This summer, Lance Armstrong and the members of Team RadioShack are honoring everyday heroes in the fight against cancer. As they embark on the Amgen Tour of California, May 16-23, each rider’s bike will feature an “I RIDE FOR” sticker bearing the name of a hero they’ve chosen. Armstrong will be riding for a different person through each stage of the race:

• Stage 1: Lorena Rojas, a breast cancer survivor and telenovela star from Mexico, currently living in Miami, FL.
• Stage 2: Jim Brown, an Olympia, WA resident who is currently battling lung cancer; his son contacted Armstrong resulting in a viral campaign of support anchored by a personal video message from Armstrong himself.
• Stage 3: Jimmy Fowkes, a high school senior in Portland, OR who is currently facing his third reoccurrence of brain cancer; Jimmy has plans to attend Stanford University next year.
• Stage 4: Adam Yauch, a musician and founding member of the Beastie Boys who was recently diagnosed with cancer.
• Stage 5: Latrice Haney, an Indianapolis resident and Armstrong’s nurse at Indiana University, where he underwent cancer treatment.
• Stage 6: Travis Goodman, a Trek employee from North Carolina who is currently undergoing cancer treatment after experiencing a reoccurrence of melanoma.
• Stage 7: Dennis Hopper, an actor, filmmaker and artist currently living with prostate cancer.
• Stage 8: Aldo Sassi, an Italian cycling coach currently living with brain cancer.

In addition, Levi Leipheimer, a Team RadioShack member and reigning champion of the Tour of California, is riding for three-year-old Nate Wagner from Santa Rosa, CA. Nate will soon begin chemotherapy after recently having a golf ball size tumor removed from his brain. Leipheimer has won the Tour of California for the past three years.

The “I RIDE FOR” campaign comes to California at a crucial time, as groups of volunteer signature gatherers throughout the state are leading an effort to get the California Cancer Research Act, or CCRA, placed on the state’s 2012 Presidential primary ballot. This act would fund cancer research, tobacco prevention and enforcement programs by increasing tobacco taxes by $1.00 a pack.

As Lance and the team prepare to ride in the Tour of California, LIVESTRONG is launching I RIDE FOR LIVESTRONG, an interactive online game that allows participants to ride along in support of their own cancer hero. Supporters can create their own bike, and encourage their friends to “cheer” them on by joining the global fight against cancer. The top three racers with the most “cheers” at the end of the Tour of California will have their “I RIDE FOR” dedication stickers on Lance Armstrong’s bike during the Tour de France. The rest of the Top 100 racers will be entered in a drawing to have their dedication sticker on the Team RadioShack bikes as they ride across France. In addition, in the first 48 hours of the game, if 10,000 riders sign up, RadioShack will make a $75,000 gift to LIVESTRONG to support their critical work of fighting the global cancer crisis.

“All of us know someone who has fought cancer,” said Armstrong, LIVESTRONG founder and chairman. “This summer, we’re honoring their courage and raising awareness of the worldwide impact of this disease. We’re encouraging anyone whose life has been touched by cancer to join I RIDE FOR LIVESTRONG in honor of someone who inspires them.”

I RIDE FOR LIVESTRONG will begin on May 12, prior to the Tour of California and will continue until its conclusion on May 23. All names entered will be eligible, but not guaranteed, to appear on Team RadioShack bikes throughout the 2010 season, including the Tour de France.

Participants also have the opportunity to show support for the cancer hero in their lives by ordering stickers or water bottles from Trek with a customized “I RIDE FOR” message to display on their own bikes. Net proceeds from sales will benefit LIVESTRONG.

For more information, and to participate in the I RIDE FOR LIVESTRONG race, visit www.LIVESTRONGAction.org/rideforLIVESTRONG.

About LIVESTRONG:
Founded in 1997 by cancer survivor and champion cyclist Lance Armstrong and based in Austin, Texas, LIVESTRONG fights for the 28 million people around the world living with cancer today. LIVESTRONG connects individuals to the support they need, leverages funding and resources to spur innovation and engages communities and leaders to drive social change. Known for the iconic yellow wristband, LIVESTRONG’s mission is to inspire and empower anyone affected by cancer. For more information, visit www.LIVESTRONG.org.

