tenspeed hero blog

Is it Fast?

2012-02-01T21:05:00.002-06:00

Our new Intern: Ria Roberts

2012-01-22T15:23:00.003-06:00

Tenspeed Hero welcomes Ria Roberts

A Window in Germany

2012-01-20T22:45:00.002-06:00

The Heroes find themselves on the periphery of just behavior, often waking up on hotel room floors, looking for first light after a night on the town. What happened this night is not possible to explain nor is it possible to explain why we like Jeremy Dunn's photographs of Julie Krasniak so much. Ria said it is because her face exudes a romanticism that transcends a simple bike race. All the Heroes agreed as we sip our coffee and shelter our hangovers. Sometimes youth collides, with experience, joy, pain...And color And braided hair. See More

italianicity carbonino

2012-01-07T13:01:00.008-06:00

Italianicity
noun; derivation
all the possible properties of what is Italian Interpretation of intended meaning "the condensed essence of everything that could be Italian"- all the possibilities of being Italian

Etymology : Italian + ic (adj) + ity "condition or state of"
Source : Barthes- "The Rhetoric of the Image"

Carbonino
noun: derivation
having all of the properties of the lightest material with which to construct a bike frame. not being of aluminum or other.

Etymology: Carbon + ino "condition of italianicity: see above"

battre ANQUETIL!

2012-01-04T20:47:00.003-06:00

A hero's holiday viewing of Louis Malle's Elevator to the Gallows revealed HERO ANQUETIL making headlines in 1958 noir cinema.

4ème Manche de CDM cyclo-cross

2011-12-23T12:00:00.000-06:00

4ème Manche de CDM cyclo-cross from Petitesreines on Vimeo.

TSH dot com Sailing Piece

2011-12-21T15:25:00.003-06:00

The real reason it's taken me so long to write was that I was working on this:

Rings true...

LOOK (what showed up at my door today)

2011-12-16T15:12:00.000-06:00

A 595 Origin in black purchased via a very generous ebay sponsorship. I am one happy Hero.

Voeckler's Wheelie

2011-12-13T23:06:00.001-06:00

Just noticed Voeckler's wheelie today on the Col d'izoard this summer. Photo Jonathan Hero.
Link to Gallery

20" Merckx

2011-12-11T12:15:00.001-06:00

Abingdon's Bike

Heroes

2011-12-10T01:14:00.002-06:00

Le Ramrod at Black Hunger

2011-12-04T15:50:00.001-06:00

Watching A Sunday in Hell

Food catered by Abi Thomas

Le Ramrod

Roger De Vlaminck

Dressed for a day on the cobbles

Photos by Eli Craven

More Inspiration: PDM and RGB

2011-12-04T11:59:00.000-06:00

Primary colors, black bibs and light tops. A winning combo. Also looks good on a bus (or my Subaru Forester).

Lampre Tripartie

2011-12-03T12:09:00.007-06:00

Le Ramrod at Black Hunger

2011-12-02T19:49:00.001-06:00

This Saturday at 6. A Sunday in Hell will be screened. Food will be served. T-shirts and socks and newspapers available. 2606 Brenemen st. Boise ID

Design Inspiration: Laurent Fignon and Super U Raleigh

2011-12-02T12:19:00.000-06:00

The Tenspeed Hero Design Committee is considering the 2012 kit and Custom painted (insert bike sponsor here) framesets. I would like to present the early 90's styling of Super U / Raleigh and Laurent Fignon's pony tail. As a call to Hero Nation, I want to know what classic teams INSPIRE YOU?

The Group Ride

2011-11-21T12:52:00.004-06:00

by Michael Barry

Gage+Desoto

2011-11-14T20:22:00.001-06:00

A clean, well-lighted place for books. And bikes. Link

Another Video of Richter Painting

2011-11-02T09:56:00.001-06:00

A New Word

2011-10-15T19:07:00.000-06:00

A new word for your Classic's Lexicon

Cap

2011-10-09T19:09:00.001-06:00

I washed my cap. You can see how black it used to be.

Small Things Come in Small Packages, from Italy

2011-10-02T20:17:00.000-06:00

Car for scale. Not for sale.

Now I just need brake levers to go with these hoodies.

