Sunday Roundup
News
The Sequiter.com writes an op-ed piece on taking short cuts to get what one wants and how it's not just the domain of athletes and celebs but a societal problem. One of the points is that we should not feel shock but we should feel shame.
LancasterOnline.com provides information about an auction to be held to raise funds for Hospice of Lanaster. There will be many items up for bidding starting September 3 and some of these have been donated by athletes. One item was autographed by Lancaster native Floyd Landis, but no specifics were given as to what that item is.
The CyclingNews posts Alexander Vinokourov's opinion that his basic human rights have been violated by the anti doping agencies, and American Amber Neben has won the Route de France Feminine.
We missed CyclingNews' report on Leadville. It has more pix.
The New York Daily News in a multi-faceted article that runs the course from am anecdote about the late Phil Rizzuto, to the life long effects of cheating on an English sailor with reference to Floyd Landis.
Blogs
DailyKos, a liberal-leaning political blog, calls out "The Outcast" to its readers.
Pete Geniella recommends "The Outcast" mainly for its' great photographs by Larry Sultan.
Finger Food reads The Outcast, and thinks of Dean Moriarty, Jack Kerouac's fictional version of Neal Cassidy, street philosophy spouting exile of the road.
Mike's Imagination thinks the intelligence of Pro riders is overcredited, starting with Vino, and including Landis.
Rant comments on Unibet giving up, and on the "Hoist a Glass for Floyd" event spontaneously forming itself in comments here. For those in a timezone that is not already too late, we suggest 17:10 local time, the time of the Morzine finish, as the moment.
Creative Ingenuity feels bad for Floyd Landis after reading "The Outcast" and says Floyd is only human.
Sunken Treasure writes about "Floyd Rage" after reading "The Outcast" an apparently influential article about what it's like to go through the hell of uncertainty about one's fate.
Drasties points Euro readers to The Outcast, with quotes translated into Dutch.
FenderGal read The Outcast, and[It] irritated me, and made me feel like I had just met with an old boyfriend, "Geez, what was I thinking?"
Mellow has Positively False in his to-read pile.
SkiBrent tells a good long Leadville Story with minor Landis content:I heard shouts from ahead that said “RIDERS COMING”. Suddenly there was a surge of excitement among the bikers in front of me and behind me. This meant that the leaders of the race, who had probably reached the top 20 minutes ago, were now bombing back down. The ascending riders all moved to the right of the road and we were all collectively wondering who was leading. It didn’t take long to find out. Suddenly, there was Floyd Landis coming at us at about 40 mph. At first I didn’t see anyone behind him as I was looking way up the road. As he passed, however, I realized that the reason I didn’t see anyone behind him was because Dave Wiens was literally glued to Floyd’s rear wheel! The two of them were separated by about 2 feet and they were flying . . . I mean FLYING . . . and then they were quickly gone. I instantly recognized that that split-second fly-by may have been one of the coolest moments I’ve ever been a part of as a participant in sports. The 2006 Tour de France winner, who is racing in the same race as I, just blew past with the 4-time Leadville winning Mountain-Bike-Hall-of-Famer Dave Wiens right on his rear wheel. Alas the reverie died down quite fast when it dawned on me (and everyone around me) that we still probably had a good hour and 15 minutes before reaching the top while Landis and Wiens probably only had a few hours left in the whole race! What a buzz-kill.
Carbon Fork set a personal record for speed over the weekend at some fun events, and saw some Landis support by the Lancaster Bicycle Club. Go, girl!
Pommi thinks Landis might race TBV up Mt. Diablo on Oct 7th. We know nothing official, and there are no promises being made, and we'd be giving him a 10 minute head start if he shows (start groups). We are also at least two months behind in our training due to some stupid hearing we attended, and will generate even more excuses as time permits, starting with a simple, "We're not worthy."
25 comments:
Seeing that times are quiet as we wait for the arbitration ruling, I have a far out proposal for all the supporters that comment here regularly, occasionally and sporadically, and of course the lurkers. I am presenting this suggestion now while I have your attention as you search for something interesting to read, and before things get crazy when the decision is announced.
I suggest we raise a global toast to Floyd on a specific day at a specific time. We should all get our favourite beverage, sit at our computer, go to an atomic clock website (www.time.gov) to synchronize, and all have our drink at the same time in honour of Floyd Landis. If it were not for him and this unfortunate injustice he has before him, I would not have had the pleasures to learn and share thoughts with so many intelligent, reasonable, and caring people, as we congregate here in our spare and not so spare time. There are a few blogs I now have bookmarked and visit regularly (I do not wait for TBV to find it anymore), and I will read what you write if you continue after this is over.
