Old stuff for the old guy.
Before you cranky bastards give me hell, I know my blogger skills are teh suxxors.
Piccies below:
Monday, June 25, 2007
Weekend Update
On Saturday I hung around with some folks even nerdier than wheelspeople. Radio Hams!
The local radio club set up at Hunt's Mills in EP for field day. All geeked up to cq as many other radio nerdz as were to be had. http://www.w1aq.com/home
Nice folks but not too impressed with an SWL.
I rode the Surly over to their encampment while they were setting up Saturday morning. I was surprised to see how automated Hams had become. A lot of computer tuners and a signal finder dealie that kept casting out cqs to a minimum. I was pleased to see so many folks still interested in cw or Morse code operation. As a kid I could never get the hang of it, so couldn’t pass my radio license test.
Saturday afternoon I caught up with AVH my best friend from prepdom. Still digesting the experience.
My wrist hurt from actually doing physical work on Saturday so I didn’t ride Sunday. I cannot hold onto the bars without significant pain.
Sunday was the Cox race. Nice afternoon out. Saw Hutch, an old URI mate, and Willi as well as Jimmy.
On Saturday I hung around with some folks even nerdier than wheelspeople. Radio Hams!
The local radio club set up at Hunt's Mills in EP for field day. All geeked up to cq as many other radio nerdz as were to be had. http://www.w1aq.com/home
Nice folks but not too impressed with an SWL.
I rode the Surly over to their encampment while they were setting up Saturday morning. I was surprised to see how automated Hams had become. A lot of computer tuners and a signal finder dealie that kept casting out cqs to a minimum. I was pleased to see so many folks still interested in cw or Morse code operation. As a kid I could never get the hang of it, so couldn’t pass my radio license test.
Saturday afternoon I caught up with AVH my best friend from prepdom. Still digesting the experience.
My wrist hurt from actually doing physical work on Saturday so I didn’t ride Sunday. I cannot hold onto the bars without significant pain.
Sunday was the Cox race. Nice afternoon out. Saw Hutch, an old URI mate, and Willi as well as Jimmy.
Sunday, June 24, 2007
Prov World Cup on Ice.
Francine called it right.
From cyclingnews.com:
"We have a great venue, political support, solid staff, and fantastic sponsors in place," said Richard Fries, marketing and communications director. "What we truly need, however, is time to create an event that provides a solid return on the investment being made by our sponsors. We’re not just planning a wedding; we’re planning a marriage between our organization and a Fortune 500 sponsor. We expect to build a lasting, world-class event in Providence with plans of hosting the World Championships at Roger Williams Park."
Francine called it right.
From cyclingnews.com:
"We have a great venue, political support, solid staff, and fantastic sponsors in place," said Richard Fries, marketing and communications director. "What we truly need, however, is time to create an event that provides a solid return on the investment being made by our sponsors. We’re not just planning a wedding; we’re planning a marriage between our organization and a Fortune 500 sponsor. We expect to build a lasting, world-class event in Providence with plans of hosting the World Championships at Roger Williams Park."
Friday, June 22, 2007
Nostalgia.
OK Foley, you asked for it.
I graduated from high school 25 years ago this month. I was always thankful that my mother sent me to prep school. I was a bully magnet in public schools and the torture abated a good bit once I went to private school.
Something my classmate, a golf prodigy, said to me once has stayed with me. He noted that he and I were the school’s token Portagies. He was there because he could play golf, I was there because I was the neighborhood kid with a highest entrance exam score. Not the prototypical New England prep school boys.
I was never a good fit at school but it allowed me a lot more freedom, and safety than the urban/suburban East Providence school system.
Last month my phone rang and a heavily Middle Eastern accented voice asked for me. I almost hung up, expecting it to be another outsourced worker offering large savings on my mortgage. But I waited. “This is Mohammed,” he said.
“Mohammed F____i?” I asked.
“Yes”.
Wow. Mo was an exchange student my senior year. A Muslim from Tunisia he was placed with a prominent Jewish family from the school. They did a great job and were very supportive but it was not the easiest year.
Mo is a physician now and was in the US for a conference. While here he went by the school to look up old friends. I was the first he found.
