Happy Christmas

Congrats to everyone for finishing finals. I hope you all feel good and are taking some time to unwind and see family and friends that have been neglected. Since the dog days of winter are upon us, and keep most of us off the roads here in Provo, i just wanted to take a moment to wish everyone a merry Christmas. I look forward to seeing you all at school in a couple of weeks, and on the road in a couple of months when it finally stops snowing. Enjoy the holiday.

Alpine Loop

Well, for those of you who missed the ride yesterday, it was epic. We missed almost everyone from the group. Annie, Spencer and I rolled out from Spencer's home at about 8:15. We sandbagged it up to Vivian Park, where Annie finally succumbed to the cold (it really was freezing and she couldn't feel her feet for about half of the ride, not a good thing) and ditched us. After that, Spencer and I continued to the mouth of the loop. The first two miles of the climb are by far the most intense part of the climb. After that, the final 6-7 miles are pretty much steady spinning. They're tough, but not near as tough as the first 2 miles. After cresting the climb, we turned around and headed back down the same side. The descent was awesome. You guys missed a great ride.

Ride tomorrow

Just a reminder of our Tuesday, October 7th ride. 8 A.M. at the usual meeting place. This one is a big climb up to the top of alpine loop. Hope to see you there.

Ride on Saturday

I thought I'd post this in case there's anyone out there who is interested but doesn't get the emails.

Meet Saturday at 9:00 at 775 East 820 North.  We'll be riding from Provo to Springville, then up Hobble Creek Canyon

The group will stay together until we reach the canyon, then everyone ride at their own pace up as far as you want and back (make sure to get off the bike path at the golf course, and then to take the righthand fork in the road). Last time we did this, everyone turned around as they were passed by the group on the way down. It worked out great, and everyone got to ride at a pace comfortable for them. There will be riders of all levels.

The ride is unsupported, so make sure to bring enough food and water (we’re planning on around a 2 hour ride). We do have left over hammer gel and accelerade from previous rides that you are welcome to.

It should be a really nice ride - fall colors and fall weather!

Fine print: The majority of this post was plagiarized from an email written by Spencer.

Contador wins the Vuelta/ Say it aint so, Fabian

Alberto Contador (Astana) of Spain won the 2008 Vuelta a Espania, completing his triple crown of the 2007 Tour de France, the 2008 Giro d' Italia, and the 2008 Vuelta a Espania. Contador makes history by being the youngets person to complete a triple crown, and doing it in the shortest amount of time. His American teammate, Levi Liepheimer, was second and 2008 TDF chapmion, Carlos Sastre (CSC) was third.

In other news, two time reigning world TT chapm Fabian Cancellara has announced that he will not compete in this year's worlds. He says that he simply lacks the legs to do it after a very long season (with several very prestigious victories, including the Olympic gold medal in the mens Time Trial). I'm disappointed to say the least.

Group riding article

I saw this on bicycling today. It's a good article on how everyone can make a group ride work together. I suggest a quick read for everyone before the next time we all head out.

MTB Saturday

for those of you looking for a good mountain ride, meet at 775 E. 820 N. on saturday morning at 9:30 to go ride Deer Creek South Fork. 6 mile loop, and a good workout. Hope to see you there.

Congrats Heather

Quick congrats to Heather Rodriguez for finishing Lotaja on September 6. 206 miles is a long way to go. Any of the rest of you racing and stuff, let us know and we'll post it.

By the way, here's a little info on what Lance is up to. You won't find this kind of writing everywhere. Here's a little clip from velonews:

The seven-time Tour champ, who earlier this week announced his plans to end his three-year retirement and race the 2009 Tour de France, won the local 10-mile Smuggler-Hunter mountain bike race this past Wednesday in Aspen.

Tuesday and Friday rides

By the way, Drew and I usually ride tuesday and friday mornings at 7. The pace is pretty fast (at least for a couple of out of shape law school kids), but anyone is welcome to come. We usually meet at my house, but sometimes Drew's.

