News Around The Hub

*Cycling is healthier than pollution and accidents... or at least that's what a new study reveals: here

*Tour de France Stage 6: Barredo beats Costa... with a wheel. here

*INRI--Floyd Landis: "Mr. Landis, you're not worth any further word or attention except perhaps from psychiatrists." here

*Ensuring a hard day in the saddle every day: Erectile Dysfunction and Cycling. here. What the article doesn't say is that a proper fitting saddle will not give you trouble. If you are feeling numb or pain in the nether-regions then it is time for an adjustment. You should balance the entire weight of your body between the handlebars and the two sit-bones on your pelvis and not on your junk. Someone needs to do an article on the opposite situation while on the bike in full kit.

*Proper Footwear: It may be hard to believe, but selecting a good set of shoes can be the difference between three weeks in the saddle and three weeks hearing about everybody else in the saddle. A little guide to shoes: here

Cycling Around The News

*Taiwanese couple and French couple meet to cycle Australia. Check out the difference in gear. Except for those gawdawful handlebars the Taiwanese couple has it right.

* The CNA through Taiwan Focus reports on a group of Taiwanese indigenes who are embarking on a cycling trip to circumvent Taiwan. The report states:

The Tsou youths will practice writing and taking pictures to chronicle their cycling trip.

This is a very good example of living indigenous culture rather than the forced traditionalism we are used to. By forced I mean it is often not accepted as indigenous by non-indigenes unless it is framed in a traditional context.

*Taiwanese students are manipulated into a propaganda tour of Tibet with some very troubling political undertones by helping to assert Chinese hegemony over the area. Here.

*Cycling Satin Cesena has an interesting write up and response on ECFA from an industry insider's perspective. My opinion is that the economic effects will be marginal but the political motivations behind the deal may be more malevolent in nature... or to paraphrase a comment I saw elsewhere... "It is not the candy, but the stranger in the van."

Tour News:

After a Prologue Time Trial in which Lance Armstrong finished a surprising 4th place, Stage 1 could only be described as a festival of carnage. Slippery roads on some tricky descents turned the peloton into a meat grinder with many of the major GC contenders hitting the deck. Garmin-Transitions team leader Christian Vande Velde was forced to withdraw from the TdF with broken ribs following a crash. This leaves Tyler Farrar in the driver's seat.

Overall:

• 1. Sylvain Chavanel, Quick Step, 10:01:25
• 2. Fabian Cancellara, Team Saxo Bank at 2:57
• 3. Tony Martin, Team HTC-Columbia at 03:07
• 4. David Millar, Garmin-Transitions at 03:17
• 5. Lance Armstrong, Team RadioShack at 03:19
• 
  

Oh! And now Frank Schleck is out with a broken collarbone after stage 3. Armstrong flatted and lost about a minute on his main competition. Another rough day on the tour with the Mighty Thor taking the sprint finish.