Simoni Kills It on the Zoncolan

Sure, he can be something of a cry-ass. But 2003 Giro de Italia champion Gilberto Simoni put his legs where his mouth is today on the Giro's--and arguably Europe's--toughest mountain stage.

He dropped the select group that included maglia rosa Danilo DiLuca and wunderkind Damiano Cunego and powered to the line with his trusted lieutenant Leonardo Piepoli alongside.

Check the look on DiLuca's face. Yep, this was a tough climb. But worth it, as DiLuca is all but assured of victory in the overall.

It's been a hell of a tour. Thank goodness for RAI TV and their free live webcast.

(Images from VeloNews)

The National

I've been waiting for this one.

There's a quiet tension in Boxer, the new album from Brooklyn band The National. It's a familiar element of the band's music, but this time it's got more answers than questions behind it.

From opener "Fake Empire" and on through to the finish, The National have managed to keep all of the shapeshifting intrigue and sonic clarity of their last record, the fantastic Alligator, and improve on it with a melodic confidence that shows a band at the peak of its powers.

More to come.

Confession Avalanche

Now that they've begun, who knows where this will go. Today Bjarne Riis, the Danish director of team CSC and 1996 Tour de France winner admitted to doping as a pro cyclist, and specifically during his Tour victory.

From the New York Times and VeloNews.

This is big news as it pertains to his days as a pro, and for his specifying that his Tour was won on dope. But I think it's bigger news relative to his current role as CSC Team Boss. He's built the best team in the world, with one of the strictest anti-doping policies going, and now he's come clean.

Some have floated the idea of amnesty for riders who come clean. I'm not entirely sure I buy it, but it does seem that a purge has begun.

What if we can all confess and start over? Is it possible to purge the dope from the sport and start fresh, with stringent policies across the board and sane prosecution of those policies? Can riders support each other as well as police each other? Because really, that's the only place this issue can be resolved in any lasting way, within the ranks of the riders themselves.

At least the discussion has begun.

Big Week in Boise

Show season picks up steam this week here in Whitaho. Hot on the heels of good shows by Black Rebel Motorcycle Club (which I caught) and Fishbone (so I've heard), we've got a nice mess of rock coming our way once again.

On Wednesday, Black Angels hit the Neurolux for the second time in recent memory. Last time here they did an impromptu Neurolux set after missing their in-store due to inclement weather coming across the Cascades. They didn't disappoint, though, as they threw a hell of a set at the crowd.

On Thursday, holy crap, The Hold Steady come to town. Both these bands are on their way to Sasquatch, and we're the lucky ones. Call me crazy, but I'd rather see the best bar band in the world in a bar than in the outdoor ocean of humanity that is Sasquatch. This promises to be one of those nights people talk about for a long time after. Forever, even. "Dude, I was here when the Hold Steady played the friggin Neurolux."

Between these shows and the return of some dandy spring weather, it's a good time to be an Idahodian.

Green Is the New Red White and Blue

I've been meaning to blog this article by Thomas Friedman for some time now, and as I haven't been able to get to it at any length or depth, I'll just throw it up here for your perusal.

This piece, called The Power of Green, puts together all of Friedman's thoughts on the emergence of green energy technology and systems into a compelling and coherent whole. Dude's been on this issue for some time now, and at long last it seems people are paying attention.

There's lots going on here--read the entire thing, you won't be sorry--but the major point to be made at this point in time is that someone needs to step up and own this issue. I mean that in a political sense as well as a business and investment sense--even, really, in a national sense.

This could be the thing that gets the US back on track as far as being a world leader in progressive technology and economics. As I see it, the planet has no choice but to move in this direction, so whoever is out there in front, developing and then selling the technologies that will enable whole societies to green up their energy production and usage, is gonna be rolling in it.

So why not us? Why not now? Why not look forward for a change, pull our head out of our Exxon-Mobiles, and get with the new program?

Our nation is being run by ignorant dinosaurs, and as surely as that will (better) change, we will need these new technologies to survive the century. This is a perfect point of conversion to get our economy back on track, our environment better protected, and our image abroad healed and restored to that of world leader for good.

Read the article. It's hard to not agree. And I welcome any discussion on this. We need to be talking about this stuff.

(The images here were part of the original article. They're artist renditions of the American flag gone green. The top is from Cuartopiso, the bottom an homage to Rachel Carson by Carin Goldberg.)

From the Heart of the Pyrenees...

To the southwest corner of Idaho. 29 inches of poetry in motion. Coming to a trail near me, very soon.

This is the Lanza 29er from Orbea, and I've got one on order. I haven't had a new mountain bike since 2000--and that was a used IF that I've been logging miles on ever since. It's time to enter the 29er revolution, Basque-stylee.

New on the Range

If you're paying attention, you noticed this last week's show was a rerun of the previous week's. First, thanks for paying attention. And second, I'll make it up to you.

I've got some great new music set for this week's show.

Dinosaur Jr.'s new record is a big smash hit. Makes you wonder how these foolios didn't stick together and conquer the world. But then, we'd have never had Sebadoh, so nevermind.

Peel, out of Austin, has put out a record that makes me surprised I hadn't heard of these guys before.

Two Lone Swordsmen have snuck a new one out as well, though this one won't hit the shelves for a couple weeks yet. Sneak preview here on the Range Life.

But wait, there's so much more. American Analog Set, The Twilight Sad, Elk City, Antelope, Bill Callahan, Menomena, Coco Rosie, Klaxons--the list goes on and on. Also some smokin electronic and instrumental grooves from Burial, Mouse on Mars, and Dntel.

Check it out, Friday 1 to 3pm mountain time, on www.radioboise.org.

Waking Up

The nerve-deadening effects of my Vegas trip are finally wearing off. That and I'm catching up at work and at home from the time gone. So, though this blog has gone into pause, it's about to wake up again.

Yesterday I put the vegetable garden in, and that's always a sign that it's time to wake up and get to spring.

More soon.