Sunshine and Light

Bike Commuting in Pittsburgh

The only way to guarantee that you won't be run off the road around here.

Photo by my hubby, Chris

Labels: cycling

posted by MyHusbandRules @ 8:41 AM 0 Further Thoughts

Dirty Dozen

And as surely as Black Friday follows Thanksgiving, does Dirty Dozen Saturday follow Black Friday.

The Dirty Dozen is a 24 year Pittsburgh tradition. Every year a bunch of sickos ride the 13 toughest hills in Pittsburgh. Yes, they cannot count. Or they're all bakers. Anyway, babykins and I headed out to watch Chris ride Sycamore and Canton st.

First up: Sycamore. I remembered to bring my camera along to film it. Just before the riders got there, I tried to frame the shot only to see the battery light start flashing. Then as the riders approached, I shifted Porter in my arms, and he started crying. Which then distracted me in my filming so that I got an awful lot of the fine paving job on the side of the hill. After two attempts at filming the camera gave up the ghost all together.


Sigh.

Then I hung out with Chris and a few other friends that I haven't really had a chance to talk to this summer. Then it was off to Canton St, one of the contenders for the steepest street in the world. It's supposedly steeper than anything in San Francisco at 37.5%. It's a crazy street, and better than 1/2 the riders fell over on their sides when they ran out of energy part way up. Alas one such rider went straight into Chris on his way up, and knocked him over.

Steevo killed it and won the whole race handily. Chris got somewhere in the 5th or 6th place. So it was a good day, and a good time was had by all.

So if you're driving through Pittsburgh on the Saturday after Thanksgiving next year, and you see 100+ cyclists, you'll know that they're headed off to do something silly. Fun....but silly.

Labels: cycling, Love of My Life

posted by MyHusbandRules @ 8:39 PM 1 Further Thoughts

You call that a Victory Salute?

Please, my 2 week old son does that in his sleep.

Labels: cycling, Porter

posted by MyHusbandRules @ 11:20 AM 3 Further Thoughts

What...doesn't everyone dress like this?

Other than #6, this list pretty much describes every cyclist we know.

Labels: cycling

posted by MyHusbandRules @ 5:28 PM 0 Further Thoughts

Girly Post

This is Alberto Contador, winner of the Tour de France, wearer of both the yellow jersey and the white jersey for best young rider (under 26) I searched but could not find a photo that appropriately showed off the 7 feet of eyelashes the man has

And this is Tom Boonen, international heart throb. He ended up with the green jersey - what the sprinters like to wear. He looks good in green. Also not so bad in red, white, yellow, black or any other color. Also seems like a nice guy who would treat his mama well.

So when you wonder why despite the crazy doping going on, I still am mesmerized by the Tour, feel free to surf google images for those two names.

Since this weekend was all about the lethargy, I did something I haven't done since I left Houston - I scrapbooked. I'm just not that detailed, not that creative, and not that patient. But it occurs to me that I may have an in for Christmas presents for the new grandparents. And it's a way of forcing myself to sort through cycling pix, so I'm working on a cycling scrapbook. Now if you were to see my friend Tammie's books....those are works of art. Mine....not so much. Oh well.

Last night Chris came home from his week of wrenching duties. WOOHOOO! Fred gave him the appropriate conquering hero status welcome after a whole week of not seeing Chris. I greeted him with a hug and a kiss. Ginger....well she had a bone! and was outside! and things were going on! Ok, so Ginger's initial reaction was a little low key. Until a couple of hours later when apparently the brain cell kicked in. We were in the living room, and you could see a puff of smoke and her little brain went "Wait....something is different about this room. Dad! Dad's home!", and the puppy insanity commenced. Not the brightest light in the harbor, our little girl. But bossy. Very, very bossy.

Labels: cycling, Dogs, Love of My Life, pregnancy

posted by MyHusbandRules @ 11:30 AM 0 Further Thoughts

Say it isn't so, Joe

I am Jack's raging cynicism...

