When somebody asks you about Armstrong, what do you think about first? Do you think of Armstrong Flooring? No? How about Armstrong Garden Centers? Of course you did! As a cyclist, the first thing you probably thought about was that guy that survived cancer,
won 7 Tour de France's in a row with one testicle, and made wearing yellow a fashion statement. Yes, Mr. Lance Armstrong
(or Mr. Kate Hudson!), we were thinking of you. But Lance is not the only prominent American who has hero status in
the United States (for that matter, around the World). In fact, the Armstrong name has been legendary even before Lance
turned his first pedal stroke. Let's take a look at two other Armstrongs that are arguably more famous than the
Tour champ.
Louis Armstrong- Back in college, I took a Jazz in America class. This was my first introduction into Jazz music. And who was
always mentioned in that class in the same breath as the word Jazz? Mr. Armstong of course (Louis that is). There
is no other bigger figure in Jazz than Louis Armstrong. He was the symbol of American Jazz and put New Orleans on the
map. Even if you are not a Jazz aficionado, you probably have heard of Louis. His music is as legendary as his
name. Granted, there were many Jazz greats in American history, but none had the mystique of Louis. Also, Louis grew
up during a time where segregation and racism was a major factor of life. Despite all the barriers that a Black man
had to face, he rose above and beyond the color lines and defined a genre of music like no other man has done before.
That my friends is truly amazing. His work and name has withstood the passage of time and will continue to be a trailblazer
for generations to come.
Commander Neil Armstrong- I personally have a strong affection for Neil Armstrong. As a huge fan of space exploration (Star Trek and Battlestar
Galactica included!), there is no other Armstrong that can remotely approach the kind of 'step' that Neil accomplished
back in 1969. Not only did he and his Apollo 11 crew (Buzz Aldrin & Michael Collins) fly a spaceship to the moon (in itself
a tremendous feat), they LANDED on the moon. Think about this...Neil Armstrong is the first HUMAN BEING to
step on another Frackin' planet!!! Forget your political or national affiliations...what he did was for the Human
Race. Talk about legendary. Talk about "Boldly going where no man has gone before..."
I haven't touched all the fine points of these two Armstrongs. It would be to your advantage
to read-up on these two Icons of the 20th Century. I did last night and found out alot of small details that I never
would have known about these gentlemen. Did you know that's Louis's trumpet was added to the Millennium Time
Capsule (project to preserve works for future mankinds - to be opened 100 years later) by then President Bill Clinton?
Or, did you know why Neil Armstrong get chosen to be the first man off the Moon Lander and into history? Well, the Lander's
door just happened to be on the side where he sat. That was NASA's primary reason (among others of course) that
led to that decision.
So the next time anybody asks you about Armstrong, your first response should be:
"Which one?"
Many of you know that the TdFrance (not to be confused with the TdFrancis!!) is coming up in July.
If you have been reading Velonews or Cyclingnews, you'll know that lots of new things will be making their debut at the
TdF. The biggies are title sponsor changes for team Highroad (now Columbia Sportswear) and Team Slipstream (now Garmin!!). I personally like (and use) both of those title sponsor's products. It's pretty cool
that more and more consumer products are stepping up to sponsor cycling.
I mean really, Quick Step...would you really buy their flooring products?? Or Liquigas....I really need that for my home's gas needs. Or even Milram....I'm sure my kids would prefer milk from Milram too. I did fall for Gerolsteiner...I was at Trader Joes once and I bought that bottle of sparkling/mineral water just because Levi and his team drank it.
Cool bottle, but man it tasted like crap!!!
But anyway, Team Garmin / Chipotle will have a huge advantage at the
Tour. Not only will each rider have an Edge 705 GPS on board (plus their cars will have high end Garmin GPS), but they
will have access to unlimited burritos from Chipotle!! Now I'm hungry!
Well, the Juice has been out of commission since Sat. (aka I've been sick!!). First day back on the job, so
I'll go dig up some stuff to post here. Stay tuned.
Last week during a weekly ride, I mistakenly thought the US Open was that weekend. I did see all
the signs and setup activity at Torrey Pines, but the tournament is really this weekend!! No wonder I didn't see
Tiger! Rumor has it that Tiger will be coming to San Diego today in his custom yacht. So if you're out riding
on the coast this week, look for it docked along the shore:
Not sure why I forgot to add Scott's TdF video to The Juice, but here it is. I will embed all of Scott's videos
here from now on so that it will be searchable in the future. So better late then never:
So yesterday I decided to ride towards Torrey Pines. The weather was most excellent and work wasn't
too busy (until of course work started calling me on my cell during the ride!). It was also nice to see all the
signs and activity of the US Open golf event that's going on this weekend. I was looking for Tiger, but I don't
know if he arrived yet. I recall a few years ago, we saw him during our route at the Torrey Pines driving range.
