ian dewar - circling the world on two wheels

FINALLY... Updates from the Ride on Washington

OK - so this blog is a long time in coming... look for more back dated updates over the next week... but overall the support I received for the Bikes Belong TJROW was incredible - with tons of help help I was able to reach my fund raising goal of $2500 for Bikes Belong and help to raise over $100,000 for Bikes Belong.  The ride was an awesome experience and was a success for the whole group. The opportunity to ride with athletes as diverse as World Champions, National Champions, bike commuters, pro triathletes, bloggers, writers, event directors and CEOs was unique.  

To properly put the ride into perspective here are some of the over 40 news stories that came out of the ride ::

Forbes - http://www.forbes.com/sites/freddreier/2012/03/21/cycling-500-miles-for-bike-rights/

Washington Post - http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/trafficandcommuting/cyclists-ceos-finish-five-day-ride-for-bike-advocacy/2012/03/20/gIQAKjQQQS_story.html

Velonews - http://velonews.competitor.com/2012/03/news/road/opinion-time-is-now-for-racers-to-act-on-advocacy_211139?utm_medium=whats-hot

New York Daily News - http://articles.nydailynews.com/2012-03-22/news/31227049_1_bicycle-safety-students-central-park

Hopefully you were able to follow updates on Twitter and Facebook through the hashtag #tjrow and the Bikes Belong & Tim Johnson Ride on Washington Facebook pages.  For a quick look check them out here: http://www.facebook.com/BikesBelong and http://www.facebook.com/TJROW

To see the collection of tweets I put out please scroll back on my twitter at https://twitter.com/#!/cidewar

For a more complete coverage of the event and the goals behind it please take a look at the three articles I wrote for the triathlon website Slowtwitch

http://www.slowtwitch.com/Features/The_Future_of_Cycling_is_in_Your_Hands_2627.html

http://www.slowtwitch.com/Features/Mr._Johnson_goes_to_Washington_2651.html

http://www.slowtwitch.com/Features/National_Bike_Summit_Wrap-Up_2677.html

Finally here's a collection of photos from the ride, please feel free to use any of them or let me know if there are specific photos you are looking for and I can get them from my collection or another photographer :: http://www.flickr.com/photos/21959824@N04/sets/72157629304189326/

Please let me know if I can supply you with any additional information about the ride, the National Bikes Summit or bicycle advocacy in general.

Riding beside the Potomac river through Washington DC 

Rollin' out of Hartford on a chilly morning

Butch from SRAM and Zipp keeps everything running smooth

Cold start to a long day in the saddle

 
They aren't yak leather but damn these are some comfortable shoes

Lot of PowerTaps lined up on this ride - Watt was everyone was counting?

Thank you again and I look forward to starting the process for next year's ride and National Bike Summit with you continued support.

Ian Dewar

@cidewar

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follow me for updates at :: https://twitter.com/#!/cidewar 
donate to Bikes Belong to help save cycling in 2012 :: www.pledgereg.com/27381

USGP Madison Cyclocross

Madison Wisconsin kicked off the National USGP series with a double-header of racing.  Perfect September cyclocross weather greeted racers on Saturday and classic cyclocross rain and mud rolled in Sunday.   With almost all the major US cyclocross racers in attendance this race solidifies the kickoff to the season. 

Men’s Race Summary

Who looked great:

Ryan Trebon (9 of 10) is definitely for real this season.  After driving the case for almost an hour at Cross Vegas we knew Trebon was in good shape, but after riding away from Jeremy Powers and two time world champion Bart Wellens he proved he is fit, serious and ready for this season.  First on Saturday and third on Sunday prove he’s just as good in dry fast conditions as he is in wet, muddy ones.

Bart Wellens (9 of 10) is a two time world champion for a good reason.  He’s also consistently one of the top Belgian cyclocross racers in a country that has a lock on the top of the UCI standings.  That Bart only won three of the five UCI races he did on his USA tour is a testament to the quality of racing in America today.  When he won on Sunday in the mud it was proof that when conditions are bad the Belgians excel.  The huge efforts he made on Saturday chasing down Jeremy Powers opened the door for Trebon’s win – but an off-result for Bart still put him in second place.  Not a bad trip to the USA for him.

Who looked great on Saturday:

Jeremy Powers (6 of 10) is going all-in on cyclocross this year.  His road season was simply a prep for this fall and he’s made it clear the National Championship is his goal for January 2012 with an eye on 2013’s World Championship in Louisville, KY.  On Saturday his attacking style may have cost him the race as he went to the front every time they pulled back an attack.  He still finished a solid 3^rd on the back of a Wednesday night win and 4^th last week at Cross Vegas. On Sunday he was never in the race.  He’s going to have to get better in the mud if he wants to compete in the World Cups and rest of this season.

Jamie Driscoll (7 of 10) was consistent both days hovering just inside or outside of 5^th place.  He finished 5th and 6th and was definitely solid on both days in the fast dry and slow mud.  Driscoll is also all-in on cross this year and should be set to take some solid wins later this season as race conditions worsen.

