In Defense of Lance

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I perceive that the People’s Court has adjourned to consider Lance Armstrong’s guilt or innocence_. Surprisingly, the most serious charges do not appear to be doping.  By that, I mean, that most Facebookers do not seem to be upset that Lance Armstrong doped.  I just assume that Americans are calloused.  The good ol Unites States of America did not invent doping. I suspect it has always been around but was introduced into the Peloton on a large scale in the late 1980s shortly after that the eastern bloc countries enjoyed Olympic booty from doping in other sports, namely weight lifting. 

The thing about Americans, I think, is that we go all in.  We may not have invented doping but, if you have to dope to compete, we do it right.   American sports fan also know better than to criticize too harshly when it comes to doping because our society orbits around dope.  We worship it. It separates us from the Third World really. 

Let’s start with my favorite spectator game:  Football.   (I really do like football).   As I understand it, professional Football, Baseball and Basketball (and others) are not considered Olympic sports.  It confuses me because Baseball and Basketball are in the Olympics but for some reason the three staples of American pro sports are not drug tested by the United States Anti-Doping Association.  For all practical purposes, they are not drug tested at all. 

One thing Lance is absolutely correct about is that Travis Tygart, CEO of USADA is not at all accurate when he describes the doping scheme on US Postal as the biggest doping conspiracy in history.  I fancy that is just a mediocre lawyer trying to feel better about his agency’s epic failure to meet its most fundamental function.  Let’s face it, but for the Department of Justice’s file, the USADA would still be whining about its lack of funding and suspected drug use in cycling.

I suppose it does not matter. Clearly, the USADA is not at all able to detect doping when it is occurring.  Even if USADA was competent and had jurisdiction over the NFL, no reasonable person would honestly believe that the players who play in a Super Bowl are not juiced out of their minds.  Ok, except maybe the kicker.  Too much caffeine for sure but other wise probably clean.

For all of these complicated reasons, most folks do not seem to mind the fact that Lance doped.  They certainly have forgiven Floyd Landis, Tyler Hamilton, George Hincapie, David Zabriskie, Levi Leipheimer, Jonathon Vaughters and the long list of other cyclists who were allowed to confess and continue blissfully with their cycling careers.

I also do not think that most people believe that Lance forced other athletes to dope like the USADA seems to imply.  That would be nonsensical.  Floyd Landis failed a drug test after he won the Tour de France and after he rode on the same team with Lance.   The same is true for Tyler Hamilton.  Clearly, they left US Postal and brought their syringes with them. Both of these guys blame Lance for their fall, their lack of popularity and, oh, Lance was mean to me.  These guys were all grown men who had free will.  They could have left US Postal anytime they wanted and could have competed (and doped) on other teams such as Cofidis, Telekom, CSC and so on.  Speaking of which, Lance certainly did not force his competitors to dope.  Shall I name a few of his top rivals?  Jan Ullrich (suspended for doping), Vinokourov (suspended for doping), Ivan Basso (suspended for doping), Alberto Contador (suspended for doping),  Valverde (suspended for doping), Ivan Mayo (failed drug test but never suspended).  The list could go on.  Don’t believe me?  For all of you football fans out there, Fausto Coppi was like Joe Namath of cycling. Here is his approach:

Coppi spoke of the subject in a television interview:

Question: Do cyclists take la bomba (amphetamine)?

Answer: Yes, and those who claim otherwise, it's not worth talking to them about cycling.

Question: And you, did you take la bomba?

Answer: Yes. Whenever it was necessary.

Question: And when was it necessary?

Answer: Almost all the time

The greatest cyclist who ever lived was not Lance Armstrong.  His name was Eddy Mercx, who was popped for doping in the 1969 Giro.  Mercx to this day, in my opinion, was not only a great cyclist but a good father and a good person.   We have forgiven Mercx for doping. 

