it was realized over a brewdinner recently,
that there is no website roadrashgirls.com.

. . .

 

we see an opportunity,
we strike.

 

 

that’s the siliconsCruzianway.

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submissions will not be turned away.

Copper0polis … 2008

Sitting at the finish line of Copper, i had a chance to speak with Hannah Banks of the Value Act Capital Team. We were discussing bike racing, i guess … but as we sat in the sun and riders passed by in sprints and spurts, our talk turned to more serious matters of safety out there for us all.

You see, Hannah was a member of that AIS team that had members killed when a driver went crazy-stupid back in Germany. Remember that?

oh, that was just horrible. She was one of the few who weren’t on that ride that day.

And as we sat and talked more and more, i was able to see how articulate, intelligent, pleasant the young woman is … and all at 21 years old.

Hannah Banks is an excellent spokesperson for any company and she will be a powerful force as she develops more in her life.

Seeing and talking to her gave me hope that there might be more like her out there, amongst the vast herds of humanity. Talking to her almost made up for the crapfest of a start i had to my geezer race. you see, I was dinking around before the start and just rolled up to the back of the pack at the line. I was in my own little world, but very happy with how beautiful it was, how big the turnouts were for all the fields, how good it all was. and then … i looked down and noticed somebody had just tossed down a damn gel wrapper on the ground.

right at the start, right in front of that person’s house we invade each year with our bike race. trash, just tossed down.

“oh shit, you’re kidding me?” i said in surprise and dismay … and to no one at all, just to myself … but, i guess my voice carries a bit more than i often remember. And so, to the side of me shoots a quick shit of cynicism from Mark Noble of TimeFactory,

“oh, come off it!” he chirps, basically telling me that i was being a prissy-do-right by caring about discarded gel packs or bottles tossed on roadways.

- - -

are you f’g kidding me?

i show surprise and disgust at some chumpbag dropping trash AT THE STARTLINE OF THE RACE and he gets all “you can’t save the world, liberal pinko” in my face.

BULLSHIT, says i.

so, i railed on his so-cal ass that if he needed his Escalade sent up from the caravan i’d burn some forests in smoke signal for the rest of his so-cal slutbags to unplug themselves from whatever reality-show of the minute they’re “living” in and drive-thru their asses up to our backyard to help distribute more of his garbage around, too.

Now, i can say this to Noble because he’s 1) a good guy; and 2) a limey; and 3) needing to be told this shit. in public.

BECAUSE, this is what is wrong with what’s going on in our world today.

In the end, his viewpoint is ~ “are you going to save the world by doing that?”

and mine is, “well, i’m not going to fuck it up more, am i?”

and isn’t that the starting place? Don’t we have to STOP FUCKING IT UP MORE before we can even begin to start “saving it”?

i’m just asking.

slutbag.

- - -

Anyway, back to Hannah Banks ~ you see, while we were sitting there at the finish line, watching racers cross the line and cheering all the sufferings on … we continued discussing how to bridge this seemingly uncrossable gap between the driver (of any country) and the bicyclist.

As we all know, when we’re out on the roads … sometimes drivers just flat out don’t care, or don’t THINK to care about our safety. It’s true. Let’s just be honest about it.

So the question is ~ in the face of the deaths of our friends, our teammates, our family members … in the face of them being killed and our mourning of it, or shock over it, our righteous rage over the injustice of it …

THE QUESTION IS ~ how do we bridge that gap to the driver, the consumer, the fellow citizen we have bonded together with in this social contract we are a part of, like it or not.

and i’m convinced, it is to put a face to it all. put a connection in place between us humans … and work damn hard to maintain that connection. Hannah mentioned the public service announcement that aired in Australia after her teammates were killed by that motorist in Germany. Where it erred, we opined, was in that it did not have a real, honest human experience attached to it, communicating through it.

What we need are people, drivers and cyclists alike, to see and be touched by the real and devastating consequences of our habits, be they on the road at 25mph, or at the startline with a used gel packet in our hand.

Decide given the full knowledge of the consequences of your action.

or get the hell out of my way.

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James Mattis!

Your new bride has just won the ‘08 World Cup opener!

(i know … we feel the same way.)

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congrats to Kat “Curi” Mattis for letting loose the determination and courage we all suspected flooded her veins.  awesome. - - -{{LINK}}- - -

and i end up with a gazillion emails to reply (late) to … and three-gazillion looks of disdain by anyone i came in contact this weekend and the ridiculous amount of “verbal blogging” i couldn’t keep contained inside.

i really have no idea how Sabine puts up with me. i mean, i can be a pretty quite individual … but, if the internal mono-blog gets rolling … sweet haysoos, i can be a chatty-kathy mo’fo.

ah well.

- - -

NO TIME FOR Scribblings …

So, just a couple of quick impressions of a weekend in bliss~

The Amgen Women’s TOC Crit was … f’ing amazing. The teams all put on such a great display of racing. The crowds were HUGE and rabid in support of the racers. I couldn’t believe how fast and aggressive that race was yesterday. Standouts? to many to mention, but let’s give a few quick blurbs and ask forgiveness for the limited time and words o’ descriptions.

VAC looked absolutely “pro” again. i think they’re the supermodels of the women’s peloton this year. Patella and her crew of ab-fabs are stepping up and i cannot wait to see how they show themselves in ‘08.

Mactier looked in great shape again this weekend, but the rest of the squad looked very, very motivated to ride hard this year. Banks looks fitter than last year - and we’ll see how the rest of the ‘new and improved’ roster settles in together.

