Note: This post was originally written 10/31/09. I’ve been busy.

Cross-country flight with a 16 month-old? I love this plan! I’m excited to be a part of it! LET’S DO IT!!

In September we flew out to Portland for some friends wedding. I was dreading the flight, and for part of the DCA-PHX my fears were realized. We were *that* family with the uncontrollable crying baby. It also turns out that I’m *that* father that stares right back at you with eyes saying, “Watch your back in the parking lot.” For the most part people were pretty understanding and in some cases helpful. So that was a nice change from the normal human interactions I experience. Okay, flight over.

Portland straight tripped me the **** out! It literally was every lifestyle I’ve ever been, everywhere, at all times. From punks, to skaters, artists, deadheads, outdoors gear hippies, and most of all cyclists, they were all there, co-mingling in their perpetual states of über-hipness. I’m pretty sure that we’d move out there if it wasn’t for family on the East Coast.

It was the bike culture that touched me the most. Cycling was everywhere. From the moment we entered the outskirts of Portland you saw it everywhere. Fixies locked to signs, people carting their groceries on cruisers, commuters keeping up with cars, and bike shops nearly on every corner set the tone for our stay. Once in the city proper, witnessing the bike lanes with designated bicycle stopping areas ahead of vehicles nearly brought a tear to my eye. I was already aware that Portland was bicycle friendly, but I wasn’t aware of the extent that it was ingrained into its culture.

You may be passing me, but I still look good!

The riding is going well, but I’m still horribly out of shape. And for some reason I’ve recently acquired a Toblerone addiction. I totally didn’t see that one coming. At least it’s a Euro-style addiction, so I can write it off as roadie-hipster. Speaking of roadie hipster, my dormant inner-sartorialist is finally emerging. But I’m saving that goodness for another post.

Back with the Revolution!

The real reason for the break in posts is I gots me a new job! I’m back in the inner-circle. I began working as an Assistant Buyer & Marketing Manager for Revolution Cycles here in DC/VA/MD. I originally worked for them starting back in 2000 until late 2004. We were just one location back in 2000, and by the time I left we had opened 3 more. Just a few weeks ago we announced plans for our 5th location, a bike share, rental, and commuter shop in Crystal City, VA.

My position is basically a combination of everything I love right now: bikes, bike parts, accessories, web + graphic design, and social marketing. I couldn’t ask for anything more. It’s an incredible opportunity. We’ve got big plans in the works and I’ll release some tidbits from time to time when I can. Of course, you’ll be much more up to date if you follow us on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, and Flickr. Just saying.

How else do they get up those mountains?

So most of our heroes doped. Who cares! Everyone was doping then! The battles were epic. The climbers had wings. The sprinters were demons. And the rouleurs just ruled. But to keep the UCI vampires off our backs, we added an asterisk to show we don’t condone doping.

Team PDM – Ultima

This shirt celebrates the legendary Dutch PDM team who notoriously pulled out of the ‘91 Tour de France with “food poisoning”. Turns out it was a rotten nutritional aid they were injected with. Oh those wacky team doctors! The riders implicated were: Eric Breukink, Nico Verhoeven, Raul Alcala, Sean Kelly and Joes Van Aert. Those are NOT small names in the world of cycling.

The shirt

Out of all the logo editions I’ve created, this is the only one that is altered to this extent. I’ve changed from Avant Garde to Helvetica to match the PDM jersey more closely. I liked the typo treatment of the PDM logo so I thought it would convey the message better if changed. The colors are as close as I can get without the vector being a sublimation on spandex. It’s not perfect, but neither were they!

Available in the Cycleboredom gift shop. Although Spreadshirt displays the image strangely I’ve been assured that they print correctly.

Whatevs, hippy.

I started out writing some touchy-feely, hippy schmaltz that really just complicated a dead-simple point – pay attention to your surroundings; the earth looks real good. I love where I ride. The DC/Metro area is beautiful. Sure, your local route may have mountains, or wide open country where there aren’t cars for hours but I think it’s important for people to truly appreciate what they have, regardless of where they are.

Ride freely on your lightest days

I bring a camera with me everywhere. The moment I don’t, inevitably I see something worth flogging myself for not having it with me. If you don’t want to have a camera with you on every ride just bring it on your recovery days. My portable camera has gotten a little heavier than it used to be so I only take it with me on my light rides. Obviously the reason why light/recovery days are good is that your already going slow, so stopping and starting isn’t going to be a huge deal. When I’m hammering it’s mentally impossible for me to compose a shot immediately after stopping. If something truly snapworthy pops up on a normal ride that’s the luck of the draw. Either that or I use the camera on the phone.

