Sometimes, someone hits it on the head...

So, every once in awhile, I read something that makes good sense, and I just read something of that nature, and wanted to share it with you.

Alter column on health care

Read it, it's good, I promise, and makes too much sense, so it will probably be ignored.

Now, I'm not going to pretend that I know a lot about health care, but what I do know, is that republicans are trying to scare Americans into not reforming the system, and they're doing a pretty good job of it. Talking about senior citizens getting euthanized, and of course, bringing up the dreaded "S" word, that being SOCIALISM!! I've got a list right here folks, and on it, are the names of KNOWN socialists that reside in the Congress of the United States, and of course, they're all democrats! God forbid that we have health care for all of our citizens, that would be downright un-American by God! Hey, like the article link says, I've got mine, to hell with the rest of you!

Seriously though, if my taxes go up, by just a little bit, to help provide health insurance to my fellow citizens who don't have it, I'm all for it. Really. I think it could be one small thing that I could do for my country, and my fellow citizens that could make a better country for ALL of us.

These last few weeks have been silly. I thought republicans, and their talking mouthpieces on the radio and TV were bad during the Clinton years, but folks, they have gone off of the rails. Just this week, as mentioned above, we had conservatives (including lawmakers) talking about how the health plan reform would euthanize senior citizens, and then we have the "birthers", the growing number of conservatives who honestly believe that Obama is NOT a citizen of the United States (not a natural born citizen) even though he was born in Hawaii, and the government of Hawaii has said, repeatedly that he was born there. Then we have Glenn Beck calling Obama a racist, and that he doesn't like white people (forgetting of course that he is half white, so he must slap himself every morning when he wakes up). And so on, and so forth. Damn, we're only 6 months into his first of second terms, and we're already getting the crazy shit. I know that this is a strawman argument, but think, just THINK if a liberal commentator had called Bush a racist. Think about what happened when Kanye West said something to that effect, the conservatives went fucking NUTS! Think about what happened when the Dixie Chicks said that they didn't like George Bush, the conservatives went FUCKING NUTS! And, most country stations wouldn't play their music, being good patriotic Americans that they are.

All of a sudden, even in the absence of evidence, a mainstream conservative commentator calls Obama a racist, and everyone is OK with this? We have Lou Dobbs calling for Obama to show his birth certificate, because there are "questions" about where he was born (bear in mind, this was actually put to rest almost a year ago when this first came up by Hawaii, and Obama himself), and that's somehow OK? That's a legit question? It smells folks, it freakin' smells of racism to me, especially coming from Lou Dobbs, king of TV racists (see his past tirades about illegal immigrants for good examples of how he hates people of color). Throw in, again, people like Glenn Beck advocating for the overthrow of the democratically elected government of the United States, and that's OK?

We need to call these assholes out for the misinformation, and outright lies that they sow on a daily basis. They'll cry about censorship (it's not), they'll cry about freedom of speech (it's not a freedom of speech issue), but it needs to be done. Honestly, I'd be just as angry if folks were doing this to a republican President, but since the media is in the pocket of the conservatives, this would never happen.

Days of le Tour...

Of course, le Tour is going on. Everyone on here no doubt knows this, and if you don't, pull your head out of your ass, and start watching. It's been, eh, not too bad so far. I'm watching it as I write this now. I was in California last weekend for a wedding, and there is something to be said for waking up around 7, watching the last little bit of the race, and starting the day. West coast knows where it's at.

Anyway, I've got some comments on the Tour. Mostly about yesterday. As folks undoubtedly know, Hincapie got douched by Garmin and his old "friend" Armstrong and Astana. Look, George is a class act. Even today, he's not talking shit about what happened yesterday. Is he disappointed? Yeah, no doubt. Is he talking about it with those in the media? Nope. Why? He's all class. He's had many a disappointment over the years in bicycle racing, and yesterday, would have been a great way for him to take yellow (no doubt for probably just a day, maybe 2), and have the peloton show some love for the man from South Carolina. Did they let it happen? No, no indeed. And really, I can't see why. As mentioned above, George, class guy. I don't know too many people in the sport of cycling, and or who follow cycling who don't like the guy. I've met him many different times over the years of riding and racing in the Southeast, and he's genuinely a decent fellow. His brother is also a decent fellow. And their parents are decent people. Also, there are some people in the peloton (cough-Garmin-cough) who shouldn't have just made enemies big time with the strongest pro team in the sport right now, that being Columbia. I can see it now. Stapleton will do all he can to fuck up Vaughters' program and I can say, I'm all for that. Fuck that guy. He sucks.

