bob evans -another forgotten classic

That Husker Du video I threw up the other day got me thinking about other classic three pieces of the past. Bob Evans sprang to mind and it is amazing how far down in the cracks this band seems to have fallen. Originally from NJ, but for most of their lifespan near Boston. Thanks to that, I got to see them countless times and they remain one of the best live bands I ever saw. Equal parts Husker Du and Bitch Magnet. Big massive rock.
They released 3 CDs on Skene and a final "major label debut" on Elektra/Skene. There were also a couple demo tapes, some comp tracks, a slpit single, and an Euro-only "greatest hits".
You can check out some songs on their myspace page.
It is a classic example of everything that is fucked with contemporary music that their "major label debut" The Bradley Suite can be had by you for as little as a penny on amazon. And their hands down classic top ten record of the 90s -"Jersey Barrier" will only set you back 65 cents??? Insane. I would imagine prices in any college town that still has a used cd store shouldn't be much more severe either. Buy it, Download it, Find it.
I don't want to let the nostalgia of long drives following these guys around cloud my vision, but imagine a DC meets Minneapolis version of Led Zeppelin and you are getting close. They were also one of the loudest and most powerful live bands I can remember seeing. They pulled it off while remaining some regular dudes.

While trying to dig around for any cool BE videos or music online, I found that Dave G has a band going with his wife. Check it here.

It is also worth giving some props to Minneapolis based label Skene who put out Bob Evans as well as a host of other good records. Phleg Camp, Jawbreaker, Green day, Fuel, Trenchmouth,-they all had some records out on Skene.

Dan Martin

Slipstream keeps pulling some epic performances from its young guys. Martin makes the break on stage one. Makes it threw stage two, and today follows Moreau up to the front and then drops him! to get the overall on GC. Granted Moreau isn't Merckx, but still. This kid is 23 or something. With one stage to go and 1:42 over his veteran rival Moreau, it looks like Martin has it in the bag. Nice work!
And in a final triumph, he doesn't even have a mustache!

Check Yo Self PSA

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What goes better with a PSA than a little Icecube. My summer was recently brought to a temporary and feverish halt by one small animal, I. Scapularis, the Black-Legged Tick aka the Deer Tick.
I spend a fair amount of time in the woods, waking the dog, cruising, etc so I guess it was inevitable it would happen.
I spent three days with a super high fever and chills flat on my ass. Antibiotics got it under control fast, but it is bad news. I will find out later this morning how it affected the bike riding (not hopeful)
Undiagnosed lyme disease can land you right into the "house of pain". Joint problems. nervous system problems. You name it.
I will keep the first ever WWDIS PSA short and sweet. Check yo self for these deer ticks if you are in the woods. East coast people especially. Cape and Western Mass people for sure. And if you find an easy to spot bullseye bite mark on you, get down to the clinic.
For professionals opinions check here