Graham baby, make sure to get my sponsors

If take your recovery ride so seriously that you can’t break your cadence or fluctuate your HRM average, then this post isn’t for you, yet you probably have Graham Watson following you in the support car chronicling your every move. Just tell Graham to take a shot of the pretty trees.

Anyway, just pay attention to your surroundings for a least one ride out of your training week. You’ll love what you see. Maybe. Hell, I don’t care. Do you you want.

Enjoy the silence

I’ve tried it. Maybe I’ll try it again someday, but until then, I ride in silence. I need that silence. When I’m working I always have music on which is necessary for me to get anything done. But it is a stimulus. Add in Twitter, Facebook, RSS feeds, FriendFeed, and email and you’ve got a lot of crap running around your brain. When I get on my bike, it’s a complete separation from all of that. I get to concentrate on the ride, hear the wind, birds, cars getting too close, Cat 4 riders blowing past me too close, and well you get the point. I like listening to what’s around me. It simply clears my head. Almost.

I have deep thoughts about my hopes and dreams

On rare occasions I have epiphanies during my rides but mostly it’s sarcastic reactions to what I see. There’s a lot of interesting **** out there (at least in the DC/Metro area) and it usually sparks something. Unfortunately I end up forgetting it before I can get home. Well starting today, I’m going to try and record some of those thoughts during ride (iPhone recorder) so I can bore the hell out of you here. Hence the blog name. Plus, if you didn’t think it could get any worse, I’m going to force feed you my kit selection for the ride.

Bicicleta Fashionista

Today I was channeling Chris Horner. Okay, maybe just the jersey and the shaved head, but close enough. On second thought, maybe not the shaved head since Chris is bald and my Wahl clippers set on No.1 gets me where I need to be, but you get the point. Also, I know Chris is an Oakley man so my Rudy Kerosenes aren’t historically accurate. But I do have the team issued Louis Garneau yellow helmet that Saturn team wore. Unfortunately it’s past its freshness date so I can’t wear it anymore.

There’s got to be something wrong with me.

List of random ridiculousness!

• “Stand by THIS mutha****a!” – I was riding by two African-American boys no more than 10 years old walking towards a huge outdoor picnic/gathering. They were having what looked like a good time joking with each other. One of them had is arm on the shoulders of the other and it looked like a perfect scene from the movie Stand By Me. At that same moment the one with his arm on the other turned to look at me and his face instantly changed. “What the **** you lookin’ at white ass?” It didn’t exactly register and the kid didn’t give me a chance, instantly firing again, “Look at your white ass!” I just started to laugh and shake my head. That **** gets taught early. Very, very sad. He is right though, I’m Irish/German, I have no pigment. I just burn hideously, turning a grotesque shade of pink and fleshy red, then back to paste once I’ve healed. Regardless, hooray for race relations.



• Your back hair looks like a tramp stamp – To all guys: bibs are not strange. People who know, ride nothing but. In fact, it’s strange not to ride with them. There are benefits other than being Euro-racer cool. Like for instance, when your bargain Pearl shorts roll down in the back while your cheap sleeveless jersey rides up exposing your virgin lower back and tuft of butt carpet resembling the butterfly tramp stamp on the nice lady I paid $20 to shake in my face last night. Hers was magnificent and career appropriate, yours is a disgrace. As were the exposed skin rolls oozing over the edges of your shorts. Bibs keep my extra energy storage neatly tucked away.
• The wrong way is safer! – You know who I’m talking about. The walkers, runners, and for ****’s sake cyclists who insist on doing their thing against traffic so they can see what’s coming. I’ll admit in some cases it makes sense to be able to watch for oncoming cars. Some cases. In this case it is not. Hains Point is a big one-way loop. It has two lanes that are generous in size. If you ride on the right-hand side , the cars and busses can pass you on left, in their own lane! Problem is, these douchebags feel as though they can do any damn thing they want so they ride, run, walk, skate, saunter, hover in what essentially is a passing lane. This isn’t normal behavior so those that aren’t used to that idiocy suddenly see these people at the last second, swerving to the right. Yup, that means right into me. It happens a lot. So as a warning to those cyclists that see fit to ride the wrong way on a one-way street: If you cause me to be struck by a car or a frakking tour bus and I haven’t perished from the impact and subsequent dragging, I will find you, pass you, half-wheel your ass, and return not to see if you’re alright, but to piss on your open facial wounds. Enjoy.
• That’s your chain bro – To the dude with the Colnago EPS, Fulcrums, and Record: That sound means you’re cross-chaining. Don’t disrespect the bike.

