Our favorite beer-drinking rider from Amish Country is back, according an interview on cyclingnews.com passed along to us by John Markstrom, a transplanted New Yorker living on the left coast.

Here’s the beginning of the article:

“The countdown to the end of the suspension of Floyd Landis is nearly over. After two years, the American who once stood atop the Tour de France podium returns to a changed sport as a different person. Cyclingnews sat down with him at his team’s training camp in southern California to re-introduce Landis back to professional road cycling.”

Here’s the link to read the rest of the interview:

http://www.cyclingnews.com/interviews.php?id=riders/2009/interviews/floyd_landis_jan09

I always thought half the fun was getting lost and finding the unexpected. David, I read with interest your post below about the Garmin Edge. I used a Garmin GPS about ten years ago when I owned a small sailboat. It was the navigator I needed to relocate the 28 foot Cape Dory from Barnegat Bay to the Chesapeake. I would have been very hesitant to make that trip without the security of that GPS.

But for bike rides I’m happy with a queue sheet or nothing. Part of the attraction of cycling in my mid-teens, (and now) was the discovery of new places. Riding further from home on nearly every weekend. Finding unpaved roads and towns I’ve never heard of and following our noses home. Sometimes we’d be lost having ridden 30 or 40 miles from home and just head towards the sun until we found a road or route number we knew. Days we thought would be 40-mile loops turned into 60 or more. Five high school friends and I used AAA folding maps to make our way from suburban Philadelphia to Portland Maine to take the ferry to Nova Scotia and back a different route. We got lost a few times and turned 100-mile days into 115 but it was all-good. It forced us to talk to people and share our story. I’d be afraid that with a GPS in hand we’d have planned the trip in detail and followed the route blindly. Missing out on side roads suggested by locals we met along the way.

Of course, the GPS might have helped me find one of the few bridges into Montreal that allowed bikes when I rode there solo in 1983. Once in Montreal I was looking for the YMCA for my first night stay, but couldn’t find it. It had rained most of the day and I was covered in heavy road grime. Dark was settling in and I decided the next hotel I saw I was going in. The hotel I found was the Mount Royal Sheraton. I locked my bike to a sign out front. Clip-clopped my way up the white marble stairs and under the crystal chandelier. I was a mess and the desk clerk was super nice. I asked for an out of the way room that I could take my bike. The best part was the bellman who tried to place my Peugeot onto a luggage cart to wheel it to the room. I grabbed it and put it on my shoulder panniers and all and we headed to the back freight elevator. The next day I bought a newspaper to cover the floor and proceeded to regrease the bottom bracket and hubs for the 1,100 miles home. 

Next, on that trip was a short but exhilarating seven miles or so on Route 80 near the Delaware Water Gap. But that’s a fun story now—blasting down the shoulder of Rt 80 doing a time trial as hard as I could with trucks passing me at 70 mph a foot or so away while I rehearsed saying “ Officer I’m sorry, I was coming down 209 and didn’t know it joined Rt 80 for this section. I started in Monticello, NY this morning and still have 70 miles to get home. I promise to get off at the next exit.”

I now live on a road I stumbled on when I first moved here on a bike ride. From the river I rode up Snake Hill, a road that earns its name. It ends at Old Albany Post Road, which was hard packed at the intersection. I hung a right and started to descend a nasty, rutted dirt road at speeds that flat out scared me on a road bike. But while I was white knocked I was thinking, “what a great road, I want to live here some day.” If the GPS told me the road was dirt or the climb on Snake Hill was as steep I would have found another way and missed out.

It’s that unknown I love while riding. It’s pushing myself farther then planned to get home. It’s time trialing as hard as you can to be home before dark. The training aspects do sound nice.

But for $600 I’d rather invest in a much better set of wheels or travel to a place I’ve never been on a bike. Hope I’m lucky enough to get lost and meet some nice locals to get me back to the hotel with another story to share on the next club ride.

But David, if we’re lost together and looking for a fast why home I’ll be glad to follow your wheel.

The following post was written for BikeHugger.com, a site I contribute to on occasion but is helpful for the Rockland and Westchester riders lost off on the winding local roads.