Moving on to Vaughters, or JV. We get it. You're supposed to be "the smart guy" in the world of team directors. I like what you're doing with Garmin, and I like a lot of the riders on the team, but you sir, are a grade one douchebag. Stop being such a dick and acting all superior. The argyle was nice for a little while, time to find something new. Those sideburns, fucking shave that shit. You're not in college anymore after all, and they make you look like, well, I don't know what they make you look like, but you look freakin' ridiculous. I know you don't like Hincapie because he wouldn't give your team free clothing back a few years ago, but Jesus H. Christ, get over it. Seriously, stop concentrating on just the team time trial. Sure it's nice to show yourself out there, and show you can be the best team in a time trial, but that's only one stage. I'm very impressed with Farrar as well. The kid has got the goods, and needs a little extra something, and he'll be winning stages shortly. But Vaughters, stop being a dick. Your guys should have been nowhere near the front yesterday. No reason really. The only reason I can think of is to screw Columbia, and in turn, Hincapie.

Then we have Astana. Lance throwing up his hands basically saying we didn't do anything to take away from George. Bullshit you guys didn't. You had a bunch of your boys riding tempo on the front when the gap got up to 8 or 9 minutes. AG2R should have been the team doing it, and instead, it was you guys. Amazing really. All of those years Hincapie toiled in the mountains and the flats for Armstrong and Johan, and what does he get in return? Fucking hosed. Nice play boys, nice... I can't wait until Vino comes back shortly, and gets the 2 of you fired, and you'll be racing in the US under the Mellow Johnny's banner.

As you might be able to tell, I think the group should have let Hincapie wear the jersey. They didn't. They'll pay for it I believe in the near future. It's sad really, again, because Hincapie is all class really, and has had some bad luck over the years (broken bikes, ditches, stronger teammates, no sprinting ability, bad tactical know how, and so on). I think yesterday really just made me a bigger Columbia fan. Cavendish is brash, and I like that. He's kind of a dick as well, which also makes me smile. As someone once said, it ain't bragging if you can do it. Cavendish makes it look easy taking wins. Now, since he's making no doubt a ton of money, let me put 2 words out there for you: Dental Hygiene. Use some of that money and get those baked bean teeth fixed up a little bit.

Rant, over...

He's making a list, and checking it twice...

I stumbled across this story this morning, and thought that I would share it with you guys. It appears as though we are heading right back to the 1950's where a lot of republicans would like to take us. Yes, Spencer Bachus representative of Alabama has a "list" of his colleagues, who are, "GASP!" SOCIALISTS!! He puts the number at 17 exactly. How he came about this list, and or the people on it, I think that he is the one and only person who might know. As in, much like McCarthy (who a lot of conservatives these days are defending, and saying that he was correct 95% of the time - not kidding about that), he has probably made this list up out of thin air with little to no proof, aside from his craziness creeping in on him at night while he creates such crazy things in his Mom's basement.

Mr. Bachus, since you have this list now, where do you want to go from here? Should we have hearings led by yourself and Representative Bachman from Minnesota as to who is, and who isn't pro-American (in your view) working in the House of Representatives? Bear in mind, back during the election cycle, Ms. Bachman also made a statement to the media, on FoxNews of course where she wasn't challenged, that she knew for a FACT that there were communists, and socialists in the House, and that the media should do a complete and thorough investigative report on who was, and who wasn't pro-American in the House. I am thinking, just when you think that some conservatives can't get any crazier, along comes items like this. Seriously, GOPers, do you condone this?

On the one hand, if this were coming from say, talk radio, or even from Mr. Crazy Kook himself, Glenn Beck, that might be one thing. But, we have this coming from elected officials. This wasn't OK in the 50's when Joe McCarthy did it, and it's far from OK at this point in time. I mean, these people that they're talking about ran for, and got elected to Congress. How un-American can you be to want to serve your district and your country? Not very I would think. Even though there are some good perks being in Congress, it's not as if it's not hard work. And I sincerely believe that the vast majority of people IN Congress do it because they believe that they can make a difference, and help the country along. I even believe that about Bachus and Bachman, in their own twisted little way. Call it naive if you will, but that's just where I come down on this one.

