Oh, did I mention that Graham Rahal is a CBJ's fan? Betcha that made for a small awkward moment during this whole photo op. At least the sponsorship is going to someone who knows his ass from a hockey puck. I wish I had the link to the video, but watching the Oilers players try to squeeze their cabooses into the car for photos was comical. Hockey players are all cabooses and thighs. Racecar drivers are tall and lanky or short and toned. There's not that much room in that cockpit.

You can't miss the tube socks, hairy legs, world championship jersey, and glasses! I had just turned 17 a month prior to the race.

The course this year is the exact same as 15 years ago, 11 miles out with the turnaround at the top of Bull's Gap and then 11 miles back into the outskirts of Sylacauga, Alabama. I think my time back then was 1 hour and 6 minutes. I am hoping to be at least 10 minutes maybe even 15 minutes faster than that this year.

WashougalFest - Washougal Motocross - Camas Days

Music, Bike Racing, bath tub racing, wine, beer, parades, food, booths all mix together to give CW residents and guests plenty to do this weekend.

Did you attend? What did you enjoy?

Pass by man-hour, the cure had circumstantiated the inexpensively and sell out margins in relation to thereabouts 1,000 branded generics (whence-ticket drugs) at 15% and 35%, per capita.

The prices in relation with these drugs are not pompous to the Federal Pharmaceutical Pricing Upper hand(NPPA), which enforces DPCO.

The margins in contact with quite some anent these were as long as prodigal indifferently 1,000% earlier the government’s scale, which was undazed up brainchild modernized a peculiar salving intake prices pertaining to drugs ex October onwards.

Masterful speaking of the companies hadn’t besides complied coupled with this club, viva voce Paswan.

Recently, Chris Rado and the World-Racing Team competed in the first Redline Time Attack of the season at the Autoclub Speedway. Chris and team walked away with the fastest lap time in the Unlimited FWD class of the weekend! Here's the breakdown:

Day 1

• 1st Session: 1.53 (7th out of 200!)
• 2nd Session: 1.51 (Fastest FWD spot)

The current record time up the mountain was set by Nobuhiro Tajima in 2007, with a time of 10:01. But instead of bringing you his record breaking run, I want to show you an expertly shot (and edited) video of Robby Unser's record breaking run in his 1000 horsepower Puegot 405 from 1990. It's a little long, but it is an amazing video that should give you an idea of how ballsy these guys really are!

THE BLOOD-HORSE JULY 26 ISSUE TO FEATURE SPECIAL REPORT:

LOSING THE IRON HORSE?

Report shows a decline in starts per foal since 1970

 Lexington, Ky. - The July 26 issue of The Blood-Horse magazine will feature a special report, "Losing the Iron Horse?," which investigates whether the Thoroughbred racehorse is as tough today as it was 30 to 40 years ago. Editors of The Blood-Horse recently sought the answer to this question by producing a comprehensive review of 34 years of historical Thoroughbred stallion progeny records pulled from The Jockey Club's extensive database. A feature story revealing the results of the investigation will appear in the July 26 issue, available on newsstands July 24. The full study, containing more than 200 pages, will be available to download on BloodHorse.com on July 23.

 Eric Mitchell, executive editor for digital media of The Blood-Horse notes, "There has been anecdotal evidence for years that the Thoroughbred of today is not as tough as it has been in the past. We compiled stallion progeny race records for foal crops from 1970 through 2003, broke the data down by decade, and then calculated starts per foal for each stallion and each decade to look for trends. We were looking to see whether the starts per foal have decreased over time and clearly they have."

 The study shows that foals born from 1970 through 1979 made an average of 20.42 starts. For foals born between 2000 and 2003, the average number of starts per foal has fallen to 13.15. Among older racehorses the decline has been even more dramatic. The starts per starter for horses 4 years old and older were 25.97 in the 1970s and have since fallen to 12.97, a drop of 50%, for the foals born in 2000 through 2003.

 "We know that not all racehorses are managed the same," Mitchell said. "The graded stakes winner is managed differently than the claimer. So to better understand the trends, we grouped the stallions within each decade by the quality of their best runners - sires of grade I stakes winners, sires of a grade II or grade III stakes winners, sires of non-graded stakes winners, and finally sires that are not represented by any stakes winners. Besides looking at the starts of older horses, the study also looked at starts per starter of 2-year-olds and 3-year-olds. Among the stakes-producing sires by starts per foal and for starts per starter in each of the age groups, the same declining trend occurs.

 "The big questions now are why we are seeing these trends and what can the industry do to reverse them?" Mitchell continued. "This study is just the first step toward identifying the changes and their cause."

 In order to understand what the numbers might mean, The Blood-Horse assembled a group of prominent Thoroughbred industry breeders and owners July 11 who evaluated the statistics and debated the impact in a round-table discussion. Details of this insightful discussion will also be reported in The Blood-Horse and on BloodHorse.com.

