I'm fighting off the early stages of a cold. Scratchy throat most of the day. I figure the next day or so will have some increasing nasal drainage and hacking up of yummy stuff. Yeah, I know about pounding Vitamin C and Zinc and all that stuff.

The '05 season started off in good fashion on a cool and mostly dry day, except for the last 1/3(?) of the race when a very light rain fell and dampened the roads. Our 3's were pretty well represented with Aaron H, Justin, Ryan and myself. Justin was a workhorse, probably too much of one, and pulled the pack along much of the time. After the initial sorting out process Aaron, Ryan and myself tucked ourselves in toward the front pretty well and covered a few attacks while doing a little work up front.

I found it to be a very controlled race with us, Gateway and Maplewood pretty well controlling everything. The solo riders gave some good efforts but they were out-manned. Surprisingly, the turn onto the outer road didn't produce the usual serious attack. The cross wind there could have caused some difficulties but everyone was either unwilling or unable to make much happen.

Coming down the homestretch on Hwy Z, Justin was in his customary spot up front and we began to pick off a few of the dropped riders from 1/2/3 race. We had a tailwind and the pace was rather high. With about a mile to go we came upon some two of the dropped riders. The pace slowed slightly and the pack eased to the left to avoid the slower riders. It was the perfect opening and made a move. I felt the chances were slim of holding on the whole way but I gave it a good go, knowing that Aaron and Ryan were in reserve. I felt very strong and should have gone harder and with more intent making the others suffer but I settled into a good pace. The pack swallowed me up in a few hundred meters but it was fun. From there I settled in toward the back and picked off some riders as they faded down the finish.

I'm curious whether the officials DQ'd anyone. There were a good 10 riders sprinting over the yellow line. Fools. In some ways it probably made for a safer sprint but you need to follow the rules guys.

Positives: Felt strong. Had good position for most of the race.
Negatives: Could use a little improvement in the hills. Should have gone harder, longer during my late attack.

News Item of the Day: As can often happen in the Belgian opening weekend, Kuurne-Brussel-Kuurne was won by one of the big teams who had missed out in Het Volk. Today saw the first ever victory for the Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team as George Hincapie comfortably beat the young Kevin Van Impe (Chocolade Jacques) in a two man sprint. The pair had attacked with 6 km to go at the end of a tough, wind-blasted 190 km, with no-one in the remaining peloton having an answer. And despite having eight men (the whole team) in the front group of 32, Davitamon-Lotto missed the boat again and had to settle for third with Bert Roesems.

Hincapie became the first American to win Kuurne-Brussel-Kuurne, adding to his 2001 win in Gent-Wevelgem and 2004 win in the Driedaagse van De Panne. "It was a super hard race in nasty, cold and windy conditions," Hincapie said. "It was a battle all day. At the end, every was so completely dead from the wind and all the attacks that there was no control at the front."

"I didn't know much about him," Hincapie said of Van Impe. "Dirk said he was good and I still had enough left. I didn't feel great following yesterday. I felt great yesterday (finishing 30th at Het Volk) and was there on the last climb but we still had 65 km to the finish. Today I was feeling that effort but still had enough to finish it off."



"For sure, George likes to race in this area, even in the cold conditions," said Discovery Channel director Dirk Demol, who is from this area of Belgium. "Wevelgem is only around 10 kilometres from here and de Panne is another 50 or so kilometres, so this seems to be one of his favourite areas.

"We were trying to make the race hard," said Demol. "Like yesterday (at Het Volk), although the final result wasn't great, the performance of the team was strong. Today, we seemed to always have someone in a good position, which helped for the final. I ordered the boys to try and spread the peloton and it worked well, putting us in a good situation at the end."

Towards the finish, Demol said he told Hincapie and Devolder to save their energy for the final. Devolder then attacked five or six times in the last 15 km: "He killed (Quick Step's Tom) Boonen alone," said Demol and Roulston covered another acceleration just before Van Impe attacked and Hincapie joined him in the winning move.

"It's a nice win for us," said Demol. "From what I saw, almost everyone is on a very good level. This weekend was our first big test and winning today was great."

Viewpoint: I'm glad to see George get Discovery's first victory. A classy rider at home on the cobbles and an invaluable and much improved rider in the Tour de France. A rider deserving of whatever wins he accumulates. Now if he can just get that Paris-Roubaix that he's come close to capturing before.

