bartape.net

Livestong is happening at the end of the month. I am headed to Austin to ride in the Ride for the roses. Donate at

http://austin09.livestrong.org/jwbender



One guess as to who rides this bike.


Uncle, me, and "I dont own a collared shirt" Jeff

Dream bike.

As most of you know, last week I traveled to Vegas to Interbike, visit with Uncle and Jeff, interview with SRAM, and race.

Uncle, Jeff, and I scored an amazing steak dinner. We ate at N9ne steakhouse and had surfnturf. I'm not sure Jeff loved it, but I did.

Interview with SRAM went well. The MBA I spoke with wanted me to think more about what I want to do next year. I think he's right. I need some focus.

Interbike was silly awesome as the pics indicate. Just look at all that craziness. I witnessed it all. I scored some sweet shimano PRO gear for the cross bike (and watched cross-vegas). So cool.

My race brought great satisfaction. We raced in the mandalay bay parking lot. IT was more or less covered in silty-slick sand. So there were many crashes. At one point, I was gased and was taking a breather near the back. For no reason other than carelessness, this guy low-sided and then another guy just barreled into him. I avoided that crash. There was the usual lull through the 5th to last corner and I used my momentum to push up to 3rd wheel. This was a perfect position as there were 4 corners to go. The guy on the front was pinning it and I thought he left a little early. I jumped with 2 corners to go and had the choice line through the last crash-prone corner. Just as I had imagined, I felt my rear end start to slide and by the grace of God, I managed to hang on. By the time I caught traction and started going straight again, two guys got around me. The guy who went early won. I managed to get back in the fight and pick up 3rd in the 2/3 USA Crit finals. Thats a result to hang my hat on for the season. I was pumped.

I also won two primes and scored 2 pair of radars. If anyone wants a brand new pair of Livestrong radars, let me know! I'm selling em cheap.

Today I finished my work at a respectable hour and had 90 mins until my late evening meeting with my new product development team. The cleaning lady was vacuuming and I wanted to enjoy my dinner in peace. So I went to my room. I happened over to bartape.net to watch the Cervelo test team ride the early season. I have a new found respect for those boys. Wow, what a tough life. I highly encourage anyone--even non riders--to go spend some time watching the 8 min episodes.

The stories of Hausler and Hushovd are simply inspiring. I'll never forget watching Henrich get pipped at the line for Milan-San Remo. I hope he gets another shot. When I saw him at interbike, I decided that I absolutely hated his hat. But I forgive him. He also wears double diamond earrings. But he's one tough bitch on the bike. And I respect that. He knows how to suffer, and that skill will serve him well. He might be my new Jens Voight.