We had the last Spinning class of the winter last night. Mary had the class and it was probably the most difficult class she taught this year. For whatever reason, I never felt comfortable. The seat had a weird tilt, the resistance setting was more responsive than the bikes I had been using and the bike had its own automatic transmission. Once the resistance got set to a certain point it would fluctuate without making any adjustments. You would be pedaling for 10-15 seconds and then for no reason the resistance would increase for 5 seconds and then return to the earlier amount. I guess the bike was out of alignment in some way but it was odd that that changes came and went without any real pattern.
Background: I haven't forgotten this section. As I recall, I left off with having finally been able to finish crits. More to come soon.
News Item of the Day: Alessandro Petacchi held Oscar Freire at bay for an important morale-boosting win in Stage 6 of Tirreno-Adriatico Monday, but can the Italian sprint king win Milan-San Remo, a race that the Spaniard won one year ago? Many in the peloton question Petacchi's ability to cope on the climbs.
Petacchi rode the Fassa train with no fewer than five team-mates riding single file at the front of the pack in the last five kilometres of Monday's stage. But on a major classic, he won't have the luxury of such a distinguished supporting cast. Moreover, on two occasions during the week-long Race Between The Seas, his team-mates have had to bail him out in climbs.
"In last Friday's finish in Servigliano, he didn't sprint having lost the wheel of team-mate Fabio Sacchi for now apparent reason," points out French newspaper L'Equipe. "I simply suffered from cramps because I was dehydrated, and that's why I didn't sprint, for fear that they would return." But Petacchi's biggest handicap is well documented: he loses the plot at the slightest hint of any sort of tilt in the landscape. What will he do Saturday on the Poggio and the Cipressa?
His team nonetheless stands by the flamboyant 31-year old. Fassa Bortolo boss Giancarlo Ferretti, whose openly vented his rage at Petacchi when he dropped out on the very first ascent of the 2003 Tour de France praised Petacchi, who entered the final stage of Tirreno a mere 19 seconds back of overall leader Freire.
"One year ago, on a course like this one laden with obstacles, Petacchi would have been distanced at mid-race. Here, he's held on, which is the sign of a rider who's improving," Ferretti told L'Equipe. "So I don't understand why some are splitting hairs, unless it's because they have nothing better to write."
Viewpoint: Right now I have to lean to Freire for the win at M-SR, Boonen 2nd, Hondo 3rd. We'll see how those picks go.
Background: I haven't forgotten this section. As I recall, I left off with having finally been able to finish crits. More to come soon.
News Item of the Day: Alessandro Petacchi held Oscar Freire at bay for an important morale-boosting win in Stage 6 of Tirreno-Adriatico Monday, but can the Italian sprint king win Milan-San Remo, a race that the Spaniard won one year ago? Many in the peloton question Petacchi's ability to cope on the climbs.
Petacchi rode the Fassa train with no fewer than five team-mates riding single file at the front of the pack in the last five kilometres of Monday's stage. But on a major classic, he won't have the luxury of such a distinguished supporting cast. Moreover, on two occasions during the week-long Race Between The Seas, his team-mates have had to bail him out in climbs.
"In last Friday's finish in Servigliano, he didn't sprint having lost the wheel of team-mate Fabio Sacchi for now apparent reason," points out French newspaper L'Equipe. "I simply suffered from cramps because I was dehydrated, and that's why I didn't sprint, for fear that they would return." But Petacchi's biggest handicap is well documented: he loses the plot at the slightest hint of any sort of tilt in the landscape. What will he do Saturday on the Poggio and the Cipressa?
His team nonetheless stands by the flamboyant 31-year old. Fassa Bortolo boss Giancarlo Ferretti, whose openly vented his rage at Petacchi when he dropped out on the very first ascent of the 2003 Tour de France praised Petacchi, who entered the final stage of Tirreno a mere 19 seconds back of overall leader Freire.
"One year ago, on a course like this one laden with obstacles, Petacchi would have been distanced at mid-race. Here, he's held on, which is the sign of a rider who's improving," Ferretti told L'Equipe. "So I don't understand why some are splitting hairs, unless it's because they have nothing better to write."
Viewpoint: Right now I have to lean to Freire for the win at M-SR, Boonen 2nd, Hondo 3rd. We'll see how those picks go.
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