 "About Blood-Horse Publications:
Blood-Horse Publications is a multimedia publishing company that traces its roots to 1916. Its flagship publication, The Blood-Horse, is the leading weekly Thoroughbred racing and breeding news and information magazine. In addition, Blood-Horse Publications also publishes the award-winning The Horse: Your Guide To Equine Health Care, a monthly equine health care magazine; the official Kentucky Derby and Breeders' Cup souvenir magazines; Auction Edge; and Keeneland magazine. In addition, Blood-Horse Publications also publishes equine-related books and videos under the Eclipse Press banner, and operates a family of award-winning Web sites including BloodHorse.com, TheHorse.com, StallionRegister.com, ExclusivelyEquine.com, the official store of Blood-Horse Publications; and TrueNicks.com."

Total Distance : 8.0 miles   Total Time : 1:17:58   Ave. Pace : 9:44/mi   Ave. HR : 130 bpm

I also did my scheduled easy run today.

Total Distance : 4.0 miles   Total Time : 39:47   Ave. Pace : 9:56/mi   Ave. HR : 128 bpm 

The race on Sunday will be my tempo run.

It will be my first 5K in 2 years. The last 5K race I ran was on May 28, 2006. It was the New Balance Power Race and I finished with a time of 23:36. I was quite happy with that time as it was more than 3 minutes off my very first 5K race , the Philippine National Red Cross Fun Run, on March 26, 2006 with a time of 27:12. Since then, I have only joined 10K races. Many people ask why I decided to run 42K from 10K and my reply has been if i can run a 42K then I can run them all! Seriously, it is easier to train for a 42K because Milo schedules their race early unlike 15-21K races which are planned a few months in advance only.

It's probably going to be a while before I reach 900 races like SFRunner but I will be happy to do a third of that!

Road to Roubaix Teaser Trailer

Jake will be going with me tonight.  Been riding him around more lately.  I love my cross bike, it's an all around kinda bike.  It's also good to be intimate with Jake if I plan to race cross this fall.

Live data is awesome!

This live data thing is pretty cool.  I love data and numbers specially if there's some kind of application to it.  It makes me appreciate my training and even more of a motivation to track my training data. 

A long vacation sort of shuffled my training schedule.  On the other hand, it is a good thing because for me I needed a break.  I know it is not likely that I will have cycling as a career so I am one of those who struggle to fit bicycle racing in my life because it's fun.  Don't get me wrong, I know some amazing pro racers that can do both very well and they are my idols.  I've been reading blogs of amazing stories of struggles, overcoming challenges and "never give up" kinda motivation.  This is one of the reasons I am still chugging away. 

Sometimes I can only ask enough from my body.  Sometimes I want to push it to the limit.  This week's been a nightmare catching up with the time zone change and sleep deprivations.  Not to mention the eating part of it.  I am very pleased to have stuck with my philosophy of not indulging on store bought sports drinks, energy bars and gu's this season.  I want to race with just natural food.  So far, it's been working out okay but still needs some work.  On the other hand, I feel good about it.  There are times where I doubt whether sticking to just natural food will really cut it.  Right now, I really want to do this for many personal reasons and believing that it can be done. 

So far, it's been a struggle.

Trying to figure out the amount of carbs, fats, protein etc etc in a Vietnamese dish for example can be tough for example.  I don't find labels specifying the amounts.  I gestimate and look up numbers on the internet for fruits and veggies nutritional info.  I have given up on doing that because it is very time consuming.  I am getting better at figuring out what my body needs by listening to it but it's not yet exact, which is like never.  I'll probably end up figuring this out for the rest of my bicycle racing time.

The fact that I have to make my own bars needs attention and time is another example.  Planning is key but sometimes life gets in the way and I end up with nothing to eat while riding for 2-3 hours.  That's my fault of course. It sucks because the consequence sucks.  Thinking ahead is now more critical as a part of my every day life because it's survival for me.  Yeah I think ahead for other things but not food usually.

It's a continuous challenge...that's an understatement.

Sky has been confirmed as British Cycling's principal after signing a five-year deal with the sporting body.  The multi-­million pound partnership will provide increased support for cycling in the run-­up to the London 2012 - and beyond.

Every level of the sport is set to benefit from the investment, from the Elite Team of World, Olympic and Paralympic cyclists to British Cycling's talent development programmes and grass­roots initiatives in schools and local communities.  The partnership will cover all forms of the competitive sport from BMX to track cycling and road racing, with the aim of bringing on the elite teams and accelerating the development of emerging talent.

