Mini Wüleur - Jaden getting squirly,.....braaaaaap

This is one way to learn how to control a front wheel slide. The foot drag is awesome. Pump track here we come!

Possessions- "should they stay or should they go now?"

Here at Steel Wül Headquarters we have been really trying to simplify our worldly possessions. Jess and I tend to go through this cycle every 5 years or so which will put us close to our 10 year wedding anniversary (very cool). We have been gathering those "do we really need this" items from the attic, closets, drawers, garage, yard, and cabinets and asking each other if we could live without them.

Our great friend Kev McGillicuddy told us, "always edit your possessions with extreme prejudice". Kev is right, we probably should be doing a better job. Olive jumped on board the other night after Jess told us about a family she read about in Marin County who only purchases items twice a year and has a predetermined amount of pants, shirts, tops, and shoes per family member. We think Olive took that as some sort of challenge and she started packing up her "old" stuffed animals, clothes, books, and do-dads as if she was winning the race to rid our family of clutter.

I am all about simplifying as Jess can contest to that. When she first met me my decoration inspiration was from Rob Parsons. You may have heard of the saying "less is more", well Rob is more like "nothing is even better".

How do we decide what is so important to us that we need to keep it? Is it how much we use it? That does not work so well for me if folks ask how much I ride my 1986 lugged Eddy Merckx Professional with Super Record. Or Jess's ornate kitchen items that are rarely used. Or our extensive LP collection that John Cussack or Jack Black would drool over.

Do you pass things on to the next generation only to have them "hold" on to them for decades as well? Jess's Aunt Helen to us to use every single family antique cup, plate, and dish that we inherit because that is what they are for. It was a breath of fresh air to hear that.

I purge my cycling items a couple of times a year by delivering Tom Sullivan (Amsterdam Bicycles) a fat box of goodies. It is amazing how good it feels to do it. I would like to think that the set of GL-280's I gave him with DA hubs ended up on some 15 year olds racing bike (with gears), but something tells me that they are chilling on a fixie up at Porter or College 9 spray painted bright green. Its ok, as long they are on the road I suppose and hopefully wearing a lid (not likely).

About 2 months ago I had my work vehicle broken into and had about $17,000. worth of safety gear and misc items stolen. When the Deputy Sheriff assigned to our case was fingerprinting the camper shell he looked over at me and said, "hey guy, don't let your possessions own you, and by the way you might want to put up a motion detector light". How many times has this guy seen things come and go in folks lives. I thought that it was pretty good advice.

In conclusion, Jess and I can not decide if we should keep our LP collection. When we got married our collection grew to about 600 or so. Our LP player has been out of service for 3 years and we have not missed them,......we think.

We need some help from you folks to decide if they are going to Logos or not. Before you give your input, here is some background- Olive is a big Cindy Lauper fan (Mama Wüleurs first LP) I like the original Fleetwood Mac with Peter Green (67' to 69') and Jeff Beck, Jess likes the Stevie years. We literally have all the Beastie Boys, Beatles, UB40, Dick Dale, BOB, and of course the Clash.

Let us know,..... should they stay of should they go now?

Keep them: 6

Dump them: 1

Recon mission complete

Paris Brest Paris 1949

Click on photo to play the news clip on PBP 1949.

Paris Brest Paris 1949

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Steel Wül Trivia

Question:

What retired American professional cyclist was issued a varsity letter for cycling by his high school?

Answer: Greg LeMond

When he won the 1979 Junior World Road Race Championships his High School (Woorster High School Reno, NV) issued him a Varsity Letter Jacket with a bicycle sewn on the letter.

Catherine Mancini DePolo 1921 - 2011

Yesterday my Grandmother passed away peacefully with her family by her side. She taught the importance of family and friends to three generations. She was known for her positive attitude by all who knew her especially her physicians who often would marvel at her outlook on life for someone who was in a lot of pain.