So, what exactly is it about Lance?   I suppose it is because he is a Liar, Liar Pants on Fire.  He did deny doping.  But, that is not really that far off of doping. Doping is lying.  Mercx lied.  He claimed that he was innocent.  So, did Flod Landis.  Landis went around the country raising money from amateur cyclists and fans for his defense fund and began each campaign for money with a sincere explanation of his innocence. He dame to Seattle and I personally know an amateur racer who gave him money. 

The problem with Lance, unlike all of the other dopers, was that Lance won a lot. He also had a PR machine as good as his bike.  He was vocal, visible and very cool.  This meant that he was constantly asked whether he doped.  They really don’t ask the losers if they doped.  

All of us mortals loved it because we love winning. Admit it.   We LOVED the Lance Armstrong era.  It was awesome because we were winners.  And, now, we feel duped.  That’s why we hate him. We hate him because we all fell for it and became groupies. 

But, that’s really as much our fault as his.  After his interview with Oprah, I read posts that were extremely mean.  He’s an asshole. Insane.  Narcisstic.  Yet, at the same time, he raised $500 million for cancer research.  He clearly loves his children.  I am annoyed with the Livestrong card as much as anyone.  But, it made me wonder.  What is more valuable:  guy who tries to contribute to the fight against cancer but happens to be a total asshole, or a guy who really does nothing with his life, helps no one in any way but is polite and doesn’t lie? 

For me personally, I do not feel like I have standing to answer that question.   That is a value judgment.  I would be “judgmental” if I tried.  So, why do so many people feel like they have standing to judge Lance?  Who could say with 100% certainty that they would have done anything different?  Think about it.  Let’s suppose that you are lucky enough to be genetically gifted.  You have high red blood count naturally, long femurs, etc.  You have an incentive to train hard because your genetic gifts give you a higher chance of winning or placing well. You train and train and go from Cat 5 to Cat 1 and professional by age 21.  Once in the professional peloton, you are introduced to doping, like everyone else. You win and win and win.  You are on TV, make an obscene amount of money and more and more and more.  More opportunity. More success.  More money. Sex. Rock and Roll.   Who can honestly say that they would not have become arrogant, self-centered and narcisstic.  

I understand it.  I hope I would have made different decisions but I admit that maybe I would not.  You can say it is insane or narcissistic but it is entirely possible that it is human.  I am not genetically gifted so there would never be a chance that I would face the decisions that Lance faced.  Thank goodness for that !

The last charge in the Inquisition is that Lance ruined other people’s lives.  I have no idea if that is true.   He clearly called people liars who said he doped.  He was involved in defamation lawsuits in England with David Walsh and the SCA/Tailwind lawsuit in America.  Lance won both and his lawyers no doubt cross examined witnesses zealously.  I do not know if the lives of the witnesses were destroyed.  The barely articulate Betsy Andreau’s beef after the interview was that Lance still denied that he told a doctor that he had taken performance-enhancing drugs.  Ms. Andreau’s logic is hard to follow considering his blanket admission on national television. Candidly, I think she is playing semantics, upset that a man, who at the time he was alleged to have made these statements was dying of a cancer, did not remember the event the way she remembered it.  What does it matter?

I am not sure what other lives were ruined. Floyd Landis and Tyler Hamilton sealed their own fates, Floyd in particular.  Eamma OReilly is another story.  She clearly knew something, tried to get the word out and was crushed.  

Tyler Hamilton described Lance’s emotion on the Oprah show as genuine.  He said that he knew immediately that he was a broken man and that it was the first time he had ever seen Lance Armstrong shed a tear.  Yet, arm chair pundits characterize his emotion as “fake.”  I guess if you lie about doping that means you lie about your emotions even if none of us have ever meet Lance. 

For me, I do not think it is my job to judge Lance.  I do feel like I can opine about the cycling organizations that created this fiasco. Yes, I said “created.”  Cycling is an international sport with deep roots in Belgium, France, Italy and Spain.  Doping creeped into cycling because organizers required humans to race their bikes over distances and elevations that are not human.   Fans required more.  Organizers game them more and the cyclists had to dig deeper and deeper and looked for ways to cope.  I suspect that organizers and race officials recognized this and allowed it because it helped the races become longer, faster and more exciting.