Im not liking the way my legs are feeling this morning. They are still stiff from yesterday. Maybe they will loosen once I start to ride. Time for a short massage before leaving later. It can't hurt.

Since Sunday is Froze Toes we headed over to Columbia IL for today's ride. The planned 80 miles turned into the usual Maeystown for most since Aaron had to be back home. Joe, Glen, me and a new guy Trent were going to push on towards Prairie du Rocher. Two or three miles down the road though Joe got a call that his son was not feeling well so we turned around and headed back. In all, we got around 70 miles. That's more than I would like before a race but it's only Froze Toes. My legs are a little heavy tonight but they should be fine by morning. The last couple days I have had the slightest of colds set in. Just enough to feel a little chest congestion and have a little sinus drainage. That won't help my breathing but maybe I can get through the race with minimal effect on my performance.

Here's a shot of today's ride.


News Item of the Day: In freezing cold and damp February weather, Belgium's opening race, the 60th Omloop Het Volk lived up to all expectations. Always a hard race, being similar to both the Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix in parts, Het Volk was fought out between the Belgian teams Quick.Step and Davitamon-Lotto, with Discovery Channel and Rabobank playing important roles.

At one stage with 60 km to go, Quick.Step was on the back foot as a dangerous eight man breakaway was up the road with three Discovery riders (Ekimov, Devolder, Hincapie), Van Petegem (Davitamon), Kroon (Rabobank), Gilbert (FDJ), Gardeyn (MrBookmaker) and Tankink (Quick.Step). The break had 50 seconds and Tankink's presence there wasn't much of a consolation. Quick.Step began to ride hard behind and closed down the break with 37 km to go, opening things up for a new round of attacks. But in a tense and difficult finale, it was Nick Nuyens who escaped on the cobbled Vogelzangstraat with 15 km to go to ride the peloton out of contention, winning by 14 seconds from his teammate Tom Boonen.

"It was the longest 15 km of my life," quipped Nuyens at the finish. "Still, I was never in doubt, because I knew I was strong. The other guys in my team, who slowed things down, may ask everything of me now."

Tom Boonen had an unfortunate tumble when he was accidentally knocked off by Nico Eeckhout (4th) after the finish. But he was more than happy with the team's performance today. "It's as if I'd won myself - that's how happy I am for Nick," said Boonen. "I was also very content that he was there, because it meant that I wasn't going to get it all on my neck.

Viewpoint: Patrick Lefevre's Quick-Step/Domo/Mapei know how to win the Spring Classics. Even after seemingly being on their heels today they manage to pull a win out of the hat. Nick Nuyens??? The name sounds only the slightest bit familiar. Yet he wins Het Volk? Maybe Museeuw showed him a trick or two.

Trainer time tonight. Only an hour but it was a good effort. After a 10 minute warmup I did a 15 minute interval in the 53x18 followed by another 15 minutes in the 53x15. To finish things off was a 5-minute in the 53x17 and then a short cool down.

Background: The winter of '92-'93 saw me finally muster up the initiative to go to a Rockits team meeting and sign up to race the next year. My first race as a categorized rider was a one time race on Kaskaskia Island near Ste Genevieve. The day was marked by two obstacles. One was a very strong wind and the second was high water from the Mississippi that covered just a small section of road. 1993 of course was the year of the Great Flood and this was the early stages of that flood which only a couple months later swallowed the island. I finished third that day but it was a rag-tag field of competitors. Still I was confident afterward.

Unfortunately, it wasn't until two and a half years later, near the end of the '95 season that I managed to not get pulled from a crit. Looking back I am surprised I kept racing but I suppose there were small amounts of progress and the few road races that you didn't get pulled that kept me going. There were also a few good teammates that were always letting me get dragged around on training rides.

That first finished crit changed things. From then on, it became much easier to finish a race. There were still the occasional bad days but it became the exception. You start to look back and wonder why it was so hard before.

News Item of the Day: The forecast for the centre of Belgium this Saturday is for a cold winter's day with temperatures ranging between 0 and 3 degrees (celsius). It will stay mostly dry but some local snowfall is possible. This, for both Het Volk and Kuurne, will suit riders with a bit of meat on them.

