Monthly Archives: July 2013

Training I Guess

This entry was posted in Just Life on by .

This past week has been kind of wacky. I’ve hardly ridden at all this week. A couple 40 mile rides and not much else. So I’m going to hang around Topeka and train some. There was a criterium in Springfield Missouri that I raced last year, but I need the miles more than the intensity. It is supposed to be pretty cool temperture-wise, so that is nice.
So, I’m going to get on my bike a ride for a few hours today and tomorrow.

It doesn’t seem like I accomplished hardly anything this past week. I’m not sure why that was. I guess it is because I didn’t get back here to ride until Tuesday, so it was a shortened week. At least that is the excuse I’m using.

This morning was short. I like listening to public radio on Saturday mornings and since San Sebastian was today, that was a bonus. Our outdoor cat, Fritz, came in to pay us a visit and eat. Mainly to eat. Fritz is in charge of keeping the realm clear of all other cats in the neighborhood. Thus, he is pretty beat up most of the time. He came in this morning with a big gash on his neck.

It was going to be an all day affair taking him to the emergency vet. Plus, he’d just eaten, so they would have had to keep him overnight to put him asleep on a empty stomach, so I decided to do it myself. As a word of advise, I can’t say it is the smartest thing to try to stitch up a cat normally, but Fritz is special. He had an issue, I’m not exactly sure what, but when he gets scared, he just lays over and stays relatively still. So, out of all the cats we have, Fritz is most likely the only one I could do this to.

Anyway, Stacie’s medical bag gift came into good use. I had to use two different sets of sutures. I picked too big a needle to begin with. Cat skin is super thin. It worked out pretty well. Fritz wasn’t too big on my trying to shave the area, but other than that, he was good. I kept tying his whiskers into the knots, which was annoying. He might not make an appearance for a few days now. He likes it when Trudi is around, so he comes in way more often. Maybe that will be the case here.

Okay, it is sort of drizzly out now. I guess that is okay. Better than 105 like last year.

Poor baby.

Poor baby.

It wasn't perfect, but it will do.

It wasn’t perfect, but it will do.

Trudi and Bromont resting in the shade after an afternnon walk.

Trudi and Bromont resting in the shade after an afternnon walk.

It is so dry here, the river is more sand than water and the trees on the sand bars are nearly forests.

The ground is cracking because of the lack of rain.

The crack went so deep, I took a close up of it, with a flash, to see how deep.   I got a photo of a grasshopper trying to stay cool I guess.

The crack went so deep, I took a close up of it, with a flash, to see how deep. I got a photo of a grasshopper trying to stay cool I guess.

I bought this and thinks it's misleading.  It says 100% juice, cranberry and pomegranate.  But in small print after that it says flavor.  When you look at the ingredients, it is mainly apple and grape concentrate.  That is just wrong.

I bought this and thinks it’s misleading. It says 100% juice, cranberry and pomegranate. But in small print after that it says flavor. When you look at the ingredients, it is mainly apple and grape concentrate. That is just wrong.

USAC – What World Championships?

This entry was posted in Comments about Cycling on by .

I was reading an article at Cyclingnews.com about how Belgium is on the bubble when it comes to fielding a full squad at the World Road Championships.

In the article, my friend, Carlos Bomans, who is the national team coach, is saying that San Sebastian and the Tour of Poland are very important races to keep Belgium in 10th in UCI rankings. The first 10 countries field a full 9 rider roster, and the next only 6.

Belgium has had pretty good results recently in the World Championships, with Philippe Gilbert winning last year.

I think it is funny that you don’t hear anything about this in the US. Because the thing is that the United States is the country in 11th place, only 18 points behind Belgium. I’ve always thought it was strange how little emphasis that USAC, plus the American Pro riders, put on the World Championships.

It all started with Lance. He won the race and then pretty much quit participating. I think the reason that the Worlds was always skipped by the “best” US professionals the last decade or so, is because of the doping regiment and the timing of the race. I’m not exactly sure how it works, doping that is, but I know by watching, that the riders disappeared off the face of the map for over a month at a time, and then seemed to come back at a different level. That is kind of hard to do at the end of the year, after the Tour.

I think it is a shame that the US doesn’t field the best team possible for the World Championships. I know it is a money deal for the USAC. I rode the World Road Championships twice, once as an amateur and once as a professional. Neither of these times did USAC pay for my ticket to Europe. I’m sure it’s a struggle for them now to do that. 1/2 the office and the board of USAC used to show up at the event. I doubt that has changed either.

It is even worse on the track. Do we even send a team to the World Track Championships? Do we even has a US track program? If we do, it’s can’t be very good.

What is sad, is that is by chance, the US happened to find itself in the top ten of countries, it would have a hard time coming up with 9 good riders that would commit to the race. For some strange reason, American riders seem to have no interest in the World Road Championships. I wonder why?

Anyway, the World Championships is the most important one day race of the year, most years. I’d say winning the Olympics is probably more prestigious now, but in cycling circles, the rainbow stripes continues to be the ultimate prize. USAC and the professional riders need to start putting a bigger priority on the event. It deserves respect.

I first met Carlos Bomans at the Tour of Chili back in the 80's.  He is a super friendly guy.  When I started racing more in Europe and hanging in Belgium, Carlos was riding for Mapei and used to help me out during the races, mainly by telling me when the cobbles were coming up. Here I'm winning a stage and Carlos is the guy in the Belgian jersey finishing 2nd.

I first met Carlos Bomans at the Tour of Chili back in the 80’s. He is a super friendly guy. When I started racing more in Europe and hanging in Belgium, Carlos was riding for Mapei and used to help me out during the races, mainly by telling me when the cobbles were coming up.
Here I’m winning a stage and Carlos is the guy in the Belgian jersey finishing 2nd.