Zabriskie to Slipstream???

I didn't think much of it the first time I heard of it, but I read this today and now wonder if there is something more to it?

Personally, Slipstream is my favorite pro team. I would love nothing more than to see them earn a wild card bid into the Tour de France next year. I love the fact that they are largely (18 of 23 riders) an American team. They are young and aggressive and without a doubt (in my mind) the cleanest team in the sport.

It'd be awesome to see someone like Zabriskie sportin' the Argyle. Slipstream is obviously bolstering their roster in order to meet their goal of becoming a Pro-Tour team by 2009...other current pros linked to contract talks with Slipstream are:

Backstedt - I guess it'd be nice to have the Sweedish National Champs jersey on the team, but he's kinda in his twilight isn't he?
David Cañada Gracia - really? how 'bout Horner instead
David Millar - I guess he's a big name, which is what they need, and he's a good ambassador for racing clean, but he's a bit old too, no?
Thomas Voeckler - Another big name, especially one that would carry some weight with the French organizers of the TdF.
Christophe Laurent - Another Frenchy to carry some weight with the ASO (TdF organizers). I'm pretty sure he's already signed too...his personal blog comes right out and says that he's riding for Slipstream next year. (the blog has been translated from french, so it doesn't read well, but you'll get the idea).

Depending on how he shows in the U.S. National TT championships this year, maybe bring Saul Raisin on as well. While we're at it, let's sign some other American studs...Tyler Farrar, George Hincapie (for leadership), Jason McCartney, maybe even young John Devine.

No matter who Slipstream signs, I'm very much looking forward to watching as my favorite team grows into one of the most competitive teams on the Pro-Tour.

I Need More Cowbell baby!

Russian Vladimir Gusev shows the Swiss cow bell he received after he won the 71st Tour de Suisse UCI protour cycling race 7th stage, 125.7km between Ulrichen and Grimselpass, 22 June 2007 in Crans-Montana. Russian rider Vladimir Efimkin remains the overall leader. AFP PHOTO / FABRICE COFFRINI

For those of you not finding the obvious humor in the title of this post...educate yourself.

Love on the rocks?

I remember a time, not that long ago, when the American Pro Tour powerhouse, Discovery Channel Cycling Team, signed a young American climbing sensation named Tom Danielson. Tom's first Pro Tour experience with then, Fassa Bortollo left his climbing and stage racing skills underutilized. Signing with Discovery was sure to be Tom's "big break" and the realization of his destiny for greatness.

For this, Tom seemed overly greatful and so happy to be riding with his dream team along side of his cycling idol, Lance Armstrong. Initally touted as a possible replacement for Lance, Tom enjoyed success with the Disco boys, but fast forward a couple years after a quick exit from the Dauphiné with stomach problems and yet another missed opportunity to start the famed Tour de France...do we now find this love fest on the rocks?

I read the latest entry by Kristin Danielson (Tom's wife) on Tommy D's website today. I'm not sure if Mrs. D is voiceing her husband's sentiment or if she is just annoyed with how she perceives her hubby is being treated, but it makes one wonder if riding for Discovery has lost its shine. You can link to the post yourself, but here's a snippet of what I'm talking about:

"Tom was finally able to persuade (why should he have to try and persuade) his team that he will get faster solutions in his hometown of Durango. I can see why a European team can’t understand why he needs to come back to the U.S. but why fight the fact that it has been two weeks and he has no answers? He has a return ticket for Tuesday and has been informed that he is required to race in the Qinghai Lake race in China only a couple of weeks away. What?? Don’t they understand that he is sick and needs to get healthy again? I hope that it IS that simple and he will be racing in a couple of weeks."

Yep, I'm pretty sure I'm picking up a little frustration with Team Discovery. It'd be interesting to hear Johan's take on the whole situation, or even Tom's for that matter.

I might be frustrated too if I was supposed to be the next great American-Grand Tour-rider and I was getting ready to NOT ride ANOTHER Tour de France at 29 years old. I guess we'll just have to see how the whole thing pans out...should be interesting though.

From the editor:

The 5count blog is a site dedicated to the passing on of information, thoughts and miscellaneous musings obtained by its editorial staff.

These comment sections are open forums for you, the reader, to express your thoughts, pass on information or give feedback on a post specific to 5count.

5count has never been, and never will be a place for advertisers to pawn their wears or services. If readers decide to use this open forum for such purposes, prepare to have your "encyclopedia sellin'" comments deleted (unless your comment is accompanied by a large check to pay for advertising space...and there still aren't any guarantees that we won't throw your comment in the pooper).

Sincerely,
5count editorial staff

Out For A Ride

Over a year in the making, and three code frameworks later, Out For A Ride is finally ready for public consumption. Tell all your friends!

***Keep in mind that this is ALPHA, the designers/programmers haven't even made it to BETA yet, so there will be tons more features coming in the future.