This women loved everyone however, there was a special place in her hart if you were Italian and or Catholic. She loved Joey Montana because he went to Notre Dame. I had fun naming all the great Italian Cycling Champions for her. This women literally never complained once in her life.

Viva Great Grandma!

Steel Wüleur Dave Reid pulls off PBP in 70 hours

Dave finished his first Paris-Brest-Paris (1230 k) in 70 hours and 39 mins. So let me put this in perspective for us, Dave averaged 246 miles per day and finished with 20 hours to spare! I can't wait to hear the stories.

Contrôle	Heure	Cumul		Intermédiaire
SAINT-QUENTIN-EN-YVELINES	21-08 19:15	0h00	0 km/h	0h00	0.1 km/h
VILLAINES-LA-JUHEL	22-08 03:13	7h57	27.7 km/h	7h57	27.7 km/h
FOUGERES	22-08 06:59	11h43	26.4 km/h	3h45	23.7 km/h
TINTENIAC	22-08 09:45	14h29	25.1 km/h	2h46	19.4 km/h
LOUDEAC	22-08 13:32	18h16	24.6 km/h	3h46	22.5 km/h
CARHAIX-PLOUGUER	22-08 17:14	21h58	23.9 km/h	3h42	20.5 km/h
BREST	23-08 08:02	36h47	16.8 km/h	14h48	6.3 km/h
CARHAIX-PLOUGUER	23-08 12:32	41h16	17 km/h	4h29	19 km/h
LOUDEAC	23-08 16:05	44h49	17.4 km/h	3h33	22.2 km/h
TINTENIAC	23-08 19:48	48h33	17.9 km/h	3h43	22.8 km/h
FOUGERES	23-08 22:41	51h25	17.9 km/h	2h52	18.8 km/h
VILLAINES-LA-JUHEL	24-08 10:55	63h40	15.8 km/h	12h14	7.2 km/h
MORTAGNE-AU-PERCHE	24-08 14:29	67h13	16.2 km/h	3h33	22.8 km/h
DREUX	24-08 17:55	70h39	16.5 km/h	3h25	21.9 km/h
SAINT-QUENTIN-EN-YVELINES	24-08 20:51	0h00	0 km/h	0h00	0 km/h
SAINT-QUENTIN-EN-YVELINES	24-08 20:51	0h00	0 km/h	0h00	0 km/h
Kilomètres parcourus: 1230

"Madame,.. we are on a mission from God!"

Dave-"Its 110k to Saint Quention-En-Yvelines (finish)"

Little Brother- "We have a half a baggette"

Dave - "Its dark and we are riding our bicycles"

Little Brother - "Hit it!"

Contrôle	Heure	Cumul		Intermédiaire
SAINT-QUENTIN-EN-YVELINES	21-08 19:15	0h00	0 km/h	0h00	0.1 km/h
VILLAINES-LA-JUHEL	22-08 03:13	7h57	27.7 km/h	7h57	27.7 km/h
FOUGERES	22-08 06:59	11h43	26.4 km/h	3h45	23.7 km/h
TINTENIAC	22-08 09:45	14h29	25.1 km/h	2h46	19.4 km/h
LOUDEAC	22-08 13:32	18h16	24.6 km/h	3h46	22.5 km/h
CARHAIX-PLOUGUER	22-08 17:14	21h58	23.9 km/h	3h42	20.5 km/h
BREST	23-08 08:02	36h47	16.8 km/h	14h48	6.3 km/h
CARHAIX-PLOUGUER	23-08 12:32	41h16	17 km/h	4h29	19 km/h
LOUDEAC	23-08 16:05	44h49	17.4 km/h	3h33	22.2 km/h
TINTENIAC	23-08 19:48	48h33	17.9 km/h	3h43	22.8 km/h
FOUGERES	23-08 22:41	51h25	17.9 km/h	2h52	18.8 km/h
VILLAINES-LA-JUHEL	24-08 10:55	63h40	15.8 km/h	12h14	7.2 km/h
MORTAGNE-AU-PERCHE	24-08 14:29	67h13	16.2 km/h	3h33	22.8 km/h
Heure estimée d'arrivée au prochain controle entre 24-08 17:47 et 24-08 19:06
Kilomètres parcourus: 1090