Viewpoint: It must be Springtime in Belgium.

I think I'm just going to take the day off. It's all part of special preparation for Froze Toes.

Background: Despite ignoring this section for a while I had not forgotten about its existence.

After several years of consideration I took the plunge into racing during the Labor Day weekend of '92 at the Greentree Crit in Kirkwood Park. I rode to the race from home decked out in T-shirt, tennis shoes, pedals with straps and visions of winning my first race. I still remember being assigned number 711 for my Citizens race. Surely 711 was a lucky number since 7-11 was the premier US-based team in cycling at the time. Victory was assured.

Instead I got a bad start and crashed only a few hundred feet from the start trying to avoid another accident. I hopped back on the bike, startled but unharmed, and fought valiantly to limit my losses. Still I got lapped a couple times as I recall. The fact of the matter is I sucked. Not just in this race, but in general and I just didn't realize it.

I had visions of grandeur in my mind and an over-inflated view of my talent. Despite my crushing defeat, my stubborn refusal to face reality was still intact. "If only I hadn't crashed I could have stayed with others", I told myself. And so began my racing "career"...

News Item of the Day: As had been expected, T-Mobile Team announced today that Jan Ullrich would skip the Tour of Murcia the beginning of March, and instead would start his season an entire month later, in the Circuit de la Sarthe. Ullrich had been training in Lucca in Tuscany, but a bad cold cost him a week's training, and snow sent him home early. He is currently at home in Scherzingen, Switzerland, but will return to Tuscany on Sunday for another three weeks of training, accompanied by his personal advisor Rudy Pevenage.

TMO team doctor Lothar Heinrich said, "Right now it doesn't make much sense for Jan to ride such an intensive race as Murcia. The aim right now is the intensive build up of his ground conditioning - that is the basis of a successful season."

Viewpoint: Ol' Jan spends every winter in South Africa and then moves to southern Italy so he stays healthy. Yet every year he seems to get sick. Is it my imagination?

Mary had Spinning class tonight. Uncharacteristically, she had more of a power workout tonight starting with a long "hill" that gradually got "steeper" and then a series of six 2-minute intervals with one minute rests. Pretty hard class.

The three musketeers, Mark, Patrick and I, were again the only ones not scared off by the possible rain in the forecast. We've had an unusual amount of days this winter with southerly winds and today was no different. After heading to the JB Bridge and turning south, the riding got tough. We were taking fairly long pulls and they created a certain level of discomfort. Patrick needed to leave early today so he pulled off after 30-35 minutes leaving Mark and I to battle wind. We each took one more long pull. At the next turn in the course I suggested we take only minute pulls at the front. I think it was a good move and saved us from really working ourselves into exhaustion. We reached Maeystown in about 1:45 but we knew going back would be nice with the tailwind.

Was it ever nice. The sun came out, the air began to warm and we had that sweet tailwind. Once we turned north we were going 29mph with little effort. We kept the pace pretty high. After crossing the main road that leads into Valmeyer the tempo picked up. After a while I looked over at Mark's computer. 32mph and I had plenty yet to give. What a feeling. Mark eventually began to feel the pace and tucked in behind me. We backed off in a few places to the upper 20's as Mark's legs got heavier but I would kick it up again. Our avg speed kept going up and up. I joked we could get it up real quick if we upped the speed to 40. Mark said maybe I could but he couldn't. The urge was too great and I let it loose for a few hundred meters. Did I reach 40? That's when I wish I had a computer on my bike but I was moving and it was easy.

In the end it turned out to be an absolutely beautiful day for riding.

Depending on the forecast you looked at today we were either going to get wet, get snowed on or stay dry. When it came time to ride though the weather was cold but dry with the precipitation to the west near Rolla. Mark and Patrick showed up, thank goodness. The plan had been to ride to Antonia but with the questionable weather I felt it was best to do a Tour of Spain route since that is a quick little 2 hr ride. I felt pretty confidant that the weather would stay away at least that long.

The ride was decent tempo ride. Nothing extremely hard other than what the hills provided in difficulty. We rolled back into Meramec just over 2 hrs later amid some snowflakes. Most of the ride home was spent with tiny ice pellets stinging my face. Fun times. Going on the shorter route was the right decision.