Perhaps Floyd or TBV could pick a time and day for all of us to “get together”. TBV could set up a comment box specific for this effort so we could place a short comment to let Floyd know who participated (and not to do it all at the same time and crash TBV’s site).
It is a wild idea that is not too inconvenient. It is a little something we could do for Floyd, after getting a small glimpse of the misery he is enduring, which we all read in the Outcast article. Any thoughts?
Peter.
Peter I think that's a great idea, I have been struggling with a similar thought for a long time in that if not for the horrible circumstances that Floyd Landis finds himself in *I* would not have had the opportunity to meet TBV and all of the other great and wonderful people I have. I actually feel guilty at times that Floyd's problems have allowed me to enter a whole new world in which I get to write each day and talk to so many fantastic people. It seems unfair and ironic to me, and I think a symbolic toast to and for Floyd would be a nice gesture, and the least we can do.
str
i'm game and think it's a wonderful idea. keep in mind that some of us are across the pond, though, when you settle on the time. if it's within reasonable hours, i will find a nice little spot on the Champs and have it there. that would mean i wasn't live online (unless i can find a wireless spot), but i will be with you in spirit and in actuality where Floyd still deserves a place.
i will keep it warm for him ;)
I would be more than happy to raise a toast to Floyd with a wish that he is fully exonerated of the accusations against him and to all of the people who have worked so hard to make sure his story was fully told and the evidence thoroughly analyzed.
To ensure the toast was sealed properly and that its wish has the greatest chance of success, I would be using a shot of the finest Russian Vodka from the distillery in the Kremlin where vodka is supposed to have been first invented (by a monk none the less). I only bring out this bottle on the most solemn or important of occasions, because I do not know if I will ever be able to get another bottle.
I thought the timing would be inconvenient for some. My waking hours are from 7:00am to 2:00am or 3:00am, so I have over 80% of a day covered. Mind you, my beverage would vary depending on the time. It could be a cup of coffee, a Coke, a beer or a glass of water. I believe Floyd and TBV are in the same time zone, so it should be a time of their convenience.
Strbuk, Floyd may be a “richer” man, not financially or worldly, but morally. I believe he has a strong following of supporters that now have a personal desire to see him succeed in his sporting career, which he did not have before July 2006. It is not a fleeting “Floyd Landis, I support him”, it is an emotional “FLOYD LANDIS, I SUPPORT HIM.” I know it does not help his pockets today, but if he lives to be an old man and reflects back on his life, the quality of support he has now may be an achievement he would cherish more than winning the 2006 Tour.
His cause has me writing in a public forum, sharing some of my personal thoughts to the world, which is something extremely uncharacteristic of me to do.
Peter.
I am more than ready to drink a toast to Floyd. I missed his post race appearance in Colorado last week and am I watching the 2006 TDF to fill the void. I'm in the FL/TBV timezone.
Count me in. I'll be in Girona half of September with Jemison, but I'm willing to buy an atomic Casio to get the toast in on time, and maybe provide photos as well on Flickr...
Anyone up for a mosaic of toasts? Something to put up either here or on Floydlandis.com?
ken, cough it up (though not literally). which vodka do you have???
Great idea!!!
Count me in....I'm in the Pacific Islands region, behind FL/TBV, so most any time should work.
No Vodka for me, but maybe a nice LavaFlow with a little umbrella in it will do the trick.
Rich...love the mosaic idea!
Aloha,
Kate
Floyd, would you excuse me for either shooting some reallllly old, dry-as-bones Sherry, or would you be okay with me taking a shot of Single-Malt?
Cam,
It is all in Russian except for a few "descriptive" words that simply say "Russian Deluxe Vodka". I guess they figured the tourist market wouldn't appreciate the rest anyways so they didn't translate it. The Russian name on it is "ЛЕГЕНДА КРЕМЛЯ"
What appears to be some additional branding states "МНОГОВЕКОВЫЕ ТРАДИЦИИ" (hopefully folks browsers can support the Cyrillic text).
Google translated these phrases as "LEGENDA KREMLYA" and "MNOGOVEKOVYE TRADITIONS" respectively. My wife isn't home, so I can't ask her to translate them for me. The bottle was given to her by the mother of her best friend who worked in the Kremlin. We were told this is the same stuff Putin would serve his guests.
