It's Bike-Y time again...

Hello good bike-y folks, is it really Friday already? I believe I have a nice collection of goodies to peruse this week, so we must get down to it…

Although there is not much happening in the world of pro cycling, there is some news to share. As you may or may not know, the UCI (Cycling Governing Body) has decided to gather biological passports of every rider in the Pro Tour. Pretty cool, they have to get blood samples and DNA from every rider, and then they can compare this baseline measurement vs any future tests. I suppose that they think they can either catch more dopers this way, or at least may make the riders think twice before undertaking some covert operation. Actually, the coolest part of this next link is that in 2008, the UCI is planning 7000 doping tests. In 2007, they did 1000. Before getting hung up on the 600% increase (or 700% depending on the math), I'm wondering how many tests they did in 1999-2005. 20 tests per year? How on earth did anyone get away with anything?
http://www.cyclingnews.com/news.php?id=news/2008/jan08/jan10news

Speaking of certain other famous Americans, Lance Armstrong has announced his goals for 2008. 14 blondes, 8 brunettes, and 2 redheads. Haha. Just kidding. No redheads. Ok, still kidding. Lance will apparently race 2 marathons in 2008. He's planning on running Boston in April and aims to run 2:45. Then he's going to meet the other Olson twin in New Year in November and wants to go sub 2:30. Wow. Dude's getting fast….I'm sure we'll discuss Lance once or twice this year...

Speaking of 2008, Chris McCormack (Kona champ 07) has decided that winning IM races is pretty fun, so fun, that he wants to do two German Ironman-length races next year. Cool, right? Except they come a week apart. Yep, Macca has decided that he wants a piece of yours truly, then he wants to do Roth the following weekend. Makes the rest of us look bad!
http://insidetri.com/portal/news/news.asp?item=111660

Speaking of Roth, it gets immortalized in this week's Youtube Bike-Y Video…who among us wouldn't want to be part of this race?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pvxBClSxVNE

Last week our good friends at Garmin announced some new toys, including the newest Must-Have Triathlete Gadget. The Garmin 405 is basically an update of the 305 (which, for Brent R and me, is an update of the 201/301 that we both have) - however, it looks like a normal watch. Yep, no more giant watch to take up the wrist and most of the lower arm. The new watch includes less buttons (it has a touch bezel, which might sound cooler than it actually might be) and it's GPS antennae is supposedly stronger, despite being wayyyyyyyyyyyy smaller than in previous models. You can also get a footpod if you want to run inside, or in case the Chinese shoot down all the satellites. However, battery life sucks (I guess we shouldn't be surprised) and it is still not waterproof. Maybe by the time the Garmin 805 comes out…until then, we can all spend more money on sports watches. Sorry Kim, you know I need a new one...
https://buy.garmin.com/shop/shop.do?cID=142&pID=11039

I would have saved this for next week, but since I told Brent that I would make fun of him (ok, both Brent's) this week, here goes. Most of you (ok, not those of you named Brent) might be familiar with a podcast. It might be a 40+ thing, or maybe a Brent thing, but anyhow…basically it's an interview that you listen to on your computer, or your iPod (I'll discuss those next week), or wherever. Anyhow, my fave podcast is the one done by Bob Babbitt (IM historian) and Paul Huddle (Mr Paula Newby Fraser) who do a triathlon-and-other-endurance-things weekly radio show in San Diego. Get to the point Trevor. Ok, a recent one was a discussion with 2 US hopefuls for the marathon trials. They mentioned that the speed they run at (2:10 marathon pace) would require them to run the equivalent of 105 laps around a 400 m track at 75 seconds per lap. Ok, next time any of you see a track, try to run around it in 75 seconds. That’s how fast these elite marathoners are…unreal...
www.competitorradio.com or download the podcast via iTunes

Next week we will have updates on real cyclists like Iban Mayo, Eric Zabel, and maybe even Tyler Hamilton. Oh yeah..and Oscar Pistorius (supposedly, the decision gets released tomorrow)…til then, HTFU!