EXTRA

EXTRA EXTRA READ ALL BOUT IT.....
due to recent d_ping scandals, that have rocked the sport of cycling, and favorable articles in sports illustrated and espn magazine, fans have abandoned the sport for the latest craze, mountain top sitting in the cold.


[today]

BACK IN THE SADDLE, AGAIN

ok, so it has taken me a few days to get over the high [natural dumbass] of being in the saddle again and getting in a great ride with team mates, friends and a soon to be new sponsor [steamboat springs local tv channel]. saturday saw me get up and trek [only good use of that word] over to the river trail [griffith, the part that didn't burn] and get in my first ride on the road with greg, bob, issac and peter. wow, what a great feeling when i got back to the car with out incident and with my shoulder feeling great. in fact, and it is a bit sad, but my shoulder feels better on the bike riding, than at any other time. so, the rest of the day had me whistling marching tunes and feeling 10 feet tall. thanks to everyone that came out and to john who put in 30+ miles with me on monday.


do i look fat in this kit? or is that the baddest masi to never hit the market?


[greg, the baddest mojo that side of 49]


[i don't know how that paper bike got in front, sorry]

monday was memorial day, and unlike nicole ritchie, i know what the day is for. with the flag waving, john and i headed down to marina del rey and back, another great ride and good vibes all day [whistling again as i BBG steaks later]. God bless our fallen troops and those brave enough to serve today, thank you from the bottom of my heart for all that you have given us. i know that unfortunately freedom is earned at the end of a rifle, not the end of a pen.

FIRST

well today was the first day back on the powercranks. it has been over 6 weeks since i went down hard and apparently didn't hit my head hard enough to knock some sense into me... so today i remounted my trusty blue masi steed and rode the PC's for a while in place. i seldom like riding the trainer, but one step at a time. i felt good, considering, my legs were like wood, but my shoulder held me up and the pain only came after the ride. so i learned that i am more comfortable on the bike than off and it just felt good to feel alive again.

this saturday some teammates, civilians, and a few fellow ol' guys, etc. will be taking me out on my first actual ride on the road, albeit flat and probably confined to the river bike lane. so if you are in the hollywood area, let me know and come join us.


[not very pretty, but i am back on the horse]

ALL KILLER NON FILLER

well, things are heating up in the giro and the action is getting good. today the killer took the win before a stubborn il'gibo. di luca showed some real skill today, but simoni has started his methodical pursuit of number 3. my underdog heart goes to di luca, but i still think in the end it will be simoni on the top spot. the real surprise was a few riders down in the form of garzelli. he really is the underdog, as he does not have the team that di luca has.

good read of the day:
belgain knee warmers

and in case you are lazy, the following is my comment to his post today:
- well done entry on the case at hand.

p.s. i am amazed by those that don't know that riders have been using some form of doping since 1900. i think it is time to have a serious debate as to what really is doping, what is harmful to the PRO riders [long term health issues] and what benefits the riders health. some would even go so far as to say that the electrolytes in our drinks or that flat coke in the last 30 mins of a race constitutes doping. doctors may even say that PRO cycling by its nature, is bad for a persons health. the other issue is what constitutes cheating, is it cheating cause you or your team doesn't have access / afford the latest enhancement technology or is it cheating because you HAVE to take a substance to go faster than what you can obtain from solid training? before i get too far down this road, let me say that i think the olympics should be contested by only amateurs and without any enhancements [zero doping products or procedures], true sport. i would like to end this comment by saying that i have lived my life drug free, but that is not entirely true per DICKWADA standards, as i race a bike [guilty in its self], drink espresso like a PRO and have a beer now and then [it is still a drug, even though most of what i drink has been brewed / blessed by a monk].

more completely different

for something completely different
check out the following cool widgets:

gear calculator




skid patch calculator

AND NOW FOR

and now for something completely different:
[an ode to all those bike mechanic daydreams]


Sotheby's All Important 20th Century Design, June 19, 2007 Jasper Morrison Handlebar Table, 1983. Chromium-plated steel, beechwood, rubber and glass. 25 3/8 inches (64.5 cm) high, 23 inches (58.4 cm) diameter. Estimated value $10,000-15,000.

GIRO ACTION

giro stages have been moving right along and now tomorrow we are at stage 7. all of my favorites are still hanging tough and are in position to all be in the top 10 at the finish. it has been hard for me to get into the passion that is the giro, as i have not been able to follow the race live [cycling.tv]. i think back to possibly the best giro of recent history, the 2005 giro. i am waiting for a non favorite to come to the fore and for the fireworks to begin. i will give props to the tinkoff team for striving to goner the coveted jens voigt jersey. they still have some work to do, but they are certainly making this race so far, along with the other conti teams. the giro is the one race that the conti teams have a chance to shake things up and it makes for some great racing highlights. i think this is what the big race organizers are trying to say in regards to the protour races. let us pick the teams and put in some more of the smaller teams [or friends], they seem to actually bring more passion, courage, the underdog effect, and true racing excitement to the events. after all isn't that what we relish about bike racing.

other post of the day:
bikes you're sure to like

OFFICIAL PRESS RELEASE / NO DOPING

RBS press release 2007.05.16

it is now official, this blog will no longer report on doping in cycling. we find it all too pervasive and counter productive to the spirit of cycling. 100% of the time, the practice of doping [in cycling, sport, or recreational use] never makes dreams come true. so we wish all those falsely accused, quick justice. to those doping, we wish you a strong knot and a quick drop. the problem with doping in cycling [sports in general and in the public realm] is simple, DOPING SUCKS.

sincerely
racer blue squirrel editorial staff


podium accessory
[rbs is not associated w/ this site nor receives funds from the sales]

FL AB

[just some quick thoughts on the circus that just pulled into town]

what floyd did on stage 17 is not a result of the positive effects of taking synthetic testosterone. he won because he was the bigger man, the braver man. no drug known to science will make you stronger, braver and with out pain, over night. you have to work hard and suffer better than everyone else.

so during these proceedings, i hope we will find out why it was or was not in his blood taken at the controls after stage 17. if he is guilty beyond a reasonable doubt, he should do his time. if his innocence is upheld, than he should get paid in full. those UCI, WADA, and USADA officials that stated his guilt prior to the full evidence heard and the case processed should be relieved of their positions. the system should be overhauled and changed to truly combat drug use in all of cycling, cause we have all raced against the juiced, dopers suck.