**scale in these photos in centimeters not inches.

Route de Sud -this is why you put riders in breaks

More pointless race analysis from the South of France. Thanks to my recent contraction of Lyme disease, I have had to much time to start at my computer.
First stage of Route de Sud today. 4 stages in 4 days means a close race all the way til the end. From the looks of it a 15 man breakaway put most of the race out of contention. There are 11 riders within a minute of the leader Simon Gerrans. With and additional 5 riders with in 2 minutes. After that you've got a rider 8 minutes back and the rest of the peloton at about 37 minutes back. How do you make that time up in 2 stages and a 17K ITT??? Game over.
This could be Christophe Moreau's big win of the season after getting dissed by the dauphine! He will need to be super aggressive and hope everyone has a shitty time trial to make it happen though.
15 teams in the race and only 2 teams with no riders in the break. Not a good look for Bouygues Telecom (the other team that didn't make the break only has 2 of 7 riders left in the race!) -although it does explain why Nicolas Crosbie was all alone at 8:35 minutes back trying to do damage control. 3 teams had 2 rides in the break or breaks(haven't seen a race report)
So that leaves all the teams to race for an most likely unintended leader. Gerrans vs Moreau seems likely, but do Slipstream have the power to keep Dan Martin in contention?
Nicholas Hartmann from Cofidis is a 2nd year pro who was 9th in this race last year and has given himself some room to improve on that. same goes for last years number 7 , Pasquale Muto who finished 4th today.
A race of relative unknowns with probably razor thin margins of victory.
Past winners have included Oscar Sevilla(07), Thomas Vokeler(06),Bradley McGee(05).Michael Rogers(04), and LetLeviRide(03). Vaughters won it in 99, so he should have the Slipstream guys on the front all day. Over half the teams will not be at the TDF so his riders had better be ready to perform. I guess I have unrealistic expectations for Slipstream/chipotle/garmin, but couldn't they race a littel more like CSC (saxo-bank)?? And will Garmin GPS now come preloaded with all Chipolte locations?
For some reason this is more interesting to me right now than the Tour de Suisse although Kirchen, Lövkvist, and Cunegos performance today can't hurt their odds with the tour bookies.

11 Speed Campy -thoughts on the unveiling.

I am a Campy guy and was looking forward to the offical release of the new groups. Like most people the odd photos of the brifter that were on that bianchi freaked me out, but I had no choice to wait it out. Well plenty of coverage is out know and here are a few things that make me nervous.

1.Acronyms. Never a good sign and the new groups have C.U.L.T, E.S.P, and U.S.B. Sounds like BS to me. If they didn't work for Van Halen, Acronyms are not going to work for you.
2.3D graphics on the bora wheels-how does that help aerodynamics? At least dimples on Zipps came with some sort of windtest data.
3.New photos of the brake levers are much nicer than the ones that surface on that Bianchi, but the cutouts in the carbon levers? Maybe an attempt at a throwback? Not feeling it. Metal got drilled cause it was "heavy", that's why you started making metal parts in CF. Is there a functional purpose or does it just give the lever a better place to snap in a crash?
4.New chains every what? 1000 miles? New cassettes how much more frequently? Until the benefit of old #11 is established this looks like a money grab by decreasing longevity of the parts. The saying goes, "Light, Strong,Durable-pick two". Campy is already claiming the chain is "lighter and stronger" so you know what is missing.
5.The C.U.L.T bearings tragically come from a German company called Ina-Fag. Say that one out loud.
6. The price of Record is almost irrelevant to me as it is unlikely I will ever ride it, but coming up with a group that will cost 17% more than Record? That is crazy.
Cyclingnews and Velonews have all the pictures.
Won't really know til I ride it which won't be soon unless it's on a demo bike. Campy addressed the bottom bracket and brakes last year and this year hit the shifters which were due for some love. As for 11 speeds? The jury is out, but if I have to buy chains more often, that extra gear had better make me the fastest old cat 5 in history.....

Frank Schleck crash footage is insane. The footage is also on the Gazzetta della Sport page, Belgian commentators are superior in my opinion expect for the string of "mama mia's" that one of the Italians lets go after Frank goes over the rail.

OCD on bike colors Top Five

1.SE Racing blue/brown combo. Seemed a little wrong in my youth, but has stood the test of time and next to the #2 is for me the definitive choice for bike color. Check this out for proof.
2.Merckx/Molteni Orange/Blue. Not much else to say. Timeless classic.
3.DeVlaeminck had the edge for coolest jersey, but a basic blue Gios has never grabbed me. However a maroon Colnago does do the trick-worked for Saronni and works in modern times.
4.Merckx is back for his 7-11 frames. Classic color scheme-which he came close to with again Motorola, but not quite.
5.So I guess I am a traditionalist. Solid colors and panels seem to rule my favs. No Landshark paint splatters,fades, flames, or extreme masking jobs. Although this frame has grown on me over the years. Very Italian, but the flat black works for me. Can't say why cause the pink and blue Lampre kit is Ugly.