2011-09-27T20:50:00.002-06:00

Express yourself completely,
then keep quiet.
Be like the forces of nature:
when it blows, there is only wind;
when it rains there is only rain;
when the clouds pass, the sun shines through.

Tao Te Ching

KOM

2011-09-26T20:41:00.002-06:00

Chopping wood at Tenspeed Hero Headquarters West. And Breaking a few rules.

HERO

2011-09-23T16:29:00.000-06:00

Who is Matthew Harley Goss?

2011-09-23T07:53:00.002-06:00

Can he win on Sunday?

Jenny from PR's Benotto

2011-09-20T19:55:00.001-06:00

Starting to look good. Not very comfortable yet. Needs a few more parts.

Seat Post Post

2011-09-16T18:19:00.000-06:00

Is the seat post half shiny or half dull?

Campagnolo Super Record seat post from an online auction site. THC advised me on technique and let me use his supplies. If I were not so impatient to shine this lovely component, I would have taken a before photograph. But sometimes you just can't wait.

Imagine a seat post that looks a lot the this one but less shiny and you've got he idea.

Take a mental picture of this bike (or just take this picture). Someday it will have a matching fork, it will be clean, it will have wheels, cranks, seat, derailleurs and the rest.

The word Campagnolo was barely visible before polishing. I thought it might be completely gone after sanding but it magically appeared with greater definition.

Bertrand Hero

2011-09-16T08:09:00.005-06:00

I recommend all heros and fans of quality design to check out the new Bertrand Goldberg exhibit at the Art Institute of Chicago. Bertrand was an urbanist, humanist and good designer. While studying architecture at IIT's graduate school I would often pass the Raymond Hilliard homes at State and Cermak street in amazement during my commute to crown hall. For a public housing project they are wildly successful and have a very delicate presence considering their rigorous use of the module and unashamed use of board form concrete. The perfect scale of the stunning Alfred Caldwell landscape design creates a surreal space in a site bordered by the El, busy state street and what was the public housing disaster of the Robert Taylor homes to the south. I thought this was a perfect example of high rise humanist modernism until I saw the original plans. There was a proposed bicycle drag strip on the west side of the site! As much as I despise people taking pictures of pictures at the art museum, I had to do this for the hero nation. Thank you Bertrand Hero.

Il Pirata

2011-09-12T17:28:00.000-06:00

THC found this at the BBP.

Rapha Jersey

2011-09-08T18:17:00.000-06:00

Once again I must hand it to Rapha for making cycling clothing that looks good. I cannot find this particular shirt on the Rapha website anymore, so I cannot tell you what it is called. What I can tell you is that it has short sleeves, is made of genuine Italian wool and has a small pocket in the back. I probably would not use the pocket for anything much bigger than my Diner's Club card. I would not want to stretch it. Careful not to zip your chest hairs in the zipper.

On a related subject, I am interested in exploring this trend of cycling clothing companies offering jeans. Hincappie Jeans, Rapha Jeans and now (or last Spring), the original jeans manufacturer, Levi's has a cycling specific jean called the Commuter.

If Leipheimer comes out with jeans, what will he call them? Levi's?

missed connection

2011-09-07T05:56:00.003-06:00

Le Ramrod, I'm not about to sit up here and argue with you
About who's to blame or call no names, real talk
See Ramrod, only thing I'm tryin' to establish with you is not
Who's right or who's wrong
But what's right and what's wrong, real talk

Panache

2011-09-04T22:07:00.007-06:00

In recent years cycling team presentations notch in just below tour route announcements as the least exciting news items of the off season. As the new off season approaches I want to reflect on the greatest team presentation of all time. In 2002 Mario Cipolini started the Acqua Sapone team and few thought the Lion King had many wins left in his bronze legs. Rumors flew that he had hired an Italian designer to design the team kit and the team presentation would be broadcast on italian national television. Luckily the rumors were true.

Cipo staged a recreation of the "orgy" scene from Stanley Kubrick's Eye's Wide Shut in his favorite night club. No corners were cut in the curation of the topless circle of kneeling ladies. After all of the ladies dropped their cloaks, the leader of the ceremony dropped her's revealing the soon to be legendary kit designed by Roberto Cavalli. Cipo managed to have the most spectacular team presentation in memory and avoided the always unstylish move of wearing a kit indoors with no intention of riding a bike. Cipo displayed epic amounts of panache in a team presentation, now he needed the first zebra striped froth job.

