April 19, 2005
"Observe how all things are continually being born of change....
Whatever is, is in some sense the seed of what is to emerge from
it." Marcus Aurelius

Congratulations to all the Louisiana runners who participated in the
Monday Boston Marathon. What a great event

Surprise, surprise, surprise. Lance Armstrong is retiring after this
year's Tour de France. Another big news flash: New Englander Tyler
Hamilton was penalized with a two-year pro bike
racing ban for illegal blood transfusions, according to Velo News.

Closer to home, I need some motor cycle escorts for this weekend's
Louisiana Triathlon at New Roads. I thought I had some arranged to
help out and provide services for USA Triathlon officials. Call me
at the number below or email me.We've got a a nice crowd for the
event in New Roads, but there are still spaces open for those
wanting to register last minute. You can register Friday,
April 22 in front of the Mayor's office beginning at 6 p.m. or you
can register race day near Satterfield's Restaurant in New Roads.

Don't forget to bring photo i.d.s for triathlon packet pick up and
your USA Triathlon membership cards to New Roads. Pray for great
weather. If you're scrambling for last-minute information, it should
be all on the web site via lawired.com. Every question posed about
the event over the last 12 years has probably been addressed in the
web site.

The DuLaPlace award category results are now available via:
http://www.stjohnsheriff.org/Runs/DuLaPlace/main.html

I got a report on an adventure race from Team Backpacker based in
Baton Rouge, but apparently I lost it in my focus on Louisiana
Triathlon emails. I think basically the report indicates the team is
still doing well and that Darius Sampey is still as great an
adventure racer as Laurence Cohen of New Orleans. I think that's
right?

There was a hot-shot and talented cyclist from Dallas (very nice
cordial and not too verbal -- at least on the ride itself) who rode
with us on Tuesday. He believes the Baton Rouge training races are
as good as any in Texas and definitely better than the week-day
training races in New Orleans. Okay maybe he didn't say that about
the ride in New Orleans, but we need a little smack every
now and then since Kenny Bellau's gone so cyber silent.

*********
Mississippi Grand Prix Set for Competitive Cyclists
Heads Up Racers! Fields are filling up for Brookhaven.
You've got just one more week to register for some of
the best and fastest racing in the Gulf South.
Registration is open now on Active.com or you can
access it directly by clicking here:
http://www.active.com/event_detail.cfm?event_id=1208088

Register now. Register Often. If you're a Cat1/2/3,
it's $50 for four races in three days. It's $40 or less for
everyone else. Can't beat that anywhere, especially
for $8,000 of prize money.

Click here for general race info:
http://www.humanperformance.com/msgrandprix.htm

Click here for race bible:
http://www.humanperformance.com/raceflyer.html

We look forward to seeing you next weekend in
Brookhaven!

**********
BR Bike Club Sets May 1 for Spring Century in Felicianas
The Baton Rouge Bicycle Club's Spring Century is just around the
corner. This year the century will be hosted at the new West
Feliciana Sports Park, which is 138 acres of natural surrounding,
located next to Rosedown Plantation.
Come ride with us from the new multi-use recreational facility for
all ages. The physical address is: 10226 West Feliciana Parkway, St.
Francisville, LA 70775. The new facility is located just north of
Highway 10 on U.S. Highway 61. A sign will be posted at the entrance
for the event. After-ride meal included, full SAG support,
registration gift bags for the first 100 riders, and door prizes.

**********
5km Set for Epilepsy Fund Raiser
On May 7th, the same day as the Miles for Smile bike tour, there
will be a 5km run in downtown Baton Rouge to raise money to fight
epilepsy. The race starts at 8 a.m.. Write, P.O. Box 65410, Baton
Rouge, LA 70896 or fax 225.486.8194.

**********
Denham Springs Hosting River Road Run
A 5km run in Denham Springs, located right outside Baton Rouge, will
be held on April 30. Get the detials at riverroadrun.org. The race
starts at 8 a.m. at the Train Station Park in historic Denham
Springs.

**********
Shreveport Cycling Time Trial Series Changed by One Week
From Alan Moore
Due to circumstances beyond my control, I've decided to put off the
Mike Simpson Time Trial Series in Shreveport off by one week. See
the revised schedule below.

