Dopes

love him, hate him, don't care. I'm not a big or small fan of the guy, but a positive is another negative to cycling. We can't take to many more hits before this house of cards falls. Cycling is already having a hard time seeing out of one blackened eye. Now the other?

I would like to think the guy is as dirty as he is sportsmanlike (Andy/Chain), but all that does is hurt our sport. So what, everyone is juiced? No one rides clean, even amateurs are getting busted here in the States.  I'm getting so jaded by everything that keeps happening in cycling.
 
How is it that we take such a pure thing and taint it?  We can stand at the finish line behind the barriers and contemplate what the pros have to do to make it, but until we spend any time in their saddle we will never know what it is that motivates someone to cheat.  The easy answer is always money, but what if the motivation is to be the best?  What if you dope to keep your job? 
 
Faith is broken, and now when we see something awesome we have to question the validity of the action.  If you follow cycling you have favorites, and any day you could get onto the interweb and find out that your guy is a cheat.  I have faith in my favorites, even after putting my belief in Floyd only to have that blown up.  Thanks Floyd.  I don't know why he doped, and it does not matter why, it only matters that he did. 
 
Doping is and has always been in the culture of cycling, not only cycling but in the human race.  My head hurts...Take a pill, I'm tired...Take a pill, I'm fat...Take a pill, I can't sleep...Take a pill, I want to win...Take a pill.  I want the easy way, I want the quick fix and I want it yesterday.  We put it on TV, in magazines, on radio, it's everywhere, the instant world.  No time to cook, microwave, fast food.  We never have time to do anything, I should say we don't have the time to do anything the right way.

unfaithful

I'm a cheater.  I love my bike.  I love my bikes, that's right plural, bikes.  I love to ride my road bike, but sometimes I'm thinking about my MTB.  Yes, I am coming clean, I'm trying to salvage my relationship with my roadbike, well to be totally honest, I have two road bikes.  Oh, man this is worse than I thought, forget I said anything.  I'm just going to keep on the juggling act and hope I don't get caught.  Maybe polygamy is the answer, I did live in Utah for 5 years, do I qualify for some parting gifts?

I fell in love with mountain biking in Utah, and consummated the relationship in Colorado.  I left the mountains to come to Tulsa (long story...read the book when it comes out) and the guys at the shop said "ride Turkey Mountain".  I said "where's that" "Just across the river" with a finger pointed toward the West.  "What? There's no mountains here, I came from the mountains.  I know mountains, that's a hill at best."  And to this day I still get humbled by the "hill" that is Turkey Mountain.  I have sacrificed blood, skin, and equipment to that overgrown speed bump, and it still treats me with disrespect.

I don't know when I started to cheat on my MTB, but it happened about five years ago and I've been faithfully unfaithful ever since.  I have recently been involved with a new mountain bike and the road bikes have been hanging on the garage wall a lot more than they are accustomed.  My first true untainted love on two wheels is the Mtb and always will be.  I will cheat on my the Mtb, once a dog always a dog.

WNR

Wednesday Night Ride

It is a tradition that I do not know the origin, I have however been a part of the spectacle that is the WNR.  You cannot ride a bike in Tulsa and not know about, or much less ride the mid-week ride.  Calling it a ride is not doing the event justice, it is everything to everyone.  It is the Wednesday night Worlds, it is a chill ride with friends, it is a punishment for a new rider.  The Ride is a right of passage.

Everyone who rides a bike in Tulsa meets at an undisclosed location (Jackson Park on the West side of the River) and roll between 5 and five-thirty on a course that has loops that all start and end together.  Don't like the speed of the group you are in?  Wait for the next group.

The best part of WNR is the people.  The ride is stellar, but being with like-minded people no mater their cycling background is priceless.  Teams grill, bring coolers of beverages, and if you roll with Crude...Kegs.  Hotdogs, burgers, I even saw a full-on smoker tonight

The bicycle is not only a vehicle for transportation.  The bicycle is a social vehicle that blends and breaks barriers.  We can share the road and then share a dog and a beer, because at the end of the ride we are all cyclists.  MR, MRS, DR, Judge, Officer, it does not matter, the common bond is a child's toy.  It is more than a toy, and it really isn't about the bike, it is about where the bike takes you.  It is not a place on a map.  It is an ear to ear grin, it is sweat in the eyes, it is the sound of a freewheel, it is the pain of a sprint, it is a destination reached.  I've been there and so have you, so the next time we share a ride and a beer we have already shared much more than  that.