Follow-up on today's ride

We had a phenomenal ride today. As mentioned in the previous post, we headed up Hobble Creek into the Uintas for some pretty intense climbing. We had 7 people out there for the ride. For those that couldn't make it, we missed you. After passing Hobble Creek Golf Course everybody took off at their own paces for the pain. We hope to get up there in a few weeks for another great ride where we can enjoy some nice fall colors.

Other potential rides to keep in mind: Alpine Loop, Suncrest, Squaw Peak, South Fork and of course we'll probably try to get out onto the flats to whoop it up a few more times.

Any preferences on which one to take next? Feel free to make suggestions.

Saturday Ride

For those of you clowns that failed to read the lawmailer, I'm posting here information for our Saturday ride. This Saturday, September 6, we're headed up Hobble Creek Canyon for a bit of Uinta climbing! The ride is gorgeous (my wife and I rode up there a few days ago), the workout phenomenal. We plan on meeting at Spencer's home (where we met for the Century) at 8 a.m. and rolling out shortly thereafter.

We're planning on doing 50+ miles for the ride, so in the interest of time, this will be a "go at your own pace" ride (drop ride) after we hit the 400 S stoplight in Springville. There may be occasional stops to stretch and regroup a bit, but for the most part, dropping the group and being dropped by the group is going to be permitted.

The other main difference from the Century is that we will not have a support car out with us. We have left over gels from the Century (someone forgot to pack them in the car, Spencer) that are property of the club, so you're free to use them. Be prepared nutrition-wise if you're going to go long. It may not affect you during the ride itself (I normally don't have problems doing 50 with water only), but the real effects will hit you during recovery if you don't nail your nutrition down pretty well.

Hope to see everyone at Spencer's at 8 a.m.

Interesting article

If you haven't already seen this interesting (and slightly scary) article, I suggest you check it out.

Thanks Guys!

I just want to add my thanks to everyone who came out to ride saturday. The ride turned out better than i could have hoped for, and i hope everyone had a good time. Any comments or suggestions for improvement are welcome, just leave a comment here. I especially want to thank Drew and Lindsey and Cate for all their help with planning routes, food, etc. Also, thanks to Meg, Lindsey, and Cate for driving/taking pictures. Stay tuned for more events through the fall.

Spencer

Century photos

Thanks to everyone who came today - you all made it a lot of fun! Here are a few of the better pictures. If anyone wants the whole set of pictures, let me know and I'll put them on a CD or something.

Century Success

A big thank you to everyone that came out on the century. I think that I can honestly say that it was a smash hit. We had 15 cyclists out for the ride, which is by far our largest group to date. We had a little of everything: 1Ls, 2Ls, 3Ls and even spouses. A special thanks goes out to Spencer for putting in lots of time planning this to Lindsey for taking photos and to Cate and Megan for alternating as support crew. For those unnamed people like Adam and Amy Pomeroy that didn't come, we missed you. I think that the highlight of the day had to have been the 3-4 flats that we had during the ride. Congrats and thanks for helping us kick off the season right!

A New Blogger!

We would like to extend a very special welcome to our new blogger, Lindsay! Now we have proof that Spencer and I aren't the only two that read this.

Century Rules

There is one important rule that you all need to be aware of. The Honor Code will be STRICTLY enforced. Spencer and I will be checking everyone (ladies included) to make sure that they have shaved their beards and have neatly trimmed their sideburns and mustaches. Period.
















Kidding.

Additional Century Advice

One quick note on Spencer's last post and then onto my advice: vaseline can "suffocate" your skin a bit. You won't be using too much, so you shouldn't run into problems, but you should give it a test ride prior to the century because being out there for 60 (even less) can suck if you haven't tested it out yet. Either way, regardless of what you wear, you should consider some type of lube.

