Went to Katie and Mark's last night to watch some F1, do dinner, and have ice cream sandwiches.

Why yes Sarah, ice cream sandwiches are delicious!

Post dinner Melissa entertained us with poetry.

Today was time for my semi-annual ride up Cheyenne Canyon. It's only a 3 mile climb, but I seem to well to avoid riding up it very often, it's just too hard. However, I was thinking today on my way up if I rode up it a little bit more often than twice a year I might do a little better in all those climbing races we do. Hmmm..

Dear Virtual Friends,
That picture looks remarkably like a digital camera... why yes it is! I have taken the many monies I have earned with my August 1st paycheck and finally broken down to buy a new digital camera. So the blog is officially back on after 2 months of piss poor reporting you'll now be privy once again to my daily musings of bike riding, drinking beer, and cat watching. Riveting stuff!

It's football season again, and I'm pretty pumped. Normally I don't pay any attention to pre-season because I'm all in to bike racing and everything and the first real games of the year don't happen until bike racing season is over. This year however, I think I'll just jump right in to football season during the pre-season since my racing season has been in the toilet basically since June 1st.

Another reason to be excited about football early this year is the return of Brett Favre. Woohoo! I hope to be holding on to my past glory well past my prime just like Brett (hmmm, maybe I already am).

I sit in front of this open window next to my desk and it's so hot that it's like having a space heater there with the hot air blowing in from outside.

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Went up to Boulder last night for picture day with the team and after we all went over to go visit Beth and the new baby. Young Samsonite is doing great, but he does seem to like to sleep quite a bit.

Went to play mini golf with Melissa and Mini-me. To which someone pointed out, for me is it really mini golf or just plain golf?

Amy shown here with her permanent peace salute... and that's what you get for tearing around on a mountain bike. Should of stuck to the track where there are no poles to run in to.

Inspired by the Tour going up Alpe d'Huez yesterday we decided to go up our own little Alpe. Actually it's a pretty sweet climb and probably the best climb in Colorado Springs. It's up Crystal Park road and about 7 miles long (depending on where you start the start) with great views and no traffic. The problem is it's a private road and you can only go up if you're BFF with Melissa, which I am of course. Yesterday was actually the first time I've ever ridden to the top.

As an added bonus my old/ new training parter Karen Dunne came out to test her legs. Karen retired from professional riding several years ago and just this summer decided to dust off her bike for a little riding. After all those years of her kicking my ass on training rides when she was still a pro and I was still a cat 3 it's kind of funny to hear her breathing on a climb well before I do. I suppose 10 years from now I'll be riding with some young whipper snapper who'll say the same thing about me.

...And the baby pool is oficially over because little Sammy finally decided to make an appearance. Congrats to Ma and Pa Farkington for the arrival of Sam Douglas Tarkington.

Do you ever get that feeling like you're being watched?

So far the racing at the Tour has been pretty good to watch this year. The final climb yesterday was pretty damn exciting, not just for all the attacks by the major contenders and yellow jersey changing hands, but for us in Colorado Springs it was because our very own Danny Pate was in the winning break with a great chance to win the stage. Danny not only lives in the Springs, but he actually grew up just down the road in Falcon about 15 miles away. So the Springs can really can claim him as a hometown hero. It's great to see him finally get the opportunity to succeed at the world's biggest bike race after so many years of hard work.

(p.s. I pirated this picture from Velonews photographer Casey B. Gibson who is also from Colorado Springs)

So I have become addicted to playing Scrabulous this week. I am pleased to announce for the first time in the history of history I have won a game of Scrabble against my sister Donna. Woot!

Baby T. Baby Pool Update

In case you've been playing, you know by now that Baby T is late, and already annoying Ma and Pa Farkington.... However, what that also means is that by default Sharon, the Hammer, Allpress has officially won the Baby T. Pool by virtue of being the last dated vote. Also to note, several have tried some shifty moves to change their votes, but I kept meticulous records to divert those trying to circumvent the system.