He also found Maj. Preston and Fredo. Two Sunday nights ago the Major called. HE is retiring form the military and moving back to Rhode Island. A week or so later Fredo emailed. Mo had started the ball of nostalgia rolling. We were all misfits that managed to flourish in the strict prep school environment. We were not the cool kids, or jocks but were good students allowed to, for the most part, get along fairly happily.
Fredo was my best friend for years. The closest thing to a brother I’ve ever had. I missed Fredo and his family very much. Time got in the way and we lost touch years ago. Fredo has a second wife and a new baby now. I am meeting up with him for the first time in over 10 years on Saturday. I am nervous. What if we just don’t like each other any more?
Bike content, Fredo and I were on the school’s cycling team together. It was a prep school where the whole bike thing started. It was old school. Wool jerseys. Double pacelines. Getting yelled at for screwing up. I loved it. I loved working hard. I loved racing as team, (it was scored like cross country or collegiate racing). I loved being better than awful at a sport. Something new for me.
My experience on the cycling team is what I cherish most form my high school experience. It gave me something I still have. A place.
I credit cycling and the people I have met riding for saving my life on a number of occasions. That is not hyperbole. My bike has saved me from myself for 25 years.
The bike team disappeared in the 90s but driven by this recent pang of nostalgia I have agreed to organize a bike ride for my reunion / homecoming day. The school has hunted down 40 alumna/e that were members of the bike team and there is interest among the new athletics regime for a recreational cycling program. I hope it happens.
See ya on the road,
Il B
OK Foley, you asked for it.
I graduated from high school 25 years ago this month. I was always thankful that my mother sent me to prep school. I was a bully magnet in public schools and the torture abated a good bit once I went to private school.
Something my classmate, a golf prodigy, said to me once has stayed with me. He noted that he and I were the school’s token Portagies. He was there because he could play golf, I was there because I was the neighborhood kid with a highest entrance exam score. Not the prototypical New England prep school boys.
I was never a good fit at school but it allowed me a lot more freedom, and safety than the urban/suburban East Providence school system.
Last month my phone rang and a heavily Middle Eastern accented voice asked for me. I almost hung up, expecting it to be another outsourced worker offering large savings on my mortgage. But I waited. “This is Mohammed,” he said.
“Mohammed F____i?” I asked.
“Yes”.
Wow. Mo was an exchange student my senior year. A Muslim from Tunisia he was placed with a prominent Jewish family from the school. They did a great job and were very supportive but it was not the easiest year.
Mo is a physician now and was in the US for a conference. While here he went by the school to look up old friends. I was the first he found.
He also found Maj. Preston and Fredo. Two Sunday nights ago the Major called. HE is retiring form the military and moving back to Rhode Island. A week or so later Fredo emailed. Mo had started the ball of nostalgia rolling. We were all misfits that managed to flourish in the strict prep school environment. We were not the cool kids, or jocks but were good students allowed to, for the most part, get along fairly happily.
Fredo was my best friend for years. The closest thing to a brother I’ve ever had. I missed Fredo and his family very much. Time got in the way and we lost touch years ago. Fredo has a second wife and a new baby now. I am meeting up with him for the first time in over 10 years on Saturday. I am nervous. What if we just don’t like each other any more?
Bike content, Fredo and I were on the school’s cycling team together. It was a prep school where the whole bike thing started. It was old school. Wool jerseys. Double pacelines. Getting yelled at for screwing up. I loved it. I loved working hard. I loved racing as team, (it was scored like cross country or collegiate racing). I loved being better than awful at a sport. Something new for me.
My experience on the cycling team is what I cherish most form my high school experience. It gave me something I still have. A place.
I credit cycling and the people I have met riding for saving my life on a number of occasions. That is not hyperbole. My bike has saved me from myself for 25 years.
The bike team disappeared in the 90s but driven by this recent pang of nostalgia I have agreed to organize a bike ride for my reunion / homecoming day. The school has hunted down 40 alumna/e that were members of the bike team and there is interest among the new athletics regime for a recreational cycling program. I hope it happens.
