Mood:
caffeinatedTopic: Cycling
Yesterday, I won this beauty on eBay:
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caffeinatedYesterday, I won this beauty on eBay:
chillin'Graeme Street recently asked,
“Have Recent Doping Allegations, Conspiracies, And Lies Killed Cycling? What Matters Most Is YOU.”
My answer: Cycling is the only sport that I’ve really enjoyed participating in. Why? Aside from the fact that I’m (somewhat) good at it, I've always believed that sports should be FUN. Cycling for me has always been fun, even during those times when my muscles were screaming WTF at me and I was ready to kill whoever convinced me to go on such-and-such ride/race.
However, many of the P.E. and athletics coaches that I encountered even as early as elementary school seemed to subscribe to the Coach Red Saunders' mentality expressed by his (in)famous quote, "Winning isn't everything, its the only thing." It’s that unfortunate mindset that has resulted in cheating apparently being okay as long as you don't get caught.
(I guess I'm lucky that I never had a cycling coach. 
)
What do we have to show for this? How about Lance Armstrong having all of his Tour de France wins stripped by the USADA over a sophisticated, long-term doping program? Then there’s Saints Coach Sean Peyton being suspended for a year due to the "Bountygate" scandal. Just today, the NFL announced that it is investigating the San Diego Chargers for possibly using an illegal "Stick 'em"-like substance during their 35-24 loss to the Denver Broncos last Monday night. I'm not even beginning to scratch the surface here . . . it goes on and on.
Back to Graeme's question: My answer is an emphatic “no”. I started racing as a Cat IV in 1977 and LOVED it! I enjoyed the comradery and the good natured rivalries. For us, racing was what it was about the doing and not simply the winning. We rode for the sheer love of the sport. Oh, the beer and bullshit sessions after a race or long ride were lots of fun too. There was no point in cheating because we were just lowly amateurs - there weren't multi-million dollar sponsorship fees, huge ticket sales or enormous advertising revenues at stake. We were usually just racing for ribbons, tee-shirts, the occasional prime, and beer. When we were racing non-sanctioned, we were often racing solely for the bragging rights (and beer).
Would taking the big money out of sports eliminate cheating? Cheating seems to (unfortunately) be a part of human nature that is probably tied to some survival mechanism left over from our pre-historic past, so I suspect not. Maybe it would significantly reduce it, but as long as everybody loves a winner and sports equals dollars then I think we’ll be stuck with cheating – even if the resulting victories are all too often hollow.
caffeinated
chillin'
chillin'
chillin'Video of how they made Ciocc frames back in the early 1980s when lightweight steel still ruled the pro peleton (with catchy pop-symphonic soundtrack):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cfgz-2WouyQ
You've got to admire the skilled craftmanship and efficiency of these builders. I wonder if my Ciocc San Cristobal is in this video? Probably not - these look like later models (braze-on front derailleur tang and dual bottle cage mounts). Besides, Maestro Pelizzoli says that he remembers building mine!
caffeinatedI haven’t blogged in awhile – between work, parenting and the ongoing home remodeling I haven’t had the time or energy for “recreational writing”.
My buddy John and I have been cycling together on weekends. We have a relatively car-free training route (you can view at http://www.livestrong.com/loops/prairieville_steve_s_38_mile_alligator_bayou_loop-I25BaeDLFJ ) that takes us from my house out Manchac Road to the River Road, turns north and loops around to Gummers Lane, then back to the River Road and return. Lots of other cyclists use this route. Mileage is just shy of 40 miles, which makes for a good Saturday morning ride of under two-and-a-half hours at our average 16 to18 mph pace. Conversely, I’m not training during the week like I did last year and earlier this past Spring. April started attending Third Grade at Elite in August, so we’ve been getting up at 5:30 a.m. in order to get her to school by 6:50 a.m. That means she’s normally home before I am in the evenings, so no more after-work time-alone for either the wind-trainer or “beer rides”. Fortunately, my lack of weekday training hasn’t adversely my speed – if anything, I’ve gotten faster from having to keep up with a younger guy who regularly works-out and rides a lighter, more modern bike. My quads have gotten bigger and firmer – now if I can just drop another 10 pounds and lose what’s left of my “spare tire” I’ll really be in great shape.
What else? I’ve pretty much talked myself out of wanting a new bike. When John got his carbon fiber Cannondale Synapse this past Spring I briefly caught “new bike fever”. I looked into getting a hi-tech, brifter-equipped, index-shifting, umpty-speed carbon fiber wonder, but the more research I did the less enthusiastic I became about hanging-up my dependable ol’ steel-frame, friction-shifting Ciocc. My Ciocc turned 25 years-old last April, but with the upgrades I’ve made since I started riding again (i.e., Kelly “Take-Offs” shifters, Selle SMP TRK saddle, etc.) the seeming advantages of a new bike simply aren’t all that. Besides, I dropped John on the home stretch of last Saturday’s ride for the first time since we started riding together and felt like I could have gone another 10 miles.
I learned a long time ago that it isn’t the bike that matters most, it’s the motor. I just have to be reminded of that lesson once in awhile, that's all.
a-ok
Brifters? Er, not exactly . . . they're Kelly Take-Offs! They provide the convenience of shifting from the bars for those "retro grouches" like me who still prefer old-school friction-shifting derailleurs to index-shifting STI/Ergo.
chillin'How I stay motivated to train:
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