Back in the Day

This is what bike racing was like back in the day... 1977... way, way back! First five minutes is the RR national championship. The rest is the track championships.

1977 USCF Natz Seattle Washington from CinelliDog on Vimeo.

Don't Try This at Home

Could it really be possible to descend the Stelvio with no hands and no brakes?

OSM from Another Perspective

Wow! View full-screen to fully appreciate. Thanks Jane for finding this.

Five Days, Five Storms

The Sea Was Angry This Morning My Friends

Forty minutes of bike-path intervals this morning, and I would have beaten the rain had I not stopped at the beach to shoot this dumb video.

Video from Santa Barbara Sunday Worlds Ride

Go Johnny Go

Just in case there's anybody who hasn't seen this yet...

The talented filmmaker is 11-year-old Beau Lettieri, and you can visit his website here.

Old Time CX

Long before there was Page, Trebon, Johnson, and Douville...

...there was Sir Lawrence Malone, Clark Natwick, and Mary Ann Allen:

(Thanks to Dot Wong for finding this)

And some trivia for SB locals... in those results listed at the end of the video, which rider is the brother of a popular Santa Barbara endurance athlete? Next, which rider lost a National RR Championship after being forced into a ditch during the final sprint by a Santa Barbara rider? (Yes, I know, those are hard questions...)

Oh, and by the way, if you're wondering who Gary Douville is, check this:

And it turns out he can CX in addition to TT, as he is the SoCal elite champ and got 36th at the Elite nationals in Bend last weekend!

Alice Waters Rocks

(If the video doesn't work for you, try here instead.)

Klunkerz

In case you missed this cool flick at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival a couple years ago, you've got a second chance because it will play Saturday March 7th at the SLO International Film Festival.

Check it out...

Roller Wars Continue...

First there was Fabio...


...followed by some dufus who thought it didn't look so hard...


...which caused some hipster fixie dude to show some truly wicked skills...


...and now this latest volley...



Next? How about a wheelie? Or bunny hopping off onto the floor at full speed?

Return of the King

Sorry Ron, I just can't help myself...

Legal Disclaimer: Ron has never expressed his feelings for Lance one way or another. I have no reason to think he has a man-crush on Lance ...or Bobke for that matter... he just made the unfortunate mistake of providing me with a picture just begging for some Photoshop work...

Oh Matt!!

I debated with myself about posting the video below because it might hurt somebody's feelings. That debate lasted about 0.1 seconds.

Matt's a great guy, but this deserves to be seen...

The Nature Valley GP shows a tiny clip of Matt's 2005 crash in its promotional video, but seeing it in its full glory is much better, don't you think? Even Bob Roll was chuckling! (Since nobody got hurt, it's ok to laugh a bit...)

Let's hope nothing like that happens to the SB locals (Aaron Olson and Mark Shimahara) doing this year's NVGP!

Also, if you want to check out today's action, look for the local Minneapolis TV station's live Webcast. Women race at 4:45 PST and the men go off at 5:45 PST.

[add/edit] Well, a day later and I've had second thoughts about posting Matt's crash, I mean, it was probably a bit traumatic and it had an impact on the race since gc leader John Lieswyn (sp.?) lost time and was passed up by Shawn Milne (who took the gc lead temporarily). So on the group ride this morning, I asked Matt's good friends Zach and Ben if they thought he minded the crash incident being resurrected, and both responded with a definitive "No". And then I asked Matt. Clearly he doesn't find it as entertaining, even in retrospect, as I do, but he's a self-confident enough guy to not hide from it. Besides, you have to respect a guy who goes after it as aggressively as he does. Also, in the end Lieswyn took back gc.

Did you know that all the protagonists mentioned above have a somewhat local connection? Matt lives here of course. Milne has spent a couple winter months training in SB with his friend Tim Johnson. And Lieswyn was in the area a few years back when his wife worked at a veterinary clinic in Ventura. So you see, the whole incident is kind of SB-relevant anyway!

