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In the fall of last year I took a trip to South America. I’m only now getting to posting my pictures from the trip so if you see me in Chicago do not be confused. If you’ve missed any of my previous entries just click “South America” in the tags area. – jeff

Of all the concerns I had for my trip (pickpockets, muggings, malaria, scorpions, Maoists, etc) the one I worried about the most was altitude sickness. Cusco is about 11,000 feet above sea level and while it isn’t Everest’s 30k it is still significant. One of my favorite books is Into Thin Air which spends quite a bit of time talking about the death zone and the dangers of being at elevation. So I’m very much aware of the possibility of my head exploding.

Today I walked around the city (slowly) and took some pictures. I checked into my hostal which is just okay. I may research nicer digs later.

Later the next night…

Holy shit! My head feels like it is enormous. I thought maybe I could ride out the altitude change without drugs, but I am popping pills like a fiend now. I walked around for awhile after grabbing dinner and found the door to the hostal locked. I knocked waiting for the owner. No answer. I then pounded on the door. Still no answer. I called the hostal from a pay phone. Nothing. Taking a cue from About A Boy I then knocked on the door to the tune of U2’s Zoo Station until finally the door opened. I asked if there was a curfew and all I got were apologies. Then as I got to my room’s door I realized that the lock didn’t actually work and that if you lifted the door you could bypass the deadbolt completely. Nice. I’ll definitely be finding a new place in the morning. Now where are those pills?

Check out Dana’s website. She’s been writing not only about her time running the marathon, but also all the prep that’s gone into it.

This weekend was the Boston Marathon and it was a huge success! I tagged along to watch Dana crush the race with an amazing time and help out anyway I could. It was pretty fun and I also got to see a lot of the Boston area Kaos.

- Originally I was going to take my bike but it felt like way too much trouble considering our hotel was in the suburb of Revere and the green line of the “T” doesn’t allow bikes.

- I found a spot that was about a mile away from from the “T” stop near the 16 mile mark and rang my Team Pegasus cowbell & took pictures.

- The entire time I was able to use my iPhone to get Dana’s splits every 5k. 3G coverage in the Boston area is excellent, much better than Chicago

- I have been in quite a few crowds this past year (Beijing Olympics, San Diego Comic Con, Obama Acceptance Rally, Cubs in the Playoffs to name a few) and while Boston during the marathon wasn’t the worst it was definitely a force to be reckoned with.

1. It really is a lot of people (Wikipedia claims 500,000 people)
2. Lots of other stuff is going on (Red Sox, Celtics, & Bruins were all active)
3. The “T” while easy to use is got really over crowded
4. The vast majority of people are tourists
5. Point to point races are tough to spectate.

- Everyone was extremely friendly both locals & tourists.

Every week the writers for The Onion AV Club answer a question. I thought I’d share my own answers to one of their previous Q&A’s.

This week for me is: What’s your most-rewatched movie?

If this question only related to the last couple of years than it would be Boogie Nights and by a lot. When I was at school living in the dorms Paul Thomas Anderson’s masterpiece was on all the time on HBO and there was seldom a day that we didn’t turn on the TV and end up getting roped into watching it again & again. Even to this day I still put the DVD on when I’m cleaning my apartment. But no, I’m afraid my most re-watched movie by a long shot is The Three Amigos. When I was a kid my family would rent the VHS cassette every single weekend despite my sister’s protests. All I can say in my defense is that The Three Amigos is a great film that still to this day makes me laugh.

Pictured above is my S&S Travel Bike in its newest incarnation. The Thylacine Tephra road frame always had S&S couplers, but I recently had Matt Kaminecki replace the vertical dropouts with horizontal ones. He also added removable cantilever brake studs. This gives me a mind boggling number of possible variations:
- Fully geared (2 x 10)
- Singlespeed
- Fixed gear
- Road
- Touring
- Cyclocross

And of course with each of these options I can pack it up in a case & check it as regular luggage. Next step is to build a set of matching wheels, but I wouldn’t hold your breath.

Right now I have it setup as a fixed gear bike perfect for cruising around Boston while I watch Dana run the marathon. Special thanks to Team Pegasus members Cale, Katy, & Andy for all their help.

(Stripping off the old powdercoat)

(The Thylacine in its original form)

I was almost three for three on yesterday’s Paris Roubaix.

     - Long Li did not win the race and sadly did not finish the race.  The Chinese rider was unable to make the cut at the 100km mark in the 259 km long race. Then again almost half of the racers who entered were unable to finish the punishing race.
 

      -  Tom Boonen won! 

 
(2005 photo by flickr user hamburgr)

     - I, however, was incorrect about it being a boring race.  I had invited some friends over to my apartment to watch and I was on my feet quite a few times yelling at my TV.  It was a thrilling end with a select group getting whittled down by crashes & attacks until there was just Boonen crossing the line in the Roubaix velodrome with plenty of time to hold up 3 fingers for his 3 wins.  If you haven’t seen the race you can check out the finish on youtube.