Mike Simpson 2005 TT Series Schedule
First rider goes off at 6:30 p.m. in estimated order of sign-in
(open to ALL riders):

April 27, Wednesday
May 12, Thursday
May 25, Wednesday
June 9, Thursday
June 22, Wednesday
July 7, Thursday

If you have any questions, please let me know. More info to come.

**********
Reflections on Ironman Arizona
From Sue Boudreaux
Here are my thoughts from IMArizona:

All in all, a great race location. Arizona (Tempe) is a great
location for a race. The town is home to ASU, so there are plenty of
nice restaurants and bars close by. The Tempe Town Lake location is
very nice, and everything
is close by. The weather on race day was a comfortable 70 to 80
degrees, however, the 25-35 mph winds were tough on the bike and the
run. Two days before, the temp reached the high 90s, so I guess it
was either heat or wind. However, very low humidity, so it was very
pleasant.

The swim was around 65 degrees, and even after 2.4 miles of
swimming, I was freezing, so I started the bike with arm warmers. At
mile 20, I had my first flat, and messed with that for about half an
hour. I had a "little" problem with my Co2 cartridges. And for the
rest of the race, I remembered what Steve Sperrier of the Spokesman
bike shop had said about having flats with tubulars -- "...be extra
careful when cornering". Of course it didn't help that this bike
course had 180 turns! Everyone agreed they had more flats than usual
out on the course, even though the race directors said they had
swept the course the day before.

The three- loop bike was actually very nice, especially for
spectators. They saw you on the bike eight times! It seemed to make
the bike go faster than just a single loop, because you looked
forward to coming back into town and hearing all the cheers of your
friends and family. The wind was very brutal at times, but when you
had the tail wind, it was awesome --26 to 28mph!

My second flat was at 100 miles, but I remembered Ernie Brodie rode
a flat at IMF one year, so I rode my flat for the last 12 miles. I
actually took a wrong turn at mile 107, but knew I had missed the
turn, and went back out. I heard there were many dq's for those that
did not go back out for the last seven miles. Even some pro women
missed the last turn. It was a bit confusing, but I assume it will
be corrected next year.

The run was awesome along the river, and along a gravel path through
a nice park. It had a few big hills, but not too long. Most of us
walked up the really steep one. It was a two-loop run, so once
again, we went past the big crowds four times. I really enjoyed the
race and the location. At midnight, there was a big fireworks show.
The volunteers were great. If they hold it there next year,
I will sign up again.

Except for the flat tires and getting slightly off course, I think I
had one of my best races ever. Maybe because it is early in the
season, and I trained through the cool winter months. I also think
doing the Mardi Gras marathon five weeks earlier, and then tapering,
was the key to a good marathon. Let everyone know if you might want
to do this race next year. Friday is the day that an announcment
will be made about the date and place for next year.

**********
Memories of the Holy Toledo Triathlon
From Sam Houston Jones
Someone once said that you are most alive just before you die. If
that is the case then I must have been very alive Sunday because I
sure felt like I was near death! I'm referring, of course, to the
second edition of the already infamous Holy Toledo Triathlon
Challenge.

Check the results at lafayettefitness.org.

What a magical race it is indeed. How often do you find yourself
actually cracking a smile during a race when there's no photographer
within miles? I found myself in awe of the treacherous course on
several occasions and it made me think of the origin of the phrase:
Grin and Bear it! That's all you could do if you wanted to keep
your wits about you.

Part triathlon, part off-road tri, part adventure race -- it was
indeed unique.

If you haven't done the race, it's impossible to imagine the
challenge with which you are presented. Even as a relay participant
last year (I swam), I had no clue of the overall difficulty. The
mile swim this year was quite easy compared to last year's gale-
force winds, three-foot seas and mid-60s water temperature. The
water was smooth as glass and the temperature at a perfect 72 but
this was indeed the calm before the storm.

Not far into the 40-mile bike course after leaving the Cypress Bend
Park, you enter the property of the Cypress Bend Resort. This two-
mile stretch is something akin to the hilly parts of San Francisco
or Austin. At the first hill I nearly came to a stop slowing to 5
mph but the backside of the hill made it all worthwhile as I hit a
top speed of 45 mph. Yes, 5-to-45 in about 60 seconds!