Then, it got out of hand.  The entire pack started to race the whole of the Tour de France at average speeds over 25 mph.  Pantani’s attack on Alpe d’Huez was awesome but, well, far fetched.  When the Postal Service arrived, the organization and methodic shredding caught the Europeans off guard.  Knocked on their heels by the Capitalistic approach to doping, the cat was out.   No one wanted to take the blame.  No one could admit that the governing bodies were so lame.   It would show what a joke the organizations really were.   Professional cycling, after all, is the larges amateur sports league in the world.  

And, so, the fans were duped.   Again.  Made to believe that Lance Armstrong is to blame.  We deserve it because we are so stupid.  Too stupid to see that professional cycling is corrupt.  Unwilling to place blame on even ourselves for our lust for more and more.  We truly want it to be like all of the other sports, sports in which engineered humans sacrifice life expectancy for fame, glory and freakish strength.   Fine with us unless the athlete is caught.  Then, apparently, we think he or she is insane.  

For me, there needs to be a reboot.  For me to follow professional cycling, the organizers, governing bodies and anti-doping agencies must decide what they will tolerate.  Do they want popular, American style sports where drugs, sex and rock and roll takes precedence over honesty.  If so, I will quietly ride my bike and race it on occasion.   If that is the future, there is no need to worry about what individual athletes do or do not do because I will not even know who they are.  If it is to be an honest sport, then it must be led honestly.  Notice I said "led".  That means that pro cycling needs to stop trying to blame Lance and eject all athletes and managers who were ever connected with doping.  All of them.  No quarter.  No amnesty.  There are plenty of riders who are more than happy to race professionally clean.  Without the juice, the sprints may be a little slower but all is relative.  

So, what is it going to be?

Race Calendar

Although the season is young and there remains many miles to race, one third of the one day road races are behind us.   Check this out. If you categorize "road races" as one day only races that are not criteriums, there are only 14 road races on the calendar. Most are in March, i.e., more than one third of all road races in Washington are in March By month, the breakdown is as follows:

March:
Sequims #1 and #2
Mason Lake #1 and #2
IVRR

April:
Olympic View
Longbranch

May:
Ravensdale
Vance Creek

July:
LWV#1


August:
Glennwood
Boston Harbor
LWV #2 and #3

It is true that there are road races within stage races or omniums but I did not count those.

I used to wonder why in the world there are so many races in March and none in September - in my opinion the best month to ride a bicycle. I gave up complaining because the calendar is the calendar. Lately, I kinda dig it. Let's face it, there is nothing else to do in March on crappy weather weekends.

Cervelo S3

The most difficult thing about splurging and buying a S3 is not the guilt that comes after.  It is the snow and wind that comes late in February and keeps you off of it. 

DT's TT Then Ride!

Winter Training Sucks

Ultramarathon

I ran my first ultramarathon on Saturday, the so called "Pigtails 50K".  For cross training, I ran the Portland Marathon and Seattle Marathon this year.  A real runner, Mike Lynes, horse traded with me and I agreed to try an ultra.  In return, he agreed to do a bike race this year.  Mike, of course, won the 50K, beating the course record by 4 minutes.  Anyone who knows Mike will not be surprised that he held the course record from the previous year. 


The ultra crowd is cool.  Far fewer people are interested in running a distance greater than 26.2 miles.  Those who do show up have low resting heart rates, protruding cheek bones and carry their water with them.  The pace is slower.  I have no idea but maybe all ultras are on trails?  This one was.  It was a glorious day but muddy from Friday's rain.  The tempo was deliberate.  


I noticed that fellow runners seemed encouraging and not competitive.  The competition was with the body, not other runners.  


