My First Yoga

I wish I had more time to elaborate, but yesterday I went to my first yoga class. It was interesting to say the least. When it started out, I was a little leery, as the instructor was saying things like "let every vertebrae breath" "what do you want this yoga class to be for you" I would get in major trouble if I told you what I was thinking when she was saying this. But, in the end, I'm hooked. It felt like I ran for an hour, but better because my muscles were loose.

I can tell a big difference in running to work, while focusing on my time. I'm cautiously optimistic on my times for next year. As I stated before, I recently got a new mp3 player and will splurge on some new shoes next year. I think you are supposed to change shoes every 1,000 miles. I've had these shoes for about a year and have ran around 2,000 miles in them and my feet are feeling the pain!

I'll be running in Hawaii next week, so hopefully I'll be able to post some nice pics.

I've been on "vacation" for the past 4 days as everyone else in the United States. I put the word vacation in quotation marks due to the fact that it was spent entirely with family and required over 1,000 miles of driving - not exactly the two most relaxing endevours. Owell, in 3 days I will be in Hawaii, resting up for 2007.

This morning's run was fun, and at 39 degrees I got too hot with my sweatpants and sweatshirt.

On a separate note, my wife bought me a mp3 player with 8 gb of storage, which I am completely stoked about. My current mp3 player, sucks so bad it won't even make it through a long-run without replaying music I have already listened too.

Cheers,

Time Flies when you are having fun... Sunday night I reformated the entire blog and then I guess I forgot to save it so all is lost...thank goodness I did bookmark a lot of the information.

I have ran at least 6 miles everyday this week, and my legs are VERY SORE! Maybe I need to do something really crazy like stretch after I run.

I hope all is well, and staying reasonably healthy this holiday season!

There are about a billion bicycles in the world

There are about a billion bicycles in the world, twice as many as motorcars. Almost 400 million bicycles are in China.

Although Leonardo da Vinci drew some rough sketches of a contraption that looked like a bicycle, the Frenchman De Sivrac built the first bicycle-type vehicle in 1690. It was referred to as a hobbyhorse. However, it did not have pedals. Those were added in 1840 by a Scottish blacksmith, Kirkpatrick Macmillan, who is credited with inventing the real bicycle.

The bicycle as we know it today - with two wheels of the same size - looks almost exactly the same as one from 1900.

The world speed record on a bicycle is held by John Howard of the US. In 1985 he reached 245,08 km/h (154 mph), cycling in the slipstream of a specially designed car.

Air-filled tyres were used on bicycles before they were used on motorcars.

I recently had a friend who asked how he could lose 35 lbs. I (without any hesitation) told him to run a marathon. He (without hesitation) asked if there was anything else he could do since he can't run to the mailbox without being out of breath.

So I told him to quit drinking cokes. He was currently on his fifth coke (we were at dinner) and assuming there were about 150 calories in each glass and noting he had drank a couple earlier in the day, it was fairly rational to assume he had drank around 1,000 calories that day just in Coca-Cola!

I haven't heard any updates on whether he has taken the challenge, but another friend did take the challenge and lost 5 lbs the first 7 days!!!! I knew it would work but just didn't figure anybody would actually do it. Being a math geek I put some VERY interesting numbers together.

Can of Coca-Cola	140 calories
3 Cans a Day	420
420*365=	153,300
Isn't that crazy! 153,300 calories a year! 2,000 calorie a day diet
153,300/2000=	76.65
76.65/365=	21%

EVEN CRAZIER! If you stopped it would be like fasting for 76.65 days in the year or 21% of the year!!!!!

I found this neat calorie calculator for any food you can imagine

From SFBIKE.ORG

I slept in today, but ran in yesterday morning with a decent time. Hopefully, I can get in some long runs this weekend with the awesome weather we are having in Chattanooga, TN.

WOW! Last night I was pleasantly surprised by my new Runners World. It was the best Runners World I have ever read - jammed pack with training ideas and goals for 2007. I woke up this morning and not only did my 10K into work 10 minutes faster than normal - I ran an extra 2 miles I was so jazzed up!

And not that I need anything else to pump me up - I got on the Runners World web-site and I qualify for the "advanced training plan" Sounds good at least! You can find the plan here

They even had some race ideas to qualify for Boston for slow-pokes like me (e.g. an all down hill marathon in Utah).

Here are some links for anyone interested in Marathon Training!
http://www.halhigdon.com/marathon/Mar00index.htm

And to see what times you need to qualify for Boston:
http://www.bostonmarathon.org/BostonMarathon/Qualifying.asp

This week was extremely busy at work, so my apologies for not posting as much. I promise - 2007 - will be a banner year for postings, and hopefully for acomplishments as well.

I just found an awesome spreadsheet to track how many miles you bike throughout the year - you can download the spreadsheet by clicking here

Last night I scanned www.marathonguide.com and wrote down my athletic goals for the year:

1. To finish a marathon in under 4 hours
2. To finish a century

I have widdled the marathon decision down to the atlanta marathon, knoxville marathon, kentucky derby marathon, and/or the Country Music Marathon.

As for the century I'm sure I'll just do Chattanooga's three state, three mountain challenge. If anyone finds any good (e.g. free) marathon training guide's let me know!

Ok, this would be a non-even to my big internet marketing friend Chris Bradberry, but I was looking up a race I heard about in Chattanooga - Big Daddy's Bike and Run, and my blog was on th e first page of the google search! I thought it was pretty cool.

Even still, I didn't find anything about the race, even after calling a couple of cycling shops and a local gym, so leave a comment if anyone know's anything.

Cheers,

Sorry, about the time off. But it hasn't been exactly prime triathlon season and I've been giving my body a break as I transition from biking to work to running. My plan for 2007 is to do some marathons in the begining of the year then "maybe" a century and then hope into triathlons once summer is here.

Floyd Landis rolled out key elements of his defense against doping charges in an online presentation Thursday, several months before the cyclist is to present his case to an arbitration panel in hopes of keeping his Tour de France title.

Early Thursday, Landis posted a PowerPoint presentation prepared by Arnie Baker, a retired doctor and longtime coach and adviser, as well as several hundred pages of documents related to the charges on his Web site, http://www.floydlandis.com .

The presentation highlights what are said to be a number of inconsistencies in both the paperwork and the results provided by the French lab that reported elevated ratios of testosterone to epitestosterone in Landis' "A" and "B" samples, as well as the presence of synthetic testosterone.

