Friday weekly round up and some mail

First off - some apologies are in order for the great dearth of posting this week.....All work and no play makes PooBah a dull boy:

Damn day-job is kicking my ass.

Second order of business is to let you know that there will be no posts next week either.....again due to aforementioned 'ass-kicking day-job.'

Third - I think we are long overdue on a round-up of some COMO cycling news.  There has been lots of activity over the past week and lots going on this weekend.  Some of our finest COMO cyclists have been busy on and off the bike.  So let's get caught up:

1) A great post is available over at COMO cyclist John Schottler's blog about his USAC Pro Ultra-Endurance MTB race in Hot Springs Arkansas last Saturday called the Spa City 6-Hour.  It sounded like 6 hours of pure hell, and Schot came in second - only 4 minutes behind winner Manuel Prado of Sho-Air Specialized.

Schottler is currently in 2nd place in the 4 race series: next up is the Firecracker 50 in Breckenridge over the 4th of July.

COMO's own Dr. Green-Beans also laid it down at the Spa City 6-hour finishing a strong 20th, after not having ridden his dirt bike for 6 consecutive hours since 2008!

These beans are faster than they look!

2) University of Missouri's Austin Vinton rode sans team in last weekend's Mizzou Road Race (Men's A) to finish an impressive 8th place behind incredibly strong teams from Marian and Purdue Universities.  This kid is scary good.

3) COMO's own Ltd. Dan has also been posting away on his blog....bringing us THREE highlights this week: 

First, a photo of his (not-so) new set of wheels that is doing double duty as his road and CX bike in his preparation for another Bubba Cross season as well as for CX Nationals in Madison: 

What's going on in the background?

Second, the above photo also inadvertently gives us COMO CYCO's Babe of the Week....literally! 

I hope there's not a stain on that armrest...

And third, he brings us news of his awesome wife taking part in a fund-raising event Saturday night to raise money to combat childhood cancer.  She's shaving her head!  The least you can do is chip in a few bucks...

4) Next up - a little off-the-bike news about COMO's Cat 1-2 transplant from Manhatten, KS, Lawrence Simonson.  Not only is he tearing up the pavement in preparation for what promises to be an impressive spring road and crit season racing as one of CBC's leaders, but I stumbled upon this article in the Columbia Tribune that he is also moonlighting as a gigantic shoe!

"The new Walking School Bus mascot greets West Boulevard Elementary School students Wednesday morning.  The mascot, yet to be named, is meant to attract kids to the walk-to-school program."

Now onto some other news and announcements:

This Sunday is The Great Forest Park Bicycle Race in St. Louis.  Best of luck to the CBC, and all other COMO kids competing there.

If you've got gravel on the brain this Sunday instead, The Hermann Hairy out and back ride is going down and promises to be 72 miles of gravel bliss.  The ride starts at 9AM sharp from Wings A' Blazin' in Hermann, MO.

I also want to give a shout out to our very own polo squad: COMOPOLO. 

It sounds like their practices are now in full swing - and as ever, they welcome newbies!

Well - that leaves us only time for a couple of letters this week....

---

Dear PooBah,
The loves of my life include camping, mountain biking and my girlfriend, Bambi. Unfortunately my tent only has room for two and I choose my mountain bike (I call her Liz Hatch) over Bambi. Mainly because only one of my loves is ready to ride (or should I say be ridden) at a moments notice. Even though Bambi doesn't fully understand, she's sticking with me for now. (Also, I've got the keys to the van).  Is there anything that you could suggest so I can help her understand where I'm coming from?
Regards,
Peter Strokenoff.

Peter,

Thanks so much for the letter.  Many of us can understand the obsession you have for your bike.  And I'm very familiary with all the arguments to justify the time you spend with her:  "She's always there when you need her, she's in the mood 24/7 and she loves getting really dirty, etc, etc, etc..."  Just remember, my friend...this can go both ways.  You keep this behavior up, and you just might come home to your girlfriend doing this with her handlbars....

Consider yourself warned...