Nutrition

Now, first thing's first. If you're riding as long as we'll be (well over 3 hours) you're going to need to take in a bit of nutrition while on the ride. There are a few options for nutrition. We'll be providing sports drink mixes on the ride. I believe there will be accelerade, gatorade and heed at our refuel stations. You're probably going to want to bring a second bottle if possible on your frame. If you only have one waterbottle cage, get over yourself and purchase an extra cage. If you just can't defeat your inner-Scrooge, get in touch with Spencer or me as we have additional cages (I didn't defeat the inner-Scrooge, I've just been cycling for way too long to not have accumulated a few additional cages). As far as food is concerned, if you're going 60, you should be fine with water/a sports drink and a few gels on the ride. Remember, even the best athletes in the world, operating at a high level for hours on end can only absorb roughly 220-250 calories per hour. Most sports gels (Gu, Hammer, etc...) come in 90-110 pack servings. These are great. I normally prefer water on the bike to wash the gels down, but you can also do a hybrid sports drink/gel combination or just strictly sports drinks. Either way, being on the bike that long will probably make you want something more substantial than a flavored drink. You can purchase gels in pretty much any sports store. If you want a real selection, visit Wasatch Running or SBR (both in Orem) where they have pretty much every type of gel imaginable. Personally, I prefer Hammer Nutrition products, but Gu Roctane is apparently the best stuff on the market. It's a bit pricey, but one gel has 250 calories in it, thus reducing the amount of gels you need to carry.

As far as pre-race meals, it's important to keep in mind that the real purpose behind food is to provide our body with essential nutrients (think Nacho Libre) and glycogen for our muscles. Carbs are converted to glycogen, which is the fuel for our muscles. This is where the idea of carbo-loading came in (think Michael Scott pre The Office 5k run). However, it is mistaken to think that going to Olive Garden the night before and slamming a huge plate of spaghetti is going to solve your problems. Carbs are processed with the assistance of our dear friend Mr. Protein. Ergo, you need to make certain that you're ingesting more clean protein than you probably do each day (come on people, I'm a student as well, I'm aware of how poorly we sometimes eat). Clean sources of protein are eggs (most of the protein is in the egg whites (most of the cholesterol and dietary fats are in the yolk, but so are most of the other good nutrients), tuna, cottage cheese, fish and poultry. So, pay attention to your diet for at least a few days pre-Century in order to fill up those muscles with glycogen so that you're ready to rock.

All of this information is pretty useful (Shameless self-promotion alert!), but a 60 mile ride can be very doable regardless of your conditioning if you have been on your bike for a few rides. So, why all of the information? You're going to hurt after this ride, but paying attention to your nutrition will help you recover a lot quicker and consequently hurt a heck of a lot less. Should you be as stupid as I may be and try to complete the 100 mile century (who hasn't been on a bike at all like me?), this information is essential. If you don't believe me, ask Spencer. He and I completed a century the day before orientation last year, but we literally almost died in the process because of incredibly terrible nutrition (much worse than we're going to allow for this year).

Rest

This is kind of a no-brainer, so I'm not going to worry about the science behind this. Deal with it. Get plenty of sleep for the few nights prior to this ride. Your sleep two nights before the ride is more important than any other night. So, Thursday night needs to be a good night of sleep.

As far as rest during the ride (yes DURING), that is the purpose of the paceline that Spencer wrote about in his last post. Spencer is a bit more timid in a paceline (no, I'm not taking a shot. He would agree with that) on his bike than I am, so where he likes to ride within a bike length, I like to ride within 1-2 feet of the bike in front of me because the draft is slightly better, and it's harder to break up the paceline like that, although this is a no drop ride. We will have moments where we ride in a peloton (giant blob, see the beautiful photo over there ----->) and moments where we ride paceline. If you start sucking wind, you may feel free to hop on someone's wheel and "suck" off of them for as long as you like. We will all probably have moments of needing a quick break, so don't ever worry about looking like a wimp if you have to do it.