Who looked great on Sunday:

Jonathan Page (6 of 10) finally put together a good race on Sunday.  After a terrible CrossVegas and Saturday race in dry fast conditions Page immediately went after Rob Peters' lap 1 attack in the rain on Sunday and rode a technically perfect race.  His results will be better in muddy and sandy European races then American dry and fast races like last year’s USGP races.  Bend in December and nationals in Madison should favor him.  His speed is still off – he lost time on the flats and made it back in the technical mud sections. He’ll need to get that back up to contend in Europe and at nationals.

Rob Peters (7 of 10) put in a huge attack mid race on Saturday and to start the race on Sunday – trying to losen things up for Bart – by the mid-point of both race the top five were Peters, Wellens and Heule (all Euros), Jonathan Page (huge Euro experience) and only Trebon left of the regular American cross racers.  Peters couldn’t maintain either of his huge attacks on Saturday or Sunday to win – but with 4^th place finishes each day he’s solid for the rest of the season.

Christian Heule (6 of 10) rode really well Sunday in the rain and mud, but was completely out of the race Saturday.  He’s been travelling a lot since his 2nd place finish at Cross Vegas – so the incredibly fast start Saturday may have been a shock to him.  It’s a rude awakening mistake that he won’t make again.  No matter what the conditions in Fort Collins in two weeks look for Christian to be ready.

Who’s having a rough start to the season:

Tim Johnson (6 of 10) looked good at Cross Vegas until he crashed and chased back to 5^th place on Saturday after the early speed put him into trouble. 

Todd Wells (5 of 10) has had some bad luck so far this season – a tough 10^th place at Cross Vegas and a broken chain on Saturday put him into last place at the end of lap 1.  He chased back through more then 40 guys to finish 20^th but with a limited season this year to focus on making the Olympic mountain bike team next year Wells is going to only have a few more chances to notch some wins this season.

Geoff Kabush (5 of 10) rode well enough for top 15 in Vegas and top 10s both days in Madison but isn’t anywhere near the CX form that saw him winning races last year.  He’ll need to get his starting speed back up to content in future races as he’s been on the chase from the start in both wet and dry races so far this year.

Who’s missing:

Chris Jones from Rapha-Focus hasn’t started his season yet. With his fast starts and road fitness he should be a good rabbit to take some pressure off Jeremy Powers in dry races – but his wet racing skills aren’t the best and he’ll need to have top fitness to stay away from a fast starting Trebon this year. 

USA Cyclocross Power Rankings after three weeks:

1. Ryan Trebon – fast when it’s dry, faster when its wet
2. Jeremy Powers – good when dry, terrible when wet
3. Jonathan Page – good when wet, terrible when dry
4. Christian Heule – good in Vegas, flat race on Saturday, better on Sunday
5. Jamie Driscoll – solid performances in all races, good attack in Vegas
6. Tim Johnson – bad luck has seen crashes in 2 of 3 races
7. Todd Wells – good fitness but doesn’t have the fast snap of the front 3-4
8. Geoff Kabush – consistent top 10 but never in the top 5
9. Yannick Eckmann  - the top U23 rider on Saturday and 2nd best Sunday in Madison
10. Brian Matter – local boy and Chequomegon 40 mtb winner had a great pair of races with the big boys in Madison. Can he keep it up all season?

Here's a cool video from Sunday's USGP!

 

USGP Barriers on Saturday

 

 

how many grand tours does it take to make one...

well the Giro is starting tomorrow - and for the first time in a long time the Giro has the Tour winner, the Vuelta winner and the defending champion all on the start line and all with a shot to win!  this ain't no greg lemond training day... but the kick-side of the whole mess is that all three have been accused of being dirty in the past year - in fact there are rumous about almost the whole start list - oh yea and pretty much every past winner of either of the three races.

So with DeLuca barely making the start with his CAS hearing just ending and Astana getting an invitation at the very last minute and Rabbobank sliding under everyone's radar even with the Tour fiasco last year - the Giro director Angelo Zomegnan  said, "Nobody knows if there will be any doping scandals at this year's         Giro d'Italia but I'm hopeful and I think it'll be a great race. There will always be someone who tries         to cheat in sport, just like in life but all the riders have accepted         the biological passport system and have been tested several times."

Beauty there Zomi!  Because you were right - Max Richeze of the CSF Group Navigare team's A sample just tested positive for steroids.  oops - and he was about to get awarded two stage wins from 2007 because another long time Giro star Alassandro Pettachi got banned for a year for using his inhaler a bit too much a year ago.

So now Alessandro sits at home until August 31st. Oops now he'll miss the Tour and the Vuelta.  He'll miss the world championships.  He'll lose a bunch of old victories and who knows if he'll even have the incentive to race again.

Let's look at who Unibet is giving the best odds on this year:

1.Klöden, A  3.50 - hmmm. might be clean, but is the only guy from the T-Mobile '06 Tour team that got busted for a late-night dope trip to Freiburg that hasn't been officially named. but doped up or not he is the most underrated Grand Tour rider of the past 10 years.