BREAKING NEWS:
floyd's expert cycling witness is none other than:
- Eddy Merckx, World-class cyclist and expert in cycling tactics [thats an understatement]

USADA choose:
- Greg LeMond, Three-time Tour de France winner [greg was my hero growing up, but not so much anymore]
- Joseph Papp, Professional Cyclist [not at the protour level, i do hope he was able to reunite with his cuban wife]


for great coverage during the day check out:
ROAD

for great reads check out:
belgium knee warmers
caliradocyclist

2 & 3

yea, yea, yea stage 2 and 3.

flat, fast, hot and won by a sprinter.....

[i sucked wheel all day and than in the last 300m i tried really hard and i won]

in other news, my friend, hard man first, sprinter second [in other words he is not a whinny sprinter, as whinny sprinters don't do paris roubaix] thor h. took a spill along with the little boy prince cunego. both are fine and will be back to ride in the first real stage of the giro, stage 4.


[the pace was so slow during stage 3, thor had time to get some new tat's]


for some more good reading check out:
racejunkie

TTT GI

well the results of the team time trial are in and much to my surprise [not] a young, relative unknown italian rider, enrico gasparotto [liquigas], took the maglia rosa today. the liquigas team proved to be the quickest over the beyond technical course. i had a feeling [giro that is] that the roadies would out do the time trial speed demons today and the giro did not let me down. although everyone thought that di luca was upset with enrico for crossing the line first and thus taking the maglia rosa. but alas it is not so:

"I was not upset, it is important that we win. We have great team. It is truly beautiful," said Di Luca after crossing the line. "It was great test for the team. ... I am not upset."

my italian lip reading is a bit slow right now, but i don't think he was saying your buying the pizza tonight.
on to stage 1.


results:
1 Enrico Gasparotto (Ita) Liquigas

Teams:
Liquigas 33.35
Astana 33.51
CSC 34.08
Lampre-Fondital 34.17
Discovery Channel 34.27
Acqua & Sapone-Caffè 34.38
Tinkoff Credit Systems 34.42
Crédit Agricole 34.51
Caisse d'Epargne 35.01
Quickstep-Innergetic 35.01
Saunier Duval-Prodir 35.03
Predictor-Lotto 35.06
Gerolsteiner 35.10
Milram 35.11
Cofidis 35.16
T-Mobile 35.23
Rabobank 35.23
Ceramica Panaria-Navigare 35.39
Bouygues Telecom 35.45
Ag2r Prévoyance 35.55
Euskaltel-Euskadi 36.28
Française Des Jeux 36.28

EVERYONE KNOWS THAT PINK IS THE REAL YELLOW

ok, my picks for my favorite grand tour, the giro d'italia...

as much as i hate to admit it, i think that the cry baby simoni is going to win or die fighting. sure the other favorites will probably do better than expected and an unknown italian rider could step it up as usual during 'his tour to snatch gilberto's truly last chance to take '3 top podium finishes. but i have a feeling that saunier duval's got the strongest team, even if this was based solely on the fact that leonardo piepoli will be setting the climbs on fire as he always does. over the past couple of years i have regarded him as one of my favorites, the most underrated of the seasoned pros. not to mention that he got 2 stage wins last year, remember the year of the alien basso [truly an alien, he went from high on my list, to, 'huh where is his name?', unfortunately he does not need to dope and will return to reek havoc on the peloton in 2 years]. did i forget to mention that piepoli is italian. last but not least, some of the other SD boys simoni will have at his side, the new young gun ricco, the could be a star again mayo, and little known italian [italian + giro = ride like the wind, or else] manuele mori.

it would also be great to see di luca pull off a podium finish, along with stefano garzelli, emanuele sella, dario cioni [rides powercranks], and a super long shot who is not italian and rides for a french team [corfidis, yikes] ivan parra [not likely, but i am feeling giro right now].

oh this is going to be a great giro, full of surprises, full of great racing, full of macho italian men beaming with pride at the thought of wearing pink [everyone knows that pink is the true yellow] huh, the humanity. there is nothing like 3 weeks of italians riding through their pain cave to see the other side, a spot on the podium in the giro d'italia.


[simoni sticking to basso like a x-file to an alien]


[piepoli, the italian king of the mountains]


[NO!, i'm not in this years giro..]

PT

[ahhh, good times]

hi ya'll, recovery is going well and i am now in my 2nd week of physical therapy [a part of your pain cave you probably didn't even know was there]. with each visit i get a little more movement in the arm and shoulder. the collarbone is theoretically 100% with the plate, but i did severe damage to my shoulder and neck, mainly the muscles are sprained and preventing me from moving my arm and shoulder correctly. so everyother day i go to the house of pain and have my excelent physical therapist [let me know if you ever need one and i will give you his info] do his thing on my arm and neck, while i curse and sweat like a weekend warrior on mulholland. but my reward, now that i am mostly off of the pain meds, is a cool frosty belgian brew.

- check out the cool masiguy shirts.