UPDATE: In my haste to make this the worst post ever I neglected to mention where I stole my images from. Hopefully the limited amount of people visiting this site will visit their work as well!

• Balding Chris Horner shot courtesy of Frank Steele

Look at me! I’m wearing a blog tee!

Scenario: You’re at the bar/pub (for mah British homies) wearing your American Apparel made, form-fitting Cycleboredom logo tee. This girl/guy that you’ve been eyeing from across the room actually strolls up to talk to you. You’re giddy with anticipation. Your mind envisions a night of beer soaked debauchery since this person’s obviously making the first move, when they ask, “What’s a cycle-bore-dom?” Giddiness gives way to the numbing realization you’ll be spending the night alone & online catching up on the latest cycling news as you answer, “Oh, it’s a blog.” Fail. Sweet, sweet fail.

At least it’s not a browser tee.

Some info

Cycleboredom shirts are in fact generously displayed upon American Apparel hipster coverings. They are digitally printed by none other than Spreadshirt. I’d want nothing more than to screen these myself, but the cost, space, and time are incredibly prohibitive.

If for some herculean lack of foresight on your part you actually click the ‘Submit’ button after entering your credit card number and shipping address in the forms provided resulting in one of these repugnant hairshirts actually being delivered to your living place, please let me know what you think!

And yes, that is my Twitter background. I was lazy.

I’ve been sitting on this article from the Asheville Citizen-Times and it’s comments for about a week now since it was Tweeted. Unfortunately I can’t remember who posted it first, so I apologize. The reason I’ve been hesitant and unable to write about it, is the unadulterated anger that it provokes from me.

I’ll say this first. Regardless of what road the family was riding on – it could’ve been the center median of I-95 for all I care – it does NOT, I repeat NOT justify the thought process of pulling out a gun and shooting at someone to get your point across. I cannot believe that this man honestly thought this was an acceptable idea. Here’s my take on his inner dialogue during the encounter. Granted I’ve written this in complete sentences. It’s also narrated with a coherence not commonly associated with those suffering from misfiring brain synapses induced by deep, repetitive inbreeding.

“Damn! This guy really doesn’t think that riding on this road with his child is unsafe. I’m going to shoot him not only to prove my point, but to show I have concern for their well-being. That will make it all better and they will be safe now.”

But wait, it gets better. If you truly want to ruin yourself and the last shred of hope you have for human compassion, read the comments. Not only are the the typical anti-cyclist fare, but the actually support the act. A horrifically numerous amount of these hill dwellers believe that shooting the father in front of his son and his wife would be for THE GOOD OF THE CHILD! WHAT THE **** IS WRONG WITH PEOPLE?

I can’t believe this genetic disaster actually knows what a computer is, much less stop smoking meth long enough to add their comment. I can’t even bring myself to copy the text so I screenshot it. It disgusts me that much.

Oh, my bad. It was JUST a warning shot. And obviously since he’s a firefighter “we all know he only had the best intentions in mind.” The second paragraph proves that the Hatfields are smoking some DAMN good meth.

I’ve had my run-ins with motorists that were completely unprovoked. I’ve been hit by quarters and liquids, chased, and cut off simply because I was on a bike. As angry as I get during those situations you always have to tell yourself, “What if they have a gun/knife/musket/one-eyed freak child?” I’m wearing bike shoes, spandex, and I’m ultimately defenseless.

(NOTE: The rest of this post has been redacted by my own doing. It goes a direction that makes me no better than those described above. I’m taking the hippy, peace, love, kind smoking stance and cutting myself off. I’m sure you know what I meant anyway.)

(ANOTHER NOTE: I’m well aware that the Hatfield/McCoy feud happened in the back countries of West Virginia and Kentucky. I referenced it as a derogatory stereotypical generalization of the unbelievable backwoods mentality shown by the shooter and the ensuing commenters.)

Christmas in July

Collectively as bike geeks we know the Tour de France heralds the bikes and gear available on the shelves for the upcoming season. The latest and greatest is lacquered upon the riders and paraded around the “hexagon” (Paul-ism) of France. Well, usually the latest and the greatest.

This year’s product WTF moment came when we finally got our eyes on what we heard was a new helmet from Giro named the ProLight. Oooh, it’s both pro level, and it’s light. But damned if this helmet turned out to look like something I’d sell to someone buying their first hybrid. Or a triathlete.

