The Bike Park

 

Joseph West estimates we had about 50 people show up to work on the Rexburg Bike Park tonight. Most of the cleanup we did involved removal of deadfall. If you are curious to take a look at the area, it should be fairly obvious where we were working. Full development of the park is still at least a year away and is contingent upon the receipt of some grant money. We will probably have a couple of additional volunteer nights before the end of the summer.

I Pushed the Armstrong Lie. An Apology to Greg Lemond.

Photo copyright Bryn Lennon/Getty/dailybeast.com

http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2014/07/31/i-pushed-the-lance-armstrong-lie-an-open-letter-to-greg-lemond.html

 

 

The VeloNews Tour of Utah Preview

Photo copyright Casey B. Gibson/Velonews.com

http://velonews.competitor.com/2014/07/news/2014-tour-utah-preview_339018

 

 

Relive the Best Moments of the 2014 Tour de France

The best moments of the Tour in a six minute video…I can’t embed this one, but you can follow the link.

http://velonews.competitor.com/2014/07/video/video-relive-best-moments-2014-tour-de-france_339063

 

A TNR Tradition

Since a time before our phones had cameras, it has been kind of a Tuesday Night Ride tradition to stop at the end of the pavement at Moody Creek for pictures. Here are a couple from last night's ride courtesy of Steve.

Tour of Utah Tour Tracker Apps

Long time readers of the blog know that I get pretty excited about the Tour of Utah which begins on Monday. If you are able to watch some stages in person, I would highly recommend it. Consider adding the Ultimate Challenge to your bucket list. With 13,000 feet of vertical, I am going to take a pass on the UC this year, but I look forward to returning at some point in the future. I am posting again this year a link to their outstanding Tour Tracker app which has a ton of information on the race as well as live video that you can play on a variety of devices. If you like this app, look for the Tour Tracker app for the Tour of Colorado.

Following the Tour of Utah on Tour Tracker! Android:https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=air.com.thetourtracker.tou2011.android iPhone:https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/id453482073?mt=8

Reminder: Bike Park Cleanup 6 p.m. Tomorrow Night

As I mentioned previously, the development of a bike park in Rexburg is a project of The Trails of Madison County. The volunteer work begins at 6 p.m. tomorrow night (Thursday, July 31^st). The location of the project is east of Cal Ranch along the Teton River.  You can park at First American Title or in the empty field between the Surgery Center and Radiology Clinic. The organizers of this project are counting on the support of the local cycling community.

The Most Insane Legs at the Tour

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/07/26/veiny-legs-tour-de-france_n_5623565.html

 

From Today's NYT. The Tour Takes a Small Step Toward Gender Equality

Kathryn Bertine Photo Copyright Frederik Buyckx/New York Times

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/07/27/sports/cycling/tour-de-france-2014-women-push-to-compete-in-cyclings-top-event.html?src=dayp&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&module=c-column-above-moth-fixed-region&region=c-column-above-moth-fixed-region&WT.nav=c-column-above-moth-fixed-region&_r=0

 

Jaguar Presents Team Sky with Concept F-Type Time Trial Support Car

 

InCycle Video: Meet Super Fan Didi the Devil

 

Chris Horner and Cadel Evans Among Strong Contingent of Riders Announced for Tour of Utah

http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/strong-contingent-of-riders-announced-for-tour-of-utah

Sticks and Stones Kit Order Deadline Tomorrow, Numerous Events

Just back from another great TNR…I was a little skeptical about the route, but I think it was pretty popular. Tony proposed a name in case we ever decide to repeat it, The Heise Roubaix. Here is a bunch of random news.

·         Tomorrow is the deadline to order a Sticks and Stones jersey, bib shorts, or complete kit. You can see details of the kit in the archives of this blog for June 18^th.

·         Andria is still looking for participants for the Rat Relay this Saturday. If you are interested, contact Randy and he may be able to hook you up with a deal on the entry fee.

·         On Friday morning, Bart, Shane, and a bunch of the Idaho Falls guys will be traveling to Preston to preview the three Lotoja climbs. For the IF guys, this is Lotoja training. For Bart, it is Leadville training. If you are interested, departure will be from Dad’s Truck Stop at 5:30 a.m. Shane will have a trailer for bikes, his daughter will provide support.

·         Also on Saturday is the Bike for Kids Idaho event in Idaho Falls which features a variety of short family rides as well as a century and a metric century. According to Bart, this is a high quality, well organized event to support children with disabilities. http://www.bikeforkidsidaho.com/event-details/

 

What's the Worst Thing You Ever Ate on a Ride?