This is a site that I've been helping to test over the past few months. Created by Stephen Hallgren aka "Teevio", a designer/cyclist from the Boston area. Out For A Ride is a great place to log your rides, your routes, what gear you ride with, what bikes you ride on as well as plenty of ability to chat, leave comments and basically socialize online with like-minded cyclists.

Still in it's infancy, Out For A Ride will only continue to grow. This is your opportunity to get in on the ground floor and be one of its early members. Out For A Ride was only made public today and already is attracting cyclists from all over the country.

Out For A Ride would be the perfect place for all of the 5count readers out there to see what, where and how much we all are riding. For those of you who decide to check it out and see what Out For A Ride is, leave a comment here and let the rest of us know what your "Out For A Ride screen name" is. If you're curious, you can check out what I've ridden the past couple of weeks by looking up "PMESS".

Hope to see you there!

Proof it wasn't the Milk Man

As those of you with children already know, people like to assign parental characteristics to newborn babies; i.e., "Oh she's got Jane's eyes, or, "Little Billy sure has his dad's nose, or, "He must be Tom's kid, they both have the same huge ears"...you know what I'm talking about.

This is a topic that has come up numerous times since the birth of my daughter. BUT, I've always maintained that babies look like babies. Sure they all have their differences, but I'm talking about the proportions of a baby. All I'm saying is that any judgements as to if the newborn looks more like the mom or the dad should be withheld until the child reaches between 4-6 months of age.

To this point, most friends and family have said that my daughter looks more like her mom (which is fine with me, my wife is super cute), BUT there is one little characteristic that everyone has agreed is all me. That's right, there is an undeniable feature which we both share that proves the Milk Man had nothing to do with her conception...no, I'm not referring to our farting habits, I'm talking about our "Lip Dimples".

I was mildly unaware of my Lip Dimples prior to my daughter's arrival. I always thought that everyone had them, mine were just slightly more pronounced. The similarities might be slight, but I'll take it. I've gone ahead and put together a magnified comparison of my lower lip/chin and the lower lip/chin of my daughter (I'm the one with the 5 o'clock shadow...if I didn't mention it, one of you yahoos would've). See for your self:



There you have it...undeniable proof. We'll check back after a few more months to see what other similarities surface.

It was the Summer of '92...

click on image to view large version

I totally bogarted this image from another cyclists blog (and can't remember who's), but it's such a classic image I had to share it with you.

I know that from right to left they are: George Hincapie (nice hair), Lance Armstrong (looking thrilled to be riding Performance bikes) and Bobby Julich...but can anyone tell me who the 4th guy in the picture is?

National Ride-Your-Bike-to-Work-Day

So last week was "National ride your bike to work Week" and Friday was the "National ride your bike to work day". I'm not a regular commuter (mostly due to my overly active sweat glands), but I figured I'd try to do my part on friday and ride into work.

Now, in order for me to make it to my office by 8:00am on a regular day, I need to leave my house by 7:30am. This gives me enough time to slug my way through traffic, park in the parking garage and trek the 5-7 min walk from garage to office. Friday, I departed on my bike from my house at 7:47am and arrived at the front door to my building at 7:58am! That would be enough reason to sell my car and bike-commute til I retire...If only it weren't for the 30 minutes of cool down/sponge bath/deo application/changing clothes/and more cool down that followed, only to have that "not so fresh" feeling all day.

I still enjoyed being on the bike early in the morning before I was to plant myself in front of a computer for the next 8 hours. I also enjoyed the thought that once the whistle blew at the end of the day, I'd be once again atop my trusty steed, racing towards home without the delays of traffic slowing me down.

Five o'clock came and I was anxious to see how much quicker my ride home would be via bicycle VS. via the automobile. I flew up the right side of the road as dozens upon dozens of cars lined up at traffic light after traffic light. All of the city's "nine-to-five'n slaves" fighting to get home and start their weekend while I effortlessly raced by them all.

About halfway home, sounds of hissing air began to permiate the exhaust-drenched air. Even the roar of city busses and idleing vehicles couldn't mask what was sure to be a deflating tire. So there I was on the side of the road fixing my flat while my competition rolled by me, my record-setting time dashed by a 2-penny nail.

In the end I made it home safe and sound about 2 minutes quicker than I normally get home in the car...Oh but what could've been. It was still fun to be on the bike instead of behind the wheel and I'll probably venture out into the world of bike-commuters periodically in the future despite flat tires and over active sweat glands.

Another Gator Repeat!

With the same flair as an Al Horford dunk, Rebecca Larson outkicked the bunch to win the 2007 D1 Collegiate National Championship Road Race. With the same dominance as our UF men's Basketball team, Larson repeated her Womens D1 Omnium National Championship effort from a year ago.

