Ok, so I've avoided discussing this whole Lance Armstrong comeback thing, just because I wanted to see how it played out first. We're not at a resolution yet, but enough has leaked out that we can get a firm picture of what's going on. First, to introduce our players:

- Lance Armstrong: Self-important asshat who thinks he's so special that he can cure cancer by riding a bike.

- Team Astana: Kazakh-financed, Belgian-based cycling team that was banned from the 2008 Tour de France after failing doping tests the year before (not the whole team, just its best rider).

- Johan Bruyneel: Former director-sportif of Team Discovery Channel, Lance Armstrong's bff, and current DS of Team Astana.

- Alberto Contador: Current team leader of Astana, and possibly the best rider in the world today. Current title holder of the Giro d'Italia and the Vuelta a Espana, and the 2007 Tour de France champion. Only the fifth cyclist ever to win all three Grand Tours, and he did it in 14 months, a record for the shortest amount of time. Probably would have won the 08 TdF if his team was allowed to participate.

So this is what has gone down so far:

- Armstrong: I'm going to come back to professional cycling to win an 8th Tour de France and help cure cancer.

- Bruyneel: I would love to work with Lance again.

- Astana: We would love to have Lance join our team and be its leader in a Tour de France.

- Contador: Hey, guys? What about me? You know, I'm kind of like the best rider in the world, right? I'm this team's leader, if you bring in Lance, I'm going to quit.

- Bruyneel and Astana: We would love to have Lance win a TdF with our team.

- Contador: Fuck this, I'm out of here.

So let's get this straight. Astana is willing to lose the best rider in the world (I don't think you can really debate that title) to take in a 37 year old retired champion, who may not even ride with them past one year. On top of that, last time I checked, Astana is still suspended from the Tour de France. Let's be frank, the French hate Armstrong, and Bruyneel for that matter, wouldn't it be just perfect if Astana loses its best rider to sign Armstrong, then the French authorities don't allow them to race the TdF? It would be too much like right.

On a positive note, is there anybody looking for a team leader out there? We have a Contador for sale.

My birthday present to me.


Pimp.

I've been putting off writing about this, but as more people seem to get into cycling this time of the year (The Tour de France is well into its second week for those who don't know), we hear more and more about how tarnished the sport is by use of blood-boosters and other PEDs. Now, I've not ranted on this subject before, though it comes into play in nearly every sport I watch, especially baseball, but I'm ridiculously tired of people dismissing cycling because of "rampant" drug use.

Let's explore this a little, shall we? So far this year, 4 riders have been kicked out of the Tour and arrested for EPO use. Four of 168. That's 2.38% of all participants. While not every professional cycling team is invited to the Tour, or the Giro d'Italia, all the relevant ones are. These are the best of the best riders in the world. Look at it this way, if this were professional baseball (just in America), this would amount to 381 players caught using PEDs (2.38% of 16,000 players). And cycling is the dirty sport? Please. If you believe for a second that under 400 players in baseball were using steroids, HGH or even amphetamines throughout the Steroid Era, you're only fooling yourself.

And yes, I understand that the people who are being found to use are the ones winning stages, but isn't that the whole point? They use to win, and it works. Just ask Barry Bonds or Mark McGwire how it worked out for them. The governing body of cycling, the International Cycling Union (UCI), has done more to actively eliminate EPO and other PEDs in its sport than any other professional body, maybe outside of the International Olympic Committee and the World Anti-Doping Agency.

There are even entire teams committed to clean riding, who face more strict blood testing than the average rider.  Most notably the America-based Team Garmin-Chipotle (formerly Team Slipstream) which has hired only clean riders for their team, has Christian Vandevelde in 6th place at the Tour right now, less than 5 minutes off the pace, as well as Denmark-based Team CSC-Saxo Bank, which holds the Yellow Jersey and is the number one overall team in the Tour, has faced 1000 tests over the last year and a half.

I defy you to identify one sport, much less two teams that are doing as much to fight PED use in their sport as Team Garmin-Chipotle and Team CSC-Saxo Bank are. This bashing of the sport is silly, and though I am a newcomer to it, I'm already tired of hearing the crap.

EDIT: An interesting in-Tour blog by Team Garmin-Chipotle rider David Millar: "If you’re close to giving up on cycling, I can understand that. I almost did after all; but please don’t give up on us. And when I say us, I mean them. Because I am an ex-doper, I have to earn my right to be believed and trusted. But there are many who don’t. They need to be believed in. Christian [Vandevelde] is going to need every ounce of his being to pass the Alps. I believe he will do it. I hope you believe he can and will and that he is doing it with our dreams in his hands. Vive Le Tour."

