Congrats to old friend and newly crowned Masters 30-34 National CX Champion, Grant Berry.
Tuesday, December 15, 2009
Friday, December 11, 2009
Tuesday, December 8, 2009
Face Punch
If there was a word to the wise back in the early 1990's, it was don't piss off Michel Zanoli. The 6'5" powderkeg punched a photographer and Davis Phinney in the 1992 Tour DuPont. Davis came out the worse of the two with a bloodied nose and, remarkably, still finished second in a sprint finish to Phil Anderson on the stage. If I remember correctly, there was some footage of the altercation with the cameraman that made the local news channel here in Chicagaland. I don't think they mentioned who won the stage though.
Zanoli's career took a nosedive after the bruising altercation of 1992. Zanoli was sacked by Motorola and ignored by the top teams of the peloton. He bounced around between lower tier continental squads for a few years before retiring from cycling at the age of 28, an age where cyclists typically are coming into the peak of their skills. Michel passed away on December 29, 2003 from a heart attack at the age of 35.
I suppose that if I had to be punched in the face in 1992, Michel Zanoli would be the guy I'd have wanted to do it.
RIP Michel.
Friday, December 4, 2009
Winding Down
Another season winds down and brings with it the familiar potourri of feelings like accomplishment, regret, fascination, indifference, longing for the past, and looking toward the future. I'd be lying if I said I didn't miss updating this tired old blog, but sometimes the blend of circumstances (good and bad) connive to render your motivations and intentions moot.
The new gig is working out splendidly and I'm finally settling into the daily grind of creativity mixed with bikes. It's a good thing I've got going, and wouldn't trade it for anything else right now.
Sadly, my riding has deteriorated to the daily mini-commute to work the past several weeks, but I'm eyeing that dusty old set of Tacx rollers in Clean's basement and thinking I may reclaim them soon. That VHS tape displayed on the 13" color TV of Merckx spinning madly in his garage will very likely be in heavy rotation. Maybe even some punk rock soundtracks to mix it up a bit.
There's still some work to do on the house (does it ever end?), but with Old Man Winter settling into his usual 6 month death grip on Chicagoland, we're slowing a bit and finding time to appreciate what we've accomplished the past seven months. A bottle of wine, football, and some good movies are on the horizon for many weekends to come.
Here's looking at more frequent updates, and a return to a somewhat more dependable cycling specific (but not too specific) blog. And for the few that took the time to cajole me back into it, thanks.
s.
The new gig is working out splendidly and I'm finally settling into the daily grind of creativity mixed with bikes. It's a good thing I've got going, and wouldn't trade it for anything else right now.
Sadly, my riding has deteriorated to the daily mini-commute to work the past several weeks, but I'm eyeing that dusty old set of Tacx rollers in Clean's basement and thinking I may reclaim them soon. That VHS tape displayed on the 13" color TV of Merckx spinning madly in his garage will very likely be in heavy rotation. Maybe even some punk rock soundtracks to mix it up a bit.
There's still some work to do on the house (does it ever end?), but with Old Man Winter settling into his usual 6 month death grip on Chicagoland, we're slowing a bit and finding time to appreciate what we've accomplished the past seven months. A bottle of wine, football, and some good movies are on the horizon for many weekends to come.
Here's looking at more frequent updates, and a return to a somewhat more dependable cycling specific (but not too specific) blog. And for the few that took the time to cajole me back into it, thanks.
s.
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