Off Shore Work Really Off Shore...

Well, I guess 3.1 miles off the California coast line is far enough off shore to be considered off shore. Why not just set up a coding sweat shop in Tijuana and save money on Dramamine.

The company claims 90% of the revenue will remain in the USA, but what about the wages they pay to those who are on the boat? Are they taxable? Can those workers come ashore, or do they need a visa? So many questions.

Toolbars Rant

While reading the news last night, I came across an article touting the improved Yahoo Toolbar. I figured I had been a luddite in this area of browsing long enough and decided to take a closer look at the major players in this area, Yahoo and Google.

After downloading and installing each, also enabling both in my browser, I first noticed the clutter of all the buttons. I'm not sure why anyone would need all those features or how they really save time.

The one feature mentioned in the article which first drew my attention to the Yahoo offering was "Save to My Web" which exports all your favorites to cyberspace where you can access them from anywhere in the world. I'm not impressed. I mean it's great if you don't own your own computer and are constantly begging friends to use theirs or go to an internet cafe, but please, you can buy a computer for $400 these days. Hell, an IPOD is more expensive than a computer. So, most of use have our own and maybe even an IPOD.

The other features that stand out are the Anti-Spy and Pop-up Blocker. I don't know about you, but pop-ups aren't an issue unless you are surfing porn or warez sites. If you have pop-up problems, it's not the pop-ups that are the problem but the ad ware installed on your computer. So maybe attempt to deal with the problem rather than apply the pop-up blocker bandaid.

In terms of the Anti-Spy feature, I'm not sure Yahoo is the company I want to bank on since there are other companies putting out quality products like Lavasoft's Ad-aware SE or Spybot Search & Destroy, amongst others, which are also free.

So, other than those features, the Yahoo toolbar is made up of links and a web search entry point, which only uses Yahoo search. I don't see the need for a toolbar to house my links, IE already provides an adequate feature for this purpose.

OK, so Yahoo toolbar seemed like a bust, just cluttering up my work space. Let take a gander at Google, the "do no evil" guys.

On first inspection, Google's toolbar isn't much different than Yahoo's, short of Yahoo's "Save to My Web" feature. With Google, you can search (THEY give you the choice of which search engine to use), block pop-ups, spell check any text you've entered into a web text-box, and add cool stuff like a page rank and a blogger button. Once again, I'm not overly impressed by any of these things. I really could care less about the page rankings and I have a blogger shortcut in my IE links toolbar already. Pop-up blocking, blah, and I can hit CTRL-N and type Google.com only milliseconds slower than if I used their toolbar search feature.

Maybe my problem is that I haven't allowed the toolbars to grow on me yet. Though there are things about each that I do like, I've already disabled the Yahoo one. Google being the hottest thing since, well Yahoo, has lasted only slightly longer in my browser. I've been able to tuck it way in the same space used for the standard IE toolbar so it's not so obtrusive. But I'm not sure how much use I will get out of it, though it has some features that work nicely with blogger, like the spell check.

Anyway, check them out for yourself and comment if you would like.

Yahoo Toolbar
Google Toolbar

Did I Mention This Before?

< bitching>

I HATE DEVELOPMENT ! Most any sort (though building a fence was kind of fun and I don't mind HTML) and now I've done myself the favor of volunteering myself to do exactly that, I must be stupid! I'm not talking about construction type development, but the type base around the computer world, most specifically, reports development.

I had volunteered to help develop reports for the system we use in Sacramento. Understand that I gain nothing monetary and neither does the company I work directly for, so in essense we are doing this for free. Though, everyone in the state benefits from the reports which are developed. I volunteered at a time when things in my position were slow, but now we are on the cusp of moving offices and I'm in charge of moving all the equipment, getting our internet connection moved, and phone system installed, amongst many other things. Oh yeah, while dealing with my other daily support issues. Ugh, if you can't tell, I'm feeling a little overloaded and it's all because of this reports development stuff hanging over my head. I could just call the manager and say that I'm not interested anymore or something like that, but I don't really have it in me to cop out like that. But I'm not sure if that is better or worse then muddling through the process.

So, this morning I attempt to begin work on what is called a Use Case. Which is much easier to say than it is to complete. It seems easy enough and should be something I can do, but I can't even seem to get the project started.