The other thing recently that has been driving my crazy are these so called Tea Parties that are supposed to be held on April 15th in protest of the Obama administration's spending plans for the future. Now, don't get me wrong, I'm a pretty hard core liberal (I'm sure you would not have guessed that at all), and I really don't have an issue with anyone criticizing the President, not at all. If you have some valid issues that you feel need to be brought up, please, do it. And using a protest as a vehicle to get noticed does work, so please, again, do it. The heartburn that I have with this crap though, is that FoxNews is not only covering the news of these events, they are overtly promoting them, and taking charge of them. This is not the job of a so called news organization. They're not there to promote these events. The response that I've gotten from some folks is something like this, "Well, the mainstream media (for some reason FoxNews, even though they are the highest rated 24 hour news channel never makes it into the so called mainstream media) covered the war protests and anything against George W. Bush, so why can't Fox cover these events?" Again, they are more than welcome to cover said events, but please, show me a case of where a media source promoted war protests, or any protests at all? They didn't, and shouldn't. That's not what news sources are for, but then again, we do know that FoxNews is just the televised propaganda arm of the GOP and the republicans anyway. I mean, just look at their venom spewing forth about anything Obama. Being critical is one thing, but berating every single little thing the man has done, or will do is quite another. And it is far from being, "Fair and Balanced" as they proclaim to be. Or their other slogan, "We report, you decide.." they're not really reporting, they're promoting.

So what about this stupid socialist list? What the fuck is that all about anyway? Get a grip republicans, you're circling the drain, and doing things like this, is only going to make the flush go faster. I mean, I really should be supporting these crazies in their efforts, mostly because it's going to make it a lot easier for the guys on my side (democrats) to win more seats in the mid-terms in 2010, but I do hate to see a once proud political party who had real ideas, and real criticisms (even though I disagreed with a lot of them) go the way of the Dodo bird. It's kind of sad, and doesn't help us along the path of recovery.

Is it getting crazy out there???

Over this past weekend, we saw a man in Pittsburgh call the police to his home, only to be laying in wait for them inside. When they arrived, he shot 2 in the head, and killed another officer at the scene, wounding 1 or 2 more during his onslaught. There is still an on-going investigation into these killings, but one of the main reasons coming out as to WHY he did this? He was afraid that Obama was going to put into control a fascist government in the United States, and that they were going to come and take all of his guns away from him. Why is this scary to me, when this sounds like some fringe individual doing this? It's not so "fringe" after all, because if you go onto FoxNews lately, you hear a lot about the fascist state of our government under Obama from the screech monkeys broadcasting on that station. Now, I'm a big believer in the freedom of speech, but one has to wonder if what they're doing is not somehow endangering people out on the streets, like this policemen, and or if it is endangering our President?

Turns out, this individual who did the shooting (Richard Andrew Poplawski) was a big fan of FoxNews, and also a big fan of a gentleman named Alex Jones who is a severe right wing conspiracy theorist, and radical talk show host. Where has Mr. Jones been making appearances lately to ply his new talking point of Obama being a fascist? Yes, FoxNews. He has been telling anyone that will listen (and lately, that's a lot of people) that Obama is starting to work on his program of gun confiscation. Why? So that he can rule the country, without fear of violent reprisal from its citizens. I kid you not. Among some of his other theories is that 9/11 was done by our own government, yeah, he's one of those 9/11 truth type people. Whatever that means. I'm sure that he could tell you maybe better than me. Check out his website, if you dare, at: Info Wars.

Now really, the thing that worries me the most about this, is the fact that here we have one guy, who, don't get me wrong, is completely responsible for his own actions, but who has prescribed to a radical ideology that is not even remotely close to being based in, something that most of us like to call, truth. These guys are projecting this idea, and these "facts" as if they were happening as we speak. Now, we've always had these types out there, but the thing is, is that places like FoxNews are now giving them mainstream exposure. In other words, the most powerful and most watched 24 hour a day new network is promoting these guys, and their ideas, and seldom to you hear them disagree with them. What worries me the most is that someone might get the false idea that Obama is usurping our Constitutional rights, and that someone might take into their own hands, "dealing" with that issue. I firmly believe that voices like these, give rise for the potential of increased amounts of danger to our President. And yes, even though I am a self avowed liberal, had these things been said and or televised about Bush, I would have the same concerns. There were plenty of left wing kooks out there proclaiming Bush to be the 2nd coming of Hitler, but that is stupid rhetoric, and I've always firmly believed that calling ANY American leader equivalent to Hitler is totally insane. The biggest difference, is that we didn't see these left wing loons given airtime on mainstream media outlets, and rightfully so. They're allowed to say, and propose theories all that they want, but should national news stations be giving them coverage and or exposure? I would think the best answer for that is no. Definitely, they should not be. FoxNews is doing just that. Not only are they doing it, but they have almost entire shows on it. Check out the new Glenn Beck show on FoxNews for a good example of the craziness. The man breaks down almost on a daily show, cries on air about how much he loves this country, and how we're going down a road towards socialism, and or fascism. Lately, his talking point has been fascism. He also claims that this is not directed towards any particular individual, but towards our government as a whole. Funnily, and strangely enough, when George W. Bush was actually usurping our Constitutional rights, Mr. Beck was silent on this matter. It was only when a democrat took the White House did he decide that he'd "had enough". Funny how that works. 

