Srsly, is it cx ssn yt?

First, watch this:






Now... I did the Coppi cat 5 last weekend, and I'm ready for cross season. I yo yoed on and off the back for the first six miles, and I lost the group on the unpleasant climb on the unmarked road on the backside of the course. I rode a little with an NCVC guy and an Evolution guy, but it was a more or less very uneventful race. I did manage to hit my highest ever speed on a descent: 45.7mph. Pretty exhilarating hurtling down tarmac in my underwear and a little piece of plastic on my brain at that speed.

More importantly, I'm done with hills this summer. I could dedicate myself for the next 6 weeks to race in West Virginia and Tennessee, or I could ride base for cross in the fall (and drink beer and watch the TdF and hang out with a small hipster). I choose cross.

Speaking of which, I'm converting the double crank to a single. I want to stick with my FSA Gossamer crankset, but I'm interested in recommendations on chainguards and gearing for the front and the back. Any suggestions?

Watching the "Dolly Parton" stage of the TdF and listening to L'Amour by Louise Attaque. Also, Lance just said "good morning" into the moto-camera. What a whore. Also also, the Cervelo TT boys have very big faces. Anorexia? EPO? Anorepoxia?

I have to post this while Nocentini is still in yellow

I went out to LA in February to watch Stage 6 of the Tour of California. I got a spot on the climb just up the road from the Rose Bowl parking lot that was included on the 5-mile course ending circuit.

The important thing to note about this particular stage is that Rinaldo Nocentini was the winner. The important thing to note about his victory (and my presence at the ToC) is that I got some cool shots of him as he rode away from the publicity tent.

So here you go, while Nocentini is still in yellow...





Listening to Girls & Boys by Blur, but very quietly; my roommate is asleep.

Headline: Garmin Posts 3 Riders in TdF Top Ten GC

After notching a solid second place in the team time trial Tuesday, Garmin-Slipstream Sports took over the 2009 Tour de France top ten in General Classification. Three Garmin riders, Bradley Wiggins and David Millar of the UK and Dave Zabriskie of the US sit at 6, 10, and 9, respectively. Each rider is within 1'07 of race leader Fabien Cancellara of SaxoBank.

Well, that would be the headline if Astana didn't have five guys in the top seven! Holy shit, I guess this is what it would be like if the Yankees got what they paid for and won 125 games every year.

More importantly, my picks for the TdF final GC:
1) Alberto Contador - he'll come back to life in the high mountains
2) Carlos Sastre - he was just climbing too well in the last week of the Giro
3) Andy Schleck - I have so much faith in the kid, I can't not put him on the podium
4) Lance Armstrong - he looks fantastic and he's riding so smart right now
5) Andreas Kloden - another "I've been on the podium at the TdF, but I'm a domestique this year" Astana rider
6) Denis Menchov - he's already fallen back with the TTT, but he'll settle in
7) Christian Vande Velde - but only as a testament to the strength of his team
8) Kim Kirchen - see above
9) Cadel Evans - in spite of his team
10) Levi Leipheimer - four out of the top ten ain't bad

What do you folks think?

The body wants what the body wants

And right now the body wants to scream in pain. I imagine my jaw is infected, but I'll find out one way or another later this week.

I just stumbled upon a GamJams Coaches Roundtable question that I submitted (sound of own horn tooting) about riding unattached. It's a great discussion, now if only all of the other riders in the area didn't have the chance to read it too.

I had my first ride post-op Sunday. I'm aware that this may sound like I recently returned from a medical tourism trip from Thailand. I did 90 minutes tempo on the trainer, as I was afraid to leave the house with the knowledge I could start bleeding out the mouth at any time. Note that this does not generally prevent me from participating in other leisure-time activities. The ride went as well as could be expected, and I streamed a netflix movie for good measure. Pretty solid, for a talkie.

So now I'm thinking, my legs feel good, the pain in my jaw is manageable, how's about a real training ride. So I had a big bowl of squishy pasta and squishy vegetables for lunch in preparation for intervals at Hains Monday night. What I failed to take into consideration, though, is that painkiller-assisted sleep does not always work as well as its standalone counterpart. So I slept until the evening TdF coverage (those tricky fucking Columbia riders!) then packed in for an early night's sleep.

Oh, hello jaw pain, I didn't expect to see you tonight. My jaw feels like my legs do in that split second before I pop. It has for the last two hours now. This is downright unbearable. I can't even force myself to suffer on the bike this much, but maybe I will now. These are all growth experiences.

Here's hoping the pain in my jaw turns to pain in my legs. Listening to Frederic Chopin's Nocturne No. 37 part 1. It put me to sleep in high school, maybe it'll do the same now.

Mark Cavendish's sunglasses

Another day of sitting around while I wait for my jaw to heal...