I ran just fine.  My body rebelled several times but I beat it into submission.  Hill after hill took it toll.  My calves cramped over and over.  Then the stomach complained. I forced it to take gu, blocks and even a brownie ever ten miles. I drank three full water bottles at ten miles each and finished the race dehydrated.  Just as the pain started to get the best of me, I looked up.  The sun was out.  The trail at the point was cut through the woods and light flickered all around me.  I have not seen the sun for awhile and I was happy to have it along.  The sun is a very good athlete.  It never talks too much on runs and I am always sad to see it go. 


It turned out that this was enough.  I commented to the forest that I thought it was glorious and trudged along in my trance.  26.2 miles came and went and I didn't care.  


When I got home, I found this video on youtube about ultramarathons.  These dudes are different than bike racers but I kinda dig 'em.  

Camp One

Sunday's Training Ride

Lance and the FDA

As I write this, I know that the government is exploring the possibility of legal action, of some sort, against, possibly, Lance Armstrong.  It is bizarre to me that the agency that might pursue this action is the Food and Drug Administration.   In principal, I get it.   In modern times, cheating often means ingesting drugs that enhance performance. 

In cycling, blood is a big deal.  If I could manipulate my otherwise pathetic blood so that my hematocrit jumped to, say, 49, the UCI limit, it would make a difference.  I would be like Thor, god of Thunder.  I would have “wind”, as they say.  I could actually win a race, methinks.

Lance Armstrong is accused of this.  To date, the government has not bothered to make public any of its intentions.  Troubling- the delicate balance between the necessity of confidentiality and the demand of public disclosure.  After all, the Food and Drug Administration is a public agency.  I always thought they tried their best to make our food safe.  Yet, people become sick and even die from contaminated food every year.  To my knowledge, the FDA does not plan to accuse Lance Armstrong of killing anyone.  Yet, without public disclosure of the government’s case, at this time, how do we know what the government is investigating or why?

Mind you, I am a lawyer.  I take sides.  I started to ride a bike because of Lance Armstrong.  Naturally, I am disinclined to be enthusiastic about the government’s case.  I used to be a government lawyer myself.  A U.S. Army reservist, I transferred from the infantry to the Judge Advocate’s General Corps when I was admitted to the bar.  I understand the ethics.  The government lawyer has a duty to the public.

Yet, Lance Armstrong is most likely being accused of sports fraud in France.  He was investigated for sports fraud in France by French prosecutors and the investigation dismissed for lack of credible evidence.   What is the proper venue to allege that an American committed a crime in a different country? 

To me, there is a question of standing.  Does the FDA have standing to charge Lance Armstrong with a crime?  In order for the FDA to move forward, it would seem that they would have to prove that Lance Armstrong committed a crime in the United States.  What is a crime exactly?  In this case, it is assumed that the FDA is looking at whether public funds were used to purchase performance enhancing drugs in a different country in order to improve performance for a race in a different country.  This seems weird to me.  The gist of the FDA’s case, then, must be that public funds were used to buy drugs. Yet, is it within the FDAs mandate to investigate the misuse of public funds? I thought the FDA had something to do with food or drugs. 

The connection that the FDA is trying to make has to do with the United States Postal Service. While Lance Armstrong dominated races in a completely different country, his team was sponsored by the United States Postal Service, a quasi-government agency. 

Benjamin Franklin, no less, established the first version of the U.S. Mail in 1775 and it is the only government agency mentioned in the US Constitution.  However, in 1971, it evolved into an independent agency under the Postal Reorganization Act.   As such, it is an independent establishment of the executive branch.  During the time Lance Armstrong raced his bike in a completely different country, the Postal Service did not directly receive any taxpayer dollars and had not since the early 1980s.

This begs two questions: (1) if the FDA has to prove public funds were used to buy drugs, does the FDA have a case when no taxpayer dollars were used to sponsor Lance Armstrong’s team?  (2) Even if there are complicated rules and monetary structures that satisfies the Judge on the first question, why the FDA?  Put differently, why does the FDA have a dog in this fight?  Shouldn’t it be the U.S.Postal Service that investigates and charges Lance Armstrong for defrauding the postal service?  The postal service has one of the oldest law enforcement agencies and has huge power to investigate fraud related to not only the delivery of mail but to its own operations.  If the postal service does not case, why does the FDA of all agencies?

