Now these guys really suck!

Congrats to the team formerly known as Priority Health. Cyclingnews.com reports today that uber-vacum maker Bissell has taken over title sponsorship of the team.

Hey, maybe it's the trickle down effect from the Disco team's demise? That's great if it means more money for the US domestics. I'm trying to use the same logic while re-upping the ABD deal with Trek-- if they don't have a ProTour team there's got to be warehouses full of carbon stuff, right?

Another noteworthy tidbit from the Bissel press release: Aaron Olson's coming home after two years racing the ProTour. Aaron is a tough rider and a huge addition to the squad.

Fall Heats Up

no really- what's with this 90 degree heat? I mean, c'mon! I love Fall weather and crisp air. These 90 degrees have got to go. Rosa reports that it's colder and rain-ier in L.A. right now. ...although you know, if the heat is keeping those Cubbies hot, then that's o.k... even if it is causing our other team to melt.

The weather's keeping the ABD'ers hot too. Josh Carter won another race on Saturday at the Tour de St. Genevieve, and no-longer-unknown Bob Marshall attacked late at yesterday's Kenosha Crit to almost take the win. The eternally crafty Richard Adamczyk caught him on the last lap, but Bob was able to dig deep enough to hold on for second.

I'd love to hear more reports from this weekend, please send them to ebert@abdcycling.com or just shoot 'em out to the club. How about Saturday's road race or the Jackson Park 'cross race?

And don't forget the Fall Fling kicks off this weekend - four more chances for for glory this season!

More on Off-Season Shuffling

Wow, the US racing scene is going to have a much different look to it next year.

First up, the programs going bigger:
- Slipstream: so big we might not even see them in the US much, except to take Discovery's place in winning California, Georgia, Missouri.
- BMC: Former Phonak Sugar-Daddy brings his bucks across the pond.
- Toyota United: replacing Harm and Kirk with Moniger and Pettyjohn and signing more Aussies.
- Rock Racing: Major rumors floating around concerning these guys. I'm not even going to comment on them yet, but when you charge $300 for a pair of jeans, you can afford some big talent.
- KBS/Medifast: Well, I'm not really sure how much bigger they're going, but adding the only fu man chu mustache in the pro peloton is huge in my book.

And then the reductions/disappearances:
- Discovery: dun.
- Navigators: RIP. 14 years is a good run.
- Kodak Gallery/Sierra Nevada: The squads are splitting, but they say that they still might have teams... I'll believe it when I see it.
- Jelly Belly: Just a few grumblings that they might be shrinking the squad even further. Let's hope that it's just grumblings. The Bean boys have always been fun underdogs to route for.
- HealthNet: A slightly smaller budget and a new director. The green machines will be getting a run for the money in '08.

So, with lots of riders losing jobs, the amateur scene is going to get pretty tough next year. Don't worry, we're getting ready.

[Thanks again to Rick for keeping me in the loop while I'm in the midst of my half-leave of absence]

Landis loses

Oh Floyd. I still want to believe...

The Off-Season Shuffle

There's still a handful of events left in the '07 season— what with this weekend's ABR events, the Fall Fling and the Cross Cup still to come— but as things wind down it seems inevitable that riders start thinking about "next year". (Or maybe it's just the Cub fan in all of us that starts thinking about next year.) Regardless, it also seems inevitable that when riders think about next year, they go BIG.

My advice? Keep it real. Right now you're coming off a long season with lots of conditioning, and I recommend using that energy to log some miles while it's stay warm.... or you can even organize a "de-training camp". I'll give you two examples:
- Get together all your racing buddies for a weekend and grill out lots of food and drink lots of BEvERages. Ride only to get rid of hangovers.
- Work on a borderline, non-healthy hobby-- taste lots of new wine, find a cigar you like, do some crazy fast/cleanse to shed a few extra pounds.

As for your plans next season? Put out the feelers, but carefully consider all the options and measure EVERYTHING against the most accurate B.S. testing strip you've got. You want substance, not sensationalism.

Are you kidding?

Cyclingnews.com reports from the Rumor Mill that Levi Lepheimer and Johan Bruyneel might end up Astana.

...C'mon, Levi! You've managed to avoid any major drama this long, please be careful getting mixed up with a program who's reputation is so tainted. The only reason I could see it being worth it is if they are the ONLY program that will give you 100% support and freedom to build upon your '07 success...... but it's still a risk. If there's any other option at all, I nominate my buddy Rick DeMoan to "talk you off the ledge" and negotiate your new contract. The man can sell imported ice to eskimos.

Back in Chicago

I saw on the Velonews headlines that Christian VandeVelde's latest update is "Where am I?"... although I haven't been doing any bike riding, I know exactly how he feels. I went Chicago, LA, Chicago this past week... and never even spent a night in my own bed back at the apartment. The last time I did that was July 10th, and the next scheduled slumber in said bed won't be until October 23rd...

As I alluded to on 8/30, I've become the primary caretaker for my Grandmother, who decided to go off kidney dialysis on August 13th and is going strong. The past month with her and family has been truly amazing. She's such a selfless and gracious woman that being her caretaker is a pleasure. All the nurses that come by said they've never been thanked so much for just doing their job!

Of course, I'd be lying if I didn't say it's been a bit tiring. Most nights Grandma and I don't sleep much, and last week we had six consecutive days of three-hours sleep a night (although Grandma does a great job of watching TV with her eyes closed during the day!). I'm not so good at that trick as I've been working as much as I can, but that didn't leave much time for blogging or for riding the bike.

So, after four-weeks of being on duty 24/7, the rest of the family gave me four days off to go home and see Rosa. I played travel agent last Saturday to make a bunch of last minute arrangements, and flew out on Sunday. I went from Winfield to this...


....the 6 a.m. view from a place where we were both supposed to be house/teenager/dog-sitting. Now Rosa's tackling it solo. This shot is over the pool looking at the Santa Monica mountains to the south. On the other side of those is the mighty Pacific. It's pretty sweet, but the gig has been a challenge in it's own right. The dog was diagnosed with blood cancer 10 days before Mom&Dad were scheduled to fly to China for three weeks! After a few dodgy days the pooch is doing much better on some medication... but Rosa's a saint for taking care of everything so that I was able get back to Winfield last night.



And here I am, just in time for the Cubs to take the solo lead in the division. I keep trying not to care- you know they're just going to break my heart...

A punch in the gut

I just received a phone call that Pieter Ombregt died from an accident in a training race last night. Pieter had raced with ABD in '05 and spent the last two seasons with XXX.

This news is completely devastating. It comes right on the heels of the death of Gerry Turrubiartes, a pillar of the Cafe ride, and on top of that, is the second death in the XXX family this season following the passing of Beth Kobeszka.

My thoughts and prayers go out to the friends, family and Chicago cycling community.