After Mark turned off on Eddie & Park I decided to give an effort. As mentioned a couple days ago I'm a little worried about when Froze Toes really ramps up the pace on the outer road next weekend. Sure enough, when I put it a big gear and really tried to go I suffered. I may have gone okay but my impression was that I wasn't tearing up the asphalt. Regardless, the effort was needed and will be the first of many power efforts to come.

With my health concerns largely out of the way I actually had a desire to get on the bike this evening and train rather than obligation.

My training wasn't particularly long. Only one hour. But I did three good 10-minute intervals. I certainly could have done more work but the last few weeks have been a little lighter than normal for workload and I didn't want to overdo it.

News Item of the Day:
FEBRUARY 17, 2005 -- CHICAGO, IL (BRAIN)--If only Lance Armstrong could be on daytime television every day. On Friday, television talk show host Oprah Winfrey challenged her viewers to beat the one-day sales record for Lance Armstrong Foundation's Livestrong bracelet. Within 24 hours, more than 900,000 wristbands sold on www.laf.org.

Lance Armstrong and his girflriend Sheryl Crow were on the Oprah Winfrey Show Friday to chat about their lives and the LAF, a cancer research and patient support group.

Winfrey's viewers handily beat the prior one-day record of 328,000, achieved Sept. 20, 2004.

News Item of the Day: The answer is yes. Lance Armstrong on Wednesday committed to riding for his seventh straight Tour de France victory this summer, according to an official statement. The 33-year old Texan also confirmed he would open his season with Paris-Nice before competing in the Tour of Flanders.

The American's 2005 racing schedule, announced by his Discovery Channel team, also includes the Tour of Georgia in the United States. "I look forward to achieving my goal of a seventh Tour de France (victory)," Armstrong, who claimed an unprecedented sixth title last year, told the Discovery Channel website. "I am excited to get back on the bike and start racing although my condition is far from perfect. "(We) will evaluate my fitness later this spring and possibly add some races to the calendar."

The chairman of the company which organises the Tour de France, Jean-Marie Leblanc, was pleased that Armstrong had decided to have another go at the world's most gruelling cycling race. "I knew that under the contract between Lance and his new sponsor Discovery Channel he would have to race in the Tour at least one more time, either in 2005 or in 2006," Leblanc said. "Lance has decided to take up the challenge now which is good."

Armstrong won six stages, including the team time trial, on his way to last year's triumph and was barely challenged, except by Italian Ivan Basso in the Alps stages. "I love Tour de France events which are open, with no clear favourite, but having one again is going to be exciting," Leblanc added.

Armstrong kept fans guessing about his plans for this season after Discovery Channel took over from US Postal as his team's sponsors with an official presentation in January. He had said that he wanted to focus on the spring races he had neglected so far, perhaps an attempt to prove he could have success in other races. "I've had contacts with (Discovery Channel team manager) Johan Bruyneel a few days ago which led me think that things were changing in our favour," Leblanc said. "Johan said that Lance wanted to enter either the Criterium, the Dauphine Libere or the Tour of Switzerland to prepare for the Tour de France."

Armstrong, who survived testicular cancer before his six victories, has won 23 stages in the Tour de France since first taking part in 1993.

News Item of the Day: The answer is yes. Lance Armstrong on Wednesday committed to riding for his seventh straight Tour de France victory this summer, according to an official statement. The 33-year old Texan also confirmed he would open his season with Paris-Nice before competing in the Tour of Flanders.

The American's 2005 racing schedule, announced by his Discovery Channel team, also includes the Tour of Georgia in the United States. "I look forward to achieving my goal of a seventh Tour de France (victory)," Armstrong, who claimed an unprecedented sixth title last year, told the Discovery Channel website. "I am excited to get back on the bike and start racing although my condition is far from perfect. "(We) will evaluate my fitness later this spring and possibly add some races to the calendar."

The chairman of the company which organises the Tour de France, Jean-Marie Leblanc, was pleased that Armstrong had decided to have another go at the world's most gruelling cycling race. "I knew that under the contract between Lance and his new sponsor Discovery Channel he would have to race in the Tour at least one more time, either in 2005 or in 2006," Leblanc said. "Lance has decided to take up the challenge now which is good."

