Sunday, May 31, 2009

Winner Winner Chicken Dinner


The Golden Child wins Paris-Roubaix Espoirs(U-23).
At only eighteen years old, he is the real deal and the future of American cycling.
(Photo:Claeys Liesje/VeloNews)

Buh-Buh Baah Baah


All the work has been done...All the sweat has been sweated...All the doping has been doped...It's Hammerfest time!

Monday, June 1st, 2009...at 6:30 pm.

Let's get it on!!!

Russkie Mammal Toe


Denis Menchov wins the 2009 Giro d'Italia...Good on ya, mate! What else did we learn?

1. Levi will never be anything but a super-domestique.

2. Mellow Johnny did okay...but Yaroslav Popovych was better.

3. Danilo Di Luca is a one race pony.

4. Ivan Basso and Liquigas will be a factor at the Tour.

5. Damiano Cunego forgot to show up.

6. Garmin-Slipstream need to work on their TTT.

7. Nobody is faster than Mark Cavendish.

8. Don't bet against Carlos Sastre at the Tour with the Cervelo A-Team.

(Photo:VeloNews)

Saturday, May 30, 2009

Among A Million Same


"A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds, adored by little statesman and philosophers and divines. With consistency a great soul has simply nothing to do."
(Ralph Waldo Emerson)

Cadel Who?


Philippe Gilbert wins Stage 20 and puts Silence-Lotto on the board.

It's all over tomorrow with the final TT stage.

LETLE VIWIN !!!

(Photo:Graham Watson/VeloNews)


She'll Take This Seriously


I'm Back!!!...Mongo was without the Internet for 48 hours*. It was quite an unpleasant experience. I don't have an i-Phone or a Blackberry, I just have a phone, so I rely on my Commodore Vic 20 and my enhanced dial-up modem to keep me linked to the web.
(*...Somebody not named Mongo cut the DSL line with a string trimmer)

Wednesday, May 27, 2009

Eye Tally Un


Mongo stated over three weeks ago that I had decided to throw my considerable "juice" behind Liquigas. Well...the proof is in the chamois.

Franco Pellizotti wins Stage 17 like a man...with a breakaway. He and Ivan Basso sit third and fourth on GC with four stages left.

In Mongo's Giro Fantasy League, I still have six of my guys in the top ten on GC. We'll have to see how all the points shake out at the end of the week.

(Photo:Graham Watson/VeloNews)

Tuesday, May 26, 2009

I Am Serious...And Don't Call Me Shirley


Energy decides the fate of sedentary fools

Place the blame before the fall in diplomatic tools

When purpose fades through the weight of progressive flight

Explore the certainty disguised on the face of blinding night



Monday, May 25, 2009

Getting Dropped=Sexy Time


It's officially over...Levi has no chance of winning the Giro. To make matters worse, he's battling Basso, Pelizotti, and Sastre for third on the podium.
Let's see what the Li'l Bronze Medalist is made of during the final week of the race.
(Photo:Graham Watson/VeloNews)

Memorial Day '09: The Remembering

Mongo didn't ride today. In retrospect, I probably should have...but the constant threat of rain plus the five assorted bagels in my stomach convinced me to stay home.

As I watched the many stories on TV about the amazing men and women who gave their lives in service to our country, I was reminded of my own childhood friend who lost his life almost twenty four years ago. I was fortunate and humbled to be able to attend his funeral at Arlington National Cemetery. I will never forget the magnificence of the grounds and the honor and respect bestowed upon the fallen. I wrote a story about the experience when I was in college, and after a little digging around I found a copy of it.

Mongo was only eighteen when he wrote the piece, good or bad, and out of respect for the family I won't use the full name of my friend. God bless you, Bruce!

A Terrible Loss

With its magnificent monuments and rolling green sea of headstones, Arlington National Cemetery is one of the most awe-inspiring landmarks in the United States. Annually, tens of thousands of visitors tour the grounds viewing the resting places of the famous, and not so famous, American veterans. On this particular Friday afternoon in March though, there would be no tour buses. Today...Lt. Bruce would be buried a hero.

Lt. Bruce, along with two hundred and forty seven other members of the 101st Airborne Division of the United States Army, died in a plane crash in Gander, Newfoundland. They were on their way home from a peace-keeping mission in the Middle East. There were no survivors. Lt. Bruce's body was the last to be identified, and today, the last to be buried.

The Honor Guard, in their dress blues, marched with such synchronization it was as if they were marching as one. Behind them, two impeccable white stallions drew the cart containing the flag-draped coffin of Lt. Bruce. The procession of family and friends followed closely behind as stone-faced soldiers led the way down the winding road toward their final destination. If there was ever beauty in death, it was evident on this day.

When the procession reached the grave-site, the coffin was removed from the cart and placed on a stand next to the family. What followed was a touching and powerful eulogy. The flag on the coffin was then folded with razor-sharp precision on the cadence of the officer in charge. In its customary triangular shape, the flag was respectfully given to the mother of Lt. Bruce and the service closed with the traditional, yet moving, twenty-one-gun salute.

A teary-eyed friend in attendance who had known Lt. Bruce for nearly twenty years silently wished he could speak to him just one more time...But then, that was impossible.

Sunday, May 24, 2009

Algo's Height


"Every people have gods to suit their circumstances."
(Henry David Thoreau)

Hard Fast And Wet: Pick Any Two


Mother Nature got back at Mongo today...presumably for my vehicular squirrelcide from the other day. I got stormed on like a mofo at the end of my forty miles on Li'l Pony Express.

Riding stretched out and slammed on a flat-bar bike ain't comfortable. After about thirty miles your back/shoulders/neck begin to become pained and aggravated. Add horizontal rain and wet "everything" and...it's time to go home.

Evinrude


Mongo hasn't seen an athlete this ugly and a jersey this cluttered with advertising since I was a regular on the B.A.S.S. circuit in '97.

(Photo:VeloNews)