The new poll asks, do you ride in the rain?

I do and in most cases enjoy it. Long tours and racing require an open mind to wet roads and rain in your face. I have all this gear to deal with all types of weather so I might as well use it.

Back when I was 16 I rode three weeks from Philadelphia to Nova Scotia and back. There were a number of days in the rain on that trip. That was when I learned my body loved riding in the rain. I later learned it maybe due to the negative ions in the air. I feel my breathing and respiratory system works better when riding in the rain. My body opens up and I can go deeper and recover quickly from hard efforts.

I’ve also crashed once or twice due to wet roads. I remember one case was rounding a corner in Baltimore and having my rear wheel slide-out from under me. The reason was water with oil mixed in lying on a wide painted strip in the road.

So riding in the rain does require a different mindset for safety. Mostly I worry more about being scene. The rain jacket I have is bright orange with reflective strips. I also use a blinking taillight in the rain as well and often a blinking headlight no matter the time of day. Motorists are not expecting cyclists on the road in the rain, make sure you can be seen.

I drop my tire pressure 5 to 10 pounds as wheel and have an old set of training wheels with special tires made for wet conditions.

I wear glasses, which in the rain can be a help and hindrance. It keeps the rain out of my eyes, but once they are covered with raindrops can be difficult to see through.

Group riding requires real dedication in the rain as the rooster tail sprays up when drafting. Your brakes also are slow to react and often double your stopping distance.

But if you plan on racing or doing long tours you should go out and ride, it’s part of your training. Races are rain or shine and if you have a week to cover 700 miles you cannot miss a day. You need to develop wet riding skills just the same as hill climbing.

Plus you might experience a memory that will last a lifetime as I did in the early 1990’s. Thundershowers were called for in the afternoon but the sun was still out. I headed out to get a fast 50 in as I had an important race coming up. The day changed in seconds from warm and sunny to windy, cold and thunderstorms. It happened so fast as I was riding up a hill the heavy rains came as a woman had walked not more then 100 feet from her front door to get her mail. We shared a laugh as we both got socking wet in seconds. I continued on my loop as I was of course at the halfway point as the rain turned to hail the size of large peas. Trust me they stung when they hit. Cars passed me and I could see people laughing at me. And then, I crested a hill in the Bucks County countryside. The sun started to break through the clouds. A beautiful rainbow linked the rolling hills. The rain still poured on me as a second rainbow appeared. Then the spectacular happed as a bolt of lightning shot through the center of the rainbows. The best natural light show I’ve ever seen and a day I’ll never forget. Just glad I wasn’t sitting on my sofa.

Avid cyclist Bent Rasmussen, 78 was honored Saturday during a memorial ride and ceremony by about 50 friends, family and fellow cyclists in Sparta New Jersey. He was struck and killed apparently by a mirror on a school bus in front of the city hall in Sparta February 27th. The accident has been ruled a hit-and-run and the bus driver has been interviewed. Two eyewitnesses and video surveillance cameras identified the bus.

Rasmussen rode nearly everyday and was known to many around town.

His friend, Andreas Meyer created a “ghost bike”, his second in the past four months for cyclists killed in Northern New Jersey.

Accidents like this have lead to a pending bill in the New Jersey State House that would require a motorist to give a cyclists three feet of room as they pass.

Fore more details about the memorial ride please see the New Jersey Herald’s story, or Benepe’s Bike Blog.

Los Angels Times via AP – Phil Keoghan, he of the arched eyebrow and host of Emmy Award-winning “The Amazing Race,” is a self-acknowledged creature of extremes.

For his day job, the 41-year-old New Zealand native logs more than 400,000 air miles per year, mostly as he crisscrosses the globe with the CBS show’s $1-million prize and adventure-hungry contestants. But that’s nothing, really. He’s also putted his way—roughly 12,000 golf strokes and 107 miles in all—across Scotland, set a world record for bungee jumping, eaten a fancy meal atop an erupting volcano and earned a reindeer-racing license in Finland.