"We have no reason to question the conclusions of the Chatenay-Malabry lab," Tour de France director Christian Prudhomme said Thursday, referring to the town where the French lab is located.

The alleged inconsistencies were part of a motion that the cyclist's attorney, Howard Jacobs, submitted to a U.S. Anti-Doping Agency review board seeking to have the case dismissed. That request was denied last month.

Landis is scheduled to present his formal appeal to a panel from the American Arbitration Society in late January or early February. He also could appeal to the Swiss-based Court of Arbitration for Sport.

Tour de France organizers already have said they no longer consider Landis the champion, elevating second-place finisher Oscar Pereiro instead. They also planned to begin proceedings to formally strip Landis' title when the appeals process is exhausted.

Landis' positive test results were reported less than a week after his triumphant July 23 ride into Paris. In the days following the report, Landis contended a number of factors could have triggered the result _ thyroid medication, cortisone injections for a damaged hip, his tendency to produce too much testosterone, even some whiskey he drank the night before his stirring win in Stage 17.

In the online presentation, Landis' experts now contend the French lab erred in its analysis, incorrectly labeled samples and ignored the World Anti-Doping Agency testing standards and chain-of-custody protocol, among numerous other mistakes.

"The whole process has been full of errors," Baker concludes at one point in the presentation.

USADA rules prohibit the agency from commenting on an active case.

Boulder, Colorado---Imagine being able to train and compete like a professional. Starting now, eight ordinary people will get extraordinary training, equipment and coaching to compete like the professional Triathlete.

raceAthlete.com is proud to announce the formation of Team raceAthlete in conjunction with CycleOps Power, Zipp Speed Weaponry, BMC Bicycles, D3 Multisport and Descente Athletic Apparel. Eight lucky age group athletes will showcase the improvements that can be achieved through world class equipment and training resources. This will give select age groupers the opportunity to compete like seasoned professional triathletes.

The chosen athletes will get state-of-the-art PowerTap SL’s by CycleOps Power to help them train and monitor their progress with ultimate power and efficiency.

Swiss based BMC bicycles will provide them with proven bicycle technology—the same TTO2 Time Machine ridden at the Tour de France.

Zipp Speed Weaponry will provide world class speed and aerodynamic wheels and components. These are the same wheels ridden by champion Triathletes like Peter Reid.

D3 Multisport will provide comprehensive coaching and training plans for the athletes to help them with expert advice and today’s most cutting edge training tools for peak performance.

Descente Athletic apparel will provide state of the art training and racing apparel to help propel the athletes to the winner’s circle.

Members of Team raceAthlete will compete in triathlon events all around the globe. Athletes will chronicle their journey from “ordinary to extraordinary” as they progress towards the ultimate Iron distance race! You can follow their progress on raceAthlete.com, as well as the athlete’s own popular endurance Blogs and Podcasts.

raceAthlete.com is a one-stop source that spotlights top endurance sports writers, bloggers, and podcasters—all in a networked community for aspiring race athletes!

CycleOps Powertaps are provided by the Wisconsin-based Saris Cycling Group. The Saris Cycling Group is Saris Cycle Racks and CycleOps Power.(www.cycleops.com)

Swiss based BMC (www.bmc-cycling.com) builds bikes with style, passion and precision. Innovative design features, rigorous testing, and a long history of working with the World’s best athletes have resulted in truly unique bicycles. BMC sets new standards and continues to push the design and performance envelope year after year.

Zipp (www.zipp.com) produces world class wheels that are tops in speed and aerodynamics. Zipp also provides unsurpassed component technology always on the cutting edge. Zipp builds the fastest wheels in the world as tested in Tour magazine, they were the first company to manufacture carbon cranks and the new vuka Aero bar already has a patent pending.

D3 Multisport (www.d3multisport.com) utilizes the most current research and training techniques and combines them with race proven strategies to create the best possible training programs for any athletes.

Axcent Sports (www.descenteathletic.com) was formed to license and distribute Descente Athletic apparel in the United States for the sports categories of Cycle, Run and Fitness, among others.

My favorite blog is www.thekirkreport.com. One of the best things he does is post random links thoughout the week, so I though I would share some of my favorite links, that aren't on my sidebar.

NY Times Travel on Bike Tours in Wine Country

Bicycling.com - updated news on all cycling events

Great Forum - everything from BMX, triathlons, biking2work, jokes, ok you get the picture

Great Music - DON'T JUDGE A BOOK BY ITS COVER UNTIL YOU LISTEN TO IT ON YOUR MP3!!!!

Cool Custom Bikes - That I can't afford

Cool nonCustom Bikes that I can't afford

Cool Local Bike Manufacture - AND yes, sadly again I can't afford them either!

Awesome - environmental cylist, a very weird web-site, but very cool

My favorite band, my wife doesn't let me listen to because I get so pumped up!

My favorite band instead

Another great band that noone has heard of!

The ultimate band of all time that will never be removed from the top!

Sorry it's been so long since my last post! It has been really tough at work. Although I do have a goal of completing an Ironman, my career comes first. I have noticed a lot of triathletes hate their job, and "escape" by training and competing in triathlons. The exact opposite is true with me. I love my job, and just need to release a little stress before work and/or after work - and that is where by triathlon trianing comes in.

I had a great day on Friday, I was just biking along to work and noticed a group of 30 + cyclists. I stopped by and noticed it was bike2work friday. It's funny b/c all of my friends are impressed by me running or cycling to work. In reality, there are a lot of people out there that bike 2 work and have a lot longer to go than me. This one guy does 30 miles one-way, and even does it in the rain! Chattanooga really is very condusive for cycling and a lot of other outdoor sports.

I'm fixing to update my calendar on the side, I've been contemplating what my goals will be for next year, and that is why the long delay.

Biker hit by car and lands on his feet with ninja like smoothness

This guy gets hit by a car running a red light, lands on his feet and walks around yelling. clipaday.com

Since I haven't posted in quite sometime, you can tell that I haven't done much training. My wife took a vacation to the beach, and I just put in a bunch of hours at the beach. However, next week, I'm doing what is listed below with a bunch of other fellow Chattanoogan's and am extremely excited about the challenge. I haven't ran in quite sometime, but I have been cycling enough to keep me in pretty good shape.

