I decided today that I needed to go to the bicycle shop and pick up a couple of tubes and some more CO2. I decided to head up to the Richardson Bike Mart since I had heard so much about it. It’s owned by Jim Hoyt who sold Lance Armstrong his first bike.

When I walked in this place I couldn’t believe it. It looks like they took over an old grocery store and turned it into the mecca of bicycling. One side of the store was nothing but clothes and the other was nothing but row, after row, after row of bicycles. I was totally blown away.

You name it and they had it. Top of the line Trek, Specialized, and Cervelo road bikes of every configuration and color. On racks, on stands, hanging from the ceiling. Everywhere I looked there were bikes. Obviously, I had to look around thoroughly before getting my tubes and CO2.

I casually strolled up and down the isles trying not to drool too much. Then I started to notice something. These things were expensive. I didn’t look at every single bike so I’m sure there are some that are affordable but I saw way more above $2,000 than below and saw many above $3,000. There was one bike, practically setup on a pedestal, that was $11,000. It was some kind of time trial bike. I called my wife and asked her if I could buy a bike for $11,000. You don’t need me to tell you how that conversation went.

Seriously, do people actually buy bikes that expensive? Do folks just walk in off the street and ride out on a $5,000 to $8,000 machine? Maybe they do. I guess I’m just ignorant to that sort of stuff. I guess my 15-year old Cannondale is just going to have to last for a few more years.

I headed over to the clothing side of the store and they had a huge selection of stuff. I saw Astana team kits as well as some from Rock Racing. The ones from Rock Racing were labeled, “Requires Second Mortgage On Home”. I’m just kidding. I didn’t even look to see how expensive they were.

After about five minutes of looking around I came to the realization that I didn’t see big boy clothes. If there were some they weren’t readily visible. Maybe they had a Clydesdale section that I didn’t see. Everything I did see looked like it would fit an 18 year old. Those were the days.

Well, after spending way too much time looking around I paid for my tubes and CO2. I got everything home and went to re-pack my seat bag when I realized I bought shrader valve tubes. I guess I was too googly eyed to get the right kind. That just means I’ll have to go back and look around some more….I mean exchange the tubes.

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Greg Lemond, winner of three world championships and Tours de France, was an iconic figure in American bicycling in the 1980s. He set the bar that all other American cyclists would be compared to. In 1987 Lemond was involved in an accidental shooting while hunting with his brother-in-law. Just two years later he would win the Tour de France by beating Laurent Fignon on the final stage time-trial in Paris. His eight second victory over Fignon remains the closest finish ever in the Tour de France. He placed the United States center stage in a sport that has been dominated by the Europeans. Why is it then that Mr. Lemond finds it necessary to continue taking shots at Lance Armstrong? Because he’s a tool, that’s why.

Courtesy of foxcycle.blogspot.com

Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you know by now that Lance has announced his plans to come out of retirement and return to professional cycling. He will be re-united with his old friend Johann Bruyneel and race on the Astana squad. He will not be paid for his racing but will instead use the exposure to promote cancer awareness around the globe. Mr. Armstrong is a cancer survivor himself who overcame testicular cancer to return to the sport of cycling and win seven consecutive Tours de France.

Once he started winning the Tour de France his critics came out of the woodwork. The doping record of professional cycling hasn’t helped. He has undergone test, after test, after test and there have been no conclusive results that have linked Lance to illegal performance enhancing drugs. It never fails though that rumors will begin circulating anytime Mr. Armstrong is in the news regarding cycling. His announcement to return to cycling after a four-year absence is no different. Lance is receiving more criticism in the area of drug use even though he has committed to making his blood tests public following his return. Don Catlin, former head of UCLA’s World Anti-Doping Agency accredited laboratory, will post Armstrong’s biomarkers online for the entire world to see.