Congrats Sharon, you can look forward to your Baby T Baby Pool awards as soon as the little sucker decides to come out!

Accomodations at the Farkington's house are a little cramped this weekend since Beth's parents are visiting. Good thing Baby T's room is still available.

I am number 1. No, I'm not just trying to psych myself up, I really am number 1. Last year because I won the points series on the track I get to race with number 1 for the the whole season. I've only raced the track a couple times so far this year, but tonight was a good night because I won every race. Eventhough it was just a Thurs night track race, it was kind of good for my ego since my racing been going so crappy lately. I think I might just quit doing stupid road races with miles and miles of climbing and just do track because a) it's WAY more fun 2) there are no hills and 3) I made more money tonight track racing than in any road race I've done this year!

It's Tour time and that means it's time to bring back the Phil and Paul drinking game.

Here are the rules...

Drink anytime Phil misidentifies a rider.

Drink twice anytime Phil misidentifies a team.

Drink three times if Phil misidentifies a town or a climb.

Drink when either of them say "crafty bike rider" - as in "Erik Dekker is such a crafty bike rider."

Finish your drink when (not if) Phil incorrectly calls the winner of the race (preferably 50 yards out from the finish).

Bonus for Major Tours - finish another drink when (not if) Phil incorrectly calls who will be the new overall leader.

More:

Drink every time Paul refers to a rider as "taking risks", "enormous risks", or "incredible risks".

Drink every time either Phil or Paul refers to a riders legs as "pistons"

Group drink whenever Paul nails a race call -- as in predicting Hamilton would crash on the descent...

Drink when either Phil or Paul say "he's hit the wall"

Drink when Paul announces that as a sprinter he was never good at getting over the mountains

Drink twice when Phil announces that Paul was never good at getting over the mountains

Finish your drink if Phil informs everyone that there has not been a true leader in Spanish cycling since Miguel Indurain.

Drink twice for any homoerotic comments by either including "now it's man on man."

Drink three times should Sherwen again use the phrase "sorry sunshine"

If you were playing this today, you are probably already a little tipsy as Phil called Ciolek the winner about 4 times before he realized it was Cavendish.

I think I've been watching too much Family Guy lately because this made me laugh so hard Coors Light almost came out my nose.

I had some folks over for the 4th. We grilled up some burgers and brauts and generally had a great time.

Then we went to watch the fireworks, it was dark out.

Baby Watch Update....

No baby yet, and the pool of potential winners is starting to dwindle. There are a few 4th of July hopefuls still out there. Let's hope they're right so the baby can keep it's already appointed nickname of Cracker (for Firecracker of course). Oh yeah, just to get everyone pumped here is the trophy you could win if you're right.

In parusing the results from all the European nationals last weekend I came across this pic of the Dutch women's podium. I believe I have now discovered the least flattering racing kit for a woman. Far worse than the all white shorts, horizontal black and white stripes really does the job to accentuate those child bearing hips.

Baby watch update. I heard someone is having a baby today!
click here to read more

Ok, so it's not who we're rooting for, but now the big question is who will have their baby first Brangelina or the Farkingtons!

HTTP/1.1 503 Service Unavailable

I guess this means I won't be working today. The email server at work crashed first thing this morning, they predict it will be 12-14 hours before it gets back up. The good news is that means I can't really work today, the bad news is that once the server is back up I'll have double duty tomorrow.

In other news I think I really need to get a new camera because my blog is really boring without pictures.

One more update for the Baby T Baby Pool. New votes in bold. It's getting close now, but two have already missed the prize with baby daddy and baby grandmother paying the prize for their early date gambles.