So last night Michael Rasmussen, the leader of the Tour de France, was pulled from the race by his team. Supposedly for missing doping tests, but I'm not buying it. I have this suspicion somewhere deep down inside that eventually more will come out, and they'll find out that he really did some serious doping. (Hubby: "So the man spends 6 months in Mexico and suddenly he can time trial?")

As my friend Tammie puts it, it's almost not worth watching the Tour any more. Except that now it's got that train wreck quality that keeps me watching. Who's going down next? Especially with whole teams pulling out. It wasn't just Alexander Vinokourov that pulled out two days ago, but all of Astana. Yesterday Cristian Moreni returned positive results and all of Cofidis is out. It's still up in the air whether Rasmussen's team will carry on (although since he was pulled by the team on a "technicality" and not on a doping charge, they may get to stay). At this rate, the guys at the back of the field have to be getting excited about their chances.

Labels: cycling

posted by MyHusbandRules @ 7:34 AM 0 Further Thoughts

Yes, yes, I live

I feel like I'm barely keeping up with things these days. By noon I'm completely wiped out, and I've been leaving work early every day (2-3 ish, not at noon). Grr. Fortunately I'm transitioning things at work, so my job is slowing down a bit in some ways. There are things that I have to wrap up, but not many new things on the list.

The doggers have been moping a bit in Chris's absence. Ginger runs to the back window (traditional bark-a-greeting spot of hyper puppies) every time the neighbors come home to see if it's Chris. And Fred seems to have his pouting paw out a lot, although that could be because he's missing the frequent mountain bike rides. Long walks with me don't really accomplish the same de-energizing. And my ears perk up every time I see a Volvo wagon go by. But things are going well at the Tour de Toona, so just a few more days!

Sigh, and my pick to win the Tour de France has now been busted for his A-sample doping with someone else's blood. Igggggh. Technically he's not officially guilty until he's either declined the B-sample re-test, or it has been tested and proven guilty. Technically the media isn't supposed to know anything about it until after the whole B-sample thing. So not only is it enough that most of these guys are dopers, but the organization that's riding herd on them is so immoral that it won't even abide by it's own standards much less some of the rules of common decency used elsewhere.

My doc gave me the spiel on Monday on what I need to do when "the time" comes. How far apart contractions should be, etc. I'm getting close. I've started gathering up the stuff to take to the hospital, and I need to finish off the back room. I'm getting close enough. As long as I don't have the baby until next week, I'm in good shape. The parents are all arriving then to help us get the house in shape. So once that's done, we're ready. Theoretically. If anyone needs me I'll spend the next few weeks breathing into a brown paper bag because I've forgotten something else.

Labels: cycling, Dogs, pregnancy

posted by MyHusbandRules @ 11:26 AM 0 Further Thoughts

Sultry Summer Days

Things around here have been as summery hot as it usually gets around here. Ie in the mid 80s. Which is usually enough to be uncomfortable since central air is not ubiquitous here like it is in Texas. Yesterday's dog walk looked like it was happening in super slo-mo. Even Ginger was content to walk placidly next to me. Which is totally unusual for her, usually she's freaking out over dogs, trains, birds, buses, squirrels, chipmunks, etc. Add to that these days I'm moving super duper slowly and we just crawled along the streets wondering why no one had the courtesy to turn the sprinklers on the lawns.

The endless doctors visits continue. The doc's estimate is that the baby won't be particularly big, and that it will probably be early. My estimate is that he/she will be Lord of the Dance or a Rockette. For entertainment these days, we sort of watch my belly jump around. It's crazy. I can see in Chris's eyes that he's flashing back on Alien. We're talking a LOT of movement, not just the little belly twitches from last month.

In the Tour de France the other day, a labrador retriever took out one of the cyclists and destroyed his wheel. Which gave me cold shivers because I could just picture it being Ginger. As Chris put it..."Love me, Love ME, LOVE ME!" The puppy mantra!

Speaking of the Tour, I have no idea who's going to win this thing. Michael Rasmussen whose last TdF Time Trial was a total disaster is leading the race. If there were no Time Trials, he'd probably win the whole thing. But now we're trying to figure out which of the next 8 riders is good enough time trialer to take the whole thing. It's much more interesting than the Lance years, when the only question was the stage that Lance would take the lead.

