Scum. Bag.

Sure, some cyclists dope. But outside the arguments over the state of the sport, the pursuit of cheats, and the ethics of both sides, at least we can rest assured that this dude and the folks he runs with are not part of the sport we love.

Who knows what'll happen. Jail time? Looks like it. Lifetime NFL ban? Doubtful, but we can still hope. If there's any justice, he will be reviled for all time as a POS thug who used considerable fame, fortune, and influence to do nothing short of the lowest, meanest, most disgustingly brain-dead and trashy thing you can do, namely to start a business venture on breeding, exploiting, terrorizing and killing domesticated animals for whom humans have accepted responsibility.

We made dogs depend on us through centuries of breeding and domestication. That brings responsibility. Vick has not only abused that trust, but he's sunk about as low as a human being can sink, in my opinion.

Yes, serial killers and psycho- and sociopaths start out abusing animals. We know that. But outside the Dahmer comparisons, this dude is just low, the sort of scum you would hope would implode or disappear before having a chance to breed. Let's hope prison gives that outcome a chance.

Enjoy yourself in there, dude. I only hope you get a chance to experience some of what you put your dogs through.

Denver

Cathy and I just spent a long weekend in Denver. I'd never really hung out there before, and I have to say I was pleasantly surprised.

Not that I was expecting it to be bad or anything, just that I didn't expect to like it as much as I did.

Maybe it was the dinner at Cuba Cuba that did it. Or my fun but pitiful turn at Guitar Hero at the Garage. Or maybe it was the 2000'+ of vertical we covered on mountain bikes at Keystone. Perhaps even the fly-fishing expedition on Clear Creek, interrupted though it was by a fast-rising and furious rainstorm that chased us from the canyon with out tails between our legs. Certainly the splendid bowl of Pho I had at a Vietnamese joint on Federal (surrounded by loads of Vietnamese folks having lunch) had something to do with it.

Of course, it was great to see Jody and Steve, whose baby shower (or kegger in anticipation of the baby, more like) was good fun. And Christine and Brett, too, along with Maggie and Finn, two of the cutest kids I know. They weren't even afraid of me, as most kids are! I missed hooking up with T, though we may end up back there in a month for the Arcade Fire/LCD Soundsystem gig. We'll see.

Either way, I really enjoyed myself, and I hope to visit Denver again soon, this time with more days and my own bike to ride.

This Chicken Ain't All Natural

Priceless photo. (Yes, that's a Dopers Suck t-shirt.)

Stars of the Lid

The new double-CD release from Austin, TX-based minimalists Stars of the Lid is a fantastic collection of sounds, the perfect thing to have on the stereo for a meditative Sunday afternoon.

I didn't get too deep into these guys when I lived in the ATX, but I'd known about them and heard some of their stuff, and put them on the same plane as Labradford, who I liked quite a bit but who also got limited play time due to the situational constraints of the appropriateness of the music. In other words, this is music for a certain time and place.

In the proper context, And Their Refinement of the Decline is an amazing record. It's drone-based music whose changes are subtle and elegant, tracks made up more of lengthy movements than any verse/chorus structure, transitions from one track to the next often indistinguishable. This is ambient music at its best, and well worth checking out.

The National

This one's long overdue. What with the Tour de France and the new bikes and big trips and all, I've neglected to post a few words about what is, so far, hands down the best record to come out in 2007.

The new release by Brooklyn outfit The National, called Boxer, is not a leap forward for the band, not a new direction of some experimentation with form gone right or even a departure from what they've done previously.

Boxer is none of those things. But it is a document of a rock band coming into their own and arriving at a level of sound and artistry that most bands can only hope of glimpsing. The songwriting is impeccable, Matt Berninger's lyrics and baritone delivery as dead-nuts and smooth as anything you could imagine. Plays on words and syntax meld seamlessly with narrative journeys as they do in the best literature.

The music, too, is spot-on. Guitarwork and bass on this record seem more natural and impressive here than in the past, even if it's more subtle, and Bryan Devendorf's drums are just amazing. You don't expect such prominent drumwork in songs like these, but his timing is otherworldly and his beats so totally original and inspiring that it seems like they couldn't happen any other way.

Boxer is one for the ages, and one any lover of American music needs to own.

Superb Sawtooths

Timing is everything.

According to the guy slinging coffee at the espresso trailer in Stanley, they've been socked in up there for weeks, unable to see the range from the road for all the smoke. Until Friday, that is, when the wind blew it all out and cleared the view and the air.

So, we nailed it perfectly.

