Stage 20 - It is Finished

Darin, The Boss and John joined me for this year's swan song ride. What a beautiful evening it was! The wind had died down (finally!), the temperature was 80 degrees and the sinking sun cast a warm and wonderful glow on everything. I frequently complain about the weather in Wisconsin (because mostly, it sucks), but the weather this evening was nothing short of spectacular.

Riding this Tour thing the past two years has given me the experience to be able to handle the psychological part of the non-stop riding fairly well. That's a good thing because I've always said that 90% of competitive cycling is psychological - the other half is in your head. But my goodness! The high winds these past three weeks has really made this difficult on the body. Push, push, push. If it is true that 70-90% of the resistance of moving a bicycle forward is wind resistance I would estimate that the difficulty of riding this year's Tour was 20-30% tougher than normal. This is why I need a PowerTap. Instead of estimating degree's of difficulty and comparing one ride or one Tour to another, we'd have an accurate measure. And as you know, Elvis would also use the tool for the benefit of readers by delving into the science, research, testing, and reporting of the world of watts, joules and power. Simply put, Elvis on a PowerTap would move the sport of cycling forward. When is someone going to step up to the plate and give ElvisKennedy.com a loaner PowerTap? The world awaits.

Along today's route John ask me why I do the Tour Challenge every year. This is a tough question to answer since I don't really ride for any specific purpose. It's not to raise money or awareness for a charity. It's mostly just a good excuse to ride. But of course it's more than that. It's a way to celebrate the return of summer. To enjoy the long, warm days. It's a way to celebrate the friendships made through cycling. These friendships are unusual in a way; you ride out of your garage and your home life into a completely different world filled with different people. Sometimes families meet riders but more often than not the two worlds never collide. Mrs. Kennedy knows my best cycling buddies but that's only a handful out of the dozens of riders I see on a regular basis. This is neither good nor bad - it just is. And when the snot-filled, heart racing, wheel-to-wheel, testosterone draining riding is over, you roll back into your garage and step into your house as if nothing happened. For the most part our families have no idea what goes on out on the roads. Sure, they hear that this guy was killer tonight or that guy got dropped, but they cannot know the exhilarating thrill of riding in a fast pace-line. The excruciating pain of a big climb. The unexpected burst of energy at mile 72. Or the feelings of utter exhaustion and true happiness wonderfully wound together when nearing the end of a good, hard ride. Life at it's fullest and finest.

And that, I suppose, is the answer. The Tour de France Challenge is a celebration of life. 21 days. 1,120 miles of riding. The journey was the reward. What's beyond the next ridge? I don't know. Let's get on our bikes and find out.

Stage 19 - Bomb's Away!

After yesterday's grueling ride my legs were trashed. Sixteen hours of resting, stretching and re-hydrating was not enough time for recovery. Makes you wonder how a slightly above average pro rider at the end of his career, say a guy like Levi Leipheimer, could win the toughest mountain stage of this year's Tour de France (he effectively won Stage 16 after Rasmoosen was kicked out), and then come back three hard days later and ride the fourth fastest time trial in Tour history. Really, doesn't that make you wonder?

For me, today's ride was not the fourth fastest in the history of Elvis' 50% of the Miles 100% of the Effort Tour de France challenge. Not by any measure. After three weeks of heavy riding my entire body is stiff and tight, my legs are swollen and weak and there can be no doubt that my hemocrit level is depressed. Sustained and repeated hard physical efforts can deplete red blood cells. This is one reason why in the pro cycling community clean guys are harmed in ways beyond the obvious. Clean riders have to expend enormous amounts of work just trying to keep up with the dopers. Every day is an over-extension of their abilities. This daily grind depletes their red blood cells and then their ability to output power is diminished. At the same time, the dopers are getting re-charged with new blood and/or EPO. This is why you will see the clean teams finish grand tours with few remaining riders, and those remaining riders have little energy in which to win stages - and dirty teams, of which I believe Discovery to be one of, finish three week races by having riders scorch the time trial course with four of the fastest seven times. Four of the top seven from one team? Makes you wonder.

Near the end of today's ride I hear a low flying jet. Really low. Sounds like a big jet going slow. Odd for Door County which is not on any major flight path. The sound is getting really loud and as I begin to think that something is amiss the sun is blotted out. I'm in a big shadow for a second or two. I look up and see something that I've never seen before, an Air Force B2 bomber cruising along at about 3,000 feet. It's a startling sight to be sure. Don't let those Al Qaeda videos fool you; when they talk tough about not being intimidated by American firepower they're lying. The B2 that I saw was a friendly and I didn't have to worry about daisy cutters dropping on my head - and it still made me shudder. Had it been a foe I would have dumped the bike and cowered in a ditch somewhere.

Here is roughly what I saw when I looked up;

And here is a glamour shot;

Turns out the Air Force was doing a couple of demonstration fly-by's at the Experimental Aircraft Association's fly-in that's held in Oshkosh, WI every year. I'm glad that there was a simple explanation for this unusual event. The mind can reel with unexplained alternatives.

Stage 18 - The Hard Road

The good news was that I found myself in beautiful Door County for the start of the week-end. The bad news was that the wind was whipping at 30 mph right out of the north. Since Door County juts out into Lake Michigan at a northeast angle it was difficult to find a stretch of road that wasn't either into the killer headwind or through a nasty side-wind. Although I was in one of the most beautiful areas of America's midwest, today's ride ended up being a solo 66 miles of mind and leg numbing madness.

Some of the roads here are unfamiliar to me and as I neared the turn-aorund point I found a road that appeared to point towards home. I had been head down and pushing for almost 30 miles and the short reprieve from the headwinds was going to feel good. And it did as I spun easily over some rollers and into a State park. Unfortunately, the road was a big loop and before I knew it I was facing the gale and going back the way I had come from - away from home. By the time I got back onto the main road the frustration of having to double-back combined with the unrelenting wind almost had me in tears and ready to call for the broom wagon. I suppose the three weeks of non-stop riding had finally weakened the body. And the three weeks of windy weather had finally broken the mind. The road home was a death march. My legs cried out in pain, my mind cried out in agony. The worst ride of my life.

Even scenes like this couldn't raise my spirits;

After rides like this it's easy to see why professional cyclists fall into the doping trap. No matter how fit you are, a three week stage race will get the better of you at some point. You'll have at least one bad day and in a race like the Tour de France one bad day will end your chances for a podium spot. The human body simply can't recover and get back into top form day after day.

I found it interesting that the VS. announcers, Phil Liggett and Paul Sherwin spoke about the obvious cheating of Michael Rasmooosen; obvious by the way he climbed in the mountains. With 20-20 clarity they thought it obvious that Rasmoosen's repeated good days was a tell-tale sign of doping. But they said nothing about the near identical climbing abilities of Levi Leipheimer and Alberto Contador. The two Discovery boys finished neck and neck with Rasmoosen on the mountaintops as the three left all other riders miles behind. Why didn't anybody point out Rasmoosen's questionable abilities before he was kicked out and why doesn't anybody question the other rider's questionable abilities now?