See ya on the road,
Il B
Wednesday, February 07, 2007
Spats
The Mitrelis family has resurrected the Spats brand and opened a new restaurant with the old name.
Where Paragon now stands on Thayer St. once was the home of Spats (and Jake’s coffee shop). The Mitrelises own Paragon and Andrea’s (once the Hungry Sheik) as well as a good slab of Thayer St. I think that the defunct Oliver’s on Brook St. is also a family holding. The new Spats is on Angell St. where Sura used to be, if you are a real RI old timer like il Bruce, where Le Papillion was in the 1980s.
The old Spat’s had two sides. An entrance on Thayer St. opened to an art deco themed bar and dining room whilst the Angell St. door lead to a dark, well worn, barroom. The menu was the same on both sides but the clientele was a bit more working class on the “bar side”, my preferred side.
The best seats in the house were between the two sides. The connecting room held a couple cozy if banged-up tables. Underage drinkers could often be found holed up in there.
The new incarnation is a bit of both sides. There is no real art deco flair but it was cozy and small. The room was darkish with a nice bar. There is none of the threadbare charm (read grimy) of the old place but it is no dishonor to the hallowed Spats
The food was OK, not spectacular but better than what I’ve come to expect from the neighborhood. It will be interesting to see what the crowds are like on a Thursday or Friday night during the spring semester. The small crowd last night was less than collegiate.
The Mitrelis family has resurrected the Spats brand and opened a new restaurant with the old name.
Where Paragon now stands on Thayer St. once was the home of Spats (and Jake’s coffee shop). The Mitrelises own Paragon and Andrea’s (once the Hungry Sheik) as well as a good slab of Thayer St. I think that the defunct Oliver’s on Brook St. is also a family holding. The new Spats is on Angell St. where Sura used to be, if you are a real RI old timer like il Bruce, where Le Papillion was in the 1980s.
The old Spat’s had two sides. An entrance on Thayer St. opened to an art deco themed bar and dining room whilst the Angell St. door lead to a dark, well worn, barroom. The menu was the same on both sides but the clientele was a bit more working class on the “bar side”, my preferred side.
The best seats in the house were between the two sides. The connecting room held a couple cozy if banged-up tables. Underage drinkers could often be found holed up in there.
The new incarnation is a bit of both sides. There is no real art deco flair but it was cozy and small. The room was darkish with a nice bar. There is none of the threadbare charm (read grimy) of the old place but it is no dishonor to the hallowed Spats
The food was OK, not spectacular but better than what I’ve come to expect from the neighborhood. It will be interesting to see what the crowds are like on a Thursday or Friday night during the spring semester. The small crowd last night was less than collegiate.
Monday, January 29, 2007
Silver for Page!
Oh yeah, flick Bart Wellens.
From cyclingnews.com:
Wellens found it more difficult to deal with the loss. "Even though I had the best legs of the season I couldn't do much more than what I did. The jersey went to the wrong person, he shouldn't have won it even though he's a teammate. He deserves to be on the podium but the other guys don't," Wellens said. He described the crash as inevitable and said how he felt afterwards. "The quad touched that block, and I couldn't get away anymore. Afterwards I had a lot of pain in my neck and couldn't throw my bike," Wellens explained.
Oh yeah, flick Bart Wellens.
From cyclingnews.com:
Wellens found it more difficult to deal with the loss. "Even though I had the best legs of the season I couldn't do much more than what I did. The jersey went to the wrong person, he shouldn't have won it even though he's a teammate. He deserves to be on the podium but the other guys don't," Wellens said. He described the crash as inevitable and said how he felt afterwards. "The quad touched that block, and I couldn't get away anymore. Afterwards I had a lot of pain in my neck and couldn't throw my bike," Wellens explained.
Monday, January 22, 2007
Work release
It seems Acqua & Sapone is a sort of halfway house / work release program for pro dopers.
Stefano Garzelli and VBD are the two stars. In fact VDB has been living with team boss Palmiro Masciarelli and his family. I wonder how he feels about VDB’s new kiss and tell?
Not content with two tainted talents the team is reportedly interested in the Teutonic
Titan Jan the Maan Jellyroll.
