RAAM on tv

Quoted message said:

did anyone watch any of it? I watched some, about the first hour. I
wouldn't have minded seeing some actual riding but that's what I
expected from NBC.

I happened across the second half. What a bad sporting event to show
people -- it was embarassing. The only people that seemed admirable
were the two young/fast relay teams plus the old guys relay team, plus
the indiidual winner. Everyone else seems like total nerds, fred,
people with death wishes or losers. "Rocket Mullet Head"? WTF? I guess
the Italian guy seemed pretty neat, but the phrase from teh
commentator "One of Italy's greatest cyclists" was a total lie.

I don't want images of people riding at 40rpm with their heads held up
by bungees cords to represent "my sport."

JT

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Quoted message said:

I don't want images of people riding at 40rpm with their heads held up
by bungees cords to represent "my sport."

JT

people that haven't had years of doping treatments are a little scary,
no?

Callistus Valerius said:

Quoted message said:

I don't want images of people riding at 40rpm with their heads held up
by bungees cords to represent "my sport."

JT

people that haven't had years of doping treatments are a little scary,
no?

It's not the lack of dope. Local cat 2 and 3 races would seem less
freaky than some of those guys.

JT

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"John Forrest Tomlinson" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

On Sun, 23 Jan 2005 00:46:26 -0500, [email hidden] wrote:

I happened across the second half. What a bad sporting event to show
people -- it was embarassing. The only people that seemed admirable
were the two young/fast relay teams plus the old guys relay team, plus
the indiidual winner. Everyone else seems like total nerds, fred,
people with death wishes or losers. "Rocket Mullet Head"? WTF? I guess
the Italian guy seemed pretty neat, but the phrase from teh
commentator "One of Italy's greatest cyclists" was a total lie.

I don't want images of people riding at 40rpm with their heads held up
by bungees cords to represent "my sport."

JT

I agree with John completely. I saw the whole show. It was like watching
suicide by bicycle. It was a terrible representation of what cycling is
about for most people. It was a profile of a bunch of lunatics. I couldn't
believe the monumental stupidity of it all.

--
Bob C.

"Of course it hurts. The trick is not minding that it hurts."
T. E. Lawrence (of Arabia)

psycholist wrote:

as he

Quoted message said:

was holding that guard rail and trying to launch himself in those last
feeble attempts, I kept thinking he could just push off, take a couple
pedals and fall out to the left in front of a car or truck.

What's the big deal anyway? That's just the first ride of the typical
season for me.

--
--
Lynn Wallace http://www.xmission.com/~lawall
"We should not march into Baghdad. ... Assigning young soldiers to
a fruitless hunt for a securely entrenched dictator and condemning
them to fight in what would be an unwinnable urban guerilla war, it
could only plunge that part of the world into ever greater
instability." George Bush Sr. in his 1998 book "A World Transformed"

"psycholist" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

"John Forrest Tomlinson" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

On Sun, 23 Jan 2005 00:46:26 -0500, [email hidden] wrote:

I happened across the second half. What a bad sporting event to show
people -- it was embarassing. The only people that seemed admirable
were the two young/fast relay teams plus the old guys relay team, plus
the indiidual winner. Everyone else seems like total nerds, fred,
people with death wishes or losers. "Rocket Mullet Head"? WTF? I guess
the Italian guy seemed pretty neat, but the phrase from teh
commentator "One of Italy's greatest cyclists" was a total lie.

I don't want images of people riding at 40rpm with their heads held up
by bungees cords to represent "my sport."

JT

I agree with John completely. I saw the whole show. It was like watching
suicide by bicycle. It was a terrible representation of what cycling is
about for most people. It was a profile of a bunch of lunatics. I
couldn't believe the monumental stupidity of it all.

--
Bob C.

"Of course it hurts. The trick is not minding that it hurts."
T. E. Lawrence (of Arabia)

IMO, Lamply's 1986 show was much better. It was joyous at times watching
Vance Vaughn and crew supporting what's her name--Mariolle?. There was also
an interesting women's field.
It seems that as the times have decreased since '86, the tenor of the race
has changed dramatically. More abject suffering and the difference between
the top two or three riders and those who don't make it is more pronounced.
I was interested to see several of the riders pulling out due to
liver/kidney failure. The guy with the helmet crane was a bit much but he
did do what he set out to do.