The special treat race director Bo Bo Anderson conjured up this year
was to have us do that arduous stretch twice instead of just once as
was the case the first year.

By the way, I neglected to introduce the legendary race director.
Anderson is a native of nearby Simpson, LA, but you'd think he came
from another planet. A former pro triathlete he just about cut his
leg off in October in a machine shop trying to build a bike better
than anything Lance Armstrong has ever ridden and was punished with
a three- month stay at Charity Hospital in New Orleans. And
somewhere during his convalescence he managed to get his charming
girlfriend Billie pregnant so they are expecting in early July!
He's a father-to-be at (almost) 43! And in case you just like
to be entertained, the pre-race meeting the night before is almost
worth the entry fee by itself. I think Bobo missed his calling.

But I digress. Back to the race...

While the downhills on the bike were great fun, I did manage to keep
a good attitude during the uphills and not totally burn myself out.
And thank God I saved something because I had no idea how hard the
run was going to be. At least 80 per cent of the run route was off
road -- and I'm not talking about some comfortable broken bark
manicured trail through a piney forest. The pines were there all
right, but there wasn't much of a trail under the power line break
in the forest.

Cracks, crevasses, large rocks, small rocks, puddles, bushes and
branches were all there to try to keep your attention on your feet.
But at times you had to look up to admire the crests and troughs of
these seriously unforgiving hills, knowing that you were about to
conquer them. Complete with names like the "Pit of Despair",
the "Pit of Moderate Depression" and the "Pit of Less Joy", they
were than and much more!

When asked what this 10-mile run course translated to under normal
conditions, one experienced Ironman (Ben Hawn from New Iberia)
quickly replied matter-of-factly: "19 miles". Hawn went on to say
that he felt this race was more grueling than Ironman Florida which
he's done several times. Wow!

I was fortunate to catch up to Mike Lee from Baton Rouge around mile
three and we ran the entire rest of the course together chatted most
of the time when not huffing and puffing. Thank God for him and
thank God that he did Ironman Arizona just one week before (how
crazy is that!) because his still -- recovering legs were just my
speed.

Don't be fooled by the low attendance at this year's race. Bobo was
a little "preoccupied" with multiple skin grafts and a severed
achilles tendon all winter so he wasn't able to commit himself to
the race until about two or three months ago -- he begs your
pardon. Then the addition of IM-Arizona and a new Half Iron in
Galveston diverted some attention away from the central Texas-
Louisiana border.

The people who did this race love it. And they love the race
director and all the people who helped him. Brad Colwell of
Alexandria described it befittingly when he said this race could
become the "Wildflower" of the South, comparing it to the "wildly"
successful race of that name in California. We've got the potential
for a really classic race right in our backyard.

It's up to you and me and everyone who's ever wanted to push him or
herself beyond what many would call "limits". Be on the lookout for
the race date for 2006 and put it on your calendar now. But don't
show up without a smile on your face because you're going to need it!

Hitch Mount Bike Carrier Wanted
From sacalait73@...
I'm looking to buy a hitch mount bike carrier. Prefer that it fit a
Class III or IV hitch, though would consider if adapter is included.
It must hold two bikes, four bikes would be better.

For Sale
From sacalait73@...
Thule trunk mount bicycle carrier. Can carry 2 bikes,
adjusts to fit most cars, 4 strap attachment. 4 years old, minor
scuffs from use carrying my MTB around Pasadena, CA. Recently bought
a truck, can't use this one. Asking $20.

For Sale
From sindihale@...
Trek Fluid Trainer $ 75 in excellent condition
Track Bike 48cm Di Bernardi Steel frame, Dura Ace Crank, Set of
chainrings and cogs.Call 504.473.8708

Rollers were purchased from Excel sports if you are interested go to
www.excelsports.com_ (http://www.excelsports.com) . to get a look
at these rollers.Fluid trainer also shown.

++++++++++

That's it from here. Bless God America.

Kenny Dunaway
2325 Weymouth Drive Suite D
Baton Rouge, LA 70809-1481
USA
Isaiah 40:31; John 3:16