"So, where you been?"

I swear, I go a couple days without posting and I get a bunch of emails asking if I've fallen into some huge chasm or something. Jeesh...

If you haven't already seen this, go check it out. It's an interview that I did with Tim Parr and Sky Yaeger, of SWOBO, on my other blog. It's actually a really good read- if you allow yourself to get past my yammering. (I've heard somewhere that the interviewer is supposed to talk less than than interviewees... but I never studied Journalism in college.)

The Spokesmen have done episodes 19 and 20 without me... and they sound even more intelligent. I find that disturbing.

Lots of other cool stuff has been happening, but frankly my brain is just a tad too fried to remember it all. Things have remained super busy at Masi Global Domination Headquarters. Lots of cool stuff is percolating away. Really cool stuff. Stuff you're gonna like/ love/ want/ need/ desire... promise. It's a very exciting time to be a product dork. At least to me. It's also very frustrating and maddening and enough to make you wanna scream from time to time, but it's worth it. I mean, you can't make an omelet without braking a few eggs (and you can't make butter with a toothpick). All the labor that goes into creating a new and better bike is worth it when that first sample shows up.


I've had this frame and fork for months now and still haven't built it up... even though I have one of these for it... I know- I should be shot. I'm thinking that I will build it up with a full-on race kit with the coolest parts I can gather and turn it into my cross racing bike. I mean, the CXR is a runaway hit, but I'm nowhere near fast enough (or good enough) at cross to really compete on the thing, so I might as well rock the way cool steel and at least look good at the back of the field. Oh yeah, as a reminder- this is the frame and fork we are using on the new Speciale CX that is coming out late this summer/ early fall. A sweet bike with rack and fender mounts as well for commuting or even light touring. And, yes, that's a lugged, flat crown fork with really cool lugged dropouts too... and a further yes, the color is a metallic burgundy. As a first year product for us, supply will be limited as we start off, so visit your retailer now and beg them to get an order in for you- otherwise, you might not get one when you want it. I'm just sayin'...

Le Tour starts in just a couple days, in London. That means I gotta get my act together so I can start doing my daily updates on the race. I'm hoping to do at least as well as I did with the Giro and post more often than not. Updates may come late in the evening, but I will do my best to get updates posted each day. I'll also post tomorrow with my pre-race predictions, prognostications and general know-it-all comments. Prediction one- Christoph Moreau is NOT going to win the Tour. Sorry folks... it ain't gonna happen. He may once again be the highest placed French rider in the final GC, but he ain't winning. You can quote me on that.

More tomorrow.

Tim
(PS- Thanks for sticking around during these quiet periods; I do truly appreciate it.)

Linky love...

Stevil Knevil over at How to Avoid the Bummer Life (HTATBL) recently listed the Bike Snob NYC as a must read and I have to admit that he was absolutely right! There are a lot of fixed gear posseurs who will read this stuff and wince in pain (I hope at least), but Bike Snob is some of the funniest bike-centric satire/ criticism I've ever read. Seriously, I laugh 'til I cry on a regular basis.

Speaking of funny-ass sh*t... HTATBL has tons of it too, so go give it a read.

Both of these two sites are well worth the read and I certainly hope you'll go do that... right now!

I do intend to finally update my blog roll links in the coming days/ weeks/ months. I probably read 50-60 different bike and marketing related blogs a day. Many of them have become like members of my family and I simply can't wait to go sniff around their kitchens and smell what's cookin'. So stay tuned.

Tim

WTF?

In a little less than a week, nearly all eyes in the cycling world will be on London as the Tour de France kicks off. London... the very same London that has thwarted two bomb plots in the past couple days and had a flaming SUV ram into a gate of a Glasgow airport in Scotland just today. The timing may be purely coincidental, but many people in the world know of the importance of the Tour and it's impact on London. The Tour starting in London is believed to be worth millions of dollars in tourist spending and countless amounts in advertising for the city itself. It is possible that the start of the Tour was part of the target of the bombers. I am sure, if nothing else, that the Tour organizers are doing some serious sweating right now.

