Burgermeister

Some chick named Maxim Iglinsky won the first official stage of the Tour de Romandie...but the big news is that her teammate, and Mongo's guy, Andreas Kloden, is riding and on good form.

Movin' On Up

"With the 24th pick in the 2008 NFL draft, the Tennessee Titans select...Chris Johnson, RB, East Carolina University."

...And Li'l Fatback

"Thanks for the Gnar and the Shred".

Domo Arigato

Mongo's been recovering from what turned out to be a pretty punishing Monday group ride. Though I'm all healed from the crash, I've had a bad cold dancing around my sinus and chest cavities for about two weeks and my riding has suffered because of it.

The Monday ride is a super-fast drop ride. Mongo is usually near or at the front, so getting dropped is never a concern...that is unless I'm doped up on Benadryl and Claratin, with a pound of phlegm in my lungs.

In cycling as in life, excuses carry little weight, so you either put up or shut up. That's exactly what Mongo did.

After barely hanging on for most of the 30 mile ride, Mongo used the skills he learned as an S1 Keirin Pro, back in Osaka in '89, to weave through the congestion and traffic that had slowed near the end and launch a furious sprint.

...After nearly blacking out and coughing up a rib, my sprint came to a premature halt a mere football field or two from the finish and the peleton swallowed me up. Had I been healthy...

If Movement Matters I Can Still Be Moved

“I censored myself to project an appropriate image
I asked only the questions with comfortable answers
I revealed just enough of the truth that was needed
I avoided the person God intended me to be
I learned through loss the consequences of the myth
I carried the weight of a lifetime of regret
I understood that my slate might never be clean
I changed direction to face the rising sun”

There But For The Grace Of God Go I

Mongo watched Dogtown and Z-Boys the other night for the umpteenth time. It came on Fuel TV, and even though I own it on DVD, I had to watch.

It makes me feel good every time I see it. Memories of my youth are re-awakened, and the pure joy of skateboarding pulses through me. The culture and style of modern skateboarding began with the Zephyr Skate Team...period! Those guys, and girl, are my heroes, but they're not my contemporaries. The skate scene, and the world for that matter, of the 1980's was Mongo's oyster.

Lance Mountain, Steve Caballero, Christian Hosoi, Gator Rogowski...these were the guys my own age out there ripping and inspiring me.

Mongo was attending a snobby New England prep school during this time, and though I was into skateboarding, I was also starting my detachment from reality. Isolated, and separated by several thousand miles from my family, surrounded by wealth and privilege, I created a fantasy world for myself to both survive and thrive. My ego grew and my morals diminished, all in the name of self promotion and self preservation.

You're probably asking yourself, what the f*** does that have to do with anything? Well, bare with me for a minute.

Today, Mongo is older and wiser and a pretty balanced dude. I have been to the top of the mountain and also the bottom of the sea. I have seen and done horrible things that I'll never be allowed to forget, but I've also had the opportunity to redeem myself, which I take advantage of every day...This brings me to my point.

Mark "Gator" Rogowski...He will spend most of his life in jail because he murdered an innocent girl. He can never redeem himself because of this.

There is a dark side to all of us within the human condition, and sometimes we need a little glimpse of it to keep us on the right path. Stoked: The Rise and Fall of Gator is an appropriate lens.

Varsity Cycling

While the J.V. squads were racing in Georgia, the big boys were racing in the last of the spring classics, Liege-Bastogne-Liege.

Alejandro Valverde won by beating Davide Rebellin and Frank Schleck, along with one of the strongest fields of the year.

Valverde's back...and with Caisse d'Epargne behind him, he will be a factor at the Tour de France.

Let Levi Ride?...Maybe Not

So, you want Levi Leipheimer to be able to race in this year's Tour de France. Well, you might want to be glad he 'aint.

You see...ol' smilin' Jack, here on the left, finished 3rd in the Tour de Georgia behind Kanstantin Sivtsov and Trent Lowe...Exactly!

