Well, now it's official with a video from Lance.  He will be racing in the Tour de France in 2009!  I could not be more excited!  As I've noted before in the blog, I have really lost interest in the Tour since Lance left the race.  This means I will actually get to watch the whole Tour on TV, again next July.  Here's his statement from the press release:

"I am happy to announce that after talking with my children, my family and my closest friends, I have decided to return to professional cycling in order to raise awareness of the global cancer burden. This year alone, nearly eight million people will die of cancer worldwide. Millions more will suffer in isolation, victims not only of the disease but of social stigma. After the passage of Proposition 15 in Texas, a $3 billion investment in the fight against cancer which is helping to make this disease part of the national dialogue in America, it's now time to address cancer on a global level."

Lance says he's doing it to launch an international cancer strategy and he will announce more details about his emergence from retirement on September 24th at the Clinton Global Initiative in New York City.

Lance's Comeback to Cycling in 2009 -- powered by http://www.livestrong.com

I'd love to hear everyone's thoughts on his return, so please leave your comments for us.

Of course, this could all be the standard denials typical of a comeback and we'll hear more details about a possible comeback over the next week or so.

Lance really has nothing to prove, having won seven, consecutive Tour victories from 1999-2005 other than maybe that he can win other races, too.  However, I think it has more to do with how far cycling has fallen since Lance's departure.  This past year's Tour was disgraceful.  I'm surprised there were any riders at the end of the race to win.  Every day of the tour, more racers tested positive for performance enhancing drugs and tactics.  I know there are detractors that say Lance is dirty, too.  While I whole-heartedly disagree, Lance will absolutely bring viewership numbers back up for the cycling industry.

I look forward to seeing how this story develops over the next few days.

My post focuses on the precautions necessary to enjoy a safe mountain biking experience, while balancing it with the joys of the adrenalin rush from the risks involved in a ride.

With the recent story of a missing mountain biker in Missoula, MT,  I was reminded that the concept of safety goes beyond the equipment that I spoke about in my MTOBikes post.  Fortunately, after a long search, the mountain biker in Montana was found safe.  However, a basic ride plan would have helped in the search and rescue process.  Anytime your doing something outdoors, someone that's staying behind needs to have your plan of action.  Whether a float plan for boating, a hike plan for hiking, or a trail plan for a ride, let someone know where you plan to go, what trailhead or ramp you plan to use, how long you plan to stay out, when and where you plan to return, and what stops you plan to make along the way.  This takes just a few minutes and could be the difference between a search & rescue mission or a search & recovery mission.

In an odd twist, an inmate at a federal prison in Williamsburg, South Carolina filed a motion to intervene in the lawsuit in July, alleging that he and other inmates produce bikes for LeMond under the Federal Prison Industry Unicor Program for 12 cents an hour, a violation of minimum wage laws. The inmate also claimed LeMond bicycle are shipped to Iranian troops for training purposes, violating the “Training with Enemy” Act.

Violating federal labor laws?  Treason?  Yes, it seems Trek and LeMond have managed to get themselves in a real pinch!  This will, no doubt, drag the case out for quite some time.  Plus, who knows what other plaintiffs may come out of the woodwork to get involved in this case.  Next thing you'll know, Iran will file for lost ability to perform militarily.

250 Meter Swim / 11 Mile Bike / 3.1 Mile Run

Race Results:

Swim: 3:47(15th)

T1: 0:37(4th)

Bike: 35:46(17th)

T2: 0:51(43rd)

Run: 27:03(86th)

Overall: 29th

This was a very well organized race, with a hilly bike and run course, for a great cause.

Over half of the participants were first time triathletes. It is nice to see a race with first time racers, the excitement, nervousness, and most importantly the future of the sport.

Train Hard, Race Harder

Even with all the rain we've had recently, we still encountered a bit more sand than I was expecting, but the course was still in great condition.  The storms obviously brought down a few more trees, as there were a lot of log crossings on the Motorcycle Loop.  One such crossing provided a bit of a challenge for me at one point.  The challenge was not the size of the log, but the height.  It kind of surprised me, so I did not have enough momentum to get over it.  I attempted to pop the wheel up, but my rear tire just spun on the log it was sitting on (I think this is where the rear tire issue probably began) and I roostered my friend that was sitting right behind me. :)  He said it felt like dirt went six inches up his nose. :)  I have posted video from right after this incident and the clean-up effort to get us going on the trail, again.