Mr. Lemond decided to show up at an Interbike Trade Show press conference last week where Lance was set to outline the details of his comeback. Lance allowed Lemond the first question and he immediately set to questioning Catlin’s testing methods. The press conference was moved along by Armstrong after an exchange between Lemond and Catlin but Lemond wouldn’t let it die stating, “So, the whole history has just been passed over?” Yes, Greg, it has. The investigations, the countless tests, and the court appearances are over with. No charges have been filed. No substantial evidence has been produced. No bans have been issued. No wins have been stripped. You need to get a grip and move on. I almost wonder if you’re not jealous of Lance’s success. Where’s the Lemond I grew up with that was fighting the politics of the European peloton to establish himself? Where’s the Lemond that overcame a horrific hunting accident to win the tour? Where’s the Lemond that put USA cycling on the map? Wherever he is you need to find him, have him step up to the plate with Lance, and make the sport better instead of continually trying to re-open old wounds.

In short, don’t be a tool.

Those of you who read my feed or drop into the blog on a regular basis know that I’ve only had a couple of updates this week. That wasn’t by design but life does get in the way. My wife had a surgery this week to correct a problem in both joints in her jaw. She was expected to be in the hospital for three days but it turned out to be only one. That was a good thing. Once home, though, she was still in a lot of pain and being there for her has to take priority over anything I do. Because of that I have found zero time to ride this week except for a ride on Tuesday. I also posted an article on what you should carry in your seat bag that I’ve been working on for a while and only needed some polishing before it was ready to publish. So, that’s about all that’s gone on in my life but there’s still plenty of other biking news. Here’s some of the highlights:

1. Lance Armstrong. Unless you are living under a rock you’ve probably heard about this. There’s been a lot of positive and negative feedback on his decision to return to professional cycling in 2009 and I find myself undecided. Part of me is very happy to see him return because I think the sport needs him. I want him back because he was the one of the first cyclists I remember following. Another part of me doesn’t want to see him ruin the perfect retirement he orchestrated after winning his 7th consecutive Tour de France. Too many other athletes have retired and then decided to make a comeback tour only to leave the sport disgraced or disappointed. I don’t want Lance to do that. I also see another side of his comeback as well. His efforts in the area of cancer awareness and fund raising are legendary and is the main point in his video over on his website. Lots of speculation has been made as to which team he will join. He says he won’t be racing for money, which is admirable, and may make it easier for teams to sign him. Which of the teams will want to make a spot for him though? Only time will tell. I hope it will be one of the American-based squads of Garmin-Chipotle or Team Columbia. I wonder if he’ll ride in a LiveStrong kit? I’d be interested in hearing my readers thoughts on Lance’s return.

2. Mark Cavendish. Can anyone match this guy in a sprint? I think not. Foregoing his native Tour of Britain, he’s been participating in the Tour of Missouri this past week and has won three stages so far. That puts his yearly wins at 15. The man is a monster in the final 1 Km. A big head-nod has to go out to his teammates though because they are the ones positioning him for all these sprint finishes. They maintain such a high pace in the last couple of kilometers that the other teams have a hard time keeping near the front. Mark is always a class-act after the race when he goes to each of his teammates and thanks them for the work they did. I think we’re seeing the birth of the sprinter to beat over the next several years. Maybe we should just call him Speed Racer.

3. 331 Miles LIVESTRONG Challenge. Jeff Contreras of 331 Miles is participating in the 2008 Austin LIVESTRONG Challenge and needs your help in raising money for cancer awareness. He has a fund raising goal of $1,000 and is already more than 25% there. Do what you can to help out. Every little bit helps. You can donate to Jeff’s fund raiser by clicking here.

4. Team Climb On! MS Bike Tour. Arlyn Asch, owner of Adventures On a Bike and member of Team Climb On!, is participating in the 2008 Bay to Bay MS 150 next month. Team Climb On raised over $22,000 last year and have raised over $13,000 so far this year. The riders are doing what they can to get in shape for the 150 mile ride but need your help in reaching their fund raising goals. Here’s the link to make a tax deductible donation: http://www.biketofinishms.com/arlynasch. What I want to know is how to get one of this awesome looking Team Climb On jerseys.

The first two items are big news in the bicycling world while the later two are just as important and deserve recognition as well. I’m hoping that next year I’ll be in shape enough to be able to ride in some of these fund raising/charity events as well. These guys set a good example for all of us.