The critics were silenced with his win at the 2002 Milan San Remo beating Fast Freddy Rodriguez in the habitually ugliest national jersey.

Cipo crushed Fast Freddy again at Ghent Wevelgum 2002 displaying panache at a level yet to be seen in the current peloton.

Steve Coogan

2011-08-28T15:24:00.000-06:00

Another Steve Coogan pic by the incomparable Erin Cunningham

Lost in Hidden Springs Idaho

2011-08-27T17:52:00.002-06:00

Appropriately. I guess that is what this intentional community intended - you can ride in but you cannot ride out.

Up until yesterday's Cartwright Rd loop, I always rode around Hidden Springs. This neighborhood always had a bit of a "Stepford Wives" feel to me. But to my delight the first business I noticed was a cafe with a logo of the letter A with wings (notable only because I often frequent a cafe called the Flying M). There are two choices when stopping for an espresso on a bike ride: espresso or macchiato. I chose #3: iced mocha. It was delicious by the way, and now that I know how to exit Hidden Springs I will make that cafe a part of my ride.

After my coffee break, I rode around the neighborhood, trying various left turns that I presumed would take me back to the main road. But they mostly led me to right turns that led me back into the labyrinth. Eventually I encountered a trail that led me to the dead end pictured above.

The dead end turned out not to be quite dead yet. I found a small path that led into the dry stream bed above. Note the electric fencing.

Suddenly, I broke out of the gully, formerly referred to as the dry stream bed, and followed the trail through the black-eyed susans and back to the main road.

Now I have a pleasant detour on dirt to take the next time I ride the Cartwright Rd Loop.

The Heroes love this movie

2011-08-26T12:32:00.000-06:00

Cyclocross season is almost here

2011-08-18T13:24:00.005-06:00

Dogs in France

2011-08-15T18:44:00.000-06:00

I have a heroic ramrod in my pants

2011-08-12T08:27:00.002-06:00

over my new racing bicycle

Stuart O'Grady

2011-08-09T21:38:00.000-06:00

Computer semi fixed and I am just getting a chance to look at my photos from france. I thought this looked like it was done with a Green Screen.

A Few Things from the Blue Mounds

2011-08-08T11:53:00.000-06:00

A trip to Blue Mounds Wisconsin is a Tenspeed Hero Favorite. Yesterday Ben Hero and I made our way out from Chicago. In additon to the world class cycling among "undulating emerald-green farm fields under clear azure-blue skies" a few things happened.

The first notable event was a Tenspeed Hero christening. As a church bus drove by us, we named a particularly agonizing set of hills "The Holy Rollers." In the style of a former post, I have illustrated the elevation profile for The Holy Rollers above.

*the figures shown do not necessarily represent the distance between Ben and myself or myself and Ben

Another notable moment was finding this grass on my knee after stopping for a quick deraileur adjustment. Notice the Tenspeed Hero socks. Shortly after this, while riding by myself I heard a tree fall in woods. I thought about the old kōan, but quickly realized it didn't apply.

As we enjoy philisophical discussions on these rides, it usually continues through the car ride home. Somewhere between Madison and Chicago Ben filled me in about internet Memes. He told me about some old favorites but we also pondered the meaning of this seemingly trivial phenomenon. Iphone Internet research told us a Meme is "an idea, behavior or style that spreads from person to person within a culture"; an internet Meme is one of these ideas located and transmitted throughout the internet. This prompted the final and most formidable question of the day: Is a Meme a Meme?

Bye Bye Team Highroad...

2011-08-05T13:27:00.001-06:00

One of the interesting aspects of professional cycling is the often-short life span of the branded team. Their funerals are a regular occurrence, as the teams are composed of temporary sponsors and temporary owners. Though many individuals make a career out of team management, their advertised brands change with the prevailing winds of yearly advertising goals, and wealthy industrialists who adopt cycling as a hobby for four to ten years. There are of course the Moltenis, the Mapeis and the Rabobanks, but make no mistake; they are not cut from the same cloth as the Yankees or Manchester United. Of course, if George Steinbrenner had to rely only on income from renting advertising space on the Yankee pinstripes, there would be no Yankees as we know it today. George needed Yankee stadium (and the TV rights that go with it) to craft a franchise that stuck it out through two World Wars and one Great Depression. The pro cycling team in its genesis is a modular affair with many movable parts, but with essentially no property except for the odd team bus and a few jerseys captured along the way. Their demise is oft celebrated with a yard-like sale of used bikes, water bottles, and well-used espresso machines, in the parking lot of their “home base” known as the team service course. And unless the peloton stages a major coup of profit sharing and management, history will know ASO, RCS Sport, and Uni Public and the races they organize......Read on

