Tour de Kids Plus Charity Bike Ride – The End

Sorry it has taken me so long to get this post out. Some shenanigans with some bloke called Armstrong and his drug taking has kept me busy.

Wrapping up a ride like this is difficult. So many highlights. So many photos too look at. So many people to thank. Lets take it in that order.

Highlights (in no particular order)

– The bus stop. What a fantastic break on a god awful day.
– The last hour of the first day when we went like we were being chased by a mad ex girlfriend.
– The nightly dinners, nearly all highlights in their own right.
– The camaraderie of the riders. No matter who was having an off day, they were supported and encouraged.
– The luxury digs at Horsham and Naracoorte.
– The nightly Bulmers with Gary.
– Chasing Dangerous on the way to Beauforte.
– Finishing, what for me, was an epic ride.

Some of my favourite photos from the ride.

The Grand departe

Fat Man. Can’t Climb.

Lunch in the Sun

Sticky Date and Bullmers.

Over Sized.

Little Johnny’s Sponge

That Climb

Typical Days End

Final Day

Dangerous and the Face of Food

Ugg Eats Cake

The Red Escort

The End

Some thanks you’s.

Jason Woods, the bloke that roped me into this ride, and then bailed on me. Despite all the times I cursed his name, I have to say thanks for getting me involved.

Sam, Lewy, Dave, Adrian, Michael, Damian, Darren, Tim and anyone else that I rode with in preparation for the ride. You guys are great. You all helped get me ready for the trek across the country.

To my beautiful wife Andree, a huge thanks. Her love and support has been fantastic. Thanks Onz. xxx

Ashley, Matt, Gary, John and Dave. You guys rock. I barely knew you all at the start, but over 800kms, 6 dinners, 6 lunches and god knows how many rest stops, I got to know you all. A terrific bunch of fellows.

Tony let me know last night that the trip managed to raise $16,451 for the Kids Plus Foundation. So thank you to all my sponsors.

And lastly to Tony and Wendy Peach. The organisers who did such a excellent job of putting the ride together. Wendy who did all the support work, took photos, made coffee and tea, cut up cake and listened to us whinge and whine. And Tony, the patron of the peloton. He spent a lot of time at the front. He spent time helping at the back. He told the most corny jokes you can imagine. To you both, many thanks. It was a most enjoyable experience.

So there you have it valued reader. If you ever get the opportunity to do something similar, jump at the opportunity. It is fun, frustrating, tiring, rewarding and a load of laughs. Will I do it again next year? I’m not sure. I would love to but I will have to see how my job situation is next year. If I can drag a few mates along, I will probably have another crack at it.

Thanks for reading.

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Friday Video

Classic stuff from Clarke and Dawe. One for the overseas followers.

Thanks to Nick Squillari and Phillip Gnomes for the heads up.

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Another Chance Goes Begging.

More disappointment from the current peloton. I don’t understand why the last two Tour de France winners aren’t being more vocal.

Cadel Evans’ latest diary entry could have said so much more, instead he tries to distance himself from the period and suggests the dopers were in the minority.

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The Scumbag heads the UCI, They are Not in the Peloton! Well Not Anymore.

So, Fat Cat Pat came out with another clanger last night that I only heard about a few hours back. Here is what poured out of that imbeciles mouth last night.

“Another thing that annoys me is that Landis and Hamilton are being made out to be heroes. They are as far from heroes as night and day. They are not heroes, they are scumbags. All they have done is damage the sport.” Pat McQuaid, 2012

Has he lost his bloody mind? During the main press conference he took a swipe at Michael Ashenden, suggesting he should stop making statements about doping and get back in his lab. The same guy who helped develop the EPO test.

He also said the UCI would still take money from athletes in cycling, they would just do it differently to how they did it when Lance slipped them a few lumps of the cold hard.

He then explained how things have been going since he took over the big job.