John Forrest Tomlinson said:

Quoted message said:

did anyone watch any of it? I watched some, about the first hour. I
wouldn't have minded seeing some actual riding but that's what I
expected from NBC.

I happened across the second half. What a bad sporting event to show
people -- it was embarassing. The only people that seemed admirable
were the two young/fast relay teams plus the old guys relay team,

plus

Quoted message said:

the indiidual winner. Everyone else seems like total nerds, fred,
people with death wishes or losers.

dumbass,

i watced the first hour as well. the riders were super-fredly, and it
does boil down to a sleep-deprivation and discomfort tolerace contest,
but it was interesting to watch. i don't think watching the 'riding'
would be as interesting as watching the human drama.

those riders were suffering more than people ever do in a typical bike
race, and you had to feel something for that. but suffering of the
participants isn't enough to make it an elite athletic event.

Quoted message said:

were suffering more than people ever do in a typical bike
race, and you had to feel something for that. but suffering of the
participants isn't enough to make it an elite athletic event.

I beg to differ, I would call this a elite level event. In my opinion, if
you took any pro rider out there, 80 percent of them could not complete this
race due to their bodies breaking down. The remaining 20 percent would
finish in decent time but would not win. The thing about the RAAM is that it
takes unreal amounts of stamina and sleep dep. I have only stayed up a few
times for 36-48 hours and I bonked. Imagine riding for 36-48 hours! I call
that elite. If you a burning a minimal of 500 cal/hr that's nearly 20,000
calories. That is difficult to put into oneself when one is biking.

david

"david" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

The thing about the RAAM is that it takes unreal amounts of stamina and
sleep dep. I have only stayed up a few times for 36-48 hours and I bonked.
Imagine riding for 36-48 hours! I call that elite.

Is that what you call it? I call it suicidal and stupid. Granted, the top
two guys crossed the line looking like they could have kept right on going.
Everyone after that looked near death. That guy who ended up in the
hospital for 3 days with kidney failure and swollen extremities ... as he
was holding that guard rail and trying to launch himself in those last
feeble attempts, I kept thinking he could just push off, take a couple
pedals and fall out to the left in front of a car or truck. It was just
senseless. And the morons in his support car ... GEEEZ ... couldn't they
see they were pushing the guy towards death!!!!!

It does seem that, in the last decade, it was a more sensible exercise in
who could lay out the best strategy and timetable for maximizing bike time
while still allowing for the minimum essential physical recovery time. I
used to be able to get some inspiration from watching coverage of those
competitions. I got no inspiration from watching yesterday's coverage.
That was just freaks, freds and suicidal maniacs.

--
Bob C.

"Of course it hurts. The trick is not minding that it hurts."
T. E. Lawrence (of Arabia)

Sounds like you have succumbed to the well-earned, stereotypical,
elitist, roadie attitude that does "our sport" no good.

<[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Sounds like you have succumbed to the well-earned, stereotypical,
elitist, roadie attitude that does "our sport" no good.

Sounds like you didn't see the show. ;-)

--
Bob C.

"Of course it hurts. The trick is not minding that it hurts."
T. E. Lawrence (of Arabia)

Quoted message said:

Sounds like you have succumbed to the well-earned, stereotypical,
elitist, roadie attitude that does "our sport" no good.

Dumbass.

Sounds like you are a doofus. I have no problem with film of people
having fun going slow on a bike -- touring, or mountain biking or
commuting, racing, acrobating cycling, whatever. I have a big problem
with people doing the sport badly -- those people's bodies and minds
were so [censored] that they were an exihibit of how not to ride a bike.

I've toured across the US and ridden a couple of 24 hour races. been a
messenger, etc, etc. I appreciate people either having fun on the
bike, using the bike for a purpose, or riding it well.

JT

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You make my point exactly. Such arrogant intolerance! Loser.

The people you should be heaping your scorn upon, are not those who
choose to exercise their mind & body (even if in a manner you deem
inappropriate), but those 60% of Americans who are obese, couch-potato
indulgers of fat-laden fast food delights or the 22% who keep the
tobacco companies in business. direct experience & knowledge (
http://www.jt10000.com/aboutme.htm ) and your wrath towards the
"heathen" and leave "the choir" alone.

John Forrest Tomlinson said:

Quoted message said:

did anyone watch any of it? I watched some, about the first hour. I
wouldn't have minded seeing some actual riding but that's what I
expected from NBC.

