I have started a new cycling blog called Velominati – keepers of the cog! The goal of the blog is as-yet not clearly defined, but it will be cycling-specific and I will do most of my cycling posts over on Velominati from now on, so make sure to add it to your news aggregator. (For now, all I”ve done is copy all my cycling-related posts to velominati.com, but new stuff will be posted soon.)
The reason I started the blog is partly because I love writing about cycling, but I am also hoping to find other people who enjoy it and want to contribute as well. Topics could cover local racing, pro racing, Pacific Northwest cycling routes, technique, bicycle maintenance, gear reviews, or something cool I haven’t thought of. So, I am inviting anyone who enjoys cycling and writing to become a contributor and help make the voice of this new blog. Contact contribute@velominati.com add tell us why you would like to contribute!
Tom Boonen, one of my favorite riders, tested positive for cocaine in an out-of-competition drug test (for the second – or maybe his third – time). Both WADA and the UCI don’t consider this a positive dope test because cocaine is an amphetamine whose effect lasts for only a short while and thus is only banned during competition, and even then it’s only considered positive if the drug is found to have a concentration of more than 0.5 ng/mg. That means that any control that comes back positive for cocaine during an out-of-competition drug test should be considered negative.
Boonen tested positive for cocaine during his recuperation time between Paris-Roubaix (which he won) and the next goal of his season, which is to win the Green jersey at the Tour. Tom says he doesn’t remember taking the drug, but acknowledges that he suffered a blackout from drinking too much the night before the test and, given the apparent availability of cocaine in nightclubs in Belgium, does not rule out that he may have taken some. However, it has since been revealed that his “positive” test was for a concentration of 0.09 ng/mg, which falls well below the threshold for a positive control and should therefor actually be considered a negative test.
This has not stopped the most autocratic organization in cycling – the ASO (who organizes the Tour de France and is thus the most powerful organization in cycling) – to declare that Boonen is “unwelcome” at the Tour due to his positive test. Meanwhile an independent panel has asserted that in order for the concentration to be so low, Boonen must of had only indirect contact with the drug and in any case does not use regularly. Basically, he didn’t inhale.
It is absolutely necessary to have out-of-competition drug tests. The most effective drugs in cycling like, for example, EPO, have lasting effects for up to 30 days and can only be detected for a small number of days after taking the substance. Obvsiuosly, any rider with even half a brain will not take the drug immediatly before or during a competition while the substance can be detected but will instead take it some time ahead of the race. Therefor, the UCI has to be allowed to test for the drug arbitrarily during the season. Cyclists are required to account for their whereabouts for each and every day during the year and guarantee their availability for a drug test for a 4-hour window each day.
Obviously, this is a huge sacrifice of personal freedom and many consider it an invasion of privacy. The argument that it is required in order to gaurentee fairness in the sport and an invasion of privacy both have merrit, but I strongly believe that out-of-competition tests should test – or at the very least report – only drugs that are on the out-of-competition prohibited substance list. The fact that Boonen had cocaine in his system is irrelevant to the sporting world and a private issue between him and legal authorities in Belgium. I find the fact that it was made public disgusting. If I take a drug and test positive during an interview process, I expect that to be a matter between me, my prospective employer, and any authorities they would be obligated to report the test results to. It should be no different for a professional cyclist, especailly given that they may be tested any day of the year.
I am happy to see that Influenza H1N1 (or as Michelle – who is an Epidemiologist – likes to call it, “Oink-Oink-Cough-Cough”), has taken a decline recently. Throughout the epidemic, some people have reacted rationally, others less rationally, but one thing is clear: it’s fantastic not to read about the impending economic implosion of the word and get back to some good old fashioned Biblical plagues.
The news has been going nuts about this thing, and the fact is, this flu has been around the block before and the U.S. even experienced a Swine Flu outbreak in The Most Awesome Year Ever, 1976. But, if you think this has been a poorly handled matter, I would like to call your attention to the Typhus Fever outbreak in El Paso, Texas, in 1917. Similarly to our recent Influenza H1N1 epidemic, Mexico was blamed for the outbreak. As Typhus is flea-born, the Public Health Strategy was to bathe all Mexican workers in kerosene before crossing the border from Mexico to Texas. What could go wrong? Well, for an “outbreak” totaling three cases, there was the unfortunate incident of one of the kerosene baths being ignited and killing or injuring between 50 and 60 people.