I graduated with an MIS degree but never encountered a project such as this, but I would hope that I could figure it out, but no luck. So, I've emailed the manager and ask that I recieve a little hand holding so that I can get the idea. We'll see how that goes...

Anyway, I think it's time to close this tag and move on, if this goes poorly, I've always been interested in becoming a bike mechanic.
< /bitching>

Lion King Retires

Mario Cipollini's Liquigas-Bianchi team has announced that their star sprinter has decided to retire, effective immediately. The 38 year-old, nicknamed the Lion King, is stopping after 17 seasons and 189 victories.

He will be considers one of the greatest sprinters of all time mostly due to his 42 wins at the Giro, which is a record. But in the past 2 years his greatness has been challenged by a new Italian sprinter, Alessandro Petacchi.

Long live the Lion King! Not to worry, I hear that he is starting his own clothing line for which he could be the star model.

Larry Lasater

Pittsburg Police Officer Dies...

It wasn't until I read the details that I realized this officer was a guy I went to high school, middle school, and elementry school with. He even used to live right up the street from me off Spring Lakes Dr. This is truely a sad day and even more so because his wife is 7 months pregnant. Larry Lasater RIP!

Updated: 04092007: added new link to news article.

Tony's winning pose, come on, we can all dream, can't we!?

Here is a picture of me from the Tour of the Unknown Valley, 2005.

Post Wildflower

The begain with a light rain before sunrise, I only know this because it was damp when I got out of bed at 6 AM to check. I started my morning off with the customary 5 to 6 shot mocha and a bowl of oatmeal, while reading the play by play of Liège-Bastogne-Liège over at Cyclingnews.com. All my gear was prepared the night prior so after jumping through the shower and into my cycling clothes, I landed firmly on my bike and rode out the door at ten to eight. I was hoping to hoping to run into my cycling friends, Jonathan and Angie, at the fair grounds sometime around eight. Sure enough, as I approached the entrance gate I saw Angie waving at me. Moments later Jonathan rode up and we took off.

The first challenge of the day was Humboldt Rd. I had a great time explaining the story behind the wagon wheel ruts in the lava cap as well as bitching about how developers planned to build houses in this area. It was at this point a group of riders passed and I realized one of the riders was my friend Carlos. So he hooked up with us for the rest of the day.

Then it was into the canyon to summit Honey Run Rd. Due to the previous days weather and concern for rain on ride day, the crowds were smaller then usual on Honey Run. This meant that you could actually ride up without being shoulder to shoulder with other riders.

Carlos explain how last year while riding up one of the climbs a rider crossed his path and hit is front wheel, knocking him over as well as 10 other people. So, I found it houmorus when I lost my balance wiping sweat from my brow and almost knocked both of us down. Luckily we were only going about 8 miles an hour up a hill.

After Honey Run it was over to the first rest stop where I gorged on streusel-date bars, a favorite amongst Wildflower riders. Thanks Upper Crust, that stuff is the bomb!

At this point, Angie took off to the 65 mile course while Jonathan, Carlos, and myself continued on to Table Mountain. The cool weather made the climb much more easy compared to years past, so that was nice. It was on this climb that Jonathan and I noticed a pack of fairly fit riders who were now passing us for the 4th or 5th time since we began the ride. We called them the Yo-Yo riders as they were up and down the road all day long it seemed. It wouldn't be the last we saw of them as we would encounter portions of this group after lunch on the run into town.

It was at the top of this climb where we finally got a taste of the weather. It sprinkled very lightly as we rode into Cherokee but 5 minutes later at the lunch stop it was slightly sunny. Go figure! The lunch stop worked like a machine for us. When we arrived the line for the bathrooms was a mile long so we went to grab food first, there was no line for the food. Then on our way out of the lunch area we noticed the huge lines for food, yay, no line for the bathroom. It's like it was planned or something.