Caletti Steel Wül Team Issue #2

This is Brad's very sweet custom Caletti gravel machine. Can't you picture this rig with a beautiful pair of 32c Grifos bombing down Loma Chiquita to Croy Rd! As an added bonus, he is sure to activate lots of stop lights with all that steel. That reminds me, while waiting for the stop light at Holohan and 152 on the Saturday crash in mean Saturday ride, I noticed that I was the only knucklehead that could set the light off due to an inordinate amount of carbon loitering at the front.

Whats the record in this joint? You got this Dave!

By my very inaccurate estimate, I think Dave will finish at 0400 California time! The least I can do is get my lazy butt up and check him off the books. Do you think that little brother is still with him? Lets hope he is glued to his rear wheel.

Contrôle	Heure	Cumul		Intermédiaire
SAINT-QUENTIN-EN-YVELINES	21-08 19:15	0h00	0 km/h	0h00	0.1 km/h
VILLAINES-LA-JUHEL	22-08 03:13	7h57	27.7 km/h	7h57	27.7 km/h
FOUGERES	22-08 06:59	11h43	26.4 km/h	3h45	23.7 km/h
TINTENIAC	22-08 09:45	14h29	25.1 km/h	2h46	19.4 km/h
LOUDEAC	22-08 13:32	18h16	24.6 km/h	3h46	22.5 km/h
CARHAIX-PLOUGUER	22-08 17:14	21h58	23.9 km/h	3h42	20.5 km/h
BREST	23-08 08:02	36h47	16.8 km/h	14h48	6.3 km/h
CARHAIX-PLOUGUER	23-08 12:32	41h16	17 km/h	4h29	19 km/h
LOUDEAC	23-08 16:05	44h49	17.4 km/h	3h33	22.2 km/h
TINTENIAC	23-08 19:48	48h33	17.9 km/h	3h43	22.8 km/h
FOUGERES	23-08 22:41	51h25	17.9 km/h	2h52	18.8 km/h
Heure estimée d'arrivée au prochain controle entre 24-08 03:22 et 24-08 03:36
Kilomètres parcourus: 921

"3 is a magic number" - De La Sol

333 k left for Super Dave!!

Contrôle	Heure	Cumul		Intermédiaire
SAINT-QUENTIN-EN-YVELINES	21-08 19:15	0h00	0 km/h	0h00	0.1 km/h
VILLAINES-LA-JUHEL	22-08 03:13	7h57	27.7 km/h	7h57	27.7 km/h
FOUGERES	22-08 06:59	11h43	26.4 km/h	3h45	23.7 km/h
TINTENIAC	22-08 09:45	14h29	25.1 km/h	2h46	19.4 km/h
LOUDEAC	22-08 13:32	18h16	24.6 km/h	3h46	22.5 km/h
CARHAIX-PLOUGUER	22-08 17:14	21h58	23.9 km/h	3h42	20.5 km/h
BREST	23-08 08:02	36h47	16.8 km/h	14h48	6.3 km/h
CARHAIX-PLOUGUER	23-08 12:32	41h16	17 km/h	4h29	19 km/h
LOUDEAC	23-08 16:05	44h49	17.4 km/h	3h33	22.2 km/h
TINTENIAC	23-08 19:48	48h33	17.9 km/h	3h43	22.8 km/h
Heure estimée d'arrivée au prochain controle entre 23-08 22:10 et 23-08 22:50
Kilomètres parcourus: 867

The Stallion can smell the barn!

Here is what Dave and I have done since our last PBP posting (18 hours ago)

Jake - sleep (8hrs), watched part of a movie, went to lunch with AC, went to a B-day party (ate chicken wings), played with Olivia & rabbits.