It's also prudent to mention that Michael Rasmoosen did not fail any of the drug tests that he underwent during this year's Tour. 18 in all. Nor did he fail any drug tests in any other events over the years of his cycling career. Since the cycling authorities saw fit to yank this guy out of the Tour while he was donning the coveted yellow jersey we must surmise that there is more to the story than an odd missing or incorrect date on his itinerary. Officially, he was kicked out because of the suspicion that if he was not where he was supposed to be during some period of time this past Spring he must have been hiding from the dope testers. This is likely true but if cycling kicked out every rider simply for suspicious behavior there would be no one left to ride in the races. Therefore, the truth of his being kicked out is hidden somewhere in all of the noise. But the overall point remains - he was kicked out for cheating yet he did not fail a drug test. Meaning that systems and substances are readily available so that the riders can avoid any detection of their cheating. Keep that in mind when you hear guys like Lance Armstrong drone on and on about how they have never failed a drug test. It's a meaningless statement. Although it may suggest something about the character of the individuals that hide behind it.

If you have a comment on any of this please use the "Comment" section below.

Stage 17 - Rain, Rain Go Away

Fun!

As the rain pounded my office windows I looked at the open checkbox for today's Stage; 59 miles. I had waited as long as I could for the rain to let up but it was time to don the cycling gear, get on the bike and head into the weather. It was too warm for the plastic bag-like rain poncho so I wore the usual gear and hoped for the best. Sayings like, "Attitude is everything" and, "Life is what you make it" all come to mind as you roll out into a downpour. If a young boy with a dream didn't believe in those things he'd stay home.

The worst part of any ride in the rain is the first twenty minutes. It takes those twenty minutes to get used to squishy socks, squishy seat shamy, squishy gloves, looking over the tops of your glasses since you can't see straight through them, long braking distances, slow (very slow) corners and the few unnerving seconds as each car or truck passes by - spraying you unmercilessly.

After those first twenty minutes though, you begin to enjoy it. Cycling is as sport of youth and splashing around in puddles is fun. Really, try it sometime. Instead of avoiding the puddles you aim for them. The bigger the splash, the better. And what can be more fun than standing at a stop-sign, noticing the driver in the car next to you looking at you incredulously as you turn your head to look back while the rain water is literally running off of your helmet, glasses arms and face? They don't get it - but you do.


Some cycling friends and I went to the Superweek 2007 pro bicycle race in Cedarburg, WI and I took some pictures. To view them go HERE.

Stage 16 - Dead Man's Ride

Quick thought for the day - Tyler Hamilton was riding a BMC bicycle when he was busted for drugs. Floyd Landis was riding a BMC bicycle when he was busted for drugs. Alexandre Vinokourov was riding a BMC bicycle when he was busted for drugs. What does all of this mean? I don't know. I'm just sayin'.


Darin was riding a Trek bicycle and Elvis was riding a Colnago bicycle as we put in 68 miles for today's stage of the 2007 50% of the Miles 100% of the Effort Tour de France Challenge. It was very windy again but that wasn't the worst of it. Due to summer being the road construction season in Wisconsin we found ourselves going around, through or over dug up roads, gravel roads, non-exsistent bridges and mud. As well as down the middle of a State Highway. At points during the ride we were forced off the road by a street sweeper and a dust control truck, which was watering a dirt road to keep the dust to a minimum. All that it did for us was to turn a dry roadway into a mudfest. One highway worker gave us some good route advice by telling us to detour through a cemetery. I must say, cemeteries have smooth roads, little traffic and lots of trees for shade and wind protection.

Darin sees dead people

An idea; why not stage criteriums in cemeteries? No traffic controls to worry about. A small donation to the church is better spent money than fees to municipalities. Good use of the otherwise dead wasted real estate. And as I said, nice roads in a park-like setting. Ideal for racers and fans alike.

Cemeteries and tombstones are a creation of man's ego. The desire to be remembered. The desire to leave some mark behind that proves you once walked the face of the earth. Yet these places are forgotten corners of our communities. Kids avoid them and only strange old men are willing to do the landscaping. Is there a better way to celebrate life than to race a bike surrounded by our ancestors? I think not.

Rest Day #2

Did you know you can follow along with the progress of Elvis' Tour by clicking on "Tour Mileage Chart" tab on the upper left column? Well you can.


Alexandre Vinokourov is a doper. Why doesn't this surprise anyone? Why? Because doping news has now come to be expected when the topic is pro cycling. Doping and cheating in pro cycling has been so pervasive for the last 20 years that the sport may never be fixed. Yes, we get the traditional lip service from the sport's governing bodies, the team owners, the team managers and even from the riders; "It's only a few that spoil it for all of us and we don't like it either". Really? Then stand up, tell the world what you know and take it like a man. There is no way that the so called "rogues" like; Pantani, Zabel, Chipollini, Riis, Mancebo, Heras, Basso, Ullrich, Miller, Hamilton, Landis and now Vinokourov have been doping in a personal vacuum. The how-to's of which drugs to use when and in what amounts was not created from scratch by each of these dopers. The perfect blend of drugs, the appropriate masking agents, the other cheating methods, the timing of the doping programs - do you really think that each of these guys had the time and mental wherewith-all to figure it out on their own? Not a chance. The chemicals and the cheating methods have been perfected over decades with the help and experience of hundreds of riders.

Team owners, managers and teammates all know what is going on. Maybe not the specific details of what each rider is doing - but they know who is doing it. And that, from Elvis' perspective, makes them all a bunch of dopes.

The heroes of our sport, like the stars of Hollywood, are not what they seem. We may all want to believe in the make-up assisted, lighting controlled glamour-shot view of people - like this;

How we'd like to see the sport of cycling

But when stripped of the veneer of the micro-managed, public relations, spokesperson fantasy world, the sad reality is unfortunately more like this;

What pro cycling really looks like

I'll have a more complete expose on how doping is killing our favorite sport, entitled, "The Tour de Fraud", as soon as the Tour Challenge is complete.

Stage 15 - Crash & Burn

A very rough day out on the roads today. First of all, due to scheduling conflicts I ended up riding solo. I went northwest into the headwinds, turned east towards Lake Michigan and by the time I turned southwest to head home the winds had switched direction - now coming from the southwest and providing a very annoying headwind. 61 miles, almost all of which was into the winds. Grrrr!

But I did have it better than some people. I came upon a serious car wreck just as the ambulance was pulling away from the scene. Take a look at what's left of the big Chevy Suburban and note how they had to use the jaws of life to cut the roof off for access;

Tree 1, Truck 0

Just a few miles further up the road I happened upon a house fire. Or rather, the smoldering pile of what used to be a house.

Ashes to ashes

All of this makes you stop and think. There is such a fine line that separates things like; living and dying, love and hate, winning and losing. But that's what I like about riding a bike; you can forget about all of that garbage and worry about important things like finding a route that takes advantage of the winds, has many coffee shops along the way and goes by a public beach with pretty girls. You know what I'm talking about, important stuff.

Body Update: The saddle sore has been reduced to a minor annoyance. The searing pain is gone and a lingering ache is all that remains. The wasp stings are very itchy and the wound spots are beginning to harden. The swelling of the knuckles is gone. My weight has not changed since the Tour started. I'm sleeping OK, but not great. My neck and shoulders are stiff and sore. My legs hurt.

Bike Update: I don't know exactly where or when it happened but the front wheel has a dent and a corresponding flat spot. There is now a steady and annoying thump-thump-thump as I ride down the road. Once the rhythm of the thumping gets into your head it's hard to push out. The Boss has offered to loan me his spare and I just might take him up on it. My wheel, a Mavic Ksyrium SL will need to be sent to the factory for repair. Other than that the Shimano Dura Ace equipped Colnago C-50 is performing wonderfully.

Over 800 miles done and just under 300 to go.