This image provided by CBS shows Phil Keoghan, right, host of CBS’s The Amazing Race, kicking off his 40-day, 39-city, cross country bike “Ride Across America” on Saturday, March 28 from Santa Monica, Calif., with the support of local National MS Society members. Keoghan is riding across the country from Los Angeles, Calif. to New York City. Other riders are unidentified. (AP Photo/CBS, Rudi Simpson)

Starting Saturday, he’s going to be facing another extreme: a 5,000-calorie-per-day diet featuring an afternoon treat he calls a “Philiminator” Shake (a special energy concoction combining whey protein, soy milk, flax seed and peanut butter). He’s going to need every ounce to fuel a 40-day, 3,500-mile bicycle ride across America that kicks off from Santa Monica and, he hopes, will end in New York City by early May, days before the season finale of “The Amazing Race.”

The bike ride, during which he will cycle as many as 100 miles per day, has two major purposes: to promote the reality show and help raise money and awareness for the National Multiple Sclerosis Society. Fans of the show are invited to ride along with him for some of the journey. (See www.philridesacrossamerica.com

for details.)

And then there’s that extreme thing going on inside him.

“What drives me is really my will to live,” said Keoghan, who had a near-death experience when he was 19: He almost drowned while diving inside a shipwreck. “I’m inspired by people who seek to squeeze the lifeblood out of life. I just have this overwhelming desire to take as much of the opportunity to live as I can because you look around you and you realize a lot of people are already dead.”

Keoghan has been an avid cycler for years, averaging about 12 hours a week on a bike, and he also has been active in Bike MS, a nonprofit organization that has raised nearly $700 million to support the fight against the crippling disease that attacks the central nervous system. (Keoghan has a cousin with MS.)

“The sad part of it for me is that it takes movement away from people, and I treasure being able to move so much,” he said one recent afternoon while taking a break from postproduction work in Hollywood. “It just breaks my heart that they get this gift taken away from them.”

His biking adventure will roll through what reads like a tour schedule for a rock band. There are 39 stops in cities that include Las Vegas, Denver, Omaha, Neb., Chicago, Pittsburgh and Washington, D.C. The hardest stretch is expected to be between Los Angeles and Denver. Even if it doesn’t snow, he must get through three mountain passes higher than 10,000 feet.

“Economically, environmentally and health-wise, it just seemed like riding a bike makes a lot of sense,” said Keoghan, who will be accompanied by a logistics team that includes his father, who won a mini-following after appearing on his son’s reality show last year.

Keoghan’s fascination with extreme activities may seem at odds with his on-screen persona. On “The Amazing Race,” the host is calm, collected and nearly unflappable, in contrast to his contestants, who hyperventilate their way to each week’s finish line. And save for the occasional flash of wry humor—communicated mostly via the raised eyebrow—he’s a quintessential straight man.

But in person, he’s animated and energetic—two qualities that should come in handy on his long road trip.

“The persona thing is really interesting,” Keoghan said with a laugh. “I remember once I sent a funny reply back to someone who had e-mailed and they said, ‘Oh, my God, you do have a personality.’”

(AP Story) Warning to weekend warriors: Swim-bike-run triathlons pose at least twice the risk of sudden death as marathons do, the first study of these competitions has found.

The risk is mostly from heart problems during the swimming part. And while that risk is low — about 15 out of a million participants — it’s not inconsequential, the study’s author says.

Triathlons are soaring in popularity, especially as charity fundraisers. They are drawing many people who are not used to such demanding exercise. Each year, about 1,000 of these events are held and several hundred thousand Americans try one.

“It’s something someone just signs up to do,” often without a medical checkup to rule out heart problems, said Dr. Kevin Harris, a cardiologist at the Minneapolis Heart Institute at Abbott Northwestern Hospital. “They might prepare for a triathlon by swimming laps in their pool. That’s a lot different than swimming in a lake or a river.”

He led the study and presented results Saturday at an American College of Cardiology conference in Florida. The Minneapolis institute’s foundation sponsored the work and tracks athlete-related sudden deaths in a national registry.