Armstrong won six stages, including the team time trial, on his way to last year's triumph and was barely challenged, except by Italian Ivan Basso in the Alps stages. "I love Tour de France events which are open, with no clear favourite, but having one again is going to be exciting," Leblanc added.

Armstrong kept fans guessing about his plans for this season after Discovery Channel took over from US Postal as his team's sponsors with an official presentation in January. He had said that he wanted to focus on the spring races he had neglected so far, perhaps an attempt to prove he could have success in other races. "I've had contacts with (Discovery Channel team manager) Johan Bruyneel a few days ago which led me think that things were changing in our favour," Leblanc said. "Johan said that Lance wanted to enter either the Criterium, the Dauphine Libere or the Tour of Switzerland to prepare for the Tour de France."

Armstrong, who survived testicular cancer before his six victories, has won 23 stages in the Tour de France since first taking part in 1993.

There was no entry made yesterday. I went to Spinning and Amy led the class. I felt remarkably strong for some reason. It would be nice if you could always feel that good on a bike. My breathing was good, the legs strong and I felt spot on. Despite that I still have some small concerns with my climbing and I really do need to work on some long intervals.

My hunch is when we approach the outer road at Froze Toes and the pace picks up, as it always does, my legs won't be able to handle a LONG sustained effort in the big ring. There is only a week and a half until the race so it will be hard to get much improvement in that time. However I have done well in Columbia this winter when the pace has picked up for longer periods so maybe I could hang in there.

Yes, I am talking about doing Froze Toes with certainty. That's because I called the doc today to get my test results. My triglycerides and cholesterol are high. Thanks to my Dad's side of the family. So, I need to work on lowering those numbers. The better news is that my ECG results were all normal and he will sign my medical release for Etape du Tour. That was such a relief to hear him say "Normal" as he went down the list of heart chambers and valves that were tested.

This calls for celebration. What should I do? Maybe hammer all my teammates into the ground on a punishing ride this weekend. Just kidding.

This afternoon was the echocardiogram for the heart murmur. I suppose it was an interesting process to experience but I would have been perfectly happy not having to get one. The nurse said it takes at least 24 hrs for the cardiologist to review the sonogram and get the results to my regular doc. She said to call if I don't hear anything by Wednesday afternoon. So, one or or the other, I should know in a reasonably short amount of time.

Good thing, since the tour company sent an email begging everyone to get their authorizations in to him so we can take part. I'm taking a low-key approach to the results and actually preparing for the doctor to say I can't go. The way I see it, as of right now I can't go based on the what the doc has heard. I have no reason to think I am making the trip at this time. If everything is good though, I'm going to be a happy camper.

The fact that I can ride as well as I am and yet have a doctor possibly say I can't do it is weird. It seems inconceivable.

Thanks to the weatherman I rode outside today. I had told others that
I wouldn't be in Columbia if it was raining which was a pretty slim
chance. Sure enough, the cursed rain gods stopped and made me feel
obligated to go to Columbia. On the drive over, a light drizzle
started of course but I was not going to turn around now. Thankfully
it never did do more than a light rain but it was windy going south.
We worked hard and riding the fixie didn't make it any easier.

We didn't go all the way to Maeystown. After the first railroad tracks
we turned onto Bluff Rd and cruised back with a nice tailwind most of
the way. A little more than 2hrs of riding, maybe 2:15. Not the
longest ride but it was hard.

Another rather nice Saturday today. We had a large group of maybe 12
or 13. That number is inflated a little because we had five, I think,
Cyclones show up. We broke in three newbies again this week. As
usual, they had a pretty rude awakening to Jefferson County. They hung
pretty tough but two of them went back on Rock Creek with Aaron Johnson
while the third (Doug) soldiered on and rode out to Frisco Hill with
the rest of us. He struggled up the hills but he was determined.

Organized ride time was just shy of 3 hrs with roughly 50 minutes going
to and fro. I held back a little on the hills to give those that were
struggling a little bit of a rabbit to chase. While I did hold back
some I was not happy with the way I climbed for the second week in a
row. I can't yet tell if my technique is a little off or what the
problem might be. Not that I did badly. Marshall Rd went well so I
finished the ride strong. I let Joe set a tempo for about half the
hill, with Mark G following him. A couple hundred feet past the 270
overpass the pace seemed to slow slightly and that was my cue. I
stayed in the saddle, increased the cadence, and cruised right past
them. Neither had any response and that was a morale boost.