Just a story to relate, and to show that this isn't just a few folks yelling this out loud. Last week, I went to the local Asheville gun show. I'm a hardcore liberal, but I like guns. I like shooting them, and I would like to own some. I think shooting is a fun activity, and when the gun show comes to town, I go and see what they've got. Anyway, I went, and ran into various people hawking their wares, and the common refrain that I heard from almost everyone manning a booth at the show? Obama was plotting and scheming to enact legislation to come and get their guns. Yes, the evil democrats were planning to come and get everyone's guns in a matter of possibly only weeks. And hence, I was offered AR-15s at almost every booth I stopped and looked at (for those of you who don't know, the AR-15 is the civilian version of the M-16 or M-4 assault rifle used by the United States military - only it's semi automatic, and not full auto). Why were they offering these so hot and heavy? Well, turns out, according to them, Obama is coming to get those guns, and you won't be able to buy them ever again. I also had a talk with the local militia folks, and the local folks who are part of the Glenn Beck 9/12 Project, which is a hoot to read through their website. Why? Mostly because all of their alleged values are values and things that the people talking about them (ie, Glenn Beck) say that they believe in, but they don't live those values. Check out the 9/12 Project website: 9/12 Project.

The thing that makes me laugh the most, is that they are trying to mimic what our founding fathers did. The best part about that, is that if our founding fathers were around today, people like Glenn Beck would be calling them fascists, socialists, treasonous, and traitors to their country. I have no doubt about it. What he wants to do is bring America back to 9/12, when we were all supposedly united in the wake of the terrorist attacks on our country. And here are his 9 principles:

1. America Is Good.

These folks seem to think that there are a bunch of Americans around who think that America is not good. He is so wrong, it's utterly amazing on this one. What he's really trying to get at, is people in America who love their country, and who points out its flaws, and where we can make things better. These folks want to believe that America can do NO wrong. Which is absurd, especially things that we've seen in the last 7-8 years. America is great, I love this country, and I don't think I'd want to live anywhere else, but to put on the blinders, and make believe we don't do anything wrong is bad, very bad. What is it they always say about those who don't study history are prone to repeat it?

2. I believe in God and He is the Center of my Life.

I don't really have a problem with this, although my belief in some all knowing and all powerful deity is dubious at this point in time in my life, I have generically no problems with others who do worship a God. Whether it be God, Allah, Buddha, or some other being. Thing is, these folks are Christian only. I guarantee it. They are planning some sort of demonstration here in Asheville shortly, I might show up, and claim I'm a Muslim, and see if they take me in. Chances are really good, they will turn their nose up, because the way I take this, is that it's a Christian only kind of thing. I could be wrong, but I doubt it.

3. I must always try to be a more honest person than I was yesterday.

Again, no problems with this really. Except that the man espousing this point (Mr. Glenn Beck) essentially lies and embellishes for a living, meaning, almost every new day, he's telling more and more whoppers on the air.

4. The family is sacred. My spouse and I are the ultimate authority, not the government.

Marriage/Family “It is in the love of one’s family only that heartfelt happiness is known. By a law of our nature, we cannot be happy without the endearing connections of a family.” Thomas Jefferson

I left the quote in here because he references Thomas Jefferson, and talking about the family being sacred and all. Funny, TJ had an affair with one of his slaves, never re-married after his wife died, and basically ignored his children. Sure, you and your spouse are the ultimate authority, as things pertain to the family. Who is saying different? Nobody really. Nobody at all. They like to make pretend that the government is telling you how to raise your children.

5. If you break the law you pay the penalty. Justice is blind and no one is above it.

This is fine as well, except when people start talking about trying to prosecute certain members of the Bush administration, folks like Glenn Beck get apoplectic about it, and start calling it a witch hunt, and useless, and pointless. Of course, because it is someone that they like.