Like many things we now take for granted, the Global Positioning System (GPS) was developed for the military—the ability to determine precise location down (with military systems) to inches is a crucial advantage in combat. Early commercial GPS units included a bit of scrambling in the hopes that civilians wouldn’t use the systems for terrorist purposes, but that intentional scrambling was ended during the Clinton administration, paving the way for generations of more accurate GPS devices, including Garmin’s latest foray into bicycling-specific computers, the Edge 705.

I’ve been using the Edge 705 since its release (and the Edge 305 before that), and it has revolutionized training and group rides thanks to several key features—routing, training planning, wireless data transfer and data mining.

Routing

Garmin makes its bread and butter through commercial vehicular navigation systems, the ubiquitous GPS systems that help drivers get from Point A to Point B without getting lost along the way.

At its heart, the Edge 705 is a full-fledged navigator that comes with complete street maps for the United States and Canada. (There are entry-level models of the Edge 705 without the included micro-SD card maps, don’t bother with them as the default base maps on the non-mapped version only lists major roads, the sort of routes you’d like to avoid in the first place.

As a leader of group rides for our local club, I’m often looking for new routes but the fear of getting the group lost often curtails my exploration. The Edge provides complete turn-by-turn mapping to any destination, and the device calculates the best routes for bikes, avoiding highways, toll roads and dirt routes.

Several different modes provide different ways to receive navigation—set up the main bike computer to show turn information, look at an on-screen map with directions, or follow along text-based turn-by-turn directions. In any case, the Edge will alert you at each turn and provide directions.

Thanks to my newfound ability to get home no matter where I am, I’ve actually discovered a whole new system of roads and routes. As the Edge plots paths via fastest or shortest routes, it often takes me through areas I’ve never ridden before, which has seriously increased my route variety.

It’s also possible to download routes into the Edge—when I did RAGBRAI years ago I took along one of Garmin’s general-purpose GPS units (before the Edge was available) and downloaded into it the complete route for the ride. At any point I was able to plot distances to rest stops and campsites, helping me better pace the ride.

Websites like Bicylcing.com provide GPS mapped routes you can download (disclosure: I’m a contributor to the mapping section of the site) into your Edge, which makes it fantastically easy to find a ride when you’re traveling.

PC users can use Garmin’s mapping software to map out routes (Garmin’s Mac offerings with the route mapping are behind their PC software) and maps can be made and downloaded from Google Earth.

Maps are available for Europe and many other regions, and I’ve used the Edge to help me ride across Europe without a guide book or turn sheet in site. Recently I spent an afternoon pedaling around Amsterdam and when I was done just plugged my hotel in and let the Edge route me back home safely even though I had no idea where I was.

Training

For many users the Edge 705 can replace a coach or trainer, thanks to the programmable training features built into the unit. Interval day? Simply create a routine with the rest and intensity splits and the Edge will prompt you when to start and stop. Workouts can be tailor made for things like base miles, minimum speed, climbing goals, heart rate goals, power level averages, distance and more.

The Edge will display all split starts and stops, prompt you (in the case of speed-based workouts) if you’re going too slowly or too fast, let you know when to sprint or rest, and more. You can even record a route and turn it into a workout, riding it to compete against your best time. While in training mode the Edge’s screen displays a graphical bike rider for yourself and for your “opponent” (either your previous time or your set benchmark for the workout), a surprisingly motivating little element.

The top-end Edge model comes with a heart-rate monitor and a cadence/speed sensor to gather real-time cadence data, and to provide speed readings when GPS signal is weak or when riding a trainer inside. (The sensor fits the rear wheel, which allows the computer to still function when riding a wind trainer with stationary front wheel.)

Garmin also adopted the ANT+ specification for wireless interoperability with ANT+ power meters, which allows power training with a variety of power meters.

Those with multiple bikes can program the profiles of up to three bikes, allowing the Edge to move between bikes and still properly estimate rider calorie burn. Cadence sensors are available as an accessory, allowing multiple bikes to work with a single Edge computer.

Wireless Data Transfer

The ANT+ standard not only allows the Edge to work with wireless heart, power and cadence accessories but allows the device to talk to other units, enabling Edge-to-Edge transfer of workout programs and routes. Show up for a group training ride with your cadence workout on your Edge and send that workout to everyone else in the group. Or (and this is the holy-grail of group-ride leading) create a route and share it with all the other Edge computers in the pack so that no one gets lost when your B level training ride turns into an A level hanmmerfest.

