July 24, 2005

Way to Go, Lance!

Congratulations Lance!

Thanks for fourteen great years of professional cycling.

Posted by CDogg at 10:20 PM | Comments (0)

July 20, 2005

Tour de 1/10th Update - Stage 16

Oscar Peirero took the stage in the last day of the mountains. I was rooting for Cadel Evans to pull it out, he just didn't have enough at the end. It was basically a vacation day for Lance Armstrong and barring something disastrous, the last day to take the jersey off his shoulders.

The Rules:
1 - if I complete my mileage, I get the same time as the 10th place finisher.
2 - for every additional mile I ride, I get a 30 second time bonus.
3 - for every mile I come up short, I get a 1 minute time penalty.

After Stage 12... the top five are:

1. Chris Doelle (USA/T@I) 66h 51min 52sec
2. Lance Armstrong (USA/DIS) at 0:11
3. Ivan Basso (ITA/CSC) at 2:57
4. Michael Rasmussen (DEN/RAB) 3:20
5. Jan Ullrich (GER/MOB) 6:09

Here is a stage by stage listing of my ranking
Stage 1 - 1st
Stage 2 - 1st
Stage 3 - 1st
Stage 4 - 1st
Stage 5 - 1st
Stage 6 - 18th
Stage 7 - 41st
Stage 8 - 69th
Stage 9 - 10th
Stage 10 - 1st
Stage 11 - 10th
Stage 12 - 1st
Stage 13 - 1st
Stage 14 - 1st
Stage 15 - 2nd
Stage 16 - 1st


Days in Yellow (10)

2nd straight day to ride the road bike and MAN, did I fly! It is a nice change from the plodding pace of the mountain bike.

Posted by CDogg at 11:50 AM | Comments (0)

July 17, 2005

Tour de 1/10th Update - Stage 15

George Hincapie wins his first ever Tour de France stage and does it in dramatic fashion! What a great way to end an excellent weekend of Tour stages. Lance further consolidates his lead and Georgie nabs a win... suh-weeet.

After my spending nine stages wearing yellow, I dropped to second today - a mere 48 seconds behind Lance. The torrential downpour was so heavy that it was hard to see so I stopped a bit short of my goal today. I figured with the rest day coming, I could make it up tomorrow.

The Rules:
1 - if I complete my mileage, I get the same time as the 10th place finisher.
2 - for every additional mile I ride, I get a 30 second time bonus.
3 - for every mile I come up short, I get a 1 minute time penalty.

After Stage 12... the top five are:

1. Lance Armstrong (USA/DIS) 62h09min 59sec
2. Chris Doelle (USA/T@I) at 0:48s
3. Ivan Basso (ITA/CSC) at 2:46
4. Michael Rasmussen (DEN/RAB) 3:09
5. Jan Ullrich (GER/MOB) 5:58

Here is a stage by stage listing of my ranking
Stage 1 - 1st
Stage 2 - 1st
Stage 3 - 1st
Stage 4 - 1st
Stage 5 - 1st
Stage 6 - 18th
Stage 7 - 41st
Stage 8 - 69th
Stage 9 - 10th
Stage 10 - 1st
Stage 11 - 10th
Stage 12 - 1st
Stage 13 - 1st
Stage 14 - 1st
Stage 15 - 2nd


Days in Yellow (9)

The cool news is that for the first time in nearly 10 months, I took out the road bike. It was pretty sweet. After 300+ miles on a mountain bike, the speed was great. It felt good to slice through the wind at 18mph... (hey, I figure if professional riders are FAST and they ride about 30-40mph... that makes me HALF-FAST!) (read it out loud quickly) haha

Posted by CDogg at 07:13 PM | Comments (0)

July 15, 2005

Tour de 1/10th Update - Stage 12

This stage spread out the riders and Lance didn't come in with the main pack - this helps me to make up time. That combined with the extra mileage I put in has me in the lead once again. This time by a margin of 2:16.

The Rules:
1 - if I complete my mileage, I get the same time as the 10th place finisher.
2 - for every additional mile I ride, I get a 30 second time bonus.
3 - for every mile I come up short, I get a 1 minute time penalty.