On top of this incredibly frightening news, Jorg Jaksche has come clean about his many years of doping with several of the teams he has ridden for. He is also alleged to be planning to spill the beans and work with WADA and other authorities to expose the doping networks and techniques. It is believed that he is willing/ planning to name names as well. His breaking of the code of silence is welcome news, even if really bad news and press right before the start of the Tour, yet again. Once more, the sport of cycling heads into the spotlight with doping and doping controversies in the headlines. It's hard to swallow and painful to watch, but our/ my beloved sport has to break the cycle of silence, cover-up and deception. It hurts, but it is necessary. I still believe in the power, grace and beauty of cycling and racing and I don't plan on stopping any time soon. I will still follow the Tour with total excitement and will report on the day's happenings, just like last year, knowing that it is entirely likely that riders in the race will either be actively doping or have been doping in preparation for the Tour. It's a part of every sport, sadly, but it will hopefully be coming to an end one day- but I know it won't be today. In all honesty, it is precisely this type of drama that makes me happy to be associated with the A&F team. These guys race clean and race with heart and teamwork to win. I am very proud of them and what they continue to do. If the day were to come that one of the riders was caught doping though, Masi's involvement with racing would cease to exist. It's that simple. (Stay clean guys.)

It's a beautiful day today- I hope you're riding your bikes.

Tim

Words to live by...

This is stolen by me from Bicycle Retailer, who stole it from the movie Almost Famous;

These are words to live by, not just for rock, but for cycling as well.

Quote of the Day

JUNE 29, 2007 -- "You CANNOT make friends with the rock stars. That's what's important. If you're a rock journalist--first, you will never get paid much. But you will get free records from the record company. And they'll buy you drinks, you'll meet girls, they'll try to fly you places for free, offer you drugs... I know. It sounds great. But they are not your friends. These are people who want you to write sanctimonious stories about the genius of the rock stars, and they will ruin rock and roll and strangle everything we love about it.

-Lester Bangs from "Almost Famous"

Don't get me wrong, I love the sport and the riders and I am happy to be close to the riders I am close to. It's the cycling press that sometimes forgets these things... sometimes, a little distance from the subject gives you a little better clarity of judgment.

I'm just saying...

Tim

Happy Birthday Harpoon!

I just found out through the grapevine that today is Rich Harper's 30th birthday! Happy Birthday $RICH$!

Here's to a great year... you big goofball!

Happy birthday buddy. I promise, at the next team camp, I'll help you with your sprint. Promise.

Tim

Paging Radio Freddy...

This post is dedicated to Radio Freddy of Belgium Knee Warmers.

"Freddy", if that is his actual name, gets me thinking on a fairly regular basis with the stuff on his blog. He's an old school road dork like me, so a lot of the stuff that spills on to his keyboard and posts to his blog is something I would write, have written or simply have to nod my head to. If you've never been to his place... I highly recommend it.

So, Freddy, just for you;

Well seasoned, well cured, reliable tubies...

Dig the sweet old rims too... epic!


And, project PRO is a go with fresh white tape and neo-retro red hoods (remember the colored hoods of the late 80's).


Hope these meet the Belgium Knee Warmers standards!


Tim

Tour of Ohio, more and etcetera...

To borrow from my father, I've been "busier than a one-legged man in an ass-kicking contest" as of late. SO much has been going on lately that it has been impossible for me to keep up with it all. I've been in it deep... really deep.

I spent nearly the entire week last week locked away in an empty office, sitting in the near dark with my iPod earphones jammed deep into my head, away from my desk and phone so that I could finish writing all of the catalog copy for the next edition of the Masi catalog. It is my hope that we will end up with an even better product than we had last year (this year), which was universally received as our best yet. God/ Budha/ Alah/ Wood Fairy Princess willing... this one will be better. I know I feel damned good about the new products coming (seriously people, you have NO idea how good this stuff is going to be), so I hope that the energy and passion and all around Masi love comes through in the catalog.

On top of the catalog, we also wrapped up a killer new ad that will be coming out in VeloNews soon, so keep your eyes open for that. Hint; it is supposed to be located on the inside back cover... It is a great ad and I am super happy with how it came out, especially considering the short amount of time it got done in. Like, a couple days... thanks Rick!

Speaking of Rick... he's the poor schmoe who has been stuck with doing all of my ads as well as the Masi graphics and catalog. I'm sure he's rethinking his employment with us right now. Anyway, he and I have been wrapping up the last lingering bits of this and that on the Masi graphics for the new bikes as well. Needless to say, after lots of hard work, things are looking mighty, mighty good. I'm pretty darned stoked...