Stage 14 - Milwaukee

Met up with Darin and The Boss for today's 61 miles. We decided to head into the city for a change of scenery. Not that anyone is sick of cornfields and cow pastures, it's just that Sheryl Crow said, "I think a change will do you good". Since Sheryl was smart enough to dump Lance I'm willing to take her word for it.

I've concluded that there is one cardinal rule in cycling; Ride with one other person and the pace can be rational. Ride with two or more people and the speed and pain will increase dramatically. There is no valid reason for this to be - it simply is. And so it was as the three of us sped over to Lake Michigan and then down into the City of Milwaukee. There were lots of other cyclists out today and one by one, we picked them off. The sweat was spraying off of The Boss' head, Darin was drooling and I was doing everything that I could just to hang on. We rode all of the way down to the hip and trendy Alterra Coffee House at the Marina. We pulled in for a quick break only to find the line at the counter stretching for about fifty yards. While I've been known to drop three and a half dollars on a cup of chai at one of these post-modern coffee houses, it's beyond me why someone would wait in line for half an hour for the priviledge. The Boss suggested that the people did it so they could impress their frineds by talking about how they hung out at the place on Sunday afternoon. I suppose that makes them Cool, or Gnarly, or Bitchin, or Bad or Rad, or maybe even Groovy. Whatever. We certainly weren't going to hang around to find out.

City riding

On the ride home a wasp went down the front of my shirt and before I could get a hold of him I'd been stung four times. A bee sting hurts. Four stings from a wasp makes your eyes water and your head go dizzy. We arrived home safely but about six hours later I began to feel ill and the knuckles on my hands were swelling up. It got to where I could not bend my fingers. Since I'm doing this Tour clean, i.e., no drugs of any kind, not even an aspirin, there was not much for me to do but ice my hands and go to bed. Thankfully I didn't go into anaphylactic shock.

A cycling product that I've been testing is the Garmin Edge 305 cycling computer. It's a cycling computer with all of the regular functions, a heart rate monitor and some useful yet limited GPS functions. Interfacing this thing with Google Maps will provide you with an overlay of your route on a map or a satellite view. After the Tour is over Elvis Kennedy will provide you with a full review of this nice item. In the meantime, take a look at a sample of the satellite view with part of our route (in red) below;

Alterra Coffee House, upper right, Marina at bottom, Lake Michigan. As seen from an altitude of 2,986.

Leipheimer rant for the day: I pointed out in yesterday's post how Levi Leipheimer was lecturing other riders for not working hard enough (his opinion). During today's stage Cadel Evans was working his arse off trying to chase down the lead group. At one point Evans, obviously totally gassed, sat up and waved his arm, motioning Leipheimer to the front. In typical Leipheimer fashion Levi simply stayed on Evans' wheel. I'll point this out again and probably not for the last time; if Leipheimer has any chance of winning this thing he will need to stick his nose into the wind and do some work.

And did you notice this small item? On the climbs there comes a point where it is against the rules to take any more water from your team car or from the neutral service vehicles. This is done for safety reasons as the roads are narrow and the fans are unpredictable. The riders are smart enough not to take bottles from the fans who offer them because you don't know what's in those bottles. Anyway, at one point I noticed Levi falling a bit off the back and I thought, "He's finally cracking". But then I saw him ride to the side of the road where an extra large U.S. flag was flying. Levi rode right to a particular guy who handed Leipheimer a bottle. This was clearly a set-up to get extra fluid (or whatever) to Leipheimer. The flag was the signpost, Levi dropped a little off the back, rode to the left, grabbed a bottle and then went right back onto someone's wheel (that, at least, was typical of him). Not only is this guy a Nancy-Boy for refusing to work, he's a cheater too. Last week he had his team car pull him at 45 mph and this week he's breaking more rules.

Stage 13 - Levi Lectures

It sure was nice to only have to ride 17 miles today. Unfortunately, the first 17 miles of a ride are the hardest since the legs are tired, stiff and sore from all of the riding. But I'll take an easy sub one hour ride whenever I can get it.


Did you see American cyclist Levi Leipheimer lecturing the other riders in his group during yesterday's coverage of the Tour? He wanted them to work harder as he sat in and sucked on their wheels. His excuse for not working was a classic one; he had a teammate up ahead and a general rule is that teammates don't work to catch each other. Be that as it may, Leipheimer will not win this Tour if he continually refuses to do any work. He probably figures that he can beat everyone at the two time trials and that should be sufficient. Even if it is (however unlikely) he needs to show some aggression and panache to become a true champion. If he has any that is. It's just plain childish for one pro rider to lecture another one about working. Every rider and every team has it's own motives, strengths and goals. For Leipheimer to sit up on his bike while waving his arms and yelling at the other riders is distasteful. He is not the BOSS of the peloton and he never will be.

I'm guessing that Levi and the rest of the riders are safely tucked in their hotel room beds tonight with IV's in each arm. We all want to believe that they're riding clean this year but somebody give Elvis one good reason why they would change their behavior. As long as one rider suspects another rider of cheating he will feel forced to cheat himself. And you would have to be a complete knuckle-head to think that all of the other riders are clean. Ergo - you dope.

Stage 12 - Got Milk?

For the first time in a long time Elvis had his best cycling buddies Darin, Russ and The Boss alongside for a fun and spirited ride. It was a beautiful late summer afternoon as we sped through the beautiful countryside of eastern Wisconsin. Lake Michigan was beautiful. The cornfields were beautiful. The blue sky was beautiful. Riding in a fast paceline with buddies you can trust was beautiful. 56 miles of "It was all good". One of the best rides of the year.

Let the good times roll

As Mike mentioned in a comment on yesterday's post and as The Boss informed me earlier (the Boss is VERY well connected in the cycling scene) it appears that Tour de France leader (current) Michael Rasmussen is a doper. Read the details HERE. Apparently Rasmussen tried to trick a friend of his into transporting some performance enhancing dope into Italy. The type of dope is interesting. The stuff, called Hemopure is, well, just read this quote from the article;

"According to labels, the bags were filled with a hemoglobin-based oxygen carrier (HBOC) known as Hemopure, manufactured by the U.S.-based Biopure Corporation. The product is made from hemoglobin molecules that have been removed from the red cells of cow's blood. Originally designed as an emergency blood substitute that requires no refrigeration, Hemopure has only been approved for human use in South Africa. U.S. clinical trials were recently suspended over safety concerns, but a similar product is currently used for veterinary purposes.

Endurance athletes were said to be using the product as a substitute for blood-doping or EPO use, though no one has ever been convicted of using Hemopure or other HBOCs."

Fascinating stuff. Cow's blood? It's amazing what athletes will do to gain an advantage. For a brief overview of the product (in case you are interested) I provide you with THIS LINK to the product site at the Biopure Corporation. With a quick look at the pictures showing how Hemopure works it's easy to see why an endurance athlete would be interested in the stuff. It carries and releases oxygen more efficiently than normal red blood cells. It also has lower viscosity which may mean that you could be less likely to die of a heart attack - as opposed to getting your blood too thick via transfusions. But don't take my untrained word for it. As always, seek expert medical advice from licensed physicians before undertaking any doping program. Lance Armstrong recommends one Michele Ferrari and you can go HERE to see his programs.

