The Aldrich Avenue Weekly

I’m back. Back to working shitty hours, non-stop stress at the shop, and insanity returns. I recently spend 5 days up on Lake of the Woods Canada. Sioux Narrows at The Red Indian Lodge to be more exact. I went up there with the fam and did a whole bunch of fishing. Kicking back relaxing with Miller High Life and lots of good food. It was a welcome trip. I needed a break from the shop. Its been driving me up the wall. Too many things to do every day and never finishing my projects was getting to me. We caught a lot of walleye and northerns. Some smallmouth bass here and there. I finally got to experience "shore lunch". Unbelievable grub and totally opened my eyes to enjoying fish. I never really liked fish other then the cheap ass frozen shit at the grocery store. That changed completely on that trip. I’ve got a nice stockpile of walleye and northern in the freezer right now. I could go on for hours about this trip so I’ll leave you with that and the rest you’ll just have to ask me next time you see me.
    I was able to keep tabs on Le Tour while up north. Its been an exciting Tour so far this year and is only going to get better. Today was the first day in the Pyrenees. Lots of "games" being played by the contenders on the last climb of the stage. I was perusing through espn’s website tonight and came across the link for todays stage. I dunno if they are just getting a feed for these updates from someone else or that they have someone there updating each stage, but I was not impressed with their article for today. 3/4 was rambling about how Lance did on this mountain 5 years ago. All they talked about from today was Contador’s win and Rasmussen staying in yellow. Nothing about how well Popovich did at the base of the climb to set the pace, or how crucial it was that Rasmussen get as much time as he could on then second place Cadel Evans. I don’t think they even mentioned Levi’s name. WTF? Bad form by ESPN.

I did no riding whatsoever on my trip up north. I hadn’t gone that long without pedaling in over 4 months. I did not however think I would lose as much as I did. I went for a ride after work tonight and I was dragging ass the entire time. Roughly 37 miles and no energy at all. My legs felt like concrete blocks. I got home and I felt like I just rode a century. Going to the bar and getting torched last night didn’t help either.  I’m hoping its just that first ride back in the saddle and it will be all good from here on out. I’m not taking any chances though. I am not going to race this coming Sunday. I’m gonna take a couple days off, do a nice long training ride out at Afton on Friday and try not to over do it. The last few days I’ve also felt kinda groggy and the allergies are getting really bad. I wake up in the morning with a slight sore throat. I’m just hoping I don’t get sick when I am just about a month away from 24 hours.
   I heard that Beijing is going to try to guarantee pleasant weather for the 2008 Summer Olympics. It has something to do with shooting objects in the air to alter the weather patterns. This has got to be one of the dumbest idea’s I have ever heard of. Whats the point? So what if it rains a little bit on some of the outdoor activities. Its the OLYMPICS. The worlds finest athletes should be used to some fucking rain. Its sad how people are so obsessed with perfection. I just don’t think its a good idea to play games with mother nature. It could come back to bite ya in the ass. I think its just another waste of money that could have been used for something much more worth while. With that I’m out, 13,12, and 12 hour days are coming up at the shop and I need some sleep. By the time my next post is up we should have a new champion of the Tour de France. I’m rooting for the Aussie Cadel Evans. Check ya later eh?

daily quote - "The elastic is stretching, the elastic has SNAPPED" -cycling commenter and living legend Phil Liggett.