It’s visage sparked something though. Something deep within the recesses of my product addled mind. The Giro Boreas. That was the hot helmet in the late 90’s, up until the 2000 Tour when the Pneumo was introduced.

So I wondered if Giro regressed so much even the Boreas looked more technologically advanced than the ProLight. Unfortunately I was right, and I could’ve stopped there. Just saying that Giro released a helmet that looks worse than a helmet they sold in 1999 should’ve been damning enough. But I’m a bigger **** than that. I had to go for the kill – hit ‘em right in the ol’ Roc Locs. Is there another helmet, that’s so ugly, so painful to look at, that it could potentially kill the ProLight if the two were compared? A tall order you ask? No, and I didn’t have to look outside Giro’s walls for such an insidious shell-top. Ladies and Gentlemen, I give you the Giro Eclipse – literally the only helmet worse looking than the ProLight.

It’s not my imagination either – many of the riders looked as though they didn’t want to wear it. Pretty sure Popo never took his Ionos off the entire race. Lance gave it a shot for a few stages as well as Contador, but it was result was inevitable. The normally product-pimping peloton was definitely not ringing the endorsement bell on this one.

Put me down for – none!

What I miss now is having the reps sell me on the product at Interbike. Some of the cooler ones were able to poke fun at some of their products telling me what I already knew: “You don’t want this one!” Then there were the über-reps with their heads up their asses spitting the company propaganda verbatim. Needless to say they didn’t get big orders. Luckily those insurance salesman were repping **** products/companies anyway so it never hurt us.

At this rate we’ll see this as the top of the line offering in a couple of years!

Annnnd…

To be honest, the helmet doesn’t look that bad. It cuts a decent side profile. You just won’t see it on my head. Crap – what am I saying? I’m the person who defended this helmet purchase years ago. I can’t be trusted for any cycling fashion tips after that debacle.

Finally, if any of you, “Who cares what it looks like, I’ll be passing you while you’re looking in the mirror…” douchebags want to comment go right ahead. Pass me and go join the freak-peloton with: shirtless melanoma man, bibs over cotton t-shirt dude, mismatched pro-kit ass, the aged helmetless masters prima-donna, Cat3 pack-meat race-face wad, fairing-using rocket recumbant man, and the countless hordes wearing their 10 year old helmets backwards. You all deserve each other.

Disclaimer of laziness

I’ve been writing this post very slowly. Unfortunately the Tour doesn’t stop for my inability to finish a task. So this covers several days in a non-coherent, semi-babbling style. Enjoy.

Life before sport

I won’t lie, I got caught up in Stage 14 race drama like everyone else, but you have to step back and realize that none of that compares to the tragedy that transpired on the road. It’s hard to wrap your head around someone losing their life at an event like the Tour de France but it happened. It can definitely put things into perspective quickly.

The race starts. Again.

After the first week of racing and drama, the middle stretch was borderline dismal. Hooray for Cavendish. Hooray for Hushovd. Boo to the race organizers that decided that several flat stages and two mountain stages with downhill finishes were a good idea. It seemed like the race was on auto-pilot.

The 5-second rule

I tried approaching this section of the post from an objective, non-judgmental point of view. But who the **** wants any more of that? For me though, there ARE gifts in the Tour. For someone of George’s stature and tenure, a yellow flavored jersey certainly was in order.

From what I remember, Astana let the gap go every time. When Ag2r finally got their act together and started pulling the break back, they still weren’t able to close it to the point George would lose it. With a very short distance to go it looked good for Hincapie. The we saw Garmin on the front. This is were all the interpretations come into play.

Luckily the stage is over and the Tour rolled on. Unfortunately it looks like some friendships were severely damaged in the process. We’ll see how this turns out.

Two days of some old, nasty LA

Yesterday (Stage 16) and today (Stage 17) the peloton was served some nasty, crusty Lance Armstrong that he himself pulled out from the back of the fridge. Both times were from positions of tactical defensive riding in the name of the team. And both times were savage accelerations that had us all Tweeting “LAAAAAANCE!!!” as fast as our fingers could produce the message.