After Stage 12... the top five are:

1. Chris Doelle (USA.T@I) 46h 28m 20s
2. Lance Armstrong (USA/DIS) at 2:16
3. Michael Rasmussen (DEN/RAB) 2:54
4. Christophe Moreau (FRA/C.A) 4:50
5. Ivan Basso (ITA/CSC) 4:56

Here is a stage by stage listing of my ranking
Stage 1 - 1st
Stage 2 - 1st
Stage 3 - 1st
Stage 4 - 1st
Stage 5 - 1st
Stage 6 - 18th
Stage 7 - 41st
Stage 8 - 69th
Stage 9 - 10th
Stage 10 - 1st
Stage 11 - 10th
Stage 12 - 1st

We have rain in the forecast for at least the next ten days so that might cut into riding time... but there should be some good windows for riding during the day. Also, the weekend will allow me more time to get in the extra miles and get ahead so that as the mountains start up again, I won't lose as much time as I did last week.

Posted by CDogg at 03:28 PM | Comments (0)

July 14, 2005

Tour de 1/10th Update - Stage 11

I came up a bit short yesterday in The Tour de 1/10th. After eleven stages, I lost a 58 second lead by not doing all my mileage. This bit of laziness dropped me back to the 10th spot. The good news is that in today's Stage 12, I can gain seven minutes if I do all my miles as for the first time more than 10 riders finished well ahead of Lance.

The Rules:
1 - if I complete my mileage, I get the same time as the 10th place finisher.
2 - for every additional mile I ride, I get a 30 second time bonus.
3 - for every mile I come up short, I get a 1 minute time penalty.

After Stage 11... the top five are:

1. Lance Armstrong (USA/DIS) 41h59min 57sec
2. Michael Rasmussen (DEN/RAB) at 0:38
3. Christophe Moreau (FRA/C.A) 2:34
4. Ivan Basso (ITA/CSC) 2:40
5. Alejandro Valverde (SPA/BAL) 3:16

10. Chris Doelle (USA/T@I) 4:08

Here is a stage by stage listing of my ranking
Stage 1 - 1st
Stage 2 - 1st
Stage 3 - 1st
Stage 4 - 1st
Stage 5 - 1st
Stage 6 - 18th
Stage 7 - 41st
Stage 8 - 69th
Stage 9 - 10th
Stage 10 - 1st
Stage 11 - 10th

Posted by CDogg at 01:09 PM | Comments (0)

July 10, 2005

Tour de 1/10th Update - Stage 9

The Tour de France rolls on and with the first real mountain stage came some major excitement. Jens Voight and Christoph Moreau passed up Lance, while Rasmussen pretty much lead from start to finish with his solo breakaway. Disappointing news from Team CSC as David Zabriskie abandoned today. He wore yellow in his first Tour de France after winning the initial stage, but after two pretty rough crashes, he couldn't go on.

The Tour de 1/10th also continues... after nine stages, I climbed up to the #10 spot. Being only 3m 58s behind the overall leader, I will easily be able to make up that deficit on the off day.

The Rules:
1 - if I complete my mileage, I get the same time as the 10th place finisher.
2 - for every additional mile I ride, I get a 30 second time bonus.
3 - for every mile I come up short, I get a 1 minute time penalty.

After nine stages... the top five are:

1. Jens Voigt (GER/CSC) 32h18min 23sec
2. Christophe Moreau (FRA/C.A) at 1:50
3. Lance Armstrong (USA/DIS) 2:18
4. Michael Rasmussen (DEN/RAB) 2:43
5. Alexander Vinokourov (KAZ/MOB) 3:20

10. Chris Doelle (USA/T@I) 3:58

Here is a stage by stage listing of my ranking
Stage 1 - 1st
Stage 2 - 1st
Stage 3 - 1st
Stage 4 - 1st
Stage 5 - 1st
Stage 6 - 18th
Stage 7 - 41st
Stage 8 - 69th
Stage 9 - 10th

Posted by CDogg at 03:52 PM | Comments (0)

July 09, 2005

Tour de 1/10th Update - Stage 7

The Tour de 1/10th continues... after seven stages, I dropped from 18th to 69th, just ahead of Stuart O'Grady. I missed more miles again yesterday... but I feel confident I can make up a lot on their rest day.

The Rules:
1 - if I complete my mileage, I get the same time as the 10th place finisher.
2 - for every additional mile I ride, I get a 30 second time bonus.
3 - for every mile I come up short, I get a 1 minute time penalty.

After seven stages... the top five are:

1. Lance Armstrong (USA/DIS) 23hr 01min 56sec
2. George Hincapie (USA/DIS) at 0:55
3. Alexander Vinokourov (KAZ/MOB) 1:02
4. Jens Voigt (GER/CSC) 1:04
5. Bobby Julich (USA/CSC) 1:07


69. Chris Doelle (USA/T@I) 4:20

I have to go film a wedding and reception today so my riding will be late - hopefully though I can make up some of my deficit - but it isn't likely.

