Tong Family (richtong.org sync)

After Stage 14, Lance is in trouble. _Ullrich is looking very strong at 15 seconds behind and Vino is just 18 seconds, tomorrow is the last mountain stage and Lance hasn’t been great at the individual time trials…gulp, here’s his own personal assessment_ With astonishing frankness, Armstrong spoke about his supposed ‘decline’. “It’s fair (to…

Custom Clothing. Hat tip to rec.bicycles.tech, Sugoi makes custom jerseys. Just the thing for the STP. Get a bunch that say *ignition* on it 🙂

“Ullrich Wins!”:http://www.letour.fr/2003/us/live.oft?service=RaceServer&RaceType=TDF&RaceYear=2003&StageNumber=1200&Language=ANG. Wow, Ullrich, decisively won the Stage 12 time trial. What a performance to watch. Ullrich has won before and with four mountain stages coming, this is going to be a very interesting race. Now Stages 13-16 are going to be super interesting. It’s on at 6 AM Pacific Time on Outdoor Life. You…

Lance is only 30 seconds or so ahead, so the upcoming time trial is key. “Chris Carmichael”:http://www.olntv.com/tdf03/carmichael11.html says that this could be the deciding moment. A short race, perfect for an Ullrich vs. Armstrong race. Also, if you missed it, here the incredible footage of the “Beloki”:http://www.olntv.com/tdf03/carmichael11.html crash on stage 10 and Lance doing the…

tubing. A long thread on what frame material is better led to this article that is an objective view of the material strength. Great for geeks, while others debate (endlessly) whether a steel, aluminum, titanium or carbon fiber bike is better. Anyway interesting reading, it shows essentially, that steelis the most dense between aluminum and…

Heartratemonitor.co.uk Comparison. A good comparison of the two best cyclocomputers out there. The Polar, I have. It is twice as expensive because it measures power output more exactly, but the HAC4 has more features. Plus, Lance uses the HAC4. Anyway, I ordered the power output kit for the Polar, so we’ll see. Beside the more…

Roadcycling.com – Cycling news – It’s a secret … sorta. Great article about new bicycles. Good picture of the Trek Madone 5.9. Also, Cannondale has a bike that weighs just 14.8 lbs (!!!!). And, the new Campagnolo Record Carbon apparently has different directions for their carbon fiber, so a derailleur won’t snap like a toothpick…

It’s amazing, but there is actually something called *The Folding Society* that reviews folding bicycles. Here are some other notes on the Ritchey Break-Away folding frame. “Excel”:http://www.excelsports.com/new.asp?page=8&major=1&minor=1&description=Break%2DAway+Frame&vendorCode=RITCHEY carries them for $1,100, so quite a bit cheaper than getting an all custom frame with S&S couplers (about $1,600+400 for steel from comotion.com and $2,100 plus 600…

I got the Polar s720i and got it working. It’s an incredibly complicated watch that is hard to operate. I’ve been using the Campagnolo Ergobrain with a Polar heart rate monitor with good success, but this means just one device (so it is lighter) and also includes power. Main disadvantage is there are an incredible…

With the demise of a favorable UK exchange rate, I’ve had to switch my purchasing to US stores. Here’s a list of places I’ve been using: * Jenson USA. Fast delivery. They have slight discounts on Campy cassettes (why are they so expensive), Selle Italia SLR seats, Salsa Ti skewers and some other things *…

Cascade Bicycle Club: Group Health Group Health Seattle to Portland Bicycle Classic. This was my first ever bicycling event (heck, I think I calculated, it is the second organized event I’ve ever attended…yes, I’m a nerd). In any case, 200 miles or so of riding. It was great to meet the physical challenge. There were…

“Critical Vote”:http://cascade.org/Advocacy/I-90.cfm. If you live in the King County area and think it’s great you can actually get across Lake Washington, start to panic. Ron Sims and Connie Marshall both will vote on WSDOT and Sound Transit (ugh, oxymoron there!) plan to close the I-90 bike lanes for _two_ years and narrow it to just…

Outdoor Life Network – Tour de France – 2003. The Tour de France is on 6-8:30 PT everyday. Nice to have this kind of coverage. Also, there is a live link to audio as well at “Listen Live”:http://www.olntv.com/tdf03/listenlive.html.

VeloNews: 2003 Tour de France Special CoverageIf you can believe it, Tyler Hamilton has a cracked collarbone and is muscling his way through the Tour de France, now that’s inspiration. Here’s what he says about it “Sometimes I was wondering if I’d finish with the front group, but I grit my teeth and kept going,”…