TdG Route Details Announced
The Dodge Tour de Georgia website now has detailed roadmaps of all stages. Stages 5 and 6 are killer. Ouch.
March 11, 2005
March 07, 2005
Lion King Roars - Again
News Flash: Mario Cipollini won over Grillo and Petacchi at Giro di Lucca. More detail when I have it.
Update: CyclingNews has brief results posted.
March 03, 2005
The Floyd
The Floyd's (that's Floyd Landis, for the uninitiated) website has a new look. Check it out!
March 02, 2005
Strike One
Well, the one neat little rumor that I was really hoping for hasn't worked out, and we will not see Roberto Heras or Liberty Seguros here at the TdG in April.
But we still have a chance for Mario. We also have definite confirmation that Credit Agricole will be here (you heard THAT rumor here first!) with Georgia Native Saul Raisin.
Cathy Mehl has a great interview with Stan Holm (TdG Race Director) over at the Daily Peloton - it's a must read!
BTW, I've added a new category strictly for TdG postings. I'll be updating all my earlier posts to reflect this over the next day or so, so that you can get all the TdG posts in one handy link.
February 28, 2005
Interesting - More TdG Info
Found this little bit in Tyler Farrar's CyclingNews interview:
CN: You say that you're heading to Europe tomorrow. What is the plan there?
TF: Well, I go over with the US national under 23 team. For the first part of the trip, we will be racing almost completely in Belgium in lots and lots of one-day races, in a lot of the Espoir events such as the Grand Prix de Waregem and other races like that.
I will be in Europe and then I will fly back just in time for the Tour of Georgia. I will be riding that with the US National team. I am really excited because it is my first-year riding that race, so that should be a good experience.
CN: Georgia is a nice shop window for you to show off your ability. There are several ProTour teams going to that, and then obviously there are other teams as well. I presume one of your targets for the season is going to be doing a ride in that?
TF: Oh, definitely. Georgia is one of the biggest races that we have in the US and I don't get a chance to show myself off too often. More and more I am getting the opportunity, but I still don't get, year round, the chance to show myself in the States. It would be nice to try and do a good ride there.
This should be the USA Cycling Under-23 team. I wonder what Pro team will be bumped to make way for them? I'll have to update my TdG post below...
February 27, 2005
The Baldbuster
Brasstown Bald has become synonymous with the Tour de Georgia. It boasts one of the steepest paved climbs in the United States, 3 miles of unrelenting punishment averaging over 18% gradient. The climb is merciless in intensity. At the end of a long ride, it is inhumane.
Now you have the opportunity to ride it just like the Pros do - at the end of a long, hard day in the saddle.
Surge Sports is presenting their biggest event to date: The Brasstown Baldbuster. A century that will finish at the highest point in Georgia - Brasstown Bald.
Now go forth and torture yourselves.
Silly roadies.
February 26, 2005
More Photos of DLV
I have posted more photos of the removal of the track surface in turns 3/4 at the DLV in my photo album. Enjoy!
February 24, 2005
Breaking it to fix it
More construction photos from the DLV. Today, they started on the demolition of the track surface in turns 3 & 4, which is necessary so that fill can be placed under the track to raise the surface back to it's proper level prior to re-pouring the track surface. While all that's going on, another crew will be working on the outside of the velodrome fixing the existing retaining wall, and building to new earthen retaining slopes to prevent this problem in the future. There are more photos in my EPVA photo album, and more will be added regularly.
The photo on the right shows the new officials stand, with the demolition in the background. To give you an idea of the scope of the project, the track surface will have to be removed all the way to just to the left of the back post on the officials stand - about 90 feet of track. One pleasant surprise: the track surface is over 6" thick, which is good news - this means resurfacing will (hopefully) cost a lot less than anticipated. But that's the next fund-raising effort. So far everything is on schedule for an April opening. Keep you fingers crossed!
As always, please visit the EPVA website and make a donation (we need the money!), and check back here often for updates.
The Beginning of the End
After a long, long fund-raising effort, construction on the repairs to the turn 3/4 complex at the Dick Lane Velodrome have finally started. Many people worked many hours to raise money for this event, and now the beginning of the end has started. The DLV is expected to re-open in April (official date forthcoming, and dependent on the weather), and a lot of work besides the repairs to the track surface and its support structure still need to be completed. If you can volunteer, please go by the velodrome website for volunteer information and contacts. Of course, donations are still needed, as we the EPVA still has much to do to repair the facility after years of neglect.
It's the beginning of the end of a long road, and it's getting close!
Here's a link to the entire photo album. Check The Spin Cycle often, as I'll be adding photos as construction continues.
UPDATE: Welcome to visitors from Southeastern Cycling. Be sure not to miss my other DLV construction post, and please stay a while and read some of my other blog entries.
February 23, 2005
Tragedy, and Lack of Consequences
Even though I was out of cycling for a long time, I still have many friends who stayed in, and I've kept in touch with many of them. Others I knew only slightly, or in passing, such as Nicole Reinhart as a gangly 12-year-old, who I met at my first National Championships. I didn't know the woman who resulted from those early years, but now she is gone, and now I never will. I can say that at least I have some memory of her. Unfortunately, there are many who got involved in the sport while I was absent, and some of those people are no longer with us. I never met Dave Martin, who was killed just over two years ago in a tragic accident caused by the inattention (or worse, it's unclear from the story) of a driver.
From the Cartersville Daily Tribune News:
As David Lee Martin cycled home along U.S. Highway 41 three years ago, he called his wife to let her know he was on his way.
Just minutes after he hung up, Martin was dead, run over by a car that drove on to the shoulder and hit the biker.
When photos of Martin's wrecked bicycle were shown to jurors, Cynthia Ann Richardson, the woman charged in Martin's death, wiped away tears.
It was an emotional first day for both sides, said prosecutor Mickey Thacker.
"It's tragic for both families," Thacker said.
And it's not just a tragedy for the families, as the driver was found not guilty of first degree vehicular homicide, despite there being evidence of her using drugs at the time (as reported in the full article, which is not on the website). Richardson pled guilty to two counts of second degree vehicular homicide, which is a misdemeanor in Georgia, and carries a maximum sentence of one year, and a $1000 fine. This is a tragedy for ALL cyclists - we are now targets of opportunity, with a value of a thousand bucks. All they have to say is "my attention wandered - it was an accident."
One of the hobbies I used to have when I was on my "vacation" from cycling was golf. I read a lot of books about it, and one of my favorite authors was Harvey Penick. There's a famous story about how Harvey used to inscribe the inside of all his golf books that he signed "To my friend and pupil." When asked why he did this, he replied "If you read my book, you're my pupil, and if you play golf, you're my friend."
I don't pretend to understand our legal system. People who perform insanely petty crimes can, under the right (or wrong) circumstances be sent to jail for ridiculous lengths of time. Martha Stewart got sent up the river over $50,000 and a stock tip. The person who crossed over the white line to run down Dave Martin can quite possibly go free with little more than a slap on the wrist. That seems an absurd penalty for killing the friend I never knew.