At this point in the ride, most the fun stuff like massive climbing is over and it's mostly just pace lines for 40 miles. So, on our way past Butte College we hooked up with a pace line that cuaght up to the three of us. Sure enough it contained some of the Yo-Yo riders. At first, I was concerned that we wouldn't be able to hold the wheels of this pace line, but in the end we had more than enough power to keep up. I say this because not more than 5 miles down the road, the line exploded under the pressure of pace maker on the front leaving just the 3 from my group and a couple from the Yo-Yo riders. One of the Yo-Yo's realized this and backed off the pace but the 3 in my group keep on going. We joked about ruining the Yo-Yo riders paceline with our incredible strength. Eventually it all came back together. A few miles further up the road the SAG vehicle driven by the owner of CycleSport (a shop in Chico) passed us doing about 25 to 30 MPH and a bunch of us in the paceline jumped into his draft. Unfortunately, Jonathan was boxed in behind some riders that didn't jump and stuck behind. I was one of the first up on the bumper of the truck and being that I was about 12 inches off his bumper going nearly 30 MPH, I wasn't looking over my shoulder to see who was still in tow, so I didn't notice Jonathan was left behind or else I might have dropped off myself. But, I have to admit, the 10 to 12 miles we did at 30 MPH behind the truck was great but after about 20 minutes I was fairly winded and dropped off the pace. Carlos kept going and I didn't see him until I arrived back at the fair grounds.

All in all a great ride and one of those days you wished wouldn't end. But luckily we got back when we did, because it started to rain a half hour later.

click Read More to see the pictures.



Angie and Jonathan on Honey Run Rd.


A few bikers hanging out at an unofficial stop at the Covered Bridge.


Some of the really gray clouds that never really rained on us. Yay!


Carlos up the road. He was up the road a lot today, so I could never corner him for his photoshoot.


Amazingly enough, the water stayed in the clouds until after the ride.

Breaking News

(Note: this post should have been posted a week ago, but due to FTP server problems I couldn't post, fixed now!)

Well, cycling news of course. CyclingNews.com is reporting that after weeks of waiting for a decision from arbitrators, Tyler Hamilton will receive the results on Monday. Rumor has it that he will that he will get off and to boot will line up to race at the Tour of Georgia on Tuesday. WOW!

Rumor #2 is that Lance won't announce his retirement at this weeks "special" interview, but he will announce 2005 will be his last year at the Tour de France and that he will spend 2006 focusing on the US contintinal race scene. Can you say, "see you at the Tour of California!"

Ride Around The Buttes

(Note: this post should have been posted a week ago, but due to FTP server problems I couldn't post, fixed now!)

Saturday I was fortunate to ride the Ride Around The Buttes century. I was up early so as to leave the house by 6:15 AM to arrive in Sutter by about 7. I was concerned about getting there on time because I hadn't pre-registered and the website mentioned if you didn't pre-register you might not be able to ride the 100 miler.


One hill of the Sutter Buttes


Another Butte


HWY 20 bridge over the Sacramento River at Meridian


Sutter Buttes from the south


Funky single lane bridge we crossed


Beautiful home along the Sacramento River


Jonathan


Jonathan's wife Angie (L) and Carol, a very nice lady we met at the start of the ride who is from South Lake Tahoe.


Jonathan attacking the peloton.

Wildflower Pre-ride

As a tribute to one of my favorite cycling websites, PezcyclingNews.com, I am writing this little Wildflower pre-ride article. If you are scratching your head and thinking what's a pre-ride article, then check out these links to PEZ pre-ride stuff from the spring classics, so you can see what real writing is!

The PEZ Pre-Ride: Amstel Gold Course
Roubaix '05: PEZ Rides The New Cobbles
First Ride: POMPEIANA PEZ-Clusive!

Cool stuff, eh!

Chico Wildflower Century

First off, here are the parcourse for the Wildflower 100 mile course, which contains three climbs (Humboldt, Honey Run, and Table Mountain) totalling 4500 feet elevation gain in the first 60 miles and then lots of flat orchard roads on the run in back to Chico.


This is it! If you have trouble with the detailed areas of the map you can use this link to view the PDF version.

The ride begins just moments from home, at the Silver Dollar Fair Grounds heading toward downtown Chico before heading up HWY 32 to Humboldt Rd. Once on Humboldt, riders might notice the beautiful wildflowers (imagine that) as well as some local history in terms of wagon wheel ruts in the lava cap and rock walls along side the road, which were build by Chinese laborors 150 years ago. The wagon wheel ruts are from wagons run by the Chico and Humboldt Wagon Road Company between Chico and the Humboldt mines in southern Idaho and northern Nevada. If you are interested there is more to learn here. Also, one thing riders might not notice is an old dump which was cleaned up about a year ago. The dump is famous for it's lead poisoned soil after years of battery disposal on the site. Learn more here.

