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Completed the climb up Emigration Canyon for the second time this season … felt pretty good, although my asthma definitely kicked my butt on the early parts of the climb before my lungs settled down. Had to take it easy the rest of the way of the climb, but managed to make it.

Unfortunately, my ride home ended in a minor tragedy on 27th South near 23rd East, when somehow a piece of bubble gum managed to destroy my rear derailleur … and my discount code for Backcountry.com doesn’t work for the one Record derailleur they have in stock.

They're not supposed to look like this, are they?

Obligatory “at-speed” blurry shot of T-Bird on the finishing climb of Stage 4 of the Tour of Utah.

Tyler Hamilton

Tyler Hamilton, a little closer.

I had to step back after this last shot, afraid of pulling a bonehead move like the guy who knocked down Giuspeppe Guerini on l’Alpe d’Huez several years ago. Funny thing, while the other riders in Tyler’s group followed the curve of the road right towards the finish line, Tyler just kept coming straight at me.

Maybe there was something about me that just screamed “Flahute”, and he was thinking “I’m gonna get that bastard that keeps knocking my team …”

I may have to change at least some of my feelings on the Rock Racing team … while I was wandering around the finish area after the race, the Rock Racing area was completely mobbed by people, and everyone seemed to be handling it with a lot of grace; posing for photos, signing autographs … the whole 9 yards.

Listening to Michael Ball talk to some of the people around, he came across as a lot more humble than he does in print.

And Tyler is still one of the nicest guys in cycling; and he’s certainly a human rider again … although those are some of the ugliest sunglasses I have ever seen. They’re even worse than the Oakleys that George Hincapie wore for the past few years.

T-Bird was in the middle of an interview … kicking back in a lawn chair and relaxing. Right now, he’s sitting in 4th place overall, about 1:07 behind Louder.

More of my photos of the Tour of Utah can be found on Flickr.

Rock Racing & Simple Living riders in an early break.

Garmin-Chipotle pulling the field to chase down the breakaway riders.

Almost 200 photos taken altogether … these were the only two of the actual race worth keeping. I’ve got a lot of work to do on action shots.

Went to the downtown criterium stage 3 of the Tour of Utah this evening. Took shitloads of pictures, and only 2 of the actual race even remotely came out … need to do some tweaking in Photoshop, and will post in the morning.

Went to dinner with Chippo, Melissa, Ryan K. (from Revolution), and a few others at Squatters. Much to my detriment and surprise, I’m terribly out of practice pouring beer from a pitcher. I guess there’s a reason why I generally drink straight from the bottle.

Now home, and after a short digestive period, it’s off to bed, so I can head up to Snowbird tomorrow for Stage 4.

This crossed my email inbox today:

CONTENDER BICYCLES TO HOST IN-STORE SIGNING WITH CYCLING STARS TYLER HAMILTON AND FREDDIE RODRIGUEZ OF ROCK RACING

Contender Bicycles will be hosting an in-store signing with Tyler Hamilton and Fred Rodriguez of Rock Racing on Saturday, August 16 from 5:30 to 6:30 pm. This is a great opportunity to meet and receive autographs from two of the most famous names in cycling today. There will also be official Rock Racing apparel for sale.

Founded by Rock & Republic fashion mogul Michael Ball in 2007, Rock Racing has made a name for themselves both from incredible success on the bike and from their flamboyant flair. The team has rapidly become a fan favorite after signing some of the sport’s most established names including 2004 Olympic gold time trial medalist and Tour de France stage winner Tyler Hamilton and three-time USPRO road race champion and Giro d’Italia stage winner Freddie Rodriguez. Rock Racing has redefined the look of the pro cycling team uniform and in April 2008, the squad was voted the most popular team in professional cycling in an on-line poll by Bicycling Magazine.

WHEN:

Saturday, August 16 from 5:30 to 6:30 pm.

WHERE:

Contender Bicycles
875 East 900 South
Salt Lake City, UT 84105
801.364.0344

Come meet the riders, check out the cars and experience the flair!

1. It’s an event at a bike shop, during the Tour of Utah. Why the fuck would I want to “check out the cars?”
2. Shouldn’t Tyler and Freddie be resting up to prepare for the next day’s time trial, instead of schmoozing a bunch of fanboys?
3. What does it do for Contender’s image to associate themselves with a team that seems to have a lax (or at least very forgiving) view on doping?
4. Flair? Do they have all 15 pieces?

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As soon as I got out on the road today, my tooth (the one under the temporary crown) started hurting … higher blood pressure, perhaps, causing it to throb? In any case, since the air actually seemed fairly clear of particulate matter today, I decided to push on.

Definitely didn’t have the legs to attempt any real climbs, so once I got to the zoo, I headed back along Wasatch to 21st South, then dropped back into Millcreek, instead of taking Wasatch all the way back down. When I hit 45th South, didn’t feel like I had done quite enough, so pushed on down Holladay Blvd a bit further towards Cotton Bottom; flipping around and heading for home when I got to Cottonwood Elementary.

Legs and lungs felt okay, but my tooth was definitely bothering me a bit … 11 more days until the permanent crown.

So here’s the current schedule for the 2008 Utah Cyclocross Series.

According to JonnyG, however, it is subject to change. But at least now you can start planning … November is going to be a heavy month, with two double weekends. Three double weekends altogether.

26-Sep — Fort Buenaventura, Ogden (Non Series Race)

04-Oct — Fort Buenaventura, Ogden
11-Oct — Wasatch County Fairgrounds, Heber City
18-Oct — Rocky Mountain Raceway, West Valley City
19-Oct — Wheeler Farm, Murray

01-Nov — Wasatch County Fairgrounds, Heber City
02-Nov — Rocky Mountain Raceway, West Valley City
08-Nov — Wheeler Farm, Murray
22-Nov — Wasatch County Fairgrounds, Heber City
23-Nov — Fort Buenaventura, Ogden
29-Nov — Wheeler Farm, Murray

20-Dec — Fort Buenaventura, Ogden

03-Jan — Wheeler Farm, Murray (Non Series Race)

It’s almost time to break out the Belgium knee-warmers …

Update: someone just pointed out that some of these dates are Fridays. I can see 26-Sep being a Friday night twilight, tied in with the Harvest Moon criterium in Ogden the next day, but I’m double-checking to make sure. My guess (and that’s all it is at the moment), is that the two weekends in October with Friday dates just need to be shifted a day later.

Update 2: dates have been corrected. 9/26 is a twilight race in Ogden. All other races should be Saturday, Sunday or Saturday/Sunday.