Overall, a very fun day on the trail with only a minor glitch.

The place was fantastic and unfortunately, I was not able to bring my kayak, but I can assure you, that won't happen the next time I visit.  We took the one-mile hike on a mostly gravel path around the whole river that was just right for the whole family.  In September, they will be having their annual Whitewater Festival that will include a Jeep Adventure off-road triathlon.

I've included the video I took while visiting that shows most of the facility.  I was not able to take video of the ropes courses (did not bring closed toe shoes -- required for the zip lines and ropes course) or the zip line (the current line was not open on the day I visited).  I took the video on my Flip (I know, "You bring a Flip video camera, but no closed toe shoes??!!" -- Yes, that's exactly what I did).

Note: Yes, that is the Amazon video widget.  Yes, those are affiliate links in the video.  Just ignore them if they bother you, I just wanted to play around with the widget.

So, what makes Ocala National Forest better than the Croom State Forest Off-Road Recreational Area? I'm glad you asked. I've outlined my eight reasons for leaving Croom behind in favor of ONF.

1. ONF is centrally located in the state. Although Croom is the most popular place to ride off-road bikes and four-wheelers, it is in the southwest corner of the state, making it a very long drive if you live anywhere in Florida, besides the southwest corner of the state.
2. ONF trails are very well marked. Crooms trails just go off in every which direction without a single marker to indicate where you're going. This works if you are very familiar with Croom and do a lot of riding. However, we tend to ride with people from varying experience backgrounds that results in people lagging behind and getting lost. We end up spending more time keeping everyone together than we do riding. On Saturday, we rode for 3 hours straight without so much as a one minute stop to wait for or find someone. Everything was very well marked and made sense -- it was just loop after loop.
3. ONF has a motorcycle only loop. For those of us on the two-wheelers, it's nice to have an area without the 4-wheelers. It keeps the trail narrow and technical, giving us the opportunity to hone our skills. It also tends to keep the trails from getting that nasty hump in the center.
4. Croom has one camping area for riders that tends to get filled up, fast. Ocala has numerous camping facilities located throughout the forest, including several that are specifically for the off-road trail users (including Delancy West that has had a fantastic renovation with 30 beautiful campsites). Additionally, you can camp primitively pretty much anywhere in the forest, if you don't need those sissy facilities.
5. You don't have to spend $75 or even $50, like Croom. Ocala has a $10 day pass. Had Croom had that option last year, I would have saved $10 versus buying the $50 annual pass. Granted the $50 or the $75 would be more cost efficient if you plan to ride the trails more often, but between all the race weekends and the little practice time I have, I just won't make it to Croom or Ocala enough to justify an annual pass. At least Ocala gives you another option.
6. Ocala now has three separate trail areas with over 100 miles of trails for your use. This accommodates many more riders than Croom, keeping the trails less congested.
7. Trails at Ocala are much better maintained than Croom. Croom has become a spider's web of trails that stay whooped out. The trails at ONF had very few whooped sections and were very clearly marked. The National Forest Service does not allow trailblazing and this keeps the trails in good shape and easy to follow.
8. The terrain and vistas at ONF vary greatly, even within one section, let alone if you visit one of the southern trail sections.

I can assure you, I'll be spending a lot more of my practice days at the Ocala National Forest, this season.

The first rider tossed out of the race was Manuel Beltran after testing positive for EPO after the first stage. EPO is a shortened version of the term erythropoietin, a hormone that increases red blood cell production, thereby increasing oxygenation of the cells. This especially helps the riders in the low oxygen conditions of the mountain stages during the race.

Blood doping and performance enhancing methods continue to plague the Tour and professional cycling, in general. Professional cyclists are perhaps the most tested of any athletes. In spite of all the testing, riders continue to try to beat the system and get by with cheating. If this is the case in professional cycling, the most tested sport, imagine how bad the cheating problem could be in other un-tested professional sports.