Until the last few days I never realized much truth there was in the old saying "Ignorance is bliss". Four days ago, I went and rode with not a care. If I wanted to go hard, I went hard. But ever since seeing the doctor Tuesday I'm very conscious of everything. I'm checking the blood pressure multiple times, after coming home from work, trying to get an idea of which of his readings was more accurate. I suddenly am very aware of most every little feeling in my body and wonder what this possible heart murmur will mean. Despite several people saying the heart murmur is not a big deal I can't help but wonder if he will want me to quit racing. Without warning I am face to face with maybe not being able to do what I most like to do. It's a sobering thought.

It's hard to be motivated to ride but I got on the trainer tonight. I didn't do any specific workout. I rode for 45 minutes in my 39x15. It was a brisk ride but not real hard. Enough to get the body works working pretty good

Spinning went well last night... heart murmur and all. *rolls the eyes* Amy put us through a workout that leaned toward the power side of the cycling spectrum. Good hard class.

News Item of the Day: The latest rage in the cycling peloton is Viagra, according to Het Laatste Nieuws, because it should stimulate the absorbtion of oxygen - yeah yeah :-)

Viewpoint: But dang its hard to pedal in that condition and if you win a race those podium photos will be rather immodest. Podium girl quote "Is that a frame pump in your shorts or are you just happy to see me?"

One of my basic rules of life is to not talk too much about an upcoming event until it is about to happen. It has always seemed that when I do, something happens to prevent it from happening. As if talking about it, curses you. As luck would have it, my opportunity came to ride in Etape du Tour and I talked about it. Sure enough, there is a definite possibility that I won't be able to go.

The organizers require a medical authorization from your doctor before you can ride so I went to the doc today. It's been a long time since I've been to the doctor. Like a lot of younger guys I haven't bothered because I feel fine. So, the first thing he does is check the blood pressure and he doesn't like it at 140/90. That is high and it surprised me because last night, out of curiosity, I checked it on a home tester and it was like 120/78. He says he won't sign it with a pressure like 140/90 and he tries a couple more times and then on the right arm. All the same reading. Just for the heck of it he uses the unit for obese people (bigger arm sleeve) and he comes up with 130/80 and he had a puzzled look and did it again with the same reading. That calmed his fears a little and I think he will sign it with that reading.

Then he listens to my heart with a stethoscope. Everything is good at first and then he moves to the upper part of the heart and says "uh oh. I think I hear a little heart murmur." That's just great. So now I have to have an echo-cardiogram on Monday and I still don't have clearance for do Etape.

I am somewhat bummed out right now. I am a little angry, a little nervous and frustrated among other things. Plus, he wants a blood test. This just really sucks.

We did our usual Columbia to Maeystown ride today. Eight riders pushed into a good headwind all the way down south. After catching a short snack in Maeystown we rolled out and began to feel a few drops of the predicted rain. Before long it had become a light to moderate rain. We formed a double paceline and set a pretty good tempo most of the way. Despite the varying levels of fitness at this time of year, everyone did a pretty nice job

News Item of the Day: Bart Wellens (Fidea) has broken off his relationship with his coach Paul Ponnet after having worked with him for the past two years. An angry Ponnet told Sportwereld.be that he had heard the information second hand. "Apparently Bart didn't have the balls to tell me himself," he said. "I felt resentment for a couple of weeks. After the season I had planned to evaluate things with him. I wanted to keep working with Wellens provided that he considered changing a few things drastically. Now I even get a punch on the nose. Ponnet added that Wellens was "surrounded by too many gurus who all want a slice of the cake" and that his life was now imitating his reality soap Wellens & Wee.

Wellens' response was that Ponnet "has not managed to lift my condition to a higher level in the past months and therefore I've made this choice." He is also considering stopping with Wellens & Wee, because "only ratings and sensation counts."

Viewpoint: I see that Wellens and Ponnet are handling things like adults. *rolls the eyes*

You don't get day's like this too often in early February. Birds chirping in the early morning, sunny skies, and temperatures approaching forty degrees at 8:30 and a high in upper 50's or 60.

Six of us showed up to ride with one newbie. He got a rude awakening to a team ride. When the rode tilted up, he went back, pretty quickly. We would wait each time but halfway through the ride he said he knew the roads and we could just go ahead. I never like to leave someone behind but we did so.