“I was elected in September 2005 at the world championships in Madrid,” he said. “On the Sunday prior to that I went to a dinner to congratulate the winner of the Vuelta a España, Roberto Heras. A week after I was made president we heard that he had tested positive for EPO. That was the beginning of my presidency. Since then I’ve had to deal with Operación Puerto in 2006, Floyd Landis in 2007, and Michael Rasmussen, Alexander Vinokourov, Andrey Kashechkin, Patrik Sinkewitz and the Telekom affair, in 2008 the Cera cases, with Bernhard Kohl, Stefan Schumacher and Davide Rebellin, in 2009 the [blood] passport cases with Danilo Di Luca, in 2010 more passport cases with Alberto Contador, in 2011 Ezequiel Mosquera and now Armstrong. It’s been a pretty horrific seven years. But I’m optimistic, although there’s still work to be done.”

Wow, you’re doing a bang up job there Pat.

I am going to get onto some of my clever cycling buddies to find out exactly what we can do to remove the festering pustule on the nose of world cycling that is, Pat McQuaid.

UPDATE: Thanks to @uci_overlord for sending this through.

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A Huge Day for Cycling – What Will the UCI do?

Tonight, at 10PM Sydney time, the UCI will hand down its decision in regards to the USADA reasoned decision.

Basically only two things can happen. The UCI can accept the report or appeal it to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.

So many varied opinions on the interwebs, and I don’t consider myself wise enough to even have a stab at what will happen, but either way it will be a pivotal day for the sport we love.

Leaving aside the speculation about what decision will be made, how the sport moves forward with Pat McQuaid at the helm is beyond me. What wont be a surprise is how McQuaid and to some degree, the Honourary el supremo, Hein Verbruggen, manage to stay in their current roles. If they do intend to stick around, it will be interesting how they justify it.

Don’t be surprised if you see some of this action though.

Help US Obiwan McQuaidee, You’re Our Only Hope

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Rabobank Fans, Fear Not!

I am still flying the colours, even if the pro team is kaput.

 

I give you, NorboBank.

Non Pro Cycling – NorboBank

Even when it is broken it looks the goods.

Non Pro Cycling – Norbobank

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If Lance Made a Full Confession….

… what then?

I know, it is hardly likely, but it has been swimming around in my head for a day or so. Would all be forgotten? How would the blind believers cope? And what about the so called haters, of which I am one apparently?

Where would that leave the UCI? More specifically, Verbruggen and McQuaid?

What about the riders in the peloton who are standing behind Armstrong?

Would Paul Sherwen come out of hiding?

If he made a confession, would the US government chase him for perjury?

Is his stepping down as chairman of Livestrong going to change anything, given he is still on the board?

What will it mean for the 15th anniversary celebrations for Livestrong?

What do you think Lance?

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Knock Over the BMC 79 Mile Challenge and See the Shoalhaven

Strava have just announced another challenge to take place in November. The BMC 79 Mile Challenge. This from the Strava web site.

This September, BMC Pro Team rider Philippe Gilbert won the 79th running of the UCI World Road Cycling Championships with a trademark attack in the final kilometers up the decisive Cauberg climb.

To honor that huge accomplishment, BMC is challenging you to go out and complete a ride of 79 miles (or greater) in one day.

Pick your favorite long training ride, prep your bike, fill up some bottles, maybe even sport a little bit of Belgian red/yellow/black, and push yourself to make it happen!

Note: The Challenge is to complete a single ride of 79 miles (or greater) in one 24 hour period. You have a three day window to make this happen and can make multiple attempts. Manual entries will not count towards your Challenge effort, nor will trainer rides.

So, given it is a month away, who would like to take in the wonders of the Shoalhaven area and complete the challenge in a ride I am planning? The ride will take place on Sat 17th November, starting at Culburra Beach.

Here is the proposed route.

Click map for more details

If you are interested, leave a comment below and I will see if we can get this ride happening.

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Michele Ferrari's Response to USADA Report

Can be seen in full here.

I have copied it here as that web server seems to have died under the load.

USADA Conspiracy?
By: Michele Ferrari
Published: 16 Oct 2012

Finally I came to know of the evidence that led to my “life ban” by the USADA on July 10th 2012, following the proceedings opened on June 12th, 2012.
Given that I have NEVER received any communication from USADA about any proceeding being opened against me, I emphasize that:

1 : the affidavits from USADA’s witnesses are all dated between Sept. 21 and Oct. 9, 2012, well AFTER the “communication” of June 12 and the life ban of July 10.