 

Twenty Stunning Images from the Tour de France

This is today’s outstanding Washington Post photo essay. http://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/20-stunning-images-from-the-tour-de-france/2014/07/17/d50d3d60-0d00-11e4-8341-b8072b1e7348_gallery.html?hpid=z10#item0

 

This Week's TNR. Mark Your Calendars for BBQ

For the Tuesday Night Ride this week, we will be doing a ride that Tony has wanted to do for a very long time. It includes a couple of unpaved miles near the Heise Bridge. If you have a gravel bike, you might want to consider bringing it. Although Tony assures me this is very rideable with regular 23 mm road tires.

     I have been receiving a few inquiries about the date for the Bike BBQ. The date we are looking at is Monday August 25^th. More details will be forthcoming as we get closer to the date. No promises, but I am working on having a live band for this year’s event.

Rat Relay July 26th Bear Gulch to Rexburg

This is a 1-4 person cycling/running event organized by Andria Huskinson. You can find the details here: http://www.ratrelay.com/idaho.html

 

Rexburg Bike Park Clean Up Thursday, July 31

The Trails of Madison County Committee is working to create a bike park along the Teton River Trail east of CAL Ranch.  The Bike Park will have areas for beginning, intermediate, and advance jumps.  Eventually, we hope to add picnic areas for families to watch.

     On July 31, we will start the development by clearing the under brush and tree trimmings in preparation for the addition of dirt.  City crews will be doing the cutting. We just need to gather.

     We invite you and your family to participate and to pass the word to others in the cycling community.  Your participation is critical for several reasons.  First, we need to help moving the brush.  Second, we need to be able to demonstrate community interest and participation when we apply for future grants to add amenities.

 Date:             Thursday, July 31, 2014

Time:             6:00 to 8:00 PM

Where:          Along the Teton River Trail east of CAL Ranch.  See the link below.

Bring:             Long shirts and pants, gloves.

https://www.google.com/maps/@43.8352649,-111.7703251,190m/data=!3m1!1e3

 Thanks, Joseph West

Tour De France On Hold As Cyclists Ride Over To Creek To Check Out Bugs

This is the best thing you will watch today! Thanks to Thomas and Sam for the link.

Status of the TNR

As those of you in the Rexburg area are aware, we are experiencing a very impressive rain storm. Unless this blows over in the next 15 minutes or so (unlikely), we will have to cancel for tonight. If there is a sudden clearing, we will consider an abbreviated ride with a 6:30 p.m. start.

     Update (about 9:30) If you are in the Rexburg area, you know how this turned out. This was one of the worst storms that I can remember here. It caused extensive flooding at BYU-Idaho and elsewhere in the community. I spent a couple of hours at the hospital dealing with the mess there. I think a handful of diehards including Jeff and Daniel made it out for a ride eventually.

A Rest Day Retrospective on the Tour

                            photo copyright TDWsport.com/velonews.com

The first ten days of the TdF have been unusually brutal, marked by crashes and bad weather. Stars and GC favorites like Mark Cavendish, Chris Froome, and Alberto Contador have crashed out. If you have not been keeping up the Tour day-to-day, consider this Cyclingnews.com photo gallery and recap of the first ten days. http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/gallery-a-brutal-first-ten-days-of-the-tour-de-france

     Probably the most controversial aspect of the Tour has been the inclusion of the cobbles on stage 5. The stage 5 misery was compounded by the bad weather. That combination was an answer to prayers for cyclocross and classics specialists like stage winner Lars Boom but was disastrous for many of the GC riders including crash victim Chris Froome. VeloNews ran a 36 image photo essay of stage 5 http://velonews.competitor.com/2014/07/gallery/gallery-lenfer-du-tour_335576 as well as an analysis asking if a cobbled stage is too dangerous for the Tour http://velonews.competitor.com/2014/07/news/roubaix-stage-risky-tour-de-france_335614

     

Congratulations to Daniel and Shea

 

Congratulations to Daniel and Shea on a very solid finish in the Beaverhead Endurance 50 kilometer trail run on Saturday. I can complain about how hard it was to ride the Crusher, but I do not envy anyone who had to run 30 miles along the continental divide. Saturday was also the Twilight Criterium in Boise (more information pending)? Weston, Clinton, and Nate Starnes all crashed out in three separate accidents. Apparently Nate snapped a frame in half. Best wishes to everyone for a quick recovery from their various injuries.

Dave's Crusher Report

After riding the Crusher in the Tushar for the first time last year, returning for a successful repeat this year has been a major goal for a number of local cyclists. The Crusher is a spectacular, professionally organized event which has captured the imagination and interest of both professional and amateur cyclists. The impossibly massive drop and subsequent climb of the Col d’ Crush is something that has to be seen first-hand to really be appreciated.

