I am going to do two 100 mile bike rides in September (North Shore Century and Apple Cider Century) on behalf of the SmileTrain, an outstanding organization that provides cleft lip and palate surgeries for children in need. Please sponsor me. More details at the following website:

http://www.smiletrain.org/site/TR/Events/General?pg=fund&fr_id=1040&pxfid=3940.

People are always amazed that my son Charlie was born with a cleft lip and palate because he is such a handsome (and in my unbiased opinion, also a wonderful) young adult. Charlie, and our entire family, benefitted from the fantastic doctors at the Rush Hospital Craniofacial Center, particularly Drs. John Curtin, John Polley and Alvaro Figueroa.

Our whole family is grateful that Charlie (pictured above with his sisters) was able to get the medical help he needed, but also saddened that so many children with cleft lips and palates do not. That is why I am riding to support The SmileTrain.

Help me and needy children by sponsoring me on my September bike rides.

The Tour de France ended over two weeks ago and I am still going through withdrawals. The 09 Tour was an awesome sporting event with following highlights:
· Contadour was amazing (too amazing?)
· Cavendish, the Manx Missile -Cav and Team Columbia were the stars of the 09 TdF
· The Contadour – Lance rivarly (09 just a start, 2010 TdF gonna be a grudge match)
· Nicki Sorensen bringing home a stage win for bike-crazy country of Denmark (Grandmother whom I never met and my mom barely knew (GM died when Mom was a baby) was born in Denmark; makes Danish my main ethnicity)
· Great Tour for France (a country I used to dislike but now thoroughly admire (when you’re right, you’re right (ie, Iraq, food, wine)) with wonderful stage wins, ie, the gritty Thomas Voelkler and young Brice Feillul
· George Hincapie (Team Columbia) getting screwed out of yellow by Garmin (Garmin – Columbia up there with OSU-Michigan as far as rivalries) and Astana (yup, still blame Astana, pulled too hard and too long at the lead).
· Phil and Paul – best sports announcers there are, ‘nuff said
· Paul Sherwin’s daily African proverbs (ie, “A roaring lion catches no prey”)
· Fabian Cancellara took prologue and was in yellow for a couple of days. Fabby and Roger Federer (Wimbeldon champ) gave Switzerland a brief domination of world sports and Fabby got my wife and daughters interested in the TdF (apparently they consider him a “hottie”).

Our vacation coincided with the 2nd week of the Tour which, since the vaca consisted of biking, beach and hanging out at a nice condo, worked out very well. Except the condo’s cable did not get Versus (premium channel?). Fortunately I figured out the Versus stream, which was not really intuitive (poorly constructed site by Versus this year) and watched some great stages in a streaming mode.

I biked in the morning, generally got home in time to watch some of the TdF and then posted about the TdF stage and read some biking friend’s posts on fb (fb definitely improved the TdF experience for me and certainly bewildered most of my nonbiking fb friends).

Cannot wait for 2010, in the meantime the Spanish Vuelta and Tours of Ireland and Missouri will have to do.

Tour de France TTT Daydreams

7/7/09 AP

Tour de France upset – Plank Road Cyclery Wed PM Bike Group takes team time trial, shocks Astana, SaxoBank. Jim Harper in yellow, Armstrong, Contador, others concede with over 2 weeks left…, oops, sorry, guess one of daydreams found its way into this blog.

Very Excited about the Upcoming Tour de France

Tour de France – so many questions, Armstrong’s comeback, 2 defending champs (Contadora and Sastre), can Levi Leipheimer and Christian VandeVelde (Chicago’s own, CVdV’s kid was baptized by my friend, Father Larry) rebound, Menchov is hot, the Schleck brothers, Cadell Evans runner-up last 2 years? Biggest question tho – can I get the Ridgewood Tap, total blue collar dive bar, to put the TDF on one of their TVs?

I am an avid biker but I started watching, and loving, the Tour de France, years before I started biking. It was part Lance Armstrong era (altho he's not my current fav), best announcers in the business - Phil and Paul, it was like taking a 3 week tour of France in my living room each July and the mystery of biking strategy (still not completely comfortable with it) and the team aspect.

Musings on Cub Relief Issues

Cubs Relief Pitching Situation is a Mess

Of course Carlos Marmol is having a bad year. At the beginning of the year, Lou and Larry Rothschild (HFHS grad), essentially told Marmol that he was not as good as Kevin Gregg when they made Gregg the closer. Turns out Gregg sucks (although he shut down the Sox in the 9th (6/26/09); even a broken clock is right twice a day (or once if digital)). So of course Marmol has to be thinking that if I am not as good as Gregg, and Gregg sucks, then I must really suck. And thus it has turned into a self fulfilling prophesy and what looks to be another mediocre season for our Cubs. Way to go Lou and Larry.

Cubs v White Sox at Harper House

Daughters are huge White Sox fans. OK with me, who needs a lifetime of Cub aggravation.

Joe Crede trade to the Twins brings their loyalty and devotion to the Sox in question - they quit referring to the Twins as the Twinks and recently heard this, “never really hated the Twins, always thought they were plucky”.

Now being asked if there is a cable channel that shows Twins games.

Sentiment that lack of J Crede brought about Sox aesthetic degradation heard from their mother/my spouse and female contingent of Flossmoor Running Club.

Friday Morning Bike Rides

Try to bike 20-35 mi on Friday mornings before work. Have to get up early, but that's ok because I get up early anyway. Love my Fri AM rides - peaceful, wind is usually nonexistent to calm and the roads are relatively clear of autos. A little tired at work, but you know what - its Friday and I can gut it out.

Route choices:

• Old Plank Trail west to Frankfort or to Hickory Creek in Mokena
• South - Park Forest to GSU to Monee, sometimes as far as the Monee Reservoir off of Pauling Rd.
• Southeast - Park Forest to Steger to Crete via the fantastic Richton and Kings Rds.
• Northwest - to Tinley trails through Oak Forest and Palos Heights. Route requires going north on the fantastic Central Ave (newly paved 2 years ago) bw Flossmoor Rd and 167th St.
• North through the underrated neighborhoods of the south side of Chicago (West Pullman Park and Roseland)and Riverdale. Scary - not at 6:30 in the morning and on a bike. May not be that scary anyway.