Once Humboldt Rd is crested, it's a quick jaunt down HWY 32 back toward Chico to cut over to the beginning of Honey Run. Honey Run is one of the more beautiful climbs in the area with Butte Creek running along it's side. The road crosses Butte Creek at a historic point, the Covered Bridge.


The picturesque bridge, built in 1894 at the confluence of Big Butte and Little Butte Creeks and is one of only 12 remaining covered bridges remaining in California.

Among several stories concerning how the Honey Run got its name is a humorous one involving a young couple who, while strolling near the bridge were confronted by a bear. The young man was heard to shout, "Run, Honey! Run!" And thus, the name.

After crossing over the creek, riders will begin the climb to Paradise. On this climb they will feel just like euro-racers as they ride up painted roads. But alas, you will not find the names of Armstrong, Petacchi, or any other famous riders, unless Joe Loves Kathy is a rider I've overlooked.

Just before the riders crest Honey Run they will encounter photocrazy.com's photog taking pictures of the riders, which can be purchased via their website. They are nice, I've got a couple and plan on getting another this year. So, make sure as you get toward the top to zip up your jersey and wipe the sweat from your brow where as you look like a seasoned pro in your picture!

The first rest stop is just a mile or so away after cresting Honey Run and humdreds of riders will be milling about getting tasty treats from the Upper Crust and downing quenching drinks courtesy of Knudsen Juice of Chico. It's sad and a great loose to the community, but I heard the Chico plant might be closing down.

Once you've gotten your fill of pasteries, fruits, and drinks you'll be blazing down Pentz Rd at insane speeds to Durham-Pentz Rd and then to Wheelock where you make the ride into Oroville to begin the climb of Table Mountain.
Wheelock is short but very beautiful with it's endless fields of olive trees on a nice hillside. Then it's a quick ride across HWY 70 to Coal Mountain Rd. Coal Mountain meets up with Table Mountain Rd which traverses both Table Mountain and HWY 70.

Table Mountain is a much longer climb compared to Honey Run, but the road is much better. Table Mountain is a 3 mile-long, 65 million-year-old lava flow that actually consists of two portions separated by a large chasm. If you are interested you can find more info here or here.

If the day is sunny and warm, you might find Table Mountain to still feel as if the lava is flowing, so bring your suntan lotion. As I was saying the climb is long and seems never ending but once you've managed to get near the top you are rewarded with a wonderful view of the wildflowers and the Sacramento Valley. Then it's a fairly flat section of road with a nice down hill section before rider's connect back up with HWY 70 for a 50 MPH ride down to the lunch stop at Spring Valley School.

The lunch stop is more like a bike convention with what seems to be 1000 plus riders chowing down on gourmet food, such as my favorite, the duck pate sandwich. There were bunches of selections to be had in terms of sandwiches and also many vegitarian choices. Usually they have a PA systems out there blaring music and it's a real friendly environment for riders. I have a great time chatting up old friends and some local riders I don't see at the weekend rides.

After lunch, it's all flat road out in the orchards which takes us past Butte College, through Durham and Dayton before bringing us home on Chico River Rd. Though I would like to do the full 100, I'm getting word from some of my fellow riders they might only be intereted in 65. I'm going to attempt to convince them it would be best to ride all the hills and cut back into Chico from the last rest area via the bike path eliminating the final 25 miles. Really, the hills and those views are where it's at on this ride and I have to admit the 25 miles at the end gets to be a bit much. Anyways, I'm mostly interested in hangin' with my friends and doing the hills rather than the entire 100 miles.

The weather for the ride was looking a little dim with rain forecasted thoughout the week for Sunday. But today, Saturday, the forecast for tomorrow seems to have cleared and it's not supposed to rain. What a relief! Look for the post ride post perhaps with some pictures!

Quick Update...

Sorry I haven't posted in a week, but I haven't had time to work through the issues causing the problems until this morning.

For whatever reason, my FTP server wasn't working correctly. Using an FTP program, I was able to log in, but when attempting to update the blog via the same FTP server failed. After reading a few message boards, I stumbled upon a fix. It seems that it was a DNS issue because once I replaced the FTP server name with it's IP address and republished, everything worked once again. Thank goodness, because I was getting a little frustrated.