2. Contador Velasco, A  5.00 - Tour de France winner, every other small stage race in Spain winner,  should have been the next Lance Armstrong at Discovery.  oh yea and admitted doper Jorg Jaksche says he is AC in the Puerto files. oh but Fuentes says he's not. oh and Contador says he'll take a DNA test and the Spanish say he doesn't have to. But Pat McQuaid thinks he's clear so supports him 100%

3. Di Luca, D  7.50 - Busted in Oct for a 3 year old case (oil for drugs). almost busted again for having the hormone levels of a 13 year old girl.  barely escaped being banned a few weeks ago by CAS for oil for drugs. so while his old pal Mazzoleni gets 2 years - he only got 3 months - but both were caught on tape talking about EPO with Dr. Santuccione. hmm.

4. Menchov, D  11.00 - Menchov is like teflon when it comes to doping rumours.  When Puerto first came out his name was on the list, but immediately removed. then German TV said in January that he was involved in a blood doping program at an Austrian lab.  of course no one has published any proof, but it keeps going... oh yea when he won the vuelta because Heras was busted for EPO he said he didn't really want to be considered the winner... ever heard that one before - cheated out of a huge win and doesn't care? hmm...

5. Simoni, G  12.00 - banned for doping - but ironically it was for cocaine!  the only dope Gibo likes is the kind that gets you high not helps you ride high into the mountains...

6. Leipheimer, L  12.00 - of course he's clean as a whistle. of course when he happens to  be vacationing at the same hotel as Michelle Ferrari only months after his Gerolsteiner team forced him to cut ties with the controversial Dr it was just a fluke.  Little Levi is the almost-all-american dream!!!

7. Soler, M  12.00 - climbing sensation from last year's Tour!  no dirt. hopefully doesn't turn into a Rubino. that would suck if he did.

8. Ricco, Riccardo  13.00 - man this kid is exciting. he lit it up in Milan San Remo last year.  he followed up by ripping it through the Giro. he pissed Gibo off a bit, but he certainly didn't care. he hasn't been nearly as aggressive this season so far, so he could be like a rocket ready to launch... who knows... hopefully Piepoli brings his inhaler this year to the Giro as the way they switch speeds should work over most of the climbers at this year's Giro.

9. Nibali, V  17.00 - this guy i don't know anything about except that his nickname is The Shark!  that's sweet.

10. Pellizotti, F  22.00 - Pellizotti has the best hair in the peloton. it's true at Pozzato gets more press for his hair and wins more races, but Pellizotti will have a great race this year I think. he has a very good team behind him and they don't have to work the race the way they did last year... even though the Astana teal-train will  smoke everyone uphill Franco should be up there with the best of the rest.

11. Piepoli, L  28.00 - oops he got caught with more asthma dope in his system last year at the Giro then Pettachi did. but Piepoli's riding and Pettachi is sitting on his ass at home.  hmm... can't TT, but with Ricco should be among the few to stick to the Kazakstan Railway and might be able to show himself near the front.  he should pray for rain since he seems to ride better in bad weather.

12. Savoldelli, P  35.00 - man this guy just keeps coming back for more punishment.  Couldn't get off Astana quick enough when he found out that Johan was taking over. should be a huge asset to DeLuca when DeLuca is chasing back onto the front group after getting dropped in the mountains.  still won't help DeLuca get better then 5th.

13. Rujano Guillen, J  35.00 - if this guy doesn't take dope this year he's going to suck again.  about as big a waste of a pay check as any team manager could think of.  good lucking making it past stage 10...

14. Karpets, V  40.00 - kind of underrated, but has an AWESOME MULLET.  I would pick him to finish top 5 if he didn't weigh like 190 pounds.  that boy is big and he's gonna need to team up with his pal Menchov to limit his loses in the steep mountains.

15. Sella, E  40.00 - ok so he won stage in 2004. Whatever. i could pick 20 people who will finish higher then he will...

16. Larsson, G E  40.00 - he's a TT specialist in a race with 4 TTs. that's good.  but there's also 4 mountain top finishes... ooops. he's gonna get killed.  don't bet on him.

17. Garate, J M  50.00 - come on. this guy may be riding on a Specialized, and he was 7th last year.  i guess he might not suck. but he sure ain't gonna win this race.  I would put good money on him finishing top 10 - but he's a grinder and is going to have to do a lot of work on his own.  Quick Step sure ain't build for stage racing.

18. Bruseghin, M  50.00 - i bet he's a bit excited that Cunego isn't racing the Giro so he'll have a chance to make an attempt to lead the team.  of course it won't matter at this year's Giro because he's a TT specialist - but an Italian TT specialist which is kind of an oxymoron - like saying he's a good Spanish cyclo-crosser. 

19. Zabriskie, D  50.00 - seriously. that's the only guy on Slipstream that Unibet is even laying odds on? I don't know how serious JV wants to take the Giro for his top guys because he's got the Tour coming up, but before Astana got invited I would have picked VandeVelde for top 10 and still might.  They have a VERY good team for stage racing and if JV can just keep track of how many seconds separate his boys from the ones who want the jerseys they could come away with a few days in a few new flocks!