The Latest Film from Brian McFlurry

He has combined three of his main interests--computers, Legos, and Star Wars--and he's now a YouTube partner ...whatever that means.

A Big Steaming Pile of...

Compost.


Rich, dark, and alive. You could say it's where everything begins and also where it all ends, but you'd be wrong 'cause there is no beginning or end.

Carbon and Nitrogen.

...moving from one living thing to the next...

Forever.

----
ps. Some people tell me they can't see videos on my blog. Can you view the video above? I hope to film some of the races at Ojai this weekend, but if nobody can see it here, what's the point??? Let me know.

Stupid Roller Tricks, and Other Stuff

It rained yesterday. A lot. Probably a full 0.05 inches! That was early, true, but clouds hung in the sky all day long. One never knows when they might open up...

I didn't ride outside.

But I'm not a total slacker... Last night I dragged out the rollers for the first time in a long while. I dig the rollers ...way more fun than a trainer.

Let's back up for a second for some context to this post. A few months back I ran across the video below. If you've got a few minutes, give it a look-see and then continue reading...

at youtube

Reactions?

People went nuts on the internet forums. "Mad Skillz" ... "Wow" ... "You're a god!!!"

I'll tell you my reaction: Big F'in Deal. I'm sure he's a nice guy and all, but come on... (Yeah, I know what you're thinking... Fanelli's just jealous of his long hair blowing in the artificial wind.) Well maybe.

So, with a glass of wine, I figured I'd give it a try myself. No hands and one leg, along with some other silly stunts. Got a few minutes? Then give my video a whirl...

at youtube

I still have to perfect the track-stand, obviously, and next I'll work on bunny-hopping off the rollers. Will that hurt a carbon frame?

++++++++++++++++++++

Pros, pros, and more pros. SB has always been a nice winter training ground for bike-racers of the professional variety. Decades ago, we had Andy Hampsten come to town. He did more than a few trips up Gibraltar. Then Phil Anderson paid a visit. Phil would do the Sunday ride around Casitas--that was the default back then--and then he'd do it again. More recently we've had Tim Johnson and Laura Van Gilder hanging around in Jan and Feb.

Now we've got Ken Hanson hanging out in SB with his girlfriend. He's been doing all the group rides and has been very restrained when us local knuckleheads ramp it up. Don't worry... When he's ready, he'll light us up like few we've ever seen. He'll put the dial well past 40 mph for he polo fields sprint.

I only did one or two races with him in '07. One of them was Mt. Hamilton and when our group came into the finish we were going for 9th, and he and AJM blew by me in the sprint with so much speed it dang near knocked me over.

I think Ken won a few races in 2007 but probably his biggest was at the Pro/Am International Challenge in Downer's Grove.

He's got a spot on the 2008 BMC team and they're stepping it up a level. A great opportunity for a speedy young sprinter.

[add/edit] On yesterday's ride Ken mentioned that he, in fact, will not be riding for BMC in 2008 because they have become almost exclusively focused on stage races. He's a sprinter, and would not get many chances. So, instead, he's planning on riding with Cal Giant Strawberries.


And now we hear that T-Mob couple Aaron Olson and Kim Anderson will be staying here through the springtime. Aaron has left T-Mobile for the Bissell domestic team (formerly Priority-Health) and I don't know what Kim's plans are for 2008. A few years ago, Aaron was Jake Erker's teammate with Schroeder Iron and I think they've remained friends. That's a good sign, 'cause surely J-Erker wouldn't have a jerk for a friend. BTW, Mark Bissell, head of the company, is an old friend of Mark Mittermiller's ...small world, eh?!

Kim and Aaron riding down the coast

++++++++++++++++++++

I did another running race today. Sheesh it hurt! Not a physical injury sort of hurt, but rather just a really sore muscle kind of hurt. It was only a 10K and I ran a mediocre 40:34, but the muscle soreness is reminiscent of my post-Everest Challenge pain. I can see it taking a long time before running feels as comfortable as cycling.

Why We Climb

Thursday lunchtime ride. Two cameras sync'ed up. Forward camera on my helmet; rearward camera on my bars.