Competition for Tenspeed Hero

2011-08-03T14:15:00.002-06:00

Col de la Rochette

2011-07-26T20:42:00.001-06:00

One of our intrepid photographers at work at the 2011 Tour de France.

Tour de France Podium 1989

2011-07-26T09:38:00.000-06:00

Ladies Love Crusher Greipel

2011-07-13T07:01:00.002-06:00

a Hero's wardrobe is incomplete without this shirt from StomachOfAnger

2011-07-13T06:49:00.002-06:00

WTDF

2011-07-10T10:51:00.000-06:00

Current King of the Mountains, Hoogerland after being run off the road. Heartbreaking watching him crying on the podium.

Heading East

2011-07-06T10:27:00.000-06:00

Leaving TSHHQW for TSHHQMW.

Return to France

2011-07-05T10:44:00.000-06:00

With the Luke & Jon heroes again returning to France for the TDF. I made Luke hero a new necklace that might catch the eye of the Cycling Inquisitioner.

Le Velo

2011-07-02T17:07:00.000-06:00

Is it ok for Heroes...

2011-06-29T12:23:00.002-06:00

...to do training rides in Chicago wearing Leopard Trek replica jerseys?

Does anyone else want one?

Name this Junior

2011-06-29T08:05:00.000-06:00

without looking it up - photo by James Mason

¿Eso si que es?

2011-06-25T15:28:00.001-06:00

Inspired by this unknown by me talented rider/dresser at the Nevada City Bicycle Classic and by walking into a cycling clothing store in Davis and seeing these socks on the wall. They are officially cycling socks by Sock Guy. The shoes are not specifically for cycling. The chihuahua is pictured for his outstanding beauty - booty I should say.

Peter Falk, Rest in Peace, (September 16, 1927 – June 23, 2011)

2011-06-24T14:22:00.000-06:00

Tour De France, 1974

2011-06-23T12:54:00.001-06:00

1 Speed Hero in Love

2011-06-21T13:18:00.001-06:00

Kayley Ashworth - Superstar bmx EDIT from JC Pieri on Vimeo.

Via J of TATI Cycles fame.

Tenspeed Hero Screening: Breaking Away, Grant Park

2011-06-16T17:34:00.005-06:00

HEROES! Bring your Masi Gran Criteriums down to the majestic Grant Park in Chicago this evening. Enjoy grand civic achievements. Cheer on The Cutters. Jeer frat boys and Italians. Ponder the complexities of gear-ratios, social class and national identity. Make an Oscar winning transition from unfettered adolescence to uninteresting adulthood. This is a very special night.

*not necessarily organized by Tenspeed Hero, but we aspire to such great events.

Tenspeed and Brownshoe

2011-06-15T12:08:00.000-06:00

Honor and Hero

2011-06-14T22:27:00.001-06:00

Derailleur display at Missing Link Bicycle Co op, Berkeley, California

John Tomac Is God

2011-06-13T19:45:00.003-06:00

A Hero on the road for the 7-11 and Motorola squad (and National Criterium Champion), Johnny T was mostly known as a monster on the mountain. Let's have a moment of appreciation for the most stylin' singletrack surfer to ever spin a Tioga tension disc.

Get radstoked.

"I think it is a beautiful piece of design"

2011-06-13T19:35:00.004-06:00

Pez has an excellent interview with an anonymous entity about design elements and branding in cycling. The critiques may strike some as harsh, especially the treatment of red-black-white bikes in the amateur and professional peloton, but I'll agree that that color scheme is so common now and something newer needs to take over.

He/she does wax lovingly on the paint schemes of old Kleins. Sigh, who wouldn't want to be this guy, railin' it on a hot flo' Klein?