Acqua & Sapone translates “Soap & Water”. Well soap and water can’t wash away all sins.
It seems Acqua & Sapone is a sort of halfway house / work release program for pro dopers.
Stefano Garzelli and VBD are the two stars. In fact VDB has been living with team boss Palmiro Masciarelli and his family. I wonder how he feels about VDB’s new kiss and tell?
Not content with two tainted talents the team is reportedly interested in the Teutonic
Titan Jan the Maan Jellyroll.
Acqua & Sapone translates “Soap & Water”. Well soap and water can’t wash away all sins.
Tuesday, January 02, 2007
Punk: Attitude
We watched this Monday afternoon: http://www.elitestv.com/pub/2005/Jul/EEN42cec8f17e252.html
Quite good.
We watched this Monday afternoon: http://www.elitestv.com/pub/2005/Jul/EEN42cec8f17e252.html
Quite good.
Monday, December 11, 2006
Whiney Bitches?
This guy is crying 'cause he gots hisself suspended for missing 3 examen de dopage in 18 months. His excuse? I didn't wanna fill out the paperwork any more. He says he wasn't racing at the elite level, and didn't consider himself a racing cyclist any longer. He knew what was going on. RTFA. http://www.velonews.com/race/mtn/articles/11309.0.html
This on top of Race to Replace winner dissing Disco for signing Basso.
I think a lot of these elite to semi elite riders have lost sight of where they fit in. If you are on the out of competition list. It's a fact of life. You are there because you wanted to be at a certain level. Once it becomes too much, take care of it. Like paying your credit card bill. It's gotta be done, it's your responsibility. Do it, fucktard. Nobody cares about your story.
By Fred DreierVeloNews associate editor
This report filed December 11, 2006
On September 25, cross-country mountain biker Jimi Mortensen received a two-year doping suspension from the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) for missing three out-of-competition tests during an 18-month period from late 2004 to early 2005.
Mortensen wasn't exactly dodging the tests. The Eagle, Colorado, resident says he simply stopped filling out his USADA paperwork because he was fed up with being a part of USADA's out-of-competition testing group.
Mortensen became a member of the group after representing the United States at the 2003 world mountain-bike championships in Lugano, Switzerland. But after 2004, his career began to wind down, and Mortensen says he had become more focused on his new child, his tile business and his family life than racing bikes or putting his life on hold for drug testers.
USADA saw things otherwise.
"He didn't fill out the papers for four quarters and then was given the opportunity to show up for testing and didn't," said USADA general counsel Travis Tygart. "That's very grievous behavior. The rule is a fair rule. Fortunately the overwhelming majority of the athletes comply with it on any given quarter."
Following is an excerpt from an interview with Mortensen for an upcoming piece that will appear in the January 2007 issue of VeloNews. The magazine piece will include more comments from USADA on Mortensen's case, as well as the cases of Cale Redpath and Jason Sager, who both received one-year bans for missing post-race tests at the July 9 NMBS race in Deer Valley, Utah.
VeloNews: Why did you stop filling out the paperwork?
Jimi Mortensen: Well, I guess after the 2004 season when Specialized dropped sponsorship for our team, I said I'm not going to be on any team next year, so I would be pretty much semi-retired. I had a new business of my own and I bartend full time, and I was feeling guilty about having to win prize money to pay my mortgage. I was like, hopefully, my business takes off and I can start racing again before I get too old. I mean, I like the scene and I like to train. In 2005 my racing schedule was hardly anything. I did the Teva Games, two local races in Vail and the Vail 100 and RAAM. I was just doing whatever races I could do around here. So I was trying to get USADA to take me off of the [out-of-competition testing] list. I told them a couple of times, "I would really appreciate it if you would take me off the list. I'm not racing and you're wasting your time and money on me."
They told me I'd have to officially retire, and if I wanted to race again I'd have to fill out paperwork six months before the race and start getting randomly tested again.
So I let my paperwork slip, and when you do that it's an automatic red flag. This guy was late on his forms and so he gets tested.
VN: Did they send someone to your door?
