Category Archives: Racing

Now, Greg LeMond really Speaks

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Greg posted this for all of “us” –

Can anyone help me out? I know this sounds kind of lame but I am not well-versed in social marketing. I would like to send a message to everyone that really loves cycling. I do not use Twitter and do not have an organized way of getting some of my own “rage” out. I want to tell the world of cycling to please join me in telling Pat McQuaid to f##k off and resign. I have never seen such an abuse of power in cycling’s history; resign Pat, if you love cycling. Resign even if you hate the sport.

Pat McQuaid, you know damn well what has been going on in cycling, and if you want to deny it, then even more reasons why those who love cycling need to demand that you resign.

I have a file with what I believe is well-documented proof that will exonerate Paul.

Pat, in my opinion you and Hein are the corrupt part of the sport. I do not want to include everyone at the UCI because I believe that there are many, maybe most that work at the UCI that are dedicated to cycling, they do it out of the love of the sport, but you and your buddy Hein have destroyed the sport.

Pat, I thought you loved cycling? At one time you did, and if you did love cycling please dig deep inside and remember that part of your life — allow cycling to grow and flourish, please! It is time to walk away. Walk away if you love cycling.

As a reminder I just want to point out that recently you accused me of being the cause of USADA’s investigation against Lance Armstrong. Why would you be inclined to go straight to me as the “cause”? Why shoot the messenger every time?

Every time you do this I get more and more entrenched. I was in your country over the last two weeks and I asked someone that knows you if you were someone that could be rehabilitated. His answer was very quick and it was not good for you. No was the answer — no, no , no!

The problem for sport is not drugs but corruption. You are the epitome of the word corruption.

You can read all about Webster’s definition of corruption. If you want, I can re-post my attorney’s response to your letter where you threaten to sue me for calling the UCI corrupt. FYI I want to officially reiterate to you and Hein that in my opinion the two of your represent the essence of corruption.

I would encourage anyone that loves cycling to donate and support Paul in his fight against the Pat and Hein and the UCI. Skip lunch and donate the amount that you would have spent towards that Sunday buffet towards changing the sport of cycling.

I donated money for Paul’s defense, and I am willing to donate a lot more, but I would like to use it to lobby for dramatic change in cycling. The sport does not need Pat McQuaid or Hein Verbruggen; if this sport is going to change, it is now. Not next year, not down the road, now! Now or never!

People that really care about cycling have the power to change cycling — change it now by voicing your thought and donating money towards Paul Kimmage’s defense, (Paul, I want to encourage you to not spend the money that has been donated to your defense fund on defending yourself in Switzerland. In my case, a USA citizen, I could care less if I lost the UCI’s bogus lawsuit. Use the money to lobby for real change).

If people really want to clean the sport of cycling up all you have to do is put your money where your mouth is.

Don’t buy a USA Cycling license. Give up racing for a year, just long enough to put the UCI and USA cycling out of business. We can then start from scratch and let the real lovers in cycling direct where and how the sport of cycling will go.

Please make a difference.
 Greg

Back when bike racing was simple and the best riders won most of the time.

Fall Riding – In the Wind

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Yesterday I did a 4+ hour ride on my MTB. I rode over to Lawrence on gravel, then did the white trails at Clinton and rode back on gravel on the River Road. I fell apart pretty early and it never got better. Ride to the right on Strava. (I’m not exactly sure why that is there now.)

I haven’t felt good riding for a long time now. I thought taking over two weeks off would have helped, but it seems to just have made me less fit and slow. Yesterday it might of been other things I wasn’t taking into consideration at the time. Like it was in the mid 80’s, the wind was blowing over 30mph and I was riding a MTB bike. But, as I write that, even now, I realize I know when I’m riding okay/good. This wasn’t even close.

I lost about 6 pounds and drank 2 bottles, plus a 44 oz Gatorade and a 16 oz Coke. The Coke helped the most. It got me through the last hour. I rarely ride as badly as I did yesterday. Hopefully it was a one time fall occurrence.

I was thinking about baling on the Berryman Epic on Saturday, but I can’t do that. There is a huge cold front coming through tomorrow morning and the high after that is supposed to be in the lower 50’s through the weekend. The same south of St. Louis, where the race is. High on Saturday is supposed to be 49, with a low of 28. That seems pretty cold, on paper, but for racing off-road, it would be good.

I don’t have high hopes for this race, but I have to go through the motions. I need the mileage, plus it is a blast riding for over 4 hours, nearly all on singletrack. The finish place is what it is.

I like the fall for a variety of reasons. I like all changes of seasons. The colors are one good reason. The cool morning and nice days are another. Riding on gravel, you get to see more things than riding on the road. I don’t know if that is because stuff is closer to the road or I have more time to just look around. Whatever the reason, I see more.

Riding on singletrack at Clinton was jarring. The white trail is crazy rocky. And now covered with leaves. It makes it pretty technical. Since I was going so badly, it was extra hard. I wasn’t riding that bad technically, but I didn’t have energy to do it correctly.

I think I’m going to pretty much rest the next couple days. There would be no upside to being tired before a 60 mile MTB race, mostly on singletrack.

Trudi running Bromont a few days ago before it got hot.

There are lots of these rock walls between Topeka and Lawrence. I think the German prisoners of war during WW 2 build most of them.

The camp sites at Clinton seemed closed, except for these guys. Anyone know what kind of truck that is on the tow dolly?

It is a banner year for hedge apples.

All the leaves in Shawnee County fell last weekend. Maybe not all, but most. Guess it’s time to clean the gutters?

This is Fran, she loves playing in leaves.

And our rain gutters are full of leaves too.

I hate this. And this is just the tip of the iceberg. The guy has 3X as many bags further back in his driveway. We need, as a society, a better way to deal with leaves. Sending them to the dump is insane. I have a compost pile in the back.

Up in Mt. Prospect, a suburb of Chicago, they collect the leaves with a sucking machine every Monday in the fall. It makes so much sense. A city service, taking the leaves to the vegetation dump instead of the landfill. It keeps the storm sewers clean. It seems like it would pay for itself.