With that said, I would also like to state that I pretty much hate National Bike To Work Day. In fact, I will go so far as to say that the entire thing actually makes me kind of angry on a number of levels.
Primarily, I get frustrated that this is the only day of the year during which I will see 99% of these people. But after some thought (as well as nearly getting taken out by a gaggle of ignorant and dangerous “commuters” on both morning and lunch rides), I have realized that this may not be a bad thing.
Note to all of those unfamiliar with cycling lingo: “On Your Left” means that I am going to pass you “on your left.” This dictates that you should move to your right – where you should have been to begin with. Apparently there are a lot of people who do not know their right from left out there.
Unfortunately, I have unwittingly stumbled upon Bike To Work Day over the last few years while on my near-daily ride to the Lab and may actually plan on driving to work next year instead. It will probably be safer than attempting to navigate the bike routes and numerous helmet-less donkeys populating them on this one day of the year. Seriously, I saw more people almost crash or get hit by cars this morning than I have in the other 364 days of the year combined. This can’t be a good thing can it?
Here is my Hypothesis:
Bike To Work Day may actually harm the overall image of bicycle commuters.
Argument:
On a normal day, there are a handful of bicycle commuters who are accustomed to riding safely in traffic and generally respect the rules of the road or bike path. For the most part, these cyclists portray a positive, healthy and environmentally conscious image. I, for one, am proud to consider myself a member of this group.
The reason I mention this is because it is critical to differentiate the people that actually commute on a regular basis from those individuals who take this one day of the year to dust off their potentially un-roadworthy bikes and cause mayhem on the roads and paths of our country.
Does anyone else think that it may be slightly problematic to have a single day in which the number of bicycle commuters increases by a factor of 10? And the overwhelming majority of the increase consists of dangerously unsafe people who rarely, if ever, ride their bikes? Call me crazy but this just seems like a recipe for disaster and frustration – for both drivers and other cyclists alike.
If my feelings and those which I inferred from the faces of the many annoyed drivers I encountered this morning are any indication, National Bike To Work Day may as well be called “A Year of Responsible Commuting and Road Sharing Efforts Diminished by a Bunch of People Who Don’t Represent the Cause or Have to Deal with the Consequences Day.”
I truly hope that some people actually convert into “real” commuters because of Bike To Work Day. And I really hope that the image of bicycle commuters as a whole is not degraded by the actions of the many people who treat this as a holiday and not a way of life.
I would like to conclude by extending my apologies to anyone who may feel insulted by some of these comments. I’m sorry that you don’t have a helmet, a safe bike or a basic understanding of traffic and bike path safety. Trust me, I do feel bad about that. But in the words of Snoop Dogg, “Don’t get mad. I’m only being real.”
I’m just happy that no one from the Amore & Vita-McDonalds team won so we wouldn’t have to bear the sight of that kit again. Metlushenko is legit though.
With that said, sometimes I think they should make the Tour 
Interestingly, I had a fairly lengthy discussion with a gaggle of soon-to-be Aunts the night before Slipstream won the 
Maybe they 
I would say that the all-white kit is a Euro thing but Ryan 
I guess at the end of the day, I’ll base my opinion off of the various insults I received after admitting that I ride with an 
It is ludicrous that I once used to put in 500+ mile weeks with no music. At this point, I can barely fathom making my 3.5 mile commute to and from work without my Apple companion. Seriously, riding solo without my iPod is now similar to riding without a helmet. Something just doesn’t feel right. The bike still works the same and the legs are normal but there is just something missing.
Alejandro Valverde – Almost everyone acknowledges that Valverde is a phenomenally talented bike racer. But most people are unaware of the fact that he really wants to be a pop singer. In fact, his greatest hero is Enrique Iglesias. Whether this is due to the music or the fact that Julio’s son is dating Anna Kournikova remains to be seen.
Side note: Colin Hay, the lead singer from MAW is pretty baritone and the thought of Cadel singing tunes with his little munchkin voice made me laugh up some Cytomax when I was on my ride. Just thought you should know.
Tom Boonen – Staying true to his Belgian roots, Boonen is all about the music of his homeland. Sadly, Belgium doesn’t exactly have a huge presence in the global music industry and Tomeke has been forced to listen to Technotronic on a daily basis since they came out with “Pump Up The Jam” in the early Nineties. It has even been reported that lead singer Ya Kid K traded a signed cassette tape of their only hit single for one of Boonen’s World Champion jerseys.