Let me tell you it is the smoothest vodka I have ever tasted, and being that almost all my friends/"drinking buddies" are from the former Russian Republics, I've tried a lot of different vodka. Yes I have even tasted Grey Goose. You could honestly sip this stuff, although that is not the Russian way. Even at $60 or $80 a bottle, which is how much I think I would have to spend at the Kremlin for it, I would keep my pantry well stocked with the "Kremlin Vodka" as I call it. Unfortunatly, I don't get to Russia that often let alone the Kremlin and my wife's friend's mother died so we don't have a reliable connection any longer.
I did make a black Russian with this vodka once and it was the smoothest black Russian I have ever had the pleasure of enjoying. Now it is strictly reserved for ceremonial toasts.
I hope I can be forgive for this, but I am a Grey Goose girl :-)
str
I tried Grey Goose recently and it will become my "every day" vodka. It was pretty good. If there is one thing I have learned it is that good vodka is worth the cost. The cheap stuff gives me terrible hangovers sometimes that night. The good stuff is not only smooth, but it doesn't give me hangovers and if you are at a Russian birthday party you'd better have the good stuff if you don't want to feel miserable the next day.
You're a good man Ken, and may I be "forgiven" for drinking French vodka? Believe me I had none when I posted that misspelling, and may I add that IF a Lithuanian vodka was available I would drink that.
str
i find Grey Goose boring (sorry strbuk)... i'm mostly Russian by blood so i take my vodka *very* seriously. that's why i had to query Ken about his -- i'm now drooling at your description, Ken. i know somebody who goes now and again and will have them look for this... so thank you!
the best piece of advice i can give you if you want a vodka that is smooth but still has the Russian bite is to try and find Zyr. it's a relative unknown, but it's absolutely amazing and sounds like it would be your perfect every day vodka, Ken. it just begs to be sipped, neat and cold. it's not that expensive, but it tastes like it is. i discovered it at the Red Square Bar in Vegas (business trip, i swear) and no one wanted to go back to drinking anything else after trying this and i was with a group of Russian heritage. the sad thing, for me, is that you actually can't find it anywhere but in the States... check out the site: http://www.zyrvodka.com/
sorry to hijack the thread.
i will happily drink anything in Floyd's honour.
You guys and gals should have heard about the uproar in Idaho a few years back when someone wanted to build a distillery for all those 'unused or unuseable' potatoes. Didn't fly.
Ken,
Having lived for several years in the Former Soviet Union, I picked up some Russian. The brand is Legend of the Kremlin, easy enough. Mnogovekovie Traditsii means Multiyear (or longlived) tradition. I am not an expert on Vodka and do not know this brand.
After having seen the courage of Floyd and his family to be so open to press and the world in "The Outcast," a toast seems not enough, but it's a wonderful idea to show support, and I'm in.
Now to frivolous matters, Starbuck, my vodka of choice is also Grey Goose, but for a toast of this magnitude, I plan to break out the Remy Martin.
"i will happily drink anything in Floyd's honour."
I don't know about that, I've had some REALLY bad Russian vodka. It was so bad in fact we ended up throwing it down the drain.
Legend of the Kremlin sounds like a good brand name for my vodka.
Looks like we have chosen 17:10 CEST. I believe that is 11:10am Eastern Daylight Savings Time where I am. What we need now is a date. Can we agree on a Saturday (not a work day), and should we wait until a decision is released?
Now that we have a time and seeing this is a meaningful gesture, I looked into my cupboard and saw my Polar Ice vodka protecting my dusty bottles of Rémy Martin VSOP, and Glenlivet, that are well placed at the back. Since Le Tour is a French thing, the flavour is cognac for me.
Peter.
Hey,
did you saw this one?
http://www.truesport.com/Bike/2007/articles/mka/mka03.html
Best
I gave a bottle of Novelty Hill 2003 Cabernet Sauvignon and a couple of my shave in the shower mirrors to Floyd when he was in Seattle, neither of which is made any more, so my drink will be whatever the sun shines on the day we set the time............ and the toast will be for truth, justice, and complete exoneration!
HF, yes we saw the Truesport post -- it's from April 19.
thanks,
-TBV
Boy, do I feel completely outmatched or something....all this talk of Vodka...I had whiskey once in Germany....I'm feeling so puritanical now....guess my little tropical umbrella drink won't make the cut for a toast???? Even if it is served in a genuine coconut shell?
Hmm. Perhaps it's time for a new adventure in alcohol..maybe I'll see if one of the military package stores carry any of the afore mentioned beverages....
But only if I can race up Diablo with TBV and Floyd in October (after both of them have imbibed, of course)...is it a real race??
BUT it would be nice for our familial sensation to post some photos.............
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