     Cycling like few other sports celebrates and fetishizes suffering. The Crusher delivers a very heavy dose of suffering in a relatively short 69 miles. Generally speaking, conditions were a little better on the forested west side of the mountains this year with fairly smooth road surfaces from recent rains. Conditions on the exposed east side, including the Col d’ Crush, were significantly worse with deeper washboard and looser sand/gravel surfaces. The temperature was hotter than last year and the only real coping mechanism I had was to pour cold water over myself as often as it was available.

     Levi Leipheimer won the professional division for a second year from a deep pro field. Rexburg native Jerry Long had an outstanding age group finish.  The same group of locals who participated last year (Jeff, Brian, Ryan, Tim, and I) was joined by Ryan’s brother Robb. Our finishing order and times were very similar to last year. Readers of the blog may recall that early this season Brian and I made numerous small modifications to my cross bike to make it more suitable for the Crusher. Among those modifications, lower gearing saved my life. A substantial number of participants were forced to walk portions of the Col, but I was determined not to walk a step. On the steepest portions, I found myself grinding it out in my lowest gear, barely faster than walking pace.

     As I mentioned in an earlier post, Brian and Tim tore apart my bike bolt by bolt last week to find and eliminate a persistent creak. It was absolutely quiet during the Crusher. Every time I passed someone on a creaky bike I was glad not to be that guy.

     We had a lot of fun training for the Crusher and it is always satisfying to go to a race in a group with a shared sense of mission. The quality of the event and its logistics are outstanding and its scope is epic. But like last year, I am still a little conflicted about an event in which the fun to suffering index skews pretty heavily toward suffering.

     Thanks to Thomas and Stephen and Tim’s parents Burdette and Judy for coming along to provide moral and logistical support.

 

Crusher Hype

Not that we really needed any extra motivation/anxiety provocation, here's a little write-up on Velo about this year's Crusher field

Vincenzo Nibali Snubbed by Podium Girl

Since I got home from the Tuesday ride tonight, I have been trying to catch on my recordings of the Tour. The first four days of the Tour have already had a fair amount of drama with Cavendish crashed out and Froome injured. As you know if you have been following the Tour, sprinter Marcel Kittel has been dominant with three victories out of the first four stages. But don’t bet against clever and consistent Peter Sagan for the green jersey. I am looking forward to tomorrow’s much anticipated/dreaded (depends whether you are a viewer or a GC rider) which passes over about 15 km of the cobbles of Paris-Roubaix.

     Here is a random moment from the podium ceremony following Vincenzo Nibali’s victory in stage two. I have already deleted my DVR recording of the stage, so I can’t go back and see exactly what happened here in context. Maybe someone who saw it can explain the incident to me. For whatever reason, this does not appear to be a podium girl who loves her work.

    

Kellen's Cycling Meme

Cool Bike Tech - Radar Scanner for Cyclists

Sawtell

 

Brian, Tim, and I went back today to finish the Sawtell ride that was rained out on Saturday. Randy had an early afternoon commitment so he went up and did the climb earlier this morning. We decided to start with the loop around Mack’s Inn and Big Springs to add a little distance and to warm up for the climb. In round numbers, the Big Springs loop plus Sawtell is a ride of about 30 miles which takes about 3 hours to complete.

     Sawtell is a long steady climb on a good gravel road. It gets a lot steeper in the final two miles and finishes with some switchbacks that are a little evocative of the Crusher. The only real downside is the popularity of the route. We met one girl descending on a mountain bike. But if bicycles were scarce, motorized vehicles were numerous. We passed an uncountable number of cars, four-wheelers, and RZR-type vehicles. Word is that you want to start the ride early before everyone else is on the road.

     Brian is no stranger to the Sawtell climb, but today was my first time. It was Tim’s second time. Years ago, Tim’s scoutmaster (obviously a non-cyclist) was looking for a route for a 50 mile bike ride to earn the Cycling Merit Badge. Somehow, he determined that it would be a good idea for the Scouts to do a ride with a difficult dangerous ten mile climb in the middle. Tim finished the ride and got the Merit Badge.

 

It's Official. Details on the Ultralight Trek Emonda

Image copyright VeloNews.com

http://velonews.competitor.com/2014/07/news/gallery-treks-new-10-25-pound-emonde_333950

 

TNR at Ririe Reservoir

We had an epic Tuesday Ride tonight with a big group (about 32 people at the start) that rode together cooperatively for a fairly high average speed. Our total distance was barely under 50 miles (I checked the distance on my computer. It was something like 49.83 miles). Life does not get better than the long mild evenings of the summer solstice. (Photographing cyclists is like photographing cats or babies. It is hard to get them to stay in one place long enough to take the picture. My apologies to everyone who was left out).