Knee Warmers or Thigh Warmers?

So Maggie B is one of my favorite riders. Big giant freak who rides hard. But what is going on in this picture? Knee warmers are supposed to cover your knees. What is he wearing thigh warmers? The mysteries of pro cycling.

cross bike is back from another mechanical meltdown. I am like kryptonite when it comes to smoothly functioning bikes

?????

Micheal Barry -closet journalist?

Samuel Abt better watch his back. Micheal Berry Canadian Columbia Rider just wrote an article about the Toronto CX races a few weekends ago. Does this foreshadow his post riding career?
Article here. And it isn't bad either. His book and columns in Velonews are good reads.

Taking a Knee -Cross weekend two

Woke up to perfect cross weather-drizzle and overcast. But I knew I wasn't going to race today. My legs felt dead, I got a good nights sleep, but woke up tired, and I was feeling a little sick. Since I don't get paid to race and since I have no form to speak of, it was back to bed not off to the races. Not a fun decision, but hopefully the right one. My rite of passage muddy cross race will have to wait until next Sunday.
Being a cyclist, you are constantly analyzing every sensation your body produces.
There are the obvious conditions-sick, injured, tired. But a cyclist's life is not a binary good/bad world. If you are not sick,injured, tired, it doesn't mean you are "good". Almost any ride usually starts with everyone cataloging there issues. The litany of sore this and strained that. From the front of the pack to the back, everyone usually has a laundry list of issues whether they are riding well or off the back.
So I hit the trainer and went for a long hike all bundled up. Felt better by the end of the day. Starting to get nervous. There are two weekends worth of races between now and Warwick. Most of the races have early starts and are about 2 hours away. I am usually a fan of the predawn roll out, but am having trouble getting my ass in gear. Regardless of how I do, these races will pay off next year either for spring road races or just a head start on handing for the 09 cross season. (come on super nerds, haven't you started to plan your 09 season? Battenkill Roubaix pre-reg starts in 33 days. Get ready.)
Chesire, EastHampton, Sterling, and/or Palmer. These are my choices before the big Warwick weekend. At least gas is getting cheap.

Stealth Beauty

This gets me so much more stoked than another lugged stem. Blink and you'll miss it. He's got a regular site and a blog. The blog would be good for you. Even if he is a 650B devotee.

A few things for Monday

This is the reason I read the forum on Velonews. This kind of tech-geek stuff as been in short supply lateley. Hats off to anyone with steady hands and time to burn, who can take apart ergo levers.

Second. I don't know how to feel about the auto industry, but a bailout seems like a bad move. This article puts it in some perspective. It is hard to see how loaning more money to a company capable of losing 2.5 Billion a quarter is going to help. Their CEO's performance on 60 minutes didn't help either.

Third, I enjoyed this Thomas Frank editorial from a few days ago.

How do you know you are skinny? When you crash your bike and rupture you spleen. Ask Niels Albert. Not much meat on him.

Last up. Baden Cooke to Rock Racing??? That is an upgrade for them. Kayle looks to exit stage left. Rock and Katusha are both cobbling together stronger riders, but don't seem to have a cohesive unit yet.

Mega Intro Bust

The Intro-Bust is probably one of the most crucial elements of a good show. A couple minutes of instro rock to build anticipation for the 1st song. Done right it is like bringing a pot of water to boil. There are four that I think rise above the masses
1.Intro to We Gotta Know-Cro Mags
2.Rise and Fall-Leeway
3.Back on the Map Intro Slapshot
4.I against I Bad Brains


Since the Cro-Mags Jam manage to drop both Rise and Fall and We gotta know into one mega intro, I think it is worth ignoring the Blair Witch quality of the video to enjoy it.
Frank gets the credit for finding this one.