Whatch ya got under tha hood?

I've been putting miles on my new Giant Trance X3, and have been loving every min of it.  I need to do a proper review of the bike, but I am afraid it would sound like Giant was stuffing my pockets with cash.  Seriously this bike is killin' it, there are times when I feel like I am just a passenger and along for the ride.  You like to feel that you can just go buy something off the shelf and it will change your life, change your luck, make you faster, and get the girl at the end of the movie.  Well, this bike is just that for me.  I have been tearing up rock gardens that I used to hate to put into my rides.  Now, I am trying to push the limits on this bike, I have already surpassed my limits and the bike has carried me well beyond what was within my normal operating limits.

You have probably heard "it's not the bike, but the engine on the bike."  I have to say that it's not the engine, it IS the BIKE.  I'm riding stuff that I used to "make it through".  My bike is possessed with evil spirits that can drill it, not that I am complaining, but it is just a little weird.  Oh well, I should just sit down, shut up and enjoy the ride.

There are so many products out there in the marketplace that will make you faster, stronger, and help you recover.  Many of said products have no scientific evidence that they actually improve anything, but if you "think" that something does something for you then doesn't it "work"?  The power of suggestion is something that you can't bottle or package, but if you buy something in a bottle or package that you "believe in" is it not worth it?

So, I'm going to ride my "touched" MTB, drink my recovery drink, pull on my compression socks, and listen to some Jack Handey self help cassettes.  Because I am good enough, fast enough, and gosh darn it I don't care if it works or not.  It works for me.

Cycle Fandango

I rode the Tulsa Bicycling Club's Fall Century today.  I went for the metric.  Counting today, I have ridden this ride three times.  This ride was my first Century, and today was the first time to not ride the Century.  It was one of the most beautiful mornings to be on a bike, low 60's no wind to speak of and great company.  Could you ask for anything more?  The ride is very well organized, excellent support, cue sheets, and the volunteers are super friendly.  Have to do this one every year.

Speaking of great rides.  Cycle Fandango is coming up Oct. 16-17.  This is a do not miss ride.  If you happen to find yourself in the Tulsa area, I say this is a must do.  Last year I was talked into doing this ride.  I had no intention in riding down to Greenleaf State Park and camping out overnight and then riding back the next day.  Much less, I did not want to.  A teammate asked me to go, if I recall correctly it was probably over beers and I'm easy after a good pint, and I reluctantly said...Yes. 

The morning of Fandango was cold, not cool, but cold.  It was a little painful to start, but when the sun was out it was warm.  The whole ride was an exercise in clothing heat management.  The route is great and probably one of the best supported.  The rest stops were great, and the people who manned the stops were awesome.  We were out for a leisure ride and we stopped at every rest stop, chatted with everyone and had a great time. 

The final stop at "the Ranch House" was awesome.  Our gear was waiting for us, along with beer and sodas.  We made camp and then took a nice hot shower.  Food was served and we enjoyed the view of Lake Greenleaf.  We met several people from out of town, and knew several locals, it was a good mix.  They even had a band drive all the way from Tulsa to provide entertainment.  After a good set by the band and a few "man sodas" we turned in for the night.

We awoke the next morning to the sounds and smells of chuck wagon cooking.  Breakfast that is.  Scrambled eggs, sausage, bacon, biscuits and gravy.  I had a second helping, I advise you to do the same.  It was a very cold morning and we did not want to change into our racing kits, while everyone else was putting on full winter gear.  I put every piece of gear that I had on and hopped the weather was going to warm up.  It turned out to be a great ride.

Do this ride.  Do it for me.  I am going to have to miss this one, and I am not real happy.  Take my advise and you will have an experience unlike any t-shirt ride.  Support is A+, scenery is A, people A+, Food A.