JM: Yeah, and I was in Denver on a Sunday at my brother-in-law's wrestling tournament, and [the tester] comes and finds you where you're supposed to be, so the guy showed up in Eagle and I was at the Pepsi Center. [The testers] basically show up to your door and if you're not home they don't call you, they have a four-hour buffer and sit outside your house, and basically call you when the time is up and say you have missed your test. He called me when I was in Denver and I said, "If you're coming back through Denver, stop by the Pepsi Center and it'll be all good." But I missed the test. I should have had the foresight to know that I was going to be gone.
VN: So that counted as three missed tests for you. What happened next?
JM: They said I can't miss three tests in an 18-month period. I was like, whatever, I'm not worried. I wrote them a letter and explained my situation and said my results and the races I had done in the last two years. I told them I wasn't a cyclist anymore. I don't have a team, I've never had a doctor and I don't know how to use the drugs they're even testing for. They were like, "No, that's not good enough, so you're suspended for 18 months." I said I didn't like the sound of that, give me a hearing. I'm not going to waste time and money on a lawyer, I'm just going to go tell my side of the story [to an arbitration panel] and hopefully they'll understand my situation. That was kind of dumb.
VN: What have been the repercussions of your suspension?
JM: Looking back, I should have just retired. I can still do the Vail 100 and RAAM because they're not NORBA-sanctioned, but I can't do the local Vail races because they're NORBA now. That's a bummer because I've been racing in the Vail valley since 1996 and in Eagle County it's a big cycling community and everybody knows me and Jay [Henry] and Mike [Janelle] and I've never had any ding on my reputation, and now I look like a jackass for our county. They threw it on the front page of the Vail Daily. "Local cyclist banned for two years." The story was pretty much what I told you, but when you have a headline like that, I was totally screwed. I mean, that's how I pretty much ended my cycling career in my community, with people thinking I'm a doper. My friends are asking if I did it. I do construction for all of these guys in the valley who are cyclists, and now I'm losing jobs because I'm "the doper." I mean, anyone who knows anything about cycling knows that I'm not a doper. There's no way I could even access or use doping products. It was a huge joke until one day you wake up and see it on the front page of the paper. Then the joke was on me. If I would have foreseen that, I would have kept filling out those forms for the rest of my life so I wouldn't look like a doper.
This guy is crying 'cause he gots hisself suspended for missing 3 examen de dopage in 18 months. His excuse? I didn't wanna fill out the paperwork any more. He says he wasn't racing at the elite level, and didn't consider himself a racing cyclist any longer. He knew what was going on. RTFA. http://www.velonews.com/race/mtn/articles/11309.0.html
This on top of Race to Replace winner dissing Disco for signing Basso.
I think a lot of these elite to semi elite riders have lost sight of where they fit in. If you are on the out of competition list. It's a fact of life. You are there because you wanted to be at a certain level. Once it becomes too much, take care of it. Like paying your credit card bill. It's gotta be done, it's your responsibility. Do it, fucktard. Nobody cares about your story.
By Fred DreierVeloNews associate editor
This report filed December 11, 2006
On September 25, cross-country mountain biker Jimi Mortensen received a two-year doping suspension from the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) for missing three out-of-competition tests during an 18-month period from late 2004 to early 2005.
Mortensen wasn't exactly dodging the tests. The Eagle, Colorado, resident says he simply stopped filling out his USADA paperwork because he was fed up with being a part of USADA's out-of-competition testing group.
Mortensen became a member of the group after representing the United States at the 2003 world mountain-bike championships in Lugano, Switzerland. But after 2004, his career began to wind down, and Mortensen says he had become more focused on his new child, his tile business and his family life than racing bikes or putting his life on hold for drug testers.
USADA saw things otherwise.
"He didn't fill out the papers for four quarters and then was given the opportunity to show up for testing and didn't," said USADA general counsel Travis Tygart. "That's very grievous behavior. The rule is a fair rule. Fortunately the overwhelming majority of the athletes comply with it on any given quarter."