Having been a government lawyer for a brief time, I can say that “politics” plays a bigger role in the public sector.  If the postal service does not think there is a case, why does the FDA? Ambition? 

What is ATP?

I read this today:  "[t]he ability to maintain prolonged exercise is dependent on the ability to match the rate of ATP supply to the rate of ATP utilisation. If this cannot be achieved then the rate of ATP use must fall and power output will decline."

I used to know what ATP was.  Not really.  But, it sounds familiar.  

Apparently, ATP is required for the biochemical reactions involved in any muscle contraction. As the work of the muscle increases, more and more ATP gets consumed and must be replaced in order for the muscle to keep moving. ATP is complex chemical compound that is formed with the energy released from food and is then stored in all cells, particularly muscles. Only from the energy released by the breakdown of this compound can the cells perform work.

Thus, without ATP, the muscles will not work.  There, direct and to the point.  

I then read that "training" increases the "availability of carbohydrate and lipid as substrate to meet cellular needs for ATP resynthesis."  (Why can't these guys speak English?)  I think this means that training leads to physiological adaptations that "make ATP last longer." I put that in quotes because it is my term of of art and should be in quotes.  

But, here is my question:  what adaptations?  What kind of training "makes ATP last longer?"  This time of year, I always ask:  does riding for hours and hours at zone 2 really maximize the type of adaptations that lead to efficient ATP synthesis? 

Meet The Team

Today was our annual Meet the Team ride.  It is a chance for local riders to ride with us and learn more about road racing.  Visit our team's website to learn more about our team and how to join. http://narrowsvelo.org/


The weather fooled us. I expected rain and we were met instead with glorious sunshine.  We all started out with arm warmers, full fingered gloves and vests.  That all stripped away as we rode.  


Out of Gig Harbor, we started the rollers, regrouping as we went along.  Easy pace that picked up to faux threshold pacelines on occasion. It is nice to ride for a change without feeling like you need to throw down.  I truly love September - rain or shine.  


Here are a few pictures.  

John Rodgers, our Prez addressing Congress

The Roll Out

The road, riding near Ollala.  Glorious!

Bellwether

The term "bellwether" comes from middle english.  Apparently the Middle Englanders placed a bell around the neck of a castrated Ram.  A castrated Ram is a "wether." The flock of sheep would follow the bell toting eunech by listening to the bell ring.  In modern usage, bellwether is any presage of a future event. 


I read today that the French Anti-doping Agency will cooperate with the USDA's investigation of the former U.S. Postal Cycling Team and Lance Armstrong by providing, if asked, Lance's 1999 blood samples.  I think I hear a bell ringing.  

When a Rider Runs

I am training for the Portland Marathon to be held on October 10th.  Why couldn't Phidippides have passed out and died after 18 miles?!  26.2 is a long, long way on foot.  The amazing thing is that the real Phidippides only died after 26.2 miles because he had run to Sparta and back (from Athens) just before his historic run from Marathon battlefield to Athens.  The distance to Sparta is 140 miles!  Think about that.  The dude runs 280 miles, then 26.2.  Thank god they DO NOT have running races called "Spartas".  No doubt there are people who would run it. 


As for me, I am up to 15 miles but strained my hamstring.  I heard that 25% of people who sign up for Marathons do not show up for race day due to injuries related to training. I believe that!  I might be one of the 25%. 


I am offended by the price tag.  Bike races are cheap.  $25.00 bucks lets you suffer in a pack of animals.  The Portland marathon is $130.00 dollars.  Of course, they actually hand out water and gatorade.  There are also people taking pictures of you on the course and there are medical tents and massages available after the race. At bike races, the rednecks just throw beer cans at us.  You get what you pay for.  