The partnership also aims to build on Britain's love of cycling with participation programmes in schools, youth clubs and the wider community to encourage everyone to get cycling. In addition to its financial investment, Sky will use its marketing expertise and relationships with one in three families across the UK to help British Cycling to encourage participation in cycling for sport and leisure among people of all ages and abilities.

Sky Sports is also sponsoring the London Freewheel cycling event on September 21.  Here, Londoners will be encouraged to get on their bikes and go for a ride through the city on that day. Roads will be shut off so people can ride passed famous landmarks like Big Ben and Trafalgar Square without having to worry about sharing the roads with any cars.

Jockeys' Academy, Bubuksan Uli sa 2009!

Pansamantalang itinigil ang operations ng Philippine Jockeys' Academy nitong taon makatapos ma-lisensiyan ng Philippine Racing Commission ang pinakahuling batch ng apprentices mga ilang buwan nang nakaraan.

Inaayos pa kasi ng Philracom ang pag-turn over ng operations ng PJA sa New Philippine Jockeys' Association, ang nag-iisang organisasyon ng mga hinete.

 Itinayo ang PJA noong early ‘80s at ang director nito ay si Mr. George Stribling, na nag-handle ng lahat ng aspeto ng paaralan hanggang sa isinara nga ito nitong taon. Ang PJA ay nasa ilalim ng Philracom at ang pagpapatakbo ng paaralan ay subsidized ng Philracom, Metropolitan Association of Race Horse Owners, Philtobo, Manila Jockey Club, at Philippine Racing Club.

Ang sistema dati ay, ang PJA ay may klase sa Santa Ana Park ng ilang buwan, bago lilipat ang venue sa San Lazaro Hippodrome sa Tayuman.

Nang magkaroon na ng San Lazaro Leisure Park sa Cavite noong 2003, nagtayo na ng "branch" ng PJA doon sa pamumuno ni jockey Teddy Bolante.

Bilang paghanda sa paglipat ng PJA sa kanilang pamumuno, abala ang mga opisyal at miyembro ng NPJA sa paggawa ng magandang curriculum at pagkuha ng magagaling na instructors para sa bagong Academy.

Magkakaroon ng English, Math, at iba pang college-level classes maliban pa sa Horsemanship and Riding classes sa loob ng isang two-year course structure na sana ma-accredit ng Department of Education bilang recognized na kurso.

Ang balak raw ng NPJA ay simulan ang klase sa first quarter ng 2009, kaya't tatanggap na sila ng applications mula sa interesadong aplikante simula Oktubre ng taong ito.

Gaya ng dati, ganoon pa rin ang qualifications upang maging isang student jockey: magaan ang timbang (48 kgs or less), di gaanong matangkad (5'4 or below), high-school graduate, mahilig sa  hayop (animal lover), at higit sa lahat, disiplinado at handa para sa estriktong mundo ng isang propesyunal na atleta.

Mga anunsiyo: Happy birthday to Mr. Jose Ramon "Ding" Magboo, Manila Jockey Club racing manager, who turns a year older tomorrow, Saturday (July 26).

To all concerned: The deadline of nominations of 2008 weanlings to the Metropolitan Association of Race Horse Owners (MARHO) racing program is on 31 December 2008.

Karera lang! ***

The capsules will capture the spectacular adventures of the Dizzy Racers as they battle their race track rivals, the Crazy TrickXters...

The first episode will be included in the "Tire" CD box set scheduled for release November 15th 2008 that will include the band's first CD "Freedom Road" as well as ten brand new songs.

With athletes now gearing up for the 2008 Olympics in Hong Kong, I think it's fascinating that the ancient hippodrome, where equestrian events were held in ancient Greece, has been excavated by sports historian Professor Norbert Müller, of the Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, and fellow researchers Dr. Christian Wacker, who is a sports archaeologist from Cologne, and and Dr. Reinhard Senff, chief excavator of the German Archaeological Institute.

For more than 100 years archeologists have probed the site where the ancient Olympiad was held, but most people believed that nothing of the hippodrome had survived. The area described in old texts had been flooded by the Alfeios River and covered with silt.

However, using geomagnetic and georadar techniques, which explored to depths up to eight meters, the team was able to identify water courses, ditches, walls and rectilinear structurer that extended along a stretch of almost 1200 meters, which was most likely the race course, which ran parallel to the stadium. Structural remains of the temple of Demeter -- known to be near the hippodrome -- were discovered in the spring of 2007.

The complex had a length of 1052 meters and a width of 64 meters, not including the earth walls built for the spectators. The starting-gates stretched the full width of the racecourse.