Start 6:30 PM at the Provident lot.

Day 1 (Wed) Aug 23
10k - 6:30 PM The course runs out toward Moccasin Bend

Day 2 (Thurs) Aug 24 - 2 races
5k - 6:30 am and 15k - 6:30 PM

The 15k will NOT be on the riverwalk, he is looking for a more forgiving route than 9 miles of concrete.

Day 3 (Fri) Aug 25
Run up Signal Mountain (aprox 8k) - 6:30 PM Start at the Food Lion on Mtn Creek Rd, time trial start 15 sec intervals in reverse overall order


Day 4 (Sat) Aug 26
Big Daddy Trail Run (aprox 13 miles) - 7:30 am
Starts at the Commons Area on Lookout Mountain.

This defense actually makes alot of sense. I wish the mainstream media would report this, instead of what the Nazi French are telling everyone!

Landis fires back at UCI, WADA, maintains innocence

---

ESPN.com news services

Floyd Landis continued firing back at his accusers on Monday, telling ESPN and ABC's Good Morning America that he was left to speculate the cause of test results indicating a high testosterone ratio when cycling's governing body and the World Anti-Doping Agency failed to follow their own rules and made the results public.

"If I was watching from the outside it would look like I didn't know what I was talking about. ... I felt like I needed to say something to give the press something to say rather than harass my family and friends. That was a mistake."

Floyd Landis

In interviews, Landis said the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) and WADA gave the test results to the press before giving him time to learn more about the findings and mount a defense. That, Landis said, led to a kitchen sink approach to explaining the cause -- including some explanations from which he now is distancing himself, such as drinking whiskey the night before his stirring Stage 17 comeback. In his first interviews since his "B" sample came back positive for unnatural testosterone on Saturday, Landis offered no new evidence of his innocence, but remained defiant about being considered champion of the Tour de France. "I know the truth. I know I won the Tour clean. I know I raced by the rules,' he told ESPN, adding that the yellow jersey is "at my house & I'm going to keep it. I know what happened and I'm proud of it."

"I put in more than 20,000 kilometers of training for the Tour," he told USA Today for a story posted on the newspaper's Web site Sunday night. "I won the Tour of California, Paris-Nice and the Tour de Georgia. I was tested eight times at the Tour (de France); four times before that stage and three times after, including three blood tests. Only one came back positive. Nobody in their right mind would take testosterone just once; it doesn't work that way."

As for the accuracy of the tests that measured his testosterone ratio, Landis told ESPN "Based on the results I see couple possible explanations, either the test doesn't work at all or something happened to the urine sample, I don't know which & I'm not going to speculate." The results of his "A" test, which showed an imbalance in his testosterone to epitestosterone ratio, were made public July 27. The tests also showed a synthetic source of testosterone -- one that his body did not make. Landis denies taking synthetic testosterone, saying it would not give him the kind of short-term advantage that would have boosted him to his Stage 17 comeback. Landis told USA Today that sprinter Justin Gatlin's "A" test showing the same imbalance was not announced for three months, "while I had only two days to react to mine. [UCI head] Pat McQuaid said he had to release mine before the lab leaked it." In more desperate straits than when everyone counted him out of the Tour before Stage 17, Landis has been fired by his Phonak team and the Tour de France no longer considers him its champion. Landis said his biggest mistake has been offering daily excuses for his positive test. "That is where I got into trouble from the beginning," Landis told Good Morning America on Monday morning. "All of these reasons that have come up we need to forget about that and let the experts figure it out." Landis and his defense had offered various explanations for the high testosterone-epitestosterone ratio, such as cortisone shots taken for pain in his degenerating hip, drinking beer and whiskey the night before the tests, thyroid medication, and his natural metabolism. "Number one, the whiskey idea was not mine from the beginning," he told Good Morning America. "And the dehydration was a theory from the lawyers, which I must say I hired in Spain to represent me at the opening of the sample -- but was not authorized by me to say something like that, and I'm disappointed with that and something has to be done with that." He acknowledged that early kitchen sink approach has cost him credibility. "If I was watching from the outside it would look like I didn't know what I was talking about," he told ESPN. "I felt like I needed to say something to give the press something to say rather than harass my family and friends. That was a mistake." "I've been catching a lot of grief in the press: 'Floyd has a new excuse, a new reason for what happened,' " he told USA Today. "This is a situation where I'm forced to defend myself in the media. It would never have happened if UCI and WADA had followed their own rules."

Landis said there's "zero chance" someone on the Phonak team gave him testosterone -- either by accident or on purpose. But he didn't discount some kind of conspiracy by the UCI or WADA.

"There's some kind of agenda there," he told USA Today. "I just don't know what it is."

After he has hip replacement surgery in about two weeks, Landis will have to start preparing for his appearance before the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency sometime next month, where he will try to explain why his test results came back positive.

Landis, who was raised a Mennonite in Pennsylvania, told Good Morning America he also leans on his mother for support.

"She's the one that no matter what happens, to me or to anyone else in life, she will remain unchanged," he said. "When she spoke to me, she said 'Look, tell me the truth, doesn't matter to me what it is, I'll see you the same regardless.' And I think if you saw any of her interviews on television she believes." "Based on how may times the rules have been broken I'm not confident the system works but I know the truth, my friends and family know the truth."

Colbert on Landis

This is the best YouTube EVER! Kevin, you will really enjoy this one!

This is crazy stuff! I hope this never happens to me!!!!!

PHOENIX, Arizona (Reuters) - A hefty bystander at a road accident in southern Arizona heaved a car clean off a trapped teenage cyclist, possibly saving his life, police said on Friday.

Eighteen-year-old Kyle Holtrust was struck by a car as he pedaled along a Tucson highway late on Wednesday and pinned beneath it, city police said.

Tucson paintshop worker Tom Boyle grabbed the Chevrolet Camaro car and lifted it, allowing the driver to haul the injured cyclist clear.

"He lifted that side of the car completely off the ground," police spokesman Frank Amado told Reuters by telephone.

Amado said Holtrust was being treated in hospital, and was expected to make a full recovery.

Local media said Boyle is 6 feet four inches tall and weighs 300 pounds (136 kg).

"It was outstanding," Amado said. "It is quite unusual to have that strength."