And speaking of stoked... the Tour of Ohio wrapped up over the weekend and the boys came up with the goods again- big time. Marco Aledia won the final stage, bookending his ToO with stage wins. He also took the green sprinter's jersey for the second year in a row. Mark Hekman maintained his control over the race and came out with the overall win and one stage win. Josh "Chunder" Englund got away with 3rd overall and a stage win as well. Timmy Swain held on to his KOM jersey also. This means that the team took 4 of the 6 stages, three of the classification jerseys and the overall win. Not too freakin' shabby. Way to go guys- the Masiguy is super proud of you all!

*Special accolades to Jimmy MacDonald- "Jimmy Mac"- who was involved in a nasty looking crash during the final stage of the race. Things looked pretty bad when he went down, but he says he's feeling fine and that, "girls are lovin all the facial road rash"... AWESOME! Here's the kicker... the poor boy just graduated high school and is only 18 years old and was racing the entire week in a major regional stage race. I mean... damn!

Blair Fraley took a bunch more great photos (many of which will likely be seen in the new catalog, on the corporate website and who knows where else) and a few of'em are here for you viewing pleasure....

Marco Aledia and Jimmy Mac.

Jimmy Mac railing a turn.

This is SUCH a catalog shot; Hekman leading the pack, Marco on his wheel and Ryan Rish sitting on.

All three jerseys in the pack! Nice!

There's more, but I gotta save something for later...

Last but not least (ok, kinda least), the Tour DAY France is starting in just a few weeks. That means that the yearly ritual of me trying to cover each stage with my own spin on things is ready to start again. This also means that I'll be flailing about trying to make it happen and stay on top of things. It won't be easy, but I'm gonna give it a go. This year, I'm trying to cover all three Grand Tours, so I've got the TdF and then Vuelta a Espana to go. Last year, I had the help of my lovely assistant Jessi- Bitch Kittie- Pacetti. The Cub Reporter was in France during the race and provided daily insights from behind the wall of media hacks and rabid tifosi. This year... I'm not sure what I'm doing. I haven't even talked to the Kittie yet to see if she wants to play again this year. Maybe she will, maybe she won't... but, something will be happening. Actually, if you're gonna already be in France for the race and want to be a guest commentator with me, drop me a line and let me know- tjackson(at)masibikes(dot)com. There's a pair of socks in it for you... especially if you can send good photos.

So that's it for tonight my friends. I need to let the grey matter cool down to a simmer, rather than slow boil. Tomorrow is a new day... and I still have a boatload of work ahead of me. C'est la vie!

Tim

A&F at Tour of Ohio

The Tour of Ohio is going on right now and MY team is beating the buh-jeebus out of the other teams- including teams like Priority Health, Colavita, Time Development, Kelly Benefits, so the competition is pretty good. And still my guys are killing them!

Jerseys held by team;
Overall
Sprinter
KOM

Yes, they're doing great! For a team whose admitted focus is on crit racing and the US crit series, they are showing they can control a race when the roads are open too. I think I'm gonna cry a little...

Team roster for the race;
Mark Hekman (race leader and current leader of US NRC crit series and winner of Athens Twilight)
Marco Aledia (Sprint competition leader)
Tim Swain (KOM leader)
Ryan Gamm
Jimmy McDonald (who raced on the junior development team last year)
Bennet van der Genugten
Andy Applegate (current US Masters National Champion in the time trial)
Brandon Gavic
Josh Englund (killer from New Zealand and winner of stage 2)
Ryan Rish (team DS and relatively new father and working on Phd... )

The photos below are all courtesy of Blair Fraley (you rock, dude!)...

Marco Aledia

Tim Swain in KOM jersey.

Marco and Jimmy Mac

Jimmy Mac

Hekman in the Sprinter's jersey.

Josh Englund

Bennet van der Genugten ("bonus" picture/s has been promised!)

The train lining up for...

... this

... and this!

Awesome!

Tim

Haiku

Check this out! Pretty cool...

Thanks!

Tim

Hooray for kindergarten!

I am a talentless hack compared to this guy...

Emil is a parent (Ren's dad) in my daughter's kindergarten class. I'm also damned sure that he and I know each other or have met each other long before sharing a kindergarten class with our kids and one of these days we'll figure it out (or somebody smarter than us will point it all out for us).

Anyway, Emil put together this awesome video tribute to the class and their teacher Morgan Weir. It's awesome and as anybody who reads this blog knows... I'm a softy, so the little video really hit home.

Thanks again Emil (and Morgan, if you happen upon this).

Tim