LIVESTRONG Challenge

I signed up for the 2008 Livestrong Challenge today - formerly known as "Ride for the Roses". It's going to be a 90mile ride on October 26 through the Hill Country just West of Austin. If you have a friend or family member who has to deal with that disease, or are interested in the initiatives to fight cancer I'd appreciate if you check out my fundraising page here.

My goal is to have raised $250 by October 18th, 2008 - one year after my mom passed away because of cancer.

I Heart Bert Grabsch !!!

Word Champion!!!

Toughin' it out at TX Tough

Finally, there's a BIG race in Dallas, too: The TxTough Crit. Thanks to the Euro trip, I got 16days off the bike, and was well recovered. Not the best preparation for a $25K crit but I survived, thanks to some last-minute training and Adam's "I'll drop you" moto-pacing sessions.

There was some serious sprint horsepower on the start line so we got rolling fast and furious once the 15mph neutral lap was over. My goal was simply to hang in there and see if I can contribute something to teammate Chad who's been on fire over the last few month. I found my spot in the peloton as we circled around the fast city-course at 28mph. It wasn't too bad actually and 45minutes into it I found myself off the front with Matt Seagrave. We worked together well, quickly got a nice lead and they kept throwin' $250 primes at us. I was in the "red zone", especially after Emile A. came up to us and we kept going faster. Chad was chiling at that point, waiting for the end. We got pulled back quickly, though and I needed the rest of the race to recover :-) Chad finished it up for us, though with a strong 3rd behind Blackgrove and Escuela.

Here's a short write-up from the Dallas Morning News.

And that's how much it hurt...

Come on, Jan!

After both L.A. and Floyd announced their comebacks, Germany is looking forward to Jan's return. When asked by German gossip newspaper 'BILD' if he intents to return to competitive cycling, he simply said: "If he [L.A.] starts, then I ought to start again, too. But I haven't thought about that. You should never say never, though. I'll give him a phone call in the next couple of days."

taken at 2004 Tour of Germany

un poco de Espana

Thanks to Ryanair you can fly around Europe pretty cheap and so we headed to Eastern Spain for a bit, flying into Girona and taking the train to Barcelona the following day. Lot's of things to see there and a good place to see what I've learned in 5 years of spanish in high school - or not :-)

...Girona - now wonder why so many cyclists claim a home here

...Palacio Nacional in Barca

...'Estacio Olympico' from 1992

...late night bike training through Barca on a rental

...La Sagrada Familia with Gaudi's influence

...over the French Alps, Le Mont Blanc?

London

We headed to Europe on Sunday and our first stop was London. Luckily Adam G. ordered some good weather (no rain) for us and we got to see lots and lots in 2 1/2 days of being in this alive city. I've been here before more than 10 years ago but it was weel worth another trip...

...London Bridge

...they love US movies, especially advertising them in the subway

...night club in Covent Garden

...Sheri got to meet Queen Liz at Madame Toussaud's

...me and the 'Governor'

Get Your White Mercy Team Kit !!!

Ever wanted to look fast and pimp like Cancellera, Cipollini or Bettini in an all-white cycling kit? Here's your chance:The Canadians from Louis Garneau are making a special edition Mercy Cycling Team kit in white. Bib Shorts, Jersey + gloves all together for $155. Interested? Order online here.

Tour of KC

more to come....

in the meantime, the Kansas City Star wraps it up pretty nicely.

Jack's Generic Tri

After only having to ride 25miles yesterday I filled out the weekend with a different type of competition: the Jack's Generic Triathlon down in New Braunfels at the Texas Ski Ranch. I've done a couple of sprint tri's in the past but this was by far the stiffest competition I've been with. There were close to 1000 people comepting today.
My co-worker Derick told me to do the Open category and for whatever reason I listened to him! So there I stood in the sand with 15 pro/semi-pro Tri guys and girls; we started the 500m in the Open wave and I was last out of the water (yeah, I can swim, but not fast). My TOKEN Momenta was waiting for me in Transition and I quickly started catching the same athletes which just dropped me badly during the swim. 3 guys were too far up the road, though and I was fourth coming out of T2. The 3mile out-and-back run on asphalt was not fun and my legs felt like fresh jellow the entire time. On the way back to the finish my other co-worker Kelly passed me - she was on a 6min pace while I was doing a 6:45. Yeah, she's fast.
I ended up 4th Overall Male for the day and missed the podium by a solid 3minutes to a 35 and a 41-year old. I guess I can still do well in Tri's 15 years down the road?

A few pics from Kreutz Photography:

...last out of the water in the Open Wave...and yes, pink caps are gay...

...trying to get low...

...5K of pain...

...Awards with fellow Sourcie Derick W.

40K State TT

I headed out to Pattison for TX State Time Trial together with Robert and Ruarri from THSJ. I've been down there twice before, but never quite had the punch in the legs; today was close.
We started at 11am and it was HOT. A typical Texas mid-summer day as many would say. We came prepared, though. After not willing to spent $150 on an ice-vest we used cold/hot packages from my freezer along with sandwich bags full of ice and a soaked-in-ice-water towel while warming up. The longsleeve Source Endurance skinsuit felt great, I was soaked in cold water when I went off. Everything went according to plan, I probably caught 8 or 9 guys but there was one man above all of us today: ERICK BENZ. He surprised a few folks today, including me. With Benz in 1st, me 2nd, and Wenger 3rd we had 3 "Sourcies" on the podium.
Special thanks to the Executive Inn, Orlando's Pizza, the Shell gas station of Brookshire, and Food Mart of Pattison for their hospitality :-)