Author Topic: The Cycling Thread - 2012 Edition  (Read 40605 times)

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Offline Obed_Marsh

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Re: The Cycling Thread - 2012 Edition
« Reply #875: August 05, 2012, 01:27:54 PM »
Ah, I get it now. Thanks. :mg: I was measuring around instead of over the top. Looks for like 28.6mm for my mountain bike.

Online JCA-CrystalCity

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Re: The Cycling Thread - 2012 Edition
« Reply #876: August 24, 2012, 08:18:22 AM »
Lance.

Offline tomterp

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Re: The Cycling Thread - 2012 Edition
« Reply #877: August 24, 2012, 08:50:10 AM »
Lance.

Doesn't really change my opinion of him.

1- He's a prick.
2- His overcoming really bad cancer was as courageous as it gets.
3- Sure he was doping, they ALL were doping.  Was he doping more successfully or did that just level the playing field, whereupon he distinguished himself from peers through his training and heart?   Can't tell.
4- 7 TDF wins.  Tainted?  Yes, but can't really judge how much.  Not as much as Bonds, more than FP.

Offline blue911

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Re: The Cycling Thread - 2012 Edition
« Reply #878: August 24, 2012, 09:22:15 AM »
Just give the yellow jerseys to Mike Trout and move on.

Offline MarquisDeSade

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Re: The Cycling Thread - 2012 Edition
« Reply #879: August 24, 2012, 09:30:36 AM »
Doesn't really change my opinion of him.

1- He's a prick.
2- His overcoming really bad cancer was as courageous as it gets.
3- Sure he was doping, they ALL were doping.  Was he doping more successfully or did that just level the playing field, whereupon he distinguished himself from peers through his training and heart?   Can't tell.
4- 7 TDF wins.  Tainted?  Yes, but can't really judge how much.  Not as much as Bonds, more than FP.

I used to be a Lance apologist but he's just too insufferable of an jerk for me not to cheer at him *potentially* getting his titles taken away and being labeled as a cheater.  And before some of you start crying about how I love Barry Bonds but hate Lance - Bonds was a HOF player BEFORE the roids, Lance was just a prick loser on his way to the glue factory before he started doping.  Maybe this will be what makes Lance finally decide to stop being a raging jerk but I doubt it.

I still applaud him for giving it a go after what he went through with cancer and would have continued to look the other way had he had an ounce of humility. As it stands - you got exactly why you deserved Lance, go freak yourself.

Online HalfSmokes

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Re: The Cycling Thread - 2012 Edition
« Reply #880: August 24, 2012, 09:36:45 AM »

4- 7 TDF wins.  Tainted?  Yes, but can't really judge how much.  Not as much as Bonds, more than FP.

not so much tainted as no longer exist, much like the old soviets following a purge, lance is conveniently disappeared from the official records

Offline tomterp

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Re: The Cycling Thread - 2012 Edition
« Reply #881: August 24, 2012, 09:54:47 AM »
not so much tainted as no longer exist, much like the old soviets following a purge, lance is conveniently disappeared from the official records

LOL, what's next, the Twins won the '24 WS?    :lol:


 :?


 :'(

Offline Ali the Baseball Cat

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Re: The Cycling Thread - 2012 Edition
« Reply #882: August 24, 2012, 10:22:52 AM »
boo.

Online JCA-CrystalCity

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Re: The Cycling Thread - 2012 Edition
« Reply #883: August 24, 2012, 10:51:57 AM »
I'm not sure USADA can strip him of the TDF wins. I think UCI or maybe ASO (the group that rund the TDF) has to.  Some of the stories make the point that USADA recommends that he be stripped of his wins.

As for "he was heading to the glue factory before the drugs," he had won the world championship and stages of the TDF before the cancer, and even the USADA doesn't recommend stripping him of that.   If you are saying he was ready for the glue factory because of the cancer, then that is a different matter.  He basically was a pretty good single day, classic / stage rider before the cancer.  After the cancer, he trimmed down to be a better climber and rebuilt (probably with drugs) his body specifically for stage racing and the TDF.

Offline Ali the Baseball Cat

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Re: The Cycling Thread - 2012 Edition
« Reply #884: August 24, 2012, 10:57:37 PM »
The good news is that stage 7 of the Vuelta is on USN in 5 minutes.

Offline Ali the Baseball Cat

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Re: The Cycling Thread - 2012 Edition
« Reply #885: August 24, 2012, 11:27:00 PM »
The Vuelta is very...Spanish.  No one at the side of the road other than a few panting dogs.  I guess everyone is DVRing the race as it passes by their towns and villages since it is the middle of siesta. 