Christophe Moreau – It’s all about Celine Dion for Le Chien and it is well known that he will listen to nothing other than the French-Canadian songstress. Moreau was actually in Las Vegas last year during Interbike but never made it to the exhibition because he was waiting outside Celine Dion’s dressing room the entire time. When they finally met she told him that he needed to race more intelligently.
The creator of “Rock Me Amadeus” was an important role model for Kohl until his untimely passing a few years ago and the rider dedicated his 2006 national championship victory to the singer/rapper. Seriously though, Falco is often referred to as a rapper or hip hop musician which is…interesting.
It should also be noted that D-Zab is quite fond of Dr. Dre and “The Chronic.” Where do you think the slogan “DZ’s Nuts” came from? “Did what’s his name get at ya?”
Jens Voigt – I had a chance to check out Voigt’s iPod when I was at the Tour of California a few months ago and was somewhat surprised by the contents. There were only two entries – the theme song to Walker, Texas Ranger and a podcast of the entire Delta Force script.
Since 2004, Cunego has been saddled with the unfortunate nickname “The Little Prince” after his stunning victory in the Giro d’Italia at the age of 22. But despite his diminutive size and similar appearance to the lead character in the famous book by Saint-Exupery, the Italian has made it clear that he no longer wants to be referred to as “The Little” anything.
A thoroughly confused British reporter then asked for clarification of what he was talking about, to which Cunego responded, "Don't get me wrong, I liked Purple Rain and respect the guy as a musician but I really don’t know how much I have in common with Prince. It is true that we both dated Carmen Electra for awhile but beyond that, there are not too many similarities. Plus, the guy is like 5'2" and about 90lbs so I am pretty much like Magnus Backstedt compared to him."
"There is also the fact that we have both gone on to outshine the guys that were our original partners. The Fresh Prince has kind of left DJ Jazzy Jeff in the dust when it comes to mainstream popularity and some could say that I have done the same thing to Gilberto Simoni. We began as a team but it was clear early on who had the most star power," explained Cunego to the crowd of reporters.
At this point, a Belgian reporter asked if Cunego was still a fan of The Doors and Jim Morrison, which has been widely publicized over the past years. The blonde Italian responded, "Well, I still like The Doors but I am becoming a much bigger Hip Hop fan now. That's part of the reason I want to be called 'The Fresh Prince.' I was thinking about maybe calling myself 'Prince Diddy' or 'MC Cunnilego' but those weren't very catchy. We don't have much good Hip Hop music to listen to over here in Europe so I am only really familiar with a few acts but I'm getting better. I just found out about Wu-Tang Clan and really like ODB a lot."
After yet another frustrating Classics campaign, George Hincapie will no doubt take solace in this notion. Following yet another badly timed mechanical in Paris-Roubaix, Melanie’s husband will no doubt have to overcome whispers that he is too old to ever win the Hell of the North. But while time may not be his strongest ally at this point, the date on your driver’s license is rarely an indication of how fast you can ride a bike or how lucky you can be on any given Sunday in Hell.
Gabrielle Carteris was in her 30’s when she played Andrea Zuckerman in Beverly Hills 90210. Seriously, for the first year of the show she was playing a character that was literally half her age. But even as old as she seemed, it should be noted that she was only a couple years older than Dylan McKay and Steve Sanders in real life. Sanders had the curly mullet and dolphin shorts to distract the eyes but Dylan showed that High Schoolers could have receding hairline and still be cool.
On a brief side note, Beverly Hills 90210 is my choice as the most Unintentionally Funny television program of all time. It is absolutely hilarious. For reasons I will not get into right now, I started watching Nine-Oh in college and have always considered it a Comedy. Between the fashion, the casting, the acting and the storylines, it is truly right up there behind Seinfeld and Cheers. Tori Spelling was a comedic genius and she didn’t even know it.
For reference, his given name is Hendrik Gerardus Jozef Zoetemelk but he went by “Joop.” Kind of like Arthur Fonzarelli just went by “Fonzie.”
Speaking of Happy Days, C-Mac pointed out the other day that both Joanie and Chachi are currently on television regularly. Not much to say here, but I just thought you should know that in 2008, Joanie and Chachi are both still on TV. But Ralph Malph is nowhere to be seen. Is this progress?
