Chad's spot for various thoughts, musings, poetry, ideas and whatnot

Tuesday, May 22, 2007

The drought here is moving from severe to extreme. My lawn is slowly but surely turning to dust. The wildfires 250 miles to our south send us smoke once a week as the wind blows in from the southeast. The weather hasn't been brutally hot but there hasn't been any rain to speak of for two weeks now and things look like there won't be any for at least another week. We're behind over 10 inches for this year on top of the 10 inches from last year.

The weather makes for great riding right now. Morning temps in the mid-60's to start and never above 78 by noon. I've been doing 40-50 mile rides eahc day while listening to various podcasts (my new form of crack).

The bad news is the dust and the ants. Petting the dogs is to create cloads of stuff that used to be in my yard. With the dryness, the ants have started coming inside the ants looking for food and water. Each day we seem to have some infestation of Argentine ants to fight back.

The local weather dudes say that we need a tropical storm to move through the region slowly to help the situation now. The problem is hoping for this sort of thing is that you really want to be careful what you pray for. The National Weather Service is saying that we'll have another active hurricane season. Who knows whether Saharan dust will impede formation this year like it did last year but if not I think there could be a lot more destruction than drought relief.

So, I'll be praying for rain but not for the big storms or the thunderstorms with lightning that can spark the types of wildfires that have consumed so much forest down south.

Thanks for reading.

The Physicist   Link Me    |

Thursday, May 17, 2007

Well, the news from Floyd Landis' arbitration hearing is bad for everyone involved. Bad for USADA/WADA because there are all sorts of violations in the handling of the samples at the French lab who did the testing. But, to be honest, worse for Landis. I won't go into all the details because I think NBC Sports seems to be doing a pretty good job of this but basically former Tour winner Greg LeMond dropped a huge bombshell on the proceedings. It turns out that Greg was abused as a child and had revealed this to Floyd in a call Floyd had made to him shortly after the initial test results were revealed. Last night, LeMond received a phone call from someone identifying himself as LeMond's uncle who basically threatened to reveal LeMond's secret. When LeMond backtraced the number, it turns out it came from Landis' (now former) business manager. Bad day for the business manager and bad day for Floyd. Really bad day for Floyd.

First, I have to say that I commend LeMond for his courage. He could have run and hidden under a rock to keep his secret but instead he decided that he wouldn't be blackmailed. I haven't always liked Greg's comments and what to me sounds like the whining of a former champion seeing his glory fade but to me he stepped up and became something greater than a Tour champion. He became a champion for all those who have suffered from sexual abuse or exploitation as children. He became a shining example of what can be done if a person stands up and says that they won't live in silence and shame anymore. I imagine that it's been a bad 24 hours for LeMond but he alone has stood above the pettiness of all this. I don't know if he can step beyond this venue onto a larger stage but I hope he will offer hope to thousands (maybe millions) of those affected by sexual abuse.

Second, I'm not totally sure what to think about Floyd. I can't believe that he would have told something so personal to his business manager. One of the things revealed today were some pretty vindictive emails written by Floyd to a chat room threatening to expose things about LeMond. If this is what he meant, I have really just lost all respect for Floyd. Reading thte accounts of the hearing I've become more and more convinced that the lab screwed up and that Floyd's positive results are unreliable to say the least. I'm less incined to believe that there was malice involved here; just incompetence (at least initially on the part of the lab). However, with the revelations today about the people Landis has surrounded themselves with and with the way he has handled what LeMond has confided in him, I pretty sure I don't want to think of Floyd as a champion anymore. He may have won the competition but I won't view him as a champion. I know that there have been many athletes who have been not very nice people but to me (and probably only to me) this goes beyond being an ass or a jerk and moves into areas indicating a fundamental lack of character.

I think I'll stop now and see if any more information comes out about this before I go off on some kind of rant.

Bad day for cycling...