Marathon-related deaths made headlines in November 2007 when 28-year-old Ryan Shay died while competing in New York in the men’s marathon Olympic trials. Statistics show that for every million participants in these 26.2-mile running races, there will be four to eight deaths.

The rate for triathletes is far higher — 15 out of a million, the new study shows. Almost all occurred during the swim portion, usually the first event.

“Anyone that jumps into freezing cold water knows the stress on the heart,” said Dr. Lori Mosca, preventive cardiology chief at New York-Presbyterian Hospital and an American Heart Association spokeswoman. She had no role in the study but has competed in more than 100 triathlons, including the granddaddy — Hawaii’s Ironman competition.

Cold water constricts blood vessels, making the heart work harder and aggravating any pre-existing problems. It also can trigger an irregular heartbeat. On top of this temperature shock is the stress of competition.

“It’s quite frightening — there are hundreds of people thrashing around. You have to keep going or you’re going to drown,” Mosca said.

Swimmers can’t easily signal for help or slow down to rest during swimming as they can in the biking or running parts of a triathlon, said Harris, who also has competed in these events. Rescuers may have trouble spotting someone in danger in a crowd of competitors in the lakes, rivers and oceans where these events typically are held, he added.

For the study, researchers used records on 922,810 triathletes competing in 2,846 USA Triathlon-sanctioned events between January 2006 and September 2008.

Of the 14 deaths identified, 13 occurred during swimming; the other was a bike crash. Autopsies on six of the victims showed that four had underlying heart problems. Two others had normal-looking hearts, but they may have suffered a fatal heart rhythm problem, Harris said.

A search of the Minneapolis registry and the Internet found four other triathlon-related deaths from 2006 through 2008 beyond those that occurred in the officially sanctioned events.

“While not a large risk, this is not an inconsequential number,” Harris said.

Fundraising triathlons have enticed many runners to try to expand into areas like swimming, which they may not have learned to do very efficiently, to benefit particular charities, Mosca said.

“They’re really recruiting people to do these events,” she said. “It can be a recipe for disaster.”

Doctors offer these tips to anyone considering a triathlon:

—Get a checkup to make sure you don’t have hidden heart problems.

—Train adequately long before the event, including open-water swims — not just in pools.

—Acclimate yourself to the water temperature shortly before a race, and wear a wetsuit if it’s too cold.

—Make sure the race has medical staff and defibrillators on site.

MARILYNN MARCHIONE, Associated Press Writer,

PRUSZKOW, Poland (AP) — Stefan Nimke of Germany won the 1-kilometer time trial in an upset Friday at the track world championships, with Taylor Phinney of the United States taking the silver medal.

Nimke finished in an excellent 1 minute, 00.666 seconds. Mohd Rizal Tisin of Malaysia won the bronze.

“It’s a surprise, for sure. The time is very, very good,” Nimke said. “It’s a very fast time and it was unbelievable. I saw on the screen the time and said, ‘Whoa, fast time.’”

The German rode early and had to wait 30 minutes to see if his time would hold up against last year’s medalists.

“I went 15th and had to wait for the next 12 or 13 riders, so it was a long time. But it was good because I felt very sick and my legs hurt very much, so it was good to sit down,” he said.

Phinney picked up a silver medal to go along with the gold he won Thursday in the individual pursuit. The 18-year-old American rode directly after Nimke.

“I was definitely not expecting that fast of a time,” Phinney said. “Nimke’s ride was phenomenal, I was definitely really impressed with his ride. He beat Chris Hoy’s time of a couple years ago, so that’s saying a lot.”

Three-time Olympic champion Chris Hoy of Britain did not ride in Pruszkow after injuring his hip in a crash last month.

Phinney, a specialist in the longer pursuit race, made astrong finish.

“I’m pretty happy, I mean that’s my third kilo (1-kilometer time-trial) ever, so it’s pretty good,” Phinney said.

Later Friday, Denmark will race Australia for the men’s team pursuit title at the track cycling world championships.

