NIght Marchers

This is quite a record. Nightmarchers is a new band for John Reis. At first it seemed he was comfortable being very "DC" with his bands breaking up and reforming at a break neck pace, but on this record there is a little more frustration than usual evident in the lyrics. This really feels like a California record to me-from the cover art to the guitar sounds. Reis really steps out as a guitar player on this record-the funky Hendrix riffing on "Who's Lady RU?" for example. There is also a heavy Dirtbombs vibe on a few songs.
Plenty of songs maintain the RFTC standard for horny, teenage vampire lyrics and a few songs tread into painful rockabilly/cow punk territories, but the stand outs are the ones that break the mold. Better an inconsistent effort that is swinging for the fences than one that stays to close to the past.
"Jump in the Fire" and "You've got Nerve" are the standout tracks. Both are bitter yet hopeful melodic songs. I don't want to push the Cali analogy too far but it reminds me of the a disillusioned Dennis Wilson toiling away on a soon to be forgotten solo album(allright so the new Dennis Wilson rerelease hype has gotten to me)
Anyway. It's more straight ahead rock then the Hot Snakes, but it is not as consistently bombastic or over the top as RFTC.



13 songs on Vagrant records.

Random Rock Racing observations

It would be a lot easiser to like rock racing if they got rid of the whole devil horn salute thing. Hamilton gets a win and spoils what will probably be his swan song victory with a pretty feeble set of horns. Looks more like a deaf kid trying to say "I love you" than someone bugging out to Black Sabbath to me.
Second, how can you make a deep section wheel really stand out? Paint it neon green. I love the 80s


I guess I should count my blessings, waking up to random rock racing silliness beats waking up to another Tour doping scandal.....

RaceMaster. What is in a name

BMC have always come out with some unique designs. The new "race master SLX01" continues that tradition. Supposedly cheaper and stiffer than the Pro-Machine. It wins on looks as well for me.
I was never a fan of the lower shorter seat stays. I think I first saw them on LeMond Chambrey ,maybe, but somehow they work with this bike. Supposed to stiffen up the frame and make it respond more aggressively to a turn of the pedals. The unpainted frame looks sick and the painted frame definitely looks like it would live up to its claims.
There are a few bikes out now that just look fast. But some bikes look they are meant to nothing but race and race fast-the Fuji SL1 for example. The SLX01 is one too. So sick, it transcends the goofy tech paint job and uber logo attack.

But what really seals the deal for me is the name. Isn't Switzerland one of those pseudo-Aryan countries with limited senses of humour? That would explain how the might miss the whole irony of the "race master" VS "master race" thing with the frames name. Oops. The hills are alive with the sound of "DOH!!!"


The only possible downside to this bike is not being able to ride it fast enough.

Cobra turns out to be a real snake

So half way through one of the best tours in the last couple years and the doping postives are dripping out daily like chinese water torture.
I have always had a soft spot for the cocky little prick Ricco, but fuck him. I would have guessed Piepoli would have gotten caught before Ricco. It is really getting to the point, where you have to question any above average peformance. What an asshole.
I hope that this does not make this tour as meaningless as the 50 million dollar bill above. By the way in Zimbabwe right now that bill will buy you 2 loaves of bread and you would need about 5 of them to equal one US dollar. Don't laugh, the way the US economy is going, it is only a matter of time before Bono is doing debt relief campaigns in Ohio.

On a more postive note the Boston Globe had a nice tour phot series on line here. Check out H.Haussler's crash photo. Is his race number electrical taped to his frame? I can understan why a top level pro bike would not have a pump peg, but no number hanger? Not even zip ties????? Germans must be pretty cheap. Also check the beefy mount for the computer, not very "pro" if you ask me.

Hell up on Hautacam

Pretty epic stage. As I was watching the attacks and counter attacks, I was starting to wonder if maybe the lack of decisive knockout was due to a more level playing field? Whatever the reason it makes for a fun race to watch. I also got to watch the race about 3 times as VS kept replaying it.
Why did Milram chase so hard? They missed out on the break, but who did they have for GC? Maybe Slipstream called in a favor?
The "jump out of your car in your underwear" ad is funny.
Rémy Di Grégorio went for it and that was doomed but admirable.
Check the replay, around 70K in Oscar Friere appears to be fiddling with his shoes and maybe planning on changing them while holding onto the team car-watch the tape and tell me if I'm wrong.
Spanairds take the loss today. Valverde got some bad luck on top of some bad riding. Sastre had his team blow the race up, but couldn't deliver the goods. Jens Voigt went off like a bomb on the Tourmelat. That was unreal and Sastre couldn't seal the deal. People rag on Evans for following wheels, but no one ever seems to comment on Sastre's attacks that never work.

Hats off to Saunier Duval. How many times will Piepoli and Ricco be able to do the 2 stage victory trade off? Cobo rode like a beast.
Vandevelde rode well and even if his last K attack fizzled, it was rad to see him attack.
Unless there are some major shake ups in the alps, the stage 20 ITT is going to be crucial and may decide the race on the 2nd to last day.

Cabellero Neck

The entrance to the pain cave is small and hard to enter. I have noticed that my body has a subtle transformation it goes through to help me ease into the cave. The first sign of system failure for me on a ride is when my neck drops down and to the left-not unlike the the legendary Faction shredder. Now with my overall height reduced slightly, I can roll right into the cave. Thanks body.
Once the neck goes the rest of my body usually follows-shoulders start to roll, cadence gets erratic. Sagging. Shutting down. Sad but true.
A sagging neck is probably not as cool as a random throbbing vein in your leg, but I am no Fausto Coppi. (Since most people know this story, I choose a site with the most random English translation ever of the infamous vein story and Coppi vs Bartali rivalry. ESL gone wrong.)

And what is going on in this clip? Does Cab have on bib shorts under his gear?