Everyday we see stories in the sporting world that just just don’t pass the moral or sportsmanship litmus test. Incidents like doping (TdF, Olympics, Baseball), gambling (NBA referees), and recruiting violations (NCAA) to name just a few. I think anyone would be hard pressed to find a sport that hasn’t been tarnished in some form, or fashion, over the last decade. What does this have to do with the 2008 Tour of Utah? Read on.

Well, it’s been a while since I’ve posted and that’s just shear laziness. I’ve had lots of things going on but for me to just not post has been shameful. I’ve had a good excuse for not riding but not for posting.

Where have I been? Mainly recuperating. For those that missed it, I suffered a serious crash back on Ride 23 that left me hurting for a while. I was very lucky to not break my collar bone which would have kept me out longer. As it turns out, my knee is what has caused me the most problems. I must have hit it much, much harder than I remembered and it’s taken a full month for the soreness to go away. The scrapes on my knee and shin are still healing, and a little sore, but not preventing me from riding. I replaced both tubes yesterday (one needed it because of the patch I put on it back on Ride 21 and 1/3) and gave the bike a good look over in preps for rides this week. With that, I’m all out of excuses to get back in the saddle.

So, what’s gone on in the month I’ve been away?

Carlos Sastre wins the Tour De France. I watched most of the stages, as I always do, and found myself really cheering for the American teams Garmin-Chipotle and Columbia. While most of the riders on those two teams aren’t American, I’m glad to see American teams doing well. We did have American riders like George Hincappie, Christian Vandevelde, and Danny Pate ride well but the teams as a whole did very well. Mark Cavendish looked unbeatable in the finishing sprints. Even though there were six riders with a shot at the GC win with five stages to go, I found there to not be as much excitement and drama as in years past. That doesn’t seem right but that’s how I felt. I often wondered why there wasn’t a rider breaking the tour wide open in the mountains like we used to see. I think it’s because of the drug crackdown. With the increased testing and attention given to doping, I think we saw a leveling of the field this year that we haven’t seen in a while. Sure, there were 2 or 3 riders booted for doping, and there may have been some that weren’t caught, but I think the message may be finally getting through to the riders. No sport will ever be totally clean because there’s somebody out there with the low moral standards that will do anything to win but I think this year’s tour was a step in the right direction.

American Chris Horner and German Andreas Kloden sign with Astana. Following the exclusion of Astana from Le Tour this year, Team Manager Johann Bruyneel was hard at work re-signing riders for the 2009 season. The signing of Horner and Kloden puts nine of its current riders under contract for next year. Although they didn’t participate in the tour, Astana still racked up 28 victories this season and is the leader in the Pro Tour team classification.

Lance Armstrong registers for the Leadville 100. Apparently Lance Armstrong will race in the 100 mile mountain bike event on August 9th. The Leadville 100 is held in Leadville, Colorado and is a 50 mile out-and-back course that takes place entirely above 9,000 ft in elevation. The turnaround point, and highest point of the race, is the Columbine Mine Aid Station at 12,600 ft. Most of the course is back country dirt roads with some paved sections.

Cycle Pig starts his epic tour of Europe. Mr. and Mrs. Pig started their six week Tour of Europe through the Alps and Pyrenees. You can follow their progress by reading the posts and GPS tracker on his blog, CyclePig. Good luck Pigs and keep it safe.

Arlyn over at Adventures on a Bike wins Stage 19 of The Tour de France. No, it wasn’t the actual stage but he did win on the stage before the peloton rolled through. It’s a great story you should read.

Chris of The Tour de Chris wins the Chicago Criterium. Congrats Chris. This is a great post-race report on how he did it.

Bike Noob discusses CO2 versus Pumps. This was a good post that generated a lot of feedback from readers.

Exciting! Drama! On Your Left! Noah over at KC Bike Commuting flirts with danger while on a group ride and manages to introduce a rude motorist to the finer points of traffic laws.

That’s Hot. Mike over at Mike’s Bike Blog learns just how hot it can get in the Texas heat.

If I missed anyone out there I apologize. I just tried to do a quick recap from Google Reader of all the bike blogs I track.

I guess that’s it for today.