Today's bike ride:

8.1 miles

31 minutes.

First 4 miles: 18 minutes (13.3 mph)

Last 4 miles: 13 minutes (18.46 mph)

Average mph: 15.67 mph

Negative Split! First time ever over that distance. (A special thanks goes out to that rich, Boathouse Row douchebag who wanted to race me. You inspired me to average 21.2 mph over the last mile and a half to whip your ass. And you thought I was letting you stay ahead of me because you were faster. HA.)

Rock on.

Interesting buying guide for helping the uneducated (read: me) learn more about choosing the right bike for them. It also makes one think of how costly bikes really are: 

"It is shocking, but, pound for pound, a high-performance bicycle or bike frame costs more than even the most exotic sports car. On average, a complete high-end bicycle weighing less than 17 pounds will cost in the neighborhood of $4,000: that’s $235 per pound. A $200,000 sports car weighing 3,000 pounds has a per pound cost of $66. If a high-end bicycle were a high-end sports car, it would cost in excess of $700,000! There are some high-end bike frames which cost in excess of $5,000: these 2 pound frames would translate to an automobile costing in excess of seven million dollars! Obviously, the decision to invest in a high-end bicycle should not be taken lightly, and it’s a decision that demands a wealth of information."

And I thought my bike was pricey...

In the interest of my performance in the MS 150 Ride, I've begun sampling energy gels for the ride. I've concerned myself mostly with taste and consistency over straight performance of the gel, because basically, there will be rest stops so I can load up on carbs if I need to (I imagine it would be somewhat embarrassing to bonk on a charity ride). I'll be looking into Clif Shot, Hammer Nutrition, Enervitene, Gu and Power Gels among others, starting tonight with Hammer Gel:

Flavor: Raspberry
Consistency: Really thick
Ingredients: Long-chain Maltodextrin, Water, Raspberry Puree, Energy Smart® (Fruit Juice, Natural Grain Dextrins), Raspberry Flavor, Black Raspberry Flavor, Citric Acid, Potassium Sorbate (as a preservative), Amino Acids (L-Leucine, L-Alanine, L-Valine, L-Isoleucine), Sodium Chloride, Potassium Chloride
Performance (How I feel afterwards): UPDATE. After about three hours I crashed. Hard. Didn't even make it to the end of the Home Run Derby without shutting my eyes for a bit. Maybe it was because I didn't do much in the way of strenuous physical activity, but I was knocked out. I sure could feel my heart thumping in my chest though... Bad news I think, and somewhat disappointingly ineffective.

Conclusion: I've gotta say, it tasted... ok, but damn was that a disgusting thing to have in my mouth. The consistency was very thick, and the fact that it was warm I'm sure didn't help. I'm hoping that things get better from here. I'm looking to put in about 30 miles tomorrow, so I'll be sampling Hammer Gel Orange, and/or Enervitene Orange at some point on the ride.

Also, if any of you have a particular favorite amongst these products, I'm totally open to suggestions.

I've been going through my iPod trying to put together a playlist for the upcoming bike ride. I've had something put together for a while, that I used to listen to during warmups for my lacrosse games. I've added a lot more to it (I'm up to about 6 and a half hours of music), including a section of more mellow music in the middle to relax a little bit, after the louder, more aggressive music. Send me some suggestions so I can expand my collection for the ride. I'm looking to get up to about ten hours of music.

To my small contingent of loyal readers and friends:

I've set up my fundraising page for the MS 150 City to Shore. If you are able, please donate what you can, I would really appreciate it. I truly believe that if we are focused, and work hard, a cure can be found, and we can finally rid the world of MS.

My page: http://main.nationalmssociety.org/goto/AWN

Team page: http://main.nationalmssociety.org/goto/Waterworks

New hotness got an upgrade (already). Aerobars for sprinting, and long distance riding at speed. Looks almost kind of badass:

Some of you are familiar with New Hotness:



Well, New Hotness and I are registered for our first ride, the 12th Annual Scenic Schuylkill Century, 25 miler on Saturday September 13.  Pretty awesome, I'm totally stoked. More excited, however, for this ride.

I'll be putting up a fundraising link soon, and would greatly appreciate your support.  My dad has lived with MS for most of his adult life, and the things he has to go through everyday can't even compare with what it will take to push my fat ass 150 miles.

Here's hoping that Philly is next for this.

Oh, and I can't ride my normal training route today because it is closed for the filming of Transformers 2... I might be ok with this, so long as it doesn't suck as much as the first one did...