Paradise

2011-06-12T10:59:00.000-06:00

You can tell this is California where the California Poppies grow like weeds - beautiful weeds. And Pegorettis litter the bike racks. Unlocked, Dura-Ace/Campy equipped Pegorettis.

Later I saw Woody from Above Category riding this bike. They appeared to be made for each other.

"a rare steak is a good breakfast for what lies ahead"

2011-06-10T22:25:00.003-06:00

Motivational Speaker

2011-06-09T08:30:00.000-06:00

Rapha Cycle Club SF

2011-06-06T15:17:00.000-06:00

Luke, ask your brother if Tenspeed Hero can have your old Citroen back.

It is easy to make jokes about Rapha, just as it is easy to make sex jokes or to revel in the inevitable fall of a once great cyclist. (For the record, I did not rejoice at the falls of T. Hamilton, F. Landis, nor am I enjoying the all but certain fall of other talented American cyclists).

Yet, the stuff that folks might criticize about Rapha is the stuff that brought us to Rapha in the first place:

1. Cycling clothes that you really could wear off the bike. 2. The notion that sitting and drinking espresso is as integral to cycling as listening to Italian opera is, and time permitting, riding a bike is.

If I may, I would like to offer a few unsolicited observations on Rapha. Rapha products are pricey. Rapha Products tend to look good and fit well. The fact that the cycling caps come in multiple sizes almost makes up for the $40 and up price tag. Other manufacturers of cycling clothes such as Assos are even pricier than Rapha. The "Free Shipping" on orders over $150 seems like they are throwing a bone to a vegetarian considering an issue of Rouleur goes for $20 plus $20 shipping. But once you start ordering it is hard to resist throwing in a pair of socks, knee warmers or a t-shirt so I guess the free shipping does come into play more often than not.

In short, if spending $200 for a jersey is wrong, I don't want to be right.

When Tenspeed Hero HQ finally gets a La Pavoni, I hope to tamp the grinds with a Chris King/Rapha Espresso Tamper.

Sammy

2011-06-05T23:33:00.000-06:00

2011-06-05T15:19:00.002-06:00

Remember when you Heroes were obsessed with mini-Cokes and they were flowing like water? Can we bring that back?

(Heroically) Rescued Duck

2011-06-04T18:08:00.000-06:00

This handsome if scruffy Cayuga duck moved into the farm today. He came with a name, Scooter, but my sourdough starter is already named Scooter. So if any of you would like to help us come up with names please send your suggestions written on a $20 bill attached to a Seven Sola 29 SLX (the one with the blue paint) mountain Bike with Crank Brothers Cobalt XC wheels, Shimano XTR component group, Fox 32 Float Fit Terralogic Fork and Ritchey WCS OS Carbon Rizer Bar. Or, if you don't have the $20 bucks, post it as a comment.
Things you should know about this duck: he is tall (long necked) and appears black but when his feathers come back fresh they will be a lovely iridescent color like oil in a rain puddle. At the moment he has no feathers on the back of his neck from the constant harassment he received from the bills of two frat ducks at his former home.

Classic Repair Manual

2011-06-04T09:09:00.000-06:00

Via Con Dios Cowboy Hero

2011-06-03T11:39:00.000-06:00

As many of you know, Jenny from the PR department lives on a farm on Mt. Diablo. This morning we let the ducks out to graze as we do every morning. About ten minutes later Jenny looked out her office window and saw Cowboy, the large drake on the left, lying on the ground, his neck stretched out in front of him. I was in the kitchen fixing breakfast when a red eyed Jenny appeared in the doorway and said, "Cowboy's dead." We both had difficulty wrapping our minds around this. We had just seen him eating with his girls and looking vigorous. It sounds cliche but the phrase, "But we just saw him. He looked fine," kept running through our heads. But maybe that's the best way to go - suddenly.

Cowboy was a big sweet, one-legged duck, but he was a little ornery. So not really sweet in the traditional sense of the word. I suppose he could be described as having a sweet ornery streak. It wont be the same without him limping around in circles.

Concord California

2011-06-02T21:10:00.001-06:00

Yes, Brandon and Ryan do take their bikes off sweet jumps. Jenny and I were driving in Concord to deliver the manifold to the shop that is in the process of getting her sweet (if I may use the word twice in the first two sentences) Mustang running when we spied this lovingly made bmx/mountain bike, um, park? Hideout? Something like that.

