It's Business. Strictly Business.

Okay. I understand it's a tough time for cycling teams so the announcement of a new title co-sponsor for Columbia-Highroad--now Columbia-HTC--can't be a bad thing.

Unless you are the proud owner of a Columbia-Highroad jersey.

Okay. I understand it's tough to wear an aesthetically cool all-black kit in the summer heat--hey, I live in Texas!-- so I understand Cervelo Test Team's announcement that they will switch to a white kit for the Tour de France and the remainder of the summer. It's a great idea.

Unless you are the proud owner of a Cervelo Test Team black jersey.

Okay. Businesses make lots of money selling fans team kit. Fans (like someone I know?) will spend really outrageous sums to purchase a team jersey so they can "be there" with their teams as they climb the Alps or storm down the Champs Elysees.

BUT HOW CAN YOU "BE THERE" IF THEY KEEP CHANGING THE ******* KIT???

I support Columbia and Cervelo Test Team primarily because they support professional women's teams--and it's bloody hard to find pro women's kits anywhere at any price! (Oh, yeah, and they have pretty good men's teams, too.) So I show "my love" by purchasing a men's small and making do. (If you don't think a men's small is different from a women's medium, take my word for it.)

But it's not about love, is it? It's about money. It's about business. ("It's not personal, Sonny. It's business. Strictly business.") Last year, CSC brought on board Saxo-Bank right before the Tour; likewise, Highroad brought aboard Columbia; Slipstream Chipotle brought on board Garmin. Each major sponsor addition necessitated a new kit, and fans were just...well, left holding their old lycra blends.

On the bright side? Hold on to that old kit, and in a few years some Chinese or French or German fan will be willing to shell out a fair amount to purchase your former fair-haired child on eBay. Chuck the sentiment and take the money. After all, it's not personal. It's strictly business.

Besides, how else will you finance the purchase of the latest team kit for the spring/summer/fall?? ;-)

GOTTA LOVE IT!!!!

Riding a New Bike. Sort of.

I finally got my TT bike back from Elite yesterday with its new 165 mm crankset. I wanted to take it out this morning for a test run. I set the saddle up 5 mm as John instructed, but was hardly a mile from home when I stopped to adjust the arm extensions. I moved my left bar out a bit and adjusted the right elbow rest to its outermost position. The entire handlebar seemed too low now but the action of raising it up was too involved for a roadside operation so I headed out to Hwy. 80. I hadn't gone more than one mile on it before I heard a metallic "clang!" and heard something hit the road. Recognizing that something had fallen off the bike I pulled onto the shoulder to stop. But this was not my road bike and I was not used to the power of these brakes, nor did I take into account the lower center of gravity--all of which is a nice rationalization of saying I fell over, still clipped in. (Naturally my right foot unclipped as a result of the fall, but otherwise I was still perfectly mounted, just horizontally rather than vertically.) I got up. I saw a cut and some scrapes on my knee and had some scrapes on my right elbow but no major damage done. I walked back down the road about 20 feet and saw the culprit responsible for this chain of events: an X-Lab CO2 cartridged that had come unscrewed from its mounting. I screwed it back in securly and took off. But by now the heart was gone from the exercise. I also saw from my watch that I was running out of time and would probably not have enough time to get home and shower and make the Bahai meeting on time--never mind completing a brick as I'd hoped. I still made the Crow turnaround and enjoyed a good turn of speed heading back. But wouldn't you know ten minutes hadn't passed before "clang!"? The same ****** CO2 cartridge had hit the road again. (I should file a complaint with X-Lab. This is, after all, their wing nut, but their CO2 cartridge won't stay put. The other cartridge from the bike shop stayed put, thank you very much.)

...but for all that the new cranks worked a treat. It was like having a compact crank again but with the benefit of a larger range of gears. I still have to adjust the front end, as I indicated above. Also I heard a rattle located somewhere near the bottom bracket that was out of place. I hate to put it back in the shop so soon after I got it out, but it's annoying to say the least, and who knows what deeper problem it might indicate?

Sending a shout-out to the Buffalo Springs "returnees". Sounds like everyone had a fine time and there were some good results for the ETT crew. Poor Ross, though! We'll have to get that boy an ETT jersey so he won't get penalized next time.

Ramping it Up. Sort of.

As Gina observed on Facebook, I have definitely been hitting the road on my bike this summer. However, no good deed goes unpunished, and as I've pushed the miles my old nemesis, the muscle spasm, has returned with a vengeance. This is the same thing that kept me from participating in the New Orleans 70.3. I did some bike refits with John, but that only brought a modicum of relief. Still, I rarely rode more than 2 hours all spring so I lived with it.

Monday I geared up for my longest ride to date--long being defined by how much fluid I can carry with me: when the water/drinks run out, the ride is over. I packed two 24-oz water bottles and one 16 oz bottle of Infinit which I stuffed into a back jersey pocket and headed out to Highway 80. I did two loops, then three, and finally four. My back bothered me starting around 1 hour in, as usual, but I kept adjusting my position, and even stopped a few times to stetch, thus making it almost 3 hours and 44 miles. Success!

Well, maybe. After my shower my back ache/burn/stabbing pain continued to intensify. I took Alleve. No relief. Around 2 I took a Tylenol and that helped some. On Kami's advice I finally bit the bullet and called Dr. Fiesler and made an appointment for Wednesday afternoon. Dr. F. put me through some positions, checking strength, etc., and diagnosed muscle spasms in the scapular support muscles and the rhomboid. (No clue as to why or what was causing the muscle spasms, but that's not entirely her area.) She said she could shoot the trigger point with 2-3 units of lidocaine and it would break the spasm. The relief might last a few weeks, a few months, or forever. So after taking a few x-rays just to certify there wasn't something worse going on, she brought in the 25 gauge needle and began feeling carefully the muscles in my back. Eventually she shot two trigger points. I couldn't wait to get on my bike next day and try it out.

Thursday I mounted my trusty steed and headed out on the usual route. In my head I could already imagine sending the joyful posting of the miracle cure to tri pals and thereby put myself "back in the long game." I should have known better.... Before even an hour passed I could feel the familiar burning and tightening--higher up this time, in the area of the trapezius. (At least the two places she shot the day before didn't spasm.) Before long I could reach up with my right hand and feel the muscles in my upper left back jumping around like snakes under a blanket. This wouldn't do. After only 28 miles I stopped. As soon as I got cleaned up I called Dr. F's office again and they said she could see me that afternoon. Took longer to see her this time--apparently Thursday is their busiest day--but see her I did. After being treated to an unusual physician's...um, view? vent?...about the perils of socialized medicine, we got to work. She found three more trigger points and shot them up. This time she said the needle "crunched" going in, indicating scar tissue--not surprising given I've been riding a road bike since 2002 and I've experienced this type of pain and discomfort from Day 1.

Unlike before, I found myself in no hurry to remount the bike and head off for a test ride. Indeed, after Jim put me to work doing hard labor in the yard, I wonder if I'll ever have a normal back ever again! But I expect tomorrow I'll try again. If it still spasms, well, I don't know what I'll do. I may have to go see a chiropracter or something. It's a long road.....