First punture of the day

We're in Monrovia and it is getting hotter with each passing moment.

Starting the Rapha ride

I'm here in South Pasdena about to ride with the West Coast Rapha riders. The plan is to do a 100 miles, which includes the climb up Crystal Lake.

I'm kinda turned on

I'm working on my bike at Surf City cyclery and teammate Mike's dog is licking my foot. Is this wrong?

Greatest invention ever

Its 3:00 so my motivation is running low. However I have the cure for that, the Italian espresso maker. The beauty of this device is in its simplicity. I add espresso, water and place it on my oven range. Presto, motivation!

Now we’re all new and improved. And exclusive too!

This is the issue we are putting to bed today










Awhile ago a cycling magazine changed their format and layout. It was obviously a poor copy of ROAD. Then another magazine changed its format after “reader feedback.” An editor at that magazine told someone we are close with that they were copying ROAD. It was irritating, but we kinda saw that coming for that magazine. Now I’m in Border’s yesterday and I see another magazine screaming on the front page, “Great new features and look!” Also on the cover is an “Exclusive” interview with a rider. I’ll let you in on a secret; “exclusive interview” means that the editor took the time to call the rider/team p.r. person to arrange a time to talk. Or what is often the case is that the p.r. person for that team contacted the magazine and asked if they'd like to interview the rider. That’s it. I’ve seen magazines cobble together “interviews” from press conferences. ROAD will never have, “Exclusive Interview” on the cover. It’s just insulting to readers. Does anyone really think that this rider they had an “exclusive interview” with didn’t want to be interviewed and they had to beg with the guy to get a few minutes of face time? Come on! Anyways, back to my rant. Again due to reader feedback this other magazine is changing their format. The big change is to throw in several black and white photos and call it a “new format.” These magazines are now shooting portrait shots of athletes in casual clothing, which we’ve been doing for years. Today however was the tipping point for my anger. A big bike magazine, who to be perfectly honest I would never even think ROAD would have even show up on their radar, has the nerve to ask us what type of paper we are using and other technical magazine info. She concludes in her email that she’d be happy to share their magazine’s specifications with our production team. Production team!?!? The “production team” is Tim. And why would we tell you what paper we use and why would we want to know the type of paper and specifications you are using?? I have an idea: go to the newsstand, buy an issue of ROAD, get a ruler and measure it. It is now at a point that Tim and I just laugh about it (Okay, Tim laughs at it. I’m a bitter lonely man and I let the anger grow inside me like a tumor). It took two guys just a couple of years to change the formats of several cycling magazines that have been around for many more years than we have.

Stick a fork in me, I'm done!

At the top and contemplating life's mysteries










My legs are smoked from today's training. To get you up to speed, I'm still training for L' Etape, a 165k ride which includes the Tourmalet and the Hautacam (stage 10 of this year's Tour). Once it was all said and done I rode for four hours for 53 miles and climbed 8,400 feet. My ass hurts...

Another car over the side!

WTF! Almost to Baldy Village and there's another car over the side.

On the way to Baldy

Going across the plateau to Baldy we came across these dumb asses who crashed their cars.

Secret training

I'm out training on Mom Day with decline editor Mark Jordan for top secret training up Glendora Mtn. Happy Mother's Day to all the moms out there.

Kid racing

I hate commuting

Two car pile-up on the 405 brings everything to a stop. I've been driving for an hour and a half!

Sweet! I don't have cancer!

I've had this little bump on my abdomen for about six months. It never bothered me, but I knew that I should have it examined. Art Director/Editor Schamber thought it might be an alien trying to poke through. I tried, unsuccessfully, to have a team doctor look at it while I was in Georgia. So I thought this examination for the Etape would be a good opportunity to get it checked out. He scanned my body with a little flashlight looking at all my imperfections, which there are many. He asked about my bowel movements, which made me chuckle. After it was all said and done I'm good to go. No cancer on me! Now I just need to go out and train...