So the doping in the pro peloton continues, even after the Landis fiasco and even after the cycling authoritie's claims of cracking down on the behavior. Cow's blood? Let me be the first to say it, Michael Rasmussen should forever be known as Michael Rasmooosen. Get it? But really, how desperate do you have to be to try a cow's blood based substance only approved by the government of South Africa?

I guess this means that other riders are still doping too. Hard to believe that it really stopped, isn't it? When will all of this madness end? Unfortunately, it will probably take the doping related death of a star cyclist or two before the authorities and the cyclists themselves take this problem seriously. Or until someone like an Armstrong or a Landis come clean on everything that they know about; which means a death or two. Sad.

I can sum this current situation up in two words; Ay, carumba! And in two pictures;

Got milk?



Hey Rasmoossen, want some of this? You know you want it!

Stage 11 - Exploration

Four miles from home, riding easy to loosen up the legs, heading to Germantown to meet up with Darin for today's ride. A guy on a time trial bike, down in his lowest tuck position waves 'Hello' as he blows by me. The blow by is usually a challenge. But my body is tired and my legs are heavy and sluggish. Let him go says my head. Catch him says my legs. Before I realize what I'm doing I see the speed gauge on my computer go from 17 mph to 28 mph. This is clearly coming from some ancient 'fight or flight' response buried deep within my psyche. I didn't decide to do this - it just happened. Pulling alongside the other rider I ask him where he is riding from and soon we're chatting like old cycling pals. After a few miles we part ways with an agreement to get together for some long rides.

Within seconds I go from a new friend to an old one, Darin. Darin's been kind enough to share lots of the Tour miles this year. It's been great for two reasons; 1) long hours on the bike seem much shorter if you have someone to talk to, and 2) misery loves company.

The wind is back but at least it's changed direction which allowed us to try a new route. Instead of heading west into the hills we set out east and north towards Lake Michigan. This took us through the lovely port town of Port Washington. Our route took us directly along the harbor which looked spectacular with the sailboats slicing across the diaphanous blue water. The big waves and whitecaps were reminders of how windy it was (as if we needed reminding).

Propelled by the winds through Port Washington

Heading north and west out of town we chose roads that we had never ridden before and were rewarded with long tailwind rides along horse stables and wheat fields. The rolling hills provided vistas of Lake Michigan to the east and farmlands to the west. Exploring new routes is always a fun thing but every now and again you find yourself somewhere that you don't belong. Like an interstate highway. This was certainly a new experience for both Darin and I and we made it as short as we could.

An unauthorized non-motor vehicle

After the excitement of having semi-trailers and dump-trucks storm by three feet away at 75 mph we were treated with a peaceful spin along the Milwaukee River for a few miles before returning to roads that were familiar. 57 miles after we started out, we were home.

Today's Route

Stage 10 - Where the Rubber Meets the Road

Why is that whenever you travel any real distance on the road you inevitably see a single shoe laying on the side of the road somewhere? At first I wonder where the other shoe is. Then I wonder where the body was hidden. Personally, I've never lost a shoe when traveling but a lot of you out there must have since they're all over the roads. Do people dangle their feet out of car windows, a shoe gets blown off and they don't bother to retrieve it? Do they forget that they set them on the roof of the car before heading out? Someone please explain this phenomenon to me because I don't get it. This is the kind of thing that can get into your head after spending three or four hours a day cycling.

Anybody missing a shoe?

Check out the list of towns that Darin and I rode through on today's route; Germantown, Hubertus, Richfield, Slinger, Allenton, West Bend, Jackson, Rockfield, Kirchhayn, Cedarburg. Whew! Good thing that most of them are too small to have many (or any) stop lights. Although it sounds as if this was an urban route it wasn't. Check out these two shots of Darin in the fields;

Darin in the fields of green



Darin in the fields of gold

Did you catch the video of the cyclist in the Tour de France that broad-sided a big dog during yesterday's stage? It was close to what almost happened to us today. We were speeding along a beautifully winding and hilly road when out of the woods a deer sprang onto the road directly in front of us. These things happen so fast that there is little time to react and fortunately the deer thought better of standing in the road and bounded back into the woods on the opposite side of the road, otherwise we would likely have collided with it. That might have made for a fun blog entry but think of the safety factor. I mean, our bikes might have been damaged!

Speaking of bikes, I finally had a chance to clean, lube and adjust mine the other evening. It really needed it after the long miles and a couple of wet rides. I did two things in particular that made today's ride smoother and quieter than usual and that are worthy of mention; First, I took apart the rear hub because it seemed a bit sluggish and noisy (for a How-To go HERE). As soon as it was apart the problem was obvious - the lubrication had broken down. The last time I had done this I used Pedro's Dry Lube as a mineral oil substitute. That was a mistake. The Pedro's stuff, although advertised as a mineral oil substitute, was a thick, dark, goey mess after only a few thousand miles. I cleaned all of that out and replaced it with genuine mineral oil. The cassette now spins freely and you can hardly hear it.

The next change of note was a swap of tires. At the start of the Tour I threw on a new set of Vredestein Fortezza Tri Comp tires that I had not ridden before but which came highly recommended. For everyday riding they, in a word, suck. If smooth and supple are adjectives describing fine tires - these were the opposite. A harsher tire I have never ridden. They're probably good for time trials though since their recommended maximum pressure is 175 psi. So I'll save them for that. What I replaced them with was a set of Vittoria Rubino Pro tires. What a world of difference! Smooth and supple, quick and quiet. They're not quite as nice as Elvis' all-time favorites, Vittoria's Open Corsa EVO-CX, but they're close and they're half the price. If you have a bike that fits right the most important factor in your ride is a good, no, make that great, set of tires. Sure, you can ride $15.00 tires and feel good about their value but if you want a really nice ride you need to step up to a premium set. You WILL notice the difference.


The last item I have for you today is this LINK to an article in the New York Times about how you don't need to be thin to be a good cyclist. Cycling great Andy Hampsten is featured in the article (although I don't know why - he's thin).

Stage 9 - An Easy Ride

Well, well, well. The wind has finally died down. At least for now. Sure, it was foggy and misting when I set out but what a pleasure to ride the hoods instead of the drops. Due to work responsibilities I switched tomorrow's mileage for today. That means 72 miles today and 50 tomorrow.

Today I set out straight north to see what I could find. The ride was quiet and uneventful, which was nice. No howling wind, not much vehicular traffic and frankly, not much to look at because of the thin fog. After forty miles or so the fog lifted to reveal a lovely evening. With clear skies, warm temperatures and little wind the smells of summer where everywhere. Freshly cut hay is always a treat and the scent was made even better when mixed with the sweet smell of ripening corn. One not so pleasant smell was that of dead fish as I rolled along the shores of Lake Michigan, just north of Port Washington. But by the time I got into town it was another pleasant valley Tuesday. Charcoal burning everywhere. Rows of houses that are all the same and no one seems to care. Neither did I. Makes you hungry though, riding hard while smelling the grilling Teriyaki chicken, brats, burgers and steaks. (A medium (What do the snobs at Starbucks call it? Grande?) coffee drink at Starbucks to the first person to identify the hidden reference in this paragraph)

During the last twenty miles I was treated to a beautiful sunset as I rode west towards home. What a great ride today. I think my legs are finally adjusting to the workload as today's ride was almost easy. The crotch surgery seems to have been a success too. There is a little residual tenderness but it was minimal and if there was going to be a flare-up a 72 miler should have provoked it. So far, so good. And to top things off, we passed the mid-way point of this year's Tour Challenge. 564 of 1102 miles are in the books.