And now I'm off to read the live coverage...

Labels: cycling, Dogs, pregnancy

posted by MyHusbandRules @ 9:10 AM 2 Further Thoughts

From the department of "Don't You Have Anything Better to Do?"

Via Asymmetrical Information and straight from BRAIN

JUNE 15, 2007 -- TRENTON, NJ (BRAIN)--The New Jersey bicycle business may be in serious trouble unless retailers and suppliers take immediate action. State legislators earlier this week approved a bill banning the sale of all bikes equipped with current quick release wheels and tabbed tips.

Under the bill, it would be illegal to sell bicycles with quick release wheels unless they met performance specifications that are not commercially available. Assembly bill A2686, which was introduced in February 2006, passed in the assembly with a vote of 77-3 and is now headed to the Senate Commerce Committee.

While originally drafted to ban quick release wheels on children’s bikes, the bill was recently amended to include bikes with 20-inch or larger wheels. It also stipulates that the secondary retention device on a wheel meet certain specifications, including that it activate automatically and always prevent wheel separation.

I've been riding bikes and been around cyclists for 10 years, I don't think I've EVER heard of someone crashing because of their quick release wheel. I do know a lot of people who would have been stranded a bazillion miles from home because they got a flat (or like Chris's friends, 6 flats between 3 of them with only 3 spares!). Quick release means you don't have to carry a tool to take your wheel off. Believe me, on some of those long, hot summer rides, the less things to carry, drop, and try to remember how to use, the better. I'm hoping that I'm really late to the party because it appears that most of the data was from June, but my question is...how is that a body that doesn't know anything about bicycles (duh, obviously) feels qualified to legislate safety?

Labels: cycling

posted by MyHusbandRules @ 6:53 AM 0 Further Thoughts

Why do I like my Cervelo?

Ok, our buddy Peter put together his awesome 15 second video that will bring him fame, fortune, etc. Go out and vote for the man so he can win swell prizes!

http://cervelo.tv/player.aspx?m=12&id=-1

(Click on Peter-N-THIRTEEN.FIVE. )

For those of you in the mid-Atlantic cyclocross scene, you may remember his amazing "Cross Talk" Videos. Yeah, it's that Peter. Go vote for him.

Labels: cycling

posted by MyHusbandRules @ 2:39 PM 0 Further Thoughts

A weekend of firsts

For Chris:
First Mountain bike win
First Mountain bike relay race
First Single Speed Mountain bike race (for those who don't bike, look at your kid's tricycle. That's a single speed. Take turns riding that with your friend for 12 hours. Sounds like fun, no?)

For Me:
First time to buy bras in this size. Yikes!
First time to shop in Babies-r-us, for us.
First time to shop at an Estate Sale. This one wasn't exciting, we'll see if anything better comes up in the future.

Ok, ok, hubby definitely had the more exciting weekend. Actually I've been fighting nasty migraines all weekend, so the dogs and I have spent a lot of time sacked out. I did get a little cleaning done in the back bedroom (aka the nursery, aka the pit), and dropped stuff off at the Salvation Army this AM. And a batch of books are going to the library tonight. So I'll take my incremental successes where I can.

The weekend didn't start out so well for Chris and the DCCoD Frank Kappa Zappa chapter. One of the three guys on his relay team crashed at the start of a practice lap on Saturday and was out of the race with a concussion. So Chris and his teammate Etown ended switching from 3 man open to 2 man single speed team, and the race was on. They did well - 2nd overall of the 2 man teams, and first in their division. Actually the whole DCCoD did really, really well. Congrats to all of you, and thanks for making Chris's first 12 hours race so much fun! (although I know he was hurting something fierce at the end).

