some of our locals representing:

http://www.cyclingnews.com/races/usa-crits-terrapin-twilight-criterium-2012/elite-men/results#3

Moser's nephew doing well:


http://www.cyclingnews.com/races/rund-um-den-finanzplatz-eschborn-frankfurt-2012/results

Not every day you can drop Tony Martin! I don't care how many broken bones he is riding with...

William examines his crotch:
http://www.nytimes.com/slideshow/2012/04/29/realestate/20120429livinginPiermont.html?ref=realestate#3

nice one William! thank g-d you have that vest on over your kissena kit

I like how they say "Piermont is nice for bikers as well" , like these guys are all locals or something,
vs "Piermont residents despise regular locust like invasion by NYC based cyclists, despite the economic influx and examine worthy crotches they bring to town"

nice calves

Somehow that photo really "gets" WDC.

Splendid

I got to hear this guy speak at a conference (with Green Jersey Dan) and I've had him on my reader ever since. Totally un-cycling related, but a *very* smart dude.
Enjoy...
http://www.kaushik.net/avinash/measure-choose-smarter-kpis-incentives/

i was mid-hambone solo; we had ourselves a hoedown!

the photographer was snapping us for 2-3 minutes . . . why is that the best photo he got?

Rene is in the Colombia kit, Carey DeMatteis in the red and black, John Kniesly in the Cicli Devotion kit

"I gotcha Bunburry right heeaa!"

Dombrowski baby! Remember that name.

http://www.cyclingnews.com/races/sram-tour-of-the-gila-2012/stage-1/results

Suck it, Puerto Mancebo.

Former NCVC Nate Wilson in a very nice 14th.

Baby is right!

http://bontragercyclingteam.com/team/riders/joe-dombrowski.aspx

^lolololol

this is what like half of the customers who come into Bike Habitat look like when you put them on a bike - they have to physically hoist their own leg over the top tube to stand over the bike.

"bike mounting dysfunction - not just for noobs any more!"

Burn:

http://www.notubesracing.com/notubesaxa/index.php/2012/05/crashing-gracefully/

..and here I am trying to cut DOWN my caffeine consumption so it has a better affect in race situations.

Maybe I should worry about not dying. I wonder what type of physical fitness the study participants had.

http://vitals.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/05/16/11704493-6-cups-a-day-coffee-lovers-lower-death-risk-study-finds?lite

@ Josh. I haven't heard that you need to lower your caffeine intake to increase the "response" to it for races.
It's a legitimate drug; makes you stronger and burn fat better. Drink up.

Then why do people, like Evie Stevens' coach, tell her to cut it out, even though she apparently only has one cup of coffee in the am and a diet coke in the afternoon? I generally have about 6-8 a day. B/c I'm a crackhead.

Jeff, you weigh about as much as two Evies. So 1 cup of coffee does significantly more to her system than the same amount for you. Also You live in Willamsburg and therefore there is a baseline of caffeination required in order to survive.

Right, but her coach is telling her to ingest zero. Just wondering why.

I heard the new term for constantly wasted hipsters isn't "alcoholic", it's "perma-drunk". Puts a nicer, less serious tone on the killing of time and irresponsibility. Rehab is still "in", right?

Also, SEAN KELLY JUST MADE A FUNNY! A mechanic had to do a bike change on an incline, and as he was giving the rider a running push, Harmon said "looks like the mechanic gets a little exercise too", to which Kelly said "looks like he could use it". Yes, the mechanic was very fat. Ba-dump crash!

Australian Sports Institute agrees with Jules — there's no research supporting response issue with caffeine, especially in the optimal dosing range; around 200mg/2- cups of brewed coffee, slight variation depending on your size.
Re abstaining for 24 hrs
"Over the last decade, however, it has become clear that this traditional protocol is not best practice
and needs to be updated:
A large number of studies now show that caffeine intake can enhance performance at
significantly lower doses of intake – i.e. 1-3 mg/kg. If there is a dose–response relationship
between caffeine intake and exercise performance (i.e. the bigger the dose, the better the
performance outcome), the plateau seems to occur at a dose of ~ 3 mg/kg. This offers athletes
the opportunity to consume caffeine for performance benefits at doses that are less likely to
cause side effects, well within normal population caffeine use patterns, and from the caffeine
doses provided by a range of well accepted foods and sports foods" —via http://www.ausport.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0003/469650/Caffeine_11-_website_fact_sheet.pdf

And they are playing Van Halen (Roth, not Van Hagar, thankfully) during the podium ceremony! Giro is so good.

WADA Phohibited List Iphone app

http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/wada-prohibited-list-2011/id408057950?mt=8

Whoa

I am quite surprised to head it is off the list. I guess I'm not alone.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/06/100629193123.htm

Last paragraph!? Doh!
"Additionally, 70μM caffeine treatment increased endurance during sub-maximal activity, but significantly reduced endurance during maximal activity."

Jules,
I think the reason to cut down is because the boost is lessened if you're already starting from a high point. Let's say someone drinks a strong cup of coffee every morning before their ride. That could be 200mg of caffeine right there. According to a few studies, including hte one Malcolmson cited, that's about the ideal dose for someone around 150lbs. If you want a boost race day, are you going to drink a second cup? Or maybe take a vivarin?

While one's every day riding might "benefit" from having 200mg of caffeine before every ride, one probably will have a harder time getting any greater benefit on race day.

So there are at least two performance reasons to cut down. One is if you want a boost. The second is mental. It's like having race wheels.

Even if caffeine is a legal drug, that doesn't mean six cups of coffee a day is good. While it might increase focus and burn more fat, that one feels that much caffeine is necessary might indicate that the drinker is someone who is chronically fatigued and they're using the caffeine to mask that fatigue. And as you know, rest is important. So is caffeine working as a boost or as a masking agent?

If nothing else, I think society might benefit by asking if caffeine is a tool of The Man to work employees harder and keep the mills humming. That pot of Joe at work keeps you at work.

JP,

Your ideas are intriguing to me and I wish to subscribe to your newsletter.

Seriously, what you said makes sense, and solves my mystery as to why Evie's coach is trying to get her to cut it out: to have more of a boost on race day. And as a pro who rides everyday, she doesn't need extra fat burning and focus for a 1-hour-at-the-park workout 4 days a week. I should probably cut back. These heart palpitations are kinda "funky"...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jXesMkAYh44

Thanks.

At the same time, there is some thought behind the idea of boosting training. After all, that's what the old EPO training plan was about. See the Tyler Hamilton fax for specifics. By making training "easier," as in feeling less discomfort (caffeine reduces pain sensations), you can dig harder in training, and provided you get the right amount of rest, you come out of training stronger and faster.

I wonder about the physical cost of stimulants, including hte legal ones. The sleep thing is one such issue. Mood is another.