6. I have a right to life, liberty and pursuit of happiness, but there is no guarantee of equal results.

Of course there are no equal results. But, please show me where in the Constitution the rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness is found? It's not in there. It always makes me laugh with these guys who talk about these things that they want government shrunk down to be just small enough to, fit into our bedrooms. Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness is great, unless you're, for example, gay. Then you're shit out of luck according to the folks forwarding this.

7. I work hard for what I have and I will share it with who I want to. Government cannot force me to be charitable.

This is obviously a comment towards you know, having to pay taxes. You want a great country guys? We've got to pay for it. And right now, we're in a gigantic fucking mess leftover from the previous administration, and we've got to fix it. What is going to fix it? Probably lots of money. Nobody is forcing you to be charitable at all. It is totally left up to you as to whether or not you want to donate time and or money to worthy organizations. I would ask these folks, who is MAKING you be charitable? Nobody. Absolutely nobody.

8. It is not un-American for me to disagree with authority or to share my personal opinion.

I'm glad that these folks finally say this. Thing is, when I have disagreed with them before, I've been called un-American, traitorous, treasonous, and so on and so forth. It's amazing to read this, because even now, if you disagree with what Mr. Beck is saying, you're called un-American, or worse. 

9. The government works for me. I do not answer to them, they answer to me.

Of course the government works for us. This is why we have elections. This is why elections have consequences. You don't like someone who is either a Senator for you, or a representative, or the President? You campaign against them, and get them removed from office. Of course they work for us.

Look, 9/12 Project folks. America was founded as a secular nation, because our Founding Fathers saw what religions did to people, and or to governments. The Constitution made sure that religion was as far from our laws as possible, as in, there is no mention of religion in the Constitution other than the fact that you can practice however you want. It's also funny to me that these folks are now coming out of the woodwork, now after a democrat has taken office, when during the reign of Bush, they were silent about all of this spending, about infringements on our rights. They had nothing to say. Thing is, why don't they just come out and say, we don't like democrats. We don't like Obama. It's better than trying to portray yourself as some sort of reincarnation of our Founding Fathers, which, sorry Mr. Beck, you're not even close. They would have tarred and feathered you, and ran you out of town on a rail. 

Flanders, frites, and beer...

As we all know, yesterday was the Tour of Flanders, like Mr. J I turned off the phone, didn't read the internets and their series of tubes, and basically ignored all media until the race started at 5PM on OLN (I refuse to call is VS). I was NOT disappointed in the result, that much I can say. Stijn is one hardcore bad-ass. He rode away from that small group like they were on fire, and he was trying to save his own life. He put it down, never looked back, and rode that shit solo to the end. I loved it when he had a teammate with that other guy from Liquigas, and the green rider looks over, and gives a look like, "Help me man, he's going to win!" Quick Step guy looks over, gives him a little push on the butt, and is like, "Sorry man, you're fucking on your own. We're going to party tonight!"

Out of all of the classics, I like Flanders the best. I can't help it. To that effect, what I do every year is peel and fry a bunch of potatoes (10 pounds this year), make the best frites you've ever had, invite a bunch of other mindless bike junkies like myself over, and we gorge on frites, mayo, and Belgian beer. This year, it was no different. Turnout was kind of low, because most of my riding friends tend to still race bikes (what they hell are they thinking), and there was a race out of town this weekend. Their loss my friends, their loss. I did almost lose a finger in the process though, got to watch out for those mandolin slicers, they'll take a finger off, it almost got mine.

By the time the race was over on TV last night, I had eaten about 2 pounds of frites, drank a few Chimay's, and was feeling all good. Which was a good outcome because earlier in the day, I set off for what I thought was going to be a 2 hour ride, which turned into a 4 hour I got lost ride. I do hate it when that happens. Luckily, I got some directions from a good old boy in a pick up truck somewhere in the mountains of Western North Carolina, and made it back before I heard something like, "Squeal like a pig boy!"

Back to Flanders though, my wife, seriously disappointed that Boonen didn't win, although she claims that her love for Tom Boonen dissipated somewhat after he started dating the 16 year old. Kind of creepy now isn't he? If we don't keep an eye on him, he could end up like Vince, the Sham-Wow guy. I'm just saying. Anyway, if Flanders is any indication, GW in the middle of this week will be a battle, as will the Hell of the North this coming Sunday. This is my favorite time of the year without a doubt. 3 big races, all in a week, for a bike racing loving asshole like myself, how and where could it get any better? And no, the Giro, nor the Tour is as good as the Classics in my opinion. Stage racing = boring most of the time. Bide your time, ride great in the TT, don't get dropped in the mountains, and you win... Yeah, super. It's almost predictable stage racing is these days. It puts me to sleep. But, I still watch it. I can't freakin' help myself. 