Leipheimer didn't have the legs to win on Brasstown Bald, and was never a threat on any individual stage. If not for the TTT, he woudn't have made the final podium.

Gentlemen...Start Your Engines

Today, Mongo took his cold/allergies to Road Atlanta, along with a few buddies, to watch the TTT in the Tour de Georgia.

It's a 2.5 mile race course with steep decents and a couple of 14% climbs. As unusual as the setting was, the action was great to watch. Two teams shared the course at the same time, which resulted in many dropped riders being passed by the second team. Only the first four riders across the line are counted, so most teams sacrificed a few workhorses and finished with four or five.

The disparity between the Pro Tour teams and the Continental teams was quite obvious. All you had to do was look at the chase vehicles as they followed the teams to realize that Astana, High Road, Gerolsteiner, and the eventual winner, Slipstream-Chipotle, made the Jelly Belly's and Bissell's look like club teams.

Slipstream nudged Astana and High Road by a few seconds with porntastic David Zabriskie leading the way.

Rock Racing had, by far, the best pit space. Pimped out Escalades mixed with hotties and cool merchandise filled the area.(Mongo got two cool red and white R.R. water bottles for White Lightin')

Fun was had by all!

Oh Yeah

My first signature shoe...The Converse Mongo OX

(I have the white leather with the black logo)

Respectable

With only 40 miles and one ride under my belt since the crash two weeks ago, Mongo wasn't expecting much today. I'm only about 75% healed, and in the past two days I got a head cold and pulled a muscle in my back while I was yawning. Yes, you heard me...yawning!

I was really hoping for an easy ride when I headed up to the staging area at Smyrna Bicycles. That was not to be the case. All the big hitters were there...Boonen, Irish Brian, Crazy/Superfast Gary, Alp d'Huez Mike, and a few other random dudes.

Mongo "middle of the pack'd it" all ride, and was able to hang. I didn't contest the breakaway at the end on purpose, and finished fourth or fifth. It felt good to mix it up in the peleton again.

Four Twenty

“Coffee in the vein and smoke on the brain
A contradiction within the choices of addiction
Speed up the engine but throttle back the mind
Nowhere fast with nothing to say… or something else at all? ”

There Will be Blood

It's been ten long days since I've ridden or stepped foot on my Alva.

Tomorrow, it all changes.

I'm back... and there's a score to be settled.

"Built To Shred"

Pimp My Ride

Custom wheels for Erik Zabel by Lightweight.

Sensible Shoes

This is NOT, I repeat, NOT, a picture of Mongo! Sorry ladies...I've got much bigger guns and my ass is as hairy as a small rodent.(The photo was obtained through a "road rash" search on Flickr)

What this picture does though, is represent quite accurately some of the injuries Mongo has been suffering with for the past week. Let me assure you, mine are more serious and getting extremely scabby.

Though my exterior injuries are worthy of a closeup in Hostel 5: Floyd's Revenge, it's the internal ones that are keeping me off my skateboard and bikes. I believe I might be the first person to ever pull a muscle in their 'taint. The pain is so deep in the ass cheek, it hurts to do everything.

Yesterday, Mongo was jonesing to get out and get some exercise, but my options were limited. I couldn't ride...I couldn't skate...I couldn't run...but I could walk. Not only was I going to walk, but I was going to do some Extreme Walking.

As it turns out, Extreme Walking is just like cycling...except there's no bike...and instead of going fast...you don't! Mongo did manage a sub two hour 6.3 miles...with a strong kick at the end!

Hopefully...I'll be back riding in a week.

Do Svidaniya

Mongo is taking another bruise to his prognosticating ego and jumping off the Karpets and dipping back into the pool for the upcoming Grand Tours. Vlad has been sucking really badly this spring, so I don't see him being any kind of factor in the big races this year. Stay tuned to find out who's coming of the bench for Mongo.

He's Back

It's no Tour of Quatar, but Tom Boonen finally gets a big victory this year and wins Paris-Roubaix.