Tour notes: Stage 7 was marked by crashes... from the massive pileup caused by crossing wet railroad tracks at an angle, to the pavement-pounding crash caused by overzealous sprinters... it was a day for ripping shorts and bending metal. As always, Lance managed to be just feet away from the crashes.

Posted by CDogg at 09:36 AM | Comments (0)

July 08, 2005

Tour de 1/10th Update

The Tour de 1/10th continues... after six stages, I dropped from first to a tie for 18th with Floyd Landis. I missed some of my miles and the penalty for missing miles is more harsh than the bonus for extra miles.

1 - if I complete my mileage, I get the same time as the 10th place finisher.
2 - for every additional mile I ride, I get a 30 second time bonus.
3 - for every mile I come up short, I get a 1 minute time penalty.

After five stages... the top five are:

1. Lance Armstrong (USA/DIS) 17h58:11
2. George Hincapie (USA/DIS) 0:55
3. Alexandre Vinokourov (KZK/MOB) 1:02
4. Jens Voigt (GER/CSC) 1:04
5. Bobby Julich (USA/CSC) 1:07

18. Chris Doelle (USA/T@I) 1:50

I am going to have to step things up a bit as the time gaps in the mountains are going to start making my life harder. Just to stay even, I will be forced to to extra mileage - that combined with the fact that I just threw away all my cushion yesterday could spell disaster.

Posted by CDogg at 11:25 AM | Comments (0)

July 06, 2005

News Flash: OLN Fires Phil Liggett

(submitted by Brian Lafferty)

Failed to Meet Contractual Obligation to Mention Lance Armstrong Three
Times Per Minute, Sources Say

Paris, July 5 (Fat Cyclist News Service) - Outdoor Life Network today severed its contract with Phil Liggett, a perennial favorite cycling announcer both in England and in the United States. A spokesperson for Outdoor Life Network said, "We regret having to let Phil go, but he knew the terms of our agreement when he signed on. Namely, he is required to allude to Lance Armstrong three times per minute, with at least one of those mentions being by name. Most importantly, at no point in time shall forty seconds ever elapse without a mention of Lance Armstrong."

"Today, sadly, Mr. Liggett broke the terms of that agreement. When David Zabriskie had his unfortunate accident today, Phil failed for 40 seconds to put it in the context of whether this would impact Lance Armstrong or whether Lance Armstrong would would have fallen, or asking what Lance Armstrong must be thinking about this accident right that moment."

When reached for comment, co-commentator Paul Sherwin said, "I had my 'Lance Stopwatch' going -- it's what we use to help remind us when it's time to mention Lance again.² Continued Sherwin, ³When Zabriskie fell, Liggett started actually talking about how disastrous it was for the rider, instead of -- as is proper -- talking about this would affect Lance and how he would no doubt have words of advice on the proper way to ride a bicycle for young Zabriskie. When twenty seconds elapsed, I signaled to the timer. Then thirty seconds elapsed -- still no mention, so I made the sign of the Texas Longhorn, the code we use to signal that we need to immediately divert the conversation toward Armstrong. Still nothing.²

Visibly shaken, Sherwin finished, ³After forty-five seconds, Phil managed to bring the conversation back round to Armstrong, but by then it was too late. OLN Security was knocking at the door, ready to escort Phil from the premises.²

Interviewed in his hotel room in Paris, Liggett looked like a man who has lost his best friend. ³I¹m a huge fan of Armstrong,² said Liggett. ³I haven¹t pretended to be impartial for years. But between Bob Roll and that marionette Al Trautwig, our Armstrong-centricism seemed pretty well covered, and I suppose I briefly let my guard down. I wonder what Lance Armstrong thinks about that?² Then, realizing the habit of mentioning Armstrong even when completely irrelevant was still with him, Liggett briefly looked melancholy -- which is the British equivalent of an American having a complete nervous breakdown.

OLN has moved swiftly to replace Liggett, putting former color-commentator Al Trautwig in his spot. Said Trautwig regarding his promotion, ³Lance Armstrong. Lance Lance Lance Armstrong. Armstrong Armstrong Lance Lance Lance Lance. Six-time Tour de France winner. Lance Armstrong Lance Armstrong, Lance Armstrong.²

³This is going to work out just fine,² said the OLN spokesperson.

Posted by CDogg at 10:05 AM | Comments (1)