scottie1113

My birthday's in my profile, so it's no secret. I'm 57, but this has been happening all my life.

I stepped on a scale today for the first time in years and found to my surprise that I weigh 164 lbs, exactly what I weighed when I graduated high school 40 years ago. But I've never been able to climb well. Given gears I could always get to the top of anything , although not very fast. Heck, I rode and ran because I enjoyed it and not because I was going to win any prizes.

It atill amazes when when I see the average speed per hour in this Tour, whether on the flats or especially uphill. Those guys are awesome and Armstrong is in a class by himself. But we all know that.

Indystang

Hey Charlie, remember me? Indystang? I am finally making the trip to Gatlinburg this weekend. Are you in Chattanooga now? I am working nights now and really enjoy OLN in the morning and watching the race too. I used to ride on the road too but now I ride a GaryFisher Montaire Mt. bike just for fun and exercise.

scottie1113

Today was relativley uneventful and I suspect tomorrow will be as well, but if you look at the route for Saturday you'll see that it's going to be a real challenge.

Jack, do you, or does anyone else in here, know about how a domestique earns per annum? Just curious but we need something to talk about today.

hayburner

Jack, do you, or does anyone else in here, know about how a domestique earns per annum? Just curious but we need something to talk about today.
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Somebody told me a couple of years ago that they start at about $60k
per year and go up from there.Some teams are much better funded than others. Not all the teams have such great budgets and sometimes paychecks bounce(Coast,Kelme,etc)Leipheimer rides to the hotel after a stage in a car,Armstrong gets a helicopter.

.The Tour winner gets 400,000 Euros , historically Lance will split that up to his team. A stage winner gets $10k,but sometimes the guys negotiate with each other a little on the road to help each other...or not. Heard that from two sources ,the AG2R guys and another former tour rider who does those group rides on the route.

With all the love he's getting from Nike,Oakley,24Hour Fitness,AMD and Discovery, Lance will make over $10 million this year.

jgsmuzzy

I think you have hit it on the head there Jack, outside sponsorship is what makes these guys money. My brother does Ironman's and is/was sponsored by Univega (3 bikes and about $20k a year) not bad when he is a full time policeman and does the sport on the side!

scottie1113

Thanks for the info, guys.

mr-mstng

Wow, he did it on the side!? Training for an Ironman is like another full time job. I guess he was pretty good to get sponsored. An Ironman next year is my goal!

I have an olympic distance TRI on Sunday. The climbs are too bad. Should be a fun day!
http://www.geocities.com/anthracitet...ourse_info.htm

BTW, I heard on OLN that they said the tour winner doesn't take any money from the team. He knows he'll get it back in sponsorship. Lance will make it up 100 fold. He put cycling back on the map.

Anyone want to sponsor a promising triathlete? I'm liking those time trial bikes!

hayburner

:worship: Rob...if you like climbing ,you like suffering. Me too.
Such a strange addiction ,this sport.

I looked at the profile of those climbs in your race and they are kinda like 3 intervals with the 2nd one the longest. A couple of nice pitches in there.Sounds like you have your miles in ,I'm sure you'll do well.Could you please let us know how it went?..Best of luck,man.

mr-mstng

Thanks Jack, and yes it is strange how we put ourselves through this torture. I'll let you guys know how it goes.

BTW, a friend said he wanted to do some hills last week, and here's what we did. I must be nuts

hayburner

Rob...I try to limit riding with those kinds of friends to once a week. You must have gone with your Cat II buddy.Nice effort!

Polar gives you such good info,too. It's fun to eat after you go burn 3000+calories. Would you characterize that ride as common to your training or something you do once in awhile?

Sunday is coming...

mr-mstng

Jack, thanks! Actually the guy I went with is a CTS trainer. Man, can he climb! I just try to hang onto his back wheel for as long as I can....which is usually about 150 ft.

That ride is more on the occasional side since there was so much climbing, but distance-wise, that's a regular ride.

Yes, I'm thinking about the tri, but I'm also thinking about my expedition ride next weekend too. Jack, life is sooo much easier being a couch potato...I think I'll take up as my hobby next year......nah.

scottie1113

Couch potato...right.

I remember my first biathlon (back when they still did them--run, bike,run) on my 40th birthday (1987). There were a bunch of nervous older guys at the start with me, and I was one of them. Somebody who must have thought I was a veteran asked me for my secret to success. I told him to start slow and taper off..

There was a short but very steep hill in the middle of the bike ride. A course worker posted at the bottom of the hill kept shouting to the riders to gear down. Remember that this was way before click shift gears hit the scene, and toe clips were still state of the art. Riders who hadn't geared down came to a complete standstill on the climb and a few of them toppled over sideways, and I mean that literally. As I weaved slowly through the carnage I wanted to laugh but it hurt too much.