George Hincapie, with two flat tires, finished ninth...Mongodamus retires.

Crazy Train

“A dullness to the carbon steel

A fraction of the way we feel

A sample of the disregard

A stain upon the prison yard”

Vicariously

If you're looking for some new music that grows on you slowly, then check out the new offering from MJK(Tool/APC).

There's not much rocking, but it's an interesting mix of styles, and Maynard's voice always takes you where your imagination wants to go.

Mongodamus Part Deux

George Hincapie will win Paris-Roubaix!

Come on George...you're a savvy veteran who's been very close several times. The end of your distinguished career is on the horizon, and who knows how many chances you'll have to win a big classic.

There's no better time than now. Stop screwing around...and win this mo' fo'!

A Little Slice Of Heaven

Mongo was lucky enough to attend The Masters in 2001, and it was an experience I'll always treasure. Behind towering Georgia pine trees, in a dumpy part of town, hidden from the world, is the most perfect setting in golf.

Since I'm waxing nostalgic, I am really pulling for Fred Couples this week. He's 48 years old, but he's been on a hot streak lately, and he plays Augusta as well as anyone.(23 straight cuts made)

If Freddie can find some magic with his putter, I think he'll be in the mix come Sunday afternoon.

Brothers In Arms

Two giants in the world of cycling have been temporarily derailed by the Fredo Corleone of bike companies. The legends are Greg Lemond and Mongo, and the sniveling weasel of a bike company is...let's all say it together...Trek.

Lemond, as a brand, is getting dumped by Trek because, if you sift through all the bullshit, Greg wouldn't "play nice" and stop talking crap about Lance Armstrong. Trek, as a brand, is tied to Armstrong like an anchor, and they want to stay above water.

Mongo, on the best and fastest Monday ride all season, was unceremoniously dumped at 28mph when a rookie mistake was made in the peleton. A guy riding...say it with me...a Trek Madone crossed Mongo's front wheel and, of course, carnage ensued. I usually make light of my injuries, but this time Mongo is banged up pretty badly.

Mongo loves Greg Lemond. Not only is he a great champion, but also a beacon of truth in the fog of liars and cheats in professional cycling. I hope the Lemond brand will live on with a company worthy of carrying Greg's chamois. If not...Fuck 'em!

Who's The Man?

Stijn Devolder...That's who!

So I Jumped Ship In Hong Kong

I held an $11,000 dollar De Rosa Idol in my hands today. It was one of the sweetest rides Mongo has ever seen...and it also got me thinking.

This bike costs $8,000 dollars more than my bike.

Is the difference worth it in a quantitative way? Definitely not... But does it really matter?

The De Rosa is a Ferrari and my Specialized is a Camaro. They'll both get you where you're going in a hurry, but the De Rosa will always have a hotter chick in the passenger seat.

Mongodamus

The Pro Tour swings into Belgium tomorrow for the first of the spring cobblestone classics...The Tour of Flanders.
This is definitely a "horses for courses" kind of race. The smart money would be to go with Boonen or Ballan or even Cancellara, but as you all know, Mongo likes to live on the edge.
The winner of the 2008 Tour of Flanders will be...George Hincapie. U.S.A.! U.S.A.!

Darkhorse...Former Canadian MTB Champion, and star on the rise, Ryder Hesjedal (Slipstream-Chipotle) CA...NA...DA!

Update...Hincapie finished 5TH

Let My People Go

Kloden needs to jump off the rotting carcass that is the Astana Cycling Team and get a new ride for this year's Tour de France.

He's every bit as good as Contador and Leipheimer, but because he's not one of Bruyneel's boys, he'll always be third fiddle on Astana.

Why wait another year with all the shenanigans going on with the rules makers in pro cycling?

The Sun Is The Same In A Relatve Way

“The waking light greets the world with innocent eyes

Numbed in guarded skin to greet the stare of compromise

The laughter from a joyful heart sings a simple purity

Sustained just long enough to glimpse at what should be."