It’s already closing in on 11 and my brain still isn’t up to coming up with anything to write. The main cause for this is lack of sleep. The last two nights have been pretty bad. I’m not sure if it is because I’ve been riding, but that is the only thing different that I can think of.

I ran into a guy at physical therapy in Louisville that had rotator cuff surgery. I said something to him about what a drag this lack of sleep thing is. I told him I hardly slept 4 hours the night before. He said that he would kill for 4 hours sleep. I asked him how far he was into his recovery and he told me 13 weeks. I just about shit. That is nearly 2 more months from now for me. If my arm feels like this in two months, I’m going to just be a pool of nothing.

Yesterday I only rode once, 40 miles. I was okay, but with about 10 miles to go I kind of fell apart. It is amazing how out of shape you can get not riding for two months. It doesn’t help that it is pretty cold and also windy. Not good for the home team.

I’m thinking about riding over to Lawrence today. It’s 35 miles each way with a coffee stop there. Eventually I’ll be so exhausted from lack of sleep that maybe I’ll just pass out. Something has to give.

I am sort of surprised how hurt my butt is from sitting on my seat. I think some of the cause is because I’m so weak that I’m am riding much easier gears, riding a faster cadence, so I have more pressure on my saddle than I normally would. Whatever the reason, my ass is pretty sore and I haven’t even ridden 6 hours. Guess it takes a few days to toughen it up.

I’ve really never spent this many weeks of not riding or exercising in decades. Maybe since I was 14. So everything here is new territory for me. I’m sure it will all come back quick, but since this shoulder thing isn’t going at all like I had anticipated, I’m a little spooked about just about everything right now.

It is supposed to be sort of nice for a few days and then snow again on Sunday. Snow on April 1st, that isn’t at all usual.

I’m thinking about building a chicken coop while Dennis is here to help and do the heavy lifting. That might take my mind off all the things that are swirling around up there, but not accessible.

I saw this on the back of a pickup. It is amazing what people will go out of there way to state about themselves publicly. I never saw who was driving it, but it’s interesting to imagine.

I’m kind of sick of watching these professional races on the computer and having guys like Tom Boonen, that should be winning the stages, sit at the front for 10 kms at a time at the end and set tempo. Adding to the insult is having Magnus Bäckstedt commentate and keep saying how great of a job that Tom is doing. I doubt you can find a picture of Magnus setting tempo the week before he won Paris-Roubaix in 2004, or at any race for that matter.

I know that Tom got a “late” start to his season with an elbow issue and had to skip Qatar and not race for another week until Oman, but that was really a long time ago in February. He sat at the front in Paris-Nice and rode tempo to train earlier in March. Then, he fell in Ghent-Wevelgem and decided to “race” De Panne, which he has skipped the last couple years before racing Flanders. The first stage of De Panne, he goes and rides at the front for 10 kms, from 25km to go until Peter Sagan decided to race/train and drop pretty much everyone else. As a fan, I want to see the guys like Boonen and Sagan trying to win races, not train on television to prepare for Flanders or Roubaix. Sagan did win the first stage of De Panne, then proceeded to say that he was just training and drop off the back of the field the next day at the end, not to start the 3rd day. I’m sure the promoter of De Panne was thrilled about the actions of his race leader.

I’m all for using racing to get fit. I do it all the time, every year, all year long. But professional cycling in Europe is a different deal. There is lots of money involved and it is shown live on television. One way to kill the sport for the fans, and sponsors somewhat, is have the superstars sit at the front and set tempo. I know that Flanders and Roubaix are the most important races of the season for Tom, but if less than a week before the event, he isn’t fit enough to compete, he needs to train some more and not do this silly racing. I think all of us would rather have Tom just go out and motor pace after the race, and while in the race, try to sit on Sagan, or whoever, and sprint them at the finish. The guys that show the race on television have no desire to have Tom do what his team pays 75% of its riders to do, which is set tempo.

It would be like if every professional football game during the season was just like pre-season when you never know whether the team is showing up to win or just practice a few things. Watching pre-season professional football, and baseball for that matter, isn’t that much fun. And it not that much fun to watch the best riders, at important bicycle races, sacrifice themselves for training. That is a perfect way to kill the sport and then we won’t have the pleasure of watching it live on the internet or television.

Not sure if Boonen is setting tempo for Sagan or Sylvain Chavanel here.

Tom Boonen setting tempo at Paris-Nice. I remember when he used to try to win stages here.