Today’s drama was the idiotic “attack” that the wunderkind Contador attempted. The acceleration dropped Klodi, distanced Armstrong even more, and jeopardized Astana’s possibility of having a 3-way with the podium. There were some Tweets quoting news sources that said that Contador doesn’t give a **** who comes in second or third and I completely agree. With the way that the Astana team wants Bruyneel out of the way and wants to form another team around Vino and Conty it’s possible that AC is already in that mindframe. Seems like some bad people to make enemies of. You enjoy your time in the bunch next year Contador…

Oh, and the Schleck brothers put everyone in the hurt basket including Contador. Guess that’s important to say. But you’re not here for the news though. So what would make this more interesting? That’s RIGHT! Phil Ligget said that Contador was in the middle of a Luxembourg sandwich! Brilliant.

Team _________

Which brings us to the next step of that last paragraph. Now that the Johan Bruyneel For Make Benefit Glorious Astana Cycling Team will no longer be directed by its namesake, JB has confirmed that he Lance, Levi, and “the redneck” Chris Horner will form like a spandex-clad Voltron. Or they’ll just wear spandex with some new sponsors on it and tear the arse outta the Tour next year.

Of course none of this is 100% confirmed, but we at least know that there will be a team, Lance is on it, and Lance will not ride for anyone other than Johan. We find out tomorrow who the sugar-daddy is. Hopefully someone with a decent color scheme…

UPDATE: As of 11:30 EST (7/22) it looks as though we might be cheering Team Radio Shack. Radio Shack? At least they changed their logo sorta recently. The circle ‘R’ isn’t half bad. Might look good on a jersey. White with red/black accents. Hmmmm…

Here’s hoping

What will we see in tomorrow’s TT on Stage 18? Hopefully a less-than-stellar Frank Schleck dropping big chunks of tarmac-time to Lone Star and relinquishing his shaky hold on the 3 step of the podium. That is a distinct possibility. A harder trail to follow would be an Über on-form Armstrong driving a Trek brand time-seeking missile right up the über-skinny backside of Andy Schleck reclaiming his second spot on the GC. I don’t see that happening, but stranger things have happened – and they’ve happened to(for) Lance.

We can all hope that Contador pulls a Rasmussen during the final TT. Oh wait, not THAT Rasumussen – heheh. I’m talking about the one who couldn’t stay on his TT rig on the second to last day of the Tour. You thought I was talking about the doping Rasmussen. Contador? Never…

We’ll see tomorrow!

Images courtesy of Cyclingnews.com,  AFP, and Roberto Bettini. Please don’t tell them.

El Pistolero v The Boss

“You know you done ****ed up, don’t you? You know it, don’t you? You know you done ***ed up.” – Detective in Menace II Society. I always think in movie quotes. Whether or not the scene parallels what I’m talking/writing about doesn’t matter – the words ring true. Contador ****ed up. Whether or not his attack ends up sealing his ultimate doom (yes! DOOOOOOM!) doesn’t matter. Lance is going to make his life a living hell. He is The Boss – Mr. Big. He’s got back deep like a baby seal (Wu-Tang!) and people prepared to help him when needed. Whatever happens, it certainly will be interesting to say the least. Unfortunately that’s not for nearly a week. Which brings me to…

Dear TDF stagery maker-uppers, WTF?!

The first block of stages before the rest day were full of spicy goodness like a Chipotle Moe’s Burrito! Well except for the last two “MOUNTAIN” stages. I’ve always felt that crossing mountains only to have the finish in the valley below to be a waste of a good mountain (unless of course Beloki is in the race!). This year we’ve had two and they came back to back! This effectively quieted all the great race intrigue of the first week and nulled the GC contest to a few futile attacks and absurdities.

Unfortunately we have to endure nearly a week of sprinting/escaping until the freaking 15th stage for any truly shattering GC changes. They decided to have two crappy eunich-style mountain stages followed by blah. Although stage 13 seems to have some balls to it considering the summit of the last climb comes relatively close to the end of the stage. That crap on stage 9 of having the summit nearly at the halfway point of the stage needs to never, ever happen again. Ever.

Leave Phil alone!

After reading several Tweets, and a bit by one of my favorite Tour posts so far by Competitive Cyclist re: Phill Ligget I just have to say – back off! Of course I have a soft-spot for him and Paul Sherwen since they’ve been the voice of the Tour for so long. It’s a comfort to hear these guys talk about cycling when you compare them to the others out there. Although it sounds like David Harmon and the loquaciously effervescent Sean Kelly are giving them a run for their Euros. No one can match the Phil and Paul show for their sayings! You can usually predict when they’re about to spout one out. You could even make a game out of it.