Data Mining

For the gearhead, the Edge provides a huge ream of information. BikeHugger has already looked at some software programs that help the athlete track their workouts, but my favorite program RubiTrack is another alternative for some serious ride analysis.

As the Garmin stores tons of data for every part of a ride software like RubiTrack, Garmin’s own Garmin Training Center or Ascent allow you to really dig into your routes, plotting details of ride down to the watt, rpm, heart beat or speed each moment of your ride and to plot those details against other data to see how you perform in different conditions.

RubiTrack for example makes it easy to track cadence vs. elevation or heart rate vs. speed, and it’s even possible to make a route “historical” to use as a baseline for fitness later on.

RubTrack (and the less flashy and slightly less powerful Ascent) takes this all a step further and displays routes overlaid on maps, automatically labels the starting places of rides, and also provides smart filtering of your events. (Find everything you did with a speed above 28mph or any ride that had more than 1000 feet of climbing, for example)

Drawbacks

The Edge’s main drawback is its price. At around $600 for the model with heart rate monitor, cadence sensor and street maps it’s pricier than some bikes. But in a purely feature-by-feature comparison the Edge can’t be beat.

For Mac users Garmin’s quasi-support can be frustrating as well. Years ago the company promised full support for Mac users, but the mapping tool available to PC users for a decade still hasn’t been fully ported to the Mac, while programs like Garmin Training Center are anemic compared to the third party tools Ascent and RubiTrack.

Battery life on the Edge is good, the previous Edge models only ran for around four or five hours before needing a charge, but I’ve used the Edge 705 for basemile centuries and still had plenty of juice left over. However if you’re cycling off the grid for an extended period without power, the Edge is going to run out of gas before you do.

Future models of the Edge will likely pack more features (like a true electric compass, the current Edge gets directional data from GPS so the compass is only accurate when moving—not terribly handy when at a stoplight and trying to figure out which way to go) but the Garmin Edge 705 is the most sophisticated training and navigation device for cyclists ever.

ADELAIDE, Australia (AP)  Lance Armstrong avoided a serious crash which ended the race for eight cyclists during Thursday’s third stage of the Tour Down Under.

Strong winds, hills and a helicopter also tested Armstrong’s patience and stamina in his comeback race after three years in retirement. For the third straight day, Armstrong finished among the main pack.

He was officially 32nd of the 124 riders who finished the 82-mile stage but had the same time as the winner, Graeme Brown of Australia. George Hincapie finished in the top five again staying near the front.

The seven-time Tour de France champion was fortunate to miss a crash at the 8-mile mark which ruled eight riders out for the remainder of the race, including defending champion and first-stage winner Andre Greipel, the leading rider for US-based Team Columbia.

Greipel suffered a dislocated shoulder and will not continue. Australian Allan Davis, the tour leader after the second stage Wednesday, was also brought down but remounted his bike and finished second in the stage to share the lead with Brown on general classification.

“We’ve lost more riders in this one stage than we’ve lost in the 10-year history of the race,” race director Mike Turtur said.

After three of six stages, Armstrong was officially 39th overall and 29 seconds behind Davis, who retained the leader’s ochre jersey.

Strong winds provided riders with the stiffest test of the tour so far as they raced through a series of grueling hill climbs from suburban Unley in Adelaide’s north to seaside Victor Harbor on its rugged southern coast.

Armstrong again made a strong impression, taking part in a 16-man breakaway which led the stage from the 8.7-mile mark to the 63-mile mark. A lack of organization and cooperation among leading riders prevented the attack from being more decisive, and perhaps denied Armstrong a chance for his first stage win.

Armstrong said the winds severely tested the stamina and skill of all the riders.

“It was hard,” he said. “It wasn’t a consistent wind. It was really swirling.”

Armstrong, 37, was satisfied with his own form. He looked composed and comfortable in staying with the leading group for more than 50 miles, riding strongly on the hills and remaining prominent in a bunched sprint to the finish.

“It felt all right,” he said. “The high-end intensity I don’t have yet, that’s the bottom line.

“All in all, I guess the kind of stuff I have to do (to get race fit), I need to do in the race. I’ve got to work that high end. Like I’ve said 100 times, I can’t do that in training.”