The Physicist   Link Me    |

Tuesday, May 15, 2007

I was watching a little TV tonight and saw a commercial for A&W and one of the things the commercial implied was that and A&W root beer float was a part of the fabric of American culture. I found this to be really interesting. As I thought of it I realized that while I may not agreed with the statement, when I think of what summer was for me as a kid, A&W root beer floats were a big part of that image. I didn't have them all the time but in Medford, were I grew up, there would be a stretch were things got really hot; 110+ degrees hot. Sometime during that stretch we'd end up at an A&W and the taste of the amazingly creamy root beer in the ice cold glass mug was just...perfect. Sometimes I'd add the ice cream but usually the root beer that was cold enough to have ice crystals was enough.

So, to me, A&W root beer was just a part of summer as I was growing up. As the chain slowly died it was almost as if it was a metaphor for my childhood passing into adolescence and then young adulthood. Now that Yum! Food/Pepsi owns A&W I wonder if they'll bring back the root beer the way it used to be of if they'll put out some corporately sterilized version they'll claim is the same. How will the metaphor proceed?

So, the question I have for you is what thing symbolizes summer in your mind? What thing reminds you of summer? What taste or smell or place or thing?

The Physicist   Link Me    |

Today is the first day I have completely off. I had a bunch of stuff planned for the day in terms of trying to be productive: a long ride, some cleaning, fixing a flat tire on the car, etc. To be honest, other than the long ride, I haven't done any of it. I realize that I'm pretty tired and mentally exhausted in some ways. So what should have been a productive day has turned into a rest day from all the stuff that has to get done. There's not really anything that won't wait until later tonight or tomorrow.

The ride today was really nice. I took yesterday off due to some physical apathy that was probably due to my mental state so I think my body was ready to get out on the bike for a longer ride. I went out and did about 70 miles and listened to a lot of podcast material. The route I chose was one I hadn't exactly done in the past. I've done all the pieces and parts of the ride but this was a really nice route. About halfway along the route there was a covered bridge that I got some pictures of and I'll post here after I've sized them down to something a little more managable. The weather was perfect with temps in the mid-60's rising into the mid-70's.

I expect that I'll have more enthusiasm to get things done tomorrow as long as I get some rest and do some things to stimulate my mind without taxing it too much. What I really wish is that Versus would actually show the Giro. Their is a broadcast that is a webcast but I can't record that and watch it when I get back from my morning ride and it's hard to get really excited looking at a grainy, choppy webcast in a 4x4 window.

Anyways, for the next couple of weeks, I have some really unstructured free time to ride, do some around the house chores and work in my garden. That is, of course, assuming that something doesn't crop up that needs my attention at the College.

Thanks for Reading.

The Physicist   Link Me    |

Friday, May 11, 2007

So the Giro de italia kicks off tomorrow. Last year's champion is not starting because he's a doper (regardless of what he might say about just intending to dope) and several other riders are being held out because of the increasingly long shadow of Operation Puerto. Their are still several interesting riders coming to the start line but one has to wonder whether the race will be as exciting as it might have been. I have to say that it seems to me like the Italians are ahead of everyone else regarding keeping questionable riders out but I have to say I wish they had invited Team Chipotle-Slipstream as a wild card. Jonathon Vaughter's young squad has been so far ahead of the curve on keeping its riders clean that I think they should be rewarded somehow. I can't really blame the Giro organizers for inviting the local Pro Contentental teams but maybe they should have thrown out the Tinkoff team just for having the termidity of submitting Tyler Hamilton's name on their first start list.

Now, for my completely worthless predictions.

The contenders are the usual suspects for this race: Simoni, Cunego, Garzelli, and Salvodelli. Add to those the dark horse contenders of Di Luca, Popovitch and Rasmussen. Here's how I see it: I'm still not convinced Cunego is the real deal and that he won a few years back clean. Maybe he did but he had no previous results and just seemed too good. Simoni's getting a bit long in the tooth but if you take out the dopers in last year's Giro, he wins the thing. Definitely podium for Gilberto but I think he'll get stabbed in the back by his young teammate and we'll get to listen to him whine for a couple of months. With this he'll sew up the title of "Cycling Crybaby of the Millenium". Garzelli was Pantini's protege and there's a cloud there. He's never really ridden at the top level since leaving Marco's side (and possibly pharmacist). Top ten for sure and maybe top five but I'm doubious. Looking at the dark horses you've got to like how Di Luca's riding but he's not a pure climber and this Giro is all uphill at the end. Popo is good in this race but he's been preparing to support the now departed Ivan basso and I wonder if he can shift gears in time.