We immediately pulled over. Cautiously, I approached the group of youngsters. One cannot be too careful in a situation like this - they could bolt or they could turn on me with their shovels. The two leaders, Brandon and Ryan were duly impresed with my Hero credentials as soon as I introduced myself.

Above we see Brandon and Ryan hard at work building dirt ramps. To the left sit three jokers giving much appreciated tips like, "Bigger," and "More shovel."

Brandon is the one in the air. The jokers think twice before making more wise cracks. Then they make more wise cracks.

The three jokers were talking about cameras. I overheard the words; "Olympus," Expensive," "it looked like a box," and "Roland Barthes."

This scene reminded me strongly of growing up in Sacramento - except I didn't have a bike. But my friends and I spent a lot of time making ramps and digging holes to jump over. Like Brandon and Ryan, we did all of this on other people's property. And I did it with other people's bikes.

Tenspeedhero's third white pony spotted on Sheridan road

2011-06-02T09:39:00.007-06:00

I suppose this is easier than going up no handed

2011-06-02T08:57:00.000-06:00

Leipheimer's Butte Montana

2011-06-01T23:02:00.000-06:00

Levi's dad is a car dealer just like Dave from Breaking Away.

The Limits of a Look (and other tales)

2011-05-30T20:22:00.003-06:00

The Look 585's relaxed ride and ability to accept 28mm tires make it an excellent choice for gravel road races. Marsh-like Tractor Path Death Marches, raging river crossings, torrential downpours and lighting strikes made this year's Gravel Metric the exception. The Look reached its limits.

At mile 35 her derailleur hanger snapped and and left me soaking wet and stranded. Tornadoes approached and chills began to set in as I walked for miles before being rescued.

In retrospect, a cross bike or some large military issue off-road vehicle would have been the proper equipment.

Congrats to Isaiah, Jamie, and Zach heroes for placing well and a big chapeau to everyone who survived this colossal shitstorm. You are all heroes.

To All Heroes of the Gravel Metric

2011-05-29T10:07:00.004-06:00

May your courage and your filetreads get you through this day. You are all Heroes.

Gravel Metric, 2011.

Ontology Lesson #1

2011-05-28T16:44:00.001-06:00

THIS IS THE TENSPEED HERO BLOG

THIS IS TENSPEEDHERO.COM

THIS IS THE TENSPEED HERO BLOG AND TENSPEEDHERO.COM

(HYPER-LINKS MAY BE INTERCHANGABLE)

lunch break

2011-05-27T10:22:00.001-06:00

Cycling in Edinburgh from Cathy Butler on Vimeo.

Tenspeed Hero Invite

2011-05-25T15:15:00.000-06:00

Kevin Hero's hero

2011-05-25T09:50:00.008-06:00

This is Kevin Hero's hero, Tim Johnson, doing a wallride on a cyclocross bike while wearing a skinsuit. It actually happened. For real.

I discovered this reading the June issue of ROAD. More here (note the heroic donning of his shades while hanging out at the dirtjumps).

And I'll forever have to settle for on-the-bike performances like this.

The Tenspeed Hero Newspaper

2011-05-23T18:56:00.000-06:00

Proofing the newspaper

This guy will pose with anyone

2011-05-22T20:36:00.003-06:00

If you do not have a beard

2011-05-22T13:30:00.000-06:00

Only let a professional shave your face. You can shave your own legs though.

2011-05-21T21:40:00.000-06:00

Heroic tape jobs

2011-05-21T11:31:00.007-06:00

Max Power

2011-05-20T13:31:00.003-06:00

In preparation for tomorrow's Rapture, I laid down some mean max wattage.

I also called upon these guys:

Cycling Could Learn From This Man

2011-05-20T12:33:00.003-06:00

Macho Man Hero: Rest in Peace

2011-05-20T12:22:00.001-06:00

The Heroes Will Never Forget the Staying up Late and Watching You on TV.

Tale of Two Tylers

2011-05-20T07:16:00.008-06:00

When Luke Hero popped in on a tenspeedhero.com photo editing session Isaiah and I were shocked and confused by his news. According to Luke and apparently 60 Minutes, Tyler Farrar had cast new doping allegations challenging Lance Armstrong's cycling legacy. Lesson learned: allow for a margin of error (he misspoke to be fair) when getting any news from a guy drinking from a Sidi beer koozie.