Some great stories:

• Wes busting out a 42 minute lap at the end of the day (Which was the same time as the lap he did at the beginning of the race) to make his partner go out at 6:59:30. The latest they were able to leave for the last lap was 7PM. Further proving my personal theory that Wes and any other mountain biker make the best duo on the east coast.
• Fatmarc humbling my husband by blowing past on him on a hill somewhere around Chris's 5th lap. At which point he thought about quitting, but couldn't bring himself to do that to Etown.
• The Quantico version of "Pit Boy". Apparently a father-son team had an issue with something and at the awards ceremony they took it out on the promoter at the top of their lungs. Despite some tense moments, they eventually left to the catcalls of the other racers.

Labels: cycling

posted by MyHusbandRules @ 7:15 AM 2 Further Thoughts

Overcoming

We watched the movie "Overcoming" a couple of days ago (Thanks, Susan & JH, we're sending it back!). It's really a quite well done documentary of the CSC team during the 2004 Tour de France. We laughed, we cried, but we gave it a 45 because we couldn't dance to it. I keeeed. My favorite teensy little piece was the part where Michele Bartoli retires at the end because he can't stand being away from his wife and baby. (Gee, I wonder why). But good music, good photography, and an interesting insight into what it takes to do well in the TdF. Unfortunately given the festivities of the past week, and the two years of lapsed time since the movie was filmed, we spent a lot of time pointing guys out and going "Doper...doper...doper..."

Definitely worth a watch if you have any interesting in watching cycling. Although these days I'm so disgusted, I'm not sure I care any more.

Update 5/25: Egads, my head hurts. Doper....doper....doper....

Labels: cycling, Movies

posted by MyHusbandRules @ 7:54 AM 0 Further Thoughts

At last....

So today was the big trial day. Trust but Verify has been transcribing some (most) of the Landis hearing. And today, our champ took the stand and was recorded here and here.
So if you read this carefully, it turns out our buddy has been taking epo, hgh, cortisone, insulin, thyroid hormone, anabolic steroid, amphetamine over the past year or two. From 2001 on, he was taking EPO. To win...the Tour of Strongland. It's something that passes for racing around here. This end of the state doesn't have much racing. Oh and he won the Erie TT championship. I'm pretty sure that's not a USCF sanctioned race, and has people on hybrids racing it. Oh and I know he won the local racing association's picnic crit sometime between 2003 and 2005. So yeah, that juicing really paid off.

I know there's a lot of sympathy out there for him right now because USADA threw him under the bus. I wish I could work up more sympathy, it would be the sign of a better person. But...dude...he doped to win the picnic crit. He doped and beat kids on bikes at the Erie TT. This is not a guy prone to taking the high road. I think a little public confession is good for the soul. He and USADA deserve each other. And who knows, maybe this will give him a little perspective. I hope that something positive comes out of this mess.

Labels: cycling

posted by MyHusbandRules @ 8:20 PM 0 Further Thoughts

Imagination runs Riot

Labels: cycling

posted by MyHusbandRules @ 12:34 PM 0 Further Thoughts

This crazy doping thing...

Alright, one last post on the subject until there's something real to post about. Bear with me, it's way overkill, I know. It's just that every time I hear a story about our local racer, I have this incredible urge to go "WHAT are you DOING?" But this Landis trial? It takes the cake.

Over the years, I've avoided reading his cyclingnews diary, his website, and his race results. But this...this engenders equal parts schadenfreude, fascination, puzzlement, and repulsion. It's truly a train wreck, and therefore infinitely fascinating to me at the moment.

As hubby and I discussed last night, it's a weird place for a person to find themselves. And presumably he volunteered for the role of witness for the prosecution since I don't think he was ever busted for doping. (See previous paragraph if I'm wrong. I haven't precisely been following his career.) But anyone who thinks Landis is innocent is going to dislike this guy. Anyone who is opposed to doping is going to dislike this guy. Anyone who dislikes WADA or USADA is going to dislike this guy. Is there anyone I missed in the cycling world and possibly other sports? Now I know his intent is not to stay in cycling, but talk about burning bridges. Yikes.

The other question which I touched on in my previous post on this subject is.... he doped to get to Div 3 pro. Yet he's supposed to prove how useful testosterone is, how helpful it was in his career. First of all, the before and after stats will be interesting. Presumably there's something more substantive than this guy's magnetic presence and authoritative voice. And I understand my husband's point in that the actual margin between Div 1 and Div 3 is slimmer than you would think. But. In some ways, the difference is light years. It sounds like Landis's lawyers are tough, I'll be fascinated to read the recap of that particular cross.