Cornfield sunset

What makes a Tour de France champion? Sure, winning helps but it's more than that. It's determination, grit, aggression, over-coming obstacles, attacking and fighting to the end. It's doing what Alexandre Vinokourov has been doing. After a serious crash a week ago that left him with deep cuts on both knees and his elbow, along with countless severe contusions and scrapes - he is still in the race. Instead of letting his team car pull him back to the pack after he crashed, he rode hard to limit his losses. Instead of whining about bad luck he rode hard to limit his losses. After getting dropped on the big mountain today he continued to ride hard to limit his losses. The Tour de France charges a steep price for any mistake or run of hard luck and therefore, and unfortunately, Vinokourov is probably out of contention for a podium spot. Elvis thinks that this is a shame because of all of the riders in the Tour, Vino has the most panache, and Elvis thinks that panache should always be rewarded. Yet who knows, last year Floyd Landis pulled back from an eight minute deficit (albeit with the aid of performance enhancing drugs), and maybe there is some magic left in the French air for Vinokourov. He's 8:05 behind the leader, but only 5:30 behind the real contenders. Yes, that's a lot of time with half the Tour over but he's one tough son-of-a-gun and you just know he'll be attacking soon. It'll be interesting to watch.

Vinokourov cried after losing over three minutes today. Sometimes hitting bottom is just what a person needs to throw caution to the wind, take some chances and see what the gods have as a reward.

Vinokourov in tears after losing 3 minutes in today's Stage

Rest Day #1

Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz... I'm resting.

Stage 8 - Colnago

My good cycling buddy Darin joined in for today's fun. A shortish 53 miles. The wind was still blowing so the hills that were on tap came almost as a relief as the wind isn't as bad on the tree-lined hillsides surrounding the Holy Hill area of southeastern Wisconsin. In fact, the most exposed section of the ride was the long, downhill stretch heading east off of Holy Hill. With a westerly wind the twenty mile run back to the parking lot was about as much fun as a guy can have on two wheels. With Darin and I taking turns up front the pace never went slack. Most of that stretch was done at 25-30 mph. Nice!

The first nine stages are now in the books and tomorrow is a much deserved rest day (Yipee!). Today's ride also ends a string of eight consecutive 50-plus mile stages. Although nine 50-plus mile stages remain, the longest streak of long mileage days is three, which happens twice. With two time trials and a another rest day to break up the long stages I'm hopeful that my legs will be able to find a groove. It would be nice if the wind would die down too.


After today's ride I needed to deal with the saddle sore. Even though I can shift on the saddle to find a position that isn't tearfully painful the sore is not getting any better and the Tour will be in jeopardy if it gets any worse. Instead of the usual pee sized and shaped sore this one is about two inches long and a quarter of an inch wide. Since it was swollen and looking like a blister I opted for surgery. After carefully cleaning the area I sat on an old towel and with a flashlight to illuminate the target location I went in with a sterilized pin. There must have been two distinct sores as it required two painful punctures to fully drain the thing. At first a clear liquid gushed out and then blood oozed out. The blood will actually flush out the remaining puss and should help to prevent infection. Although there was not enough blood to categorize the surgery suite as a crime scene, it was pretty nasty. I cleaned up and then applied some anti-bacterial salve and gauze. It now has 48 hours to heal before I ride again.


Michael Rasmussen won today's Tour de France stage while astride a Colnago bicycle. Hey, that's what Elvis rides! One of the fun aspects of cycling is that you can use the same gear that the pros do. NASCAR fans try that. Anyway, no cycling blog would be complete without some gear discussion. Here is what the first two Tour Challenges have taught me; get a bike that fits right and feels good. Spend the time necessary to get it set up just right (and when you do use Elvis' Bike Position Chart so that you can duplicate it when necessary). Any mis-adjustment will cause pain when riding 400 miles per week.

People tend to focus on the frame when selecting a bike. A frame is certainly important but my feeling is that most major manufacturers have frames all but identical to other manufacturers. What I mean is, a low, mid or top end Trek can be matched by a low, mid or top end Specialized, or Giant, or Cervelo, or Time, or Orbea, or even Colnago. Figure out what type of frame you want and then compare the rest of the stuff on the bike to decide between manufacturers. For me, Trek loses by sticking their own branded stuff all over their bikes (yes, Bontrager is a Trek brand). This does nothing for the consumer, it simply raises the profit level for Trek. Find a bike that uses the stuff that you might buy if you were building up a bike from scratch. Mavic wheels instead of Bontrager, for example. Specialized does a good job at this and should be on your list of bikes to look into. Of course, I like putting bikes together and would recommend that you give it a try some day. Buy the frame you want and the parts you want. The task of building up a bike will, in addition to giving you a no compromise bike, make you a skilled mechanic, ready to tackle any maintenance or repair job. And it's fun!

Official bike of the 2007 Tour de France Challenge

Levi Leipheimer has a lot of attacking to do if he is ever to be considered a great racer by Elvis. Levi loves to sit on a wheel and follow. He never works and sadly lacks the panache of the great riders. The OLN (Oops, I mean VS.) announcers like to suck up to the American audience, so they'll characterize Levi's style as "smart". If he doesn't attack he won't bonk is the theory. Let other riders trash themselves and Levi will be the last rider standing. With Tour contenders Michael Rogers abandoning with injury and Alexandre Vinokourov badly hurt himself one could argue that it's a fine style, sitting in all day. But to a lot of us it's just plain sissy. If you want to be the Tour champion you need to show some aggression and take risks.

Had Leipheimer worked at all today he could have put much more time on Vinokourov, who will surely attack when his wounds heal. And I wonder if Leipheimer showed us his true self today when he had his team car pull him back to the pack after a bike change. It was a sorry sight to see. if you missed it here is what happened; Leipheimer had a problem with his chain that caused him to drop off the back of the main group so that he could grab his spare bike from the team car. Instead of working hard to get back like most riders do he pretended that his spare bike needed some adjustment. So he rode alongside his team car so that a mechanic could pretend to adjust the saddle height. Since this was his spare bike it would have been set up properly beforehand. But with the fake adjustment the mechanic was able to push/pull Leiphieimer at 40-plus miles per hour as they rode back up to the main pack.

Leipheimer has been penalized 10 seconds for his shenanigans. On one hand this is a spectacular deal. He saved minutes by being pulled back to the group by his team car and he saved energy too. All of that for a 10 second penalty is one heck of an investment. On the other hand, Elvis Kennedy never forgets. For all of Leipheimer's lack of aggression and lack of panache, being a cheater may be his biggest crime. Leipheimer made things worse by formally recognizing what a smart move cheating was. Speaking of his 10 second penalty he said, "It could make a difference, but if I hadn't gotten back, it would have made a bigger difference" (read HERE). We should read that as, "Had I not cheated I would now be out of contention". If Leipheimer happens to win this thing the logical conclusion to all of this will be that he didn't win it fair and square.

Why is it so hard to like the top American cyclists? Or maybe the question should be; why are the top American cyclists such jags?

Leipheimer; first he cheats, then he sits in

Stage 7 - A Clean Ride

Geez! The wind just won't go away. The Boss and I waited for the rain to move out before we set out to put in today's miles. Thanks to the howling wind today's 62 miles felt much, much further than yesterday's 62 miles. We aimed our bikes towards the Holy Hill area to put some climbing in although it probably wasn't necessary as riding into a 35 mph headwind takes more energy than climbing does. The coup de grace was standing on your pedals trying to reach the summit only to get hit straight-on by gale force winds just prior to cresting. Pretty nasty stuff.

