on Monday night and guess what? It’s supposed to rain tonight again. Guess where I’ll be?

If there’s one thing that many cyclist’s consistently tend to steer clear of, it’s traffic. It’s not that I love traffic, but it doesn’t bother me all that much. I actually enjoy the excitement of riding in traffic. It keeps you on your toes and usually pumping your legs like mad to make the next light, or dodge the next car. I’ve ridden my bicycle in Paris, London and Manhattan, just to name a few cities, and these are some of the busiest roads in the world, so you’d think that riding in Nashville would be a piece of cake, right? Well, it is and it isn’t. The traffic may be lighter, but the skill of the local drivers is definitely diminished as well. They simply don’t know how to pass.

Most of the time, I let this kind of stuff just roll off my back. If the person in the car behind me doesn’t know how to pass me, that’s their problem not mine. I’m hugging the shoulder more than I probably should and if their comfort zone is so big that they feel that they have to give me the entire lane when they are trying to pass, that’s their problem. If they had clue, they could easily pass me with room to spare and barely have to slow down, but many drivers here in Nashville don’t. Instead, they hug my butt until they can pass me as if I were a car, giving me the entire lane as they drive past. Like I said, normally I let this stuff slide, but yesterday I ended up doing 3 rides totaling over 40 miles all over town and I had my fair share of idiots to contend with.

My favorite one was when a woman hugged my back tire for around 10 blocks because she couldn’t get her fat ass comfort zone around me in the more than ample space that she had. When she finally had two entire lanes in which to pass, she gunned her car and as she passed me honked her horn as if to say, “Get out of my way you stupid cyclist!” I just scowled and kept on cycling, but what she did really stuck in my craw. The nerve of some people. :/

I understand that everyone has a comfort zone when driving. I define this zone as the space in which your comfortable that your car isn’t going to hit something. I hate to generalize, but in my experience, it seems that men have a smaller comfort zone and have no problems passing me. Bus drivers and large trucks surprisingly have the smallest comfort zone and will whiz past me with only inches to spare and I love it! However, put a woman in a mini-van or SUV and there’s a better than 75% chance that her comfort zone is as big as an 18-wheeler. I know that there are plenty of excellent women drivers out there, so please don’t take me to task for picking on women drivers. I am not biased against women, or even other races for that matter. My bias is based on stupidity, plain and simple. As luck would have it, stupidity is found in every race, creed and sex so my bias is an equal opportunity employer.

Ultimately, what drives me nuts about this issue is that there’s no solution. Short of requiring all drivers in Nashville to take a “How To Pass A Bicycle” course, there’s no reasonable fix to this problem. Instead, stupid drivers are going to continue to cause traffic problems because they don’t know how to share a road with a bicycle. Those driving automobiles will continue to get ticked off when they have to pass a cyclist and take it out on those of us who are just “trying to get along.”

Daylight savings time went into effect that morning, so I was losing an hour, but I didn’t let that stand in my way. I had worked hard on the pool and yard the day before, but I didn’t let that stand in my way either. I dragged my tired butt out of bed by 7am, pryed my eyes open and made ready. I found some cycling shorts (which were much looser) and my cycling shoes and suited up. Once in the garage, I did a once over to make sure that Juliet was ready to ride. Although I hadn’t been on her since November, she looked like a prize stallion ready to sprint if given half the chance.

With my water bottles filled with tap water and my large bicycle bag affixed to the handlebars, I was ready to pull out. It was still a bit nippy, so I put on a sweater and wool cap as I made my way down the street and out of the subdivision. It wasn’t until I was over a mile out that it dawned on me that I had forgotten to pack a pump. “That was stupid.”, I thought to myself, “What happens if I get a flat? I have no way of pumping up the spare.” The kid in me that was just happy to be riding and out on the open road countered with a quick quip, “You forgot the spare too, so what does it matter?” That’s right, I had forgotten just about everything. I had no tools, spare tube, or pump. If anything went wrong, I was going to have to carry Juliet on my shoulder back home. Since I had no intention of turning around and going back, there was nothing I could do about it. Juliet was humming like a well oiled machine, so I took comfort in that fact and figured that we would do just fine for a short ride.

Juliet wasn’t the only thing running well that morning. Although I hadn’t been on a bike since my little tour of the Natchez Trace, my legs felt like there were fairly strong. I could tell that some of the muscles used for cycling were a little rusty, but a week in the saddle should clear all of that up. I’ve been doing weight machines, treadmills and yoga all winter, but there’s nothing quite like cycling. The only way to build those muscles is to ride.

My plan was to take my normal 1 hour short loop, but I was feeling so good that I was sorely tempted to go a longer route. As I headed south on Nolensville road I came across a road that could take me to Brentwood and even Franklin. There was a sudden urge hang a right and just keep riding to see where the roads would take me as my mind raced along the path that I could take. My imagination was flying down the various turns and paths that could change a simple right hand turn into a day of adventures. How fun it would be to ride all the way to Franklin and have lunch in the town square. Alas, I didn’t have everything I needed to ensure a safe journey, not the least of which was the time in which to do it.

