Ahhh, as the buzz around the Dirt Rag house changes with the completion of issue #133 from “Oh man! It’s deadline!” to talk of which of us are going to what World Tour stops one thing is for sure. Spring must be getting closer and I’m happy to cheat time and the season a little bit by heading toward Tucson, AZ for 24-Hours of Old Pueblo. And hopefully I’ll get to shed some layers of clothing on the way.

In that respect things are looking up. I’m setting my worries aside, leaving my winter riding boots at home and exchanging my snowboarding gloves for some with a lot less insulation and bulk. And please let the sun be shining in the desert. I need nothing more than to make like a lizard and sprawl out on a rock and soak up some rays of heat. Pedaling without mud and ice would also be appreciated.
In any case it’s fun to get out there and ride, experience a different trail network than the ones in my backyard, and introduce Dirt Rag to new people. Plus, meeting some folks that are already subscribing, or those that can give the low down on a place or show the secret trails is always worth the hours spent traveling, even when we leave for the airport at 4a.m. It’s all good when everyone is looking to unwind and pedal or share a beer and relax.
Kona will be hooking Justin and me up with bikes for the race, Justin will be bringing his Hei Hei 2-9 back for a full review, and there will be daily footage from the event and the preceding days on our website. What events are on the Dirt Rag World Tour list? Click here to see where we are headed and come out and ride. –Shannon Mominee

One of the reasons I’ve always had a slight preference for riding in dirt is that the landing is a lot softer. When you crash on pavement, it’s going to be your flesh and bones that absorb the blow — not the road.

But no matter where you are, goofing around on bikes is always an opportunity for some sort of crazy accident. Take this young fellow down in Australia for example:

JACK Hewitt’s much anticipated return to school this week is on hold as he recovers in hospital from a freak bicycle accident in his Rainbow Beach front yard.

In a manoeuvre his parents admit they will never quite figure out, the 8-year-old managed to come off his BMX and impale himself on the handbrake.

“He’s come off and yelled out `Dad, I’m stuck’,” said father Chris Hewitt. “I couldn’t believe it. The lever from the handbrake had gone right into his groin. Just missed his vital organs.” [The Courier Mail, Australia]

 

Uffda. I’ve had some crazy injuries, including the infamous “stem stress test.” But never an actual impalement.

Last weekend in Italy, the World Championships of Cyclocross took place. A few weeks ago, I mentioned that Jonathan Page was competing — he’s probably the best cyclocross racer the US has ever produced, having won silver last year.

This year, the race was uncharacteristically warm and dry, and though Page had been racing into form beautifully after the holidays, Sunday just wasn’t his day. He finished 27th.

Cyclocross is still pretty fringey here in the US, but its the cat’s pajamas in Europe. So while American bicycle press has been slow to cover the World CX Championships, there is already quite a bit of video posted up to YouTube.

Anyway, congrats to Jonathan Page on another brutal but respectable season of professional cyclocross.

Lance Armstrong is apparently gearing up for racing in the Leadville 100. You’ll recall that he rode sections of the legendary offroad marathon last year with his trainer Chris Carmichael, but didn’t end up riding.

But last weekend, the Big Texan confirmed that he’s going to take a run at it, but it looks like he has some work to do: In a Texas state mountain bike series race, he had to drop out with 11 miles to go. The Miles of DisComfort Mountain Bike Marathon Event at Flat Rock Ranch finished prematurely for the Tour de France champ due to cramps.

All those years of base mileage stay in your legs, but they won’t keep you hydrated.

There are 460 million bicycles in China, but that number may be at a plateau. As the country industrializes, the Chinese middle class has a big appetite for — what else? — the automobile.

But government officials are making a new push to repopularize the bicycle — especially in Beijing, in anticipation of the upcoming Olympics.

Another front in the battle for the bike: Officials are also cracking down on bike theft. Last month, they reduced the public scourge by 50 percent, down to 2 million stolen bikes in the last 9 months.

“We strongly smashed illegal bicycle theft activities and constrained the growth of new cases,” said Ma Weiya, vice-director of the police social security management department.

“Our work in these aspects will not let up. We need to see this work through to completion and ensure the problem of bicycle theft is gradually and thoroughly resolved,” he said.

That’s tough talk and big results! I wonder what the current slate of presidential candidates here in the US have to say about the menace of bike theft.

Photo: (cc) Yewenyi, http://www.flickr.com/photos/yewenyi/

So instead of watching one of two very good things on television right now (a PBS special with The Clash or a Penguins vs Flyers hockey game), I’m sitting here at the kitchen counter, trying to get this Brain Fart out before I go play soccer. Since I sometimes get on other staff members to get their Brain Farts in on time, it would be a poor example if I got mine done late.

So I apologize now if this makes less sense than normal for me. Ok, here we go.

Some of you might remember a post I wrote a while back about how much plastic shopping bags bother the hell out of me. If you never read it, or forgot about it, and have nothing better to do right now, you can check out that ramble here.

Say what you want about Whole Foods, aka Whole Paycheck, but I do a lot of grocery shopping there, as it beats the hell out of the local Acme or Superfresh. I will add that Whole Foods often annoys me. A lot. However, upon walking in last week, a greeter in the foyer of the store greeted me by handing me a reusable bag and said they store is getting rid of all plastic bags within the next couple months. Sweet. So upon returning home, I read a little about it here.

As I went back and looked for my original Brain Fart on my plastic bag rant, I also saw my really harsh rant on the Johnny Cash biopic, Walk the Line, starring Joachim Phoenix, and that wonderfully short and annoying Reese Witherspoon. You can read my scathing missive here.

Well, I never came public with this information, but the truth must be told. Yes, I went to see it. And even more truthfully, I humbly admit that I really liked it. It’s true.

The story of Johnny Cash is quite impressive in, and of, itself. When such a story gets the Hollywood treatment, it can go one of two ways: really good, or awful. This was really good. It was emotional, moving and rocking. Joachim Phoenix, who sang all the songs, absolutely nailed it. And as much as Ms. Witherspoon makes my skin crawl, her singing and chemistry with Phoenix was amazing.

Well, that’s about it. I need to get out of here to make these games.