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Biased Blow-By-Blow - 2017 Giro d'Italia Stage 2
IntroductionProfessional journalists can’t afford to burn any bridges by calling out a doper, an unstylish rider, or somebody who’s being a dick. They also have a responsibility to the public to...
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From the Archives - Looking for a Legal Highway
IntroductionAs described here, my wife and I did a 7,500-mile bike tour back in 1994. This was a totally ad hoc journey: we had no specific route, and never knew in advance where we’d camp each...
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Biased Blow-By-Blow - 2017 Giro d’Italia Stage 14
IntroductionWhat happens when a professional race announcer is in a bad mood, and doesn’t feel like biting his tongue and pretending that this or that rider, usually on Team Sky, isn’t totally lubed?...
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Biased Blow-By-Blow - 2017 Giro d’Italia Stage 20
IntroductionAs we all know perfectly well, spectators of sporting events seldom care who wins ... they just want a good show. Okay, are you done laughing yet? Yeah, I know … probably most sports fans...
View ArticleFamily Internet Use Policy
AbstractGenerally, parents don’t go snooping around in their kids’ laptops or phones. We want to respect our kids’ privacy. And yet, these devices are like mega-megaphones, capable of blasting our...
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From the Archives - If I Had Defended Floyd Landis
IntroductionAlmost eleven years ago, the American professional cyclist Floyd Landis won the Tour de France, or seemed to until a few days later when it was reported he’d tested positive for...
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What if Allegiant Air Pushed Things Further?
IntroductionThe name “Allegiant Airlines” is a bit of a joke. If I were to swear allegiance to any airline, it wouldn’t be the one that dangles a cheap fare in front of me and then nickel-and-dimes me...
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Bring Back Home Economics!
IntroductionYesterday my younger daughter begged my wife to teach her how to use a sewing machine, so she could make a stuffed animal. This kind of “quality time” is a mixed bag for parents. We love...
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Ode on a Belly: Mine
IntroductionAs I’ve commented before in these pages, I find vanity distasteful in a male. That being said, shamelessness is probably worse. In this spirit of shame I must now fall on my sword. (As...
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Biased Blow-By-Blow - 2017 Tour de France Stage 12
IntroductionThe Tour de France can be hard to watch. It’s usually pretty boring because, being the most important stage race on the calendar, it draws out the best dopers, which for the most part are...
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Ride Report - Sierra Nevada “Almost Death Ride”
NOTE: This post is rated PG-13 for mild strong language and frontier violence.IntroductionYou might not have known this about me, but I’m one of those big-shot bike racers on an elite racing team....
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From the Archives - Lobsters in Maine
IntroductionAs described in these pages, my wife and I did a cross-country bike tour in 1994, starting in the Bay Area, heading down the west coast to San Diego, and then making our way north and east...
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Strong Placebos
IntroductionWhere placebos are concerned, I’m something of a believer. In this post I examine the placebo effect itself; non-deceptive (aka “open label”) placebos; non-ingested placebos;...
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What’s in a [Domain] Name?
IntroductionA workplace mentor advised me to develop my “personal brand.” There is a part of me that instinctively recoils at this phrase, and yet it’s foolish to pretend it doesn’t apply. We tend to...
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ECLIPSE 2017, BAYBEE!
IntroductionOh, shit! I’ve only got an hour and a half to write about the big eclipse! If you missed it yourself, maybe I can help give you a sense of what it was like. And if you saw it in person,...
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From the Archives - My New College Apartment
IntroductionWell, it’s back-to-school time, and nowhere is that more exciting than in a college town. I rode my bike through the Berkeley campus recently to enjoy the secondhand tension and giddiness...
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Biased Blow-By-Blow - 2017 Vuelta a España Stage 15
IntroductionWhy watch the Vuelta a España? Good question. It’s the least prestigious of the grand tours, not even a little brother but more like the Cousin Oliver of the Tour de France. On the other...
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Biased Blow-By-Blow - 2017 Vuelta a España Stage 20
IntroductionIf you don’t have the time or inclination to watch the Vuelta a España live, but are tired of typical recaps such as tongue-biting professionals write, perhaps you’ll welcome the...
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Colorado Mountain Road Test - SRAM eTap Electronic Shifting
IntroductionSo, this post will be a bit unusual. I did a Colorado mountain ride with my friend Pete recently that wasn’t quite epic or disastrous enough to warrant its own post. (For epic click here;...
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From the Archives - Pushing the Envelope
IntroductionHere’s a little something I wrote back in college. Looking back, I find it laughable that I’d thought the movie “Gleaming the Cube” would give society a lasting new cliché (i.e., its...
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