A little bit further and I made it to the 5 mile rest stop that I usually stop at for a few minutes. Leaning Juliet against the guard rail, I did what was custom and took off some of my protective clothing. It was then, as I took off my gloves and wool cap, that I suddenly realized that I didn’t even have my helmet. :O You’d think that I’d never ridden before, or that I got ready in the dark or something. No tools, no spare, no pump and no helmet. The internal debate that had been going on inside me since the first mile of my ride was finally over with a dull thud. Staring at the sign indicating the county line, my whimsical thoughts of taking a longer ride was over. I was pushing fate as it was, there was no need to gamble ever further by taking a longer ride.

My ride may have been shorter that I would have liked, but it was no less fun. So after a few minutes sipping water and lazily watching the traffic go by, I put back on my gloves, glasses and cap and headed down Pettus and my big climb of the day. I can’t say that it was easy, but I made the climb smoothly and with some degree of confidence. I remember the first few times I made this ascent and how it would take everything I had to get to the top. In fact, my worst breakdown occurred last year when making this ascent. My legs felt really good and Juliet was riding the best she’s ever ridden. Even after being put up for months after two days of riding in the rain, my freewheel was completely silent. As I passed a sleeping dog, I had to whistle to wake him up and back and chase me safely behind his fence. Normally, the click-click-click of the freewheel will alert any dog that I’m approaching.

There was very little traffic during my ride and feeling somewhat toasty in my sweater and wool cap, my ride was almost getting a little sleepy. I could just picture myself stopping and stretching out in the tall grass of a nearby field and taking a little nap. Just imagining the wind whisking through the tall grass and the sun warmed me as I rested my arms behind my head was almost enough to lull me to sleep. My pace was slowing and as I approached the slight climb up to Blue Hole Road, I felt my body wanting to give in to my vision. That’s when two feisty little dogs woke me out of my reverie. A toy Yorkie and a Pomerain came bolting out from inside their home and charged the fence that stood between us. Their little yaps sounded like barking orders from a drill Sargent, albeit a higher pitched, almost feminine drill Sargent. “What are you doing? Get up that hill young man! Pedal, pedal, pedal!”, the two dogs shouted and I let out a laugh and picked up the pace to make the small climb. It was just the motivation I needed.

Once back in the subdivision, I made a few circles at the bottom of my street until my chain found my granny gear. As good as my legs felt, I didn’t have the confidence that I could make it up the final hill to my house in anything other than my low gears. Just as I was beginning to get a little dizzy from all the circles, my chain dropped to the tiny front gear and I began climbing “my personal Moby Dick”. The climb wasn’t easy, but it wasn’t exceedingly difficult either. It felt almost routine in some way, as if I make this climb everyday. In a few minutes I was at the top of the hill. I was breathing heavy, but not the oxygen deficient gulps that I’ve been accustomed to.

As I pulled into the driveway and leaned my bicycle against the house, I was elated with how well my ride had gone. It didn’t feel like a training ride, or a ride designed to wood shed my my body. It was just fun. It was how riding a bike used to be before this overweight 36 year-old guy moved into my body. LOL

Distance: 9.46 miles
Time: 1:05 hours
Average Speed: 9.73 mph
Maximum Speed: 31.9 mph

I didn’t even know that Lance and his wife Kristin were planning on getting a divorce, but after a Google search, I found this quote from Kristin Armstrong, “[our marriage problems] were brought on gradually by a number of pressures, rather than one big blow-up. We’ve been together 4 1/2 years, and we’ve had six homes, three languages, three countries, one cancer comeback, three children, four Tour de France wins and one rise to celebrity. You’re not supposed to cram such a huge amount of events into such a small period of time.”

I think it’s a real shame that they have decided to end their marriage and I’m even sorrier that he’s already hooking up with someone new. Kristin and Lance have been through a lot in their marriage, but I was hoping that they could survive it and stay together.

I guess there is one silver lining, at least for me. If Lance and Sheryl become a serious item, she just bought a house here in Nashville, so the chance of me seeing Lance riding around town are pretty good. Can you stalk someone on a bicycle?

I still thought I could squeeze in a quick ride though, so I set the alarm for 5:00am and actually woke up when it went off. After the shock of realizing that I was actually awake wore off, I looked outside and it was still pitch black. I reset the alarm for 5:30am, but found when I awoke that it was still dark. So I reset the alarm for 6:00am and bailed on the ride.

It’s a shame because I really wanted to get in another ride or two before leaving tomorrow. I especially wanted to ride this morning with the full load. I had packed my panniers with everything I’m bringing last night, so I was hoping to get familar with the weight and get at least 10 miles in.

Oh well, it’s just wasn’t meant to be. Maybe my legs needed the rest and tomorrow I’ll find that it’s a piece of cake.