So, be forewared, I will post regularly once again.

Chico Boy Going to NFL...

The draft hasn't happened as of this post, but it's about to begin. It's looking like Aaron Rodgers of Cal will be going in the top 5 at least. This is really cool for Chico as Aaron is from Chico where he attended Pleasant Valley High School and then Butte College before going to Cal for just one year before going pro.

Nice work Aaron, good luck, and remember to give Chico props, it's been a while since we've had someone in the NFL!

Interesting Follow-up To Google Maps Post

Wired has an article about neat things that Google Maps users have stumbled upon while using the service.

Some of the things they noticed were the set up of Black Rock City for Burning Man, in Northern Nevada. Somne other surprises include a just-erupted volcano, violent scenes from Iraq (a bomb going off in Baghdad and a firefight in Najaf) and even a 747 landing in Tokyo. Check out the article and click the link "See Photos" to see the photos of said satellite maps.

The End Seems Near...

Not for me, but for Lance Armstrong's professional cycling career, lord know's there are plenty of thing to keep him busy after cycling. From the sound of the most recent articles about his very important media announcment on the eve of the Tour of Georgia and the two linked below, it seems as if he will retire directly after the Tour de France, or at least that's my guess. Here read these articles and decide for yourself

Armstrong Could Be Writing His Swan Song
PREVIEW-Cycling-Hincapie aiming to give Armstrong farewell gift

Dismal Semester for CSUC

Chico and Chico State are having a miserable year so far. It started with numerous alcohol issues, a student death due to water intoxication, a frat porn, and now Whitney Hall has been partially destroyed by fire. Read the articles here:

#1
#2

It seems as if a candle was left unattended in a 9th floor dorm and the ensuing fire did $100,000 in damage, displacing 31 students and damaging 10 dorm rooms. No one was injured during this event and I don't believe alcohol or any Greek fraternity and soroity members were involved, but I'm sure there must be a way to blame them!

More Chico Expansion...

Recently this area was big news because it covered in old batteries and tires, costing the city and the owner millions of dollars in lead clean up. They didn't exactly clean it up either, they just piled it up and covered it as far as I can tell. I think I'll ride up there tomorrow and take some pictures to post of the clean up as well as the most important thing out there, wheel ruts in the lava cap.

These wheel ruts are important because they are 150 years old, part of our local history, and should be perserved; here is an article to read about the issue. Here is an interesting editorial on the issue.

Personal Ride Info and Pictures

After reading the play by play action in the Paris - Roubaix this morning, I hopped on my bike for a little spin of my own. I didn't quite ride 260K or over the cobbles, but some of the mountain roads I do go over seem like cobbles.

Anyway, it was the same ride I did a couple of Thursday's ago, but this time I went about 6 more miles up the road to the far side of a mill town called Stirling City. The fun part about the extra 6 miles is about 5 is all up hill. In the end, I got about 75 miles in with about 5000 feet of elevation, ride time was 4:30.

It was a great ride and some fun stuff happened along the way. As I was midway up Coutolenc Rd, I was passed by about 50 motorcycles who were going up to the only thing in Lovelock, a restaurant. Half way down the line of motorcycles, I crested a small hill and was able to keep up for about 200 meters. It was at that point that a nice old lady riding on the back of one of the motorcycles reached back to give me a hand. I had to decline for fear of crashing even though she promised it would be fun.

Another cool thing on this ride was Stirling City. Below is a picture of a sign you see coming into town.




One other thing I saw that really makes you say, "wow, I'm out in the hills" was a cat chewing on the carcass of a deer on the side of the road. Lucky for you, I didn't take a picture. But take a look at the rest.


Valley off to the east of Neal Rd on the way to Paradise.


Depending on how you look at it, this could be art, a fence, or both.


Close up of art.


Blurry Magalia city limits sign because when you pass this sign you are going about 20 MPH. In case you can't read it, 18,300 pop & 2380 elev.


Did I forget to mention there was snow on the ground? Well, there wasn't as much as Monday when I was up this way.


Stirling City city limits sign.


Stirling City Post Office. 95978! And yes, that is snow all around the building at only 3500 feet elevation


Stirling City Inn, you should have seen the bed & breakfast place.