term - brain bucket n. a helmet

Ok. Its done!! Finally, after weeks I finally have a new mountain bike. So far I’ve been impressed. I’ve gotten in a few rides. The main one was this past Sunday in Mankato at Mt. Kato. It was a scorcher as usual. The bike performed flawlessly. I did notice that it is a little more responsive in the corners. I can lean into them a lot more. Gotta love that Specialized frame geometry. Yesterday Kyle and myself went out to Lebanon Hills. I was stoked to get this rig out on this trail to see how she performs. Lap 1 was good. Lap two we decided to take some pics while riding. It started off ok, then Kyle took a horrific digger. He was coming off this log pile/jump and clipped his rear wheel on the log. Sent him tumbling down the hill, and he actually ended up running after he was thrown from his bike down this hill and slammed into a tree. It was bad. His entire left leg was bleeding, bruised and his entire left arm was the same. His leg looked like someone took a bat and was whacking away at his shins. "Is my bike ok" he says instantly. We thought we were done, but no. After about 10 minutes we were back on the trail. I was thinking to myself just as Kyle was saying "ya know I was thinking before that crash that I haven’t had a bad crash in a couple of years". Well, in the middle of the XX loop Kyle was going to get some pics of us coming down this really steep rock. As I came up to it I went slower then usual so he could get a good shot. Not even 1/4 of the way down the rock, my from wheel gets stuck, my bike swings sideways, and I go flying over the bars. I come down along this rock, smash my head on the rock(wearing a helmet of course) smash and cut my ankle on this fallen tree branch and land on Kyle. "hows my bike"? It was fine. To my surprise my head felt ok after a couple of minutes to realize what just happened. But my ankle was pretty bad. We finish the lap and decide thats it for the day. I was hoping this group of kids saw me eat shit on that rock. They weren’t wearing helmets. That trail can kick you’re ass in a split second, and these kids and adults think they are unstoppable. I just don’t wanna see someone break their neck or even worse, and then see that trail close because people will start thinking it is too dangerous. I dunno, I mean its none of my business to tell them what to do, but cripes, use some common sense.  Then came this morning. Every muscle and joint in my body is killing me, my ankle is killing me, and i can barely lift up my left arm to scratch my head. There goes today’s plan on riding Afton.
    What worries my the most is I won’t be able to throw a fishing rod back and forth this weekend. This Saturday my family and I are going up to Lake of the Woods for some fishing, beer drinking, fishing, beer drinking, and maybe some sleeping. I really hope my shoulder is ok by Sunday to do some fishing. This trip couldn’t come at a better time. Work is still really stressful and a week off is just what I need so I can come back with a fresh mindset. I’ve never been to Lake of the Woods so I can’t wait to get up there and check it out. Time to take a little break from riding. I think its a good time to do so. I don’t wanna say it, but I’ve been getting a little burned out on the training and this trip will be a nice break. Well, my arm hurts to much to continue writing so with that I bid you adieu. Off to Canada!!!!

daily quote - "Canadians have an abiding interest in surprising those Americans who
have historically made little effort to learn about their neighbour to
the North". -Peter Jennings

today’s term - chunder v. to crash.

Ready for the trail eh? Nope. Not quite. Maybe God doesn’t want me to ride a bike from Erik’s. Well, at least he’s making it more difficult then I would have thought. I started building up my newest edition to Bad Andy’s fleet last week. This was probably the most fun I’ve had building a bike. Yes, road bike was fun with the Campy, but hell, this is and S-Works. It truly is what the big dogs ride. To
you’re left welcome to problem #1. See that chain rubbing on the seatstay? Yea, not supposed to happen. Now the American Classic hub came with two spacers for the cassette. I put on the narrower of the two, problem is still there. I’m sure a little grinding wouldn’t hurt, but still I shouldn’t have to do that. I try my XTR/Sun Ringle wheel and no issues. Fuck beans. I hope I can find a way to use these wheels.

Feast you’re eyes on problem #2. Its kinda hard to see with the flash, but the wheel is not sitting straight in relation to the frame(spacing from side to side differs). The Park Tool FAG-1(Frame Alignment Gauge) does not work well with this frame so I do the old "string" test. Sure enough, the rear triangle is out of alignment. Cripes. I make the call, get a new frame on order and life is good right? Besides the facts of having to wait for a new frame to come from Specialized, build up another bike early next week, quickly get a few rides under my belt on the new frame, scurry to make small fit adjustments then race on the 8th. Oh yea, its all good. I know I shouldn’t complain too much. I was totally stoked to get the chance to own one of these, it’s just these problems have come at a bad time. On the upside, the road bike has been seeing lots of miles. 50 on Sunday, and 60 today. Nice long rides.