Armstrong was disturbed during the race by a helicopter, filming the progress of the stage, which swept low over the riders at times and added to the effects of the gusting wind.

He called for the helicopter to back off to give some relief to the lead group as it struggled to preserve a peak lead of 1 minute, 30 seconds.

“It was like a big wind sitting on top of you because it was swirling so much,” Armstrong said.

“I was saying (to the helicopter) you can get the same shot if you just pull up a few hundred meters. No offense to the helicopter, but you don’t need that, especially when it’s windy.

“For the little guys, with the (lightweight) rims these days and with the big gusts, the next stop is New Zealand for them.”

The opening ProTour event of the season ends Sunday.

Lance gave it a go in the second stage of the Tour Down Under today taking part in two late breakaways during the 92 mile race.

Quick-Step’s Allan Davis took the sprint win

“It was fun to be out in front of a race again,” he said. “As they say over here it was good to give it a twist, to give it a crack. 

“It’s going to take a while to adapt to race speed, I’ve said that since I got here and today proved that,” he added. “Those long drags uphill were never my strong suit but having been out of competition and you get in the race and it’s fast and guys are strong it’s a suffer-fest. You suffer when you get to those moments.”

In this AP Photo he rides with friend and former teammate George Hincapie during the stage.

Armstrong said he is prepared to do just that if that’s what it takes to return to his peak.

“I like to suffer, although it sounds weird,” he said. “I know why I’m doing this, I want to be doing it and I’m having a good time. If I wasn’t having fun I would pack it in.”

Having “a helluva good time”, Amrstrong says. “The comeback, so to speak, is at least a year, it’s not three or four, I don’t think, but it could be two years. I’ve got to get through the first part of this season and then decide.

“There are other things, too, that need to fall into place but primarily my condition and how this all feels and how the campaign (to raise cancer awareness) unfolds.”

Ivan Basso didn’t beat Lance offen on the road but is first of the two to post blood values online. Basso served his sentence for his assocation to Spanish Doctor Eufemiano Fuentes in the dopping scnadal Operaction Puerto. To monitor Basso’s tests click here for his Mapei Sports Service site.

Lance Armstrong says he will keep his promise to disclose the results of doping tests he faces in his cycling comeback, but didn’t say when or how they will be released.

But on Wednesday he said he was uncertain how much would be published, using the example of blood cell counts.

“I mean, what do you publish?” Armstrong said. ”(Do) you start publishing blood values? After the race, I saw online that Ivan Basso is publishing his blood values and if you notice you’ll see he’s 45, 44, 43, 41.

“For example, and I’m just hypothetically saying, you go to (a high) altitude for a month and all of a sudden it goes to 46. Not everyone in this room is going to say ‘it went from 41 to 46, you must have cheated’ but someone is going to say, a few of you guys and gals are going to say, ‘that’s not normal’.”

Armstrong indicated he would be reluctant to publish readings of blood tests which might be affected by sickness, dehydration or altitude — which could be misinterpreted.

“So you think, well, do you publish that?” he said. “Then you open yourself up to all this other criticism. But I don’t think it would be accurate to say we’re not going to publish.”

“I would rely a lot on what Don Catlin wants to publish but we’ll definitely publish data and information.”

Armstrong, 37, has been tested once by Australian doping authorities and “on average” once every three days by agents of his self-imposed program since his arrival in Australia for the Tour Down Under, his first professional stage race in three years.

Armstrong promised before the Tour Down Under that results of the testing carried out on his behalf by Don Catlin, an American anti-doping scientist, would be published on a Web site “accessible to anyone and everyone.”

Below is a press release from the Clif Bar company on their voluntary recall of their 14 US products and 4 Canadian products effected by the recall.Clif Bar asks you to destroy the items and retain the “Best By/Sell By” code found on the back of the package for refunds.

Mon, January 19 2009 – Clif Bar & Company Announces Voluntary Nationwide Recall of CLIF® and LUNA® Branded Bars Containing Peanut Butter Due to Possible Health Risk

BERKELEY, Calif., January 19, 2009 – Clif Bar & Company today announced a voluntary recall of CLIF® and LUNA® branded bars that contain peanut butter because the products have the potential to be contaminated with Salmonella. The recalled products contain peanut butter manufactured by Peanut Corporation of America (PCA). PCA is the focus of an investigation by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) concerning a recent Salmonella outbreak thought to be caused by tainted peanut butter.