About where I turned around because I thought I heard dueling banjos off in the field beyond the sign.

103rd Paris-Roubaix Results...

After many kilometers of attrition, where many of the favorites were left in mud and dust, the race came down to 5 riders in the last 20k; Tom Boonen (Quick.Step),George Hincapie (Discovery), Juan Antonio Flecha (Fassa), Magnus Backstedt (Liquigas), Lars Michaelsen (CSC). The selection was further minimized when Michaelsen flatted and Backstedt, being twice the size of most riders couldn't hold the pace on Sector 3 of the cobles, leaving only Boonen, Hincapie, and Flecha to fight it out for the victory. Hincapie led the group coming into the velodrome in Roubaix, where the race finishes, where they will complete 1.5 laps to the finish.

From CyclingNews.com race comentary...

Boonen in second wheel, high on the bank, Then Flecha takes over with one lap to go. Hincapie in second, Boonen third. Half a lap, then it's Boonen who attacks first and easily wins Paris-Roubaix!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Hincapie second, then Flecha!! Tom does the double!!!!!

It's an incredible win for Tom Boonen taking his first victory in this, the most grueling of bike races. It's unfortunate that Backstedt couldn't hold the pace in the final kilometers as he was last years winner and would have loved to back that up with another win. Alas, the winner of this race is usually the one who has the greatest luck and most perserverence, let's not forget you also have to make the winning break.

Congratulations to Tom Boonen for an excellent ride, posibly the ride of his career. He can now stake his claim as the new Lion of Flanders and the golden child of Belgium bike racing.

Results
Provisional
1 Tom Boonen (Bel) Quick.Step 6.27.31
2 George Hincapie (USA) Discovery
3 Juan Antonio Flecha (Spa) Fassa Bortolo
4 Magnus Backstedt (Swe) Liquigas-Bianchi 1.09
5 Lars Michaelsen (Den) CSC

Dicsovery Team's Secret Weapon

Discovery Channel Cycling Team has an ace up their sleeve for this Paris-Roubaix. Most teams will modify their bikes to some degree to withstand the brutal beating the bike's and rider's will take from 258 kilometers of French roadways, 55 K of which are over cobble stones. Most will ride steel frames or maybe carbon to suck up some of the bumps. Also, many will ride on larger tires swapping out the 20's for 25's if not 28's even. Tire pressure will be another important aspect of the set up as too much pressure will make the ride misserable more bumpy and too little will cause a pinch. Some teams may even opt to ride a cyclo-cross bike if it's going to be really wet and muddy.

So, back to Team Disco. Looks like Trek has a new set up where as there is a rubber bushing in the rear stay and in between the fork and headset. The secret really isn't a secret since you can read about the technology at Trek. It's called S.P.A. which stands for Suspension, Performance, Advantage. There are 3 different bushings; soft, firm, and extra firm.

If you happen to catch the action on OLNtv this weekend, it's on at 2 PM Sunday, pacific time, you might just get to see them in action. Other then that... check out the pics below. Ok, maybe not so I'll post links instead; it seems that Blogger has been having server problems and the tool I use to upload pics to the site seems to be taking a hit.

Rear

Front

Pope's funeral to be shown online

Current ceremonies showing visitors paying their last respects to the pope are being streamed from the Vatican's Web site. You can also view the funeral at this same link.

The Vatican site adds that television coverage of the ceremonies will be distributed worldwide. XM Satellite Radio and Sirius Satellite Radio announced this week they will be carrying live reports and special coverage of the funeral.

The Mass is scheduled to begin at 4 a.m. EDT Friday and to be given in Italian

Earlier Thursday, the Pope's last will and testament was posted on the Vatican Web site.

Lance Rings the Opening Bell

In coordination with Bristol-Myers Squibb CEO Peter Dolan and the NYSE, Lance Armstrong rang the opening bell at the New York Stock Exchange to promote the Tour of Hope.

Watch it here:
Windows 56k
Windows 100k
Windows 300k

Google Maps & satellite Maps

Ok, I have to admit that I was very disappointed when after 9/11 Mapquest.com disabled their satellite photos which were linked to their maps.