Today ends a 430 mile week. The biggest mileage week of the Tour is over (thank goodness). My entire body is sore and looking forward to Monday's rest day. The saddle sore is getting a little worse and is now bothersome on rides. I'm washing and lubricating as much as possible but I'm afraid it's too late. I may have to perform a little surgery sometime soon.


Why are people so weird? Today the Boss and I are riding along a wide open country road with no traffic coming our way. Two Harley riders come up slowly from behind us. I'm thinking that we'll get a friendly wave to acknowledge the brotherhood of two-wheeled cyclists. The first rider passes steadily by without acknowledgment and then the second guy pauses as he is abreast of us. Without once glancing our way he guns his engine to blast us with the painful roar of the mighty Harley V-Twin. Why? The guy looked to be fifty years old (and fifty pounds over-weight), not a kid out joy-riding which, while still stupid, could be written off as a youthful prank. I suppose his little adventure is fodder as he brags about it at the next tavern stop. What possesses a person to be such a jack-ass?


In the previous entry I failed to point out that Bradley Wiggins of the Cofidis team attacked during yesterday's Tour de France stage. He jumped the peloton at kilometer 2 and held them off for 115 miles, getting caught just 4.5 miles from the finish (race radio once again kills the excitement). It was a great day for Wiggins as he and his sponsors had lots of air time on the Tour's world-wide television broadcasts. What is notable about Wiggins is that he has been outspoken against doping and has said that his motivation is to prove that clean riders can be successful. In February Elvis gave Wiggins a shout-out and suggested that Wiggins could be a hero for those disinclined to appreciate the dopers of the peloton (read HERE). Here's to you Bradley Wiggins - you are proving that there is a place for clean riders.

Before wrapping up I'd like you to think about the work involved in trying to stay ahead of the world's finest cyclists for 115 miles. Even if the pack knew that they could catch Wiggins whenever they chose to, they were still cruising along at 28 mph. 170 riders sharing the load of 28 mph is a whole lot different than 28.1 mph by yourself, for 4 hours. The next time you go on a group ride attack and see if you can manage even a mile out front by yourself.

Bradley Wiggins - Riding Clean

Stage 6 - A Memorable Ride

On the menu for today was a 62 miler. Other than sore legs, sore shoulders, sore triceps, a sore butt and a sore neck I feel pretty good. The body may be finally adjusting to the mileage overdose. I'm feeling a little tingle (not a good one) in my naughty regions. Feels like the start of a saddle sore - I'll need to be vigilant so as to prevent this little issue from degenerating into a big one.

The winds had died down, at least for now, and I set off in search of a good ride. For something new I decided to skirt the east side of West Bend and head north into terra incognito. It was a beautiful route of rolling hills through the corn and wheat fields on a lovely summer day. Really, the ride could not have been finer. WIth no headwinds to battle it almost felt as if I had a tailwind the entire ride. The stiff legs loosened up by mile twenty and the remaining miles all but flew by.

Riding as far north as Sheboygan County and to a place called Random Lake that I had never been before. I can report that it is a lovely town on a lovely lake. Not sure about the name though. As far as I know it's always been the same lake - nothing very random about that.

Today's route (from space, no less) with Random Lake - top and center

Riding south of Belgium I came across a spectacular midwest scene; an elderly farmer raking a freshly cut hayfield. The picture below does not do justice to the scene as you can't smell the sweetness of the hay, see the big smile on the farmer's face or hear the putt-putt of the John Deere tractor. You'll just have to trust me that this is what riding in the midwest is all about. It's also a reminder to look around when you're out riding. You never know what you might miss if you keep your head down.

A happy farmer on a fine summer day

Today is the 40th anniversary of the death of cyclist Tom Simpson. Simpson collapsed and died while riding the Mt. Ventoux stage of the 1967 Tour de France. A granite marker now sits on the spot of his collapse. Of all of the great champions who have ridden and won the climb up Mt. Ventoux, why is the only monument to a mis-guided young man who cheated? Simpson was and still is considered one of the great British cyclists, having won the World Championship in 1965. With all due respect to his family I think that the marker should be painted black as a reminder of the dirty truth about his death. He did not die from over exertion. He died because he took more amphetamines than his body could handle. He was not a true champion. He was a cheater. It feels dirty speaking of the dead this way but if we ignore both history and the truth we cannot learn from them. The amphetamine abuse in cycling in the 1960's is similar to the doping abuse in today's peloton. Why mark and commemorate where a cyclist died from drug abuse as if this is a goal for young riders to strive for?

We should mark Tom Simpson's death by pondering the senseless loss of a young cyclist. The senselessness of a sport that turns a blind eye on drug use. It should remind us that without a clean sport we have no true champions. If Simpson's life as a cyclist is to have any meaning at all we should institute "Simpson's Law", that would be a zero tolerance policy to drug use in professional cycling. Only then will the granite marker have a lasting and positive meaning.

Simpson Memorial - Don't let this happen to you

Stage 5 - Blowin' in the Wind

57 miles could have been a relatively easy ride if not for the gail force winds that were blowing today. 28 mph, gusting to 40. Because there is nothing worse than getting to your halfway point and hitting a headwind for a long ride home, I usually head out into the winds. Today that meant going west and north in a zig zag pattern. West and north from my house means hills. Lots of hills. By the time I hit the turn-around point I was shattered. What I had hoped would be a quick and easy wind-driven ride home turned into a bit of a deathmarch. I ate and drank as much as I could stomach to no avail. Dead legs, pounding head and psychologically wasted. For you readers in Wisconsin, tell me - has it been a very windy month or is it just me?

I see this dead cat on the side of the road (no, not an overdosed jazz musician), and think to myself, "Yes, that's just how I feel".

Misery loves company

The only fun thing that happened was when I stopped at a fueling depot for some water. I was standing astride my bike by the fuel pumps emptying the trash from my pockets. A guy getting gas on the other side of the pump looks at me, looks at my bike and in all seriousness asks, "Where do you put gas in that thing?". I smiled, pointed at my mouth and rolled away. The only smile of the entire ride.


I often think that it would be fun to have a Powertap, one of those devices that can calculate your power output. I'd like to see what kind of additional power is required when riding into a stiff wind. It would also be fun to be able to compare workload from one ride to the next. Instead of thinking about mileage a guy could think in terms of work. 57 miles in today's wind was certainly more work than the 73 mile stage. Anyone out there want to loan Elvis a Powertap to review? I'll write a fine review and then give it back to you, really I will.

The only thing that got me through today's stage were the fans that continue to line the race route.

If only they could jump the fence and give me a push

Stage 4 - There's No Place Like Home

60 miles on tap for Stage 4 of the 50% of the Miles 100% of the Effort Tour de France Challenge. Experience tells me that today and tomorrow will be two of the roughest days of the entire Challenge. No matter how many miles I ride in preparation for this thing the fourth and fifth days of consecutive long miles are the most difficult. The miles, it seems, get ahead of the body's ability to adapt. The heat does it's best to beat you down too.