Following is an excerpt from an interview with Mortensen for an upcoming piece that will appear in the January 2007 issue of VeloNews. The magazine piece will include more comments from USADA on Mortensen's case, as well as the cases of Cale Redpath and Jason Sager, who both received one-year bans for missing post-race tests at the July 9 NMBS race in Deer Valley, Utah.
VeloNews: Why did you stop filling out the paperwork?
Jimi Mortensen: Well, I guess after the 2004 season when Specialized dropped sponsorship for our team, I said I'm not going to be on any team next year, so I would be pretty much semi-retired. I had a new business of my own and I bartend full time, and I was feeling guilty about having to win prize money to pay my mortgage. I was like, hopefully, my business takes off and I can start racing again before I get too old. I mean, I like the scene and I like to train. In 2005 my racing schedule was hardly anything. I did the Teva Games, two local races in Vail and the Vail 100 and RAAM. I was just doing whatever races I could do around here. So I was trying to get USADA to take me off of the [out-of-competition testing] list. I told them a couple of times, "I would really appreciate it if you would take me off the list. I'm not racing and you're wasting your time and money on me."
They told me I'd have to officially retire, and if I wanted to race again I'd have to fill out paperwork six months before the race and start getting randomly tested again.
So I let my paperwork slip, and when you do that it's an automatic red flag. This guy was late on his forms and so he gets tested.
VN: Did they send someone to your door?
JM: Yeah, and I was in Denver on a Sunday at my brother-in-law's wrestling tournament, and [the tester] comes and finds you where you're supposed to be, so the guy showed up in Eagle and I was at the Pepsi Center. [The testers] basically show up to your door and if you're not home they don't call you, they have a four-hour buffer and sit outside your house, and basically call you when the time is up and say you have missed your test. He called me when I was in Denver and I said, "If you're coming back through Denver, stop by the Pepsi Center and it'll be all good." But I missed the test. I should have had the foresight to know that I was going to be gone.
VN: So that counted as three missed tests for you. What happened next?
JM: They said I can't miss three tests in an 18-month period. I was like, whatever, I'm not worried. I wrote them a letter and explained my situation and said my results and the races I had done in the last two years. I told them I wasn't a cyclist anymore. I don't have a team, I've never had a doctor and I don't know how to use the drugs they're even testing for. They were like, "No, that's not good enough, so you're suspended for 18 months." I said I didn't like the sound of that, give me a hearing. I'm not going to waste time and money on a lawyer, I'm just going to go tell my side of the story [to an arbitration panel] and hopefully they'll understand my situation. That was kind of dumb.
VN: What have been the repercussions of your suspension?
JM: Looking back, I should have just retired. I can still do the Vail 100 and RAAM because they're not NORBA-sanctioned, but I can't do the local Vail races because they're NORBA now. That's a bummer because I've been racing in the Vail valley since 1996 and in Eagle County it's a big cycling community and everybody knows me and Jay [Henry] and Mike [Janelle] and I've never had any ding on my reputation, and now I look like a jackass for our county. They threw it on the front page of the Vail Daily. "Local cyclist banned for two years." The story was pretty much what I told you, but when you have a headline like that, I was totally screwed. I mean, that's how I pretty much ended my cycling career in my community, with people thinking I'm a doper. My friends are asking if I did it. I do construction for all of these guys in the valley who are cyclists, and now I'm losing jobs because I'm "the doper." I mean, anyone who knows anything about cycling knows that I'm not a doper. There's no way I could even access or use doping products. It was a huge joke until one day you wake up and see it on the front page of the paper. Then the joke was on me. If I would have foreseen that, I would have kept filling out those forms for the rest of my life so I wouldn't look like a doper.
Tuesday, November 28, 2006
The CAN!
From projo.com
http://www.beloblog.com/ProJo_Blogs/newsblog/#054084
"Former Red Sox pitcher Dennis "Oil Can" Boyd, left, acts as an election recount observer for his father-in-law, Isadore Ramos, candidate for East Providence's council-at-large seat. Stephanie Brelsford, a Board of Elections worker, feeds ballots from the Rumford Towers precinct into the voting machine. The recount showed Isadore leading Mayor Joseph Larisa Jr. by 16 votes. Larisa had requested the recount."