So, I'm happy to announce Google has launched it's own map service with satellite pictures via Keyhole's high-tech mapping service which Google acquired about 6 months ago. Previously, Keyhole's high-tech mapping has been available, but at a $29.99 premium. I've extensively testing their map service over the past couple days and find it to be the best out there currently. Even beyond the neat satellite feature, the maps are much quicker to load and navigate compared to Yahoo or Mapquest, my other map mainstays.

So, on top of users having the option of retrieving a satellite picture by clicking on a button there are also some nifty features enabled such as local searches and directions. The local searches are fairly cool in that you can search for an address or business types in specific areas. And then, if you so choose, you can click the satellite link for an actual view of the location.

Check it out... maps.google.com

Also, check out and compare the major competitors:

maps.yahoo.com
mapquest.com

Lance & Nike Launch New Line

Nike and Lance Armstrong have teamed up once again to bring us another winner! This winner is a new clothing line designed by Lance. The line is called "10/2" which has meaning for Lance as Wednesday, October 2, 1996 was “The day I was diagnosed with cancer was the day I started to live,” Lance said as he began his journey along this new path.

So far, from what I've seen over at Nike.com, the selection is slightly limited but yet very cool. I really like the all black look with the minor yellow accent, very Lance! There are three sections of selections under the "10/2" logo which are "footware, apparel, and equipment."

The new footware consists of a road shoe, a mountain shoe, a cross trainer, and a casual shoe. The road shoe is very nice but spendy in my book, though compared to top of the line shoes from other makers, it's very reasonable at $300. As well, the casual shoe looks pretty cool and comfortable.

In the apparel section, you can find such offerings as the new Discovery team jersey, and a host of other casual attire. Though all of it is very nice looking, I was hoping for a greater selection of cycling gear. I suspect they will have an all black jersey out shortly as I've seen one in a photo shoot a couple months ago.


See!

The equipment section leaves a little to be desired as there is only a messenger bag and the Livestrong bracelets available.

You can see the line and buy stuff here.

As well if you sign up for www.thepaceline.com you can also read the article there.

Also, learn more about 10/2 and Lance at WearYellow.com.

67th Gent-Wevelgem

It seems as if the favorites were a little beat up in becoming the favorites for this race. Not a single one of them really figured in the results but still yet, a very strong and able rider took the win with a last moment surge. Coming into the final kilometer it was Juan Antonio Flecha Giannoni (Spa) riding for Fassa Bortolo who was in the lead with 30 meters between him and then next competitor, Nico Mattan (Bel) riding for Davitamon - Lotto. But, in the last 700 meters, Mattan launched a massive effort to catch Flecha and pass him with 200 meters to go for the win. Huge win for Mattan on home territory, who has been on the cusp of victory in the past few races.

Provisional Race Results:

1 Nico Mattan (Bel) Davitamon - Lotto 4.57.23
2 Juan Antonio Flecha Giannoni (Spa) Fassa Bortolo
3 Daniele Bennati (Ita) Lampre - Caffita
4 Fabian Cancellara (Swi) Fassa Bortolo
5 Thor Hushovd (Nor) Crédit Agricole
6 Baden Cooke (Aus) Française des Jeux
7 Tom Steels (Bel) Davitamon - Lotto
8 Simone Cadamuro (Ita) Domina Vacanze
9 Erik Zabel (Ger) T-Mobile
10 Stuart O'Grady (Aus) Cofidis - Le Crédit par Téléphone

Vuelta Ciclista al Pais Vasco Spoiler...

Zarautz - Zarautz, 133 km ended in a sprint finish with the following results:

Danilo Diluca (Liquigas)1st
Miguel Angel Martin Perdiguero (Phonak) 2nd
Alessandro Valverde 3rd had a fast finish but it wasn't enough
Jérôme Pineau (Bouygues Telecom)4th
Damiano Cunego 5th
boogard 8th

Discovery Channel team rider Paulo Savoldelli finished in the front pack (22nd) and remains even on time with Di Luca.

On Tuesday, six climbs and a summit finish... That should seperate the men from the boys

Exciting Couple Weeks in Bike Racing

With the Ronde Van Vlaanderen as the kick off, the next couple weeks is full of racing excitment. On Wednesday, we have the Gent-Wevelgem followed by Paris - Roubaix on Sunday. Also, starting today in Spain is the Vuelta al Pais Vasco, which you can listen to live at Eurosport.com, here is the direct link

For Gent-Wevelgem, Tom Boonen should be the favorite, but I also see Peter Van Petegem, and maybe even George Hincapie there in the end. As well, Boonen, Hincapie, and PVP should be factors on the run into Roubaix this weekend.

