tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-86059739473896385432012-01-17T13:07:02.444-08:00Cyclist/photographer Gerry Ellis shares his daily rides, cycling thoughts and photos in and around his home Portland, Oregon, & the Northwest.Gerryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01602775163836637978noreply@blogger.comBlogger2051100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8605973947389638543.post-52434801796958574712012-01-06T13:05:00.000-08:002012-01-06T13:05:44.018-08:00

FROM TEAM A MEDIA RELEASE: After three months off the bike and plenty of re-shuffling, re-organizing and re-vitalizing, it’s finally time for the cycling season to begin for RADIOSHACK NISSAN TREK. Tonight, the team, the new kit and the team bikes were presented to 5,000 enthusiastic fans at the ‘Rockhal’ in Esch-Sur-Alzette, Luxembourg. After the presentation, a surprise concert by Karl

Gerryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01602775163836637978noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8605973947389638543.post-19386512934302335822011-05-04T15:19:00.000-07:002011-05-05T10:28:41.124-07:00

There's a saying, "Men plan, God laughs." I keep looking over my shoulder this year with certainty that someone or something is chuckling loudly at my expense. With a healthier back and clarity of purpose I expected to be back on the bike. Racing was optional, although the tandem version was discussed often with my race partner John. Riding, for the pure joy of it wasn't optional. I was

Gerryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01602775163836637978noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8605973947389638543.post-63869889948140642332011-04-27T09:12:00.001-07:002011-04-27T10:07:29.210-07:00

What ever you think of Jonathan Vaughters one thing you have to give the man credit for is an effort to chart a new path both in the business of pro cycling and in running a healthy team. Sure, like all men, Vaughters plans, gods laugh. But all-in-all the course he has been charting and sailing for Garmin (currently Garmin-Cervélo) has been heartening.Headlines of doping in cycling are a dime a

Gerryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01602775163836637978noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8605973947389638543.post-17356188124186410662011-04-12T10:55:00.000-07:002011-04-12T11:32:00.328-07:00

"Even those lucky enough to make it to the velodrome in Roubaix, those who hadn't crashed, face days of recovery from muscles battered by jackhammering over the pavé and spent hacking up half the French countryside from their lungs."Nice little bit and photos in CyclingNews today:Photo gallery: Carnage on the cobblesAnd some lovely Paris-Roubaix slow-mo video from over on Steephill.tv - Amazing

Gerryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01602775163836637978noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8605973947389638543.post-87868433535674691322011-04-11T13:39:00.000-07:002011-04-11T20:41:39.617-07:00

It's been 24 hours now and most of the pave dust has settled back into the Flanderian farmlands for another cycling season. But with a week before we move on to the Wallonne it's worth considering the cobbles one last time - and the superman efforts and "strategerie", as our former President would have called it, of perhaps one of the finest "old school" cyclist of our time - Fabian Cancellara.I

Gerryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01602775163836637978noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8605973947389638543.post-2388184865252794522011-04-08T14:06:00.000-07:002011-04-08T14:14:00.741-07:00

Ya gotta love the old Pros who pull no punches - the grand beauty of getting old - besides getting to tell everyone how old you are.Gazzetta dello Sport also asked De Vlaeminck about Filippo Pozzato. He dismisses the Italian with some hard truths and blunt criticism about owning a Ferrari.“Pozzato was a champion when he was young and had more class than Boonen. His problem is that he’s too good

Gerryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01602775163836637978noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8605973947389638543.post-43416773585373834652011-03-11T10:52:00.000-08:002011-03-11T10:59:11.550-08:00

I ride a variety of bikes - all road for the most part - but what people do on "bikes" is frigg'n amazing - this is just plain scary in my book. I cringed a half dozen times while watching it. Perhaps the only thing scarier than this ride would be the ER in this third world country you get taken to if you crash. Enjoy at your own risk - VCA 2010 RACE RUN from changoman on Vimeo.

Gerryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01602775163836637978noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8605973947389638543.post-19044490097675947912011-03-10T09:49:00.001-08:002011-03-10T12:18:00.477-08:00

Today's finish in Paris-Nice was for the old dogs, the grunters, the weekend warriors who dream of hitting a finish line first.It started a couple K from the final summit when a octet of known names hit the gas for the final time and summited the Cat 1 Col de la Mûre; a nasty little gift, with pitches of 12%, the organizers threw in a dozen kilometers from the finish after six previous

Gerryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01602775163836637978noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8605973947389638543.post-83522471850230736032011-03-09T14:43:00.000-08:002011-03-09T14:48:48.144-08:00

A much more significant story than the future of one bike lane in Brooklyn [NY], a great deal hangs on the lawsuit filed against the city. Interesting in light of recent events in America's other mega-metropolis, Los Angeles embracing a full blown bike plan.READ ON

Gerryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01602775163836637978noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8605973947389638543.post-58535948292826582022011-03-08T16:57:00.000-08:002011-03-10T09:40:49.901-08:00

The pros really can inspire. Ya know as a little kid, like many little kids, I use to watch my favorite team and if the sporting gods were kind my team would make a miracle comeback and seal victory for me. After the game I would head to the nearest court or field and celebrate with friends an exuberant re-enactment would follow. I know darn well we played harder in those adrenaline spiked

Gerryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01602775163836637978noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8605973947389638543.post-80935473171588150982011-03-07T15:54:00.000-08:002011-03-07T17:24:45.671-08:00

When things go south they call it pedaling squares; today things went further south, Antarctic south, I was pedaling cubes - Rubics Cubes.Multiple media types, cycling broadcaster and others have picked up on the pedaling squares phrase, but I think it was from Paul Sherwin on a particularly vertical stretch of the Pyrenees in the Tour de France when the the utterance came tripping off his tongue

Gerryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01602775163836637978noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8605973947389638543.post-59816987485785517492011-03-01T06:37:00.000-08:002011-03-01T06:53:26.791-08:00

If Los Angeles, the city in lust with the car, can pedal into the future, maybe, just maybe, there is hope for this petroleum addicted world. It appears the LA City Council is on the verge of pedaling back to the future with a new bicycle transportation master plan that would create 1,680 miles of interconnected bike lanes, streets and corridors - amazing what happens when a city's mayor almost

Gerryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01602775163836637978noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8605973947389638543.post-69864724912774438592011-02-08T08:35:00.000-08:002011-02-08T08:40:37.488-08:00

Last November CyclingNews did an interview with "The Cobra" as he made his way back into Pro cycling after a 20 month ban for doping - a ban that disgraced not only himself but tarnished most of the climbing stages in the 2008 Tour de France. In the article Riccardo Riccò: "The Cobra is dead" he was quoted: “I’m no longer aggressive like I used to be,” Riccò told Cyclingnews on Thursday. “Once

Gerryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01602775163836637978noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8605973947389638543.post-28292874082683101882011-01-31T12:11:00.000-08:002011-01-31T12:41:49.485-08:00

Long ago I grew tired of following and commenting on the Floyd Landis self-destruction. I tried for a long time, like many, to hold out a glimmer of hope that this guy, known for his grit and indefatigable determination, was indeed a true twiner of the Tour de France, and that amazing ride on Stage 17 into Morzine should be what we remember, not the endless appearances before a microphone

Gerryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01602775163836637978noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8605973947389638543.post-75760654100896576142011-01-24T13:28:00.000-08:002011-01-24T14:19:37.543-08:00

Ok, this is right up front - a plug for Mark and Mike's new store here in Portland - West End Bikes.West End is opening their doors at 1111 SW Stark Street Portland, OR 97205 - (503) 208-2933I've known Mark Ontiveros a long time and this baby is close to his heart. All the love of cycling he exuded for years comes to fruition in this new Specialized Concept store - once inside and you look

Gerryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01602775163836637978noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8605973947389638543.post-20624227138865994262011-01-12T07:59:00.000-08:002011-01-12T09:06:24.869-08:00

Team RadioShack - "The Shack" - have blessed the New Year by doing a facelift to one of the worst looking kits in last years peloton. The new kits will hit the road just in time for the Aussie Pro Tour opener - the Santos Tour Down Under.Each year January reveals new looks in the peloton, new teams, new riders, new kits, 2011 repeats that tradition. This year it appears you are either black &

Gerryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01602775163836637978noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8605973947389638543.post-1874597336444114052011-01-07T08:00:00.000-08:002011-01-07T08:57:31.960-08:00

You know it doesn't take much, just a flicker, and the hope returns. We're just days into 2011 and the newest (sorta) pro UCI team, Team Leopard-Trek's (a.k.a Team Luxembourg), presentation of their new kits dramatically reverses, thank god, a trend of hideous kit design that reached its pinnacle (or pit) in the flesh-colored disaster of Team Footon >>>>>.After three decades of downward spiral

Gerryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01602775163836637978noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8605973947389638543.post-63624676176446973612011-01-05T10:41:00.000-08:002011-01-05T10:49:40.573-08:00

Come and join us at the 2010 Bicycling Northwest Bike Photo Contest Awards presented by Pro Photo Supply this Thursday night at the newest bike shop in Portland (so new the doors are only open for this First Thursday event!) - West End Bikes.

Gerryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01602775163836637978noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8605973947389638543.post-59369335197610018432011-01-01T09:07:00.000-08:002011-01-06T11:11:59.562-08:00

Quick post to wish everyone a happy, healthy, upright, rubber-side-down, New Year. Before taking off for work on the Gulf Coast last week I did manage to renew an old tradition of riding the first 100 miler of the year on my birthday - the "Kids" were nearly all there and I'll post that blog with photos this week. More importantly it also renews my cycle-blogging as well. Work elsewhere around

Gerryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01602775163836637978noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8605973947389638543.post-28168272312129475772010-11-10T12:26:00.000-08:002010-11-10T13:07:20.506-08:00

Just back from Costa Rica where much to my surprise - and shock - I saw road cyclists. Yip there they were, all kitted up, clad in full team colors and logos. Mixed teams were out for a training ride as I passed through the capitol San Jose - or should I say, survived my way back to San Jose. After a week of catastrophic flooding, washed out towns, mudslides, death, and major highways that

Gerryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01602775163836637978noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8605973947389638543.post-56209508398884071222010-10-19T08:16:00.000-07:002010-10-20T11:31:11.922-07:00

Drum-roll please. Today in Paris was the day. According to papa ASO's own website, "On Tuesday 19 October precisely, more than 4 000 persons and 500 medias from all over the world will descend on the Palais des Congrès in Paris to discover the detail of the stages of the 2011 Tour, which will take place from 2 to 24 July that year along the roads of France and …"That was if those 4,000 persons

Gerryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01602775163836637978noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8605973947389638543.post-13713955311812330292010-10-11T18:26:00.000-07:002010-10-12T08:01:30.242-07:00

This weekend 26 teams - yes, including Radioshack, the apparent bad boys of racing - take to the start in Milano before riding north, looping the gorgeous Lake Como and finishing in the lake town of Como after climbing up from the lake shore and summiting the climb to Madonna del Ghisallo. They will ride through the falling leaves, la Classica della Foglie Morte, the Classic of the Falling

Gerryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01602775163836637978noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8605973947389638543.post-26431551812250905622010-10-08T16:16:00.000-07:002010-10-08T16:24:09.382-07:00

They say she is blind, it might help judge the truth, but that makes it damn hard to ride a bike. Maybe that's why they invented tandems, so folks like Lady Justice can feel the wind in her hair and the joy of flying free down a country road. That's the same feeling little kids have when they peddle like little demons and race the wind. Freedom. They say the truth will set you free - for

Gerryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01602775163836637978noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8605973947389638543.post-60805253704171030552010-10-05T12:46:00.000-07:002010-10-06T07:57:56.531-07:00

Once again we are in the post-TdF fall classic tournament - "Disgrace the Doper." This year's doper target, Alberto Contador. Without judgment on guilt I wish we could all just fathom the reality of how difficult the Tour is and that winning it isn't or may never have been, possible without some magical elixir. This past weekend retired, after being banned and disgraced, pro cyclist Bernhard

Gerryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01602775163836637978noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8605973947389638543.post-49121669423527236782010-09-30T08:35:00.000-07:002010-09-30T10:23:22.511-07:00