Super Dave - pedaled his lugged Rock Lobster for 18 hours.

I am not a mathematician but it appears to me that if Dave holds his current pace he could pedal well over 1600k in 90 hours. Someone let him know that its only 12oo k. I am going to go ahead and say that he might have been pushing someone from Carhaix-Plouguer to Brest (that was 14 hours and 48 min in between controls.

I can't wait to ask him what is harder, the Hawaiian Ironman or PBP?

Click here for up to date results for Dave (rider # 4512)
17th PARIS BREST PARIS Randonneur - Paris-Brest-Paris 2011

Contrôle	Heure	Cumul		Intermédiaire
SAINT-QUENTIN-EN-YVELINES	21-08 19:15	0h00	0 km/h	0h00	0.1 km/h
VILLAINES-LA-JUHEL	22-08 03:13	7h57	27.7 km/h	7h57	27.7 km/h
FOUGERES	22-08 06:59	11h43	26.4 km/h	3h45	23.7 km/h
TINTENIAC	22-08 09:45	14h29	25.1 km/h	2h46	19.4 km/h
LOUDEAC	22-08 13:32	18h16	24.6 km/h	3h46	22.5 km/h
CARHAIX-PLOUGUER	22-08 17:14	21h58	23.9 km/h	3h42	20.5 km/h
BREST	23-08 08:02	36h47	16.8 km/h	14h48	6.3 km/h
CARHAIX-PLOUGUER	23-08 12:32	41h16	17 km/h	4h29	19 km/h
LOUDEAC	23-08 16:05	44h49	17.4 km/h	3h33	22.2 km/h
Heure estimée d'arrivée au prochain controle entre 23-08 19:55 et 23-08 20:57
Kilomètres parcourus: 782

While you were fast asleep- Dave pedals on....

It looks like Dave checked in at the control in Loudeac for lunch and has almost 17 hours of saddle time and 449 k under his belt. I imagine that he will hit Brest (turn around) sometime today.

Contrôle	Heure	Cumul		Intermédiaire
SAINT-QUENTIN-EN-YVELINES	21-08 19:15	0h00	0 km/h	0h00	0.1 km/h
VILLAINES-LA-JUHEL	22-08 03:13	7h57	27.7 km/h	7h57	27.7 km/h
FOUGERES	22-08 06:59	11h43	26.4 km/h	3h45	23.7 km/h
TINTENIAC	22-08 09:45	14h29	25.1 km/h	2h46	19.4 km/h
LOUDEAC	22-08 13:32	18h16	24.6 km/h	3h46	22.5 km/h
Heure estimée d'arrivée au prochain controle entre 22-08 16:37 et 22-08 16:54
Kilomètres parcourus: 449

Click here for up to date results for Dave (rider # 4512)
17th PARIS BREST PARIS Randonneur - Paris-Brest-Paris 2011

'An American in Paris' - Inspiration by Gershwin & Reid

It appears that Dave Reid and company felt the same inspiration that Gershwin did while visiting Paris. Gershwin's symphonic tone is to evoke the sights and energy of the French Capitol. Dave chipped out 221 k in under 8 hours today. I know how I feel after riding 130+ miles and the thought of catching a quick bite to eat and jumping back on the saddle for a 1000 more kilometers usually does not run through my mind.

Keep Dave and little bro in your thoughts for the next 80 hours. I still can't believe he is doing this.