Weather

I, like many cyclists, was introduced to the sport by a friend.  He did triathlons, knew all about the Tour de France and bugged me to give it a try.  This friend, I noticed, had several bikes. As a rookie, I asked him about that and he pointed out that he had to have a “rain bike.” 

Once I became addicted to riding, I often asked him to ride with me.  Over the years, I have noticed that this particular friend does not actually ride his “rain bike”, or any other bike for that matter, when it is raining.   This, of course, means that my friend doesn’t ride his bike at all.

I do not understand that.  Cycling is not entirely about comfort.  On many occasions, it is about enduring.  We do it because that is what cyclists do.  I know that sounds ridiculous.  I imagine some would say it is cliché.  They don’t ride.

On Saturday, I rode the Tour de Blast, a 80 miles out and back ride that climbs to the Mt St Helens observation center.  In good weather, it is a hard ride.  The ride has a big dip in the middle which is Latin for “you climb on the way out AND the way back”.

This particular ride, was particularly “cliché”.  My new word for “miseable”.  For all of my followers in California, it has rained a lot in the Northwest this year.  (In the Northwest, there are four cycling seasons “Rain,” “More Rain”, “Still Raining” and “Road Construction.”)  This year has been about the worst.  

The ride started out with an annoying mist.  Getting ready in the parking lot, I ran into my 5^th grade daughter’s teacher.  She is new to cycling and was riding with her husband and another couple.  I, of course, had to be cool and refused to wear winter gloves.  She, I thought, is new.  She is overdressing.  I was arrogant. 

I started out blissfully happy as we motored along.  I was climbing well and road with team mate, Tom Hackleman.   I used the wrong verb.  Hackleman tortured me until bored and then handed me my lunch.  Actually, Hackleman dropped me not once but three times.  The first time, I just popped.  The second time, he got a flat and I was too cold to do anything but holler at him as I passed "Are you ok?"  After he caught me and shelled me again, he stopped to pee only to fly by me near the final summit.  I responded with words that can not be repeated here but “riggin” and “frickin” were two of the words I remember.

After climbing an hour and a half or so, we began the first big descent.  This descent sat in fog and the temperature dropped.  There was no spectacular views. In fact, there were no views at all the entire day.  Nothing but the despair of a fog that Jack the Ripper would have found homey.  Through the fog, one could hear the faint but increasingly louder wail of ambulances, shuttling hypothermic riders from the mountain. 

But, suffering is a meal best served with company.  On the descent, Hackleman and I shivered so uncontrollably, we could not control our bikes.  The speed of the descent and the inversion, forced me to pull over and break out my backup gear, all of it wet.  Tom's lower face was a deathly blue but, urging me on, he got me going again in search of the final climb. Relief!  As the heart rate jumped, so did our core temperature. I have to say, this was the first massive ride like Tour de Blast I have done in which I preferred, by far, the climbs to the descents. 

(Cycling Tip.  You can descend faster in a tuck that you can pedaling.  But, on cold weather days, DO NOT TUCK on a major descent.  First, the faster you go in bad weather, the colder your body becomes.  Second, your body is pissed at you and pays you back when you pedal again for the climb.  I don’t know where the blood goes during your fancy tuck but it has definitely left your legs. The bloodless, blue clumps of bone and flesh attached to the pedals become worthless.)

Through a few breaks, I could spot the weather.  In some cases, below us in the valleys, dementing clouds hovered like hawks looking for mice on bikes. Fog to the left and above, something else.   If you have ever seen "Ten Commandants" with Charleston Heston, you will not doubt remember the scene where a dark and sinister cloud descends upon Egypt to strike the first born son of any home that not marked for the passover.  In the movie, this cloud was the Angel of Death.   Above me, I imagined the Angel’s hand outreached.  Over the remnants of the 1980 blast zone,  St. Helen’s hand made the Angel of Death’s grip look infirm by comparison.   

