In what might be another example of the “fair and balanced” coverage that Fox News is good for, Mr. Clucky, the bike riding rooster may be getting evicted from Miami Beach for a single noise complaint.
Actually, the video above doesn’t really show the rooster riding a bike, so hit “more” to see him in action.  Wow.  Is this really all it takes to be called journalism?  I’m working too hard…
Garmin-Slipstream’s lead rider, Christian Vande Velde, had a hard crash in the Giro d’Italia. Speculation suggests he may not be in top form for winning the Tour de France. The Garmin-Slipstream team has alligned their roster with diverse talent capable of supporting Vande Velde, if he has what it takes, but also to capitalize on other opportunities for points and wins. Riders exceptionally talented in their own discipline: sprinting, climbing, time trials, etc.
1. Christian Vande Velde
2. David Millar
3. Bradley Wiggins
4. David Zabriskie
5. Tyler Farrar
6. Julian Dean
7. Dan Martin
8. Ryder Hesjedal
9. Danny Pate
Check out the Garmin-Slipstream site for more information on each rider.
Columbia-Highroad below…
Sure Thriller won all the awards and such, but Smooth Criminal remains my favorite of Michael Jackon’s songs and videos.  Plus, Alien Ant Farm did a rippin’ cover of this song.  Hit ‘more’ to hear that one…
We were invited down to the 1st Annual Ergon Goldschprintz at Sweetwater Brewery, put on by Eddie and Nam at 55Nine Performance a couple weeks ago, and despite all the free beer were still able to pedal fast.  Good times, good friends and good beer make for some fun goldsprints.
Word on the street is Hydrapak is busily working on redesigned bite valves for the reservoirs and some new designs to debut at Interbike.  In the meantime, for your entertainment (and to make you wish you had a job like these guys), here’s some of their, um, QC testing.
I’ve got one of these (not the pack, just the bladder) and the top sealing system is solid, but I am anxious to see an improved bite valve.  The coolest thing about them is you can disconnect the hose and it won’t leak…except that occasionally I’ve brought the bladder with me to the trail and forgotten the hose.
Team Ouch, whose Rory Sutherland took the overall GC win at the recent Nature Valley Grand Prix, has just issued their latest team newsletter, which you can download as a PDF here.
The newsletter features Tim Johnson on the cover, a Q&A with team directeur sportif Mike Tamayo and a feature on the musical life of soigneur Jen Duke, as well as several sponsor features.
Loosely related, Cycles de Oro (one of our local bike shops that graciously helps us out with tech stuff periodically) just got a Kuota frame like the one Team Ouch rides in and built up, and I must say, it’s a pretty sweet looking frame.  Massive bottom bracket and headtube areas…Massive.
Ritchey recently sent out a press release assuring that its WCS Carbon Hammerhead and WCS Carbon Interval Time Trial bars (both shown below, left to right…click to enlarge) are UCI legal…just in time for any teams making last minute gear swaps (yeah, right) to avoid UCI crackdowns.
While looking into it, we found these “under development” prototype aero bits (above) that are currently being tested by Team Ouch.  Called the “Sliver,” they replace traditional cup-shaped arm rests, allowing more fluid forearm movement and a lower profile and lower resting position than previous versions from Ritchey.  The result is a more tucked aero position for better drag reduction.
More pics of the Sliver after the break…
David Byrne, former Talking Heads frontman, has a new book hitting shelves in September about his bicycle travels throughout the world.
It offers his thoughts on using bikes to transform cities, change power and fuel balances and is full of photos from places like Berlin and Buenos Aires.  He also discusses topics like world music, urban planning, cultural dislocation, etc…fairly all encompassing.  It even includes tips on bicycle clothing and safety.
Byrne, a long time cycling advocate has used a bike as his main source of local transportation in NYC for decades, and has helped design some of the cities bike racks, too.
Put it in your Amazon wish list now.
Just for kicks…foreign Audi Q5 commercial with neat mountain bike POV.
We all want to do our part for the environment, plus, it’s fun to collect (beer) bottle caps. Here are some collected by The Bicycle Escape in Frederick Maryland that they’ve refashioned into head badges:
We got this picture from their Flickr stream.
Contador will be team leader in his third Tour appearance (He won it in 2007), and he’s backed by a solid roster of fellow superstars and strong support riders.  Besides seeing how Lance fares at the big game, the Astana team should put on a good show for everyone.  Watch their intro movie with commentary on each rider by Johan Bruyneel on the team website.
This week’s PGA and LPGA Tour events will see several Nike-sponsored pros using this special yellow LiveStrong bag.  Via Golf.com:
“While Nike does not plan to bring Live Strong golf bags to retail outlets, the players’ bags from this week’s tournamentsâ€â€along with other Nike Golf Athletes’ Bagsâ€â€will be autographed and auctioned on Ebay. All the proceeds will go directly to the Live Strong foundation.”