What is the call for Sunday? Who is going to take Paris-Roubaix? Any guesses out there?

Things that make me laugh...

Herein, are just a few things that I just read this evening that kind of made me chuckle, or made me think about a few things, maybe they did for you as well, eh, then again, maybe not. You decide. Deride, if you will.

Part the first:
O'Grady's recent tirade.

As I normally do, I laughed at Mr. O'Grady's latest throwdown on the sport that apparently too many people take way too seriously. How do we know this, well, fast forward to the letters section on Velonews and we have this response from an irate reader of O'Grady's recent outburst:

"Editor,

I read Patrick O'Grady's on-line article, unfortunately.

Was this called for?
"The others, belonging to Janez Brajkovic, Steve Morabito and Yaroslav
Popovych, are indistinguishable from the jillions of other Madone 6.9 Pros
ridden to mid-pack finishes in industrial-park crits worldwide by
potbellied masters racers. "
Sure, we may have never been god-like pros, but describing what is probably the MAJORITY OF YOUR RACING SUBSCRIBERS as "potbellied" was inaccurate, unnecessary and demeaning. This subscriber would suggest that you choose your words a bit better.

John Strasser"
Actual link to letter section at Velonews.com.

Alright, first of all, it looks like someone touched a nerve with Mr. Strasser eh? Did someone eat too much food over the holidays and hasn't been riding since about that time and has a bike that is oh so average, but really highly extremely overpriced? Hey, nothing wrong with the Madone, as long as you don't actually have to pay for one. I'd ride one all day, if it was given to me. If I'm going to part with my hard earned greenbacks, or in the situation that I'm in now, my lack of hard earned greenbacks, sorry, it's not going to be for a Trek. I'd much rather ride the Pinarello Prince that I have now, but I digress.

Second, Strasser, seriously, get a sense of humor. Most pot bellied mid pack master's racers know what they are (it's what O'Grady has been for, well, many years now, and what I ASPIRE to be), and they apparently don't take themselves as seriously as you do. I know lots of master's racers, and guess what? Those are normally some of the coolest cats out there, mostly because the ones I know have been racing bikes since the days of toe clips and wooden bottom shoes, and didn't just discover the sport when Lance rolled around le Tour in 1999 (or later for the late bloomers).

I can picture Mr. Strasser now. Rolls up to the "Saturday Morning World Championship ride" (you know which ride I speak of, there is one in almost every town where there are, well, people who like to ride bikes), on his shiny new Madone, matching Nike shoes, matching Giro Atmos LiveStrong edition helmet, Astana kit (he's already upgraded from the old Disco kit), a $400 pair of Oakleys, embrocation on his newly shaved legs, and not a speck of dust nor dirt anywhere near his visage. As the group rolls out of town, he's yapping away about how he's been doing some zone 3 this week, and maybe a little zone 4, and that his new SRM Dura-Ace crank (he has to use this crank because they don't make a SRAM crank - yet) is giving him great power files that he can upload to his training blog so that his coach can see them, and his friends can be amazed by a ton of squiggly colored lines that only maybe about 3 people in the world really understand anyway.

As the group makes their way into the "meat" of the ride, you know, where the shit normally starts to get thrown down, he sticks in the middle of the ride for a little while. Talking less now, trying to keep the legs turning over, and talking the game gets harder when you suck, and your gut is getting in the way (I ought to know, my gut is getting in the way more and more these days). As the group approaches the section of road where the shit really goes down, all of a sudden, Mr. Madone is no longer seen. Where the hell did the annoying guy go? A few minutes later, we all know the answer.

He took the side road about a mile back so he could take a short cut, catch his breath, and intercept the ride up the road where it's a little flatter, and he can tuck in behind everyone else.

Over the flats we go, and we're grinding it out. Mr. Nike New Shoes is sitting at the back, huffing and puffing, and just barely hanging on for dear life. Ah, a stop sign. He can catch his breath again, and then more flats, same sitting at the back. Finally we reach some climbs, OK, they're not huge, but they are a little bit of a bump, and it normally separates the strong from the weak. Mr. Oakley goes shooting off the back like a caboose separated from a runaway freight train, and as he fades off the back, you hear, "Coach told me to take it easy today anyway, this is supposed to be a rest day..." Yeah, you all know THAT guy, you've seen him. You've ridden with him, thing is, he's not done yet.