FROM http://neilroad.blogspot.com/

FROM http://neilroad.blogspot.com/

This is a must READ!!!!

Lets get the facts straight!

I’m a night-owl and like to sleep in late. This past Thursday, 7:00 a.m., I was awakened by a phone call from my publisher. As a rule I don’t answer my publisher’s calls and let them go to voice mail. “Neil, wake up! They found Floyd positive. Find out what’s going on and call me back!” After several days of researching, this is what I’ve found out.

First off, let’s all take a collective breath and settle down. First, he is not positive for anything. At this point all that has been identified is an abnormality. An abnormality in his ratio of testosterone to epitestosterone. As I write this we are still waiting for the “B” sample to confirm whether that finding is accurate. As Floyd has said, more than likely the “B” sample will come back affirming that his ratio of testosterone to epitestosterone in his body is greater than the 4:1 ratio that the UCI has set as a threshold. But let’s look at the facts: if he was taking testosterone he would have need to have been on a course of this drug for weeks, not the day after his disastrous stage 16 [Dr. G. Forbes, Journal of American Medical Assoc. 1992 page 397-399]. A person can’t take testosterone exogenously one day and the next have a miraculous turn around the next. What the media has been stating is that Floyd has elevated testosterone, and that is simply not true. His ratio of testosterone to epitestosterone is greater than 4:1, which does not mean his testosterone is high. Also, testosterone is not a drug that a cyclist would take. Testosterone builds muscle mass, the last thing a Tour de France winner wants. Floyd’s doctor, Brent Kay, explained it on Larry King Live.

KING: How do you explain the high level of testosterone?

KAY: Well, I think that’s been one of the problems is that he does not have a high level of testosterone. That’s not been documented …

KAY: He has a high ratio of testosterone to epitestosterone in his urine.

KING: Meaning?

KAY: Which could be due to an elevated testosterone level. It could be due to a lower epitestosterone level. And it could be due to a variety of other factors with handling and specimen contamination and various other things.

People have asked me, “But look at his comeback from his bad day to winning by eight-minutes the next.” If you know anything about the sport of cycling and the tactics employed this is easily explained. Stage 16 was a course full of undulations. With the pressure of the Yellow Jersey, he did what athletes sometimes do, forget to eat and drink enough, and he ran out of energy. The next day in Stage 17, with nothing to lose, he attacked on the first climb of the day. While a strong attack, it was nothing that his opponents couldn’t go with. Floyd gambled; he had nothing to lose and realized that the only way to make up the eight minutes loss from the previous day was to go early. The chase behind was unorganized. CSC and T-Mobile looked at the Yellow Jersey holder to chase. Oscar Pereiro didn’t want to put his men on the front and burn them out, so the peloton let Floyd go. On the climbs, the chasing peloton did claw back some time, but Floyd’s superior descending skills pulled back that lost time. And on the final climb Floyd lost some time, allowing Pereiro to retain the jersey by a hair. Allen Lim, one of Floyd’s trainers, had posted the watts generated during the stage (watts is the amount of energy produced). And while beyond the ability of ordinary riders, not unnaturally high, and within range of an athlete with Floyd’s ability. Floyd won that stage through guts, determination and luck, not due to any doping.












With Floyd winning the Tour, it was natural that he was going to be on our next cover of ROAD. Suddenly I was getting asked, “Are you still running Floyd on the cover?” My answer, ABSOLUTLY! Not for a second did we think of pulling the cover. I would also like to do something with Floyd on the following issue’s cover of ROAD for our Interbike issue, one of our biggest and important issues. That is how much I believe that Floyd is innocent. Unfortunately, Floyd and cycling will get dragged through the mud for a few weeks. I know that there will always be a group of haters that love to jump on a doping story and paint with broad strokes a dismal, dope-filled picture of cycling. If that’s what you want to do, there’s little I can say to open your mind. Scandal is all you can see. For now I ask people to look at the facts and don’t get caught up in the easy, hyped-up story of doping. Give Floyd the opportunity to defend himself.

I would like to do this next year:

Brief Description:	The 5th Annual 24 Hours of Booty, made possible by The Hearst Corporation. The one and only 24-hour road cycling charity ride! Details and updates about the event are on our website at
Fees:	$50 individual or $35 team member registration fee plus $50 minimum fundraising requirement
Online Reg. Closes:	July 21, 2006 11:59 PM Pacific Time
Online Donations:	Click here to donate to 24 Hours of Booty - 2006

This one-of-a-kind event is fully supported on a traffic-free course in beautiful Myers Park. Challenge yourself or your team to 3 miles to 300+ miles of riding on the gentle and scenic Booty Loop while raising funds and awareness for noteworthy cancer charities!

WHAT: The 5th Annual 24 Hours of Booty, made possible by The Hearst Corporation. The one and only 24-hour road cycling charity ride! This one-of-a-kind event features solo and team relay options with full support on a traffic-free course in beautiful Myers Park. Challenge yourself or your team to 24 hours of riding, whether you ride 3 miles or 300 miles, on the gentle and scenic Booty Loop while raising funds and awareness for noteworthy charities!

WHEN: The event will begin at 7pm on Friday, July 28, 2006, behind Queens University of Charlotte on Wellesley Avenue. All riders will finish at 7pm Saturday. Special awards for the top 3 individual fundraisers and top team fundraisers will be presented at an awards ceremony just prior to the start of the 3rd annual Bank of America Invitational Criterium on August 5th, including a 2006 Trek Madone bicycle for the top fundraiser! Maps of the Booty Loop and driving directions are on our website (www.24HoursofBooty.com).

WHY: The inaugural 24 Hours of Booty was created, organized, and completed by Charlotte cyclist Spencer Lueders in November 2002 to raise money and support for the Lance Armstrong Foundation (www.laf.org). Spencer did the event solo as a "test ride" to see if it could be done, although many people came out to ride with him during the day and night. Spencer set the bar by completing 312 miles. For the 2nd Annual 24 Hours of Booty in 2003, all cyclists were invited to register and participate in the event. We had a great turnout of almost 200 cyclists and raised over $33,000! The 3rd Annual 24 Hours of Booty 2004 included over 500 riders and raised over $100,000! The 4th Annual 24 Hours of Booty included over 800 riders and raised over a quarter of a million dollars! Our goal this year is to raise over $400,000, with proceeds going to the Lance Armstrong Foundation (www.laf.org) and Carolina-based cancer initiatives, such as the Brain Tumor Fund for the Carolinas (www.charlottecriterium.org/theCause.asp).