How One Plays The GAME

2011-05-19T22:36:00.002-06:00

In life as in poker as in twitter there is a "tell". Lance's recent twitter are interesting to say the least. I really like "Congratulations to @eki_ekimov on his 3rd Olympic Gold Medal!!!" He forgot to congratulate Bobby Julich for getting Silver!!!

Lance, Tyler and Frankie

2011-05-19T20:48:00.004-06:00

Every other day at Tenspeed Headquarters we are asked by the civilians (Mail-Person, Fed-Ex, Our Hero-Masseuse) that visit our World Headquarters how the Lance situation is going. We shrug and give them a short answer, "Still fighting cancer, no new kids, and will be indicted any day." After the NY Times posted an article about Tyler Hamilton's upcoming interview on 60 minutes we now think the battle is on. Especially, since Team Lance has created this new site called Facts-4-Lance (launched just before the NY Times article was published). So Hero Prediction: Indictment imminent. Going on 60 minutes is like going on Oprah. It has Public Relations legitimacy that few other outlets have. The great American middle is about to swayed to the other side. Anti-Lance. No matter that Tyler is the messenger. For Lance it will be just more of the same defense. Tested=Clean. And it does not hurt for Team Lance to keep their media machine out in front, just in case those on the Grand Jury have not had their laptops and iphones sequestered during their proceedings. For Jeff Novitzky the shot clock is ticking and he better get the ball out of his hands and at least on the rim before more of his witnesses go on camera and bask in secular America's televised confessional.

Merckx and Me

2011-05-18T23:15:00.000-06:00

What do you say when you meet Merckx? I said, "Can I get my picture taken with you?" Then I said, "It must have been hard trying to live up to your father's legacy." I did not really say that. I said, "Awesome," then we parted ways for perhaps the last time. I'll miss him.

El Gato

2011-05-18T22:42:00.000-06:00

Remember when Vaughters got stung by a bee and his eye swelled shut but he could not take anything for it because of anti-doping regulations? Remember when he flew over his handlebars in the 1999 Tour de France and landed on his feet (hence "El Gato"). Today I caught him texting while driving - in California. Illegal. Maybe he was tweeting.
I just read that he held the record for the fastest ascent up Mt. Ventoux until Iban Mayo broke it.

My Home Town

2011-05-18T10:32:00.001-06:00

Americans and Europeans riding as one through my home town, Auburn, California.

Pit Bull enthusiasts George Hincapie and Jenny Hunter pose with Sammy on High Street.

Mac Lambert, 9 days old, son of Matt and Jackie, at his first bike race.

Tommy Toy, local man about town, at his first bike race. His brother found the Mapei jacket in France back when Mapei was still a team.

A Frothing Comes Quickly

2011-05-17T20:28:00.003-06:00

MMmmmmm, just look at Alberto Contador shoot forth a frothy stream. With delight in his eyes he gives the crowd spurts of his bubbly after he slips into the pink. How long will Contador wear the pink jersey? Will he arrive in Milan in that flesh-colored shroud, spurting each and every day at the podium ceremony? I can't even fathom how sticky his hands will be after such a long streak of frothing.

Tenspeed Hero Launch Party, Friday May 27, 2011

2011-05-16T10:45:00.002-06:00

Hero Nation. From Ghent to Perth. We summon you to the West Loop of Chicago. For the launch of our new site. Beer. Prizes. and of course HEROES!

Amgen Tour of California: Branding Contest

2011-05-14T10:45:00.000-06:00

I pose this question to Hero Nation: If you were to change the background of your blog to celebrate the Amgen Tour of California what would it be? What color? What picture? As I write this, the blog is steeped in cycling cliche with a pink background (priorità bassa rosa?) celebrating the 94th edition of the Giro D'Italia. Tomorrow the 6th edition of the Tour of California begins. Can Heroes build a visual history for a race so young? Discuss.

*Leader's jersey is Yellow, so that's right out.

Wouter Weylandt 1984-2011

2011-05-13T12:39:00.005-06:00

Don't be a Bart

2011-05-11T11:02:00.001-06:00

Don't ever be a Bart.