Laura [Lindgren] wins the TT.  Scott Raymond and Frank Schroeder win the Tandem TT.  Billy Harris had an unfortunate crash in the Crit.  In the photo below you can see Billy with two other riders getting away from the field.   With two laps to go, in a break,  one of the riders in front of Billy had a mishap that Mr. Bubbles simply couldn’t avoid. You remember what Super Chicken said to his side kick [all bandaged & on crutches]  after every episode:  “Fred,  you knew the job was dangerous when you took it.”  That’s bike racing.

Billy’s shaking it off [like the consummate bike racer he is] and getting ready for Sunday’s Road Race.  Good Luck Boys!

B’Animaux!

Some say cyclists are the fittest athletes on the planet.

But boxers have some cool panache.  Boxing’s got Don King.  Now that’s hard to beat.

Boxers and Cyclist are brothers in a few regards:  They’re both waiting for the bell to ring;  Cyclists got podium girls and boxers got hot ring card girls.  Jewels.

Kits 2012: Boxing Style.

B’Animaux!

Janette Sadik-Khan [51] is the current Commissioner of the New York City Department of Transportation, appointed by New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg in April, 2007.  She is responsible for making New York City more bicycle friendly and she’s transforming the urban landscape in terms of livability.  See Esquire’s article about Ms. JS-K: 1 of “16 Geniuses Who Give Us Hope.”

Cycle Chic is a burgeoning World Phenomenon founded in Copenahagen by Mikael Colville-Andersen.  This photo shows Ms. Sadik-Khan sitting side-saddle on Mikael’s Bullitt Cargo Bike during a visit to Copenhagen in June 2010.

Nice Bike [Iz'Dat R'Girl Vriend?].

B’Animaux

Social Media & Cycling: In preparation for Interbike, Extanz.com has published a list of their top 50 blog sites dedicated to cycling.  It’s worth the visit.

The list was compliled by Yann Ropars, one of two principals at Extanz.com; I’m planning to meet with him at Interbike next month so we can blahblah about bikes, the pedaling revolution and the social media phenomenon.

Visit Extanz.com to review their 50

Also, earlier this year [Jan 2011]  Masters Degree.com posted their Top 50 Bicycle Commuting Blog Sites.

Suddenly the button has gone viral.  A lot of riders in Chronic Taco kits have been asked lately [on Pacific Coast Highway between Long Beach & Carlsbad] if they had any buttons.

Personally, I was asked by at least a couple of dozen riders last weekend if I had any buttons.

Time for a second order.  Is the Southern California Cycling Community ready?  If popularity is any measure, then the order should be placed ASAP.

B’Animaux!  You’re Weak!

This week son dos (2) big motors:
•Diesel Engine [SuperFreddie]
•Señor Tomandos [Mr. Bubbles]

MIA:
•El’Assassin [Tortuga]
•The Executioner [UberFred]

Thursday Circle Jerk [El Dorado Park 6:15am]: On the final lap I wasn’t sure if we were doing Match-Sprints or Crit-Style-Sprints.  No one was willing to sacrifice in order to get the speed up.

Mr.BUbbbbbbbles wasn’t going to let the Mexican embarrass him again.  It was so bad, the Mexican had to swing wide before turn 3 just to find Mr.Bubbles and get on his wheel.

The peloton started as a fairly sizable beast.  Mr. Heart Attack was holding up the rear in good form and some panty wastes actually tried to sit on his wheel for the ultimate Pumbaa Vortex. Can you say PATHETIC.

The pace was smooth but brisk – not fast in any regard but more than 50% of  these wad-stiffs were sitting off the back after a mere 22 minutes.  They should be ashamed  [they know who they are].  So pathetic I can’t even talk about it any more.

I was expecting everyone to start doing track stands into turn 3.  The Lil’I.T. & DrDerm finally took it upon themselves to get the speed up. The Diesel engine throttled it [just a little - only halfheartedly because he told the Mexican he'd lead him out].  Señor Tomandos played it cool.  Through turn 4 the Mexican knew he couldn’t wait for the Bubble Man to jump [he opens a gap too fast - it'd be impossible for the Crow to close] so he jumped around him [he knew he had no juice for 200 meters but he wanted to try; he knew it was fait accompli right from the get go but the Mexican wanted to show some good form].  The Hobo led it out for the first 75 meters but could hear the song of the acceleration singing from the Tomando’s big profile carbon wheels coming around on the right and there was nothing the CrowBo could do about it. He had no snap left.

Mr.Bubbles easily prevailed.
The Preacher-Man was 2nd or 3rd and the Mexican is prepared to throw mas chingasos.

No Bubbles next week. He’s heading to Oregon for Nationals.
¡Buena suerte! Señor Tomandos!

Recuerda: B’Animaux.

If a picture is worth a thousand words, this one is worth a terabyte.