2 : the affidavits that directly accuse me of doping within the “Armstrong conspiracy” are those of 6 cyclists: Landis, Hamilton, Vandevelde, Hincapie, Leipheimer and Danielson.

3 : USADA attached to their “Reasoned Decision” the testimony of Simeoni originating from the trials in Bologna (concluded in 2006 with my acquittal) and that of Bileka and Bertagnolli with regards to an investigation that is not yet complete and which acts are covered by the confidentiality of investigations, according to Italian Law.
In any case, these accounts have nothing to do with the “Armstrong Conspiracy.”

4 : the false accusations that the 6 cyclists mentioned in point 2 threw at me are ALL based on “visual” testimonies of each of the 6 witnesses telling of events that concerned only me (“Dr Ferrari”) and the “witness” himself. They NEVER evoke the presence of another witness, whether between the 6 above, or other persons who may corroborate the veracity of their claims.
An exception is the declaration of Landis on page 7 of his affidavit when he says:
“George Hincapie also had blood drawn by Dr. Ferrari in my presence.”
Too bad that Hincapie, in his affidavit, makes no reference to this serious charge.

5 : in support of these allegations against me, the massive “USADA Dossier” does not contain ANY objective evidence of doping practices or conducts in Armstrong’s past teams.

6 : the charges against the other “conspirators” (Armstrong, Bruyneel, Marti, Del Moral and Celaja) call into question as potential witnesses 21 other cyclists (“rider”) and a score of other people (“other”), which apparently have not been heard or have not confirmed the allegations.
I’m not an expert on puzzles and riddles, but it took me only 15 minutes to trace with certainty the names of most of them.

7 : the “USADA Dossier” seems to give particular importance to the fact that I may have had a “professional relationship” with Armstrong in 2005. To support this assertion, two episodes are brought forward: a test carried out in Girona by Danielson ??in the spring of 2005 (in the company of Armstrong) and a training camp in Tenerife, again in 2005.
The test of Girona concerned Danielson, I do not remember if Armstrong was there, who in any case would have simply been a riding companion.
The reference to the training camp in Tenerife is incorrect: Armstrong’s team was sojourning by the sea, while I, together with some of my riders, was on top of the Teide at altitude. So it was two different training camps and without any connection between them.
I do not exclude that we may have met (his riding group and mine) on the roads of the island, but I deny that I had a professional relationship with Armstrong.
The dossier documented payments of Lance Armstrong to Health & Performance SA (a company for which I worked as a consultant) in 2005 and 2006: simply, those are delayed payments for consultancy in previous years.

8 : USADA’s “Reasoned Decision” then refers to the collaboration between Stefano Ferrari and Armstrong: Stefano, my son, who administers the 53×12.com website offering online training advice to athletes, was in charge of the training of Lance Armstrong, under my supervision, as is the case with all his customers.
As clearly demonstrated in Exibit A by Jack Robertson, this collaboration consisted exclusively of advice on training, saddle height adjustments, aerodynamic positioning, locations for training programs and competitions: NOTHING to do with doping.

9 : I never met Michael Barry, but it is clear from his testimony of the joint involvement of some riders (Vandevelde, Vaughters, Barry, Landis, Hincapie and others) in an exchange of doping products, within shared apartments, piling up used syringes and empty ampoules under their beds.
This is about those Americans riders who lived in Girona and clearly organized and ran their own doping practices and trafficking of substances (by their own declarations). I never knew anything about all this, nor there is any objective evidence of my involvement.

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4 Corners and the Armstrong Mess

Those of us lucky enough to live in Australia just had the opportunity to watch a 4 Corners episode about Lance Armstrong and the mess that is being dragged up after the USADA report. To those who have read The Secret Race, there wasn’t a lot of news. But to Joe Public, it would have been an eye opener.

The biggest news for me was Phil Liggett basically making a soft admission that Lance doped.  “…I find it hard to believe Lance didn’t do it.”

Phil Liggett on 4 Corners

Dick Pound also dropped a clanger saying Hein Verbruggen blames the fans for the doping.

If you are outside Australia, you can see a lot of the interviews on the ABC website. It is worth a look.

The extended interview with Phil Anderson makes him look bad. Really bad.

“You know for me … he’ll always be the champion that won seven tours… I can only name half of the riders that got second during those tours.” – Phil Anderson

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