Recovery

One of the first things that I like to do after long workouts/events is hop into an ice bath. If you don't have a $20000 cold whirlpool in your apartment (I can't imagine an apartment that doesn't have one now-a-days), then you can always create one on your own by filling your tub with freezing water and even purchasing a few bags of ice from your friendly neighborhood gas station (filling/petrol station for all of you Brits). Hop in there for 15-20 minutes (this is on the high side, but that's because you have just ridden for over 3 hours), and let your legs bask in the glory of an ice bath. I personally prefer wearing a long sleeve t-shirt rolled up so as not to get wet because it actually does help keep you warm so that you can tolerate the water.

You will also want to drink plenty of water, way more than you think you should (you should be peeing clear people. Yeah, that's another intimate post huh?).

Naturally, a bit of stretching is good for you, as is walking around a bit a few hours after the ride and then doing the same the very next day just to get your muscles moving around a bit.

One importantisimo caveat: after going so long, your body is weak (duh?). That means every part of your body, immune system included. So, you will want to exercise caution in going out and partying with people that evening. It's not taboo, just make sure that you don't hang too close to someone with a cold or you may catch it.

That's a lot of posting and worrying on my behalf. Understand that 60 miles is very doable. Spencer and I are just attempting to make this ride as enjoyable for everyone as possible. After our experience with our own two man, unsupported century last year, which was a lot of fun but also quite dangerous because of our lack of planning, we want to make this a very well-supported, fun ride for everyone.

Oh, and I don't care if I have made spelling or grammatical mistakes. This post is too freaking long to revise.

Century prep advice

So Saturday a few of us went out and rode part of the metric route. It was really nice, and i think it will provide everyone with a safe, fun experience. The route is beautiful, and there is a long downhill stretch from Spanish Fork to Salem on a nice farm road. There is one climb from Springville to Mapleton that is a pain, and some wind from there to the mouth of Spanish Fork Canyon, but it's smooth sailing from there. During the 45 miles saturday, i began thinking about a couple of things i should pass along to make your ride safer and more enjoyable. here they are.

1) Group riding dynamics. Groups usually will ride in a "paceline" meaning that for a lot of the ride, everyone will ride single file and close to each other to get the benefits of drafting. If you have limited experience with this, it can seem scary, but is not too hard. The idea is to get within a bike length of the person in front of you, and not run into them. It helps to keep your eyes up-- not at their tire-- so you can see what is coming up in the road. When you get to the front, ride there for a minute or so (take your "pull") and then check to make sure cars aren't coming, pull to the left, and drift back to the end of the line. It's not too hard, and will make a long ride easier and keep the pace a bit higher.

2) Road safety. You are responsible to not get hit by a car or run your bike off the road. Please be cautious and aware at all times. The course is open to traffic, and there are some sections where we could ride in a bit of traffic. Just be careful.

3) Shorts comfort. A couple of things about cycling shorts, for those of you who are new to the spandex mafia. First, although it might feel weird to have only a thin layer of spandex between you and the world, you should not wear anything under your shorts. Underwear of any kind rubs and chafes-- a bad thing when you are on your bike for 60 miles. Take care of yourself, and trust me on this one. Also, shorts are more comfortable with some sort of lubricant on the chamois (the pad). Bike shops sell chamois cream, i use bodyglide (you find that at running shops-- it looks like a stick of deodorant), and some people even use a bit of Vaseline, or something like that. It might feel a little slimy at first, but ten miles in you'll thank yourself. Sorry to get intimate on the blog. I just thought it would be a good forum to keep you feeling good on the ride.

Good luck in your final prep-- if you're doing any. We hope to see you out there two saturdays from now. It will be a lot of fun.

Spencer

Two more things

I guess i should mention that you should give me (Spencer) your five bucks. I'll keep track of who has paid up. Second, Feel free to invite friends. We love more people.