---

Dear PooBah,
Sometimes in the middle of a ride, I just like to pull to the side of the road, sit down and contemplate how totally awesome I am.  I find this actually enhances my conditioning through positive mental reinforcement and thought I should share this little tip with your readers..
Stuart S.

Stuart,

You may not be aware of just how close to being truly awesome you actually are, my friend.  I mean - you are literally a couple of bic razors, one cannister of UltraSlim fast, a couple of hundred thousand miles of actual riding and two units of Vinokurov's finest O negative from being a bottle washer for Astana!  Keep up the great work.

---

Dear PooBah,

I am a road cyclist that wants to convert to triathalons, but I have a question about the different apparel that the different groups wear.  I notice that most triathletes actually wear much smaller cycling jerseys and shorts than roadies.  I'm guessing this is to optimize performance during the swim, run and on the bike, but honestly, I'm really not sure. I definitely believe in "looking the part" so want to be dressed appropriately.  I have my first sprint-distance event in a couple weeks. Can you tell me if this outfit will work? 

Thanks!

Marianne G.

Marianne,

Surprisingly, this outfit is the most appropriate apparel for just about anything you want to do, be it road cycling, triathalons, washing the car, cleaning out the gutters, pouring concrete, etc, etc...  Well played.

---

Have a great weekend and week.  See you in April sometime (I hope).

Heroes

Ok - so what so we do NOW?

I don't know how I feel about the steaming pile that was laid upon the world of cycling news this morning.  I almost entitled yesterday's post, "A Great Day for American Cycling" with the recent exciting victories of Farrar and Zabriskie....but with the implications Landis has made regarding many American cyclists still racing today (literally) like Armstrong, Hincapie, Leipheimer, Zabriskie and Barry, American cycling may only be as great as what....European cycling?  I mean - no one was that shocked when Vino or Basso were implicated.  Why did we (meaning I) think we (meaning Americans) were above this?  Maybe we (meaning I) didn't really think we were, but rather just really hoped it.  Too much. 

I can't help it.  I've always routed for sports figures.  Athletics has always been too important a part of my life not to get emotionally charged by someone competing.  Back in the day, it was this guy.

He was my hero when I was a kid.  He may have also been the last "clean" athlete I ever rooted for, whatever "clean" really means.  And even as "clean" as Dr. J was, he still tried to choke the shit out of Larry Bird once.

Another famous basketball player named Charles Barkley probably put it best when he was reprimanded for spitting on a fan who was shouting obscenities at him and responded by proclaiming, "I am not a role model."  But it's fans like me who elevate athletes to this status...by watching them, cheering for them, and ultimately very nearly deifying them because of what?  Because they can run faster, or shoot a ball better, or turn the pedals over harder than somebody else?  It seems kind of silly when I think of it like that, but consider me guilty as charged.  Floyd Landis hasn't necessarily let me down today; I think I let myself down by not having better discretion as to whom I choose to look up to.

And whenever I look up to somebody too highly because they appear to be so superior, I find myself at risk for getting let down when I realize that they fail and screw up just like anybody else.  I'm reminded of Dave Stoller in the movie Breaking Away.

For those few who haven't seen it, Dave emulates the Italian Cinzano Cycling team with such fervor, that he actually wishes to be Italian.  When he finds himself in a race alongside his heroes, and then subsequently in a breakaway group with the very cyclists whose images adorn his bedroom walls in poster format, one of the Italians jams his pump into Dave's spokes, causing him to crash out the race and trash his bike.  When Dave makes it home, tail tucked hard between his legs, his father asks him what is wrong.  He tells his dad, "Everybody cheats......I just didn't know."  And his dad replies, "Now you know."

The fallout from the Landis implications has only just begun and I'm guessing the press conference following today's stage at the Tour of California will be an interesting one.  I think I'll skip it and just go for a ride. 

If you've already had enough of this story, then let me direct you to another far more inspirational one appearing today in VOX about a local cyclist who IS in fact someone you can look up to.  Read it.

And then, if you've never visited Lieutenant Dan's blog, do so immediately.  It's right here.  But be warned, you might find yourself three new heroes: Dan, Maggie and Cassidy.