That was a site as we all stopped and lined the fence adjacent to where he was hitting. We were literally 20 feet from
him...we probably bugged him too.
But anyway, early in my route coming down San Diguito Rd., I come by a rider
stuck on the side of the road. So I stopped and offered help. He needed a tube as he busted the stem on his spare.
He also didn't look like he had a cell phone. I decided at that point to give him my ONLY
spare tube. I figured he was stuck and I wasn't. He was very grateful so I had no problem surrendering my
spare. Also, I remember a fellow rider giving me a tube years back so I wanted to return the favor to the cycling community.
So off I go feeling good about myself but at the same time worried that I'll flat out w/o a spare. I even thought
about cutting my route short, but decided its too nice outside and wanted to climb Torrey. So I guess the cycling powers-to-be
looked over me and protected my tires for the entire 35 mile route.
So to the stuck, mystery rider.
If you're reading this, glad I was able to help you out. Even though I wasn't wearing my kit, just
know that Orange is always availabe for help. Ride on!!
I haven't posted since last week (not counting the special Mango Juice edition). I think I have finally recovered
from my 26.2 adventure from Sunday. The day after was the worst...I felt like this:
But on Tuesday, per Manny A's advice, I went out for a recovery ride. Pedaling down the driveway hurt like
a mother...but after a few miles, I was good. After 20 miles of riding, I think I'm completely healed. I still
can't believe the value of a recovery type of activity. I can now resume my cycling career and actually post about
cycling. I will still run to represent the Mira Mesa Marathon Club, but for now, riding my bike will be the priority.
Thanks again to those that encouraged, supported, and pushed me to achieve this milestone.
[Special Juice today from The Prez -
Mike N.] When Patrick asked me to write something about the Tour de Francis for The Juice, I thought I'd
be able to just sit at my computer and bang away at the keyboard describing how great it was and how wonderful AdoboVelo was
to us. As I sat here trying desperately to compose my thoughts, the one thing that kept coming to mind was a word that
was written in a blog about last December's edition of the TdF: "Epic". The word epic conjures
up images of greatness and of adventure - the stuff of novels are made of. So I looked up the definition to find out
exactly what the word means, and one on-line dictionary used the words "legendary" and "heroic".
However, this is the one definition that sums up this latest TdF: "Surpassing the usual or ordinary, particularly
in scope or size."
So we've done the Poway Century, and the Amtrak Century, and for some, the Solvang Century, in which you would
get the expected: a few hundred riders, a few SAG stations, a T-shirt, a swag bag full of advertising and maybe a sample
of "Chamois Butt'r"...and all of this for a $35 fee. That's pretty "usual and ordinary"
- hardly the stuff of "epic" proportions. Last Saturday we left San Diego
at 4:00 AM and drove more than 200 miles with very little sleep to participate in a century that had been minimally described
as "100 miles and 8,500 feet of elevation gain". How epic could that be? Well, based on our experience
in December's TdF Three Lakes Ride, which we really enjoyed, this TdF would probably be just as good. Boy,
was I wrong. This one was GREAT!!!
There were several "ingredients" that made this a great ride: an outstanding course with so much
variety, breathtaking scenery, and absolutely perfect weather. Mind you, during the Three Lakes Ride we were miserably
cold! Add to this Francis' TdF team, and you've got one heck of a century! Francis and his team has this
thing down pat. It's his people who make these rides so successful. His SAG crew delivers the kind
of hospitality and assistance you can't buy with an entry fee. Who needs a swag bag when you're getting constant
attention for 100 miles? Who needs a T-shirt when you're hearing cow bells and cheers from enthusiastic TdF supporters?
Who cares about a few hundred random riders when you've got 50 riders invited by Francis to share in his family-style
cycling event. Did I mention the food? If there's one reason to finish 100 miles and 8,500 feet of agony...it's
the food. With the Tour de Francis, you can expect a feast of grand proportions at the finish line to replace some of
the 5,000 calories burned, and despite the pain and suffering each rider endures, you can look around as you're feasting
and see the smiles on the faces of those who have new stories to tell about a truly great day in the saddle. Now that's
epic!