Britain, which only has Ed Clancy from last year’s world champion team, missed out on the final by three tenths of a second and will race New Zealand for the bronze.

In the women’s sprint, defending champion Victoria Pendleton of Britain, 2008 runner-up Simona Krupeckaite of Lithuania, Willy Kanis of the Netherlands and Olga Panarin of Belarus all advanced to Saturday’s final.

Also, Eleonora Van Dijk of the Netherlands looks to retain her scratch title.

Thanks to a friend, Tim Maloney who is the European Editor for Road Bike Action Magazine I learned today that another old friend, Roberto Gaggioli won his first European Pro Race as team director of the Italian/American Amore e Vita McDonalds cycling team.

Roberto one over one hundred races throughout the US during his long career and today one of his riders, Yury Metlushenko won a stage in the Coppe e Bartali.

Roberto, congratulations – enjoy the champagne!

Here’s a link to more info on the race.

VALLADOLID, Spain (AP) Levi Leipheimer won the Vuelta of Castilla and Leon on Friday after protecting his overall lead in the final stage.

The American finished 16 seconds ahead of Astana teammate Alberto Contador after holding off the 2007 Tour de France champion in the two mountain stages since winning Tuesday’s time trial.

Photo Caption – U.S. rider Levi Leipheimer, center, of the Astana team, jokes with second placed Spanish rider Alberto Contador, right, and third place U.S. rider David Zabriskie on the podium after he won the Vuelta of Castilla Leon cycling race following the fifth and last stage in Valladolid, Spain, Friday March 27, 2009. (AP Photo/EFE, Ruben Garcia)

“Our team was the strongest. After the time trial I didn’t have to do anything, because my teammates did everything,” Leipheimer said.

Lance Armstrong was supposed to challenge Contador and Leipheimer at the race but pulled out Monday after breaking his collarbone in a crash.

Leipheimer completed the five stages in 15 hours, 33 minutes, 23 seconds for his second victory of the season. He won his third straight Tour of California in January.

Alejandro Valverde of the Caisse D’Epargne team won the final 95-mile stage. Leipheimer and Contador were among a pack of riders two seconds back.

Valverde beat Spanish teammate Jose Joaquin Rojas and Euskaltel-Euskadi rider Pablo Urtasun in a sprint, with all three finishing in 3:17.46.

American rider David Zabriskie of Garmin-Slipstream finished 22 seconds behind Leipheimer for third in the overall standings.

Contador, who is an early favorite for the Tour, said he had no doubts about turning from team leader to support rider.

“When he finished ahead in the time trial, I was delighted that he had because there are races for all,” Contador said. “This week served to help the team going into other more important races and I’m happy to have lend a hand to Leipheimer, who’s usually always helping me.”

This photo shows the teamwork of Spanish rider Alberto Contador, right, of the Astana team, stays ahead of the main group of riders during the fourth stage of the Vuelta of Castilla and Leon cycling race to Laguna de los Peces, Spain, Thursday March 26, 2009. U.S. rider Levi Leipheimer sits in second postition and retained the overall lead. Seven-time Tour de France champion Lance Armstrong left the race Monday after fracturing his collarbone in a crash. (AP Photo/EFE, Ruben Garcia)

Lance posted this video recently to speak to his fans about his recent accident, operation and recovery plans.

Photo caption – This photo provided by Elizabeth Kreutz, courtesy of CSE (Capital Sports & Entertainment), shows the X-ray of seven-time Tour de France champion Lance Armstrong after surgery on his right collarbone, showing one steel plate and twelve screws. Amrstrong had surgery at Austin Sports Medicine in Austin, Texas Wednesday, March 25, 2009 after a crash during the first stage of the Vuelta of Castillo bicycle race, Monday March 23, 2009. (AP Photo/Elizabeth Kreutz, CSE)

PRUSZKOW, Poland (AP) Taylor Phinney of the United States won the individual pursuit and Morgan Kneisky of France captured the scratch title at the track world championships on Thursday.