Official Paris Brest Paris time check for Super Dave

Contrôle	Heure	Cumul		Intermédiaire
SAINT-QUENTIN-EN-YVELINES	21-08 19:15	0h00	0 km/h	0h00	0.1 km/h
VILLAINES-LA-JUHEL	22-08 03:13	7h57	27.7 km/h	7h57	27.7 km/h
Heure estimée d'arrivée au prochain controle entre 22-08 06:26 et 22-08 07:08
Kilomètres parcourus: 221

Click here for up to date results for Dave (rider # 4512)
17th PARIS BREST PARIS Randonneur - Paris-Brest-Paris 2011

Steel Wüleur Dave Reid vs Paris Brest Paris

Charles Terront after his 1891 PBP victory

Super Dave checked in with us today and will be starting his 1200 k ride tomorrow evening at 6 pm. He has 90 hours to complete it. This event happens once every 4 years and you have to qualify the same year it is held (200k, 300k, 400k). If you are not familiar with Paris Brest Paris it is the oldest bicycle race on planet Earth (1891). In 1931 the amateur's separated from the professionals and created the Brevet (also called randonnee).


To track Dave's progress click on the site below and type in his ride # 4512.

17th PARIS BREST PARIS Randonneur - Paris-Brest-Paris 2011

I can't think of a better ambassador for our county, state, and country than Dave Reid. He is the consummate nice guy. He has pushed more tired cyclists at 25 mph than some people have pedaled. Little do those folks know that we have sent our very best to represent. For those of you that have spent time on his wheel, can't you picture some Frenchman or German saying, "did you see that American with the big ass pushing that tired dude over the cobbles at 3 in the morning?". Dave will be tackling this event with his little brother. Can someone say, "Johnny Cash" 'I hear the train a' coming, its rolling round the bend!'

To give you an idea as to what the ride is all about here are 6 rules that they live by. It resonates well with our Steel Wül Credo.

Rules:
1. Most of all, be polite, which means being considerate of others. While raw aggression has a place in racing, it does not in randonneuring. Try to be an ambassador for cycling, for your club and for your country.

2. If you have ridden in a small group for a while, and if everybody has been sharing the work, try to finish together. This should include stopping for flat tires (unless one rider has multiple flats because they ride old tires or stupid equipment).

3. Attacks are not part of the sport. If somebody gets dropped because they cannot follow the pace, so be it. But sudden accelerations to rid yourself of fellow riders are not polite. That is why there is no finishing sprint: All riders of a group are classified the same and get the same time. (In a race, the need to declare one winner leads to complex equipment and difficult decisions to determine exactly who crossed the line first, if only by half an inch.)

4. Avoid putting yourself in an "irregular situation." Follow the rules of the event. This means respecting the rules of the road: Obey stop signs and red lights. Ride only with riders who are participants. If there is a car following your group for an extended period of time, especially at night, something is wrong. If there are official follow cars of the PBP organizer, they will drive with only their parking lights on, to avoid giving an advantage to the first riders. If you find yourself in the company of an illegal support car, ride ahead or drop behind, but don't stay with an illegal group. While it is hard to give up the advantage of a group, consider that if you are caught, the penalties will more than outweigh the time gained by riding with the group.

5. Be friendly to volunteers and officials. Follow their orders. Thank them for their time. This takes only a second or two. Without them, you would not be riding in this wonderful event.

6. Finish the event! The goal is to do the best ride possible under the circumstances. To ride fast and then to drop out because you cannot achieve your time goal is the ultimate failure.


Stay tuned for more Super Dave updates and photos.................

Wheelsmith Wüleurs Santa Cruz Classic 93'

photo by Monty Worthington

Here is a shot of the Santa Cruz Classic when it used to be 150 riders deep in the 1-Pro (50 laps) and bring Flahutes from all around. Who can you pick out of this crowd?

Mike Murray
Daryl Price
Andy Paulin
Jake Hess (cutting inside corner)
Chris Hüber
Scott McKinley
Jim Robinson

1990's Steel Wül Trivia

Question:

Name all four of these guys!

Answer:

Jeff Evenshine, Bobby J., Lance, & George

Bonus Trivia: Jeff won the Junior Worlds Road Race in Colorado Springs (Garden of the Gods) in 1991 with the help of Freddy Rodriguez. Like a good champion, Jeff paid him back by giving him the 1991 National Road Race in San Antonio, Texas. Jeff quit racing after years of success and joined the Military. It was so hot that day in San Antonio that it was all I could do to finish the race. I was so discouraged after the race and I will never forget what Kev McGill told me. He said, "remember you did not go there for this year, you went there for next year". That was really good advice and my next National Road Race went much better. Rodriguez won with duct tape on his shoes.

