Roan Mountain

This week is the fall trip to North Carolina for mountain riding in the Roan Mountain area. The weather thus far was beautiful on Wednesday and Thursday, rain on Friday, and today is a bit chilly, but definitely rideable. We rode yesterday in the rain as well, though some are questioning whether they should have.

Got a few great pictures that I will post later on Picasa, but overall it has been a great trip. A few newbies on the trip, which is always good. They seem to go through a wave of feeling great and feeling awful as they get their mountain legs.

Yesterday we found an excellent new road. I surprised everyone with a climb that was previously undone, but that Michael Davis (of the former Bicycle Inn) had told me about when we were down here in 2006. The road is Coxes Creek and climbs over 1,000 vertical feet in a mile and a half. It was a serious workout trying to get to the top, but everyone survived and everyone made it without walking.

Armstrong to Ride in Giro

From Cycling News

Looks like Lance is trying to get an early start to the season and ride in the Giro. This will be interesting to watch. Based on the announced racing plans we have seen for him I am not sure how he will be ready for a May Grand Tour after three years off and very few races in the early season.

One thing is for sure, he has already drummed up the publicity machine and people are watching his every move. For all the comments we all make, he sure gets the attention back on cycling...

Harbin Park UCI Cyclocross

Final day of three days of racing at Harbin Park in Fairfield, OH. Third straight day of racing for me and my legs could feel it this morning. After getting banged around on Friday, tense on Saturday for some technical elements, Sunday promised to bring more pain to the weary.

The mood was similar from nearly everyone in my race - well, except those that hadn't raced the previous 2 days. The start was safe, and really the whole course was very safe today, but there were quite a few long, gradual uphill climbs that taxed the legs. Could have done a lot better on this course with some adequate recovery.

The weekend was a lot of fun, but looking forward to a good sleep tonight.

Pictures of the third day

Java Johnnys Cyclocross

Today was the second day of the Cincinnati UCI Cyclocross Festival at Sunset Park in Middletown, OH. Pretty large crowd out there today with over 350 riders from what I could surmise.

The course today was thankfully pretty smooth. Yesterday's Dark Horse race left some sore bones from the bumpy ground. The course today also wasn't overly technical, but they threw in a double sand pit to ensure that everyone had a good time.

Personally I rode better today than yesterday after tweaking the bike a bit to get a bit better position. Talking with some more experienced cross racers I am starting to learn some of the inside tricks of the trade.


Took some shots again today after my race was over. The weather was excellent, but not typical of cross season. Still early in the season, but even for this area 80's and sun is somewhat unexpected in October.

Dark Horse Cyclo Stampede

Today was the first day of a three day cyclocross festival here in Cincinnati. The race was put on by Dark Horse Cycling and they did a great job.

The venue was Idlewild ParkIdlewild Park and was pretty wide open. The only complaint I heard from people throughout the day was the sheer roughness of the course. It certainly begged for use of a full suspension MTB. There was one straightaway that looked like it would be great for hammering, however the roughness made it nearly impossible to keep speed. If you went fast your bike developed a mind of its own and went left and right more than forward.

Got some decent pictures during the B race.

Big Surprise - Armstrong Cleared to Race in January

Despite a firm stance to start and the fact that the rules on doping say that a rider must undergo 6 months of doping controls prior to racing professionally, the UCI has decided that this doesn't apply to Lance Armstrong.

The reasoning given by the UCI is that drug testing standards have improved in recent times and that these are strict enough that Lance (and I assume any rider from here on out) will be well tested prior to racing in just 4 months.

Read story posted at ESPN








If you look at the picture here, who hasn't been already caught for doping? The pictures are of:
- Bjarne Riis (admitted to doping),
- Jan Ullrich (retired from cycling in the aftermath of the Operacion Puerto),
- Marco Pantani (committed suicide before we knew the answer, but linked to rEPO usage),
- Lance Armstrong (suspicion swirls, but no findings?),
- Floyd Landis (mysteriously rode away from the peloton on the single hardest stage of the Tour after getting slaughtered by the peloton the day before)

So, of the last five people to win the tour, only Lance hasn't doped? Of course Carlos Sastre still hasn't tested positive for doping, but still very early in his reign.

Kingswood Cross Practice Course

Took some video this week of the Kingswood Cyclocross practice course. YOu can see how rough a golf course becomes after they stop caring for it.