Larson (UF), fresh off a six-week trip to Europe as part of USA Cycling’s Women’s National Team program where she competed in several World Cup and elite-level international races, captured a win in the criterium in 2006. Her efforts in Saturday’s 56-mile road race helped put the University of Florida in fifth place overall in the Division I standings behind Midwestern State with 253 points.

“I’m a little tired, I’ve been on the road a lot in Europe with the national team,” Larson explained after her win. "I’m tired, but collegiate racing is such a good thing and I love supporting it and I have a really great collegiate team.”

In the hunt for the overall championship, Larson beat Erica Allar (Penn State University) by just two points, 253-251, after winning the road race and placing fifth in the criterium. Last year's criterium winner, Larson hoped to defend her title, but rode conservatively in order to protect her lead in the overall standings.

"Of course I wanted to win the criterium, but the omnium was pretty important to me so I kind of rode it like a points race," explained Larson of her tactics on Sunday. "I didn't feel great for the final sprint, but getting fifth was enough. Overall, it was a great weekend."

Maybe I'm partial due to my love of both cycling and the Gators...but shouldn't she be on a box of Wheaties or something?
Congratulations Rebecca!

Updates

Look to your left and notice that we've updated our about me section. We feel that this more accurately captures what we're all about here at 5count...enjoy.

ALSO...
We've added a new poll question to the left sidebar as well. Don't be afraid to make your voice heard...vote now, vote often, vote for multiple teams, come back and vote again tomorrow.

In Keeping with the baby theme...

Here's a great video that I saw quite a while ago, but it is all of the sudden much, much more appropriate.
WARNING: those of you who are weak of stomach, proceed with caution!

Being a Dad...by the numbers

I have recently entered into the realm of fatherhood. My daughter, Reese, was born on the thirteenth of April, two thousand and seven. How's it been going?...I'll give you the numbers:

8 - number of pounds Reese weighed
13 - number of ounces Reese weighed in addition to the 8 lbs.
21.5 - number of inches long Reese was at birth
2 - number of hours I slept on the day Reese was born
3 - number of hours I slept the day after Reese was born
4 - number of times I've been spit up on in the past 2 weeks
8 - numbers of hours spent on the bike in the past 2 weeks
252 - number of hours spent staring at Reese in the past 2 weeks
3 - number of episodes of 'Live with Regis & Kelly' I've watched while on vacation in the past 2 weeks
3 - number of times we've filled our Diaper Genie II
0 - number of times I've prepared a home cooked meal since Reese's arrival
5,000 - number of congratulatory emails, text messages, phone calls, visits and gifts we've received in the past 2 weeks (THANKS)
10 - number of trips to pick up take out in the past 2 weeks.
24 - number of different onesies/pajamas Reese has worn in the past 2 weeks
50 - number of time per day I wash/sanatize my hands
10 - number of fingers and toes (each) on Reese (long monkey toes at that)
24 - number of years before Reese will be allowed to date.

Fans of Team cycle Logic...

...if you'd like to show your support for the only cat 4-5 cycling team from the Ocala/Gainesville area in a manner other than shaving our logo into your chest hair, this is for you.

For a limited time only, I will be taking orders for custom team Cycle Logic cycling caps (see image below). One size fits all, unless your head is the size and shape of a watermelon, and designed by our favorite designer for custom cycling apparel, 5count (toot! toot!)

At a cost of only $10.00 per cap, how could you say no to such an offer. Deadline to place orders is April 15th (just like your tax-deadline). For those of you wishing to order more than a dozen hats, please call our 5count offices at 1-800-I-LUV-CAPS*note: if you think that the aforementioned telephone number will really work, you're an idiot, furthermore, if you want a dozen or more Cycle Logic cycling caps, you may have a whole other set of issues that need to be dealt with, in which case you should call 1-800-IM-AN-IDIOT


I know that there are those of you out there on a lifelong pursuit to look more "Euro"...if that's you, then email Cycle Logic Cap orders and specify how many of these custom designed cycling caps you'd like. Be sure to include your name, phone number and mailing address for shipment.

Once you've contacted Cycle Logic Cap orders, an email will be sent to you with payment info. Shipping and handling charges have been included in the cost of each cap.

Act Now! Time is running out!

What's with Hamilton?

After the first two stages of Tyler Hamilton's first ever pro-tour event, Tirreno-Adriatico, he's sitting one spot out of the Lantern Rouge! I know that there have only been stages for the sprinters, but homeboy lost almost 22 minutes in stage two alone (161 out of 167 finishers were within 8'51" of the stage winner).

Has he bitten off more than he can chew, or will Tyler rise out of the ashes on stage 6 when the stage ends with the road tilting upwards?

If you ask me, this is the beginning of the end. R.I.P.

Insert funny caption here.

Photo ©: Fotoreporter Sirotti