Myself, Nate, and Matt bussed it downtown this past Friday to watch Stage 3 of 5 stages in the Nature Valley Grand Prix. A local road stage race that is starting to get some national attention. Friday’s race was a 1 hour Crit through downtown. Those of you who are not familiar with this term, a Crit is an all out sprint with numerous laps around tight turns. It was a blast. I’ve never had the opportunity to see one
of these in person and it was a treat. There’s a blast of wind as these
guys go blowing by. Speeds on the laps were around 30-34mph with the
last lap at a quivering 36mph. Thats a fast speed to maintain for an
hour. It was a great scene. Brits was nice enough to give us plastic
cups so we can enjoy our drunkenness right up on the gate. A great race and a great crowd. It was announced that some 35,000 people attended the race. Though I think thats a bit exaggerated there were a lot of people watching. All kinds. Not just the uber hard core cycling crowd, but you’re every day person just checking it out. People just getting off work staying and watching, kids of all ages. It was fun.
  So for those of you who have not talked to myself of Matt in awhile you do not know that our landlord put the house we are living in up for sale about 3 weeks ago. Not cool. We love living here and before this news had not intention of moving out anytime soon. Now there is a chance we could continue living here, but there are a lot of variables and volatile chain of events for that to work out. Obviously the buyer has the will to do whatever he/she wants to the house. If they decide to keep the house a rental property there’s a chance the rent will go up. Or, if they keep it a rental property and want to move in they will most likely move into our unit. For two reasons. 1. All the showings are in our unit. 2. Its the biggest unit and in my opinion most unique. Or, the buyer will kick all of use out, and change the entire house. The ideal situation for us would be no or minimal rent change and that we continue not paying for heat(yes we don’t pay for heat). With that said, you guys will definitely know if we are moving out and will have one last party. Well, I think I’ve earned a couple cocktails with today’s ride. I’m off to William’s for a couple drinks. See you all on the flip side. Ciao

daily quote - "this sport is so hard, you can’t do it for a paycheck" -24 hour and endurance mt. bike racing pioneer John Stamstad commenting on 24 hour solo mt. bike racing.

today’s term - vegetable tunnel n. a singletrack that is heavily overgrown with foliage, so a rider must duck and bent to get through it.

My collection of bicycles will almost double in about 3 months this summer. I have to say, this addition to the fleet is pretty damn cool. Feast your eyes on the 2006 Specialized F.A.C.T.(functional advanced composite technology) Carbon S-Works hardtail frame. It weighed in at the shop with our highly accurate fish scale at 2.9 lbs. Then again at 3 lbs. I am going to shave almost a lb. off of the Salsa and will be flirting with a sub 20lb. mountain bike. This morning will be my last ride on the Salsa as it is now. Sniff, sniff. I will be building up the new S-W after my ride this morning. Then at some point next week building up the Salsa with my old parts from the Kona. Remember that frame? Booger green and dirty white. Once I build up those two bikes, I will be doing some work on my dads road bike. He is getting my old Ultegra parts. After that, I am flirting with the idea of building a single speed out of the old Kona. OOFTA,  its going to be a busy couple of weeks for me building really, really cool bicycles. It will be nice to have two fully built mt. bikes

so other people came come riding with me. I know my roommate and my brother have been getting that old itch back. Its that itch to get back out on the bike and shred the gnar. I love that itch, and don’t think I will ever be able to fully scratch it. So hopefully I will have some really cool pictures for you guys to look at. New bikes and what not.

This week, is the week that I really start upping the ante on the training. Two-a-days are going to be a common theme now, and longer rides. This morning  I plan on doing about and hour and a half on the Salsa, then in the evening we’ve got the Tuesday night ride. So a solid 3 and a half hours today. A day off tomorrow, then Thursday will be another 3-3 1/2 hours, and another ride on friday. The check for the 24 hours went in the mail last week. Last year, I was the 46th person out of 72 to sign up. Just for shits and giggles I sent mine in as early as possible to see how low of a bib number I could get. This years theme is "Grow a Spine".

