I Can See Clearly Now

Mongo picked up a pair of these the other day. Rightfully called The Hammer by North Face, these babies are a sweet addition to my cycling eyewear arsenal.

BTW...I paid $29 at Marshalls. They retail for $80. Mongo knows bargains.

Son...Are You On The Dope?

Oh, really!?

Emanuele Sella, of the powerhouse and much traditioned CSF Group Navigare cycling team, won his third mountain stage of the Giro. He also finished second in the first ITT...Hmmmm!?

The Jenerator

Fan and peleton favorite, Jens Voigt, wins Stage 18 in style with a solo breakaway out of the group breakaway with 35k to go.

This guy is considered a big power rider at 6'2" 167lbs...Are you f***ing kidding me? Mongo's 6'2" 220lbs...He's 53lbs lighter than me.

If Mongo dropped a bag of cement in weight, I'd be unstoppable. I'd probably be in rehab...but I'd definitely be unstoppable.

Cold Comfort For Change

“ Spatial tunnel vision

Amoeba petrie dish

Vertical hold reception

Kanata sailfish lake”

Up On Cripple Creak

Ever since Mongo unceremoniously snapped his sweet Specialized carbon fiber seatpost and replaced it with a Ritchey aluminum WCS post, I have been haunted by the high-pitched screams and yelps of the Mouse of the Baskervilles emanating from below my nether regions.

You Are Only Coming Through In Waves

"I stoke the fire with the irons of my youth
Who is that person in my stories?
I broke my back on the troubles of my youth
Why do I continue to live in my head?
I soak the wounds from the lessons of my youth
Was I really there or is this a vanilla sky?"

Rest Day For Mongo And The Giro

Mongo's been working extra hard on the bike lately. I've ridden five out of the last seven days, and have logged over 200 miles in the process.

Intervals, climbs, speed runs, various smackdowns...I've done it all. With Speedo season right around the corner, it's time to turn it up a notch.

That being said, I'm really tired and am going to take a couple o' days off.

Frickin' Contador

Looks like "The Condor" is positioning himself for a run at winning the Giro. After the first mountain stage, he's in second place only five seconds off the lead. Mongo's guy, AK47, is in sixth, 1:11 back.

Team politics will come into play if Contador doesn't falter, and Kloden will be S.O.L. for the win.

I'm thinking maybe a pump through the spokes, like in Breaking Away, might be helpful.

Petacchi Who?

Daniele Bennati is the man...3 Giro stage wins so far...and he's continuing the legacy of excellent Italian sprinters.

I Got More Rhymes Than Abe Vigoda

The name of the game in Mongo's cycling world has changed. No longer is it good enough to just go fast over rolling terrain with a few mild hills thrown in for good measure. Now I'm expected to be able to climb five mini Alp d'huez's over the course of a 25 mile loop.

Let's just say that Mongo's no Frank Schleck in the weight department. Hauling my chiseled 220lbs up a mountain 'aint no easy task. If you've watched professional cycling lately, you'll notice that the only people in the peleton over two hundy are the guys on the motorbikes. So you see that my task is daunting.

I've decided that the only way I'm going to be competitive as a climber is to adopt the Marco Pantani Training Method.

I will be moving out of my house and into a hotel on a river somewhere. I will talk to no one and have everything delivered to me. I will follow the nutritional guidelines of the 1980 East German Olympic Team. I will ride the steepest hills every day and develop the lungs of an Argentinian gaucho. I'll start dating a hot European model.

If all of this doesn't work, then I'm thinking about a new 12-28 cassette.

Master Of Puppets

The only genuine representation of skateboarding and it's grassroots culture that is shown on television today is fronted by one of the baddest, bad asses of all time.

This reformed thug(The Muska incident, among many others) has a connection with the universal soul of skateboarding. He is able to communicate "the shred" with children and adults alike, and his street cred is unmatched.

Mike Vallely...Keepin' it real! (Drive... on Fuel TV)

Don't Let Your Mind Tell The Story

“ I climb the mountain of self discovery
My Sherpa yields the load
The summit ascent holds a dangerous line
Exposed to the will of the clouds
Mortal pride sends fire to my lungs
Darkness closes in
The success of my mission
Redemption of my sins”

A Couple Of Guys Riding Along

"Levi...now zat Contador eez hurt, maybe vun off aahs can vin!"

"Fo shizzle mein nizzlehof...Does my bike look really tiny to you?"