VanderKitten blew into the NRC scene in a big, big way this weekend. They came with their new kits, new organization, and a fresh look and attitude towards bike racing. EXCELLENT to see. Vanderkitten is like what Rock Racing could be if they’d concentrate more on creating fashion, and less about being seen.

Although, i must say that i am growing more and more glad that these yayhoos are in the sport. I mean, if we can’t show our aMErican excesses to foreigners through cycling … what good are we as leaders of the free world?

My favorite “Ball-ism” of the weekend was the promo-ending quote of the man with the cash (for now, at least) … “I AM ROCK RACING”.

hell yeah you are, baby. nothing but you.

And I even got a chance to talk with Rock’s Rahsan Bahati for a few minutes Monday night. He was pretty disappointed that he wasn’t able to get a ride on their ToC team this year … which they MUST be kicking themselves about now that they have 5 riders in the race (botero, hamilton, sevilla booted because of operacion puerco).

Bahati is such an interesting character. He’s brash, intelligent, a bit artsy (must be Magnell’s influence), and has a very smooth and, one could say, urbane personality. After talking with him (and letting him know how complimentary all the heckling he got from our NorCal crew down in Encino a couple months back was…), i got the impression that he is a guy who wants to grab the brass ring, you know? You can feel his ambition - it radiates off him like heat. You can see it in his eyes as he talks about his goals for the year ~ the focus, the clarity, the unabashed desire for the highest goals.

right on. go get it, man.
- - -

But, back to the Amgen Women’s Crit ~

PROMAN has made the big push this year … whether they are ready for it, or not. I mean, what a program this small group of people are putting together. They have riders competing around the world at the highest levels on the track, cyclocross, and road circuits.

Phenomenal program.
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Shelley Olds and Virginia Perkins were 4th and 7th at the crit yesterday. They both rode well and are looking to improve this year … big time. Olds is getting headlines (and rightfully so … folks, Shelley and Nikki Cranmer arrived from the Denmark World Cups about 12 hours before the race yesterday!!! … what hammerheads!), but it’s going to be Perkins who might make the surprise splashes this year. She rides smart, strong, and dedicated (it’s probably a PROMAN thing).

Aaron’s came off their “training” win the day before at the Santa Rosa crit with a solid crew of DAlusio acolytes. I’ll say it right now, I think that CarmenD is one of the most professional directors out there. She’s unflappable, organized, hard working … that must be why she’s into that boytoy of hers, ChrisD. Carmen gives the same vibe off as Chris … competent and business. But, when they crack open those smiles of theirs … yeah, they make the world a wee-bit brighter.

It’s hard not to consider the Aaron’s season in 2007 as a success. They were consistent in all the big races regarding results … but, what they really bring to the races is professionalism and a good show for the crowds. The program is a good model for those entering in to this level at the sport with fewer resources than you need and a burning need of “doing things right.”

Aaron’s is all that.

But, they do need a finisher…
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And take notice of Mara Abbott and the High Road chickas. I will refrain from commenting on the “magic bus” font of their kits … and instead focus on how fit and focused Abbott looks already this year. I mean, she seems destined to go uphills very, very fast.

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And, can’t leave this short post without talking about the TIBCO squad. Rais and the other women in baby-blue were spectacular yesterday. Brookecycling.com will be giving us some updates soon on how the final laps shook down … but, let’s just say that the sprint that Miller uncorked for the Tour of California crowds was something … you don’t see everyday.

Shelley Olds unleashed long on the sprint and it was Cheerwine’s Van Gilder taking first jump to grab the wheel. As you can see, that first few pedalstrokes that VG put in as she popped off Olds’ wheel was impressive. Look at the insta-gap that Miller has to drag herself across AND THEN find the speed to actually come around VanGilder.

and she did. but just barely.

The High Road rider, Fahlin of Sweden, was able to just keep on the pressure enough to squeak past the PROMAN rider and finish off the podium. What a finish. The drag to the line had to be the longest kilometer in the universe. We could see the women thundering down the long straightaway for what seemed like eons.

When i saw how long and fast the sprint was, with Olds absolutely KILLING it in her low, pocketrocket position … i knew the final 100m was going to be golden. And it was.

And it was fun.

This is real bike racing.

- - - - -

anyway, that’s my alloted 20min for writing today. I’ll be back tomorrow … or maybe late tonite with some more lies and exaggerations. i’ve gone ahead and made the plunge and am gonna pick up Beth “thunderthighs” Newell and we’re gonna go heckle the shit out of the GOLDSPRINT gig in Sacto.

get ready for it.
~m

Shelley Olds just got the call from TEAM USA

yup, she’ll be playing Tour of Flanders with the other superWomen of Europe … in March and April.

it’s moving forward, ya’ll.

- - - -

and how about some of the other local beauties mucking about in TEAM USA colors … Van Horn, Carroll, Barton, Holloway, Riggs …

that’s pretty hot stuff.

cycling good!!!

The World Cup kicks off today. It’s in LA … that 250meters of swirling mayhem. {{LINK}}

Check out Shelley Olds of PROMAN on her Rock Lobster.

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apparently we’ve got FIXEDGEARFEVER {{LINK}} giving us live feeds from his forums. very cool.

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3:30pm is Shelley’s scratch heat … the final is at 9pm tonite.

(he he, he said ’scratch heat’ .. he, he)

Real Rock Racing.