I have never had a bike defeat me and have had to make that call to the customer "sorry sir, but we can’t get this part out and you will need to buy a new bike". I was worried that streak had come to an end last week. A customer brought in a very old Cannondale mt. bike for some service. Turned out he needed a new bottom bracket. The original was totally shot. Bearings, spindle, and cups all worn out. No big deal. remove old one, put new one in. This cup you are looking at is notorious for being a pain in the ass to get out. There are two flat spots on each side of the cup that are designed for the tool to settle on to remove. The problem with this design is keeping that tool on without sliding off. Especially when the cup is seized up and does NOT want to come out. After a couple of days of soaking, heating, soaking and heating it wasn’t moving. I wish I had a picture of this, but we had that bike upside down on the floor, one mechanic holding down the back end, another the front end, and my self holding the tool that had been clamped against the shell, winding up full swing with a hammer. This cup was so seized that the tool actually started digging into the cup. Nothing. I sent out for help and got a tip. Use a Dremel to grind out two notches that fit for a bmx freewheel tool. After about a half hour of grinding, more lubrication we FINALLY popped it free. All good right? No, It still took us an other 20 minutes just to un-thread the damn thing. I was worried that the cup was going to pull the threads out with it. I don’t think this bottom bracket was greased when it was installed at the factory over 15 years ago. Aluminum and Steel don’t like each other, and when putting two and two together grease has to be in the picture at some point.  Luckily, it was ok. Some re-tapping and re-facing and the new BB was finally in and the customer has a bike back. Kudo’s to Jon for the helpful tip. It was like a huge load off my back. It was stressing me out at work. Yesterday was a good day and the first one in a looooong while at the shop. Looks like our heat wave is over for now. Time to ride and enjoy the sunshine. Cheers….

daily quote - "Baseball is 90% mental, the other half is physical" Yogi Berra

daily mt. bike term - tea party n. when a whole group of riders stop and chat, and nobody seems to want to ride on.

MNSCS #3 was this past Sunday at Afton Alps. The annual and from what I heard last Afton Avalanche. It was only fitting that the hardest race on the circuit was also going to be the hottest. I heard guys talking that during the Comp/Expert race their computers were reading 97 and even 100 degrees. This course has been known to make people shudder. I think it takes a person a long time and many laps to appreciate and enjoy this course. Someone on the the MORC forum was quoted in saying "I don’t know how they do it, but the entire course is uphill, very strange". Indeed it is. It looked like a good field in the comp race. Of course mother natured treated us with unbearable muggy and hot conditions. The manhandler was kept out of the course last year and some of us were puzzled. This is still the Afton Avalanche right? Home of grueling climbs and unforgiving heat. Well, the Manhandler was back this year. Riding up that thing on Sunday felt like it was a slow elevator taking you directly to the sun and certain death. 15 of the 51 Comp riders DNF’d most likely due to this heat. I was pretty satisfied, I finished 24th out of 51 riders. 4th in my age group. Not a bad day. The guy that won the Comp race beat second place by over 6 minutes. BALLS. Sandbagger, I better see that guys name in the expert race next time. And what better timing for the new 24 hours of Afton site to come up

24 hours website I am sending in my application today. Just over two months away from a weekend of pain and suffering. I can’t wait. Its being hosted by Salsa Cycles this year. Pretty cool because of the fact that I ride a Salsa. But Bad Andy might show up to that race and some others by the end of this month on a new frame. Hint -Carbon. S-W. Nothing more until it is officially in my hands. A hot week is ahead, and I plan on riding the next 4 days in a row. Chevelle concert tomorrow night @ The Myth. I can’t wait for that. The new Vena Sera album is their hardest to date. Very in your face and raw. If its anything like their last show, I cannot wait. Sleep tonight will be at a minimum with anticipation and the heat on my mind. Here’s to a hot week ahead and lots of sweating. Cheers

daily quote - "Grow a spine" -this years theme to the 24 Hours of Afton

p.s. I am adding something new to the Blog. with the daily quote, a new daily Mt. Bike term from The Dictionary of Mountain Biking. Compiled and credited to Doug Landauer and Jim Frost…so here tis