Pre-century mechanical and fit help

Just one more thing. If any of you need some work on your bike before the ride, i would be happy to help. Just email me-- spenbro@byulaw.net-- and we can get together. You want your bike in good condition for such a long ride, and also want it to fit right. Here are some things to think about:

Clean and lube: you want your drivetrain to be clean, and need to have your chain and other moving parts lubed with a bike specific lube. your frame and wheels should also be clean.

Shifting: You don't want your chain rubbing, skipping gears, or making funny noises. You want your shifts to be crisp and accurate.

Tires: don't want excessive wear.

Breaks: you want them to work, duh. If you can't stop fairly quick, or if your pads look worn, it might be time to replace them. Other adjustments are simple.

Wheels: Spin your wheels and make sure they are true. If they are wobbling, lets straighten them out before the ride.

Fit: This one is key. If you have any pain or discomfort on moderately long rides in your knees, neck, or back, or anywhere really, you might need to adjust the fit of your bike. I can help you with that as well. Just email me.

Hope you all can come on the ride. Again, if you need any help just let me know.

Spencer

The First Annual Legal Spin Century

So the time is now. Less than a month before the metric century. The ride, for those who haven't heard, is on August 23 at 7:00 A.M. All members of legal spin are invited, and encouraged to bring spouses, friends, and anyone else interested. Members are expected to pay dues before the ride ($5), and we ask that any others please chip in as well to provide for food, spare tubes, and fuel for the support car. THE DEADLINE TO COMMIT TO COME IS AUGUST 15!!! Email spenbro@byulaw.net if you are coming.

Route: The route is a tour of southern Utah county and is mostly flat. A route map can be found at www.usatf.org/routes/view.asp?rID=234097. It starts and ends at my house at 775 East 820 North in Provo (across the street from Thai Ruby). We will check out the route before the ride, and it is subject to change in order to provide a safe, fun ride for everyone.

Pace: we will do our best to keep a comfortable pace for all, and may end up breaking into groups and regrouping at rest stops at Salem Pond, Genola, and Lincoln Beach. Cate has volunteered to bring up the rear, but please help her to have a fun ride and be sure to keep moving.

Training required: If you haven't ridden all summer, now is the time. You should be able to get out and do a 30-40 mile ride without much difficulty. If you haven't done it yet, try this week. Some of us will be riding part of the route Saturday, August 9 @ 7:00 a.m. starting from my house. Please email me at spenbro@byulaw.net if you are interested.

Support: We will have a support vehicle that will meet us at several locations along the course, and will have water, some emergency food, and some spare tubes and tools. The car can be reached by cell phone as well in the event of emergency. If you need a ride for a while, we can do that too for up to two riders at a time. You can also drop off any food you want to bring at the support car, carrying anything more than can fit in a jersey pocket is not necessary.

What you need to bring: Enough water to make it at least 30 miles. We will bring more water and sports drink powder, but you've got to be able to carry some with you. Two bottles is preferable. You will also need to bring any on the bike food you need. Bars and gels are popular, and good choices for quick calories. However, you may want to leave something more solid in the support car. Turkey sandwiches are a good bet, as are other salty foods. Make sure you have enough calories to compensate for that which you burn. It could be upwards of 3000 over the 63 miles.

What we need from you: your $5. Also, we are still looking for a driver for the support car. They have to be able to drive a stick and willing to commit to 4-5 hours of relatively boring driving and sitting and waiting. If you can get someone, please email me ASAP.

Carlos Sastre-- A big win for clean cycling.

CSC Saxo-Bank's Carlos Sastre has won the Tour de France. The spanish rider won the yellow jersey with the help of his powerful CSC squad with an attack at the base of L' Alpe De Huez, cycling's most fabled climb. Sastre won the stage solo--by more than two minutes-- taking the jersey from teammate Frank Schleck, and putting 1:34 into rival Cadel Evans (Silence-Lotto) coming into the final time trial. Evans, a superior time trialist, was expected to make up the time and win the race, but Sastre rode away only allowing Evans to cut about 30 seconds out of his time.

