RR41 - Hot Off The Press!

The new Rivendell Reader, chock full of 48 pages of steel, leather, and wool goodness, is now available here.

Enjoy!

BTW, Peanut Farm tomorrow at 1:00PM Alaska Standard Time for the ATOC! See you there!

I Like to Watch

I'm not a sports fan...conventional, American-type sports that is. Stuff like football, baseball, basketball, golf, etc. And bars? I've never done the bar thing either. I mean, there was college of course... So the 'sports bar' is something I really never got. Sports + bar  = wrong. That was until today! Today I had a short e-mail correspondence w/ a cycling advocate here in town who asked if I knew of any place in Anchorage where a person could go to watch the Tour on television. Of course I was dumbfounded. How would I know any place like that?! TV?! Watch? I got rid of my TV back in 1982.

But the question reminded me of one of my favorite podcasts by Jack Thurston of The Bike Show. A couple of years ago one May, Jack recorded his weekly podcast whilst (d'ya like that?) watching the Giro from Bar Italia in London. They rode their bikes to the bar. It was a great show. They were really having a grand time, you could tell. Anyway, you can still download and listen to it.

So I reached for the phone book, flipped through the pages and immediately called the Peanut Farm. And you know what? The have Versus. AND...if you ask, they'll put it on for you! Right on! I'm heading to the Peanut Farm! Just like Chauncey Gardiner, "I like to watch."

Will they let you bring your trainer? It's a sports bar, isn't it?

(By-the-way, if you get a charge out of watching bicycle racing, check out this trailer for Road to Roubaix)

Here's the Versus schedule:

Tour of California

Feb 14 @ 5PM ET, Feb 15 @ 6PM ET

Feb 16 LIVE @ 12:30PM ET, Feb 17 LIVE @ 5PM ET

Feb 18-20 LIVE @ 4PM ET and Feb 21-22 @ 5PM ET

Paris Nice - Mar 8 and Mar 15 @ 5PM ET

Criterium International - Mar 29 @ 5PM ET

Tour of Flanders - Apr 5 @ 5PM ET

Paris Roubaix - Apr 12 @ 4PM ET

Liege Bastogne - Apr 26 @ 3PM ET

Fleche Wallone - Apr 26 @ 3:30PM ET

Tour de Romandie - May 3 @ 4PM ET

Dauphine Libere - Jun 7, 9, 14 and 15 @ 5PM ET

Tour de Suisse - Jun 14 and 15 @ 6PM ET and Jun 21 @ 5PM ET

Tour de France - July 4-26

Vuelta A Expana - Oct 11 @ 5PM ET

Paris Tours - Oct 11 @ 6PM ET

Tour du Faso - Nov 8 @ 6PM ET

Sheldon Brown

Sheldon Brown: 1944 - 2008

Folks, in memory of Sheldon, do something nice to your bike today.

Renew, Renew...It's Time To Renew.

Once again, your loyal RBA is making it easy for you. It's time to renew your RUSA membership. Click on the link, download the form, fill it out, mail it off, everything is good. Next thing you know, you'll be road-trippin' down to Homer w/ your friends for the End-of-the-Road 200K season-opener.

20 clams for a year-full of benefits:

 - Quarterly randonneuring journal.

 - Member's handbook (of which I highlighted in a previous post).

 - Fancy ACP commemorative finisher's medals.

 - Eligibility for yearly rando awards.

 - Groovy rando schwag from the RUSA store.

 - Entry to RUSA permanents.

Go ahead, support randonneuring in the U.S. of A. Renew today!

Homer is Certifiable!

We've heard the Sirens' call from the "cosmic hamlet by the sea!" Behold, Homer is certified!! ...The 200KM End-of-the-Road brevet course that is. The guy in the photo on the right with the red nose, however, looks like he's spent a little too much time at the Salty Dawg.

Anyway, I just got word this morning from the RUSA routes coordinator that the course is good to go. It's number 705. One down, a whole list of others to go.

Better hit the gym folks. Less than two months to go. We're starting early this year, and there are a few hills on the course. Bring the granny gear to this one.