We had a fantastic trip, which started off on the boat across Redfish Lake. The shuttle only took about 5 minutes, but saved us a good 5 miles of hiking. So, we got to start on the far end of Redfish Lake, which meant we hit camp off Redfish Lake Creek in mid-afternoon. The site we found first was very nice, close to the water and with some flat and open space to hang in. But further investigation found an even better one, just a bit farther from the water but up on a rock plateau shielded from behind and wide open in front onto this view:

Amazing.

We dayhiked out on Saturday to Saddleback Lakes, a pristine pair of joined lakes right at the base of Elephant's Perch. To get there, we did quite a bit of bushwhacking, intending to hit what was described as a faint trail at some point before reaching the lake. 2 hours and quite a few cuts and scrapes later, we hit the trail, which wasn't faint at all.

I'm glad we went the way we did--Cathy was a total trooper and impressed the hell out of me with what she was willing to go over and through. At one point, when I was worried that this was getting to be a bit much, what with the very steep terrain and dwindling supply of water, she piped up and said "This is kinda fun." She rocks.

We made it to the lake and were able to hang out and have a nice long lunch, letting the dogs swim and dive to their hearts' content. Then we followed the trail down, which only took us about an hour and ended up about 50 meters from the turnoff to our site.





Sunday morning we lazed around camp and then packed up and headed back to catch the boat.




Great trip, can't wait to explore more of the Sawtooth range on foot.

More pics here.

Heading for the Mountains (and Smoke)

Friday's here, and Cathy and I have been planning to head to the Sawtooth Mountains. We were going to do a 3 day backpack trip around Petit and Toxaway Lakes, with plan B to backpack out from Redfish Lake to Alpine Lake.

However, a purple warning in Idaho City and a fire burning around Lowman has us rethinking our plan, and we'll likely instead head to the Sun Valley side of the pass. Maybe Corral Creek and some dayhikes and fishing the Big Wood; maybe head up and over Trail Creek to the Pioneer Mountains and Wildhorse Creek. I guess we'll play it by ear. But we've got to get out of town, so.

Have a good weekend, y'all. I'll leave you with this:

Pure Surly

This came yesterday, and I can't tell you how excited I am about it. A deal I couldn't refuse has landed me a bike I don't know how I've lived without.

She's a Surly Steamroller, run as a fixie. 48x17, Sugoi cranks and Surly flip-flop rear hub.


Simple, beautiful.


I have a feeling this will soon be my favorite bike.

Contador Takes the Overall

All kudos to Alberto Contador, the 24-year-old Spaniard in his first year with Discovery Channel.

At the end of one of the most tumultuous Tours ever, he held on through the mountains and turned in the time trial of his life to defend the yellow jersey he got when Rasmussen was expelled.

That's not to lessen the achievement. Rasmussen was cheating, or so we think, and so did not belong in the lead, should not have changed the race the way he did. Contador earned this jersey through far superior climbing ability and enough tenacity the rest of the time to stay at the front.

Levi took 3rd along with a win in the final time trial. That's a great performance for him--his best ever. And Cadel Evans was the first Aussie on the final podium. This was also the performance of his life. He'll be back.

I'm torn between feeling positive that the cheaters are being caught and being bitter about the cheaters still cheating. I'll look to the future for young riders like Contador to make the difference. Change has to start somewhere and some time. Why not here and now?

Yellow the Hard Way

Not exactly the manner in which Alberto Contador would have hoped to ride into the yellow jersey, what with the bootings and ignominious departures and all, but still. As they said in VeloNews, Someone's gotta win this thing.

Casar won today's stage, narrowly beating out Axel Merckx, and Contador retains yellow.

The times are tight going into tomorrow's time trial--tight enough for Discovery to worry about a stellar performance by Cadel Evans derailing their trip to the top step in Paris. But Contador's been strong. We'll see.

Good News from the Dirt

Let's leave France and head back to the US for some good news from the East Coast.

MTB Nationals were held this past weekend, and from a muddy, rocky, root-strewn course at Mt. Snow in Vermont, Adam Craig and Mary McConneloug emerged victorious to wear the stars and stripes for the coming year.

These are two deserving racers, both wonderfully talented in the tough and technical stuff, both having stuck it out on both NORBAs and World Cups for years now.

Congrats to them both. May all their drug tests come up negative.

The New and Terrible Vino Show

Today's headline:

Vinokourov Tests Positive; Astana Withdraws from Tour

Read it at VeloNews, folks.

This one floored me. I mean, they all hit hard, but some definitely harder than others. Was anyone really surprised that Ullrich was implicated in a doping scandal? Not so much. But Vino? I mean, this is a warrior, a soon-to-be hero, a man who had the full support and sponsorship of his native Kazakhstan behind him.

And in doping, he's shat all over that support, likely forcing the withdrawal of the new 10-year contract signed by Astana for support, and also likely totally screwing the future of many a young Kazakh rider.