Sastre's victory is big for cycling. First, it was clearly a team victory. Sastre's individual effort on L' Alpe and on the stage 20 time trial were incredible, but his very strong team set him up. CSC whittled down GC contenders essentially by taking advantage of the overwhelming team strength, and by creating a plan to put one of the Schleck brothers in yellow to take pressure off Sastre until he could attack late in the race. CSC was by far the strongest team, and each rider gave up individual aspirations of stage wins to fight for Sastre to wear yellow in paris. Essentially, the CSC strategy worked like this in the mountain stages: each alp stage, with the exception of stage 17 had two off category climbs. The team would work together to get everyone over the first climb, including power houses Jens Voight and Fabian Cancellara who are not climbers. After the first decent, CSC would try to blow up the peleton by placing Cancellara-- the world time trial champion and arguably the strongest rider in the world-- on the front to set a blistering pace. This isolated Evans and the rest of the GC contenders, making it hard for them to hang on and hard for them to endure multiple stages. When things went uphill, Jens Voight would take a pull followed by other riders including Andy Schleck-- winner of this year's best young riders' jersey-- and then Frank Schleck or Sastre would attack. It was a masterful team effort. No other team was able to work like this. The consequence was that Cancellara, Voight, and both of the Schlecks failed to win stages, something they all regularly do. But the team won the team classification, and Sastre won the tour. Go teamwork.

Finally Sastre's victory was a victory for cycling. He rides for a "clean team," one of a handful of teams that have strong independent doping controls. After the tour, he said, "i believe in clean cycling because i am clean." It's nice to have a champion who you can have confidence in. Sastre's A sample won't come back positive. That's a victory for the sport.

Stay tuned for info about the Legal Spin Century on August 23 at 7:00 A.M.

Ricco busted!

This does my heart good. By the way, if you want to follow the tour, check velonews.com

Tour Drama

I have quite the love-hate relationship with July. Most of that has to do with the tour and the drama that surrounds it. Already, we have seen a split between the UCI, cycling's governing body, and the ASO, the organizer of the tour. Also, we have seen three riders pulled from the tour as a result of failed doping tests. Most recently, and most shockingly for some was today's announcement that Italian climber, KOM and Best Young Rider jersey leader, Riccardo Ricco tested positive for EPO. The entier Saunier Duval team left the tour as a result, since Ricco is thier GC man. Frankly, i'm not surprised. Ricco was the type of rider that seemed to be able to turn on a stage win whenever he wanted to. At 23, he finished 2nd in this year's Giro and had already won two stages of the Tour. His unbelievable performance was just that: unbelievable. I am saddened by the news, however. Not because i liked Ricco, but because i was really hoping for a quieter tour this year with the attention drawn to the phenomenal rides, the dramatic stage wins, and the new tech. The other two doping cases involved support riders, and were fairly quiet. This one will draw a lot of attention, especially since it caused SD, a team that has won three stages already, to withdraw from the race.

My other beef with this year's tour is the course. The climbs will be phenomenal, but the flat stages look like they are almost intentionally designed to prevent a Cancellara win. First of all, there was no prologue this year. Cancellara has won the prologue twice previously, and is the best rider in the world at short, flat time trials. Last year, he dominated the prologue and actually ran up on a motorcycle frantically trying to get out of the way. He didn't get that chance this year. The early flat stages were not right for him, as all had uphill finishes, which prevent a late attack-- his signature winning move. However, the tour did throw him a stage 4 time trial that was short and relatively flat. It was a homerun ball that he simply didn't hit, only taking 5th. However, he did ride strong, and drove a chase group at a blistering pace three stages ago, splitting the pack and eliminating several GC riders and setting up teammate Frank Schleck to move into second overall.