Joe had two flats one after another so he must have had something in his tire but we never saw anything. In the end, the actual ride was about 46 miles plus the 12 or so miles that I rode to Kirkwood and I had close to 60 miles. My legs were stiff this evening with the effort of a hard days ride. I should have Thursday or Friday.

News Item of the Day: Frank Vandenbroucke (MrBookmaker.com-Sportstech) has decided to skip the Belgian spring classics due to a lack of condition. VDB, who injured his foot and was sentenced to 200 hours of community service at the start of winter, made the announcement last Thursday, saying that, "It has been too long since I have trained, it makes no sense to force it. I will not be there for the opening weekend of the Belgian season. But the season has just started. There are still some very nice races in May and June."

Viewpoint: Any wagers on whether Vandenbroucke will be on another team next year? What a goof.

I'm blowing off riding again tonight. Next week I ride more. Honest. Even though I said last week was a down week I promise this one is really my down week before I start riding with more desire... I hope.

Background: Since I haven't put any thoughts together as to how I became a Cat 3 I thought I would list various the places that I have ridden a bike. Looking back there has not been that many places I have ridden. States I have raced in include Missouri (of course), Illinois, Kansas, and Arkansas. States that I have ridden include Georgia, Tennessee and Alaska. I may have ridden in Kentucky as a youngster while camping with the family but I honestly don't recall.

Aside from these domestic locations I rode in Canada for a few miles as part of my bike ride in Alaska and for the past two years through the mountains in France.

Places I'd like to ride in the future include out west in Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona, California, Utah, maybe the Northwest and Northeast like Vermont. Italy is definitely on the agenda, maybe Switzerland. There is an outside chance I could briefly cross into Spain while in France this summer. It would be a good distance but it might be possible.

News Item of the Day: South African Barloworld rider Ryan Cox ruled the mountain roost at the Tour of Langkawi Friday, winning a vertiginous high-hills Stage 8 and usurping the overall race lead with just two stages to go in the 10-day event.

Facing off versus the 1,716-metre, 17-kilometre ascent of the Genting climb, Cox made mincemeat of the race, never dipping into difficulty from the stage's start to finish.

At a relatively short 97.9 km, Stage 8 was nonetheless nearly all uphill, Cox shedding all but Venezuelan Jose Rujano before the day's end, the South African sprinting clear to win the stage a bike length better than Rujano. Cox now lords an 18-second advantage in the general classification ahead of a new hill test Saturday, a 164.8-km haul from Menara Kuala Lumpur to Putrajaya, Malaysia.

Viewpoint: Danielson didn't have it today, unfortunately. He's still in good position overall but his chances at victory are essentially gone.

Got busy with other stuff today and didn't get around to riding. Maybe I will spin a little tomorrow to get the cobwebs out of the legs before the weekend.

Background: It was suggested that I write how I became a Cat 3. That will take a little thinking but I will try to put to some thoughts together in a somewhat concise format.

News Item of the Day: Italian sprint stallion Mario Cipollini won Stage 4 of the Tour of Qatar Thursday, a 169 km haul between Al Zubarah and Doha. "Super Mario" edged out Belgian Tom Boonen and Aart Vierhouten of the Netherlands in the sprint fisticuff as Dane Lars Michaelsen maintained the overall race lead.

Aged 37, Cipollini proved Thursday that his sprint pistons still have some punch, particularly after a 2004 cycling season that systematically saw Cipo relegated in finish-line fisticuffs by cycling's dominate sultan of sprints Alessandro Petacchi, also of Italy. "I'm very motivated, I have a terrific team and I'll be racing in the best possible of conditions," Cipollini said of his prospects for the 2005 season at the presentation ceremony of his Liquigas team last month.

"I will race Milan-San Remo, where I will go up against Petacchi for the first time this season," Cipollini added. Following the Milan-San Remo super classic, Cipollini will "take a little look" at the Ghent-Wevelgem semi-classic before targeting multiple stage wins at the Giro d'Italia.

Thursday's stage triumph at the Tour of Qatar was the 165th of Cipollini's career.