Baby T Ticker as of June 30th

Beth Fisk (mom) - ASAP
Jane Tarkington (grandmother) June 25th
Jon (daddy) - June 30th 6:15 am
SyRae – July 1st 10:23 am
Andi Burnham – July 1st 12:34 pm
Mallen – July 1st 1:11 pm (that’s a lot of 1’s)
Aunt Sara (Aunt Sara) – July 2nd 10:01 am
Tamom – July 2nd 9:33 pm
Kate Gracheck – July 3rd 12:04 am
Becky – July 3rd 7:44 am
Meagan Daigler – July 3rd 6pm
Popi Fisk (granddad) – July 4th 10 am
Jenna Allen- July 4th 2:32 pm
Jason Teno – July 5th 3:45 am
Lisa Matlock Strong - July 6th 11:38 am
Todd Fisk (Uncle Todd) – July 6th 4:30 pm
Mimi Fisk – July 7th 2:30 am
Renee Sparkles Eastman- July 7th 4:20 pm
Tim Lucky Lucking – July 8 4:44 am
Chellie Terry – July 8 2:52 am
Anne Lannan- July 9th 3:00 am
Carol the Hurricane Hutton- July 9th 8:11 pm
Kenny (I’m having a baby too) – July 10 2am
Jill Fisk (Aunt Jill) – July 10th 3am
Amy D. – July 10th 4:07 am
Joe Taddeucci – July 10th 11am
Tim Kelley – July 11 11am (that’s a lot of 1’s too)
Sydney – July 11 11:30 pm
Sharon the Hammer Allpress - July 12 3:30 pm

Anatomy Of An Accident - Austin Women's Crit Crash Photos

Anatomy Of An Accident - Austin Women's Crit Crash Photos
Check this out! This website is the same one I got those crash videos from. You can tell from the first one that she's going down. Beautiful! I'd also like to compliment Nikki Wansgard on her excelent bike handling skills for avoiding the crash.

Here's the latest update. Madre Tarkington only has about 12 hours left before she sees her 6-pack of Miller Light (per her request) slip away. A few more votes have been added too. We've also upped the ante and will include Beth's VHS copy of Pretty Woman to the list of prizes. So far that's a 6-pack of Budlight (or Miller Light), candy (preferably a Twix bar if I win), a small trophy, my crappy Rist Canyon T-shirt, and a VHS copy of Pretty Woman. Place your bets now, time is running out!

Baby T Ticker Update as of June 25th

Beth Fisk (mom) - ASAP
Jane Tarkington (grandmother) June 25th
Jon (daddy) - June 30th 6:15 am
SyRae – July 1st 10:23 am
Andi Burnham – July 1st 12:34 pm
Aunt Sara (Aunt Sara) – July 2nd 10:01 am
Tamom – July 2nd 9:33 pm
Kate Gracheck – July 3^rd 12:04 am
Becky – July 3rd 7:44 am
Popi Fisk (granddad) – July 4^th 10 am
Jenna Allen- July 4th 2:32 pm
Meagan Daigler – July 3^rd 6pm
Jason Teno – July 5th 3:45 am
Lisa Matlock Strong - July 6th 11:38 am
Todd Fisk (Uncle Todd) – July 6th 4:30 pm
Mimi Fisk (grandmother) – July 7^th 2:30 am
Renee Sparkles Eastman- July 7th 4:20 pm
Anne Lannan- July 9th 3:00 am
Carol the Hurricane Hutton- July 9th 8:11 pm
Jill Fisk (Aunt Jill) – July 10th 3am
Amy D. – July 10^th 4:07 am
Joe Taddeucci – July 10^th 11am
Sydney – July 11 11:30 pm
Sharon the Hammer Allpress - July 12 3:30 pm

Poo, Pickles, and other catastrophes.

It's been a busy day at the Eastman house. A lot has been going on in front of the office window as I chat with clients and answer emails. In a two ambulance worthy incident some dude passed out on my lawn and got carted away. I'm pretty sure he was just drunk as he looked kind of homeless and was riding a little girls bike.

I also witnessed, not 10 feet from my eyeballs some girl letting her dog poo on the lawn, which would have been fine except she didn't feel the need to pick it up.