Riders i've been impressed with: 1)Cavandish. 3 stage wins as of today. He's a phenomenal sprinter, and may be the fastest man in the world right now. 2)Christian Vande Velde. The young American is doing very well for his first time as a team leader. He's sitting in 3rd overall at 30 seconds back. 3) Team Columbia. They are awesome, and have really controlled the race early-- allowing Cavandish to win 3 stages. 4)Garmin. Same goes for this first-time american team. They are surprising. 5)CSC-Saxo Bank. By far the strongest team. Look for another Jens voight-- Fabian Cancellara controlled stage in the Alps, hopefully to set up Schleck and Sastre.

No props for: 1)SD and Ricco. They suck. Period. 2) Robbie McEwen. Where's pocket rocket? not a single stage win? 3)Val Verde. I can't believe he dropped from GC contention so easily. 4) Tom Boonen. He could be here winning stages right and left, but he's not. Crack is wack. 5) Ricco. Again. he sucks. Dopers suck.

Nutrition for Going Long

Hammer Nutrition has a great article here explaining the body's nutritional needs for endurance training and racing. This is a long but great read. Take a while to go through it, especially if you're planning on riding the century or even part of it with us or doing another longer "adventure."

Contador wins Giro de Italia

Spanish 2007 Tour de France champion Alberto Contador won this year's Giro after receiving an invitation only a week before the race. Congrats to him and to team Astana.

last minute ride tonight (jun 3)

Hi everyone. I know this is last minute, but i thought i'd see if anyone wants to ride tonight at 5:30. My wife and I are probably going to head up provo canyon, and could meet any of you prior to that. Just shoot me an email at spenbro@byulaw.net.

Good luck to Lindsey at the Little Red Riding Hood, and to any of you racing the Salem Spring Triathlon, i'll see you there.

Spring Ride-- May 3, 2:00

Legal Spin will have one big spring road ride prior to everyone leaving for their summer jobs. It will be Saturday at 2:00. If you want to come, please meet at the bike rack on the south side of the law school. We will ride either a 20 mile rout out to Provo Canyon and up to Nunns Park, or a 30 mile flat rout out to the town of West Mountain. Both are great rides, and the forecast is calling for afternoon temps in the 60's, which means perfect spring riding. We'll try to ride a comfortable pace for everyone, but for those of you hammerheads out there, you can take off at any pace you like, and we'll regroup from time to time. I'll be there, my wife will be there, and you should too. Bring your friends. If you can't come, have a great summer and stay tuned for periodic summer rides.

Boonen gets his win on the cobbles-- about time

Tom Boonen, team Quickstep strongman and classics expert, finally picked up his first win at Sunday's Paris-Roubaix. Boonen lead a late breakaway with two other race favorites, CSC's Fabian Cancellara and Alessandro Ballan while riders from CSC and Quickstep controlled the initial break allowing the favorites to battle it out. At the finish, only Boonen had enough in his tank to make the sprint, and he edged the other two riders out by about 2 seconds. The chase group came in 4 minutes adrift, and included surprise Martijn Maaskant, the rookie from Slipstream-Chipotle, who was not favored in the race. The weather proved to be nice, and a strong tailwind allowed the leaders to set a new record for the course since it was changed in 1968. Boonen averaged 45.13 kph (about 26 mph) over the cobbles.

Contador Wins Tour of the Basque Country/ Who wants to ride on april 25?

Since Astana cannot compete in the Tour or in any of the ASO run spring classics, Alberto Contador seems content on winning everything else. In his second major stage race of the season, Contador held off the filed in the final time trial to win the overall classification by 30 seconds over Australian Cadell Evans. Congrats to Contador and Astana.

In other news, we are thinking about a club ride on Friday, April 25 around 1:00. We would likely meet here at the law school and do a 25-30 mile road ride. It should be a lot of fun, and finals are over for everyone. If you think you'd be in, please leave a comment saying so. Hope to see you all there. Stay tuned for tomorrow's Paris-Roubaix post. (go Cancellara)

Devolder upsets in Flanders

By now, i'm sure that you have all noticed my unhealthy enamorment with professional cycling. Here is yet another fun race result. Belgian national champion Stijn Devolder won the Tour of Flanders on sunday. Some say that Flanders is the hardest of the spring classics, with several short, steep cobble stone climbs, terrible weather (it hailed and was in the mid 30's this year), and very competitive field. It is the Belgians' race, but Devolder was not on anyone's list to win.