I think Salvodelli has to be the favorite if his allergies can be controlled. He's got to want to show Discovery that they made a big mistake letting him go. He time trials better than Simoni and I think Astana is built more like Disco and CSC with an all for one attitude. One of the problems the crop up on the italian teams is a certain level of discord that may have been exciting at one time in cycling but is now a recipe for losing a grand tour. One final thoght regarding Simoni is that he was thrid up the Brasstown Bald climb in Georgia behind two guys who weren't even prepping for the Giro. Now maybe he was holding back and just sort of testing his form, but I was less than impressed with that performance and his fifth place finish in the uphill time trial here.

So, read and then proceed to ignore.

Overall: (1) Salvodelli, (2) Simoni, (3) Di Luca, (4) Popovitch, (5) Cunego, (6) Garzelli, (7) Rasmussen, (8) Belohvosciks, (9) Caucchioli, (10) Voeckler

Points: (1) McEwen, (2) Petacchi, (3) Bettini, (4) Haedo, (5) Hushovd

Mountains: (1) Simoni, (2) Rasmussen, (3) Arekeev

Given the tendancy of the Giro organizers to put together courses and finishes that are dangerous, I expect crashes to take out a couple of big names before the finish. I expect Bettini to win a stage or two and I expect Di Luca to win a stage early and to wear the Maglia Rosa for a while but I see Salvodelli grabbing the jersey in a time trial and clinging to the lead on the penultimate stage.

Hopefully it'll be interesting.

Thanks for Reading.

The Physicist   Link Me    |

School's mostly done for the time being (though I keep wondering why I have all of these meetings if school's done until summer semester) and I've started to settle into a more regular ride routine-something between 40 and 45 miles per day with one longer excursion per week and a couple of shorter recovery rides.

Yesterday I did something I haven't done in a long time; I rode on the dirt. It's been maybe 6 months since I went out to Dauset Trails and rode the Stumpjumper. I love this bike. It was my first bike that was truly a competition level machine. I hadn't intended to buy something that high end when I went in but Nate and my wife sort of convinced me that I didn't want to buy a bike I would spend a bunch of money having to upgrade later. They were so right. When Nate built the bike up in 2002 it was the lightest MTB they had built up to that point at Bike Tech and it really was the perfect MTB for me. It was light and stiff with a great front shcok at the time and it handles great for me. When I have the right tires on it, there's little I can't handle terrainwise as long as there's not too much mud. I've won a lot of races on the bike and a couple of championships.

Beyond that, it is just a really pretty bike to look at. The triangles are still there (which is getting harder and harder to see on MTBs) and the lines are really clean. The tube manipulation processes where just starting to make their way into the mass production bikes and the Stump has a bunch but it's all really subtle.

So why haven't I ridden it more? Time mostly. For me to get to the trail, I have to drive 35 minutes out and 35 minutes back. That's an hour I could put on a road bike since I can leave straight from home. Add to the time the fact that we are a one car family and the scheduling juggling that has to take place, it gets hard to get out to the trail. So with school done and a bit more free time there's a chance to get out. With unseasonably warm weather and higher winds from the tropical storm that's not really a tropical storm that's sitting off the coast, it seemed good to head out.

The bike was pretty good, though I found that I can probably use a little shock maintainance. Even with that and a serious deterioration of my skills I was still able to turn a couple of laps that were faster than I expected. I never felt like I was going all that fast and I felt like a baubbled a lot of things but I still turned a lap that I've generally ridden in 75 minutes in 79 so I guess it wasn't too bad. I'm not ready to race or anything, but I didn't leave the trial feeling like a dork or that I should sell the Stump so that's good.

I'm looking forward riding out there a little more often.

Thanks for reading.