In the U.S., the following Clif Bar & Company products with “Best By/Sell By” dates ranging as shown below, in all sizes and packages, are included in the recall:

CLIF BAR Chocolate Chip Peanut Crunch
BEST BY/SELL BY: 21JUN09 to 01OCT09 and
03NOV09 to 28NOV09
CLIF BAR Crunchy Peanut Butter
BEST BY/SELL BY: 21JUN09 to 01OCT09 and
03NOV09 to 28NOV09
CLIF BAR Peanut Toffee Buzz
BEST BY/SELL BY: 13SEP09
CLIF Builder’s Peanut Butter
SELL BY: 09JUL09 to 30SEP09 and 05NOV09 to 18NOV09
CLIF Kid Organic ZBaR Peanut Butter
BEST BY: 07JUL09 to 05SEP09 and 12NOV09
LUNA Nutz Over Chocolate BEST BY:29JUL09 to 03OCT09 and 11NOV09 to 14NOV09
LUNA Peanut Butter Cookie BEST BY: 02OCT09 to 03OCT09 and 11NOV09 to 14NOV09
MOJO Honey Roasted Peanut BEST BY: 30APR09 to 21JUN09
MOJO Mixed Nuts BEST BY: 30APR09 to 21JUN09
MOJO Mountain Mix BEST BY: 30APR09 to 21JUN09
MOJO Peanut Butter Pretzel BEST BY: 30APR09 to 21JUN09
MOJO Dipped Chocolate Peanut BEST BY: 30APR09 – 21JUN09
MOJO Dipped Peanut Butter and Jelly BEST BY: 30APR09 – 21JUN09
MOJO Dipped Fruit and Nut BEST BY: 30APR09 – 21JUN09

These products were sold in grocery, warehouse and other retail stores throughout the United States.

No other CLIF or LUNA products or flavors are included in this United States recall.

Salmonella is an organism which can cause serious and sometimes fatal infections in young children, frail or elderly people, and others with weakened immune systems. Healthy persons infected with Salmonella often experience fever, diarrhea (which may be bloody), nausea, vomiting and abdominal pain. In rare circumstances, infection with Salmonella can result in the organism getting into the bloodstream and producing more severe illnesses such as arterial infections (i.e., infected aneurysms), endocarditis and arthritis. For more information on Salmonella, please visit the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Web site at http://www.cdc.gov/ or call 800-CDC-INFO (800-232-4636).

Consumers who have purchased the recalled products are urged to destroy them but retain the “Best By/Sell By” code found on the back of the package. Consumers with questions or who would like a refund may contact Clif Bar & Company at 1-800-CLIFBAR (1-800-254-3227). Details also can be found at www.clifbar.com.

“With an abundance of caution and given the FDA’s ongoing investigation of PCA, we’re doing all we can to ensure consumer safety and trust,” said Gary Erickson, owner and founder of Clif Bar & Company.

About Clif Bar & Company
Clif Bar & Company (http://www.clifbar.com) is a leading maker of all-natural and organic energy and nutrition foods and drinks, including the CLIF® BAR energy bar and LUNA®, The Whole Nutrition Bar for Women®. Focused on great food and sustainability, Clif Bar & Company works diligently to reduce its footprint on the planet from the field to the final product.

###

CANADA

Clif Bar & Company Announces Voluntary Recall of CLIF® Branded Bars Containing Peanut Butter Due to Possible Health Risk

BERKELEY, Calif., January 19, 2009 – Clif Bar & Company today announced a voluntary recall of CLIF® branded bars that contain peanut butter because the products have the potential to be contaminated with Salmonella. The recalled products contain peanut butter manufactured by Peanut Corporation of America (PCA). PCA is the focus of an investigation by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) concerning a recent Salmonella outbreak thought to be caused by tainted peanut butter.

