Recent content by Sprocketboy

Canyon As I understand it, Canyon sells only by mail, or if you actually go in person to their operation in Koblenz, Germany. However, they recently posted an interesting ad in a big German cycling publication seeking an international manager so clearly they have more ambitious plans.

Garmin 305 I have used a Garmin Edge 305 for the last six or seven years and generally been happy with it. Unfortunately, this week it has decided it does not want to load courses anymore and Garmin says that it is not worth it to try and repair it. I am considering going to a 605, although I...

A Rising Star Extinguished This is tragic. I was in the office following the Cyclingnews live feed of the race when the crash happened and when, 25 minutes later, the medics were still working on him as he was on the ground, I knew that something very serious had happened to Wouter Weylandt...

Catchy Song The infectious title song was, I believe, nominated for an Academy Award. The animation is mainly by hand, which is quite unusual in today's world, with some computer work in the dream sequences. And I loved the 2CV gangster limos!

Not such a great idea Judging from the responses to this magnet on the Gizmondo website, throwing it at some yahoo is tantamount to a death wish.

Training DVDs There are a lot of good DVDs out there for training purposes, with the newest trend of featuring scenery instead of just sweaty riders indoors. Spinervals has produced some good DVDs (I particularly like the Lake Placid Ironman one, which is over 3 hours) but EpicRide and Global...

Herr Consul I am a Candian Foreign Service Officer, about to become Consul in Duesseldorf, Germany (which is only a short distance from Liege!). This is the only way I can cycle in Europe and manage to get paid for it, sort of.

I think that this is the worst current kit, and will probably make the list of all-time awfulness. The jersey is wretched enough, but those shorts!

Another slightly obscure but interesting choice is Barcelonnette, from where you can ride the Col de la Bonette (the highest road in France), the Col de Vars, the Col de la Cayolle, and, one of my favourites, the Col d'Allos. One that I have not ridden but that looks pretty close is the Col de...

I too applaud Bob Roll's calm and dispassionate reflections on the really stupid conversation that the ESPN folks had. There is a transcript here: http://http://www.thewashcycle.com/2010/03/tony-kornheiser-allegedly-condones-running-down-cyclists.html Putting aside the encouragement of...

I'd vote for Briancon, which, as a larger town, gives you a lot of choice in places to stay and eat. You have access to the Lautaret, Galibier and Telegraphe, the Alpe d'Huez, the brutal (but only used in the Tour once) Granon, and the Izoard. You might need to reposition yourself since some...

Politics is the art of compromise, particularly in the United States. Somehow, I can't imagine LA functioning in that kind of environment.

It is not surprising that Graham Watson (whom I think is an excellent photographer, perhaps not so much a commentator) is keen on LA. He has mentioned that when the Uniballer retired, his photo sales fell off pretty dramatically. I supposed that Watson sells most of his pictures to the...

On the subject of early season prep, it looks like Lance is going to South Africa in March for the Argus Tour, which I don't think is a race but more like a gran fondo. Sounds like another big promotion and he is bringing some team members along. Seems like kind of strange training preparation...

Fascinating stuff. A few years ago I was at Cadence Cycling in Philadelphia and up on the second floor was a small Bianchi time trial bike purporting to have been one of Pantani's.