Spin Workout - Yahata

When I was a missionary in Japan, I came to know the Yahata family. They were about the nicest people you'd ever meet. Their little boy was a HUGE Michael Jackson fan. So naturally, when MJ gave up the ghost last week, my thoughts turned to the Yahata family. Young Yahata is now probably about 24 years old. Crazy talk.

Anyway, I named my spin mix this week "Yahata" in their honor. No, there is no MJ. He's not really spin worthy. Here's what is in the mix:

I Love to Move In Here (Style of Eye Piano Remix) -- Moby
Beat Goes On (feat. Kanye West) -- Madonna
Drown In the Now (feat. Matisyahu) -- The Crystal Method
Isaac -- Madonna
Learning to Fly -- Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers
Bamboo Banga -- M.I.A.
Piku -- The Chemical Brothers
Gum -- Cornelius
Pink Houses -- John Mellencamp
A Seated Night -- Moby

Some days the music is ok. This week it was really good. Transcendentally good.

Today's Ride / MapMyRide

Thanks to Janean, I had a great ride this morning. I didn't go as far as I had originally planned, but it was much more hilly than expected. The high point, both figuratively and literally, was the Inner Defense Line Road at Valley Forge. They just repaved this road so the surface is smooth and the flora rather calming. And there's a great descent as well.

I recorded the ride via iMapMyRide on the iPhone. This is a pretty cool app that I'm enjoying a lot. Especially the elevation option.

Have you lived your fantasy life/tour?

The Tour de France starts tomorrow and it is shaping up to be more interesting than last year. I just picked my preliminary Fantasy Tour roster at Versus.com. I especially like the view below of all the heads of my team. Cyclists are a pretty sorry looking bunch. They may not look like much, but these boys are cycling gold!

Have a wonderful tour! Here's to hoping the drug scandals can be kept to a minimum.

The Look

My eldest daughter conquered her first "hill" climb today. She alternated standing/seated to pick up the momentum when necessary. She even turned around to give Jan Ulrich "the look." Havertown today, Ventoux tomorrow!

Dig Deep!

The Look

Push it!

That's my girl -- riding into Paris in triumph!

Spin Workout - Izanami

Here's another recent spin workout. Three sets of four one-minute sprints. 90% max effort, 90 second recovery, repeated four times. Then take a three minute break and start the next set. Stole this from a recent Chris Carmichael column in Bicycling Magazine.

• Sunday (Moby) - Warm up
• Forever Yellow Skies (The Cranberries) - Nice fast tune. I guess they all are with this playlist
• Gum (Cornelius) - Biting rhythm guitar with portions of nonsensical syllabary. Cornelius is a Japanese genius. Long live Cornelius. Lots of experimental work.
• Ooh La La (Goldfrapp) - Reminds me of Morning Becomes Eclectic on KCRW
• Womanizer (Britney Spears) - Most of my class members are women. Just because I choose the song, doesn't mean I'm a womanizer. It's just a song. Deal with it.
• Get On Your Boots (U2) - Nice tune for a high-cadence workout
• My Life Would Suck Without You (Kelly Clarkson) - Very pop-ish. Very. Wouldn't normally own this, but it's a good tune for spinning.
• What You Waiting For? (Gwen Stefani) - Also pop-ish, but I've always liked it for its 日本語 snippets and 原宿 references
• All The Small Things (Blink 182) - Golden Oldie. Reminds me of editing the Anderson Days video with Yoko Nakao and Howard Ouyang in April of 2001. Good times!
• She (Green Day) - Not my favorite Green Day tune, but good for a workout.
• Barracuda (Moby) - From his rave days. I don't play too much techno in my spin classes. Staying a healthy distance from the cliche, but this one is too good to pass up.
• One Fine Day (David Byrne and Brian Eno) - Refreshing cool down. The message of this song always reminds me of Jeff. It's my responsibility to find wonder and beauty in the mundane. Every day is a gift.

I didn't do a very good job of matching the songs to the sets and the recovery, but it works if you pedal through the breaks and accept a fast pace during a recovery period. Next up, Inari -- a sprint workout where you go 85% - 90% for two minutes and then one minute at 95% - 100%. Then back to 85%. Repeat three times for one set. Three sets. Stay tuned for the music.

Spin Workout - Amaterasu

If you happen to be a member of the Comcast Fitness Center, get out of bed early on Wednesday mornings and come to my spin class. We start at 7a sharp. Here's a recent workout (three circuits of a spint/climb/recovery):

Intro/Warmup: Red Sun by Anoushka Shankar
Sprint #1: Elevation (Influx remix) by U2
Climb #1: Give It 2 Me (Oakenfold edit) by Madonna

Sprint #2a: O Saya by AR Rahman & MIA
Sprint #2b: Voodoo Child by Moby
Climb #2a: Starry Eyed Surprise by Paul Oakenfold
Climb #2b: Diesel Power by The Prodigy

Sprint #3: Men's Needs by The Cribs
Climb #3a: Halfway Home by TV On the Radio
Climb #3b: How High by Tricky
Recovery & Cool down: Love Rescue Me by U2

Video playing in background: Stage 13 of the 2003 TdF (the one where Lance took a tumble and went on to win the stage.)

45 minutes of spinning goodness. Let me know if you have music suggestions for future classes. High bpm tunes are best, for obvious reasons.

Faster, faster! Up a half turn! Out of the saddle!

See you Wednesday morning.

Did you ever know that you're my hero?

Ok, enough of that sap. There's a mild chance I'll get to meet Lance Armstrong at a conference I'll be attending in a few weeks. I'm a big fan of Lance. In fact it is fair to say that he played a big part in why I started cycling in 2004. And in five years of living in Austin, I never had the chance to meet him.

I met Michael Dell at an MBA recruiting event in Austin in 2000. I don't remember what I said, but I do remember thinking after the fact that it was pretty stupid. So in the spirit of tapping the wisdom of crowds (you), I could use some help.

In case I do get to meet Lance, what should I say to him? Some possibilities:

- Uh, do you remember when you beat Jan Ullrich on Alpe d'Huez in 2001? That was awesome!
- Hey Lance, will you autograph a copy of Sheryl Crow's new album for me?
- Lance, did you know that I dressed up as you for Halloween once? How about you dress up as me next year?
- So, Ashley Olsen, eh? What's up with that?

As you can see, I'm in need of some suggestions. Any help you could provide would be very, um, helpful.

Floyd Landis

Spencer asked me yesterday if I think Landis is a doper. I’ve thought about this a lot and I really don’t know. My first thought was that he doesn’t fit the profile of a cheater (upbringing, worth ethic) but then how well can I know someone who I see on TV a few times a year? I absolutely believe the doping system is in need of reform. It seems to me that the lab was sloppy and several experts have stated that due to lack of standardization, the results would not have been flagged in another lab. Also, out of 180+ cases brought by the USADA against athletes, the number of athletes who have been cleared is exactly zero. Can all of them have been guilty? Is the science that perfect? I highly doubt it.

Still, he acted irresponsibly when he divulged to his manager that Greg Lemond was abused as a child. That breach of confidentiality definitely doesn’t fit the profile of a humble, wrongly accused cyclist. That event during the trial last May influenced my thinking (changed my mind?) in this whole thing.

I so want to believe that his performance in Stage 17 of the 2006 Tour was natural and unaided. As a cyclist, I’ve been robbed yet again of a source of inspiration.