So another day of training down the toilet.

I was smothered in cats this morning, so it was a real gymnastic effort to untangle myself out from under them. It was wicked cold, so I turned into their favorite person last night. Since I’m usually 10 degrees hotter than Holly, I must have made for a nice tummy warmer.

By the time I made it downstairs and pull the bike out from the garage I was freezing my tail off. I checked weather.com and it said the temp was 32 degrees with a real feel of 30. That’s the coldest it’s been yet! I bundled up with double shirts, a jacket, my favorite wool cap and my wool gloves. Still don’t have any tights yet, so it was going to be cold no matter what.

The only thing was that the cold wasn’t my problem this morning, it was my route. I didn’t know which way to go. Part of me wanted to do the 20 mile loop, but another part of me wanted to go to Waffle House. Waffle House was closer and thus a shorter course, but I didn’t have any cash on me, so I had to go to an ATM, which was a good distance away. I was kind of tired of going the same way, so the idea of going to the ATM seemed more exciting, so I decided that this was the route I’d take.

Since the weekends are supposed to be my heavy riding days, I felt like I was taking the easy way out by choosing a shorter route. My original goal was to do 30+ miles on the weekend – ideally up to 50 miles. With the NPUG meeting yesterday and Church today, it just didn’t seem to be in the cards. Since I’m entering my last week for training before the Natchez Trace tour, I needed to do something to make it more like it will be starting on Thursday. My solution? Add weight.

Opening the garage and pulling my bike out, I looked for things that were handy and heavy that I could throw into my panniers. Since I had to empty my Jeep before the turn in, I had a bunch of computer stuff that were readily handy. I grabbed a router still in the box with the power supply, a 24 port switch w/ power supply and a big, thick book on Windows Small Business Server. As best as I could tell, this was about all the weight of what I’ll be carrying on the tour.

Instead of going right on Pettus road, I took a left and then another left onto Richards. At the top of a very steep hill, I took a right on Old Franklin Road and made my way towards the Interstate. The path I was taking was the 20 mile loop had I continued on to Mt. View road, however I made a detour to head towards Bell Road and where all the strip malls are.

My tempo was fairly slow and leisurely. I don’t know if that was due to the cold, or just my light-hearted attitude, but I made my way happily up all the hills albeit a little slower than usual. Juliet was riding like I remember her. With all the added weight, she had a thick and rich feel to her. I felt a bit like J-Lo with all that junk in my trunk. The best part is that I felt great riding like this again and given the hills I climbed, I’d have to say that if I feel this way when the tour begins, I’ll be ready.

After a stop at the ATM, it was time to make my way to the Waffle House. I called my buddy Dan and tried to talk via a headset while I rode with little or no success. My Samsung I-300 is a POS. I eventually made it to the Casa de Waffle and finally sat down for a bite to eat. I love eating at WH. There’s just something down home and simple about it , plus I really like their food. I was a little concerned about my attire, but that’s another story.

After eating and a little typing on the Dana, it was time to head home and get ready for Church. I made it back with little incident, although a full stomach of 2 eggs, 2 orders of hash browns with mushrooms, onions and jalapenos was a little much on the climbs. It would have been better if I could have let that digest a little more before I started all that climbing. When I got to my street, I popped the chain to the granny gear and made my way up to the top. This is getting to be a bit routine now. I like that.

Although my ride wasn’t long, it was a solid ride and the best I’ve felt yet. I only hope that this isn’t wishfull thinking and that I have a rude awakening waiting for me on the Natchez Trace.

Distance: 14.63
Ride Time: 1:34
Avg Speed: 9.36
Max Speed: 38.5

At least I’ll have plenty of carbs for tomorrow’s ride. Yeah, that’s it, I was carbo loading. I wasn’t eating junk food, I was carbo loading.

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Weekly Totals
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Distance: 51.94
Time: 4:57
Avg Speed: 10.53
Max Speed: 36.4

It was pretty cold and misty this morning. Normally after the first five miles it’s time to ditch the jacket, but today I kept it on for the whole ride. There was a light mist in the air and coupled with the 35 degree weather, it was noticeably cooler than it’s been in the past. Is it going to be this cold on the trip?

I went longer between resting points this ride. I also made the climbs easier as well. The one thing that didn’t go quite as well is the route itself. Burkitt is pretty busy on a Friday morning and there was a lot of traffic. Not that I mind traffic, but no one likes a two lane road with zero shoulder and a lot of vehicular traffic. I wouldn’t say it was excessive, but it was plenty to keep me on my toes.

When I got to the 15 mile turn it was clear that there was no way I was going to make the 20 mile loop that I had hoped to do, so I turned on Old Hickory and headed home. The nappy eared dog that chased me last time on this road was no where to be found, which I was thankful for.

Once back home, my first order of business was a nice hot shower to warm my bones. Oh man was that nice.

Distance: 16.04
Ride Time: 1:31
Avg Speed: 10.59
Max Speed: 35.3