Now that I'm back from the Gulf I no longer wake to the hurricane updates on weather channel, instead have returned to a rhythm of checking CyclingNews and VeloNews - a nice diversion from reality.This morning I learned two things - one, Fabulous Fabian's Fourth ITT World Championship places alone atop the podium of cycling's greatest time trial greats.The second, insanity has a weight, exactly

Gerryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01602775163836637978noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8605973947389638543.post-18495058054452552552010-09-29T14:10:00.000-07:002010-09-29T14:19:08.793-07:00

Check out the

Gerryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01602775163836637978noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8605973947389638543.post-62350114106813541712010-09-27T07:48:00.000-07:002010-09-27T08:30:47.756-07:00

My first blog back was going to be about last Tuesday's hilly little ride with the guys, but I got dropped so fast that there isn't much worth reporting other than I now have no doubt that eight weeks off the bike, on top of a general season without much riding, isn't the best strategy for surviving the hilliest Tuesday Night route of the season.So let's move on...I once heard the question, "Name

Gerryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01602775163836637978noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8605973947389638543.post-36426543205401314442010-09-21T13:56:00.001-07:002010-09-21T14:27:05.161-07:00

Ya know, one of the most frustrating things about having to go back to work for a living (see my Gulf blogs) is that cycling - which had been front and center for the past year - got regulated, no back-burnered, well, actually, pretty much dropped. The Vuelta for instance - what Vuelta?? The only thing I have been watching come from the 'old world' was a peloton of rookie hurricanes named Igor,

Gerryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01602775163836637978noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8605973947389638543.post-61563378201968810552010-08-31T15:04:00.000-07:002010-08-31T20:33:42.895-07:00

My heart sank this today with the news of Laurent Fignon's passing. Sank. Like it had unclipped and refused to turn the pedals a single revolution further. Fignon died of cancer which had been chasing him down over the past couple years. He was one of the first riders I ever remember seeing race the Tour. And he raced it.The old saying about 15 seconds of fame - well Laurent Fignon was twice

Gerryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01602775163836637978noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8605973947389638543.post-77814710185232355872010-08-27T16:09:00.000-07:002010-08-27T16:28:33.607-07:00

Yes, it's been very quiet here the past few weeks - but occasionally all grown ups have to take a break from the bike - like the owners of Cervelo almost did these past few days... luckily for a few soon-to-be-out-of-work-pros Garmin jumped in and reshuffled the deck. And wow! what an off season, as soon as I get a free moment I'm unlocking the archives and searching for a more tumultuous "

Gerryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01602775163836637978noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8605973947389638543.post-69106007551970628102010-07-26T14:49:00.000-07:002010-07-26T15:56:45.266-07:00

We all have relatives and friends we love, are excited to see them when they visit, laugh, share great memories, eat, drink, but sooner or later, it's time for them to go. No disrespect, it's just time to move on.Lance Armstrong - it's been great, really great - now please go.ps - and take your friend Johan with youI have, generally speaking, been a Lance Armstrong fan over the course of his

Gerryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01602775163836637978noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8605973947389638543.post-1080592945633748342010-07-26T14:37:00.000-07:002010-07-26T14:46:35.193-07:00

If today you woke to no Phil and Paul, stared blankly at the TV screen and wondered what next? The maybe these will help with the cold turkey come down. Here's one last look at the 2010 Tour de France courtesy of the Boston Globe online and the great photographers that also rode over 3,600 kms in rain, sun, wind, cobbles and mountain cols to remind us what a beautiful sport this is.PS - be

Gerryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01602775163836637978noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8605973947389638543.post-61661945810935961952010-07-25T09:58:00.000-07:002010-07-25T17:34:33.773-07:00

And the winner is...Italy's Adriano Malori, 170th, trailing in Le Tour de France by 4h 27m and 3 secs.The TT, they call it the race-of-truth. Just you and your bike against the clock, and Saturday, for 52 km from Bordeaux to Pauillac, you shared it with the wind. After surviving three weeks, including one of the Tour's toughest final weeks in the Pyrenees it finally came down to this, the

Gerryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01602775163836637978noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8605973947389638543.post-5757926821725130472010-07-23T11:55:00.000-07:002010-07-23T13:20:08.822-07:00

Rumor has it Bert Grabsch quickly crossed the line today, hugged Mark Cavendish a quick congrats, then slipped past the team bus and jumped into a taxi. He was seen after Stage 18 visiting caves in Bordeaux and questioning shop owners for an appropriate 75 year old red to celebrate Germany's capture of the Tour's Lanterne Rouge.I've been searching through this pile of books, old newspaper

Gerryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01602775163836637978noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8605973947389638543.post-67283154092646680602010-07-22T16:44:00.000-07:002010-07-22T16:44:01.033-07:00

I think someone once wrote - and entire book in fact - "It's not about the bike" Actually, sometimes, that's exactly what it's about. That's all its about."For some it was crazy, for others it was stupid, and others a day of courage and bravery. For me, it was a day to enjoy being on the bike." - Carlos Sastre on his ultimately futile attack on Stage 17.

Gerryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01602775163836637978noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8605973947389638543.post-61152084518859849462010-07-22T15:42:00.000-07:002010-07-22T15:44:02.796-07:00

The Journey is the Thing from Tony Blazejack on Vimeo.

Gerryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01602775163836637978noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8605973947389638543.post-23494552487131962762010-07-22T08:56:00.001-07:002010-07-22T16:29:52.004-07:00

Legend has it - covered in mud and sweat, and laboring to push his bike up the steep goat-track, he spat, "Assassins"*, at Tour officials. That was eventual 1910 Tour winner Octave Lapize cresting the summit 15 minutes behind first summit winner Gustave Garrigou. Perhaps Lapize's exclamation was really into the thin air at 2115 meters and directed at the silent geant Col du Tourmalet piercing

Gerryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01602775163836637978noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8605973947389638543.post-9211565071477986752010-07-21T14:35:00.000-07:002010-07-22T08:55:53.283-07:00

I'm not a big fan of Indy car racing, it's the noise, but I remember a race where the famous guy leading, like Mario Andretti or someone, only had a couple laps to go and was pushing the limits by not stopping for fuel - sure enough he ran out with a lap or so to go and lost.Perhaps my favorite was the horse race where the jockey fell off because the saddle buckle failed, but the horse continued

Gerryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01602775163836637978noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8605973947389638543.post-79787462838998740912010-07-20T06:01:00.000-07:002010-07-20T14:09:53.351-07:00

Somewhere between a few hundred million and 6.3 billion of us populating our planet most humans lost our primordial priority - contesting for survival. Real survival, the kind where for example, your daily bread comes at the risky price of challenging large beasts which could turn the table and eat you. Survivors were immortalized on cave walls and in totems, they were heroes. Hardwired in us

Gerryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01602775163836637978noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8605973947389638543.post-55827948524572459162010-07-19T13:25:00.000-07:002010-07-19T16:49:17.285-07:00

Call it what you like, "B" is for Brutal, or Belittling, or the Bast%*d, maybe the Beast, or just Big B, or perhaps plain - the Balès, the climb up today's Port de Balès is one of the truly great ascents in the Pyrenees.Amazingly it was only included for the first time as recently as 2007. I was fortunate and happy to have climbed it that same summer, two months after the Tour had suffered over

Gerryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01602775163836637978noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8605973947389638543.post-40805788182857495022010-07-19T08:58:00.000-07:002010-07-20T10:08:13.010-07:00

All eyes were focused three kilometers down the north slope of the Porte de Balès, the fight for yellow was in full flight, attacks, counter-attacks, but over the summit and down the southern slope by a couple of minutes flew a diminutive Frenchman clad in the vibrant Tricolor, the colors of the champion nationals of his home country. Since 2004 we have come to love him for his affable smile and

Gerryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01602775163836637978noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8605973947389638543.post-34811102080185610432010-07-18T13:52:00.000-07:002010-07-18T13:11:07.280-07:00

Dawn broke on the Pyrenees to shine on a peloton bruised, battered, broken and beat. In the memories of many this has been a Tour shattered with the kind of suffering we haven't seen in years.Yesterday Juliet Macur, for the NY Times wrote, "As of Friday afternoon, 22 riders, including Farrar and two of his Garmin-Transitions teammates, have dropped out of the three-week race, which began on

Gerryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01602775163836637978noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8605973947389638543.post-49406244624773074122010-07-16T12:53:00.000-07:002010-07-16T21:19:17.870-07:00

Anyone seriously calculating the Laterne Rouge race had to take note of today's Stage 12, hidden in the lumpy hills of the southern Massif Central - where more than one rider has succumbed to the heat and torturous terrain.And today a toll was taken - my ace in the hole is out, gone, headed for a little R&R, DNF'd - Tyler Farrar.It was a case of climbing, as it usually is for Lanterne Rouge

Gerryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01602775163836637978noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8605973947389638543.post-4025125538474282192010-07-15T15:01:00.000-07:002010-07-15T15:28:20.971-07:00

Whether it was the phone call Adriano got from his boyhood pals reminding him that their beloved footballers had exited the World Cup in utter disgrace or it was the post-Bastille Day hangover of the two Frenchmen Samuel Dumoulin and new rouge Anthony Roux, a stage that should have seen the statis quo in the rouge race indeed saw a bit of shuffling off the back.After Stage 11 thing shifted around

Gerryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01602775163836637978noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8605973947389638543.post-58471114846920921632010-07-15T13:14:00.000-07:002010-07-15T13:54:22.804-07:00

Bourg-lès-Valence,FRANCE - Executed in swift and decisive action today, in a move rarely seen by Tour officials, top race official Jean-Francois Pescheux disqualified cyclist Mark Renshaw of team HTC-Columbia. He said after the race: “Renshaw was declassified immediately but we have decided to also throw him off the race." Going on to say, "We’ve only seen the pictures once, but his actions

Gerryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01602775163836637978noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8605973947389638543.post-83172548075379318082010-07-14T10:48:00.000-07:002010-07-16T15:13:50.691-07:00

At last we have a race for rouge. Adriano Malori, the young Italian riding for the Italian squad Lampre-Farnese Vini, turned squares up the Col du Madeleine yesterday to cross the line 151st in Stage 9 that included the race's first real gauntlet of ascents and the first HC climb. He rode in with more than 40 others in the autobus, nearly 35 minutes behind winner Sandy Casar and the other

Gerryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01602775163836637978noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8605973947389638543.post-79492888322355585432010-07-13T06:02:00.000-07:002010-07-13T15:49:17.817-07:00

Anyone who has ridden through the mountains in Europe, the Pyrenees, the Jura, the Dolomites, especially the Alps can tell you the climbs and the descents are entirely different beasts, different from anything else in the world; they are long ascents, they are equally long all the way down. And in between, each climb is generally connected by a short valley, a lovely village and undoubtedly a

Gerryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01602775163836637978noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8605973947389638543.post-84652307236893341962010-07-12T16:14:00.001-07:002010-07-12T16:56:13.898-07:00

Okay, I relent! I'll admit I started all this Lanterne Rouge discussion so I deserve your questions, but we are only at the first Rest Day so any real substantive discussion of the true contenders for the little lantern is rather pointless. The current back of the bunch is a newbie to the whole lantern affair, Team RadioShack's DmitriyMuravyev, who finished outside my 30 minute cut-off in TdF

Gerryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01602775163836637978noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8605973947389638543.post-20480286541972604232010-07-08T12:57:00.000-07:002010-07-08T17:13:33.328-07:00

Mathieu Hermans & Pietro TarchiniWith so many sprinters banged up so early in this year's Tour, many of whom have previously dangled off the back in the mountains and flirted with the coveted Lanterne Rouge, I thought it would be interesting to imagine them actually winning a stage, or two, and picking up the little lantern in Paris. And then it dawned on me, that might be one of the

Gerryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01602775163836637978noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8605973947389638543.post-33866528844972148082010-07-07T14:04:00.001-07:002010-07-08T06:37:28.250-07:00

Yesterday was a Tour day to remember, not for all the usual reasons, but for some old ones, and one truly awesome display of raw human power and determination - the kind that can conquer cobbles and cancer.On the last two sectors of cobbles, six and seven, 5,000 meters of the unforgiving granite, groups were splintering all over the pavés and Lance Armstrong was there, chasing back onto the lead

Gerryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01602775163836637978noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8605973947389638543.post-34416032096976635182010-06-30T14:17:00.000-07:002010-06-30T14:24:42.789-07:00

Think you know Le Tour - test yourself (and those louses sprawled across your floor, drinking your beer, eating all the Eddy Merckx Birthday cake, and too cheap to splurge for their own hook up to Versus.)In this 97th edition we will add to the Tourmalet-sized mountain for facts and trivia that already exists for fanatics, commentators and history buffs to dig through - in fact the Tourmalet

Gerryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01602775163836637978noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8605973947389638543.post-88262800520024720292010-06-29T07:06:00.001-07:002010-06-29T11:04:31.529-07:00

The news came early, around 6AM, I hadn't even had my first cuppa Earl Grey before a small web voice whispered across cyberspace... "check the Tour line ups." So with apprehension I flipped open the laptop, logged on to CyclingNews, quickly scan headlines... hmmm? Just one, “This will be my final Tour de France”, tweet turned headline from Lance, ...yawn, another sip of tea, we knew that was

Gerryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01602775163836637978noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8605973947389638543.post-12883605379663923112010-06-23T12:07:00.000-07:002010-06-23T12:43:29.002-07:00

Summer - maybe today it kicked open the door and firmly planted a foot in Portland - Yeah! We hope! With it comes a wave of bike folks enjoying this place we love - first-timers, commuters, Sunday Parkways families, Bridge-Peddalers, Pedalpaloozers, a host of summer Centuries and the STP invasion. But what really excites me and gives me hope that we may someday replace our auto-mentality inner

Gerryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01602775163836637978noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8605973947389638543.post-10739885413617835112010-06-21T11:51:00.000-07:002010-06-21T15:15:05.503-07:00

Cyclists and the rest of society have at best a strange acceptable coexistence - a symbiosis. But as any high school ecology student learns symbiosis is a bit like saying "fruit", there are many different kinds and not everyone like them all.Commensalism is a type of relationship between two things where one benefits, but the other is unaffected (car drives on street and doesn't hit bike).

Gerryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01602775163836637978noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8605973947389638543.post-72598819753556884342010-06-17T07:11:00.001-07:002010-06-17T08:48:21.703-07:00

Every few weeks my two passions crisscross, photography and cycling, usually that means a wonderful cycling image created by me or something I've trip over on the web. This time the image hits at the ethical heart of my photographic passion and disgusts the heart of me as a cyclist.Outside Magazine's new cover is of cycling's most divisive rider, an aging Lance Armstrong. For most cycling fans

Gerryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01602775163836637978noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8605973947389638543.post-51143326316504378612010-06-15T13:43:00.000-07:002010-06-15T16:04:45.527-07:00

Today in the finish of Tour du Suisse Satge 4 things went "all pear shape" in the final 100 meters to the line. Cavendish chose a sprint line diagonal to Cervelos Haussler and slam bam they all fall down, including Boonen (black, red, yellow Belgian National jersey) who crashes into a tumbling Cav and best flight of all, whom the judges must award "Best Aerial in a Sprint" to is the AG2R rider

Gerryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01602775163836637978noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8605973947389638543.post-51337153485732052652010-06-14T10:41:00.000-07:002010-06-14T11:48:09.867-07:00

Sometimes it's timing, that magical rendezvous between health, want, and opportunity. This year, that is most definitely the case. Last Saturday, the back and lungs were finally healthy and not complaining about a thing, I definitely wanted to be riding, somewhere - anywhere, and the Cascade Bicycle Club picked a perfect day of sunshine and route through the Snoqualmie River Valley (near

Gerryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01602775163836637978noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8605973947389638543.post-35894762187147018272010-06-11T12:43:00.001-07:002010-06-11T12:56:11.114-07:00

Suppose to be a gorgeous weekend - FINALLY - around here, if you weren't expecting it and have only your "usual' ride planned, get in some additional bike time and a few brews at the annual Cirque du Cycling event up on Mississippi Avenue. The all-day activities include kids on bikes, naked people on bikes, usually an appearance by the Sprockets and a late afternoon crit featuring local OBRA

Gerryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01602775163836637978noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8605973947389638543.post-88712953781188175342010-06-08T12:07:00.000-07:002010-06-09T17:00:16.981-07:00

Under a month to go until Le Tour sets off, its Grand Depart in Amsterdam. The buzz is starting to build - the revival of Basso, mechanical doping, Cavandish's lack of wins, Landis vs Lance, the Where's Menchov Mystery, etc. And it's time for cycling to go mainstream media; the cycling journalist are getting some company - regular sports types and the 'other' journalistic world, those that

Gerryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01602775163836637978noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8605973947389638543.post-87395141361158968232010-06-06T17:11:00.000-07:002010-06-07T10:00:32.748-07:00

I'll be right up front with this - this is a Help Wanted Ad - to anyone who works for Trek or knows anyone who works for Trek - or anyone who loves Trek bikes and cares. Chris needs your HELP.I have a friend named Chris Lash, nice enough guy for an engineer-type, which means he can get pretty geeky about the design, maintenance and functioning of his bike. He owns a Trek Madone 5 series, nice

Gerryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01602775163836637978noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8605973947389638543.post-37574869929732057622010-06-03T08:15:00.000-07:002010-06-03T08:19:00.713-07:00

"It’s so stupid I’m speechless" - Fabian Cancellara on claims of "mechanized doping" - that he used a motorized bike.

Gerryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01602775163836637978noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8605973947389638543.post-27447457002888563842010-06-02T10:52:00.000-07:002010-06-03T08:14:15.624-07:00

Tuesday night we, a few of the Kids, gathered at the "Office", locally known as Lucky Lab brew pub in Multnomah. It's the unsual late spring/summer Tuesday night gathering site for three reasons - 1) it the closest best spot after the Tuesday Night Rides/Races out of Tualatin Park, 2) Tightwad Tuesday make pints and pitchers almost reasonably priced, and 3) TT can get an ESB while the rest of us

Gerryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01602775163836637978noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8605973947389638543.post-56482098091459621442010-05-26T10:56:00.001-07:002010-05-26T12:03:34.015-07:00

A friend, historically in the know, said to me this morning, in reference to the Floyd Landis allegations, "icing on the cupcake, that's all this is Ger, just the little sprinkles". More on that later, but for now this little sprinkle appeared in the New Your Times this morning:"But unlike the other investigations, this one involves federal authorities from the United States. They have become

Gerryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01602775163836637978noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8605973947389638543.post-23542569293772331522010-05-25T11:29:00.000-07:002010-05-26T07:05:12.657-07:00

I was watching Stage 3 of the Tour of CA, the peloton tackled the Bonny Doon climb tilting up and away from the Pacific Ocean and summiting just over 2,000 feet above the waves. Its gradient is tough, I've never ridden it, but it has to be. I mean there, spread across the television screen a handful of riders hit the accelerator, none of them slouches mind you - Zabriskie, Leipheimer, Rogers,

Gerryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01602775163836637978noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8605973947389638543.post-27522714454147648342010-05-21T11:41:00.001-07:002010-05-21T13:07:12.805-07:00

The day after Floyd Landis enters the nasty ring of accusations and denials, it appears clear Lance Armstrong is his sentinel opponent - and he has landed the first punch. Sure there are others, Hincapie, Levi, DavidZ, etc. including UCI head Dick Pound, but Landis came out swinging for the top step of the America podium of cycling icons and there's only one guy standing there - sorry Greg -

Gerryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01602775163836637978noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8605973947389638543.post-5648631273884787772010-05-20T09:30:00.000-07:002010-05-20T16:34:58.388-07:00

If it isn't location, location, location, it's gotta be "timing, timing, timing", and Mr. Landis, you seem to have a history of neither.You might have heard it, a far off poof? It was that small noise that might have registered on your audio Richter scale somewhere between the toaster popping up and the toilet flushing. Today Landis, via an ESPN interview, and The Wall Street Journal released a

Gerryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01602775163836637978noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8605973947389638543.post-28128959879330268412010-05-18T16:14:00.000-07:002010-05-18T16:17:18.078-07:00

Quick note for the folks who are interested in doing the Mt. Hood Cycling Classic. Sign up today! If there are not at least 30 ladies signed up by Wednesday, May 19th, the women's field will be canceled. The Cat 3 Men and Cat 4 Men should also sign up ASAP. Sportsbase will ask for a USAC license number- don't worry about it if you do not have one (these are OBRA fields). Type in

Gerryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01602775163836637978noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8605973947389638543.post-3325500491202168932010-05-12T14:03:00.000-07:002010-05-12T14:13:35.736-07:00

Posting this as a favor to Brian Echerer:Hello!I am helping organize the 2010 Portland Ride of Silence. I would guess most of you know what this ride is about, if not here is the link: http://www.rideofsilence.org/main.php In my opinion it is becoming the best way we can bring the awareness needed to the issues at hand. The ride takes place Wed May 19th and tires roll at 7:00 PM

Gerryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01602775163836637978noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8605973947389638543.post-15480647324367161292010-05-02T02:52:00.000-07:002010-05-04T02:48:16.915-07:00

Liège-Bastogne-Liège is over. The last race of the Ardennes classic season is a week old, winner Vinokourov has moved on to training for Dauphine or Tour de Suisse, the street sweepers and the Ardennes wind has swept the confetti of useless riches spewed about by the marketing caravan from the gutters and sidewalks on the finishing hill in Ans, I have traveled on to Paris and started further

Gerryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01602775163836637978noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8605973947389638543.post-1959277267170171012010-04-21T11:24:00.000-07:002010-05-02T02:52:19.698-07:00

After a weird and ashy week it looks like the runway is clear for liftoff to Liege - so blogs may post a bit slower for a couple weeks.Speaking of liftoff - flying the rainbow seems to be exactly what Cadel Evan's career, personality, and life needed. The dude just took a brilliant Flèche Wallonne today in the Belgian Ardennes and looks in great form (as well did the Schlecks) for Sunday's

Gerryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01602775163836637978noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8605973947389638543.post-85122688403953993992010-04-19T10:56:00.000-07:002010-04-21T13:32:41.337-07:00

HiLLLLLLLs!!Last Saturday was not your "classic" Ronde weather, and for those that have braved any or all of the previous three editions of Ronde van oeste Portlandia you know how nasty those little climbs of our west hills can get with 20 degrees less warmth and a 100% more rain. All-n-all it was a grand day out. And despite having a lot of fun photographing and filming the lot of you, I did

Gerryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01602775163836637978noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8605973947389638543.post-25698967791341032162010-04-16T12:07:00.000-07:002010-04-16T14:40:52.268-07:00

Between watching Icelandic volcano reports and trying to get a new iPhone set with appropriate apps before flying out of here for the L'Equipe archives in Paris, (and a detour north to Liege for the Ardennes classic) I have been piling up the research on the Lanterne Rouge book so I thought I would share some of it; btw I always capitalize Lanterne Rouge out of respect - after months of reading

Gerryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01602775163836637978noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8605973947389638543.post-31341181673094055232010-04-12T11:38:00.000-07:002010-04-12T19:03:11.437-07:00

History is a funny thing - ya know, the way it keeps repeating itself, but nobody bothers to listen, or read, or watch.Look around, far and near, choose a subject, it's not hard, and you'll find historical stuttering. Sometimes it takes a few months or years, but if you can step away from the myopic perspective we 60-year-lived humans have, you find history weaves a pretty nice sin curve over

Gerryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01602775163836637978noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8605973947389638543.post-38858235921383725352010-04-08T17:20:00.001-07:002010-04-08T17:56:03.052-07:00

Just as I was about to start writing I had a change of thought - blog, my blog, has no right or wrong; blogs ARE for writing any ol'crap you like, or sharing someone else's blog crap if you like - it's my blog.So today's blog, is about sharing someone's blog - her name is Lindsay, she is a cyclist, a damn fine one (and Lindsay, you always will be), she rides for Hammer Velo in Portland, she is

Gerryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01602775163836637978noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8605973947389638543.post-3298660580895923322010-04-07T22:32:00.000-07:002010-04-07T11:25:32.338-07:00

