The Break-Up

Break ups are never easy. You should have seen my face as I sold my beloved "Death Machine" fixie. I will never look at another loose headset the same way. I sometimes still have dreams where Death Machine and I see each other from across a field of wildflowers and we run to each other as butterflies and tiny birds flutter through the sky like winged confetti. Then she chews up my right pant legs with each of her 46-tooth chainring and bowls me over like a steamroller because she doesn't have any damn brakes.

Another break-up that I've been expecting is that of Contador and Armstrong. Their relationships been on rocky ground ever since Lance's return, but AC has put the final nail in the coffin with his comments today. He says his relationship with LA is "zero" and that he doesn't admire him and never will. This comes on the heels of LA's notable absence from Astana's team celebratory dinner Saturday night. He was on a date with his new girlfriend errr "sponsor", RadioShack, and had a bit too much wine. And as is pretty common in these kinds of situations, there is now the obligatory trash talking through texts, emails, and in this case, via tweets. Next up will the exchanging of each other's possessions. Lance will give back 'Berto's sombrero he won at Vuelta al Pais Vasco. Also among LA's returned possessions will be Contador's other pistol. He was keeping it safely tucked away in a secret holster in his bib shorts. Sadly, Contador will not be returning any of Lance's things because he was never given anything from the seven-time Tour champ. His racing motto "No Gifts" obviously found its way between the two lovers and could possibly be one of the reasons these two decided to break up. Despite the rift between the two riders, this year's Tour was one of the most exciting editions I've watched in years. I can't wait to buy it on DVD and relive all the attacks, TTT crashes, and general beastliness. My only concern is that they'll come up with cheesy title like "TDF 2009: Lance and Bert Plus 178" with 178 of course referring to the 178 other racers that didn't get any media attention whatsoever this year. I think I'd still buy the DVD set, but I'd have to hide it in my sock drawer with all my other embarassing things, like my 7-speed Tourney rear derailleur and my autographed copy of Patrick Dempsey on the cover of Bicycling magazine. (ed.- but he's sooo McDreaaaammmmy!)