Online HalfSmokes

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Re: The Cycling Thread - 2012 Edition
« Reply #886: August 25, 2012, 08:33:09 AM »
Interesting point about Armstrong I heard yesterday -  he raised half a billion for cancer research by cheating a French race that barely registered in the us (and he helped popularized it here) -  if ever the trade off was worth it,  this is the situation,  I'm wholly in that camp now

Online GburgNatsFan

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Re: The Cycling Thread - 2012 Edition
« Reply #887: August 25, 2012, 09:00:36 AM »
Good article today by Tracee Hamilton, who makes an interesting point:

"...if he had failed a drug test, and brought in 10 people to testify that they were with him every minute of every day leading up to the test and he never ingested anything, never injected anything, never doped his blood, would we be having this debate today? No, because he would have failed a drug test, and all the testimony in the world wouldn’t matter.

It can’t work both ways. Either a drug test is the standard, or it isn’t.
"

http://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/othersports/lance-armstrong-vs-usada-what-are-we-to-believe/2012/08/24/62940afa-ee0a-11e1-afd6-f55f84bc0c41_story.html

Online JCA-CrystalCity

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Re: The Cycling Thread - 2012 Edition
« Reply #888: August 25, 2012, 12:34:22 PM »
I wish  Contador had blown up the whole Inquisition that is WADA.  At least he likely did nothing wrong.  I believe it was the Mexican U-23 soccer team that had about 8 positives for Clenbuterol but it had their penalties revoked because of the ubiquity of clenbuterol in non-doping uses (like meat).  That is the team that won the Olympic gold.   Well, if the theory for Contador's penalty is that clenbuterol positives are strict liability - if it's there, you have a violation - then how is it that these other athletes have been exonerated?  USADA and WADA make things up as they go along.  With Lance, I'm sure the assorted Popovyches and suaniers and even Hincapie lack the resources to fight them once they were in the cross hairs of USADA and copped to what USADA wanted to hear.  It's sad that such a corrupt system is only visible when someone who probably doped like Lance brings it out. 

Offline CALSGR8

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Re: The Cycling Thread - 2012 Edition
« Reply #889: August 25, 2012, 12:44:25 PM »
I wonder if the cancer is back and THAT is why he didn't fight it any more.  They took his not wanting to fight it any more as an admittance of guilt.  He may have a harder fight if the cancer is back. 

NOTE:  I HAVE NO EVIDENCE THAT THE CANCER IS BACK.  I thought my Mom had beaten cancer and my cousin had beaten cancer years after check ups of no evidence.  Then it did come back with a vengence and in different places than it originated.  This is MY THEORY.

Offline Frau Mau

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Re: The Cycling Thread - 2012 Edition
« Reply #890: August 25, 2012, 12:48:50 PM »
I wonder if the cancer is back and THAT is why he didn't fight it any more.  They took his not wanting to fight it any more as an admittance of guilt.  He may have a harder fight if the cancer is back. 

NOTE:  I HAVE NO EVIDENCE THAT THE CANCER IS BACK.  I thought my Mom had beaten cancer and my cousin had beaten cancer years after check ups of no evidence.  Then it did come back with a vengence and in different places than it originated.  This is MY THEORY.

I know you're just trying to give him benefit of the doubt, but I think that he would have actually used that excuse if he was able to to deflect the supposition he was guilty by not fighting it. Honestly I think he's too arrogant to face it in court and have evidence come out that is conclusive. Maybe I'm just cynical, but everybody that gets caught offers up the same excuses, that 'it's personal, it's a witch hunt', etc.

Offline Ali the Baseball Cat

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Re: The Cycling Thread - 2012 Edition
« Reply #891: August 25, 2012, 01:19:13 PM »
That was an excellent piece.  Jenkins has more of a direct personal stake in this, but her bit in today's WP is worth a read as well. 

I'm still really on the fence about this.  Dick Pound was the original anti-doping Torquemada back in the 90s, and whatever due process existed back then sounds as if it is pretty much gone now. 

Good article today by Tracee Hamilton, who makes an interesting point:

"...if he had failed a drug test, and brought in 10 people to testify that they were with him every minute of every day leading up to the test and he never ingested anything, never injected anything, never doped his blood, would we be having this debate today? No, because he would have failed a drug test, and all the testimony in the world wouldn’t matter.

