Who would think that there could be an improvement on such a simple tool.  This household has existed up until now with the most basic bottle openers.  There is one on the corkscrew, the one on my key chain and the one I got for free in the mail that has been living on the fridge.  Julie came home from the USAC mechanics clinic with the Park BO-2 signed by none other than Park's Calvin Jones of Calvin's Corner.  I have to say, this is the best bottle opener ever.  Yeah.  Plenty of leverage to apply the precise amount of force needed to pop off the bottle cap.  It even is somehow designed so that the bottle cap does not pop off the bottle and opener and fall onto the floor.  It conveniently rests on the tool.  Thank you park people!

 

In cyclocross news, the USAC updated the rule book for 2008 with a pretty significant change to how upgrade points are distributed.  I have a picture here.  Having completed my upgrades over the last season, I am not too worried about it, but I do not think they went about this change in the right manner.  I really felt that when the ChiCrossCup made the addition of a Cat 4b group, they were taking a step in the right direction.  Cyclocross has needed a Cat5 group to help accommodate the large Cat4 groups with such huge varieties in ability levels.  This would help the Cat4 races be more competitive, less congested and even more fun, while letting the Cat5 racers work on their riding skills and still earn upgrade points and prizes.  Instead, they made the upgrade into the Cat3 group really easy.  Yes, it will slowly create a smaller Cat4 group, but the result is going to be an overly inflated Cat3 field with an even more wide ability level represented.  And by awarding upgrade points to a smaller number of riders it makes it so that riders need to work at their upgrade even longer.  This wait time will be even more exaggerate if the riders who are winning fail to complete their upgrade.  I just think that the ability level amongst the Cat3 riders is already spread pretty wide and this is just going to make it even wider.  The Cat2 to Cat1 upgrade isn't so much of a concern because it is the same race essentially, but there is a big problem with it.  The ones and twos race together always.  How is a Cat2 rider going to earn upgrade points when he is racing against 4 other Cat1 racers faster than him?  It is going to make the Cat1 upgrade next to impossible.  And for the Cat3 riders making the upgrade, the jump is going to be even bigger than it already is.  Had they just left the system the same with the addition of a Cat5 group, the 4's would have been cut in half and riders would have realistic goals t set for themselves.  Now you have to be in it to win it and that really isn't the reason many race cross.

I write this as objectively as I can.  I harbor zero resentment to the team and its' members (with one exception).  In terms of the cycling scene as a whole I am a new comer and know only a fraction of the history.  I will try not to make any uneducated assumptions or wild accusations.  Please know that what I am basing this off of may not be entirely true, but it all comes from sources (sorry) people I trust to be accurate.  Please correct me if I am wrong.  This is not targeted at any one person or decision.  I know people are going to hate what I have to say and probably disagree wildly, but I just want to say it.  There are two sides here and at first I did not see or agree with both of them, but upon much thought I have begun to understand both arguments and my resulting feelings are less conflicted and more understanding of each sides needs.  Even still, it really isn't much of my buisness.  And don't tell me this isn't public knowledge, I have known for months, we all have.

 

xXx Athletico Cycling to this day, if you google search it, has a result that reads, "A USA Cycling group that is comprised mainly of bike messengers."  And I am not troubled about how that sentence has become to be untrue, because that has been the case for some time.  It is simple to fix, rewording to read, "A USA Cycling group that was built mainly by bike messengers."  But the spirit of the foundation of the team has been able to live though* until this season.  To many, the decision to drop Yojimbo's Garage, the shop owned and operated by founding member Marcus Moore, as the teams' shop sponsor was sacrilege.  As it does not affect me I can not get up in arms, but to say I was not disappointed would be a lie.

 

From what I understand, both sides have a pretty reasonable argument and in the end, by choice of a comitte, this is just the end result.  We all realize that having work performed at Yojimbo's takes a little more time than another shop might.  We all still get service from him for our own reasons.  It takes a while to get a wheel built, but it comes with a life time of being true, guaranteed.  And I have been hit by a car on a Marcus Moore built wheel and it stayed round.  And if it wasn't he would have fixed it.  There is little cycling related he can not source and outside of wait time his customer service is next to none*.  There are not many people who have the amount of cycling knowledge he does and that is impossible to come by in most shops.  On the other hand, being a small one man shop has its' disadvantages, especially for a cycling team topping 100 members (I hope that is right, either way it is a substantial team).  That is the only reason I know of for dropping Yojimbo's, but with the volume Mission Bay has I'd expect there are other benefits xXx will receive* that Marcus just can't match (again educated speculation).  Yet, I think most serious cyclists know, that if they need something track or cyclocross related in Chicago, Yojimbo's can not be replaced by anyone.

 

So where does this leave both sides?  As disappointing as it is I think the Yojimbo's supporters just need to understand that with the teams size that this was inevitable.  xXx AthletiCo is going to have to own up to the type of team they have become (sorry, changed) [understand that they have become a different type of team], not that it is a bad type of team in the least, probably one of the better teams around who contribute a ton to the community.  (addition) This meant that Yojimbo's may not have been the best shop for the team naymore.  Faced with the departure of their messenger squad, and the resulting formation of the Cuttin Crew (I know that was its' own situation and there are arguments from both sides), and the loss of Yojimbo's as a sponsor, xXx is a team that no longer caters to the independent unstructured fun loving urban cyclist (are there enough adjectives in there?).  It has become a racing team, with team strategy, specific race focus and regional goals.  These are things that are mandatory with many teams, but I feel that the dramatic shift from the type of shop that Yojimbo's is to the type of shop Mission Bay is says something about the teams members and their focus*. (addition) Again, not a bad change, just a different direction, there are not any bad cyclists or bad intentions here, just different ones.