Rasmussen, I wouldn't be surprised. If only this were Rasmussen. But it's Vino, and I don't know that this race can recover from this blow.

Just terrible.

The Contador and Vino Show

What a weekend for the Tour.

Saturday's ITT saw a shakeup of the standings, with the biggest surprise being Michael Rasmussen's not giving away tons of time to the other GC guys. Vino won it in powerful fashion.

Sunday was the first day in the Pyrenees, and it did not disappoint. The main guys were whittled away one by one, the worst of it going to Valverde, until it was down to a small group that included Contador, Rasmussen, Evans, Leipheimer, Sastre, and Colombian sensation Mauricio Soler.

Eventually, through a series of accelerations, Contador and Rasmussen were left to go it alone, and neither could pull away from the other. In the end, Contador sprinted Rasmussen for the win, but alleged cheat and all around a-hole Rasmussen (hey, I said alleged) would not be dropped.

Vino lost 28 minutes on the day.

Today, Monday, saw another epic battle in the Pyrenees. This time Vino got into a break and drove it all day to get the stage win. An amazing recovery, that, on par with Floyd's of last year. (Hmm...)

And again, Contador and Rasmussen were left to duke it out, and the skeletal Dane again held on to finish behind but with the young Spaniard.

Now it's down to tomorrow for Contador to get away. He needs to drop Rasmussen and put time into him before the mountain stages end. One last chance. For the record, I'm hoping Rasmussen blows up and loses big time. We'll see.

Oh Yeah, the Race

Tom Boonen won the sprint into Castres today.

No further news on the Rasmussen ordeal at this time. No response as of yet from the Rasmussen camp. No word from Tour brass. Tomorrow should be an interesting day, and I'm not just talking about the individual time trial.

But tomorrow's ITT does promise to be a hell of a day of bike racing.

Add to that the Twilight Criterium here in Boise tomorrow night and a cooler full of beer and I'm about as happy as I can be.

Oh, for F*!k's Sake

Today's lead story on VeloNews will fuel the fires of cynicism around this sport.

"VeloNews Exclusive: Ex-cyclist levels doping charges at Rasmussen"

The second graf says it all:

"Whitney Richards, 31, a one-time Colorado-based cross-country racer, told VeloNews that in March of 2002, Rasmussen asked him to transport a box containing cycling shoes. But the shoebox, according to Richards, actually contained bags of an American-made human blood substitute. None of the information Richards provided VeloNews involves allegations of current doping."

My first response: What a dick. Not "How terrible for cycling" or "The Tour didn't need this now" or even "Yup, must be true that all pro cyclists dope." No, what a dick to ask someone to transport your illegal shit across international lines into a country like Italy where doping is not just against the rules, it's against the law, a jailable offense.

Of course, nothing has been proven yet. Who knows if it even can be. I've not heard Rasmussen's side of the story, and he could very well have a perfectly reasonable explanation for this. It certainly came at an interesting time, and whenever I see David Walsh's name I grow a bit skeptical.

But somehow, I feel I could believe it.

If this is true, even if he's not doping now, what a total tool this guy is. If this is true, not only does he deserve to be punished for the doping offense, he deserves to be called out for setting up a fellow cyclist like that.

Where does this leave the Tour leader? I don't know. There is a statute of limitations on stuff like this, and I believe they'll need to show he's doping now to do anything about it now. But who knows. In the current climate, proof of current evildoing is not necessarily necessary to boot someone from a race.

Stay tuned. This'll get interesting.

Catching Up to the Tour

Man, it's been a busy week. And not just for me.

The biggest bike race in the world has been blown open, to smithereens even, and as the dust has settled, faithful viewers have realized that they're witnessing one of the most exciting and dramatic Tours in years.

I'm a Lance fan, let me just say that. But it's been an absolute thrill to tune in to a Tour stage and not know--I mean really not know--how the day would go. Who would attack, who would control, who would be able to follow if a dangerous rider jumped out of the group.

GC threats are many and changing. And that's the joy of it. The guy you're rooting for may actually have a chance to pull off something huge.

A recap, for those of you who need it:

• Tom Boonen won stage 6, but Fabian Cancellara held the lead.


• Linus Gerdemann won stage 7 and took the yellow jersey. This was a heroic effort by the 24-year-old German.


• Michael Rasmussen went on one of his signature fliers and won stage 8, taking the yellow jersey in the process. He intends to keep it.


• Last night, Juan Soler, a 24-year-old Tour rookie from Colombia with the South African Barloworld team, won the final Alps stage in convincing fashion, soloing away up the Galibier and holding off all the GC guys to the line. Very impressive.


• This morning, in his last Tour, Frenchman Cedric Vasseur outsprinted his break-away companions including Jens Voigt to win the stage. Rasmussen hangs on to yellow.