daily mt. bike term - dual boinger n. a full suspension bicycle

The transformation is FINALLY complete. For those of you who have been reading this dribble know very well how long I’ve wanted to do this. For those of you who are new to my "blog", heres the deelio. I’ve wanted to get a new Groupo on my road bike for a good 2 1/2 years. I’ve wanted to put the Campagnolo Centaur group on my bike. I initially was going to put the older version of this group on. It was still the 10-speed version but the parts were this polished gray color. For 2007 Campy upgraded the Centaur line, changed the color back to silver, added some carbon here and there, and incorporated the new Ultra-Torque crankset. Some unfortunate events these past couple of months forced me to scrounge around online to find what I wanted. A few weeks back, I found some deals, made a deal with my dad on my Ultegra parts, bodda bing bodda boop, here we are. I put it together yesterday and pounded out 43 miles in the wind. Damn, this stuff rides nice. So smooth, plush, and comfortable. You can see pics in my biking pics section. I love building up my own bikes. I’m not a huge fan of the whole "pro-form" deal at the shop. I like to pick and choose the parts I want. All 3(soon to be 4) of my bikes are this way. I find it more satisfying that way. Also, my bikes are totally unique. Nobody else has these frames built up the way I do. I look at it, and think "yea man", I built that. My way. I can’t wait to get out on it again. It will probably be sometime next week though, I’ve got a race at Afton Alps on Sunday, and yesterdays ride was very hard. Time to rest the legs and show up ready to kick some ass on Sunday.
This past weekend, Ryan got hitched. Myself, Erik, Luke, and Rachel drove up to Detroit Lakes for the festivities. It was a blast. I’m so happy for Ryan and Angie. I couldn’t think of a nicer guy. It was a nice small wedding, and a very well done reception. Not to mention some of the best chicken I’ve ever had. I’ve never been to Detroit Lakes, but I gotta say. Its a lovely town. I hope to make a trip up there with the guys and give Shitty a visit. It was a crazy night. Luke got this grand idea to get little bottles of Jaeger, Hot 100, and a bottle of wine. Between that, and the vodka, beer, rum, it was a good time. I can only hope someday that I can find that person to spend the rest of my life with. Watching Ryan’s face as Angie was walking down that isle was priceless. He looked so happy, proud, I couldn’t stop smiling myself. I wish I had a pic, but I was in the back. It was good to see some old friends too. Christian, Song, Andy, Ross, I haven’t seen those cats in eyons. Apparently Luke has a 3-part series of videos on his camera that will be on where else youtube in the near future. Life is a short and special process, and I wish Ryan and Angie the best, and hope myself to find that one day. Heres to the newly weds. CHEERS!!!!

daily quote - "Heart rate monitors are for sissy’s, and people with scars from poodle bites". -former pro mt. biker for GT bikes Greg "Chopper" Randolph, now working for Bike Magazine.

5…4…3…2…1….GO. Just like dust in the wind, were off like rockets. This years racing season kicked off with the Erik’s Spring Cup at Harmon Hills. I flat, fast, lung busting sprint from start to finish. I was hoping to have a good showing this season. At least an improvement over last year. Last year I finished 50th outta 59 Comp racers. Not great. The first lap was a shock to the lungs. It was very dry and very very dusty. Much more then last year. I did NOT however lose my water bottle on my first lap like I did last year(which pretty much decided my race right then). This season I finally got smart and decided to start fast. Well, at least in the top 20. I did just that and finished 31st out of 63 riders. Faster then last year, and only 3 min. behind the winner of my age group. All in all, I had a
good race and I was satisfied with my placing. A good start I think. This race is a different beast. Most of the races in the MNSCS are longer laps, much much hillier, and usually very hot outside. Still very hard. Its and all out sprint from start to finish.  I have high hopes of this year’s racing scene and the ultimate goal at 24 hours of afton and finishing in the top 5 of the solo class. So yes indeed, GAME ON!!!!!
    The dictionary’s definition of "Team" is as follows - "a number of persons forming one of the sides in a game or contest", or "a group organized to work together". "Teammate" is "a fellow member of a team". Roger Clemens in my opinion is not a teammate and is not playing for his team. Roger is on his 3rd stint out of retirement. First thing to get him back is the team with the highest bid. After that, he states he will only play for said team under the terms that on away games he only has to travel with the team if he is pitching. Otherwise he can stay home. This is the biggest load of malarky I have ever heard. What gives this man the right to give teams the runaround and play by his rules. Roger, you’ve had a great career, but you are no longer playing for a championship or for the love of the game. Its all about money now. Ha, because you need more of that. The sad part is, the Astros agreed to this before and now the Yankees are doing the same. I wouldn’t want him on my team. Yea, the guy can throw a baseball quite well and the Yankee’s need pitching, but this just shows how some people with money and fame think they can play by their own rules. Its not right. The sad part is, MLB isn’t doing anything to regulate this. What kind of message does that send the youngsters that have dreams of playing in the "bigs" someday. The wrong one. Its about doing what you love the most day in and day out. Lets hope other players don’t follow this and it becomes a really big problem in the future. Peace…..