I happened across the second half. What a bad sporting event to show
people -- it was embarassing. The only people that seemed admirable
were the two young/fast relay teams plus the old guys relay team, plus
the indiidual winner. Everyone else seems like total nerds, fred,
people with death wishes or losers. "Rocket Mullet Head"? WTF? I guess
the Italian guy seemed pretty neat, but the phrase from teh
commentator "One of Italy's greatest cyclists" was a total lie.

Well to be fair we can't all be Lance, but I agree that it was kind of
embarrassing. As for 'italy's greatest cyclist' I think maybe he's a
big amateur hero in italy but do dumb NBC morons know the difference?
If you mentioned Gilberto Simoni, they'd say, Huh? Does he play for
the Packers?

Quoted message said:

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Quoted message said:

The people you should be heaping your scorn upon, are not those who
choose to exercise their mind & body (even if in a manner you deem
inappropriate), but those 60% of Americans who are obese, couch-potato
indulgers of fat-laden fast food delights or the 22% who keep the
tobacco companies in business. direct experience & knowledge (
http://www.jt10000.com/aboutme.htm ) and your wrath towards the
"heathen" and leave "the choir" alone.

THere's a point there. It's like kids BMXing. THey may get hurt but
it's a lot better to endure a few bruises or injuries than it is to
sit in the house all day eating Rolos and playing videogames for hours
on end. There was this kid who lived upstairs from us who was in the
house ALL day even in summer-just bouncing off the walls. Poor kid had
a stupid lazy mother. He wasn't fat, but skinny and pasty. I kept
thinking get the kid a bike! Maybe these guys are psychos but at least
they aren't eating themselves into early graves like most americans.
Still, kiling yourself for fitness is wack. Even in the grand tours
you're allowed to sleep!

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

The people you should be heaping your scorn upon, are not those who
choose to exercise their mind & body (even if in a manner you deem
inappropriate), but those 60% of Americans who are obese, couch-potato
indulgers of fat-laden fast food delights or the 22% who keep the
tobacco companies in business. direct experience & knowledge (
http://www.jt10000.com/aboutme.htm ) and your wrath towards the
"heathen" and leave "the choir" alone.

THere's a point there. It's like kids BMXing. THey may get hurt but
it's a lot better to endure a few bruises or injuries than it is to
sit in the house all day eating Rolos and playing videogames for hours
on end.

Theres' some truth in that. I don't actually have anything against a
bunch of weirdos going out and riding themselves into the ground in
their wobbling mulleted style while. At least they are trying. But
the producers of that show have (whether on a conscious or
subconscious level) a desire to make cycling out to be a freakshow,
and it's not. The existance of that show (not the participants) is
worse for the sport than not having it on TV at all.

JT

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"david" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
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Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

were suffering more than people ever do in a typical bike
race, and you had to feel something for that. but suffering of the
participants isn't enough to make it an elite athletic event.

I beg to differ, I would call this a elite level event. In my opinion, if
you took any pro rider out there, 80 percent of them could not complete

this

Quoted message said:

race due to their bodies breaking down. The remaining 20 percent would
finish in decent time but would not win. The thing about the RAAM is that

it

Quoted message said:

takes unreal amounts of stamina and sleep dep. I have only stayed up a few
times for 36-48 hours and I bonked. Imagine riding for 36-48 hours! I call
that elite. If you a burning a minimal of 500 cal/hr that's nearly 20,000
calories. That is difficult to put into oneself when one is biking.

david

I appreciate your point of view. I tended to the ultra-marathon type cycling
myself- the longest I rode was 30 hrs ( quad century ); the following day I
had to go out and do about 80 miles just to feel "normal". Going out for
400kms- was a nice ride on a day off work- now I don't even drive the route
because it's way too long.

On Sun, 23 Jan 2005 16:27:51 -0500, "Laz" <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

I appreciate your point of view. I tended to the ultra-marathon type cycling
myself- the longest I rode was 30 hrs ( quad century ); the following day I
had to go out and do about 80 miles just to feel "normal". Going out for
400kms- was a nice ride on a day off work- now I don't even drive the route
because it's way too long.

There's a huge difference between skipping one night's sleep and
skipping several. I've done two 24hr events and it's not a big deal.

JT

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