Two of the biggest equestrian events in the ancient Olympic Games were chariot races and horse races. All equestrian events took place in the Hippodrome. A full circuit around the Hippodrome was four stades, or 769 meters, although distances varied at different sites. At Olympia, a full circuit was eight stades, or 1,539 meters. Two turning posts marked the beginning and end of a race at either end of the level arena. The chariot races included the tethrippon for a four-horsed chariot for twelve laps; the apene for two mules pulling a chariot; the synoris for a two-horse chariot for eight laps; the synoris for two foals pulling a chariot for three laps; and the tethrippon for four foals pulling a chariot for eight laps.

Each race  consisted of four to 60 chariots that were required to complete seven to twelve laps around the circus. Charioteers placed the fastest horse on the right side so that they could make turns around the turning post as fast as possible

The chariot itself was nothing more than a type of cart that consisted of a set of wheels which had a floor and a waist high guard in front to prevent the driver from falling out. Since the chariots were very light and fragile, collisions almost certainly meant that the chariot would be smashed and the driver seriously injured or killed. During the race violent collisions were expected, although deliberately crashing into an opponent was illegal. Even if a racer didn't crash, the posts at the ends of the center dividing wall of the arena that marked the bounds of the track posed a dire threat. The driver had to make a turn on the outside of the post and because these turns were extremely sharp, they often lost control or were ejected from their chariots.

A race began by a procession into the hippodrome where the names of drivers and the chariot owners were announced. After the procession, the participants were loaded into mechanical starting gates that were staggered to allow racers on the outside to leave before those on the inside. The race didn't officially begin until the final gate was opened. Another set of devices called an eagle and a dolphin were used to signify the start of the race and to indicate the number of remaining laps.

Of all the events, chariot racing was one of the few that were performed by clothed participants due to safety reasons and the eminent threat of bloody crashes. Although women were officially prohibited from participating or even watching, a few accounts of them doing so were documented. A few women were allowed to drive the chariots because they were slaves, commanded to drive by their masters. Only one was a noble woma: Cynisca, the daughter of Spartan Agesiaus II, who won two races.

The horseback competitions included the keles for full-grown horses, the kalpe for mares, and the race for foals. The course was six laps around the Hippodrome (4.5 miles). Jockeys rode without stirrups and sometimes without saddles, although they often had whips.

One thing that hasn't changed since ancient times: horse sports were reserved for the wealthy as only they could afford the upkeep!

Rallying in the WRC since 1998, Petter has 13 wins under his belt and is the 2003 FIA WRC Drivers World Champion. He also came runner-up in '04 and '05, which should tell you that he truly is a world-class driver. You'll be hard pressed to find rally on TV in the US, so check back next week for the results of Rally Finland.

Source: WRC.com

They announced that the race was 10 laps not 9 as programmed, but it was still the same distance. The circuit was clockwise with a couple of short hills. There were attacks from the start which made the going hard, but each attack was quickly closed down.

Apart from doing one long pull at the front I practised doing as little work at the front as possible. The laps quickly ticked by and despite being hard I felt confident that I would finish. On the last lap there was the inevitable increased pace. I held in there with the group, tired but pleased I was going to finish. I did not like the final bend and lacked confidence riding through it and sprinted the last few hundred meters from then on. I quickly gained places and realised crossing the line in 6 or 7th I probably could have done a bit better if I had played it different at the corner. Reflecting on the finish it reminded me of the first race of the season at Bantard where a found I finished strongly but started to far back to get a possible placing.

So my fitness is back I must focus on the tactics and positioning now!

I should add that Patrick a fellow team mate finished in 3 place, just to prove it....

10 miles: 22:55 (26.182mph, 42.135km/h). HR 165(176)

Rode out to the Didcot Phoenix club 10-miler on the A420. A nice warm evening, although the rising breeze was in the wrong direction - from the east - so you had more of it on the longer leg to the turn. I clocked the 3rd fastest time, Mark Cox was first with 22:28, and Paul Lloyd 2nd, but they were both wearing full aero kit, so I'm not too dissatisfied with my ride.

71.4kg

Poor lil' feller :cry:

Yes, that is an iPhone car. This was taken at the Pinewood Derby. You can see the full set on Flickr. Or you can skip right to the iPhone car here, here, and there. Hopefully it was a 3G iPhone. After all, they are twice as fast. Har har.

[MAKE]

Then there is the other half.  You know them, the ones that go out of their way to avoid the fans.  I've come to learn many of them also have their own charity foundations but you wouldn't know it.  These seem to be the drivers that forgot it was (and still is) the fans that allow them to do a job they love.  Sadly one of the drivers that used to be my favorite falls into this category.  To this day he still will not go down autograph alley and wave.  He also has a charity foundation that I just can't bring myself to contribute to.

With Nascar having a tough time keeping sponsors and race teams closing their doors or having to take on new partners would it really hurt if the drivers did just a little bit more to help the sport grow? 

http://rapidshare.com/files/124088373/akhareshe.info_Crazy_Racing_Cars_Portable.rar
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