Speaking of poo and pee, what's worse the smell of cat pee or pickles? I'm not sure. I've had kind of a cat problem recently. It seems as though one of my dear sweat cats is rather pissed off. Literally pissed off as she has taken to pooing and peeing inside my closet. See, I've been travelling a whole lot lately. It started with that two weeks where I was home one day between Belize and Tulsa and since then I've been gone every Fri-Sun. So I think she's just mad that I'm gone all the time because I've only ever seen this kind of behavior once before in the 12 years I've had them. Really, they are good cats, but I think at least one of them is mad (I know it's the fat one). Anyway, I found a home remedy for getting the cat pee smell out of the carpet and it was vinegar, so now my closet smells like pickles which I guess is better than smelling like cat pee, but it wasn't quite the solution I was hoping for.

Here's the latest update in the Baby T. Baby Pool. It seems like the money is on July 1st or 2nd and Sharon hopes Beth carries around that kid the longest.

It's not too late to place your vote. A new prize has been added to the winner's list. I'm also putting in my crappy Rist Canyon T-shirt that I got last weekend because 1) it doesn't fit and 2) I hate that race!

Baby T Ticker Update as of June 23rd
Beth Fisk (mom) - ASAP
Jane Tarkington (grandmother) June 25th
Jon (daddy) - June 30th 6:15 am
SyRae – July 1st 10:23 am
Andi Burnham – July 1st 12:34 pm
Aunt Sara (Aunt Sara) – July 2nd 10:01 am
Tamom – July 2nd 9:33 pm
Becky – July 3rd 7:44 am
Jenna Allen- July 4th 2:32 pm
Jason Teno – July 5th 3:45 am
Lisa Matlock Strong - July 6th 11:38 am
Todd Fisk (Uncle Todd) – July 6th 4:30 pm
Renee Sparkles Eastman- July 7th 4:20 pm
Anne Lannan- July 9th 3:00 am
Carol the Hurricane Hutton- July 9th 8:11 pm
Jill Fisk (Aunt Jill) – July 10th 3am
Sydney – July 11 11:30 pm
Sharon the Hammer Allpress - July 12 3:30 pm

Announcing the Baby T Baby Pool. As you may know already Beth is pregnant and due pretty soon. The due date is supposed to be anywhere from july 2 (first ultrasound) to july 10th (based on basic precition methods 40 wks). So I'll be taking bets on delivery date and time and the one who's the closest without going past the delivery wins. Just like the price is right.

You can either leave a comment on the blog with your vote (don't forget your name) or send me an email. I'll be keeping the baby ticker up to date on the blog and announce the winner as soon as Baby T pops out.

Prizes yet to be determined, but may include candy, a 6-pack of Budlight, and a trophy (but probably not as big as my Belize trophy).

Baby T Ticker votes collected so far

Beth Fisk (mom) - ASAP
Jon (daddy) - June 30th 6:15 am
Andi Burnham - July 1st 12:34 pm
Jenna Allen- July 4th 2:32 pm
Lisa Matlock Strong - July 6th 11:38 am
Renee Sparkles Eastman- July 7th 4:20 pm
Carol the Hurricane Hutton- July 9th 8:11 pm
Anne Lannan- July 9th 3:00 am

Hey, want to see Frank Schleck's crash from the Tour de Suisse. Click here

I also found a video of the Harlem Classic where that guy took himself out with a bike throw. Click here

2.5 weeks until the Tour starts... Remember old days with fat Jan and Lance, ahhh good times. With all the UCI problems and WADA scandals, there's hardly anyone left to cheer for. My prediction... Cadel Evans will bore us with a very vanilla win. You heard it here first.

Amy D. You have been served.

So there was a bike race today in Glenwood Springs. Carol had a pretty good day, I had a bad day, Anne got stung by a bee, and SyRae enjoyed the views.

The best part of the day was hanging out by the pool afterwards. Of course eventhough we were within a mile of the world's largest hot springs pool we chose to hang out at the Cedar Motel instad.

Some of us forgot our swim suits. "Aloha!"

And Beth tried to induce labor jumping around in the cold water.

It's a good thing that is was just us girls at the pool because apparently there are no balls allowed.