If experience can warn me of the difficulty it can also keep me out of trouble. We all know how important it is to keep yourself hydrated and we've all probably ignored that knowledge at one time or another too. Try that during the Tour Challenge and you WILL pay dearly. Once you get behind in fluid intake it's very difficult to get caught up. That's why I drink, drink, drink when I'm out on the road. And before I ride. And after. The easiest and most accurate way to test proper hydration is to look at the color of your pee. I developed a chart for this a few years a go and it's offered here for new readers;

Hydration Test - Check Color of Pee Before, During & After Riding

Gin Clear (You wouldn't be able to see clear letters, now would you?) - You are drinking adequate fluids and you should be saluted
Lemonade Yellow (Hard to read - it says, "Lemonade Yellow")- You are slightly behind in intake, push the drinks
Dark Yellow - You have not taken on enough fluids, you are becoming dehydrated
Orange - You are dehydrated. Stop what you're doing and drink 48 oz of water
Red - That's not pee, it's blood. Seek immediate medical attention

Do not rush the fluid intake. Gulping large amounts of water will trigger the "time to empty" signal in your stomach and you'll end up peeing as much as you drink. Take it in sips - many if necessary, just don't guzzle it.

The other nutritional nugget of knowledge that experience has taught me is to eat a lot while on the bike. By a lot I mean eating even when you're not hungry. If you're hungry it's too late - your blood sugar has fallen too low and your energy reserves are tapped. Try to eat on a schedule. Here is what works for me (your mileage, literally, may vary); eat something every 15 miles. I alternate between a power bar (I happen to like the Powerbar Triple Threat Bar), two gels (assorted) and Shot Blox. One of the most important times to eat is 15 miles from home. You'll be thinking that there is no point in downing $2.00 worth of endurance food since you're almost home but the problem is that you'll unbalance your blood sugar and you risk feeling lousy for a few hours until you get it back in balance. The Challenge runs for three weeks, you'll feel lousy enough because of the workload and there is no reason to complicate matters by going cheap on your food. Just eat it, baby!

Around mile 40 of today's ride I start feeling the effects of the miles and of the heat. I was melting, melting I tell you! Like Dorothy wishing for Auntie Em I just wanted to close my eyes, click my heals and say, "There's no place like home". Just then I rounded a bend and saw a sign that gave me the inspiration to power the 20 miles home;

We're not in Kansas anymore

Sometimes the confluence of inner thoughts and reality scare me. What are the odds of a guy seeing a street sign like that just as he's thinking about Auntie Em? This is karma at it's finest and I felt much better knowing that magical things like this can happen in the most mundane of moments. (I still kind of wished I was home though)

Stage 3 - Elvis Meets Landis

5:45 AM is way too early to roll out of bed for a bike ride. But with work obligations looming I had little choice. Luckily, The Boss wanted to get in an early ride too so we agreed to meet out on the road at 6:00 AM. There are not too many good things that I can say about an early start but here are two; 1) the winds are not as nasty as they are later in the day, and 2) the temps at 6:00 AM were in the 70's, as opposed to the 90's that would sizzle later.

Our route took us from Germantown, north to Cedarburg, east to Lake Michigan, south to Brown Deer, west through Mequon and Thiensville and back into Germantown. The Boss had work obligations too and he had to peel off at mile 43. Today's Stage is the longest of this year's Tour - 73 miles. If my math is correct that left me with 30 miles to do solo. I headed northwest into the wind, wound my way through West Bend and after a quick stop to replenish fluids, turned for home.

The quiet time offered me an opportunity to reflect on last's night's trip to Wheaton, IL to hear doper Floyd Landis speak at a book signing. Cycling buddy Darin and I went to Border's Books to listen as Landis was scheduled to give a 15 minute soliloquy and then answers some questions. After receiving an uncalled for standing ovation upon entering the room Landis decided to get right to the questions. He seemed a bit uncomfortable in front of a microphone and I suspect that there never was any serious consideration given to preparing any kind of speech. Besides, what would he say? It's much easier just to answer softball questions from an adoring audience. Evidently Landis' public relations blitz these past few months had worked as the too loud and too long ovation is a result of people buying into Landis' the-world-is-out-to-get-me song and dance. The audience clearly felt sorry for Landis. Cheering for a person you perceive to be an underdog is a part of human nature. It feels good to stick it to The Man even if you don't understand who The Man is and what he might have done.

Landis listens to a question from the audience

I expected that the crowd would be made up of mostly cycling types. You know the type;, tall, skinny, shaved, lycra, T-shirt with some cycling related product proudly displayed. But with the exception of an older, over-weight guy busting out of his 7-Eleven cycling gear the crowd seemed to be made up of middle aged husbands and wives with slightly paunchy mid-sections and thinning hair. Simply put, your typical midwesterner. Surprising since I would have guessed that your typical midwesterner could care less about the Tour de France in general and some guy named Floyd Landis in particular.

Questions ranged from what age did Floyd start cycling to who he thought would win this year's Tour (his prediction was David Zabriske). No one seemed to notice the elephant in the room; doping. One guy did ask a question about Greg LeMond that Landis quickly dispatched by saying that he didn't know LeMond and therefore couldn't really give an answer. Twenty minutes of soft questions later the Q&A was adjourned and we lined up to get an autographed book.

Does hooking your thumb on your belt work as good as crossing your fingers?

Instead of giving you a rundown of Landis' answers to the audience questions I thought you might enjoy listening to the entire program. So I busted my hump for you once again and produced a podcast that you can listen to on your computer or download to your favorite MP3 player. Click HERE to listen from your computer. Or better yet, click on the iTunes logo below to subscribe to the Elvis Kennedy podcast via iTunes. That way you'll be able to take the Elvis Kennedy podcast with you everywhere.




For a permanent link to this information and for more pictures, go HERE.

Stage 2 - Rain & Wind & Weather

The wind died down to 20 mph and the temperatures dropped to the mid 80's. But the rain moved in. Today's ride was a 53 mile round-about trying to dodge the thunderstorms. Zigging this way to avoid this one and zagging that way to avoid that one. Honestly though, it was fun. I actually had to pay attention to the dark clouds and calculate a safe route. And thanks to the unavailability of race radio (as we discussed in yesterday's post) I had to do it all by myself.

With about ten miles to go I was staring down an ugly storm front (see picture, below). It was all that remained between me and the finish line. I decided to ride right into the belly of the beast and take it's worst. First the gust front came, thundering in with 40 mph winds. Then the sheets of torrential rain. To add to the excitement, hail the size of peas began stinging every piece of bare skin. I was mashing the gears to get home with the cruise control set at 22 mph. My forward velocity combined with the speed of the head-wind had the hail leaving mottled welts on my arms and legs. If you could have seen me you would have seen a big smile. This is what makes the Tour Challenge fun and exciting! Regardless of the weather outlook or the condition of your body - you ride. Just don't try to explain it to the uninitiated.

The storm front

How about that Bernard Hinault? As a five-time Tour de France winner no one would criticize the guy if he tried to capitalize off of his name or simply retired quietly. Instead, he continues to give back to the sport of cycling and to the Tour that he loves by remaining a part of the Tour de France. He is on the podium and is the first person to celebrate each day's Stage winner. Sure, he could slink around in a Texas hideaway, avoiding his critics, but he has too much class for that. If anything will save the sport of cycling, it's men like Bernard Hinault.

Hinault (at left) - Respecting the Tour

On the other side of the Hinault coin are knuckle-heads like Matthias Kessler. Read HERE how he claims that his failed dope test is due to swallowing four packages, "with Chinese writing on them" that he received as food supplements from his "alternative" health practitioner. Ignoring for a moment the oxymoron 'alternative health', what pro athlete in his right mind would ingest anything without knowing precisely what it was and exactly where it had been? Especially stuff with unreadable labels. He took dope of course, and this is a classic excuse used as plausible deniability to confuse the public. We at ElvisKennedy.com will not fall for it. Kessler - you're out!