Phil is forgetting some riders, and miss-naming others, but there’s two things that make this a non-issue for me. One, everyone’s coverage makes mistakes. From the online text coverage to the color commentary, these people have to make quick calls on 190 riders at the start of Le Tour. And two, these 190 riders are all wearing helmets and sunglasses! Which means you have to make snap judgement calls using size, riding style, and vaguely visible attributes to dicern their identity while flying along at 30+ mph. This usually happens mid-stage when NOTHING OF IMPORTANCE HAPPENS (at least any more)! A missed call on a sprint bonus? Chill the **** out! They’ll get it to you in a minute. Very rarely is a bunch sprint miscalled and Paul usually catches it anyway. Those two got each other’s backs. Rant over.

Versus coverage…

Oh dear lord of god there are a lot of commercials. But between them comes the ****ing TOUR DAY FRANCE! You don’t see anyone else scrambling to cover our beloved spandex-fest do you? That pretty much rests my case.

Oh, and speaking of the Tour Day France Bob “Bobke” Roll is the man! How could you hate listening to a wordsmith who gives birth to phrases like: “Lance Armstrong is the eye of the hurricane and he’s headed straight for the Jan Ullrich trailer park!” Sweet, sweet genius.

Then there’s the race for 4th!

My prediction (which I already boldy Tweeted) is that the podium will have Contador, Armstrong, and Leipheimer on it, just not necessarily in that order. That Astana team is too powerful not to dominate at least the top two if not all three podium steps. The rest of the team will be in up there as well, but they’ll have to stand on that fake-yellow-jersey-brick-road-thingy sticking out the backside of it.

-Although… I would like to see Andy Schleck make the podium if possible. That kid’s alright in my book.
-Bradley Wiggins is riding a helluva race too. Unfortunately he’s also having to deny doping rather than being scolded for being so freaking skinny. Power to weight ratio you skeptical journalistic douchebags, it makes a difference. Just ask Jan.
-Christian Vande Velde is also riding nicely after having most of his bones broken in the Giro this year.

And finally…

If the nonsensical babbling above was cerebrally tantalizing in any form whatsoever then commit yourself to the flock and join me on Twitter! I promise I will disappoint.

Okay, that’s enough. I’m freaking tired. Until the next post.

Like a schoolgirl I am!

Giddiness. High-pitched squeeling. Random bursts of adreneline-soaked calisthenics. Just a typical morning for me during these first 4 days of Le Tour. I’ll readily admit that I haven’t had this much fun since the 2004 Tour. Okay, 2005 was good just for Lance’s 7th, but 2006 was destroyed by Floyd Landis, ‘07 had its heart removed by the Chicken, and well, 2008 was a snore-fest except for Christian’s ride. So what gives?

The power of @lancearmstrong

Obviously the action so far has been great. Everyone wondering how Lance will do, how will the Astana team dynamics play out, and Cavendish dealing everyone some pain have created an intense bowl of intrigue soup. But there’s been something that’s taken this Tour over the top. The answer is Twitter; well Twitter and a host of other web-related tech niblets whipping our Tour frenzy into actual mania. Following various cycling lovers and publications allow us to get a myriad of responses and views of the action while it’s happening.

Before and after the stage you get unprecedented insight into the race and lives of the riders from their own Tweets. @lancearmstrong is the obvious king, but there are plenty of other riders who’ve seen the light and are adding to the mix. Here’s a good list that also happens to be my follow list!

Some of my favorites include, @LeviLeipheimer, @johanbruyneel, @ghincapie, @allandavis27, @CadelOfficial, and @taylorphinney to name a few of the riders I follow. I also follow a couple of the staples in the cycle-reporting industry and you can’t forget about the rest of us cycling nuts out there who make Twitter as instresting as it can be.

The most multi-media Tour yet

Also adding to the mix is Lance’s back of the bus videos. Posted on his Livestrong site he was massively prolific during the Giro. Frequently he has guests as well as a co-host like Levi. These videos give you another glimpse into the life of a professional cyclist and a view that normally wasn’t available before. Sure there have been movies and specials done, but nothing to the extent and timeliness of what we have now. Previously you might get a quick bite of an interview post-stage with Lance, but now you’re getting an intimate (sorry) account of the day’s race, whether it be good or bad.

Those with something to lose…

Of course there are the dissenters (the media) who claim that the coverage provided by him and the riders is one-sided. That’s one way to look at it. The other way to look at it, is this is unfiltered, unadulterated words straight from their mouths. Too many times have rider’s quotes been misconstrued to be tweaked to sell more papers, or get more hits on their site. The media definitely needs to be there to ask tough questions, but I want access to the riders without any filters.