HOW: Through inspiration, hope, challenge, and celebration. There are many reasons why riders participate in this event. Maybe they know someone who has battled cancer. Maybe they battled cancer themselves. Maybe they are riding in honor or in memory of a friend or loved one. Maybe they are passionate about the cancer community, survivorship, and the desire to make progress. Maybe they believe the saying “knowledge is power” begins with them. Or maybe they want to try to riding a century, but afraid to try a course that could leave them miles from home. Maybe they simply want to see how far they can ride in 24 hours. Maybe they are part of a corporate team that allows each rider to participate in whatever capacity they wish. Or maybe they want to bring the family, camp on the lawn, enjoy the atmosphere, and soak it all in. Those are just some of the reasons why people ride the 24 Hours of Booty. It is a special event, whether from a cycling perspective, or from a cancer perspective.

THE EVENT FEATURES:
- a closed course
- round-the-clock police support
- breakfast, lunch, and dinner for all riders
- great fundraising award levels, including a Trek Madone bicycle for the top fundraiser!
- free bike support
- free camping
- tons of free products and schwag
- and a fun atmosphere the whole family can enjoy!

Bike Theft Stunt

Tour De France Winner Flunks Drug Test

By STEPHEN WILSON
AP Sports Write

Tainted at the start, the Tour de France may have been tainted at the finish, too. Floyd Landis' stunning Tour de France victory was thrown into question Thursday when his team said he tested positive for high testosterone levels during stage 17, when the 30-year-old American champion began his stunning comeback with a gritty charge into the Alps.

The Phonak team suspended Landis, pending results of the backup "B" sample of his drug test. If Landis is found guilty of doping, he could be stripped of the Tour title, and Spain's Oscar Pereiro would become champion.

Touching Triathlon

My wife and I watched this tonight and both of us were inspired. I hope all of you are as well. Just to let you all know they have never finished last and have done multiple Ironmans!

This is a job I definately do not want!!!

This guy makes me look lazy:




More people are choosing bikes for fun, freedom, savings

By JAMIE SCHUMAN, The Herald-Sun
July 19, 2006 8:26 pm

DURHAM -- When Daniel Amoni moved to a new house in Carrboro, he didn't rent a moving van.

After all, Amoni, a carpenter and woodworker, already had a 5-foot trailer attached to his mountain bike.

So he just took off the plywood and tools that often sit there and put on bookshelves, utensils and even a bed.

About 25 trips later, Amoni and his family had biked their way to a new house, a half-mile from their old home (They did use a car on rainy days).

"Ever since I could ride a bike, it was always a symbol of freedom for me," Amoni said.

Amoni is one of a small but hearty contingent of area residents whose bikes are their main methods of transportation.

The number is growing, some bicycle advocates say, because of bike safety efforts, peer encouragement and rising gas prices. Regular unleaded gas prices were about $2.92 a gallon this week in the Triangle, according to AAA.

But many avid bikers say they choose to live car-free -- or nearly car-free -- not just for financial or environmental reasons, but for fun.

"I never liked driving," said Johannes Rudolph, who bikes seven miles round trip to his job at Duke University and who rarely uses a car. "Driving aggravated me."

When Rudolph moved to Durham seven years ago, he chose to live in the Croasdaile neighborhood partly to have a short bike commute to work.

Still, it took him awhile to feel safe riding in the city. When traffic started to scare him, he switched to a car for more than a year.

But one perfect autumn morning, he woke up and "couldn't take it anymore." So he invested in bright lights and yellow clothing and saddled up again.

"For me, it's how I turn on and off every day," said Rudolph, a biochemistry and chemistry professor who recently got rid of his $1,000-a-year Duke parking pass. "I need that transition period, and, in a car, I don't get it."

The area is conducive to biking, Rudolph says, because it is compact.

He often bikes to the grocery store or to the Carolina Theatre or the Southpoint cinemas -- but he does so on a tandem with his wife.

"This way, she's never more than a foot behind me," joked Rudolph.

The tandem, he added, allows one person to concentrate on signaling to traffic.

Brian Highfill, a bike mechanic at The Bicycle Chain on Franklin Street in Chapel Hill, owns a pickup truck but hasn't used it in two years. He and his roommate have about 20 bikes in their Carrboro apartment.

Ironically, Highfill used to be a car mechanic for NASCAR and Volvo. But he got sick of the work and "decided to veer off in the other direction."

He prefers fixing bikes because they are cleaner than cars. He prefers riding bikes because he doesn't have to spend money on gas or insurance.

Plus, he says, pretty much everything he needs is nearby. When he does go afar, he gets a ride with a friend.

Highfill also uses his bike to deliver sandwiches for Jimmy John's on Franklin Street. About half of the restaurant's deliveries are by bike, said manager Erricca Dunn.

It's especially convenient to get around UNC, where many of Jimmy John's deliveries are, on two wheels, she said.

Other organizations in Chapel Hill and Carrboro also are trying to increase bicycle use.

Two nonprofit groups, Students United for a Responsible Global Environment and The Recyclery, are planning to launch a bicycle rental program in September.

People who pay a $10 annual membership fee would be able to borrow bikes from designated pickup points around town.

"We're not trying to make money," said Dennis Markatos-Soriano, executive director of SURGE. "We're trying to increase bicycle use."

Despite its appeal, riding bikes around here does have its problems. The main one, many bikers say, is car traffic.

Amoni said cars have passed him when he was riding in the middle of the lane.

For Scott Jewitt, Highfill's roommate, Franklin Street is a "death trap." Bikers aren't supposed to ride on the sidewalks, and cars often park on the road's shoulder. Still, Jewitt rides on the busy street each day.

Others avoid troublesome roads.

Rudolph takes a longer route to Duke to avoid Hillandale Road.

"Hillandale is a death trap as far as I'm concerned, so I don't take Hillandale," Rudolph said.

To promote bike safety, Durham officials recently wrote pamphlets on the topic for motorists and bikers and are distributing the information at libraries, universities and other locations.

In August, Durham city and county officials should complete a new draft of a joint bike plan, which has goals for road improvements, bike rack additions and education measures.