My mayor to be is the Can's father in law. I love Rhode Island.
il Bruce
From projo.com
http://www.beloblog.com/ProJo_Blogs/newsblog/#054084
"Former Red Sox pitcher Dennis "Oil Can" Boyd, left, acts as an election recount observer for his father-in-law, Isadore Ramos, candidate for East Providence's council-at-large seat. Stephanie Brelsford, a Board of Elections worker, feeds ballots from the Rumford Towers precinct into the voting machine. The recount showed Isadore leading Mayor Joseph Larisa Jr. by 16 votes. Larisa had requested the recount."
My mayor to be is the Can's father in law. I love Rhode Island.
il Bruce
Wednesday, November 22, 2006
Thursday, November 16, 2006
Grand Funding
The RI Sports Council, a state funded organization, has contacted the Club regarding an event they are “supporting”. This event will be a RACE! According to the events director of RISC it is definitely a race not a ride.
It is being promoted, run, foisted, by an organization called Velo USA. There will be 6 divisions, and 800 riders. They want a 120-130 mile parcouse. (In lil’Rhody) According to RISC they are applying for a USAC permit. Hmmm….
The RISC is looking for our support. They are not being specific about what they mean by that. I have been named point person for all interaction between Velo USA/RISC and the Club.
I have doubts as to whether these people have any idea as to what they are proposing. They want to have it on the same weekend as Gary Dalton’s Cox Charities race in Providence. The Club has historically supported the Providence race and I’m not pleased about possible conflicting events.
I have never hear of Velo USA and the RISC seems to be a group of politicians looking for economic development based on bringing sporting events (mainly golfing) to RI. Anybody have any history with these entities?
Il B
The RI Sports Council, a state funded organization, has contacted the Club regarding an event they are “supporting”. This event will be a RACE! According to the events director of RISC it is definitely a race not a ride.
It is being promoted, run, foisted, by an organization called Velo USA. There will be 6 divisions, and 800 riders. They want a 120-130 mile parcouse. (In lil’Rhody) According to RISC they are applying for a USAC permit. Hmmm….
The RISC is looking for our support. They are not being specific about what they mean by that. I have been named point person for all interaction between Velo USA/RISC and the Club.
I have doubts as to whether these people have any idea as to what they are proposing. They want to have it on the same weekend as Gary Dalton’s Cox Charities race in Providence. The Club has historically supported the Providence race and I’m not pleased about possible conflicting events.
I have never hear of Velo USA and the RISC seems to be a group of politicians looking for economic development based on bringing sporting events (mainly golfing) to RI. Anybody have any history with these entities?
Il B
Friday, October 13, 2006
Cyclocross Touring, gumby style
Saturday morning Gary , Marc and I rodethe Airline Trail from Rte. 169 in Pomfret toWillimantic.It was a great time.
The trail is an unfinishedrail-trail conversion. The surface varied from loose gravel, loose sand, mud, bumpy single track, smooth double track and once we got near Willimantic it was cinder for a few miles then paved.
It seemed to be slightly uphill most of the way, like the West Bay trail to West Warwick from Providence. The trail is beautiful. It is very scenic and littleused. It is a bit tough to find the trail and there is no parking or signage. The Connecticut state bikemap and website only offer marginal help. Only the equestrian set seemed to use it much. There was agood amount of horse poo around. We saw a boy scoutgroup out mountain biking on the first leg but otherthan one dog walker about halfway along we saw noother trail users.
I had heard everything from it is manageable on a road bike to it is totally impassable. I certainly wouldn’t recommend thin road tyres but we all were on cyclocross bikes with 30mm or so knobby tyres. A mountain bike would have been overkill for all but the roughest sections. I would not recommend the trail to anyone not confident of their off- roadskills. The bike will bounce, skitter and skid. We averaged 10.5mph for 22 miles and we are all in the17-18 mph range on the road. It was a tough ride.
We did not cycle back to Pomfret, we were met at theWillimantic Brewing Co. pub by our rides. After lunchand a few beers we gladly climbed in the cars for alift home.