Youtube crushed the quality after I uploaded it. The original is way better. Oh well, what do want for free???

BTW, if the embed doesn't play, you can go directly to youtube to see it.

[add/edit] So I recently learned about blip.tv which also hosts videos, and apparently doesn't compress them as much (or maybe not at all?) as youtube. It also gives you the option of allowing viewers to download the original video file by going to the site. This video is here.

The quality is better, don't you think?

Click To Play

Battles Below the Surface, or Watch Cody Drive It

How much do you love stage races? The inaugural Tour of Missouri ended yesterday, and some folks out there considered it boring because Hincapie and Discovery had pretty much wrapped up the gc after stage 2. To them I say: "look below the surface and you'll still find some real drama."

Case in point, the battle for the 3rd step on the gc podium. Going into the final stage circuit race, Saunier-Duval's David Canada had that spot with a scant 1 second lead over Dominique Rollin of Kodak Gallery/Sierra Nevada (KGSN).

The final stage was essentially flat and would likely end in a field sprint. The only way Rollin could move into 3rd was to get bonus time in the intermediate sprints (3, 2, and 1 seconds) or the final. Of course Saunier-Duval, a top Pro Tour team, would be trying hard to keep Canada in 3rd.

Very early in the stage, a three-man break escaped and was being driven by one of David Canada's teammates. His hope, of course, was to keep the break away and eat up the time bonuses. Nobody in the break was in gc contention, so if they stayed away for the bonus sprints, the gc order would not change.

The break quickly got 20-25 seconds and was really motoring before KGSN was able to find the front and begin their chase. But when they did get there, the battle was on!

cyclingnews

KGSN got organized with a little over 5 km to the first intermediate bonus sprint, and they had to close down ~20 seconds to a very motivated and strong group of three. It was their responsibility alone, and no other teams needed to help. Plus, if they succeeded in reeling in the break, they still had to deliver Rollin to the sprint in good position. No easy task after such a hard chase!

I watched this scenario live yesterday, thanks to streaming internet video. Perhaps you didn't see it. Well, it's your lucky day because I snagged five minutes worth and embedded it below for you to see. If you want to hear the race radio, and the finish-line announcers (inc. Dave Towle), then you'll need to turn up the volume a bit. Don't forget to turn it back down after! For the SB locals, watch for Cody...

So yeah, KGSN pulled it out. Did you see Cody driving it from within the last km?! So fast that his teammate couldn't make the final turn and had to hop the curb! Freakin' awesome! So Rollin won that sprint but Canada got 2nd. That left them tied on gc. The next two bonus sprints were absorbed by a break but the field was all together for the final. Rollin got 3rd in the field sprint, so with that extra bonus, he moved into 3rd on gc. Very impressive!

Not boring at all!!

Lego Bike Race

Click twice to play the embedded video, or if that doesn't work, go directly to YouTube to see it.


Last post, I bragged about our daughter and her challenging geometry problems. She does really well in school and seems to genuinely enjoy her classes. We're proud parents, so pardon my boasting.

Not all children find their passion in the same places. Our son is not as fond of school ...to put it mildly. At least not yet. As he announced upon returning home from his first day of kindergarten, "school is ok I guess, except for the learning part!" And even now, as he's about to graduate the 6th grade, he doesn't much like the learning part. Or the homework part, or the reading part, or the testing part,... Bottom line is we and his teachers have not yet inspired him in the three R's.

But all kids, I believe, desire to learn and create and express themselves--some just do it out of the mainstream, and maybe not on society's schedule.

Our son for example, is way more excited about making stop-motion animation movies than about anything having to do with elementary school. He made the movie embedded above, and we think it's pretty dang awesome. He's got digital skills that would blow away 99% of the adult population. Almost entirely self taught too. The focus and attention-to-detail that he puts into making those movies amazes me. So once again, pardon my boasting.

Jens is So Cool

What a likable guy! Can we come ride with you Jens?


NorCal hero BJM is pretty good too!


Check out all of Mark Shimahara's cycling-video diaries on Youtube.