Similarly, Robert Romanus will always be known best for his portrayal of Mike Damone, the ticket scalping dirt bag from Fast Times at Ridgemont High even though he famously reprised the role of Natalie Green’s boyfriend “Snake” in the later years of the Facts of Life. I am not sure exactly how old Romanus was when he played that character but I wouldn’t be surprised if he was pushing 40 like Duclos-Lassalle in Roubaix.
It could be argued that the students in the sitcom Head of the Class were in the advanced learning program because they were all old enough to be in grad school. The uber-nerdy Arvid Engen was just the most glaring example. After all, this is the show that had Robin Givens (who was married to Mike Tyson in real life) playing a High School student on television.
Does anyone remember the episode where they go to the former USSR with the debate team? That was excellent. Kind of like Rocky IV with nerds. And Dr. Johnny Fever from WKRP in Cincinnati.
Now, I have been forced to watch Grease a few times and my biggest problem with the entire movie (and I have lots of problems with it) is the fact that they had a 34 year old Stockard Channing playing Rizzo, a high school student. 34!!! The whole movie is kind of a joke in that nearly everyone was way too old, but still. 34? That’s just insulting.
I know I have left out a lot of racers that have been successful into their 30’s as well as many older actors playing younger characters, but this will have to do for now. I’m still trying to get over the fact that Andrea Zuckerman is pushing 50. I feel old.
Interestingly, Hincapie never would have made it on Beverly Hills 90210 or Head of the Class because he has always looked older than he is. I remember that he even had full-on 5 o’clock shadow at Junior Nationals back in the day. Twenty years later I still can’t grow a beard but Big George had one back in 1988. I call this the “Greg Oden Effect” but that is another topic for another day.
It makes perfect sense when you think about it. If there is a small group going into the finale, the sprinters who made the selection will have maybe one teammate with them if they are lucky. And the chances that those teammates will be on the verge of cracking is pretty high. The team leaders (Pozzato, Freire etc) are not going to chase any moves at that point because they will be thinking about the sprint. So, beside the teammates that leaves maybe a couple guys who don’t have strong kicks to take the responsibility of chasing down a late attack with the slim hopes that they can bridge and get away solo by themselves. Not bloody likely. It was the perfect scenario for a late move and Cancellara made it look easy.
I know I heckled the 
I don’t care how good the racing is…San Dimas will always be known as the hometown of Bill and Ted in my book. It seems that Oscar Sevilla certainly could have used their Phone Booth Time Machine last weekend. “Strange things are afoot at the Circle K.”
So, in conclusion…Fabian Cancellara is quite strong, Rock Racing needs a better watch sponsor, it’s a tough life being a Cat. 2 in Boulder and Jens Voigt eats pieces of sh*t like the Criterium International for breakfast. Any questions?
Anyway, all surname silliness aside, respect should be given for the following list of events won by The Rebel Without A Consistently Pronounced Name. There are not many other riders out there right now with a resume like this:
I had the chance to meet Gesink for a brief moment before the TT at the Tour of California and he seems like a pretty cool guy. He certainly fits the Tall & Skinny mold for great Dutch riders and of course, speaks nearly perfect English. His quote from Paris-Nice actually reminded me of the old Saturday Night Live commercial for an adult diaper product called “Oops I Crapped My Pants.” For those who do not recall (I feel sorry for you), the bit ended with an older man looking into the camera and saying “Thanks, Oops I Crapped My Pants…I just did.” Classic. Perhaps Gesink has seen this sketch too, and perhaps he will not be so quick to don the yellow shorts next time.
LL Cool Sanchez’ frantic final stretch along the harbor in Nice provided great drama and actually reminded me of one of the most harrowing experiences of my entire life. Back in the day, I rented a scooter in Nice and rode up through Monaco and returned via Eze back to the city. Despite getting hollered at by a cop in Monte Carlo for not having rear-view mirrors on my rented scooter, it was an amazing day. That is, until I got back to Nice. I ended up getting turned around and kind of lost during rush-hour traffic in the city, with the clock ticking on my scooter return and immediately used up about 6 lives dodging through the maniacal French traffic on my way back to the motorcycle shop.
Then the rental guy told me the gas was too low and charged me extra anyway. Sweet! I was pretty annoyed at the time but in retrospect it was worth it, because now I know what it’s like racing through the heart of Nice. Well, at least on a scooter. In rush-hour traffic.