After you ride over hill and dale, chasing attacks down for the workout, having fun with your friends, on the run back into town, you see him. Again, waiting, and soft pedaling up in front of the on rushing pack. Approaching the "sprint" line at the end of the ride, he gets back into the line, surprisingly fresh for someone who got dropped about 40 minutes before. The sprint starts to break loose, and I don't need to tell you what that's like on a group ride. You've got yay-hoos all the way from folks who have never raced, to folks who are local strong cat 1s and 2s and 3s trying to actually mix it up, and here comes Strasser again. He jumps into the sprint, and starts going for it. Despite himself, he's an OK sprinter, but he's not that good, in order for him to "win", he slides slightly to the left, therefore running you OFF the road, so that he can "win". Thing is, he starts turning squares 50 feet from the line, and 20 people go rushing past him anyway, and he almost killed you. All in a fine day for guys like this.

You have all had this experience, I know that you have. And there might be some of you out there who ARE this guy. If you are, stop it. Knock it the fuck off. Nobody thinks that you're cool, and really, nobody likes you. What we want to do is toss a tree branch into your spokes, and given the right chance, and opportunity, that's what we're going to do. It would be better for everyone else if you just didn't show up. Seriously, stay at home, or ride alone. Nobody. Likes. You.

Oh, and did I mention? Get a fucking sense of humor.

I was going to write about something else, but I seemed to have forgotten what that was exactly during my above tirade. Sorry about that. More later. Adios.

In 'ze weeds again...

And yet again, I've been in the weeds folks. Ah well, this working 80 hours per week (I shit you not), is not good for the soul, let alone, just some overall mental health. Reminds me of the days of when I thought that maybe at some point in my life I could be a pro bike racer. Sleep. Work. Ride. Repeat. Except now, it's sleep. Work. Sleep. Repeat. See, being in the automotive biz, we had a round of layoffs right before Christmas, which then put the department that I work for down 3 people. We didn't have any less work to do before the layoffs, but now, we have far less people to do it with, and hence, 80 hour weeks, but I digress.

I did spend the week before this one in Washington DC, for the Inauguration of our 44th President of the United States. Yes, I was one of the millions of people that was there for this historical event. And I have to say, even though there was a lot of waiting in line, and a lot of hassle, and a shit-ton of people, damn it, it was worth it. Even though I was swarmed by thousands of people at every turn that I took, I remained happy, as did just about everyone else (my wife said fuck it and went home after waiting in line for 4 hours to get to our ticketed location near the Capitol). That was the overall vibe. Lots of people, and hardly a one was angry about, well, anything. I've got to tell you though, the security in that place on that day, in0fucking-credible. If you looked around the building rooftops near the Capitol, there wasn't one that didn't have a sniper team on top of it. There were about 10-15 helicopters all hovering over the city, and not just regular helicopters, nope. We're talking Blackhawks with door gunners, Super Cobra gunships, and AH-64 Apache Longbows. Then orbiting above the slow movers, there were a bunch of fighter planes flying high cover. That place was on lock down. In order to get where my tickets put me, I had to go through an airport style security check. Shoes off. Belt off. Empty all pockets. Go through the metal detector, get back dressed, and run to the field. I started standing on line at 6:30AM, I didn't enter the lawn until 11:30AM, just as Diane Feinstein started the "official" program. I made it just in time to hear the VP sworn in, and then Aretha, Yo Yo Ma and his buddies, and then the BIG show. I got to hear Chief Justice Roberts fuck up the oath (and I stood there saying to myself, that wasn't right), and then got to hear the speech. Again, even with all of the hassle, it was still worth it. It's true though, as soon as Obama got done talking, it was mass exodus from that place, and then, human gridlock on the streets. There were probably 15-20 minutes where I couldn't even move, let alone walk somewhere. Being that I'm not from DC, and sort of only know my way around a little bit, I got lost trying to find a Metro stop to take the train back to my sister in law's house. Well, I really didn't get lost, per se, but the 2 stations that I knew the locations to, were closed. I did end up walking around for 2 hours trying to find another one, but I was still in a good mood when I got back.