daily quote - "That smells good. Screw the race, lets eat burgers and drink beer all day" Andy Ruhland on Sunday to some of the other racers next to him as they wait to start their race standing next to the Peace Coffee tent grilling up a storm.

   The Spring Cup is just days away. That means the summer Mt. Bike racing season is almost upon us. The Sea Otter Classic has come and gone, round 1 of the UCI World Cup mt. season has come and gone, and there have already been two National series races. We got next ya sluts!!!!! But wait. Whats this? A sore throat? Yes, it came on last night, and has lingered this morning. I am supposed to hit up Afton today with Kyle to test the legs, and see where we stand. I still hope to do this, but I don’t want to make things worse. Tuesday nights road ride was a bit chilly. Especially towards the last 5 miles. We slowed the pace and I started to cool off. We sat outside afterwards and chit-chatted for awhile. I was just wearing shorts and a short sleeved jersey. I think it might have been that evening that is causing this. That and my allergies are really bad right now. Lets hope it gets better and not worse from here on out. I’ve been pounding the OJ, and popped an allergy pill. Hopes of riding the Manhandler today are still within reach.
   Just like that, the Giro di Italia is in its 5th day. Thank you OLN oops, i mean VS. for not covering the second biggest pro cycling race of the year. Instead we get hours upon hours of Bull Riding. Thanks guys. I love 3 hours of guys getting thrown to their asses over, and over, and over again.  Its a damn shame Tyler Hamilton is implicated in this Operation Puerto scandal. He just got off his two year suspension for failing a test in the Giro about 3 years ago. He signs with the Russian based team Tinkoff, hopes to ride in the Giro and possibly the Tour, then this comes back into the picture. Although he claimed his innocence during his entire suspension, it was obvious that he was doping. I’m all for people getting second chances. But if he was part of this big scandal, its hard to cheer for the guy.
   I’ve overhauled more forks this spring then I have my entire wrenching career. Maybe its a sign. I’ve always loved working on suspension. Mostly Rock Shox products. Maybe I am a little biased towards them. I ride one, and was trained at SRAM last December. But hey, they make a good product, and their manuals are very user friendly. Someday, I hope to get paid to work on suspension. It would be…..the shit. Well the sore throat seems to have subsided for now. That means Afton Alps is calling to me, which also means PAIN. Gotta love it. Drinks at the Indy tonight would be a good finish to the day. Cheers

quote of the day - "God gave me the greatest job someone could have" -Grandma Ruhland on mothers day on being a MOM.

