Absolutely fantastic news for cycling: Lance Armstrong will ride in 2009 for Team Astana. He's riding to raise awareness. “If cancer got a whole new name tomorrow and a whole new set of fears associated with it and it had the toll that it does, we would act. Look at all those other things they act upon. Forget war and terror. Look at sars. Remember the bird flu? Remember all that stuff? aids, people freaked. Those were new, scary issues that all of a sudden were going to come jump...

I ask Landis how he responds when people tell him, "I want to believe you, but I just can't because it's so hard these days." "I'd say, 'OK, fine. Don't believe me,'" he says. "But take a look at this stuff in the lab and tell me you'd like to be subjected to that type of testing. It's fine if you don't believe me, but just admit that they didn't prove that I doped. Nobody should be subjected to crappy work like that. If I did my job like those...

Today, I watched the most impressive, EPIC display of guts I've ever seen. Floyd Landis was leading the race yesterday and cracked, losing eight minutes on the rest of the field. Instead of just giving up, Landis rode out today and took SEVEN plus minutes back today. I would have bet you a million dollars that it wasn't possible......

The lack of updates lately has been downright pitiful. I'll save you the bemoaning about packing, moving, being scared, etc... There's a great photo/ride report of a couple of cyclists' ride around Lake Tahoe. It's hosted on a site I volunteer my time as a moderator and it confirms that Lubbock, TX may possibly be the most uninspiringly ugly place on earth. Enjoy....

Definitely not a Doper....

Nights like tonight further my assertion that a good bike ride is all you need in life. Add in a couple of great people and you've got yourself a really good time. Tonight, I met up with Steve and Suzanne (who just got a new bike) and my buddy Justin for a little ride. Intending to do 15-20 miles on the canyon lakes trail, we ended up doing 35 and riding all over the West side of the County. I'm proud to say that I was the weak link...

The first week of the Tour is always pretty boring. It's always long, flat stages. Mix in a few crashes, and numerous shots of guys taking a leak, and you've got some pretty mediocre racing. Until now, the Tour looked completely over. Armstrong put a minute into all of his competitors on the first day and no one did anything for the rest of the week. Enter the first mountain. Discovery Channel has some great climbers and there's usually at least two of them with Lance on most every...

Day One and the Tour is already blown to pieces. Goodness....

The Cyclysm II starts in just two days! For those 23 days, I'll spend 2-3 hours each day watching the race coverage and secretly rooting for Jan Ullrich. I love Lance, but the best Tour I saw was the one where Jan was a force. In 2003, there was so much drama and suspense. 2004 was b-o-r-i-n-g. I want Lance to win, but I want it to be close like in '03. The race was decided on the second to last day on a long time-trial. Ullrich went down...

Ever since last summer when I was taken out by a dog, I've always been a little leery of dogs. Obviously. Tonight, this dog came out of nowhere and got me. Usually, with bigger dogs like this, they just want to chase. They'll run at you, scare you, and then before getting to you, they turn and run with you. This dog ran right at me, went for my right leg, but missed and ran into the back of my bike. The rear of my bike slid into the...

Over the weekend of March 4th - 6th, Market Street had a big event called the Living Well Expo. I saw several of you guys there, but for the people who missed, it was basically a big showcase of the store and services we offer. It was a lot of fun, but also a lot of work. Over Valentine's weekend, I was promoted to the Sales and Sampling Coordinator. You might think my job was just to organize the little ladies handing out free food. But it's a little different,...

It's really strange how, every year, Spring seems to sneak up on me. I never notice the subtle change in weather. It's just that one day, I notice it's warm and the grass is turning greener and the weeds are back in full force. I'm excited to get back on the bike more often. I've been riding pretty regularly, but mostly at night in the cold. It'll be nice to get out on the road and work on a sweat. This time of year is all about renewal and...

Let me tell you, it's painful to have to post something new. By doing so, our naked friends of the East will be relegated to history, and I'm sure that everyone will be sad to see them go. Goodbye Friends. Moving on... Last night, I commuted to work, in what I hope to be the first of many times. Ever since I started the bicycling, I'd wanted to shed the car in favor of the bike more often. But it's hard because of the goofy outfit and the helmet-hair. Oh...

The Killers album "Hot Fuss" and my new Gary Fisher Tassajara mountain bike....

There's so many great things about the bicycle; so much that I can't even begin to talk about it's greatness. Luckily, there's a gigantic community of cyclists from all over the world to help. This gentleman and his friends rode around 500km throughout the Hunan Provence of China, and documented everywhere they rode, and everything they ate. It's inspiring. Go read the rest....