"There definitely are areas that are more bikeable than others," said Alison Carpenter, bike and pedestrian coordinator in Durham.

Carpenter said she was confident the bike plan would make Durham more bicycle friendly.

Heather Fisher, chairwoman of the Durham Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Commission, said community members have designated Erwin Road, N.C. 751, Main Street, Hillsborough Road, Hillandale Road, U.S. 15-501 and Morreene Road as some areas where they want to see improvements.

Cycling News Extra for July 21, 2006

Edited by Jeff Jones, with assistance from Susan Westemeyer

T-Mobile terminates Ullrich and Sevilla's contracts

T-Mobile Team has terminated its contract with Jan Ullrich, effective July 20, the rider announced today. The team's manager Olaf Ludwig comfirmed this to sid. Oscar Sevilla has also been sacked, as a result of his involvement in the Operacion Puerto affair.

Ullrich's manager, Wolfgang Strohband, said, "The termination is groundless." If the discussions that are planned for the next week do not bring an agreement, he announced that Ullrich will be represented by Dr. Ulrich Theune, an attorney who said, "The termination will not hold up."

Ullrich showed himself hurt by the process. "The termination from T-Mobile is not acceptable to me. I'm very disappointed that they didn't inform me of this decision personally, but that the T-Mobile attorneys simply sent me a fax.

"They should be ashamed of themselves - after so many years of good work together and after everything I have done for the team, they just handle me like a fax number."

When I was in the Marine's they always told us about the medical benefits of drinking a beer after running. (Carb replacement, etc..) More can be found here


But now, check this out from NBC News.

Sports drinks might be popular, but an Indiana University researcher says that the beverage of choice for an athlete after exercise should be a tall glass of chocolate -- or any flavored -- milk.

Joel Stager, who also is a swimming coach, said he tells his athletes to drink chocolate milk after practice. He said the drink helps muscles refuel and recover.

"It replaces the carbs in the muscle cells," Stager said. "And the other thing it's got going for it, it has a ratio of 4-to-1 carbohydrate to protein. And when athletes are exercising, they need an increased protein intake."

Stager said any flavored milk or any milkshake will do.

"Milkshakes work great. (It) doesn't have to be chocolate," Stager said.

Stager said athletes would do well to drink at least 12 ounces of flavored milk or milkshake after a strenuous workout.

I can't afford SWOBO, but they do make a great product and they make a great argument for why regular cyclist should wear their clothes.

Bicycle

Alright! Now here is a movie that is a must see http://www.witmovie.com/

I have a bias towards documentaries already, but this is going to be awesome and will definately be a "pre-order" from Amazon.com!

I had a great ride into work this morning and me a woman named Lynn who was also biking into work. She was very nice, and bikes to work for environmental reasons (note: she had peace sign earrings). She told me for every 4 miles you drive, your car emits 8 pounds of pollutants! It doesn't take a math geek like myself to realize that the average commute in America is 16 miles (one-way; 32 round-trip). So we multiply 32/4*8 = 64 pounds of pollutants a day for the average American. Multiply this by your state (mine, Tennessee' 5.7 mm people) = Heck of a lot of nasty stuff in the air!

I really do wish more people biked to work because I KNOW their lives would really be changed for the better as they would realize the REAL BENEFITS! Can I say "real" one more time?

PHYSICAL EXERCISE; LESS STRESS THAN DRIVING, ENVIRONMENTAL FRIENDLY; WALLET FRIENDLY!

You can tell that is at the start of the run portion. Needless to say, I wasn't smiling this much, after the run portion!

My training partner's wife took this picture on Sunday. I like how Chattanooga is in the background! Thanks Katie!

Bush & Blair's private chat at G8

I forgot the best part of the triathlon - well two parts actually - my workout partner Kevin and his wife came out which was great for support and then my wife was there as well.

The best part: My wife promised me some pictures for the blog but said I was going too fast on the bike to get any good ones. At first I was dissapointed and then I realized: Heck, that's a compliment!

Peace!

Sorry, for the delay I've been slammed at work- but it is official I have completed my first olympic distance triathlon! The swim was nice, as it was by Chattanooga's art distric and had some nice scenery with the houses. The bike was tough as we did two big bridges two times and then had some serious headwind! The run was the most dissapointing for me personally, the first half mile was straight up-hill. But now I no, what to expect for the future... I'm definately going to scale back my plans and now concentrate on getting better at the Olympic distance. I really don't think I'm going to do another sprint (with the exception of Hilton Head) due to it not really helping me accomplish my goal of an Ironman.

As I told my friend Kevin, if a sprint wanted us to get better bikes, the Olympic distance will really tug at your wallet for a lighter, faster version than our current versions!

For those of you that don't know I am also on myspace.com at www.myspace.com/jimmymoncrief

I just added some great cyclist as friends so be sure to check out their sites!

If anyone has any good future triathlons to do in the Southeast, let me know.

Cheers,

45

813

Jimmy Moncrief

M

25

Chattanooga, TN

0:27:44.25

0:02:09.41

1:23:09.25

0:01:37.18

1:08:31.95

3:03:12.04

Evolution of dance

This guy is my hero!

Alright, the Chattanooga Triathlon is on Sunday, and I have to say that I don't really feel that well prepared given how sore I am after my measly 6 mile run into work this morning. Owell, I know I will have a lot of fun, so I'm excited. Hopefully, my wife will get some good pics for posting on the blog.

I just got back from Asheville, NC and am proud to say that I had the best bike ride ever! It was pretty short - 18 miles, but it was up a mountain! I was impressed with the enormous number of cyclist in Asheville. It would definately be a great place to live. My first Olympic distance triathlon is coming up on Sunday, so I'm getting excited.

Wow, I think I'm pretty out of shape. Everytime I swim, I cannot do anything afterwards. Today I did a mock tri with 20 min of swimming 35 min of cycling and 45 min of running. Nothing went fast. I think I'm going to start eating something right after the swim, hopefully that will help. Now, I'm snacking on some nice chips and dip - hopefully that will give me some energy for tommorow's run. Cheers...

I had a great swim yesterday in some very choppy water due to people skiing on the lake. Just a short bike ride today, but I plan on doing a full olymplic distance triathlon tommorow. Hope everything goes well. Just added this link to my new myspace account so it will be interesting to see how this goes.

Interesting information on urine!