My next memory is from a triathlon I did in Carlsbad (Southern California). We watched 8 foot sets crash into the beach and felt them shake the beach. I waited as the heats in front of me floundered in the surf and when the horn sounded I plunged in. As a longtime bodysurfer I could read the sets and got through them OK, but I still can recall those poor guys who were still floundering in the white water. They were much better athletes than I was in every segment but they simply couldn't cope with the surf.

My first triathlon came the following June after my biathlon. . Since I was older my heat started after the young guys so I had lots of riders to catch on the ride. Up a very long grade I set my sets on the guy way in front of me and cranked like heck to catch him. When I did I saw that he only had one leg.

I have never complained since.

Yeah, I know it's a little OT, and I apologise for that guys.

hayburner

No worries Scott, if a person has done this stuff it adds appreciation for how tough these competitions are. Now imagine 2200 miles of it for 3 weeks with 190 guys going 28 mph all day.

I think Armstrong has done so well for so long because of his mental constitution. In his first book he was talking about getting back on the bike after his cancer treatments and got passed by an old lady on a mountain bike...the point being:everybody gets humbled at some point.That guy with one leg probably has great focus because of losing his leg.


Rob...CTS rocks. The first couple of seasons ,my idea of training was to go hammer for a couple of hours, but I never seemed to get any better at it.I signed up for a year with them and they saved me from myself. The improvement was a pleasant surprise.I was a modestly competent Cat 3 draft horse.

We've got some good racing to watch this weekend. I'll go out on a limb and say Armstrong will pull away from Rasmussen on the Pla d'Adet and put 1:30 on Ullrich Sunday.That's what I hope happens anyway.

mr-mstng

Scott, great read! I ran into a guy with on leg in Philly. He was fast! I never saw his number, but I'm sure he was faster than I. My humbling point came when I finished last year in a Tri just ahead of a 63 year old guy. He is extremely fit, and I thought I was in better shape than I really was. That put me in my place. I now know age means little. There are a few 40+ guys that when I see them on a group ride, by calves twitch knowing the pain I'm about to experience.

Jack, I think you're right about Lance finally wanting to put Mikey away. I don't think Jan is a threat, Basso however, is only 2:34 down.

Interesting read: http://blogs.active.com/dugard/2005/07/smokin.html
I especially like the part about Landis and how he preludes his references to Team Discovery Channel.

EDIT: More interesting info

....and he was 30 some minutes behind the man.

Info about Lance

jgsmuzzy

He used to do 30 miles before work on the bike every day, swam at lunch time and 10-15 miles running each night. he had one rest day a week, and saturdays were always weights days!

I have a lot of respect if people have the mental and physical strength to do things like an ironman (although it jind of took over my brothers life). I myself, really need to do more exercise, you guys are making me feel inadequate!! :jeter: :goes to dust off the bike:

mr-mstng

Looks like Lance put ~ 50 sec on Rasmussen.

hayburner

I have a lot of respect if people have the mental and physical strength to do things like an ironman (although it jind of took over my brothers life). I myself, really need to do more exercise, you guys are making me feel inadequate!! :jeter: :goes to dust off the bike:
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Go James !...Allez, Allez, Allez!!
Don't forget the chain oil.
Triathlons are for sickos like Rob(good luck tomorrow!) and your brother. A fitness program that fits your life style and time available is all you need.The health dividends are huge.

Chirac would say exercise might compensate for for English cooking. We got a chuckle out of him saying that stuff last week. If it weren't for the Brit's and Yanks,he'd have said it in German.Typical French gratitude...

scottie1113

Oui, c'est vrai.

Jack, you are so right. Having suffered through more than a few 10k's, half marathons, two marathons, and numerous triathlons, I have the utmost respect for these guys and what they go through for three weeks. I can't even begin to imagine how difficult it is.

If Mr Armstrong hangs on to win number 7, and I think he will, he has to be the Man of the Year in Sports Illustrated.

Maybe he could win eight. Who knows? But hanging it up while he is still the man is the way to go out. I'm old enough to remember the sad last years of Willie Mays et al.

We will see tomorrow.

scottie1113

Tomorrow is the most crucial day of the Tour. Let's hope that Lance does well.

But again, on a totally non related topic, let's talk about his relationship with Cheryl Crow. Far be it for me to critique that--obviously it's been working for a while--but can you imagine two people from such disparate worlds getting together? Contrast the lifestyles of a rock singer and what is arguably the world's best endurance athlete and what do you find? For me it's confusion. I simply don't get it, but then it's not my life.

Any comments?

hayburner

Scott...Dunno, I wish for his kids sake it would have worked out differently.As you and I know.there's no telling what goes on in somebody else's house. When Lance retires and is 34 he'll be faced with a huge "What now?".Talk about a midlife crisis waiting to happen... It'll probably end up like one of those Hollywood things.When he's not winning the tour anymore,he'll have to face inevitable changes. I don't see it being a "Vida Blue" story ,but some turmoil at least. I'd be surprised if Sheryl rode this out.Time will tell.