#$%@# Global Warming and Subaru Drivers

Global Warming Sucks

Well, Al Gore is right. Global warming is a catastrophe waiting to happen, and truth be told, this week's unseasonably warm and dry conditions ruined my favorite week of bike racing. With temperatures in the 80's, no rain, and nothing but sun, the Northern Classics were lacking everything that makes them both northern and classic.

Now, I cannot fault the winners of the races this last week. Ballan at the Ronde, Burghardt at Ghent Wevelgem and O'Grady at Paris-Roubaix all road strong races and were deserving winners. Ballan and O'Grady are certainly riders who have shown in the past that they could win these types of races. However, the conditions were too good for races of this caliber and the fact that large groups stayed together right up until the last 20km of both the Ronde and Paris-Roubaix evidenced that fact.

However, Team CSC's Stuart O'Grady rode an excellent race on Sunday to become the first Australian winner of Paris-Roubaix. He did not panic after a flat in the Arenberg Forest, latched on to Tom Boonen's group and followed what proved to be the decisive attack at about 30km to go. O'Grady then powered away to win by a minute over Rabobank's Juan Antonio Flecha and Wiesenhof's Steffen Wesemann. Boonen again lacked the legs he has shown in the past and none of the main Belgian protagonists showed anything today.

Team CSC once again showed why they are such a great tactical team. Team CSC had excellent numbers at the front of the race throughout the day. They covered the dangerous breaks and made strong attacks that put everyone else on the defensive. T-Mobile continued to show throughout the day that even with a retooled team, their tactical acumen still is pathetic. They once again had the numbers and failed to capitalize in the Hell of the North. Maybe it is the pink kit that keeps them from winning it.

Still a great race and O'Grady is a very deserving winner. But I really prefer the race when the temperature is in the 40's, it is raining, and it is an all day long war of attrition. When you see spectators in mini skirts and flip flops, you know that global warming has claimed yet another casualty.

Subaru Drivers Suck Too

After an exhilarating ride Friday afternoon after taking the day off to work in the yard with my wife in celebration of our 16th anniversary, I was brought back to reality by a fool in a Subaru as I rode down Idaho Street at 5:30 pm. Now, this individual may just be an idiot, but Subaru drivers tend to be rather sanctimonious about their outdoor bona fides and their love of the environment. Take a look here at my friend, Bike Boy's blog entry earlier this year where he had an exchange with a self-righteous Subaru owner.

Anyway shortly after climbing all the way to the end of the pavement on Shaw Mountain Road (800 feet of elevation gain over 2 miles with segments at the very bottom and the very top of the climb at or near 10% grades) for the first time ever on my road bike, after taking the steepest approach to it (Haines Street to Shenandoah Drive), something I had only ever done on my mountain bike using the full capability of my compact triple, I was accosted by a guy in a white Subaru at 6th and Idaho who did not like the fact that I was riding along with traffic on the right side of the road. He was the second idiot that day who had decided that me riding along with traffic somehow precluded them from getting where they wanted to be. Now, when you are riding at 20-25mph in traffic you are not slowing anybody down and not making anybody late.

While turning to give him a long "Lance glare" I refrained from pointing at him or showing him who was number one. But that did not mean that I was going to not protect myself from SubarDude. So, I moved over to the center of the lane to make sure he did not try to put me into the parking strip and held my line. When I crossed Capitol Boulevard, I dropped into the bus lane, sped off and chuckled as SubarDude was left in the mess that occurred at 10th and Idaho as a result of the closure of two lanes at rush hour for construction. I think he may still be stuck in traffic.

I do have to give thanks, however, to the school bus driver and the construction worker who patiently waited at intersections along my climb leaving me the right of way as I struggled through two of the steepest segments of the climb. They got a smile and a waive.