Yet, there is something about weather.  In 1988, American Andy Hampsten wrote himself into the history books because he assaulted the Passo Gavia during a blizzard. Covered in snow, riders abandoned and he pedaled on.  He literally passed competitors cowering alongside the road. 

I am not comparing the 2010 Tour de Blast to the 1988 Giro.  However, I did remember Hampsten’s effort and it gave me encouragement.  Bad weather days are the days to do something great.  The sky is not blue but it is dramatic. 

I am clearly not the only one that feels this way. Despite the conditions, there were lots of riders.  People on weird bikes.   A hand pedaled bike lumbered up the slope.  A few recumbants.  Occasionally, a mountain bike.  Yellow, red and blue cycling jackets worn by silent men and women of all ages.  Scores of humans on the slope, all of them tough.   I saw a guy with a plastic bag on his head and thought of my friend at home with his rain bike in the basement, nice and warm.  What is worse?  Riding in the rain for six hours or sitting on the couch for six minutes?

Lance's Melon

To the occasional annoyance of my fellow bike racers, I often analogize bike racing ot the Army.  In both worlds, team loyalty is important and you get up really early to get your job done.  Let’s face it, we do more by  1:00 pm on Saturday than most people do all weekend.

Here is my most recent analogy.  Amateur bike racing is to the Reserves what pro bike racing is to Active Duty.  Sure, they have the big budgets with top of the line equipment.  But, in amateur bike racing we have diverse talent.  While the pros have so called “experts” at their disposals, we have talented, educated and creative people in our ranks from diverse backgrounds.   There is a huge asset that is occasionally leveraged by the enlightened.

Case in point, Walt Nestell.  Walt is on our team, Old Town Bicycle Race Team.  He has raced for years.  He is understated.  Humble.  I knew he was creative as I purchased some shoe covers that he made.  They match the blue of our kits and they rock. 

However, I had no idea he made custom helmets for skiing and, more importantly, cycling. Here is how I found out. Today, Walt posted on our team site a little anecdote.  He was contacted to go to Hawaii to build a custom TT helmet for an athlete.  You guessed it, Lance Armstrong.  Apparently, Lance wants to go faster this year in the TT at some race they hold in France.  Lance is known for innovation and trying new things.  No idea how he knew of Walt but somehow Walt got the call.

Many of you probably have seen this Youtube video.  Apparently, this was shot out of Walt’s car as they conducted comparison testing.

Here is a photo of Walt constructing the mold of Lance’s head for the custom fit helmet.

Another photo

Get this, apparently Lance warms up on a trainer in the parking lot just like we do. 

A better look at Walt's design. 

Now I know that Walt has a company and can build customized helmets. Here is his website.  Check it out. http://www.speedski.com/speed/

Anecdotes about Lance.  Walt reports that Lance is very nice and his hospitality was amazing.  Walt was provided accommodations in a five start hotel in Hawaii as he worked on the project.


Walt is also doing some design work for Darth Vadar: 

Ode to Alex (and Wes too!)

Bubble Gum Race

We call it "the course."  It is a "flat course", "brutal course", a "fast course."  We are talking about the roads we race.  We use the word "course" because, in part, we race the same roads over and over.  Mason Lake, Sequim, Independence Valley.  The excitement is the race, not the repetitive road.  

With that said, I am always interested in new "courses."  I recently visited Pike Place Market.  I stumbled onto "Post Alley" and the Bubble Gum Wall. 


No idea how it started but there is a portion on the cobbled alley that leads up to the Market upon which there is wall covered in used gum.  Disgusting really but for the artistic value. 


When I first saw it, there was no real explanation for all of the gum. My most recent trip to the shrine, I noticed a bubble gum machine.  Gas to the fire. 


Cyclists should note that I used the word "cobbled."  Granted, the Puget Sound does not have 28 sections of cobbles as does the road from Paris to Roubaix.  But, we do have the bubble gum wall. 

So, here is my idea.  Mass start from Tacoma, down Levy Road, up the STP route but onto Duwasmish trail into Seattle with the finish at the Bubble Gum Wall.  Winner gets a bag of donut holes from the Market!  