The standings are enough to bring a glint to your eye:

Overall, after Stage 10

1. Michael Rasmussen (Dk), RABOBANK, 49:23:48

2. Alejandro Valverde (Sp), CAISSE D'EPARGNE, 2:35

3. Iban Mayo (Sp), SAUNIER DUVAL - PRODIR, 2:39

4. Cadel Evans (Aus), PREDICTOR - LOTTO, 2:41

5. Alberto Contador (Sp), DISCOVERY CHANNEL TEAM, 3:08

6. Christophe Moreau (F), AG2R PREVOYANCE, 3:18

7. Carlos Sastre (Sp), TEAM CSC, 3:39

8. Andréas Kloden (G), ASTANA, 3:50

9. Levi Leipheimer (USA), DISCOVERY CHANNEL TEAM, 3:53

10. Kim Kirchen (Lux), T-MOBILE TEAM, 5:09

18. Denis Menchov (Rus), RABOBANK, 7:10

21. Alexandre Vinokourov (Kz), ASTANA, 8:05

22. Yaroslav Popovych (Ukr), DISCOVERY CHANNEL TEAM, 8:16

23. Vladimir Karpets (Rus), CAISSE D'EPARGNE, 8:51

25. Christopher Horner (USA), PREDICTOR - LOTTO, 9:11

Our man Chris Horner is having the race of his life, finishing toward the front consistently and putting in great efforts in the Tour's highest mountains. Dude's ripe for a stage victory.

Cancellara = Bad Ass

The typical script for a loooong, dull sprinters' stage was today turned on its ear by the yellow-jersey holder, Swiss rider Fabian Cancellara, proving that dude is tough as nails.

All was going per form--early break, slow pace in the peloton, sprinter teams picking up speed late in the stage to reel in the break at the last moments and deliver their big men to the line--when within the final kilometer, Cancellara timed his jump perfectly, springing out of the field and redlining it to the finish. He overtook the break with a mere 700 meters to go, and none of the sprinters, in frantic hot pursuit, could catch the Swiss time-trial specialist.

This was a brilliant ride, exciting tactics that paid off big. Now CSC and their man Cancellara get the yellow for at least another day. They've said they wouldn't kill themselves to defend it, but after today's effort, you have to wonder if they've changed their minds.

A Bumpy Start

After squashing all comers in the prologue, held this year in London, Swiss powerhouse Fabian Cancellara went to the tarmac in stage 2 in a pile-up involving 20-some riders. He crossed the line, not losing any time due to the crash coming at the end of the stage, but he didn't look good.

And yesterday, after kissing pavement in a smaller pile-up, Aussie a-hole but remarkably strong and fast mini-man Robbie McEwen passed EVERYONE to take the win in stage 1.

There's been lots of action early on as the typical nerviness infects the opening of the Tour. The big GC guns are all sitting tight, waiting for the early show to end so that they can get down to the business of working each other over.

Levi will come around, as will Vino. I still say Valverde's the one to watch in this Tour.

Levi's Ready

Levi Leipheimer will start this year's Tour de France as the undisputed team leader of Discovery Channel. That's a hell of a jump up for the man who has co-led the Gerolsteiner and Rabobank teams in the last few Tours.

Not only does he have one of the most all-around powerful teams at his disposal, but he's also got big gun distractions and antagonizers in the form of Hincapie, Popovich, and Gusev, not to mention Spanish sensation Alberto Contador.

Disco will go into this year's race with a different game plan than in years past, but the new plan could suit their talent quite well.

So Levi gets my support on the GC this year, though he is by no means the only one. I'm excited for this race as, in the absence of Lance, Floyd, Ivan Jan, Paco, and other typically strong finishers, the GC is as wide open as it's been in recent memory. I look for big things from Vino, of course, but I'm still not convinced he can hold on throughout the whole tour. I just don't know if he's a smart enough rider.

Valverede could make some excitement on the road, as could Zabriskie. And it doesn't end there. Pereiro looks strong, as does Moreau. And so on.

The whole thing starts this weekend. I just hope I can find a place to watch.

Summer's Here

Me and Cathy spent the last week in Austin, visiting friends and attending the wedding of John and Kimberly. We had a fantastic time. The flooding afflicting that part of the country avoided Austin proper during our stay, keeping its fury confined to perimeter spots like Marble Falls (16" in 1 day!!!).

So, we left unseasonably pleasant Austin weather to return to unseasonable dismal Boise weather. Yesterday saw us pass 100F easily, today we'll see 105F, and Saturday should bring temps of about 107F. That's ridiculous. It's terrible.

So, yes, summer is here in all its grass-baking fire-spawning glory. But hey, it's a dry heat, right?