Welcome to your new home, Gaerne Podium Carbon Road Shoes....

Here's two great reasons to become a cyclist... Will Ferrel & Robin Williams I can't imagine trying to stay in line at 20mph while these guys are cracking jokes and impressions....

I've officially lost my mind. I want to do this in a couple of summers....

The Texas Tumbleweed Tour was this morning, hosted by the West Texas Cycling Association. Those of you who live in Lubbock know the kind of luck I had this morning. Since when does it rain in the mornings? It was pouring cats and dogs at 6:30 when I got the bike out and headed over to Mae Simmons for the 8am start. It rained so hard they held the start for 40 minutes waiting for the lightning to pass over. 12.5 miles into the tour, Allen and Justin (two...

(picture: not really Lubbock, it's Tuscany. not really us, we're fatter) Yesterday, I made my first group ride since getting my bike. My buddy Justin from work (cycling god), Allen Kirk (fellow huffer and puffer), and myself (why did I want to go so far?) went on a 33.5 mile adventure through the Canyon Lakes Trail and out to New Deal and back. Allen and I are both new riders, so this was a pretty big day for us. On Saturday, we're going to be riding in the Tumbleweed...

"Bikesagainstbush creator Joshua Kinberg was arrested while taping an interview with MSNBC's Ron Reagan in Manhattan Saturday afternoon. Kinberg was stopped by police while demonstrating the bicycle for the television interview. His bicycle is a high-tech graffiti writer, using chalk to print anti-Bush political messages sent by people via the internet. Apparently there was a question of whether or not the sprayed messages were a defacement of property. When Kinberg showed the police sergeant how the bicycle used a non-permanent spray chalk, the sergeant seemed to agree that it...

After 17 days days of recovery, I hit the road today for the first time since my accident. In the last 3 days, my back has finally started to feel better. It's still a little sore, but after my ride, I was pain-free. It's quite a contrast from a week ago when I couldn't pick things up without swelling in pain....

I made a quick trip down to Austin this weekend to pick up Emily who was visiting her parents. On Friday night, the city of Austin held a celebration. Emily and I went and waited for four hours to see the man, Lance Armstrong. There was to be a parade at 7pm, followed by a concert by Robert Earl Keen and the Steve Miller Band. We mainly just wanted to see the parade, both of us hoping that some of the US Postal Team would be there. We'd get our...

Today, I went for the longest ride of my cycling career. Not by choice, but it was the longest. I went out west of town, just a little north of Cagle's Steakhouse. I was going to ride east and west since there was a wind out of the south. That all changed when just a mile or two into my ride, I ran into two very angry dogs. The problem with dogs is that it's just you versus them and those suckers are fast. Today, one almost got to me...

I'm getting more adept at riding and I'm seeing significant gains in certain areas. Overall, it's been wonderful. I feel better about myself and I know I'm embarking on something that can change my life for the better. However, I can't live in West Texas because riding into a strong wind is both horrible and demoralizing. With a nice tailwind, I can ride 25mph easy. Into a strong wind, it knocks me back to 10-14mph. It's so bad sometimes I have to turn the mount on the computer so that...

I've spent almost two weeks on the bike. It's been great. This afternoon, I rode for the longest I had ever gone. It also happened to be my best ride, where I felt the best, and did the best. I rode outside of town on 1585 between Slide and Indiana, and then looped South and came all the way back around. It was quite a ride with some nice descents and some nice hills. About 2 miles from done, I ran into that freak thunderstorm. I didn't actually hit the...

I've had my Lemond Tourmalet road cycle since Wednesday. I've ridden every day, even when I really didn't feel like it. It's been a great experience. I can already tell that it's changed other facets of my life. I'm happier, I feel healthier, and it's fun to have something to do everyday. This past year has been really tough on me. It's probably been the worst ever, so any little boost will definitely make things better. On my first ride, I seriously only made it around the block twice before...

holy crap. When you watch Lance Armstrong and the USPS team tackle the mountains, you don't completely understand the beast. I knew it was hard, but cycling isn't easy. I bought my bike today and had a wonderful experience with Derek and Keith over at Paul's Parts. They are some laid-back guys who know their stuff and really take care of their people. I came home with a wonderful Lemond bike and a boatload of gear and tools. Way more than I could have afforded, but like most bike shops,...

Over the years, I've run into quite a few weblogs. One thing I love is the diversity of topics, but most of all, it's great to see people who are passionate about something, and sharing that with all of us through a weblog. One of the ones that has always had a lasting impression are diet blogs. Anyone who's ever weighed a little more than they ought to has wanted to diet, but well, it's pretty hard. Now I know I'm in no way obese or grossly fat, but...