Steel Wül Trivia

Question:

Who is this American in the Tour de Trump Leaders Jersey?

Answer:

Thomas Craven

Leroy Neiman, Champions, & their names

How is it fair to the rest of the sporting world that professional cyclists have the greatest names of all time. Dean Myer (former teammate) and I would often discuss this exact topic on long road trips traveling across middle America in Rob Parson's van.

I can remember finishing stages of Redlands, Cascade and the like and just tripping out on the names in the top 20. They all seem to have a certain panache about them. Dean is one of the greatest story tellers of all time and when we came across a name that was note worthy, he would say it like Leroy Neiman would say, "RRRockyyy ......Balllboaaaa". Leroy is a famous sports artist and was the announcer in one of the Rocky flicks. Unfortunately it did not work so well for our names.

Some of these guys were just born with Champion names.
Here are a few to try on for size if you use the Leroy Neiman technique.

Greg LeMond
Alvaro Mejia
Olivaro Rincon
Chad Gerlach
Roberto Gaggiolli
Jesper Skibby
David Zabriskie
Juan Antonio Flecha
Dimitri Konychev
Djamolidine Abdoujaparov
Jock Boyer
Fabio Parra
Estabon Fraga
Maritcio Prado
Jacky Duran
Jorgen Gunns
Kevin McGillicuddy
Ole Ritter
Alex Zulle
Laurent Jalabert
Trent Klasna
Chesary Zamana
Guido Bontempi
Giorgio Furlan
Franco Ballerini
Viatcheslav Ekimov

Here is a shot of Leroy Nieman's cycling art. He nailed that cameo in Rocky.

8000 IU Vitamin D, 100 + miles, 6000' climbing

Steel Wül conversion:
Pescadero Super Loop - 7500 Chains @ 1500 Fathoms

Flying the friendly skies?

Brian Regan on Flying‏
Click on his name to play video

We at Steel Wül headquarters recently subjected ourselves to the post 911 airline shitshow. It really made me think of all those pros who travel our globe on a regular basis. All I have to say after our 21 hour debacle is that those athletes do not get paid enough.

Remember when the airlines would pride themselves on warm meals served with silverware? I have to admit it is nice that the "smoking" section has been eliminated. Even as a little kid I remember thinking that it was a bit out there to have some fat guy at the back of the plane smoking and joking.

The airlines have systematically removed any and all "services" from the menu. We witnest a few unhappy campers while in line who evidently did not get the memo regarding "luggage fees" so they did what any wary traveler would do, they "consolidated" right there at the counter. To our amazement the airline companies are willing to take your unused bag for a small "fee". This process leaves the tired traveler dazed and confused as they crunch the numbers as to what is cheaper - pay the original luggage fee, consolidate and pay fee, or simply pay the fee. In the end, I think that we all "pay the fee".

It would have been nice for the airline companies to offer up some of their former services when they were catching a tax break to the tune of 30 million a day when the feds shut down the FAA and furloughed workers for two weeks.

In the end we made it home safely and yes, we plan on purchasing tickets for the shitshow again soon.

Note:

I am a big Brian Regan fan mostly because of his "situational" humor and the fact that we are from the same generation. I bielve that he was one of 5 boys in a big Irish family. I can only imagine what it was like around that dinner table. It must have been brutal.

Steel Wüleur Bill Cao MD

BC did some last minute frame testing on his Parlee and found out that you can rail it all over the Santa Cruz Mountains on Pave for years but once you roll up a small curb the wrong way the head tube will separate like string cheese. Watch out Gren because this mini Wüleur rocket will be back on the wind trainer starting Saturday and is looking for you. And no, you can't borrow his wheels.