Pics from the Race. 

Heading to the Start

The Finish

Bike Racks in the Assembly Area

When you finish the race, it required to replenish the wall!

Training Unplugged

I am not a proponent of training with technology.  The day I unstrapped myself from my heart rate monitor and took my power tap off my bike was a day of liberation.  I now return from rides and I do not know what time it is let alone my average watts, speed and cadence.  


I should explain that I worked with a coach for quite some time when I began to race.  I also obsessively uploaded and analyzed by stats to include power, heart race, speed and all the other data.   I believe in periodization and structured training.  But there are ways to gather gauge your performance by simply paying attention to your body and your racing.  Here are a few examples. 


How to Tell When You Are Peaking
You know you are peaking when you assume you have a tailwind but you don't.  Or, you keep flicking your elbow for your wheel man to take his pull and no one is there.  Or, you keep wondering when the neutral roll out is over and the pack will start racing. 


How to Tell When Your Peak is Over
You know your peak is over when you keep looking down to see if your brake pad is rubbing.  You ask team mates to check if your back tire is low.  You keep shifting down but there are no more gears. 


How to Tell When Your are at Threshold
You know you are at threshold when you feel your heart where your tonsils used to be.   You catch yourself trying to breath through your tongue.  Or it feels like you forgot to take your blood pressure medicine that morning. 


How to Tell When You are Over Threshold
You know you are over your threshold when it feel like your heart fell down into your stomach.  Or, even the words you are thinking are slurred.  You feel like your sunglasses suddenly went two shades darker.


How to Tell When You are Over Trained, i.e, Burnt Out
In the Wenatchee TT, you think about work.  In the Wenatchee Crit, you envy the due who loses his chain.  In the Wenatchee Road Race, you ask one of the spectators if they have a gun.

The Lull

If a road race is over 30 miles and assuming it is NOT an uphill finish, in a noticeable number of cases, the pack will hesitate somewhere around 3 to 1 K to go.  It is a lull - a breather.  The thing that surprises me is that the guys in the middle part and back of the field do not elbow their way forward.  The guys in the front adjust, drink some water and reflect on the sprint finish that is coming.  I guess the guys in the back are just apathetic. Not their day.  Tired. 

I first noticed "the Lull" last year at Dung #2 and literally yelled at the 1K mark "will you PLEASE just GO!"  Like I always say, if you can't beat em at least try to persuade them!  It happened again at Dung this year, at IVRR and yesterday at Ravensdale, just before the last corner. 

Velo News points out that Cancellera won three races in three consecutive weekends: E3 Prijs Vlaanderen-Harelbeke, Flanders and then Paris Roubaix.  In each race he attacked at 50K to go.  In Paris Roubaix, the attack was so definitive, he was not required to attack again.  So, here is my thought - in Pro races, "the lull" is 50K to go!  If you look at Paris Roubaix, Cancellera's main competitor paused at 50K.  Sank back to the cars.  A drink of water.  The lull.  Those in the lull no doubt thought that any rational racer would do the same.  50K is a long way out and those who were there would surely finish together.  Save for the sprint. 


Personally, I do not care much about winning for myself.  I do care about racing.  As long as a team mate wins, it was an awesome day! Here is my conclusion:  in order to beat opponents, it would be better to shell some of them before the sprint.  Just saying.  IVRR ended in a crash.  I was second wheel at 1K during the lull and selfishly waited for the sprint.  BIG mistake.  A roadside bomb went off at 50 meter line and we ended up in the ditch. Had there been an attack at 1K, the result of the race would have been different. 


This is why bike racing is a team sport.  1K to go is a LONG, LONG way.  It might as well be 50K to go. 
I am as impatient with amateur fantasies about "tactics" as the next guy, but a team that could put 2 or 3 on the attack during the lull,  would be well nigh unbeatable assuming they had a ringer or two to exploit it.  Clearly, this is exactly what the pros do.  At our level, I have never seen it.