That evening, we got to attend the Southern States Inaugural Ball, which was just like prom. They even held it in a big gym at the DC Armory. Drinks were not free, which pissed me off, and then, they had a piss poor selection of beer on hand (Bud products only). The entertainment sucked. The food, was little, and not that good. But, we did get to see Biden and Obama before the night was over. Joe made his appearance first of course. And about 10 minutes later, I looked behind me, saw a guy in a dark suit talking into his jacket sleeve, and saw a sub machine gun slung over his shoulder, and decided that Obama was about to show up. He rolled onto the stage about 5 minutes later. We got a little speech, a little dance, and again, as soon as he left, the place cleared out, even though there was a second band getting ready to play (they sucked worse than the first one). The man has some serious drawing power, that's for damn sure.

That's what this kid has been up to. I have more to spew forth, but will save that for another time. It's Super Bowl Sunday, and it's almost time for the pre-game to start on the East Coast.

Paging Page...

No doubt, most of you out there have seen this little item about Jonathan Page missing a drug test post race after a recent outing. When reading the article, you see that, the Page’s have a ton of excuses about “why” Mr. Page missed his doping test after the race. He crashed. He didn’t finish the race. Nobody came and told him he was due to be tested. None of his friends didn’t tell him about his test. And so on and so forth.

Look, I’ve got to believe that this is NOT Mr. Page’s first time at the rodeo as far as large scale UCI cyclocross races go. Meaning, he’s done this before. He knows, as does just about everyone else racing in these races, that he might get pulled for a random drug test, and if he does well in a race, he will get tested after he finishes. OK, sure, he didn’t finish this race. He crashed hard, and was feeling the ill effects of said crash as he went back to his motor home to call his doc, and wait for his support team (mostly his wife Cori) to head on back to the motor home to see how things were going.

Now, again, he’s been here before. He’s done these races. In this situation, Mr. Page has nobody to blame for his missing his required test, other than himself. He had plenty of time to head back, change, call his doctor, go over things with his wife and friends, and then head back towards the finish line to see or to check the testing list. Apparently, he even went and collected his travel money for the race, which is presumably somewhere near where the testing list is posted. Wouldn’t you think, maybe, just a little due diligence would have been a good thing? Walk over. Check the list, and if you’re on it, go and pee in a cup and get it done and over with. Now look, I’m not casting any aspersions towards Mr. Page. I don’t believe that he’s a doper. Nope. Not in the least. I don’t think he was trying to dodge the test on purpose. I think he was just stupid in not following up, and again, there is nobody to blame except for one person. Jonathan Page.

He goes on to say his “entourage” isn’t as big, or even as close to as big as other racers. Sure enough. Sven Nijs no doubt has hundreds or maybe even thousands of people hanging around him before, during, and after his race, but again, you couldn’t blame his supporters if he missed a doping test. Again, only Nijs would be to blame.

I see this recurring thing with Mr. Page, over and over again. Bad things happen to him, but those things never seem to be his fault, or he never makes himself accountable for what happens. He has a falling out with sponsors? Not his fault, nope. Someone else. He doesn’t get good support during races? Not his fault, must be someone’s else’s. Can’t find new sponsors? Must be some sort of conspiracy against him. Thing is, when something bad happens to Mr. Page, it appears that the only connecting factor to the bad things happening to said person, is Mr. Page. This latest incident is no different. Except this time, it could very well affect his living, the way he makes his money. Why? Because a missed test is an almost automatic admission of guilt of doping, whether or not you have doped or not. Meaning, it’s pretty likely that Mr. Page is going to get suspended, and won’t be riding his bike for money in the near future.

Here’s the thing. Even though I just excoriated him, I don’t think anything should happen to Page. Why? He’s not a doper. I think that he can prove it. I know that he can prove that. I’d love to see USADA excuse him for his missed test, take the blood that was taken from him the day after the race, test it, and find him innocent of doping, and then we can move forward, and let him continue to race, and be able to support his family in the way that he has been accustomed to, and that they have come to expect. I think it dumb of him to have missed his doping test, but it happened. We need to move past it. We need to let him race. Slap him on the wrist, and move forward. Will that happen? Knowing the inflexibility of USADA, probably not. Meaning, he will see some suspension time no doubt. He won’t be racing at World Championships this year, and we probably won’t see him again. For America’s most successful cyclocross racer in Europe, he has said that he’d retire, and not be seen racing bikes again. It’s a shame, but, it is ALL HIS FAULT.

For your high level racers out there, make sure you personally check the drug test board. If your name is on there, go and pee in the cup. It makes things SO much easier.