"A man for the Classics" the phrase goes - and they all say it, or write it - Phil, Paul, Sean, Andrew, cycling journalist of every accent and ilk. But the question eventually rises to the surface, just like the Cancellara cream last Sunday in Flanders - to be a MAN for the Classics don't you have to win one of the bloody battles? Better yet a couple of them?Fabian was fabulous in Flanders on

Gerryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01602775163836637978noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8605973947389638543.post-82434288156987533762010-04-06T13:08:00.000-07:002010-04-06T16:42:15.111-07:00

If you have even the slightest curiosity about the Tour de France beyond who Lance Armstrong is and what he is likely to tweet next, it's likely you know this thumbnail history:In 1903 Henri Desgrange, editor of L'Auto (ancestor to today's l'Equipe, owned by ASO, who owns the Tour), was desperate to win a circulation war with competing sports newspaper Le Vélo. and insure his papers survival.

Gerryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01602775163836637978noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8605973947389638543.post-7437011889935808442010-04-01T17:43:00.000-07:002010-04-01T17:46:39.711-07:00

Gerryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01602775163836637978noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8605973947389638543.post-73750484867001387542010-03-31T16:03:00.000-07:002010-04-01T11:14:33.192-07:00

Strength of a seven year old girl!! Flattery of that kind will rarely get you anywhere, but just once in a while, 'bout as often as a Hincapie classic win, it's gets you further ahead.That's how today's workout session went - tell ya anything?Now to be fair, Coach Phil did preface it with, "Ger, you're a bit of a strange case, you have great strength in some places, but in others..." and then

Gerryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01602775163836637978noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8605973947389638543.post-26141817722686435342010-03-28T22:04:00.000-07:002010-03-28T22:34:53.302-07:00

Sometime you just go ride your bike, and when it's done you roll up next to the car with this ridiculous grin on your face, exhausted, crusted in sweat salt, ready to eat anything not clearly classified as roadkill, dieing for pint, and happy you have the great gonzo friends you have. Saturday was such a day. We went out with only the semi-clearest idea of where we were going and certain to

Gerryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01602775163836637978noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8605973947389638543.post-51389544894993597292010-03-26T12:34:00.001-07:002010-03-26T13:03:55.450-07:00

As the summer approaches - all over the country and Europe - you may be training, getting back to training (me), or trying to make that decision about your first big ride - the Century or a Gran Fondo. So this post is really like my PSA before the weekend as the weather gets better and the miles need to start getting longer.First, set a goal:Sign up for something, it makes you commit, and "until

Gerryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01602775163836637978noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8605973947389638543.post-53804911147450882462010-03-24T10:30:00.000-07:002010-03-25T10:45:51.022-07:00

It comes as no secret to anyone that I am a huge Jens Voigt fan. And why shouldn't we all, the guy's got a huge motor, a huge passion for riding hard, a huge joy for being on the bike and hugely friendly. So it's with a bit of sadness that he won't be riding "his" race this week in the Critérium International. But he still made his mark -Just 2 days and three stages long the Critérium

Gerryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01602775163836637978noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8605973947389638543.post-90855736122576481772010-03-23T08:32:00.000-07:002010-03-23T11:02:29.717-07:00

okay - sometimes life just slaps you upside the head and says - Shut The F%@K Up - you are being a total whiner! Stop it!Did you seen any of the paralympics? Or should I say the REAL Olympics?Unfortunately the para-version was treated like some kinda stepchild, maybe because we have a culture, a media culture, that just doesn't like to deal with folks that are not American Idol-types, but the

Gerryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01602775163836637978noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8605973947389638543.post-36706170661271507602010-03-22T11:59:00.000-07:002010-03-22T13:43:47.325-07:00

Well... it appears the local pirate race... woops.... I mean Ride, the Rhonde van oeste Portlandia, has fallen victim to it's own success. Three years in the little gathering of friends ballooned from a competitive couple hundred with its own charming little youtube video, to a 500-600 velo-monster, including crashes and calls for the EMT vehicle.If you still want to ride the course the

Gerryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01602775163836637978noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8605973947389638543.post-35324273668644811342010-03-15T10:59:00.001-07:002010-03-15T11:57:07.202-07:00

The Banana series concluded yesterday under another Sunday of sunny skies, it's amazing what a year makes. Last season everything fell out of the sky except some space junk, you name it - ice, rain, snow, a hint of sun, wind, we had it all, enough in fact to postpone one weekend. This year three straight sunny Sundays; the only part that sucked was not riding any of it; the best part, being

Gerryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01602775163836637978noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8605973947389638543.post-21985835895304571082010-03-10T15:30:00.000-08:002010-03-16T15:14:16.306-07:00

Hopefully I will be uttering that same sentiment come May. For the moment that belongs to Andy Schleck of Saxo Bank. My friend TT sent Andy's latest blog posting over and it read oh so true - but love his positive spirit after a frustrating start to the 2010 campaign. His blog over on CyclingNews is a wonderful personal insight into pro peloton life from someone pretty humble and honest.BTW -

Gerryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01602775163836637978noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8605973947389638543.post-938541661598218652010-03-10T12:20:00.000-08:002010-03-10T14:12:07.940-08:00

At first glance those two articles of sporting life wouldn't appear to have much in common, but then the colorful Chris Horner steps up to the mic, "and the next morning I felt like I was beaten up by a baseball bat.” Referring to his crash in Mondays Paris Nice race. Gosh, wasn't just a few days ago I was scribbling a few thoughts about Horner and crashing? Hmmm?And baseball bats - yes, I

Gerryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01602775163836637978noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8605973947389638543.post-68824338387531501622010-03-05T16:12:00.000-08:002010-03-05T16:14:35.096-08:00

This is wonderful - time to laugh at ourselves!

Gerryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01602775163836637978noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8605973947389638543.post-49593450660921801212010-03-05T09:49:00.000-08:002010-03-05T11:11:24.834-08:00

That's the title of cycling writer Guy Wilson-Roberts latest posting to his own blog - le grimpeur. By his own admission Guy is, "For me, cycling is all about climbing. It’s the majesty, the suffering, and the sense of achievement of conquering the mountains. Hence le grimpeur, a collection of writing about climbs, climbing, and climbers." For anyone interested in hashing out over a pint or two

Gerryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01602775163836637978noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8605973947389638543.post-64696840734904507742010-03-02T12:36:00.000-08:002010-03-04T16:40:21.363-08:00

A week since seeing the pulmonary specialist - one more week off the bike to go - finally got a full nights sleep, in any position, without any pain last night. Progress. Baby steps. Staying motivated while your team and others around you fill up the podium and continue to ride into shape is as painful as the injury. I've been thinking a lot this past couple weeks about recovering - and

Gerryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01602775163836637978noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8605973947389638543.post-64188743276557462202010-02-26T15:46:00.000-08:002010-02-26T16:02:48.853-08:00

Well that's my friend Alex's solution to my current health calamities. Not against the more beer idea, just would like to also get the new season started... not exactly my dream start with the new team (not that they need me, the Echelon boys did some serious butt kicking in the Jack Frost TT on Sunday morning - while Hammer and I were winning the tandem division). No racing for the next two

Gerryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01602775163836637978noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8605973947389638543.post-3454184369314810812010-02-23T09:20:00.001-08:002010-02-23T18:27:36.629-08:00

So my coach Phil constantly repeats - the mantra to my building a stronger me. Well, now it appears it may be stopping to go slow, so that eventually we can go fast.Somewhere in a time-warp between last Friday morning feeling really great and going through a progressive work out in Session 5 since back from India, and racing Sublimity circuit road race (Saturday - photo above as I roll out in

Gerryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01602775163836637978noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8605973947389638543.post-55600725779176590042010-02-19T07:06:00.000-08:002010-02-19T07:57:22.360-08:00

This is great, just on the heals of a 39 hour flight home from Kolkata, with the incessant ringing of pedicab horns whining in my ears and the temptation to use a neti-pot for the first time in my life to flush the lingering fumes from my nose, I popped open VeloNews to see this on the slate for the coming weekend...O’Grady, Cooke head to India for Tour of MumbaiStuart O'Grady and Baden Cooke -

Gerryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01602775163836637978noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8605973947389638543.post-54292750596566346352010-02-15T12:53:00.000-08:002010-02-16T10:47:51.596-08:00

"Let me tell you what I think of bicycling. I think it has done more to emancipate women than anything else in the world. I stand and rejoice every time I see a woman ride by on a wheel. It gives woman a feeling of freedom and self-reliance." Happy Birthday Susan B. AnthonyFrom Women and Bicycles:"The advent and the ensuing popularity of the safety bicycle, with its appeal to both sexes

Gerryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01602775163836637978noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8605973947389638543.post-73517416561029118562010-02-14T08:56:00.000-08:002010-02-14T16:50:35.974-08:00

First race of the season is a new beginning and full of hope, and a grand melange - a mix of delight, expectations, experiment, eye-opener, shock, frustration, and joy. Yesterday's Cherry Pie Race, a circuit of 26 miles, done once or twice if you have the early season legs.The tandem race at 10AM was great. The rain had paused, the temp was creeping upwards and it was just great to be back on

Gerryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01602775163836637978noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8605973947389638543.post-90583840526341398702010-02-12T13:17:00.000-08:002010-02-12T16:51:14.926-08:00

Today last years' Tour de France Lanterne Rouge winner proved that 'last' doesn't mean forever... at least until the next TdF. Yauheni Hutarovitch, the Francaise de Jeux sprinter, tallied up his second win in three days at the Tour Méditerranéen (a repeat of his 2009 performance). As is often the case with Rouge recipients, their beastly physiques serve them well in the early season races and

Gerryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01602775163836637978noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8605973947389638543.post-43367304348606065682010-02-11T15:10:00.001-08:002010-02-11T15:33:34.556-08:00

Either I'm getting old (er) or I just can't take 4 weeks off and hang with the big dogs - or both - at least in winter with limited base to fall back on. After weeks away in India and surrounded by bikes that did my fitness little good, it was nice to get back out an ride. Perfectly timed was the Thursday lawyers lunch ride, mild 50 degree weather and a pause in the rain. I knew it would be

Gerryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01602775163836637978noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8605973947389638543.post-44462526364613481982010-02-10T06:05:00.001-08:002010-02-10T13:51:01.673-08:00

I've been away these past couple weeks, around bikes of a whole different breed. They were not sleek, no highly crafted Titanium or extruded carbon fibre, light weight gears and derailleurs nope, shifting was all in your legs, and as for brakes, those were straight out of the pre-war Tour... pre-WW ONE! The best part was they were every where, for every body, for every job. Working bikes.

Gerryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01602775163836637978noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8605973947389638543.post-47030023062344270152010-01-21T11:29:00.000-08:002010-01-21T13:47:36.105-08:00

I did in fact recover from Session 4's freezing finally, although I'll admit it was a long day of serious body recover - like bonking almost - body weak, queasy stomach, lethargy. By night fall I was coming around, and by the following morning I actually, yes Phil you were right, felt better. Going into Wednesday's session 5 I had energy and worked through the warm-up exercises it great shape;

Gerryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01602775163836637978noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8605973947389638543.post-19428837453886221252010-01-19T09:38:00.000-08:002010-01-19T10:56:03.987-08:00

The Broom Wagon Brothers?While the cold has not lifted from the pave of Paris-Roubaix and the peloton parading down the California coast has now been pushed to May, the cycling season does officially start this month. I don't mean that cake-walk sprinters race "downunder", I'm talk'n about a real race,... MANly cycling. A true race of truth. A race that, to paraphrase pro cyclist Kenny van

Gerryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01602775163836637978noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8605973947389638543.post-62804628179740673732010-01-19T08:07:00.000-08:002010-01-19T17:57:25.640-08:00

I'm writing this the morning after. I've finally recovered. My eyes have cleared, my speech is coherent and my brain has confirmed I am still alive. Yes, this is about workout Session 4, not a post-ride, pub-crawl, pint-fest with the boys.After a weekend of struggling with low grinding pain in the back and upper right hip Monday's session four was destined to be slow. I could only make it

Gerryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01602775163836637978noreply@blogger.com0