I've got a healthy obsession with Mark Cavendish, and I exercise this obsession by attempting to accessorize like Cav in an effort to add that last niggling 13 mph to my sprint. I've got the green jersey from Cav's ToC points championship, and now I'm on the lookout for the Manxman's sunglasses. Not his racing glasses, but his super cool podium stunner--or rather "sprinner"--shades. I first thought they were Rayban Wayfarers, but they don't sell those with that superfast colorway. Then I stumbled onto this picture, and saw they were Oakleys. Still can't figure out which model though. If anybody knows, drop me a line.

Listening to Don't You Evah by Spoon. It was on at the bicycle store and I can't get it out of my head.

Living in DC and Paranoia

I've been basically bed-ridden for the last 24 hours after having 3 wisdom teeth removed, doing the best I can to talk myself out of just spending a few minutes riding the trainer. How serious can the doctor be about 1 week without substantial exercise? Doesn't he know I'm racing in two weeks? How inconsiderate...

So instead of riding or working, I've been reading up on my blogs. I found something on the Bike Snob DC's website that has me a little worried, but at the same time feeling foolishly paranoid. BSDC apparently spotted some closed streets near our three government seat buildings. Normally, I would just classify this as another self-important District resident thinking the world is out to get him. Trouble is that I too have noticed an inordinate amount of road closures around the Capitol in the evenings in the last 2-3 weeks. So am I crazy too? Are you nervous about being in DC on the 4th?

The terriers attacked the World Trade Center the first time one month after Bill Clinton was inaugurated the first time and 8 months after W's first inaugural. I feel like this is a pattern, and I'm sure our friends who work for all the three-letter agencies in town are on top of it, but still, I'm feeling just a little gun shy these days, but maybe that's just all the pain pills talking.

Listening to a live version of Sex on Fire by Kings of Leon.

Matt & Kim, Major Lazer, and Phoenix, oh my!

It was a big weekend for awesome music in DC. Natalie Portman’s Shaved Head is still going strong in their June Friday night residency at DC9, Bacardi put on a free show at Rock n Roll Hotel Saturday night, and Camera Obscura played the 9:30 club Sunday night while Phoenix played RnR. I made it to the Bacardi show (Matt & Kim and Major Lazer) Saturday and the Phoenix show Sunday. I booked a room at the RnR Hotel Saturday night to cut down on travel time.

Hot, Sweaty, Smiley Dance Party with Matt & Kim

I want you to think back to all the shows you’ve seen in small clubs. Remember them? Don’t forget when you saw the Kings of Leon under their original name, Three Brothers and a Cousin from Hendersonville. Ok, good. Now think about the most fun of all those shows. Got it? Now, tally up all of the smile-hours emitted by the audience during that show. Get out your times tables, I’ll wait. Perfect. Take that number and multiply it by two. That’s how much Matt Johnson and Kim Schilfino smiled during their set at the Rock n Roll Hotel Saturday night.

In addition to being smiling goons, Matt & Kim are very proficient, energetic, personable musicians and performers. Matt told a story about the roots of the Rock n Roll Hotel–that it had most recently been a funeral home–and suggested that they change the name to Rock n Roll Funeral Home. Sounds pretty swish if you ask me.

Matt & Kim

Kim is all smiles, all the time

Moral of the story: Matt & Kim put on an awesome show and you should go see them if you every have the chance. No exceptions.

Bacardi B-Live Tour

So I mentioned M&K and Major Lazer were part of a Bacardi tour… the only thing I’ll say about this part of the night is that the mixologists Bacardi makes you wait 20 minutes for are worth it. Holy shit. Bell peppers, pineapple, cilantro, honey, jalapeno, blood orange soda, and rum makes a delicious cocktail.

Guns Don’t Kill People, LAZERS DO!

Major Lazer are Diplo and Switch, two British DJs who had nothing better to do with their summer than pretend to be a Reggaeton dance group. I used to pretend to be a DJ (look for dj sun on the imadj record label. you won’t find anything), so I dig live DJ sets. It was cool when they would get into songs that were recognizable from their album, but it was basically just a dark, sweaty, hip hop dance party with a potentially-Jamaican emcee. The visual entertainment was provided by two dancers (I’ll imagine they’re Jamaican too) and some drunk and suggestable audience members. Their photos are omitted, just in case.

Diplo and Switch are behind that big boombox. Promise.

Dancers. Presumably Jamaican.

Phoenix–More than just a Dot on the Map in Arizona

Phoenix are a 6-piece French band out of Versailles that the Decider calls the “un-French French band.” I don’t know what that means.

The first thing I’ll say about Phoenix is they’re all excellent musicians. Thomas Mars sounds live exactly like he sounds on studio albums. It’s really remarkable. I’m not sure if vox just generally go uncorrected with this hipster music (Matt sounded pretty spot-on Saturday), but Mars has the kind of voice that sounds like it’s totally uneffected by seasonal allergies. So clear. All said, good show, would’ve liked to have been a little better versed in their catalogue, but not knowing songs doesn’t really take away from a great performance.

Phoenix were more interested in seeing us than in us seeing them.

If anyone when to see Camera Obscura Sunday night, I’d love to hear how the show was. Listening to French Navy for posterity's sake.