Hope everyone enjoys the video. I had a great swim yesterday and met some really nice fellow triathletes. The bike in the morning wasn't that great as my average speed was not above 20 mph. I'll probably take a day off this weekend to give my legs a break and splurge on some ice cream.

Ironman - Florida 2005

Quality not quantity, right...

Hopefully this is true regarding training and blogging. I biked hard on Monday and Tuesday and ran thereafter. I swam a mile yesterday and was ZAPPED after that to the point of I was barely biking. Swimming needs to be my focus for now, so I will continue to look at this as an opportunity.

Since I last posted basically all I have been doing is swimming...and shamefully to say not much of that and not very fast. But this morning I had another great workout, waking up at 5:00 cycling 22 miles and then running 6 miles. My time wasn't as good since my buddy wasn't with me and didn't have an mp3 player but it was still great waking up early and knocking it all out.

Very cool link: http://deathforecast.com/result.php?record=35993


This will prove that it is great for you to bike to work to not only save on gas!

I hope everyone had a great Memorial Day Weekend. I sure did. My wife's best friend from high school was down with her future husband and some more friends. We all hung out on the lake and went skiing (very good cross-training). I used to laugh at my wife when she said she was sore, now I just empathize. It was really great considering the vast majority of the people there were endurance athletes so it was good to swap stories over some cold beer.

This morning was great: Here's the breadown:

5:00 Alarm rang wife says: "I'm so proud of you for waking up and training" I said "what are you crazy, I'm going back to bed (usual excuses, too early, didn't sleep well, I'll do it in the afternoon).
5:15 Training partner Kevin calls: "Hey man, I'm coming over are you ready to do some cycling" my reply: "of course, I'm waiting on you"
5:40 we hit the road. The weather was amazing, I'm guessing around 65 degrees no humidity, and we owned the road! The first 10 miles we were averaging over 21 mph. Then some hills came and some busy traffic (we were on a highway).
6:40 we had biked around 22 miles and now the fun starts: "the run"
It was funny passing this one guy running, we had passed him a couple of minutes ago on the bike. When we passed him on the bike (he was running) and gave us the classic "wussy" look you should man-up and run. When we passed him running (he was walking by then) he gave us the "you guy's are crazy look"
I got to work around 7:30ish so not too terribly bad, but definitely some major room for improvement on the run time. Hopefully, I can work in a swim today. Hope all is well.

I had another sore day and long day at work so I biked around 20 miles after work and called it quits. Hopefully today I can get in some good swimming. My legs are incredibly sore from all of this cycling.

It's official HUMIDITY is here!

I went on a nice 10k run after work and was really feeling it from the heat. I'm definitely not working out anymore when the tempature is above 80 degrees. This means I will be doing all my training in the morning which is better for you anyway. I also biked around 30 miles and swam. So I'm definitely feeling it in my thighs. I think I'm just going to swim today, and probably run/bike/swim tomorrow.

It is now official - I registered for the Chattanooga Waterfront Triathlon - so no backing out now that I paid the registration fee!

I had an exhausting weekend. Unfortunately, it was the result of not much sleep, a lot of work and no training. Hopefully, today though I'll gain some serious traction. (weather permitting). I got my bike bike and am enjoying it immensely. More later...

I swam a mile after work last night. Definitely not as fast as I should have but it felt great and it was the first time I have swam a mile for quite some time.

I ran into work again this morning, not a bad time <50 min for a 10K. Hopefully I will get my bike back and can get into cycling.

SCCHHHEWWWW!!!!

That's the sound you make after cycling for 1:45 minutes. I was a little late to the spin class so I hoped on a stationary bike, but still got around 1:20 in the spin class last night, very tought.

I ran 10K this morning, it felt great. I'm really starting to push myself in-terms of speed, so I'm pretty excited about everything.

Had a great long-run on Saturday! Although it took me 2.5 hours, I didn't feel so bad when I retraced my route and it was 15.65 miles. Still not great timing but it was a tough route and I was having fun. This week will be my first official week of training for my next triathlon so it will be interesting to see how it all goes. Cheers, Jimmy

I had a great day working out. I biked for an hour (over 20 miles) and did the elliptical for 30 minutes (~3 miles). I did start out pretty bad, as the other night I noticed in a favorite cycling magazine of mine that George Hincapie likes to keep his heart rate around 180. So when the bike asked me my target heart rate, I of course stated 180. I then noticed for someone my age this was the max heart rate for the cardio zone, so I thought: "perfect." Well, many embarrassing moments later I realized that I'm not the 180 type athlete "yet". Everytime I got to around 140 the machine started to make noises and was blinking: "resume workout". You see the pedals were making it harder to get my heart rate up, and my legs weren't exactly cooperating with the whole thing. O well, still I had a fun time. Hopefully, within the next couple of days I can get in a long run.

AGGGGHHHHH, the sound you make after a nice swim in the ocean. I have to tell you, this clear open water is spoiling me. I just went for a little swim today, I think it was a 500. I was planning on running afterwards but some windsurfing came up right when I was finishing and I wanted to check them out. It was two couples, that had seemingly just got off work. It definitely had some thoughts running through my head like: "wouldn't that be cool to do a little windsurfing after work." Dean Karnazes "the ultramarathon man" windsurfes to build up his thighs. It looks like a great sport. Tomorrow, I plan on a full scale workout, so we will see how that all works out. The weather down here is great and by the time I get done working, the humidity has calmed down. Had dinner tonight at the World Famous Fudpuckers. I had a nice grilled tuna steak with a baked potato. This was very tastey, and very healthy. Just as a told my training partner today, cutting out sweets and fried foods has made me feed exponentially better throughout the day.

Cheers, more tomorrow

Well, as I stated before I'm in Ft. Walton, FL on business. Man, what a world of difference there is in humidity down here. I went for a run last night. This was the first run since my marathon last Saturday. It was actually pathetic, I started out in the sand (mistake #1), then for ego purposes I had to at least run to the pier (mistake #2), and then I ran around the island I'm staying on where there is apparently a total disregard for runners, it was now dark (mistakes #3 & #4). So in summary it was a measly two miles that was very painful and dangerous. However, I woke up this morning at 7 and got a nice long run in and hopefully this afternoon, I'll get a nice ocean swim in. As you can see above the ocean is absolutely beautiful down here.

