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Tuesday, July 1, 2008
Floyd who?
You don't have to be named Armstrong to be famous around here. Floyd's name will now
be officially 'infamous' in cycling lore and US History. Unfortunately for Landis, that means he no longer has
any hope of regaining his 2006 Tour de France title. His appeal was denied this past Monday by the CAS group.
If you remember, Floyd bonked on Stage 16 of the 2006 Tour, lost 8 mins to Oscar Pierero, then supposedly did
some Testosterone drugs, then won Stage 17 in an EPIC solo breakaway. Then capped it off with a strong TT finish
to seal the Tour win.
But can taking drugs for 1 day really give you super cycling strength? He
only tested positive on one stage (ironically, Stage 17). So was he clean during the other 20 stages? But who
knows...it's just a shame it happened to Floyd. I met and took pics with Landis several years ago when he was still
with US Postal.
I even told him he'd win the Tour someday. After he won the Tour in 2006,
I was proud that I met him as I have never met a Tour champ. Sadly after this past Monday, I still have NOT met a Tour
champ personally.
Hey Floyd - you're always welcome to ride with MMCC. We'll save you a kit too!
Monday, June 23, 2008
Armstrong who?
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?"
Thursday, June 19, 2008
Tour de France is just ahead...
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! Othere things likely to show up
at the Tour: Super RecordDura-Ace 7900So the big question is: What will MMCC debut during the TdF? Find out in July!
Where's the Juice??
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.
7:34 am pdt
Thursday, June 12, 2008
US Open
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:  
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Who is this guy?
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Well, I'm just one of the guys in
Orange who happens to be the 'Web Dude'. Hence I get to put whatever I want here! I'm certainly not a Master web designer by any stretch
of the imagination. I just pretend to be and find this pretty fun to do! Besides, somebody has to do
this right? I just hope my effort here helps get the word out about MMCC. That's the whole point of our website.
Hopefully the information here brings new riders to the club or at the very least, new riders to the world of cycling.
As for my blog...who doesn't have one? I'll just keep blogging away about everything and anything
dealing with MMCC. Thanks for stopping by! Oh, and I like to ride my bike too.
- Patrick (P2) 
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