The Physicist   Link Me    |

Wednesday, May 02, 2007

Everyone has "Lottery Dreams." YOu know the ones. They start out with thinking, "If I won the lottery I would..." The dreams get interesting once the person gets past the, "I'd pay off all my bills and travel to...," part and the, "and I'd buy a ... for my parents," bits and such. I was thinking about what I'd do the other day it I hit it big in a Megaball drawing or something.

One of the things I've always wished I could do was start a commune for all of my friends. My wife and I will sometimes speak of a particularly dear friend by saying that we'd definitley invite them to The Commune. There'd be lots of land and everyone would have their own house that we'd provide. We'd get together and hang out for Friday afternoon dinner parties and discuss current events and history and science and philosophy. Kelly Kinkaid would be there and so would Dave Cushman. Jim Landes and Mike Ody would be too. My wife would invite Shaun Chavis. Our friends John and Jennifer from Kansas (now in Oregon) would be invited. My brother Chris and his family would be asked to come. There are more than that I'm sure (please don't be offended if you're left out, I probably just need more time to think of your name than I have at the moment).

As I was thinking about this on a recovery ride the other day I realized that the Lottery Dream was incomplete; the Commune would need a purpose, a way to give back to the world that really made a difference. Otherwise it's just another yuppie, gated community that turns its back on the world in fear or disgust or both. As I thouhgt of it I realized that we should build a school for kids that emphasized all the right things about education. We'd go with a Montessori model I think and the members of the Commune could teach or work there if they wanted. Their kids could go there to get a really first rate education that emphasized both the classical and the modern. Tuition would be free and we'd invite kids from the town to join us. Maybe we'd educate the kids of the college professors and K-12 educators for free. We'd ask the parents to chip in a certain amount of time every week or we'd have to charge an outrageously high tuition rate. The school could be in old houses and new buildings on rural land. We could throw the standards out the window and get back to teaching our kids to explore and discover and to not lose the sense of wonder about the world or the ideas of great men like the Bard or the Reverend. They could write about whatever big ideas they had and read about those of others who have gone before them. They could learn Greek and Latin and maybe one or two other languages all from the time that they start in first grade or even Kindergarden.

They'd see respect from the adults and they'd learn to be respectful by beign treated with respect. They'd learn to work hard and succeed and they'd learn to learn from their failures. They'd learn to define themselves from within instead of taking their queues from the world around them who wants them to be all things to all people and hates them when they're not. They'd learn to love and how to be loved.

I told you it was a lottery dream; now here, drink this Kool-Aid.

Thanks for Reading

The Physicist   Link Me    |

Tuesday, May 01, 2007

Well, there were no April showers here in the Peach State and it looks like May will continue the same trend. The high temp yesterday was a near record breaking 88 degrees and today's high will be 92. What happened to spring? We have about a week of it in early late March and then some early April storms put an end to that and brought another shot of cold temps. As we've slowly fought those off, we had another week or so and now it's summer (though the humidity isn't as bad). Where are the 75-80 degree days we usually have? Riding in this weather should be lots of fun. Usually I have a little time to acclimate to the heat but not so much this year.

Now that I'm into finals week, I have a little more time to ride consistently. The temptation is to go out and ride a whole bunch of miles. The problem is that I don't really think I have the base to lay down a 1300 or 1400 mile month. So what I'll try to do is ride some an average of 40 miles a day for the next week and see how I feel. If I feel good, I'll up it some. Another problem is that I'm getting tired of riding the same roads. I know that I have it pretty good here in the rural south with decent raods that are lightly travelled but after seven 12,000 mile years, there's the sense that I've seen it all before. I have about 4 or 5 good forty mile loops, meaning I don't have to do some sort of weird cobbling otgether of various small segments with lots of strange turns and backtracking. I also have another 4 fifty mile loops and even a couple of nice metric centruy routes. The problem is that I've done them all so many times that there's little novelty to them. Maybe next week, I'll steal the car and drive down to Warm Springs, park and ride the roads down there. The hard part with doing that though is the idea of spending two hours in the car to ride a similar time ont he bike. Another option is some mountain biking if I feel like making the drive out and back.

In any case, these aren't really terrible problems to have and I'm sure I'll find a way to endure.

Thanks for Reading

The Physicist   Link Me    |