Will Sunday’s Paris-Roubaix be the first classics race won by a Chinese rider?  

Almost certainly no.  Yet, there is a chance with the Skil-Shimano team sporting 26 year old Chinese rider Long Jin in the 107th running of the historic race.  Often times I get asked why the Chinese never seem to compete in the Tour de France considering China is a nation of bikers.  My suspicion is that it is a combination of several factors with the biggest being that for a long time bicycle racing just wasn’t a part of the culture and that because racing is extremely expensive.  Now Mao had his own theory for why, but that’s best explained in person.
 

In any case we have begun to see major headway into the sport.  Skil-Shimano is a continental team that has been fielding riders from Asian nations for a couple years now and the Chinese Marco Polo team has been quite successful in smaller races especially in Asia.  In fact teams like the now defunct Discovery Channel had Asian riders on their B-squads.  Especially exciting are the excellent results from China’s national track team.  Most recently Shuang Guo won the women’s keiren by half a wheel at Worlds and if you are a careful reader of this site you’ll remember she also did quite well at the Olympics.

Notes:
- Skil-Shimano’s also got a Japanese guy on the roster for Roubaix.  I could talk about him or post his picture, but I’ll let a Japanese-American cycling fan do it instead. 

- The Japanese have been very good at track for a very long time. In my mind that’s further proof that having a vibrant culture of bike racing is the key to getting some Chinese riders on the podium.

- Tom Boonen will win Sunday’s race.  There isn’t any real question.  In fact I wouldn’t even bother watching, it’ll be boring.

Every week the writers for The Onion AV Club answer a question. I thought I’d share my own answers to one of their previous Q&A’s.

This week’s question for me is: What one book would you most like to make the rest of the world read?

Wow. This is a really tough question. Do you pick a book that attempts to teach the world at large something important? Or do you try and pick something entertaining? Or do you pick something that will have the phrase “That Jeff is a very cool guy” on the world’s lips?

I decided to pick Gig: Americans Talk About Their Jobs which is similar in nature to Studs Terkels’ (RIP) book Working. Both books are about Americans and their jobs, but Gig has a couple differences. #1 it is a contemporary book that is easier to relate to and #2 the people speak in their own words. As much as I love Terkels’ style, I really value reading what people actually sound like and getting a feel for who they are.

The people in Gig range from Wal-Mart greeter to supermodel. From a transvestite prostitute to a congressmen.

Besides being really entertaining I like Gig because it revealed how diverse this country can be. I feel like a lot of people would benefit from getting this kind of perspective.

Click here to read the Wal-Mart greeter’s section from Gig

SPOILERS for yesterday’s Tour of Flanders below.

The 93rd edition of the Ronde Van Vlaanderen ran on Sunday and in a general sense not much has changed. Stijn Devolder of Quick Step came across the line first (this time with a comfortable minute plus lead). In fact except for Alessandro Ballan’s win a Belgian from Quick Step has won the Tour of Flanders since 2005. Of course that doesn’t mean it wasn’t full of excitement. Check out the clip above (skip to minute 3) for an epic crash.

Back in the middle of November last year I spent about 30 days traveling in Peru & Venezuela. During that time I took over a thousand pictures and took some notes about my experiences. Here they are for your enjoyment. – jeff



The next couple days were spent relaxing on the nearby beaches and our nights at the seawall in Choroni. One morning we walked on a trail that led up to an overlook above the town. We passed an area spotted with crab holes. As we came upon them the little blue crabs would scuttle back in their homes just out of reach of my camera’s lens except for a few times. Amy was especially good at stalking them.

On our way home we decided to pay a little extra for a private car instead of subjecting ourselves to the party bus from hell.

Day 9 – Caracas, Venezuela
Our original plan today was to buy tickets to a baseball game, but we were stymied by an impressive amount of bureaucracy and lots of waiting in lines. It was probably a good thing we weren’t successful since it rained for the rest of the day.

Day 10 – Caracas, Venezuela
Today Simon & I ventured out to the Parque Del Este, a large park in the Altamira neighborhood within walking distance of the apartment. The sun was out and there were tons of people out enjoying the day. Basketball, soccer, gymnastics, and even some kids breakdancing. Simon broke out the ping pong bats, ball, & net and we got setup on one of the concrete tables. In the middle of a six game beating (Damn you, Simon!) we took shelter as it began to rain, yet again.

Afterwards we headed back & grabbed some Venezuelan street burgers. The burgers start off with a highly seasoned patty of beef (like carne-asada). A slice of chedder cheese and another unknown to me cheese. Lettuce, fried onions, and these tiny fried chips. Ketchup on both sides of the bun, mustard, mayo and one or two unnamed sauces. Oh and a fried egg with a slice of ham.