….for the 2006 Tour de France and I am ready to pay the penalty for that." These are the words of Ivan Basso after stepping down from The Discovery Channel cycling team and admitting that he was part of the Operation Puerto case in Spain. Read on Basso Spills . He goes on to say that he was thinking about and almost did use doping in last years Tour but never went all the way. Its like Patrick O’Grady said in Velo News comparing this to former President Bill Clinton talking about "I did smoke marijuana but did not inhale." Although I will admire his honesty and taking responsibility for his actions, it still bugs me because he was a person who always claimed to be drug free. This may be true, but the fact that he was that close to doing it really changes my opinion on Ivan Basso. Its just like Lance. They’ve never failed a test, always claimed to be "dope free", but there will always be this haze over them. People will always speculate until the end of time weather or not they used performance enhancing drugs. Its a damn shame. I think what Lance did to cycling in the USA is amazing, but in the back of my mind there will always be those thoughts of him doping. Shit balls, this years Tour once again will be without its biggest threat to win, and I am sure more controversy will spring up before July. Which brings me to this……
   How come we don’t hear big stories like this in the mountain bike world? Oh sure, there are some stories. FIlip Meirhaeghe ruining his career would have to be the biggest in the past 10 years. Oh, and retired downhiller Myles Rockwell was busted for growing pot in Durango Colorado a few years back. But nothing like the scale of Operation Puerto.  Maybe its because it isn’t on such a big scale. Maybe because there isn’t as much money involved. Both are most likely true. But I like to think that the Mt. bike circuit respects what they are doing a little bit more. They haven’t been corrupted by big time money grubbing people forcing it onto them. I’ve always wondered why Mt. biking doesn’t get more press and publicity, but that the same time, its my first love in the cycling world, and I somewhat wish it to stay that way. No corruption, no constant fears of who’s next? Just some weekend warriors pedaling their ass off just to pay for the next trip, or the next beer. Like Jeremy Horgan-Kobelski says on those shirts of his "DOPERS SUCK."
    I have never taken anything besides the occasional Power Gel, Accellerade, shit like that. I never will. Hell, I don’t even own a Hear Rate monitor. Bicycle racing is about pushing your body to the limit. Digging down deep inside to find what little you have left. Not digging down for another shot. Its about complete and utter pain and who is willing to go through more agony then the next guy. Doping will always be around in cycling. But maybe, just maybe we could see a year without any scandal or speculation.
   And with that, I’m off for my third day in a row of "clean" cycling.

daily quote - "Maybe
Basso’s come-to-Jesus moment is Millar’s first miracle. What a long,
strange trip it’s been, from sinner to saint. Somebody call the pope." Velonews editor Patrick O’Grady on Ivan Basso’s confession and David Millar’s return to cycling after a suspension.

The salvation has come and gone. Eric is still out at the shop and Steve announced early last week he was quitting. Cripes. My two top go-to guys are now gone. Its just myself, Sam who is in his second year, and Brandon who has been there for about 3 weeks. Don’t get me wrong, Sam’s a solid wrench and Brandon has tons of potential, but you can’t replace two guys like that with a flip of the switch. The two of them combined probably have 50 years of experience with bicycles.  My weekend trip to visit Nate in Iowa is now ruined, and I will be working 65 some odd hours next week. However, somehow, with all of that, I have managed to get out and do some pedaling. Soooo, I guess things could be worse. Maybe. All I care about at this point is that I get my days off to race, go up to Canada, and 24 Hours.
    The latest Mountain Bike magazine had an article with some mechanic’s favorite tools. I was thinking "sweet", some unique ways of guys getting things done. However, I was kinda disapointed. Don’t get me wrong. I’m not knocking on the mechanic’s and their capabilities, but some of the tools were a lame choice. Take the Tri-allen from Park Tool. No offense dude, but there isn’t a bike shop in the world that doesn’t use one of these. Or the tire lever was another choice. Once again, used in every shop. I did like the Scratch Awl. A fancy shmancy version of a sharpened spoke, just adds a little flare to the workbench. I liked that one. Thats what I was looking for. Maybe I’m being to critical of the article, maybe I was thinking right away when I saw the add "oh, cool man, guys finding unique ways to get the job done", and I was doomed once I started reading it. I just would have done it another way. Instead of "Your mechanics favorite tool" how about "Your mechanics most unique tool". I’m all about originality, and I love coming up with new ways to turn a wrench, and fix a bicycle.
   As sad as it is, I still have high hopes for the weekend. Apologies to all of you down at Simpson college, but I will not be down this weekend to party hardy. I plan on doing a long road ride after I write this then off to work. Matt and I and some other friends hope to hit up the CC Club tonight. Tomorrow night I’m having dinner at the parents house. It will be nice to go over there for awhile, chit chat with my mom, dad, and pat. I am in need of advice. Buying a new car, insurance crap, yack, yack, yack. Speaking of cars, I am going to be buying the new Civic or Civic SI sedan this fall. I stopped by Hopkins Honda the other day while riding down the Greenway, and got a good look at em’. Ohhh-eee, they look DECE. Oh my look at the time, I gotta get outside and start pedaling. Ta Ta.

daily quote  - "Oil prices have fallen lately. We include this news for the benefit of the gas stations, which otherwise wouldn’t learn of it for six months." - Bill Tammeus, Toronto National Newspaper 1991