The following four CLIF products distributed in Canada with “Expiry Date/Date d’Expiration” dates and/or ranges of dates as shown below, in all sizes and packages, are included in the recall:

CLIF® BAR Chocolate Chip Peanut Crunch / Brisures de Chocolat aux Arachides Croquants
EXPIRY DATE/DATE D’EXPIRATION: 2009SE07
CLIF BAR Crunchy Peanut Butter / Beurre d’ Arachide Croquant
EXPIRY DATE/DATE D’EXPIRATION: 2009SE06 to 2009SE11 and 2009NO13
CLIF® BAR Peanut Toffee Buzz® / Toffee et Arachides
EXPIRY DATE/DATE D’EXPIRATION: 2009SE12
CLIF Builder’s Peanut Butter / Beurre d’Arachide
EXPIRY DATE/DATE D’EXPIRATION: 2009JU20 and 2009AU20

These products were sold in grocery, warehouse and other retail stores throughout Canada.

No other CLIF or LUNA products or flavors are included in this recall in Canada.

Retailers please click this link for more details.

ADELAIDE, Australia (AP) — German Andre Greipel of Team Columbia, the winner of last year’s race, won the opening stage by a bike length in a crowded finish. With time bonuses collected en route, he will carry an 11-second lead into Wednesday’s 90-mile second stage. The 90 miles took the pros 3.45.16 to complete Second place is Baden Cooke of UniSA and third overall Olivier Kaisen on Silence-Lotto.
Lance Armstrong endured his first long day in the saddle since his comeback to professional cycling Tuesday and said he felt “pretty good, pretty strong.”
He also said he thought officials were kidding when they told him the first day of the six-day Tour Down Under — his first competitive race in three years — was also the easiest.
It was nothing more, they said, than two short hill climbs and a pedal through undulating hill country on the fringe of the wine-growing Barossa Valley outside Adelaide.
But blast-furnace style winds lifted temperatures above 103 degrees and tested even the most fit riders, almost all of them younger than Armstrong. Though the 37-year-old officially finished 120th of 133 riders, he was happy with his first day.
“I feel better,” he said “It’s nice to get one under way and tomorrow’s another hard day. I want to take it day by day but I think the early indications are that I feel pretty good, pretty strong.”
Armstrong coasted to the stage finish and, unfazed by the heat and the day’s exertion, spent 20 minutes talking with Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd.
Equally at home on the bike and chatting with heads of state, the seven-time Tour de France winner tossed around thoughts on a variety of weighty topics before standing for a further 10 minutes to answer questions from the media.
“We’ve never met,” he said of Rudd. “So it’s an honor not just for myself but for the race to have him here. We talked a little bit about cycling, talked a little bit about health care, talked about the (U.S. presidential) inauguration tonight, talked about the global fight against cancer.”
Armstrong found the dry Australian heat sapping Tuesday but was still at home on the hills, where the 133-rider field labored on country roads rising abruptly to over 1,300 feet.
“It’s hot, man, it’s hot,” he said. “It’s a dry heat but it affects performance a lot. There’s really no way to perform at a high level when it’s (103) degrees.
“You just cope and drink as much as you can. I think we must have gone through maybe 15 or 20 bottles each today.”
According to cyclingnews.com Katusha’a sprinter Robbie McEwen was hit by a spectator’s camera as he came of Greipel wheel with 150 meters to the finish. McEwen suffered a laceration and severe bruising to his forearm. “I don’t think I’ve broken a bone,” McEwen said whilst grimacing with the pain. “It really, really hurts. Look at the size of it… it went up that big straight away. I’ll go and get them to have a look at it.” McEwen was checked by Dr Peter Barnes and it’s questionable whether he will start tomorrow’s second stage.
The race ends Sunday.

AP photos

Giant Bicycle, Inc has agreed to recall their 2009 model TCR Advanced SL and SL (ISP) bicycles and forks the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission.

This effects about 1,000 bikes and involves the density of the steerer tubes can cause the forks to crack and break. This poses a serious risk to thr rider. There has been one report to Giant of a fork cracking without injury.

The 2009 Giant TRC Advanced SL Team, SL 0, SL 1, SL 2, and SL ISP models in silver, charcoal, blue, and red. Steerer tubes with a B, N, or P at the end of the serial number are not included in this recall. Other TCR model bicycles are not included in the recall.

These bikes were sold nationwide from August 2008 through January 2009 between $3,300 and $7,500.

If you own one of these do not ride it and contact an authorized Giant Bicycles dealer for inspection and replacement fork. Contact Giant Bicycles at (866) 458-2555 between 09:00am and 5:00pm PT Monday through Friday or visit www.giant-bicycles.com .