It can’t work both ways. Either a drug test is the standard, or it isn’t.
"

http://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/othersports/lance-armstrong-vs-usada-what-are-we-to-believe/2012/08/24/62940afa-ee0a-11e1-afd6-f55f84bc0c41_story.html


Offline Frau Mau

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Re: The Cycling Thread - 2012 Edition
« Reply #892: August 25, 2012, 01:24:37 PM »
That was an excellent piece.  Jenkins has more of a direct personal stake in this, but her bit in today's WP is worth a read as well. 

I'm still really on the fence about this.  Dick Pound was the original anti-doping Torquemada back in the 90s, and whatever due process existed back then sounds as if it is pretty much gone now. 



I didn't realize before reading the articles what a crapshow these organizations were. Whether or not Lance is guilty, I guess there wasn't going to be any good outcome for him here. Sounds like if they don't get you one way, it looks like it's another.

Offline comish4lif

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Re: The Cycling Thread - 2012 Edition
« Reply #893: August 27, 2012, 03:07:19 PM »
OK, so, I think I've turned the corner from tryout to committed. I've biked the 11 1/4 miles to work 6 out of 7 workdays.

Now, I am riding a hybrid (Trek 7200 from ~1999) on hybrid tires. I'm pretty sure I'd be moving faster on skinnier tires.

Can anyone make a suggestion for what size tires to go with?

Most of the trip is on paved trails and streets. No real offroading.

Offline MarquisDeSade

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Re: The Cycling Thread - 2012 Edition
« Reply #894: August 27, 2012, 03:26:29 PM »
Can anyone make a suggestion for what size tires to go with?

Does it have 26" wheels or 700s?  If you have 26" wheels you don't have many choices, but I'm really partial to these:

http://www.amazon.com/Kenda-K40-HP-Bicycle-Gumwall-26-Inch/dp/B002DX1DO4/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1346095463&sr=8-5&keywords=26%22+tire+slick

http://www.amazon.com/Michelin-Protek-Reflective-Sidewalls-26x1-85/dp/B001AR680S/ref=sr_1_15?ie=UTF8&qid=1346095430&sr=8-15&keywords=26%22+tire

http://www.amazon.com/Rubino-Slick-26x1-5-grey-black/dp/B001D75N9M/ref=sr_1_34?ie=UTF8&qid=1346095536&sr=8-34&keywords=26%22+tire+slick

If you have 700s there are a ton of tires out there that'll fit the bill (stop by Spokes and they'll hook you up).  Let me know if this helps.

Offline Ali the Baseball Cat

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Re: The Cycling Thread - 2012 Edition
« Reply #895: August 27, 2012, 07:00:29 PM »
I've been using 100 psi kevlar-belted 26x1.5 slicks on my commuter assault bike for years.  They are also available in 1.25 width, but I prefer the slightly wider ones for general use.  Performance carries something along these lines...I think they are like 20 bucks.  My guess is that the wheels are 26" since hybrids usually follow MTB sizes.  But as MDS said, there's no shortage of options if you have 700c wheels...you could go all balls out with 700x19 racing tires that inflate to 200 psi and would cleanly slice a pizza if you rode over it. 

   

Offline Frau Mau

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Re: The Cycling Thread - 2012 Edition
« Reply #896: August 27, 2012, 07:23:40 PM »
I've been using 100 psi kevlar-belted 26x1.5 slicks on my commuter assault bike for years.  They are also available in 1.25 width, but I prefer the slightly wider ones for general use.  Performance carries something along these lines...I think they are like 20 bucks.  My guess is that the wheels are 26" since hybrids usually follow MTB sizes.  But as MDS said, there's no shortage of options if you have 700c wheels...you could go all balls out with 700x19 racing tires that inflate to 200 psi and would cleanly slice a pizza if you rode over it. 

   

Why would you do that to an innocent pizza?

Offline lastobjective

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Re: The Cycling Thread - 2012 Edition
« Reply #897: September 28, 2012, 10:54:46 AM »
I got my kit from my team a few weeks ago. I LOVE it!




The website/sponsor is College Park/Mt. Airy Bicycles, our local (and awesome) cycling shop.

Online JCA-CrystalCity

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Re: The Cycling Thread - 2012 Edition
« Reply #898: September 28, 2012, 11:17:47 AM »
so is that affiliated with UMD? 

Offline lastobjective

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Re: The Cycling Thread - 2012 Edition
« Reply #899: September 28, 2012, 11:26:54 AM »
so is that affiliated with UMD? 

Yeah, there's a competitive cycling club there, but you don't have to compete. There's a website that hasn't been updated in a while but basically whoever wants to compete travels to races on their own dime. I haven't raced yet, but I might now.

http://www.studentorg.umd.edu/cycling/Welcome.html