Chinkes At Home

Author: john

  • Racing the Tour de France

    http://veloclinic.tumblr.com/post/92744402538/preliminary-comparison-2014-vs-2013-tour-de-france

    I was able to watch the stage today, #18, into  Hautacam. Many are commenting that he has not really been stretched in the climbs this year; perhaps this was the only time he has gone ‘full gas’ on a climb.

    If you look at the charts from the link above, you can see that almost every stage evaluated, Nibali was just a little ahead of the other podium contenders. If you compare Nibali this year vs. Froome last year, you see he is a little below some of those performances. At the same time, tactics dictate the level necessary (hopefully you can do that when called upon, but that’s racing).

    I suppose this just shows the level Nibali was trying to reach. If Froome and Contidor had made it to this point we would be posting different charts. It would have been different, not more or less entertaining, just different. Certainly it has raised the profile of some French riders. They are fighting for a step on the podium vs. 5th place. And the Vuelta a España should be very exciting with folks trying to salvage their seasons!

  • Small Ships #4

    Small Ships #4

    This was a fun ship to make, I started it with some of the others a while ago but was not happy with the way it turned out. So I set it aside for a while. I had some time a returned to it and, basically, left it all the same shape. But the inside is mostly different, beefed up for good playability by the kids, more details and greebling.

    All in all, I am pleased with how this one turned out. Not sure of the story behind the ship or what it’s purpose is. I have thought of a few ways to make access to the lower back section but have settled on “that’s where the engine is.” The shape is certainly interesting and perhaps I should look at making a larger version of this, say 10 or 12 studs wide and then give more access to the back of the ship. Hmmm, something for next month.

  • How Doping Stopped Other Racers

    http://www.theouterline.com/perspectives-on-doping-in-pro-cycling-3-will-frischkorn/
    http://www.theouterline.com/perspectives-on-doping-in-pro-cycling-2-inga-thompson-5/

    Another great set of interviews or commentary from/about people who did not do well in the 90’s and early 2000’s. Will Frischkorn is an interesting story; we ran across each other when I was promoting races around Cincinnati. Of course the name is unique but also he was very young and racing with the big dogs in whatever races I held. I think something like 14-16 and racing SM 1-2, crazy stuff! I was not surprised when I saw he went pro.

    The interesting thing about his stance in the article is the disconnect from economics. He was free to make choices because this was not his “ticket out”, I gather he had a pleasant childhood and very supportive parents. He took it as far as he could with his natural talents and then stopped. It seemed odd at the time that just as he got really big time he stopped but I suppose, with eyes wide open, he knew that was as far as it was going to go.

    Then the story of Inga Thompson is related too; she did what she could and then stopped too. I don’t think the economics were quite as disconnected for her but you still don’t get a lot of money for being the best woman racer in the world. It was never about the money anyway. Her story is more about the corruption beyond the drugs. If you allow that, what else will you allow? Well, quite a bit apparently. My exposure to the USCF while helping run registration at senior nationals makes the stories from Inga very plausible. Then if you dig a little more you can find articles outlining a lot of corruption going back decades with the national team. Even an interview with George Mount indicated what was going on.

    So with this history and the interview with Verbruggen, you can see what a mess the management of cycling was in and is still in!