Robbie McEwen of the new Team Katusha wins the first race in the Tour Down Under, Lance finishes in the pack after three years of retirement. The crowd was huge for the race sponsored by the Cancer Council in the host country Australia for Armstrong’s return. Today’s race was a speed workout covering 51 kilometers in 1.04.32. with an average speed of 47.42 kph or 29.46 mph.

This race will take a day off and really start Tuesday. From today’s results look for McEwen, Greipel or Team Columbia-High Road and Baden Cooke to fight for the overall next weekend. Also watch a a younger racer, Nicholas Roche whose father won the Tour and World Championship in the same year. This will be Rouche’s come out year.

Armstrong missed strating his goal of posting his blood results on a website to bring transparency to his anti-doping program.

Armstrong’s stated goal of transparency with his anti-doping program goal of posting his blood results has passed. He had said it would be up for the world to see before starting his season.

At this point Armstong is working with Don Catlin who is also working with Team Columbia and Garmin-Slipstream on anti-doping programs. Catlin’s testers have begun to test Armstrong as have a number of other world testing agencies. He has been tested 12 times since his announced comeback.

“It’s full on. It’s underway,” Armstrong said. “This is the most comprehensive anti-doping plan in the history of sport. I’m proud of it, I respect Don, I know that he’s the toughest that there is out there.

“We’re under way. It’s slightly complicated because you have a lot of people involved and a lot of other agencies involved. Outside of Don Catlin there have been 12 other anti-doping controls out of competition.

“We’re just getting everybody together. We’re committed to having it in place before the first race.”

AP contributed to this post and provided the photos.

My forefathers were likely hunter-gatherers who roamed the plains of Eastern Europe chasing herds of mastodon. A quick glance at my physique (spongy and soft when I don’t work out, able to go from flab to fit instantly when I do) and you can tell that my people were from a time in man’s evolution that required packing on the pounds when the weather turned cold, and taking long, long naps when the mastodon (mastodi?) weren’t plentiful.

That, at least, is part of the biological rational behind Seasonal Affectiveness Disorder, the term for the lethargy and sometimes depression that would effect up to a third of the population—if we all lived somewhere cold. I tend to suffer from a rather light, yet annoying and—yawn—tiring version of SAD and many winters I can be found sprawled out on a couch recovering from workouts I skipped because I was too tired.

Many people treat SAD with light therapy and some new research(PDF) indicates that the human eye has receptors for blue light that helps to regulate circadian rhythm. The gray skies of winter, as the theory goes, causes a decrease in blue light and a decrease in the production of chemicals in the brain. The end result is a “long winter’s nap.”

I’ve been working with a Philips goLITE LED light treatment box, a small compact light source that produces the wavelength of blue that stimulates the human eye. It’s been working well, well enough in fact that I’m at the gym all the time now.

Which brings me to the reason that I’m mentioning this in the first place, the corollary between exercise and mood. Science has acknowledged that exercise is great for your sense of well-being, but I’d previously assumed that being in a good mood made me able to go for long-distance bike rides—it feels so good to ride a bike that I just keep going and going and going.
In previous winters I’ve taken spin classes and done weight training to keep active and keep my mood up, but it’s never been quite enough. Now though, I’ve started to purposefully combine both activities to make my total workout time longer—anywhere from an hour to two hours at a time, and I’m finding that I’m in a significantly better mood. Now I’m thinking that it’s the long distance riding itself that’s making me happy enough to keep riding.

So a few times a week when I’m not on the road for business I cart myself off to spin class (at a gym that’s not near my house since I find the distance helps motivate me to stay there a while) and push it through the forty-five minute workout. Pulsing music, sweating people, barked instructions from a spin coach all really get my heart rate up and my mood elevated. But after class, instead of heading home I start a circuit of weight training. I’ll take my time and try to be sure to get in really good form, but I’m finding the additional time working out is making a huge difference.

So for those of you who are get cranky, upset or sleepy as soon as the leaves are all off the trees, here’s something to try. Get yourself to the gym, and don’t leave. Even if you’re just doing a slow mild walk on the treadmill, spend enough time to really get your endorphins going and to convince your body that you’re not trying to ride out the next ice age.

It’s a lot better than downing a bag of Doritos on the couch and then taking a nap.