I'm off tomorrow for a week-long business trip, so just in-case I don't have access to a computer I thought I would post this week's training schedule.

Sunday - Rest Day
Monday - Rest Day
Tuesday - Swim (15 minutes), bike 12 miles
Wednesday - Bike 25 miles
Thursday - Bike 12 miles
Friday - Rest Day
Saturday - 6 mile run on the beach (hopefully); swim in the ocean

Notice, I didn't run much this week b/c of the marathon on Saturday, but I should be on a pretty good schedule of running and swimming next week, we will see...

The business trip is in Florida, so hopefully I will be able to post some nice scenery pics.

This me definately not hiding the pain!


As they say: "The more pain, the more gain"

This is definately me "hiding" the pain in my legs. Notice how awesome that stride is!

It is fairly obvious why I'm blogging. I want to be an IRONMAN .

A couple of weeks ago my friend and workout buddy Kevin and I did the Hilton Head Triathlon. Now, this triathlon to most is "just a sprint." But to me it was a life changer. It was a different feeling than I have ever felt in any other sporting event (and yes I've done pretty much everything). My times weren't impressive, but hey it was my first one and I was determined just to have a good time. I talked to people throughout the whole thing - YES - even during the swim which really sucked. I met people from all over and wouldn't trade it for the world. After I finished, I told my buddy Kevin that I can do an Ironman, he politely responed: "Really, you just did a Sprint." It made me think of the famous quote by General Patton: "Accept the challenges, so you may feel the exhileration of Victory."

MALE AGE GROUP:  25 - 29
Place O'All No.   Name                    Age City              St Time    Rank Swim    Tran 1  Rank Bike    Tran 2  Rank Run    
===== ===== ===== ======================= === ================= == ======= ==== ======= ======= ==== ======= ======= ==== =======
   1    10    47 Andrew Babcock           29 Elgin             SC 1:03:45    1    7:15                                 1   21:36
   2    26    33 Joel Blaxland            27 Savannah          GA 1:09:56    2    8:17                                 7   23:22
   3    27    39 Shaun Watson             27 Parris Island     SC 1:10:04    8   10:35    2:09    4   34:51    0:38    3   21:53
   4    29    44 Kevin Mckenna            28 Chattanooga       TN 1:10:17    4    9:01    2:56    2   34:03    0:25   11   23:54
   5    32    35 Jeremy Lane              27 Fayetteville      NC 1:10:29    7   10:21    2:47    3   34:38    0:37    4   22:08
   6    40    19 Daniel Andrepont         25 Herndon           VA 1:11:49    3    8:24    3:23    5   36:13    0:20    8   23:31
   7    46    40 Michael Wise             27 Sanford           NC 1:12:41    5    9:13    2:58   12   37:59    0:54    2   21:38
   8    84    43 Thomas Kilbride          28 Savannah          GA 1:18:11   13   12:34    2:41   14   38:26    0:48    9   23:43
   9    96    36 Breamon Ledbetter        27 Keysville         GA 1:19:27   17   13:54    3:34    7   36:53    0:34   14   24:32
  10    97   247 Stephan Arnold           26 Bluffton          SC 1:19:30   16   13:39    2:48   16   38:52    0:26   10   23:47
  11   103    25 Jonathan Sowinski        25 Easley            SC 1:20:08   26   16:26    2:57    8   37:05    0:58    6   22:45
  12   111    48 Daniel Florin            29 Pooler            GA 1:21:13   12   12:14    3:57   18   39:41    1:14   12   24:08
  13   112    34 Brendan Camp             27 Decatur           GA 1:21:17   19   14:23    4:42   15   38:32    1:16    5   22:24
  14   114    37 Pete Pollak              27 Savannah          GA 1:21:21    9   10:52    4:00   11   37:59    0:58   21   27:34
  15   126    22 Jimmy Moncrief           25 Red Bank          TN 1:22:41   21   14:38    3:14   21   40:07    0:27   13   24:16
  16   133    45 Christopher Skorke       28 Charleston        SC 1:23:59   14   13:01    3:39   17   39:31    1:52   17   25:58
  17   134   237 Scott Mckay              25 Savannah          GA 1:24:03   22   14:54    4:10   10   37:57    1:43   16   25:20
  18   140    23 Steve Mullen             25 Atlanta           GA 1:24:29   10   12:01    3:26   24   42:16    0:39   18   26:09
  19   149    20 Jason Cain               25 Savannah          GA 1:25:07    6   10:18    4:39   13   38:01    0:34   26   31:36
  20   150   230 Mike Sutcliffe           25 Bluffton          SC 1:25:08                         1   34:00    2:11   22   28:33
  21   153    49 Skip Gilliam             29 Guyton            GA 1:25:55   24   15:04    3:07    6   36:25    1:49   24   29:32
  22   156   222 Erik Norman              28 Hilton Head Islan SC 1:26:05   15   13:20    4:36   19   39:57    1:44   19   26:30
  23   165    27 Jon Godwin               26 Richmond Hill     GU 1:27:30   23   14:58    4:08   22   41:41    1:34   15   25:10
  24   170    21 Shawn Glanville          25 Atlanta           GA 1:28:31   20   14:33    3:46   20   40:01    1:07   23   29:05
  25   178    24 Michel Sabbagh           25 Charleston        SC 1:30:17   11   12:07    4:35    9   37:42    2:44   27   33:11
  26   188   246 Paul Cooper              26 Savannah          GA 1:32:05   18   14:10    4:07   23   41:50    1:37   25   30:23
  27   195   212 Daniel Jones             28 Hilton Head Islan SC 1:34:07   25   15:07    4:47   25   46:20    0:56   20   26:59 

Last weekend I just completed the Country Music Marathon in Nashville, TN of-course and did pretty bad time wise, but hey I can check it off on my Life Accomplishment List, so who really cares. Especially, considering that less than 1% of the human race can even complete a marathon.

FName

LName

City

State

Age

Sex

ChipTime

ClockTime

Overall

SexPl

DivPl

pace

total_in_race

total_in_division

total_in_sex

split_1

split_2

split_3

division_name

age_grade

Jimmy

Moncrief

Red Bank

TN

25

M

4:39:05

4:54:09

1983

1304

183

There was around 22,000 runners so not very bad - all things considered!

Hopefully, I can pry the camera away from my wife and get some pics up. Please feel free to leave feedback on any questions or comments!