No, the title isn’t a misspelling, which I am known for.  It is actually a name for a nine-day mythical “tour” that you take part in using your trainer or a stationary bicycle.  I was told of this by some friends that are working with the Davis Phinney Foundation and the proceeds for the event go to Davis’ organization.

Davis’ son, Taylor is the official starter for the event and if you donate money to participate, you will be eligible for prizes which include a BMC road bike and other things.

I’ve known Davis, Connie and Taylor for a long time, most of my life. Super good people.  If you are going to be trainer bound this next week some, then go ahead and participate some in their event.   It is up to you to decide if you want to give and how much.

Here’s a link to the participants page.  And the link below to donate.

HERE’S HOW THIS WORKS: 1. GIVE NOW: To be eligible for any ToS prizes, you must make a donation of at least $10 USD to the Davis Phinney Foundation HERE (or click the Give Now button) and make a donation. If you don’t donate, you can still do the ToS, but you won’t be eligible for prizes. If you don’t do the ToS, you can still donate to be entered to win! 2. The more generous you are, the better your odds of winning — for every $10 you donate, you get 1 chance at winning. So if you donate $10, you get one chance. If you donate $50, you get 5 chances. $100 gets you 10 chances and so on. Get your friends to donate (click the “Fundraise Here” button to set up your donation collection page) to your cause and you’ll really boost the number of chances you have in the ToS prize draw! You can continue to donate all the way up until the very end of the ToS. 3. Based on all donations made up to the end of the ToS, we will calculate the number of chances each rider has earned. The Sufferfest minions will draw from all chances and then announce said winners on a date TBD. One prize per person, no exchanges. See disclaimer below. About the Davis Phinney Foundation: We are committed to supporting programs and research that deliver inspiration, information and tools that will enable people living with Parkinson’s to take more control in managing their disease. The Davis Phinney Foundation was founded in 2004 by Olympic medal-winner and cycling great, Davis Phinney, who was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease in 2000 at the age of 40. Today, Davis is both a role model in the cycling community and an inspiration to the estimated 1.5 million Americans and estimated 10 million worldwide who are currently living with the disease. Our mission to help people living with Parkinson’s to live well today makes us unique in the Parkinson’s community. The Davis Phinney Foundation is a 501(c)(3) public charity dedicated to putting every dollar to work to fulfill our mission. We operate without an endowment and rely on direct support from individuals, foundations and corporations. – See more at: DavisPhinneyFoundation.org – See more at: http://dpf.kintera.org/faf/home/default.asp?ievent=1144987#sthash.Y2NCdOA0.dpuf

I’ve written a ton about cheating in cycling with drugs.  Now people are cheating with motors.  I wonder what these people missed growing up learning about sport and accomplishments? Anyway, yesterday I saw that the UCI has been retroactively testing previous urine samples have handed out sanctions to the riders they caught.

One guy they caught was Slovenian Jure Kocjan.  He caught my eye because he has been racing here in the US recently.  Jure was racing for Team Type 1 when he gave the sample that was positive for EPO.  He did a one year stint in Europe and then was back here racing for Smartstop.  He is currently signed with the Lupus Racing Team, a Continental US squad.

I was looking around the internet and I can’t remember where I was, but one forum poster said he wished that the UCI would pay more attention to the top end of the field and quit wasting resources on these small fish.  That bugged me.

This small fish won a stage of the Tour of Utah in 2014.  And he was 2nd in Philly.  So he isn’t such a small fish here.  And I don’t like Euro cheaters beating up on our domestic pros.   It’s one reason I hold a bigger grudge against Levi than I do Tyler Hamilton or Hincapie.  For the most part, they stayed in Europe to do their fantasy racing.  Levi didn’t even care if he beat up on MTB racers here.  It was all fair game.

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again.  Retroactive testing is a super way to discourage guys starting doping.  Or quit maybe.  Having that hanging over your head years after you did it would be pretty uncomfortable I’d think.

I applaud the UCI for this tactic.  And I hope the list of guys they catch keeps growing and growing.   I don’t care if it a Mongolian racing in Thailand.  We, as a sport, deserve to be able to believe in the results.  And this hasn’t been the case in decades.  Whatever we can do to get back to that basic level, I’m all for.

I was on a longish ride a couple days ago in California. Robin Carpenter, the Holowesko rider from behind, is the guy that finished 2nd to Jure at the stage in the Tour of Utah. Think Robin is happy now, knowing he should have won that stage? Totally different life experience for him.  That’s what these guys are doing, stealing other’s life experiences.  Shame on them.  I think Jure owes Robin an apology.