I, for one, am glad we’re not turning everyone with Swine Flu into a Molotov Cocktail, but I definately hope this kid gets what’s coming to him. Thanks to Lee for bringing this to our attention.
On our day off, we stopped and had lunch at a great Afgani restaurant in Bangalore called the Samarkand. Either Afgani cuisine is very similar to Indian cuisine, or they have a mostly Indian menu. In any case, I remember eating there on my previous trip, and the food was terrific. (They serve the best naan I’ve had. Ever.)
We each ordered, and I ordered the Chicken Tikka Masala. When the food came, the server elegantly slid up beside me and began to serve the food onto my plate as the always do in India, and politely spoke, “Your Butter Chicken, sir.”
“I’m sorry, I ordered the Chicken Tikka.”
“This is the Chicken Tikka, sir.”
Now, I do always take a few days to re-accustom myself to exactly which dish is which, so I gave him the benefit of the doubt and let him continue.
Then they began serving my colleague, who had ordered the Chicken Kabab.
“Your Chicken Tikka, madam.”
Overhearing, I jumped in, “But you said this was the Chicken Tikka; she ordered the Kabab.”
“Yes, this is the Chicken Kabab, and you have the Chicken Tikka.”
I began to suspect that we were being held to very flexible and creative rules around what constituted each of our meals, but let the matter go since we were both satisfied with how appealing each of our meals looked, regardless of what we actually ordered. We enjoyed our meals and left the restaurant.
This afternoon – back at the hotel – I ordered a Vodka Martini. About 20 minutes later, my server appeared carrying a Manhattan on his tray. Being a semi-professional drinker, I know my alcohol and this was definitively not a Martini.
“Your Manhattan, sir.”
“I’m sorry, I ordered a Vodka Martini.”
“Yes, sir. Vodka Martini. This is a Vodka Martini,” replied the server.
“No, it’s not.” I showed him the menu and pointed at what I had ordered, the 007 Vodka Martini.
“Yes, Vodka Martini. Vodka.”
When traveling in foreign countries, sometimes you have to pick your battles. Besides, his logic that the drink contained vodka was armor clad.
As a matter of fact, I am quite enjoying my Manhattan.
I’m back in India on business, but only for a short while this time around. One of my colleagues who accompanied us had not been to India before, so we had fun showing her around and watching her explore the city. It was fun listening to her get excited about traffic and cows and cows in traffic.
We had a big meeting on Thursday with a client and then took Friday off to see some sites. First, we went to Bannerghatta National Park. We arrived early, so we passed the time wandering through the local zoo.
Then we boarded a bus to take into the wildlife preserve in the hopes of spotting elephants, tigers, lions, or cheetahs. The bus was a rickety old thing that looked like it would topple at the slightest hint of a curve or bump, but that didn’t stop our driver from careening around a bumpy and rutted road that had all the passengers hoping for a quick death. On more than one occasion it occurred to me that should the bus roll over, it was not in a condition to protect us from the elephants, tigers, lions, or cheetahs which we were so hopefully to see.
We did manage to survive and we did manage to see lions and tigers, including some white tigers which were, not surprisingly, white. Tigers look surprisingly cuddly, but my recommendations to my colleagues to go pet one went unheeded.
The next day we jumped in the car and headed out to the Dodda Aalada Mara, or Big Banyan Tree. This is the fourth-largest tree in India, and covers over three acres. The tree is inhabited by wild monkeys who are alarmingly comfortable with human presence and are perfectly willing to let you get close enough to take photos of them. There were babies who were trying to escape their mothers, youngsters picking fights with elders and everything else that would demonstrate we did, in fact, evolve from these smelly, furry little honkers.
will do most of my cycling posts over on Velominati from now on, so make sure to add it to your news aggregator. (For now, all I”ve done is copy all my cycling-related posts to velominati.com, but new stuff will be posted soon.)
Both 
Either Afgani cuisine is very similar to Indian cuisine, or they have a mostly Indian menu. In any case, I remember eating there on my previous trip, and the food was terrific. (They serve the best naan I’ve had. Ever.)
so we had fun showing her around and watching her explore the city. It was fun listening to her get excited about traffic and cows and cows in traffic.