Riding pace for Belgian favorite and Quicstep teammate Tom Boonen, Devolder staged a late attack that Boonen and Swiss Fabian Cancellara could not chase down. The attack took the entire field by surprise, and Devolder soloed to win by a gap of about 19 seconds.

Don't you all wish we were riding instead of studying for finals? Lets try to do it soon-- maybe the Friday after finals are over. Also, Paris-Roubaix-- "the hell of the north" is next week. It is one of the most prestigious races of the season, and my favorite rider, Cancellara is favored to win. Stay tuned for another post from the pro race circuit.

forgot one

I neglected to include Drew White as our SBA Liaison. Sorry Drew.

Board Members Elected and other meeting stuff

So we elected the board for next year today, sort of. There is still room for a couple more board positions if anyone is interested. A historian would be nice (to take some pics at the rides, etc.) and maybe a ride coordinator too. Let me know if you are interested. Positions elected are as follows:

President: Spencer Brown
Vice President: Dustin Kelley
Secretary: Lindsey Romankiw

Also, we discussed our big end of summer/ beginning of school year social: the Legal Spin Century. We will have 100 mile, 100 KM, and 50 mile options. It will be the Saturday before school starts. Stay tuned for a posted training plan for anyone who thinks they need one-- it might be a good idea.

Check back for info about rides over the summer. Also, if any of you are racing, let us know how you do and we will post it on the blog. Thanks again for a good turnout today. I'm looking forward to this club.

Meeting on Friday

Dont forget about the meeting in room 320 at 1:00 pm. Spencer's going to provide lunch for everyone.

Just kidding. About lunch. Not about the meeting.

Contador scores first big win of the season!!

Reigning Tour de France Champion Alberto Contador, along with his Astana team scored a first major win this season at Spain's Vuelta a Castilla y León, a seven stage race in which Contador won two stages and the overall classification. Astana did not receive an invite to the Tour this year due to doping scandals involving las year's team, of which neither Contador nor American Tour hopeful Levi Leipheimer were involved in (they were on Discovery Team last year). To show your support for Contador, Levi, and the rest of Astana, please sign the web petition at www.letleviride.com. Congrats to the two time Vuelta a Castilla y León champion!!

Cancellara wins again!

Milan-San Remo, the 298 km Ittalian classic was won by Fabian Cancellara on the back of his win at Turino. An ealry break was lead by the american Slipstream-Chipotle team, but it was Cancellara's solo attack with 3 km to go that held on to give him the win by about 5 seconds.

In other news, the road ride today was hampered by low attendence, and ended up being drew and me. Good day to ride though. Hope to see more of you at the next one

Congrats Fabian!!

Fabian Cancellara wins in Tirreno, one of the spring classics. He took the leaders jersey with a win of the stage 6 time trial, and held on to win the GC.

First Group Ride-- this Saturday!!!

There will be a group road ride this Saturday at 3:30 pm. If you are interested, please show up at the law school bike racks (just south of the law school). We will ride from there up to Nunn's park on the Provo River Trail. The distance is about 20 miles, and the pace will be moderate. If you feel that 20 miles is a little long for this early in the season, you can meet up with the group at the mouth of Provo canyon (there is a parking lot at the northwest corner of Canyon road and 800 North in Orem) at around 4:00. Hope to see you there.

Also, if you have any minor maintenance issues with your bike, and need a little help fixing them, please contact Spencer, or just leave a comment and i will find a time to give you a hand.

Welcome

We finally have been approved as a formal club here at the law school. This is obviously our blog. We hope to coordinate our events and keep them publicized on here as well as keep in touch with everyone through email and the blog. Feel free to comment or ask permission to post on here as well. We'll keep you posted as we further organize things.