More info on the Airline Trail at:http://pages.cthome.net/mbartel/ARRabout.htm
Saturday morning Gary , Marc and I rodethe Airline Trail from Rte. 169 in Pomfret toWillimantic.It was a great time.
The trail is an unfinishedrail-trail conversion. The surface varied from loose gravel, loose sand, mud, bumpy single track, smooth double track and once we got near Willimantic it was cinder for a few miles then paved.
It seemed to be slightly uphill most of the way, like the West Bay trail to West Warwick from Providence. The trail is beautiful. It is very scenic and littleused. It is a bit tough to find the trail and there is no parking or signage. The Connecticut state bikemap and website only offer marginal help. Only the equestrian set seemed to use it much. There was agood amount of horse poo around. We saw a boy scoutgroup out mountain biking on the first leg but otherthan one dog walker about halfway along we saw noother trail users.
I had heard everything from it is manageable on a road bike to it is totally impassable. I certainly wouldn’t recommend thin road tyres but we all were on cyclocross bikes with 30mm or so knobby tyres. A mountain bike would have been overkill for all but the roughest sections. I would not recommend the trail to anyone not confident of their off- roadskills. The bike will bounce, skitter and skid. We averaged 10.5mph for 22 miles and we are all in the17-18 mph range on the road. It was a tough ride.
We did not cycle back to Pomfret, we were met at theWillimantic Brewing Co. pub by our rides. After lunchand a few beers we gladly climbed in the cars for alift home.
More info on the Airline Trail at:http://pages.cthome.net/mbartel/ARRabout.htm
Wednesday, September 20, 2006
Crazy Brucie's
I want to sell off some wheels and have no idea how to set prices. At work we pull prices for products out or our butt. Manual-rectal retrieval.
Don't wanna screw anybody, 'specially myself.
The point of selling off unused wheels, apart from making room in the cellar, is to buy some lighter, spiffier wheels for the Surly winter bike. I'd like to do some trail/off-road stuff and want stout wheels that can take fat tyres but not add too much weight to an already portly bike-rider combo.
What ya think?
Anybody but GeWilli read this thing?
I want to sell off some wheels and have no idea how to set prices. At work we pull prices for products out or our butt. Manual-rectal retrieval.
Don't wanna screw anybody, 'specially myself.
The point of selling off unused wheels, apart from making room in the cellar, is to buy some lighter, spiffier wheels for the Surly winter bike. I'd like to do some trail/off-road stuff and want stout wheels that can take fat tyres but not add too much weight to an already portly bike-rider combo.
What ya think?
Anybody but GeWilli read this thing?
Thursday, September 07, 2006
Skeleton Brakes
I'm not sold on the mega-ultra-PeterTork crank set Campy is selling. It looks klugy to me and I bet the fred shade tree mechanics will figger out all sorts of ways to screw it up.
Their new brake design is Exta-klugy. Looks like a step back into the CNC age. I wonder if they will anodize them graple.
http://www.campagnolo.com/groupsets.php?gid=2&cid=10&pid=46
I'm not sold on the mega-ultra-PeterTork crank set Campy is selling. It looks klugy to me and I bet the fred shade tree mechanics will figger out all sorts of ways to screw it up.
Their new brake design is Exta-klugy. Looks like a step back into the CNC age. I wonder if they will anodize them graple.
http://www.campagnolo.com/groupsets.php?gid=2&cid=10&pid=46
Wednesday, August 23, 2006
What it’s all about
I pulled the plug on the Tuesday night rides. Just too aggravating. It just wasn’t fun having t ride heard every week.
So instead of going in circles, literally and figuratively, I rode with GeWilli and Giulia. We rode the EBBP to Warren then took a tour of Touisett. Just lovely.
I shan’t miss the paceline. Maybe I’ll do them again next year but 5 years of herding pussies is plenty for now.
I pulled the plug on the Tuesday night rides. Just too aggravating. It just wasn’t fun having t ride heard every week.
So instead of going in circles, literally and figuratively, I rode with GeWilli and Giulia. We rode the EBBP to Warren then took a tour of Touisett. Just lovely.
I shan’t miss the paceline. Maybe I’ll do them again next year but 5 years of herding pussies is plenty for now.
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