Other up coming races:

Amstel Gold Race - April 17
La Flèche Wallonne - April 20
Liège - Bastogne - Liège - April 24

Facilities for the riders during the recent Ronde. Don't be shy, grab a stall! In Chico, that would get you 67 hours of community service.

Rain = No Riding...

Well, the rain began early this morning, so there will be no riding today. I suppose if I were a true hard-core rider or a paid rider, riding today wouldn't be a big deal, but I am neither. Therefore, I will watch basketball and cycling on TV from the couch and call it a rest day!

It's been a fairly good week of riding for me either way. Having Thursday off for Cesar Chavez Day made all the difference. Here is a quick run down of my week of riding...

Monday 30 miles with 3 good climbs, about 2000 feet, about 1:50 hours.
Wednesday 30 miles of flat road, with 20 to 30 MPH winds in my face, 2 hours.
Thursday 65 miles of hills, about 3500 feet, 3:50 hours.
Saturday 40 miles of hills, about 2000 feet, 2:20

So, couple that with the 20 or so miles I rode my bike to work (damn car is in the shop)this week and I did ok. Almost 200 miles but not quite. Looks like I'll have to step it up this next week and then ease up a bit the week after in preparation for a 100 mile ride I'm planning to do on April 16th. Then another hard week of mostly hills with a few days off toward the end of the week in preparation for the Wildflower on the 24th of April.

It's been about 2.5 months worth of good solid riding and I'm beginning to feel in shape and like I belong on the bike. I'm thinking I'm going to be in pretty good form to ride the Wildflower with my friends and not be the "slow guy!"

I'll keep you posted as to my progress.

89th Ronde van Vlaanderen

The April classics season was in full swing with the 89th edition of the Ronde van Vlaanderen (Tour of Flanders) this morning. De Ronde, as it's known, is always the high point of the Flemish cycling season, which starts with Het Volk at the end of February and winds down by mid-April.

There are many notables in today's race as well as a few who dropped out before it even began. World champion Oscar Freire, who was prepared to ride with saddle sores, but not with a fluey cold on top of that, ProTour leader Alessandro Petacchi, who just didn't fancy it, and Danilo Hondo who is suffering from one of those positive dope tests, are some who didn't make it.

Those who did make the start who should also make up the excitement at the finish are Tom Boonen, the outright leader of the Quick.Step team, the 2003 Ronde winner Peter Van Petegem will lead a solid looking Davitamon-Lotto team, and Driedaagse van De Panne winner, Stijn Devolder of Discovery Channel team. Also, some guy named Lance Armstrong will be there to ride in support of Stijn Devolder and George Hincapie, but will most likely not figure into the overall race.

Ok, as I'm writing this the race is coming to an end. I have the pleasure of reading the play by play kindly provided by the great folks over at CyclingNews.com. I'll copy and paste the final couple entries of their work...

16:20 CEST 253km/3km to go
Van Petegem jumps again, but is caught, then Petito counters and gets a gap, but Boonen is still going away.

16:21 CEST 255km/1km to go
Petito is caught, and the quartet are racing for second now. Boonen has 12 secondsas he conmes to the penultimate corner adn the flamme rouge

16:25 CEST
Boonen turns into the Hallebaanstill rising hard in the final metres. He is crying, and overcome with enough emotino to forget to zip his vest up. He has earnt himself a fine win in a traditional Flandrien style.

Klier made it back to the chasers at the death and jumps clear to take second ahead of Van Petegem, Zabel, Petito and Ballan; George Hincapie leads in the third group to take seventh.


Results
Provisional
1 Tom Boonen (Bel) Quick.Step
2 Andreas Klier (Ger) T-Mobile
3 Peter Van Petegem (Bel) Davitamon-Lotto

Incredible, Boonen takes the victory! This is a huge win for him and only solidifies his position as one of the strongest early season rides in the peloton this year.

In case you might be interested, you can view 2 hours of race coverage on OLN TV starting at 2 PM pacific time. It's guaranteed to be more exciting that reading the play by play!