Design Changes

I made some changes on the blog design. Just playing around...

Bicycle Film Festival

If you thought the only films worth seeing were Breaking Away and American Flyers, then you might want to check out the Bicycle Film Festival as it makes it's way to Chicago August 6-10. Road to Roubaix on Friday looks interesting.

Et Tu Lio?

Getting slammed on the comics page hurts.

TdF, Department of Duh

Carlos Sastre proved that a climber can win the Tour with amazing support from his team and a stellar effort in the final time trial.
--Johan Bruyneel

'Cuz you know, that never happened before.

Buh-Bye UCI

Reuters is reporting: All top teams to leave cycling’s ProTour series for the 2009 season. I wonder if the UCI will retaliate somehow against them this year.

"Pat McQuaid, president of the UCI, the sport’s governing body, said the dissidents were facing exclusion from the international federation."

You mean this year? 'Cuz they're leaving next year so you can't fire them, they quit.

This, of course raises the question: Did Greg LeMond know something about this?

This could get interesting...

Taking Pictures While Riding

Those of you who know me, know that I rarely ride without my trusty Canon camera. I keep it in my jersey pocket and use it to take pictures of the epic rides and epic riders who ride with me. I tend to favor the hand held method which gives me the flexibility to take artful pictures like this one:



or shots of fun stuff I see along the way like this one.



If you prefer to only take pictures of what is directly in front of you, Photojojo shows an inexpensive DIY method of attaching a camera to your handlebars.

I imagine one could attach a video camera the same way, although it seems that the best way to go would be the helmet cam.

Have fun. Ride safely.

Wear Your Helmet!

This story has been making the email rounds among my friends and fellow riders.

During a bike ride on the Skokie Valley Trail near the the Highland Park Lexus dealership, a blackbird swooped down and attacked a local rider. He lost control of his bike, fell to the ground and hit his head (he was not wearing a helmet). He died from his head injury over the weekend.

This was obviously a freak accident, but it emphasizes how important it is to wear a helmet at all times. You just never know what might happen.

Another fellow rider gave this advice about these aggressive birds:

Before they swoop down at you they make a repeated noise like ew ew ew and then they peck at your helmet. They may fly away and do it again right away. They don't hurt you, they scare the shit out of you. So if you're riding on the trail and you hear that noise, relax and hold the handle bars firmly, don't get stiff and hang on for dear life or you'll fall. Keep your tongue in your mouth (in case you scream) so you don't bite it.

So wear your helmet, just in case...

2008 Cyclocross Season

Tentative schedules have been announced for the fall 'cross season. MadCross.org has the Wisconsin schedule (first race September 27) and the Chicago Cyclocross Cup tentative schedule arrived in my emailbox today. It looked like this:

Sat September 13-CX Clinic (TBD)
Sun September 21-Jackson Park
Sun October 5- DeKalb
Sun October 12-Hawthorn Woods
Sun October 19-Carpentersville
Sun October 26-Bartlett
Sun November 2-St. Charles
Sat November 8-TBD
Sun November 9-Northbrook
Sun November 16-Lansing
Sun November 23-Woodstock
Sun December 7-Montrose-IL State Cyclocross Championships
Dates subject to change
USA Cycling Event Permit Pending

RACE TIMES

10:00 Masters 30+ (60 min)
10:02 Masters 40+ (all 45)
10:02 Masters 50+
11:00 Cat. 3 (All 45 min)
11:02 Women 1/2/3
12:00 Women 4 (all 30 min)
12:02 Juniors
1:00 Men 1/2/3 (60 min)
2:15 Men 4a (30 min)
3:00 Men 4b (30 min)
Race times subject to change