 

What really is the heart of this struggle then.  Ultimately it is that xXx remains xXx in name.  As silly as it sounds.  With the departure of everything that has created the team, the teams core mission statement has changed*. (addition) Maybe less mission statement and more along the lines of goals.  And thus many, without Marcus, feel it is no longer truly xXx.   It is a shame that he or the other founding riders do not have any claim to the name because that would solve the hurt feelings.  So with all of the founding fathers out; a team is emerging with principles far outside the ideals the team started with ((addition)I still feel this is the truth).  I think xXx needs to know that this issue goes beyond the team, just a little, and the reason people have taken up a defensive attitude to the move is because xXx at one point stood for more than just a team name.  Now that is all that is left*.  Basically, it is not xXx in principle anymore and the people who know the history are disappointed.  To be brutally blunt, much of that history, without Marcus on the team, the team will forget in the coming years.

 

 

*ATMO**

**According to my opinion.  Yes, I know I am a shameless Sachs fan.

 

So I will add, sort of in response to Luke.  I changed a word or two or added a sentance above in a place or two, noted and not deleted, just struck through, to more clearly express what I am trying to say.  And I thought I made this clear from the get go, but I understand that the team needed to support its members in the best way that it can, and that is what it did.  But the team needs to understand that its name is seeped into Chicago's cycling history and dropping Marcus was not going to happen in one easy stroke.  The members and management of xXx are not bad people, and have the best intrests of thier team in mind.  And that is all.  The question in my mind that spawned this post was, Is xXx the same team without Marcus?  And this is what I came up with.  Everyone please remember this is just my opinion and I am in no way an all knowing cycling anybody.  Cycling is just my life, always has and always will be.

So I have ridden my bike quite a bit.  Enough that I feel that when new things happen it is pretty substantial.  The first was great and made me smile for the remainder of my ride.  It was WINDY  here in the Windy City yesterday.  It was not any more windy than other days, it has been worse, but reguardless what happened was a first for me.  Riding into the wind west on Adams the gust started building as I approached Wells.  It is familiar, pedal harder and slow down immensly, fight the invisible barrier in front of you.  Well as I was struggling into the wind it became harder and harder to pedal.  I was going slower and slower.  By the time I was in the middle of the intersection of Adams and Wells I was at a standstill.  Standing upright on my pedals, pushing as hard as I could, but not moving foward.  The wind was pushing so hard against me that I was not moving, just balancing on my bike in the middle of the intersection.  The best part was as I am yelling a "Holy Fuck!" that got sweapt away into the wind, there is a guy standing on the corner yelling at me "C'mon! You can do it!"  Awesome.

 Then this morning.  I ride my commuter, as many people would probably refer, like a sissy.  There are a few stop signs i actually come to a complete stop at and one of them is Damen and Fulton as I ride west to the train in the morning.  Well, this morning, I came to a complete stop to allow a pair of cars to go.  Then my turn.  A Northbound car was hesitant so an extra Southbound car got to go.  As I roll through the intersection, which at this point I clearly have the right of way, a third Southbound car rolls up to the stop sign.  But doesn't stop, and fucking hits me!  Not hard, and into a architectual plan packed pannier, so there was barely any contact as I rode out of her way staying upright.  My temper has cooled quite a bit over the past relativly low key year towards drivers, but I flipped a lid on this lady.  I, a cyclist, stopped and waited my turn at a Fucking Stop sign and she doesn't pay enough attention to see me in clear daylight as I meander through the intersection.  People can be really dumb let me tell you.

 And against better judgement, I think Julie and I might be tagging along with the Gatto's this Friday to BMX practice.

Julie and I were talking yesterday about our early morning activities and the lack of daylight though the winter.  Both of us have been leaving the house pre-dawn for months now everyday.  She goes and runs, while I am leaving on my bike for work.  She may have fully realized this, but I hadn't as I have been leaving for work before 7 AM for 6 or 7 years now.  It is hard not to focus on the fact that it is dark when I get home from work, but this is without realizing that I am out and about at sunrise every weekday for a few months.  This morning I mindfully watched the blazing orange sun poke up from behind the skyline desperately trying to make the air feel warmer than the one degree I was provided.

 

Just in time for a little bit of a thaw, the first stage of the Tour da Chicago is this Sunday Morning.  I am going to follow suit from the prologue and sleep in.  Alleycats, I sometimes wish I was that dedicated and carefree again.  If you have been enjoying the artic insanity as of late, we are two weeks away from the 11th annual Stupor-Bowl in Minneapolis.  Monster Track in NYC is March 8th.

 

My favorite bike mechanic has an interview on Chicago Bike Racing.  It is fun to listen to Julie talk about the clinic.  She always seems to have a story I haven't heard or a technique to enlighten me to.  I have a feeling, come September, she is going to be even more indispensable.  The bianchi got a scrub down last night, clean bikes are more fun to ride.  I am following suit of Joe Doyle down in Austin, a benefit to those who click on the links I provide.  With every freezing day, a face to face meeting sounds like a better and better idea.

 

Early warning, and a few good reads if you don't already know about them and this is the ghost ride to end all ghost rides (taken from Life @ 13 MPH).