Viewpoint: The key stage of the Tour of Langkawi is fast approaching and Tom Danielson is in 8th place. There are a couple decent climbers about 30 seconds ahead. I want to see what he can pull off on the climb of the Genting Highlands. I think it will be a good test of what he might be able to do in the Giro.

Tonight I plan to do some core exercises. Next week my intention is to increase the training a little and start riding Wednesday evenings.

I'm glad to see February come around. February can be a pretty harsh month but I look at it as the beginning of the end of winter. March I consider to be the beginning of Spring, however boneheaded that might be. So, since I decree it to be so, here is to the last month of winter. Cheers.

Background: Last year I purchased my current bike. Actually I only bought the frame and fork and then swapped the my old DuraAce 9-speed to the new metallic blue CAAD5 Cannondale. A bike not very much different than my old Cannondale. I suppose it weighs a wee bit less. A few of the tubes are ovalized. Does it ride differently? To be honest, I can't tell any difference.

News Item of the Day: Denmark's Lars Michaelsen won Stage 3 of the Tour of Qatar Wednesday, mastering a wind-ripped, 194 km route between Al Wakra and Al Khor Corniche. CSC rider Michaelsen also jumped into the overall leader's jersey, 1 min 14 sec better than teammate and fellow Dane Matti Breschel.

"I'm very happy for myself but also for the team," Michaelsen said on the Tour of Qatar's official website. "CSC was ever-present at the front of the race. We took the reins -- as planned -- after 25 km of racing." "It was a long day in the saddle, with a lot of wind. Windy conditions are a specialty of CSC riders, but also for the Danes," Michaelsen said, making mention of the wind-swept plains of his country of origin.

Michaelsen and teammate Breschel succeeded in severing ties with the rest of the bunch, the duo relaying to the finish with 1 min 20 sec of freedom before Michaelsen sprinted to victory, two seconds faster than Breschel.

Previous overall winner Tom Boonen of Belgium -- winner of stages one and two -- was pitched back to a second group, the race cut into echelon by the wind. Boonen trailed in with a secondary pack 5 min 35 sec off the pace, falling from first to fifth in the general classification.

Viewpoint: CSC crushed the field in a race last year where there was a lot of wind. I want to say the race was Paris-Nice. They put themselves in front when a change in the course presented a crosswind and the race shattered. Out of curiosity, I just checked and it was Paris-Nice last year during stage 2. 36 riders made the split and 8 of them were CSC and 5 were Postal but CSC was the driving force. That stage lost the race for Vinokourov and several others who finished over five minutes behind.

Spinning class tonight. Class was smaller than normal. Amy led a pretty tough class with more "climbing" and "time trialing". Not much sprint work tonight. I found myself looking at the clock more than usual so it must have been a pretty hard class.

Background: The fall of '02 found me finally putting out the money for a true 'cross bike. A couple years on the old Trek with equipment that didn't lend itself to CX and then another of year of Mike being nice enough to lend me a bike for the season and I knew a bike needed to be bought. My Bianchi Axis is what I would consider to be a mid-range CX bike. It is not particularly light and has no fancy components but it does fine. You can take it out and give it a pretty good beating without too much worry. About the only thing I have changed is switching to some Tufo tubular clinchers. Nice tires.

News Item of the Day: The World-Anti Doping Agency (Wada) has discovered a second "designer steroid" in the wake of the ongoing THG scandal, BBC Sport has learned.

A sample of the new steroid has been seized by Canadian customs officers at the border with the USA. Wada says the drug has been developed specifically for use by athletes. "This is the second designer steroid we have found," said Wada's Olivier Rabin on Tuesday. "We believe this was created purely for doping in sport." The new steroid was created in a laboratory and would have a similar impact to testosterone if used, increasing strength, muscle bulk and stamina.

Several leading track athletes, including double world sprint champion Kelli White and Britain's European 100m champion Dwain Chambers, have been banned after THG (tetrahyrogestrinone) was discovered in 2003.

Rabin, Wada's scientific director, said a desoxy-methyl-testosterone (DMT) had been discovered after an anonymous tip-off and a test had been developed. "This proves that THG was not a one-off," he said. "This new substance has been discovered so quickly after THG because we learned some lessons from the THG story.

Rabin said the discovery of the new steroid had put Wada "ahead of the dopers", adding: "This shows them how serious we are."

Viewpoint: Here we go again. This really sucks.