I'm bored and nervous

All they have to read in the examination room is Country Living! Who the hell wants to read that before being poked and proded? I'm getting paranoid. I think the doctor is playing mind games with me. I'm waiting again and now as I sit here I'm convinced I might have cancer.

This Etape had better be really good or I'll be pissed!

The waiting is killing me

Now I'm waiting in those examination rooms. The anticipation is killing me!

No ROAD at my doctor's office

I have rectified that problem by leaving it in the waiting room. God I hate waiting rooms!

Mr. Browne, if you could just relax for a moment....

There is a new wrinkle to my preparation for my ride in France this July. I have to go to the doctor to have him certify that I'm "in shape" to do the 165k ride. I'm just worried that he's going to take my blood pressure, reach for the latex gloves and ask me to drop. All I know is this Etape du Tour better be damn good.

At the CBR race

Lotts shaking his money maker to Britney Spears. Words of wisdom from Lotts, "I'm here to kick ass and chew gum and I'm all outta gum!"

CBR dominates the local scene.

Porta Potty statement at the race

Seriously, you're going to write something on the Porta Potty and that's the best you can come up with?

Cutest puppies ever

I'm at Barrio Logan crit and came across two American Bull Dog puppies. Oh and there's a race going on too.

Trust me, I know what I'm doing

Cruz enjoys beating the crap out of me on the bike

When I returned from the Tour de Georgia I discovered that I was invited to participate in this year’s Etape du Tour. This is a mass start ride that covers stage 10 of this year’sTour de France. That means 165k which “scales the famed Tourmalet and finishes atop Hautacam. The L’Étape is a no-nonsense ride/race with no rider/sag provided. So arrive in shape and be prepared for a challenge.” So I immediately do what any Type A, Obsessive/Compulsive, insecure person would due after not training for two weeks: I immediately started to train. I subscribe to the Floyd Landis philosophy of training: there is no such thing as over training, just being under prepared. I got off the plane late Tuesday night and was booked to see my pilates trainer the next morning at 8:15AM. She is a no nonsense instructor and dropped the hammer on me. After that I dragged myself home I made two phone calls: one to another Type A, Obsessive/Compulsive rider/friend and the other to Tony Cruz. I figured one of these guys would call me back. Cruz responded first and told me he was riding up the bike path to Whittier (about 25 miles away) and then do several intervals up Turnbull Canyon. I told him I’d ride up to Whittier and then turn back, missing the fun of hill repeats. I may be crazy, but I’m not stupid. I latched onto the back of Cruz’s wheel most of the way up and did one hill effort before turning tail and returning home, sore as a dog. The real kicker of the day was the fact that the Garmin Edge 305 unit I've been using finally died. It didn't run out of power, it just stopped working. Not being able to record every nuance of my ride was like having a splinter that I couldn't get out. It just annoyed me. Now the Garmin is a $400 paper weight on my desk. The next day I was at the ROAD office and I planned with Tim (editor and art director deluxe) to ride up The Old Road, a six mile climb that runs along the 5 freeway up the Grapevine. I pounded up the climb at my AT. Today my legs are worthless as our dollar is overseas, so I cruised down PCH at a steady tempo just to stretch them out. And any time I’m not training I wearing my 2XU compression tights trying to recover. My training isn’t over yet. Tomorrow I’m riding the FoodPark ride , then driving down to San Diego to race the Barrio Logan crit. Sunday I’m riding to the CBR crit and doing as many races as I can and then ride home. Next week is production week at ROAD so my training will go down the crapper and I’ll have the time to recover. Yep, I’m a man with a plan.

Looking "pro" in our new team kit

Oh happy day!!

Luckily for me my office is only three doors down from the cooler










I haven't been in the H3 Publications/ROAD Magazine office for about two weeks. Usually there is something new to see, but it's mostly bike stuff. Today was different. To my amazement Red Bull had dropped off a new Red Bull cooler in our lobby! The refrigerator's capacity to hold those magical cans of inspiration has now doubled! We no longer have refill the fridge every other day. I think we can probably make it through three day before restocking.











My publisher contemplating ad rates in front of the new Red Bull cooler