I’m staying in Silverthorn Colorado now and was hoping to ride from here to Leadville and back soon. But, it looks like it is going to be raining most of the day. That will be miserable for the guys racing from Aspen to Beaver Creek. Descending Independence Pass early in the race in the rain could make for a big selection and long day for some.

I missed the end of the race yesterday in person. I had been out for a ride and came back and was showering in Trudi’s room and watching the race on TV. When Danielson crested Independence Pass and started down I went out to go see it live. The problem with that plan was the the TV is time delayed. By something like 20-30 minutes. By the time I was standing on the course, the stragglers were coming by. That was mildly depressing since the finish was exciting with Tom Danielson barely held off a charging chase. I had and still have no idea why that is. I was pretty positive that I was watching the race as it was happening.

I really like Aspen, as it is a beautiful town, crazy dog friendly and has a nice feel. The main problem is that it is crazy expensive. Like off the charts, London England expensive. A muffin could cost you 6 bucks. Some guy told me he was charged $18 for a glass of house red at a meatball restaurant. That isn’t even addressing the real estate. The prices in Aspen make Vail seem cheap. And Vail is nuts. I guess it is one of those places that you can visit every once in a while, for a very short period, and just know it is there.

Okay, the sun just came out. I guess I should suit up and head out. It’s about 75 miles round trip from here to Leadville. The race is going through there between 2 and 2:45 pm. I don’t mind riding in the rain. I actually enjoy it. But in the mountains, sometimes when it rains it is really cold And standing around, really cold, waiting for a bike race to come by isn’t my cup of tea. I’d just assume be moving.

Trudi was looking after Bromont yesterday when I was riding. He fit right in. Maybe he could travel some with the team?

The crowds in Aspen were pretty good. I don’t think they are nearly as big as the Coor’s Classic days, but that was a different time.

There was tons of state trooper motorcyles and cars around after the race. I have an issue with the police having such ominous looking vehicles. I don’t get it. Shouldn’t the police have vehicles that don’t threaten the general public? I remember when I first came to Aspen in the ’80 and they were using Saabs as their police cars. I loved it.

Dogs everywhere. I don’t know who this guy belonged with.

The people around Aspen are super friendly. We were riding up by Snowmass a couple days ago and it was barely drizzling. This woman stopped and said to feel free to use here house that was up around the corner. She said it was the yellowish house, but to be sure to go into the main house and not the guest house. And feel free to have some coffee or whatever. I’m not sure I’ve ever had a more open invitation by a complete stranger.

BMC team bikes ready this morning in Aspen.

BMC guys getting ready to ride to the start.

Cadel heading out a little while ago.

I have to get on my bike and ride over to Breckenridge to met up with Trudi and watch the start of the Pro Challenge stage right now, so am pretty short of time. But, obviously, the “Lance News” is the biggest news of the today.

I obviously have no first hand experience to whether Lance doped other than personal observations racing against him. That was enough for me to make a decision. But, when Floyd came out and spelled his guts to the press a couple years ago, right before the Tour of California, and Lance responded, I knew Floyd’s statements were true. I watched Lance do an interview with Johan standing by his side, responding to Floyd’s accusations. He said something like, “This isn’t new to us. (He always talks in plurals.) We’ve know about this since day one. Floyd called me as soon as he got the positive test back.”

I knew from Floyd, and through the media, that Floyd and Lance weren’t friends. That they didn’t really get along at all. I thought, “Why would Floyd call Lance first?” The only answer I could come up with that made sense was that Floyd knew that Lance was involved deeply with his doping and that he had ties that could help him “get rid of the problem”. I also though, “This is the reason that lawyers don’t let their clients make any statements.” It sounded so innocent, but told so much.

Anyway, I feel badly that this saga ended this way. You should click here and go see what Anna Zimmerman wrote about the end result. I agree with most everything she has written.

The one upside to this is that we can now put it to rest and go on with doing what we enjoy, which is just riding, and sometimes racing our bicycles.

Guess we’re going to have to wait until Lance’s birthday, September 18th, to get Tyler’s full disclosure on this saga. These 3 have had a pretty strange relationship.