My legs are still a little sore from this weekend's riding. Besides the basic muscle stiffness, I had a couple twinges of knee pain right at the kneecap but everything should be fine by tomorrow after today day off.

Riding along the farmlands of IL in winter can be bleak but I've done it enough in the last couple years that I find a certain beauty in the starkness of the land at times. In a couple months these fields will be lush with green corn.


Not all the land is flat, however. Just a short distance from the pancake flat farmland are towering alpine peaks that strike fear into the hearts of local cyclists.


If you look closely you can see my teammates quaking in their Sidi's at the sight of the towering peaks ahead. Much to their relief, we turned right at the base of the "mountain"


The good thing about the little farms is that when you have an empty water bottle there is the occasional cow that you walk up to, place your bottle under its udder (god I hope that is it's udder) and partake of the finest energy drink known.


News Item of the Day: Australian national champion Robbie McEwen (Davitamon-Lotto) will not ride the spring classics after a second bout of flu this season. "I gambled and I lost," the Tour de France green jersey winner told Belgian newspaper Gazet Van Antwerpen after pulling out of last Saturday's Milan-San Remo.

"It's already the second flu attack in two months. I've had enough, I want to be healthy again, so riding the bike is now the second most important thing, the first of course is to be healthy," said McEwen. McEwen's illness has resulted in a sinus infection. "I'll forget my spring season and focus on the Giro," he added.