Road Trip!
Me, Carol, and SyRae headed out for our big weekend in Glenwood Springs to race.
Ahh, Glenwood Canyon.

Today I did something I rarely do, in fact, I'm not sure I've ever done that is get up and ride before 7am. But when the big boss (Carmichael) invites you on a ride it only makes sense to partake. We left just before 7 and finished 70 miles before 10:30am, which only makes me think, I could get a lot done in the day if I got up early all the time. I could also cover a lot more miles in training if I sat on Jim Lehman's wheel all the time like I did today.

I think it's a bit much kicking Boonen out of the Tour for a little recreational drug use in an out of competition test. Click here to read more. I can see kicking him out for this costume, but a little recreational cocaine not even in a race, that's horseshit!

It's track time. I finally drug my track bike out of the basement and got out on the track today.

Clay and I helped out a group of juniors from Boulder than Ann Trombley brought down. We got 10 new kids (and a few more adults) out of the track today.

VC Squad 2008. So Beth had her baby shower yesterday and it was real fun, especially the badminton tournament. You can click here to read more. (p.s. you can also go to Kenny's blog from which I pirated this picture)

Then we went on a team ride today which was very significant because it was the first time that Lisa "yo mamma" Strong was able to join us since poppin' out little Lucy. By the way, Lisa is still definitely the climber on the team.


After the ride we had adventures in breaking in to Jenna and Mallen's house. See the thing is the coded garage door opener doesn't quite work so well when the power goes out. There was some kind major power outage in Louisville today, anyway, beyond Matt breaking in to the house, burning his feet on the hot roof, we also learned a valuable lesson about not relying on technology to get in to our houses.

Twighlight in Manitou.

(note if you've noticed a decline in the quality and volume of pictures on the blog it's because my camera is done broke and I have to take pics with my blackberry now)

Went up to Denver today to watch one of my guys race the Paralympic championships. He's Canadian, but we like him anyway.

Went to Katie and Mark's last night to hang out and eat ice cream sandwiches where the night's entertainment included digging out old pictures of Katie's more full-figured days.

And treatments from my Melissa, my training buddy and resisident medical expert in "saddle issues".

So the last race at Tulsa almost didn't happen. If you looked at that video of the storm that hit Sunday morning you'll understand why. It was crazy. But it stopped raining about hour before the start of our race. The promoters ended up canceling all the other races in the day except the men's and women's Pro and cat 1/2 races. I do however, give them props for cleaning up the course before we got going. There were tree branches, mud, power lines, just crap everywhere from that monsoon that blew threw town, but they did a fantastic job and got it all cleaned up in about an hour so we could start on time.
Sundays race was really tough. I think only about half the field finished the race and I had one of those days where you just question why you spend so much time and energy and money on bike racing. Anyway, I at least finished in the money, although it was a pretty meager 18th place. I don't think I'll be headed back to Tulsa next year. The end.

Oh and an unfortunate update to the injury front. Rebekah Mullen actually broke her pelvis in that crash on Saturday. We all wish her a speedy recovery.

Sunday morning update from Tulsa... It just keeps getting better, the race is in two hours.

So I know now why they call this the Tulsa Tough, because you gotta be pretty tough to make it through this weekend with all the crashing.

It seems as if we all from Colorado are having a terrible time of it out here in Tulsa.

Here's a list of injuries so far.
Me - crash: road rash and a sprained hand
Jenna: crash but amazingly no road race because I was nice enough to cushion her landing
Gwen - crash: elbow x-rayed but not broken
Cheryl - crash: concussion and bad road rash on the face
Megan - crash: bruised ribs and headed home after the first night
Daniele- food poisoning and forced to get sick in the porto potty
Kat - crash: got taken to the hospital and heard it might be a broken ankle (no report yet)
Rebekah: crash and got a cleat to the head, was also taken to the hospital (no report back yet)

Then finally Mallen last night who crashed in the second to last corner when he was for sure in the money. He's just got some road rash.

So although we're having a lot of fun on this trip, I think we can safely say that the Tulsa Tough pretty much sucks.