Alright, I’ve been meaning to type this post for a while now and I only have a few minutes, so this’ll be quick.
In my first post I talked about picking up the new Madone 5.1 bike. I’ve been having fun riding this high-tech toy out on the road, but how is it riding on the trainer? Especially on rainy days like we’re having this week? Well, I wouldn’t know, as I’m keeping the Madone on its hook in the rafters when I ride the trainer, sticking to my old Bianchi Premio. This is in part because I’m lazy and can just leave the Bianchi on the trainer all the time, not needing to take the Madone in-and-out of the trainer each time I want to use it. The other reason is, I figure this means less wear and tear on the new bike, extending the life of its various components before I eventually grind them up and have to replace/repair them.
I’ve got a few friends training to do the Tierra Bella century with me in April and one of them went out and bought a new trainer in January. He sent out a picture to”The Brotherhood” showing off his setup:
He did add at the time that he thought riding on the trainer was pretty boring. I thought to myself, “How can this be? He’s got a TV right in front him, plus there’s those speakers there so I assume that’s hooked up to his stereo or maybe even surround sound, the lofty heights of which our household will never reach. Heck, at our house we’re still using the massive stereo speakers I’ve had since I was in junior high school, for crying out loud. Yeah, stereo speakers don’t really start paying for themselves until you’ve been using them for 30+ years. Almost time to upgrade! 
Anyway, as long as we were all sharing photos of our trainer setups, I thought I’d show off mine:
Yeah, baby. That’s got “Eye of the Tiger” written all over it, imho. lol. I have to admit that the garage is actually a little cleaner now than it is in this picture, but still. Who’s training in style here? Surround Sound? Who needs that? I’ve got a music stand… with magazines! Woot! Carpeting? I’d just ruin it with pools of sweat; give me icy cold winter concrete. That’s the stuff.
Alright, well, to be 100% honest my #1 saving grace is I listen to podcasts on my iPod, so it’s not completely “Rocky I” out in the garage. I haven’t actually read any magazines out there as the podcasters keep me busy enough. Still, I’m thinking of recruiting the old guy across the street to growl Bronx catch-phrases at me like Burgess Meredith, “You’re gonna eat lightnin’; you’re gonna crap thunder.” Hmm. Maybe not.
On the podcast front, I’ve been listening to “The Fredcast Cycling Podcast” the last couple days. This guy has been interviewing the racers in the Tour of California, including Jackson Stewart, from… Los Gatos! He was the BMC rider on a long break-away on Stage One to Santa Rosa. His interview was pretty interesting as the way he wound up on a solo break sounded unintended and the tactics of how much time he got on the peloton was more deliberate than Phil and Paul might lead you to believe on the TV.
I downloaded another episode with a Tyler Hamilton interview this morning. I’m always interested to see what his status is. That guy has been in limbo for SO long. I can never make my mind up one way or the other, but he’s served his time regardless of what he did, so he might as well be racing. Frankly, I think any revelations that come out of Operation Puerto (and I don’t think there will be any more revelations) are beside the point and double-jeopardy. He’s already been punished, so what’s the point of banning him now? By the way, if you look into how the Puerto case has been reopened, you’ll discover that it has nothing to do with the riders at all this time. It’s all about Fuentes and whether they can file additional charges against him for how he stored the blood. They’re not looking into which athletes were involved so banning various riders from the Tour of California is a bit ridiculous, imho.
Huh. Pretty easy to get on a rant, huh? Sorry. Cheating sucks, by the way.
Okay, I have more to type, but things are getting out of control around here. Gonna have to finish this up later.