Anyone here read Chinese?

Kessler can get in line behind one Gianluca Stanga, the owner of the Milram pro team. Stanga is denying the statements made by one of his rider's that Stanga was instrumental in getting his riders to dope. Read HERE. First a denial, then this, "If there is a responsibility then I share it with race promoters, sports organizations and journalists, who would also have to be convicted". Why doesn't he just say, "I wasn't there. And if I was I didn't do it. And if I did nobody saw me. And if you did see me I wasn't alone". This probably isn't fair but it sure seems that the average IQ of the people who make up pro cycling hovers somewhere around the peak hemocrit level of the riders. Ay, carumba!


Tonight cycling buddy Darin and I go to Chicago to hear doper Floyd Landis speak. Tomorrow I pay the price with a 73-miler. (Yes, of course, you'll get lots of stuff from the Landis trip. Patience my dear readers!)

Stage 1 - The Oven

Temperature: 94 degrees F.
Wind: 30 mph with gusts to 40 mph
Sky: No clouds to block the blazing sun

There is only one way to describe riding a bike in that kind of weather; Ay, carumba!

The wind was coming out of the southwest so no matter which direction I rode in (Wisconsin roads are laid out in 1 miles grids running N-S and E-W) I had to fight mother nature. And I was riding 63 miles solo. I can't say that it was much fun. I try to take it as easy as I can on the early stages knowing that strength and energy come in limited supplies. But today was a maximum output day. Let's hope that the hot wind peters out soon.

The only redeeming item from today's ride were the fans that lined the race route. You wouldn't think that Elvis' Tour Challenge would draw big crowds but look at this;

They are all mooing, "Elvis! Elvis! Elvis!"

Earlier in the day I was lucky enough to have some fun go-carting. With me being Elvis and all, I couldn't help but whip out a camera during the race. I'm hoping that you psychologists out there can explain the strange human reaction to seeing a camera. You've all seen it. Its the "Hi Mom!", smiling, waving and jumping into the camera's angle of view thing that almost everyone seems to be stricken with upon seeing a camera. I have no idea who the guy on the left is in the picture below but every time the camera came out he was hamming it up. It's a race pal, keep your eyes on the track!

Hi Mom!

Has anyone noticed how boring the first week of racing is during the Tour de France? The problem stems from the use of 'race radio'. Race radio is the constant flow of information between race officials, team coaches and the riders. It's gotten to be such a science that the team coaches can calculate the pace required for the peloton to run down, catch and pass any breakaway. It's so accurate that the catch and pass usually occurs within the final kilometer of the race. Anyone who watches the Tour knows that the breakaways will be caught. How many times have you plunked down in from the of television to see a four man break six to ten miles out in front of the main pack? It could make for some exciting viewing if we could pretend that the coaches weren't crunching the pace and distance numbers with their on-board computers and then, via the two-way radios that the riders are wearing, tell the teams something like, "We need 48 kph from here to the finish".

All of this takes the riders out of the equation. They become pawns in an elaborate chess game; paceline do this, domestique do that, team GC guy sit here and so on. The riders no longer have to think or worry or even evaluate how they are feeling on any given day. They just hear and obey orders. Is it any wonder that they complain of being treated more like racehorses than people?

Professional cycling has a big enough problem caused by the constant doping scandals. The least that the organizers could do is allow some excitement by letting the race unfold naturally. If a guy feels good on a given day let him take off in search of glory. Leave it to the pack to figure out if, when and how to respond. But hey, that's just me.

Prologue

What can you say about a 2.5 mile ride? I went out for a short warm-up, did a quick 2.5 miles and finished with a short cool-down. A whopping 9 miles total. But I know what's coming so the miles were relished as the next 1100 are going to be difficult. It's not the daily miles that are tough, it's the accumulation. The day after day drudgery of getting yourself back on the bike for more. Trying to eat the right balance of foodstuffs in the right amount. Staying hydrated. Staying healthy. Staying interested.

I won't be seeing this for a while

This morning found me in beautiful Door County, WI so after the big ride I was able to enjoy the scenery and refreshing beaches that this part of the country has to offer. I even took a ferry out to Washington Island. I've been to all 50 states but had never been to this part of my own state. There's not much to do on the island and that's the point. Go to Schoolhouse Beach and just relax. A nice way to keep the legs fresh.

What do all serious Tour riders do the night before embarking on a grand tour? Go to the drive-in theatre, of course! Modern society no longer seems to have a need for drive-in theaters so the few remaining ones should be cherished. It's a magical time to sit on top of your car or in the back of your pick-up on a beautiful summer evening enjoying a movie, the night-time stars and the occasional meteor. Even a movie as disappointing as Disney's Ratatouille is more tolerable in an outdoor setting.

A rat as a French Chef? Even Disney couldn't pull it off.

In the real Tour de France Prologue American George Hincapie was a surprise as he came in third in the short time trial. Hincapie, hardly a time trial specialist, claimed to be disappointed by not finishing first. This strikes Elvis as odd since Hincapie has never won a time trial in a major race. At 34 and near the end of his career what made Hincapie think that he could win such a specialized race? One would have thought, given his record in short time trials, that he would have been positively beaming at a podium finish. Hmmm...

Do Ya Wanna Dance?

Yikes! Only two days remain before I begin, for the third year, Elvis' 50% of the Miles - 100% of the Effort Tour de France Challenge. For new friends of Elvis Kennedy; the Challenge is to ride one-half of the miles that the Tour riders do, each and every day of the Tour de France. This may sound easy but there is a reason "100% of the Effort" is in the title. Logging big miles day after day, usually solo, is a big drain on physical, mental and psychological reserves. But it's fun! Here is the mileage chart for this year's Challenge;

The chart is also posted under a tab to the left and will be updated daily. You can check on Elvis' progress every day for the three weeks that make up the Tour. I'll also be posting an entry each day too. So check back often.

Why does Elvis do this? Three reasons; One, as a celebration of Summer. What better way to get yourself out-of-doors for a couple of hours each day during our short Summer? Two, I love riding a bike. It's a freedom thing. But most importantly and more pointedly, as I get older I try to convince myself that age doesn't matter; you're either living or your not. I cannot think of a better way to celebrate life than by getting on a bike and pushing your mind and body to places that they rarely go. By stage nine, when your head aches, your motivation is non-exsistent and your legs are crying for mercy - you know that you're alive. Dead legs wouldn't hurt so much! Every stage has a highlight and every ride has a moment of beauty. I'll do my best to share it all with you.

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I recently purchased the book, From Lance to Landis by David Walsh (see link at left). Here is what the jacket claims about the book; "David Walsh gives an explosive account of the shadow side of professional sports. In this electrifying, controversial and scrupulously documented expose, Walsh explores the many facets of the cyclist doping scandals". Sounds fun, doesn't it? I'll be providing some excerpts and an overall review of the book within the daily postings.

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If any of you dear readers would like to join Elvis for one or more of the stages please let me know by sending an email by clicking on the "Email" link at the bottom of every page or by clicking on the "Contact" tab on the column to the left. I'd love the company. And if you plan on doing the Challenge yourself - keep me posted as to how you're doing and what your experiences are. I'm sure the readers would like to hear about it.