Phinney outpaced Jack Bobridge of Australia with a time of 4 minutes, 17.631 seconds to win his first world title. Bobridge finished almost 3 seconds back.

The 18-year-old Phinney, who is the son of 1984 Olympic medalists Connie Carpenter-Phinney and Davis Phinney, set a new U.S. record of 4 minutes, 15.160 seconds in qualifying earlier in the day, breaking the mark he set at the World Cup last month in Copenhagen.

Australia’s Kaarle McCulloch and Anna Meares upset British defending champions Victoria Pendleton and Shanaze Reade to win the team sprint.

McCulloch and Meares finished the sprint in a blistering 33.149 seconds, just ahead of Pendleton and Reade who crossed the line in 33.380. Lithuania outpaced France for the bronze.

Kneisky gave France its second gold medal of the competition with his win in the scratch race. Riding most of the 60 laps in a breakaway group of six riders, Kneisky made his move on the final turn to edge past Angel Dario Colla of Argentina and Travis Meyer of Australia at the line. Colla took the silver, while Meyer settled for bronze.

“It’s unimaginable, it’s fantastic, it’s a dream,” Kneisky said.

Britain’s Mark Cavendish, a sprint standout who won the Milan-San Remo cycling classic last week, fell back early and finished seventh.

Elizabeth Armistead, Wendy Houvenaghel and Joanna Rowsell of Britain clocked the fastest qualifying time in the women’s team pursuit and will look to defend the title against New Zealand’s Lauren Ellis, Jaime Nielsen and Alison Shank. Australia will race the Netherlands for the bronze.

In the men’s keirin, Olympic silver medalist Ross Edgar, British teammate Matthew Crampton and 2008 world championship bronze medalist Christos Volikakis of Greece were among the qualifiers for the second round later Thursday.

Defending world champion and Olympic gold medalist Chris Hoy of Britain injured his hip at the World Cup and did not compete.

AUSTIN, Texas (AP)  Lance Armstrong was recovering from surgery on his broken collarbone on Wednesday.

Surgeon Doug Elenz inserted a steel plate and 12 screws to stabilize the collarbone, which was broken in four pieces.

Rating the surgery on a scale of one to 10, from easiest to most difficult, Elenz called Armstrong’s procedure an eight.

“This was a challenge. It was a hard case,” Elenz said in a conference call with reporters.

Armstrong broke the collarbone on Monday when he crashed during the first stage of the Vuelta of Castilla and Leon in northern Spain. He flew home to Austin on Tuesday and went straight to visit Elenz.

The 37-year-old American cyclist has said he still hopes to ride in the Giro d’Italia, which begins on May 9, and the Tour de France in July.

“I think the Giro is still very doable,” the seven-time Tour de France champion said on Tuesday during a conference call with reporters. “This is definitely a setback, no doubt. It’s the biggest setback I’ve ever had in my cycling career, so it’s a new experience for me.”

Although first thought to be a simple fracture, Elenz said X-rays and a CAT scan performed in Austin on Tuesday showed a more complex break.

The three-hour surgery to stabilize the bone required about a five-inch (12-centimeter) incision and the steel plate measures about the same length, Elenz said. Assisting him was another orthopedic surgeon, Dr. Cary Windler.

Although the bone may take eight to 12 weeks to fully mend, Armstrong will be back on the bike far sooner.

He must take a few days off before he can resume training on a stationary bike. Then doctors will monitor his arm strength, range of motion in his shoulder, as well as his pain, to decide what kind of training he can do.

“Lance is going to be a patient who is going to push the envelope,” Elenz said. “This first week we’re going to make Lance take it easy … ask Lance not to do a whole lot.”

In this photo provided by Elizabeth Kreutz, seven-time Tour de France Champion Lance Armstrong listens to Dr. Douglas Elenz before surgery on his broken right collarbone Wednesday, March 25 2009, in Austin, Texas. Armstrong broke his collarbone in the first stage of the Vuelta of Castillo cycling race in Spain, Monday March 23, 2009. (AP Photo/Elizabeth Kreutz