So until this guy takes the stand, I'll post no more. This is one of those blogorrhea moments when spelling it out is therapeutic. But if anyone wants to know why I'm sitting here and giggling on occasion, you will certainly be in the know.

Labels: cycling

posted by MyHusbandRules @ 9:35 AM 1 Further Thoughts

Things you just can't make up

So there's a local div 3 pro cyclist that is widely rumored to be a big time doper. Given he's one of my least fav people, it's really tempting to say he IS a doper, but I haven't seen him in action or heard him admit. So for once I'll be good.

Anyway, he ran into someone I know, and was trying to make some connections. He's getting to the end of his racing career and wants to become....a drug rep. We were imagining the interview:

"No! No! I know your stuff! I know dosages, and not to store any under your dog's name..."

Update 5/13: Well now I don't have to pretend like this guy may not be a doper. He's testifying in the Landis case about how useful testosterone was in the course of his career. Because it got him all the way to the level of Div 3 pro! I'm sure the fame, fortune, women and status are totally worth the future health problems. I can at least understand doping to win the Tour de France - that's watched by 2 billion people a year. But the Tour de Cuba? That's just dumb.

Update Update 5/13: The more I think about it, the more this makes me laugh. If I were the defense lawyers, and this Div III guy gets up and says how fantastic testosterone is, I'd ask "So...what's the biggest race you've won? Really, Tour de Cuba? Apparently Testosterone DIDN'T work as well as you might have guessed. But thanks for playing...."

Labels: cycling

posted by MyHusbandRules @ 9:26 AM 1 Further Thoughts

ARRRRRR...

GGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!

Labels: cycling

posted by MyHusbandRules @ 7:52 AM 0 Further Thoughts

Bad luck

Hey there friend, you say that you crashed in a bike race...
...and essentially tore your thumb from your socket...
...and had to have surgery...
...and broke the head of your radial bone...
...and you'll have your thumb pinned for 4 weeks and your arm in a cast for 3 months...
...Is that what's bringing you down, Friend?

"Lift your head up high and take a walk in the sun with that dignity and stick-to-it-iveness that you'll show the world, you'll show them where to get off, you'll never give up, never give up, never give up that ship!"

So you say that your wife is going to have to take care of you...
...and you also have a 3 year old to take care of...
...and a 2 week old baby...
...and your mom whom you just coaxed out of town will have to come back to help out....
...oh and you can't work, because you're an ER doc and you NEED that arm?
...Is that what's bringing you down, Friend?

"Lift your head up high and take a walk in the sun with that dignity and stick-to-it-iveness that you'll show the world, you'll show them where to get off, you'll never give up, never give up, never give up that ship!"

(Shameless ripping off of the "Old Philosopher" done without permission. After 50 years I'm hoping that it's not needed.)

Get well, Henry. Stay sane, Emma!

Labels: cycling

posted by MyHusbandRules @ 7:32 AM 0 Further Thoughts

Cycling stuff

Oh fer...

Look, dudes, this Operacion Puerto thing has gone on long enough. No, really. I'm tired, I'm cranky, and I don't want to hear news stories about various organizations playing "maybe we'll suspend them, maybe we won't" with men's careers. Look, if the riders involved are going to be prosecuted at a cycling level (not a court of law), that's fine. DO IT. But for a year, a ridiculous amount of riders have had to put their lives on hold while the various UCI organizations say "nope can't race....well maybe you can....well maybe that team shouldn't have hired you because you MIGHT have been a doper...." Enough already, make a decision and everyone move on.

Labels: cycling

posted by MyHusbandRules @ 7:33 AM 0 Further Thoughts

Paris-Roubaix

Score! I really like this guy, but I had no idea he even rode in the spring classics. Given my past track record, he's now due to get busted for doping.

Labels: cycling

posted by MyHusbandRules @ 2:27 PM 0 Further Thoughts