Steel Wül Trivia

Question:

What do these two racers have in common?

Steve-O delivers the correct answer.

Both Zabriskie and Skibby are in that elite club of humans who have won stages in all three Grand Tours and function as the de facto jokers of the peleton for their respective generations. Skibby was famous for his 1k efforts in the TdF which often left the sprinters looking at each other. The last time I saw DZ was at the 2000 Tour of Willamet and he was chilling at the back of the group chatting with D. Kluck at the base of a very steep climb. I watched him weave his way to the front of the group as I was getting dropped.

SW Matriarc claims Coppi the Championisimo

Catherine Mancini DePolo knows all things Italian especially cycling. She and Coppi were born just a few years apart.

Lionel Syne - Our Belgian Compatriot

Lionel, in all his glory. A brief history of Lionel and how he changed the lives a few privileged few. For those who don't remember Lionel, he spent about 2+ years (2001ish - 2003ish) living in Santa Cruz on a sabbatical from his hometown of Stavelot, Belguim. Of true Belgian racing stock, this guy grew up and rode with the likes of Phillipe Gilbert, Mario Aerts, Nico Mattan, et al. We got to know Lionel, as he rode for The Spokesman, during it's height.

In 2002, Lionel had to return home to deal with Visa issues, and invited a group of us to come over for a cycling odyssey. We could not have planned a better experience. Me, Apple, Mike, Dave, Sean, Ralph, Jeff, Ana, and the late Pat (we miss you), were delivered into the realm.

A brief synopsis: flew into Brussels, picked up by Lionel and Ana, Who had arrived earlier, headed to Stavelot, put up with friends and family, day 2 - raced in a local Kermesse (got our asses handed to us with smiles), rode roads used in Liege-Bastogne-Liege for 5 days.

Then, packed up donated vans, drove to Switzerland to stay in family friend's apartment in Villars (near Lusanne), rode in the Swiss Alps (words can't describe) on roads used in Tour of Switzerland for 9 days, packed up vans, headed to France to watch Tour stages.

Rode Col de Madelaine, viewed stage (unreal!), viewed lower slopes on stage onto Les Duex Alps following day, got picture taken by Graham Watson (what?), rode Alpe Duez in the afternoon (unreal!), stayed the night there, drove back to Stavelot, rode more, spent afternoon and evening in Amsterdam (trip), came home. Accomodation expenses total = approx $150!!!! for 3 weeks.

Everyone that took part on this trip may get teary eyed thinking about it. It was seamless - we didn't have to think about anything. We just showed up and road and experienced Europe in several flavors.

This was all thanks to our Belgian friend, Lionel Syne. I vow to get back over the pond to visit Lionel knowing he would welcome us with open arms. Anyone interested? A Steel Wül Belgian Classics trip should be discussed.

Spokesman Boys in Belgium circa 2002

Photo- Sean Co

This shot is from Lionel's hometown of Stavlot.

'Mr. Jamison,....bring me a dream'

.........make me the leanest that I've ever been, like DeRosa and Mercer,.... Mr. Jamison bring me a dream or cobble.

California Steel Wül Trivia

Question:

Name these folks from the 1994 Dole Citrus Classic RR.

Musette Mania

Its starting to smell like September around this house.

Steve Reaney - Gentlemen, Flahute, Scholar

I ran into Steve Reaney the 2010 Elite National Criterium Champion today outside of Los Gatos and enjoyed a couple hours of pedaling with him. We discussed how to transform from racer to rider, family, doping, aging bodies, weight, West Virginia, and mental toughness. It was really nice to see that he also abides by the # 1 unwritten rule of the road - 'He who gets a flat prepares the new tube/tire while partner removes the old one'. I know it sounds trivial but this simple concept was ingrained in me by Freddy Markham, Rob Parsons, and Mike Urbe. Its just the right thing to do. I look forward to putting some power to the pedals with Steve and with a baby on the way, lets just hope he is a little sleep deprived for our sake.