The doctors said Stryker went to the other side.  Since then he’s been making the return trip home:  10 weeks off the bike, in recovery from a heart attack can wreck havoc on a man’s soul, but there he is, ready to take on the Peloton for what they’re worth.  “Bring IT boys – I got what it takes to test the limits [I think].”

Look at that face:  Stryker deep in pre-ride post heart-attack thought.

You can hear him saying: Are you kidding me? You don’t even want ta know. [Secret is, he's more concerned about the weight he put on than anything else. Really.]

Just weeks prior to the heart attack, he discovered how much he loved sitting on that tail-gate;  in the morning, in the Crow’s driveway, drinking that swill of a cup of coffee he buys on his way over, in the dark, sitting on the tailgate of the MexicanSongBird’s broken down pickup truck, waiting for the daily ritual to start.  Men need ritual. To Stryker, it’s the purest Zen moment a man could want.  It’s a routine that defines many of our lives; one that he appreciates intensely these days.  He’s been waiting 10 weeks [or is it more?]. For a man without religion, he understands what Purgatory is all about.   Is that a face that looks ready to laugh at the Grim Reaper?

How about 35 minutes later . . . ??

Welcome Back! B'Animaux!

Alex Stieda. TdF: 1986

In 1986 Team 7-Eleven raced the Tour de France [TdF]  and the young Alex Stieda [25] had won all four (4) jerseys of the TdF: the Yellow, Polka Dot, Green, and White, on the second (2nd) day of the Tour.  He was the first North American to wear Yellow.

This picture is from Shelley Verses who was the Soigneur for the team during the race.  Some of you have met Shelley on the stop in Ventura during one of the Tortuga 500s.  Once you meet Shelley you never forget.

Shelley took this picture of Stieda and all 4 jerseys.  In her email she said: “The pic of Stieda and Roll was taken w/ my Kodak  Instamatic w/ a snap-on flash in a dirty Lycee’ (boarding school ) TdF doesn’t do that shit any more.”   Yep, that young punk kid on the bed behind Stieda is Bob Roll [with hair].

Who else has possessed all 4 jerseys at the same time?

We gotta get Shelley to be a regular contributer to BlahBlahFreddie.  She’s got stories to share!

1986 TdF Finishing Team

This week son tres (3) big motors:

•El’Assassin [Tortuga]
•The Executioner [UberFred]
•Señor Tomandos [Mr. Bubbles]

Señor Bubbles was intent on protecting his territory [i.e., repress the Mexican - win the sprint].  The Executioner is ready to decapitate the Mexican, so he was intent on spilling blood but he’s suffering under the weight of his own over-zealousness and still has Rx-Meds to consume in order to regain his balance [still, he says "the Mexican must suffer"].  The Assassin had already conspired to assist in the disappointment of the Beverage man but, alas, the Mexican’s reserves were too shallow.  The Executioner puts it in simpe terms: “the Mexican has no juice, he’s weak and pathetic.”  The Mexican isn’t bothered; he’s use to the abuse [as is everyone].

On the final lap, he [Mexican] found himself pulling over the knoll [le petite col] after turn two, and coming down the slope into turn three [as the engines were reving it up] he knew the tank was empty.  Tortuga was pouring on the power, UberFred was intent to destroy but Mr.Bubbles was playing it cool.

The Mexican was so far back he had to ask who won the sprint.  Afterwards he was heard making the declaration:  “I’m ready to fight another day.”

There was a good show of bodies this morning, but they were pinging at the end, as usual.  There were only about 5 looking to take it all the way to the finish.  The henchmen don’t bother with the sprint; like conquerors, they simply want to inflict damage all along the way. [Pricks]

B’Animaux.

Danny MacAskill’s ‘Industrial Revolutions’ [246,783 views on YouTube]

As you can see, Mr. MacAskill shows off his incomparable and incredible talent in an abandon ironworks and railway yard in Scotland.  His skill is, to put it simply, overwhelming bad ass.

This clip was filmed by Cut Media/MTBcut’s Stu Thomson for Concrete Circus, a TV documentary about ‘urban’ sports which aired on Channel 4 in the UK on Monday night (8/15/2011)

According to Danny’s peeps:

“We wanted something different from Danny’s other videos but as I’m from a mountain bike background I didn’t want to produce a standard ‘urban’ bmx style video,” said Stu. “We looked hard for a location that would have a character in the film and make it very different from the others.”

Danny said: “We were pretty tight on time making it, as I’ve had a busy year, but with Stu’s filming skills and a great soundtrack I think we’ve managed to pull off a fun little film… spread it, if you like it!”

Mr. MacAskill’s video clips are some of the most popular videos on YouTube [ever]: 26 million views.

This video [Way Back Home] is already up to 12 million views.

Be Animaux: It’s your only way out of “Weak” [and you know it].