With the spring classics behind us, Universal Sports’ world-class cycling coverage continues in May with the Giro d’Italia, the first of the Grand Tours of cycling, airing LIVE each day starting Saturday, May 8, at 10:00 am ET (8:00 pm ET primetime re-air), and continuing throughout the three-week event ending Sunday, May 30. Universal Sports will have all the action as the world’s top riders battle for more than 1,500 miles (CK) through Italy’s mountainous terrain in their quest for the Maglia Rosa, the Giro’s legendary pink leader’s jersey. Universal Sports is home to two of the three Grand Tours of cycling with the Giro and Vuelta a Espana in August.

Universal Sports will have live daily coverage of every stage, with primetime re-airs nightly at 8:00 pm ET. On the two rest days, the network will air the Giro Race Review show, featuring highlights of the race and upcoming challenges. For the complete schedule and air times, click here: www.universalsports.com/cycling. In addition, UniversalSports.com will offer the ultimate online experience for cycling fans: live, pay-per-view coverage of the complete race for $14.99 that will include athlete profiles, field previews, highlights, photos and recaps.

While the race starts on the flat roads of the Netherlands, it is known for its grueling 45,000 vertical feet of climbing and mountain stages throughout Italy, where a rider’s stamina and strength usually prove pivotal in determining the champion. With unrelenting gradients and stiff competition, almost every year the battle continues until the last mountain stage.

Top American riders Tyler Farrar and Christian Vande Velde are both riding for American team, Garmin Transitions. Vande Velde is returning to the Giro after suffering a nasty crash in last year’s edition, breaking seven bones. They will challenge two-time Giro champion Gilberto Simoni, who will make the Giro his final race, riding for the Lampre-Farnese Vini team.

Other top riders include current World Champion Cadel Evans, 2008 Tour de France winner Carlos Sastre, Alexandre Vinokourov, coming off his first win after his probation, and former Giro champions Stefano Garzelli, Ivan Basso and Damiano Cunego.

Universal Sports’ complete cycling coverage includes more than 10 premier road cycling races, including two of the three Grand Tours of cycling—Giro d’Italia and Vuelta a Espana—as well as many other UCI Championships and World Cup races in road cycling, track, mountain bike, cyclocross, and BMX. The complete schedule of all Universal Sports cycling programming is available at UniversalSports.com/tvschedule.

The 2010 Giro d’Italia will kick of this year’s three grand tours beginning May 8, 2010. To make sure you catch all the coverage, make sure you tune it to Universal Sports’ coverage beginning May 8 at 10 am ET | 7 am PT.

Universal Sports will be broadcasting LIVE on TV and on-line. You can catch all the action over on their cycling channel as well as their Giro Broadcast Link starting May 8th.

In the interim, check out the Giro d’Italia preview video Universal Sports uploaded to their YouTube channel. Divertire!

Universal Sports’ world-class spring cycling coverage continues Monday, April 5, with live coverage of the Tour of Basque Country from Spain. Universal Sports television coverage takes place daily at noon ET (or EDT) starting with stage one on Monday through the final stage on Saturday, April 10. UniversalSports.com will have live coverage daily at 9:45 a.m. ET at www.universalsports.com/cycling.

Euskaltel’s Samuel Sanchez, last year’s third-place finisher and the reigning Olympic champ, will wear bib No. 1 at the Tour of the Basque Country this Monday. Other headliners include 2009 Vuelta a España champion Alejandro Valverde and three-time Milan-San Remo winner Oscar Freire.

Universal Sports’ complete cycling coverage includes more than 10 premiere road cycling races, including two of the three Grand Tours of cycling—Giro d’Italia and Vuelta a Espana—as well as many other UCI Championships and World Cup races in road cycling, track, mountain bike, cyclocross, and BMX. The complete schedule of all Universal Sports cycling programming is available at UniversalSports.com/tvschedule.

Universal Sports will have same-day delayed television coverage of all of the cycling events listed below. All events will be available online at UniversalSports.com, complete with full-length videos, highlights, photos and recaps.

Coverage Starts Monday, April 5, ends Saturday, April 10

2010 Universal Sports Remaining Road Cycling Schedule (Schedule subject to change; Events will be added.)

• April 5–10: Tour of Basque Country – Noon ET
• May 8–30: Giro d’Italia – Noon ET
• Aug. 28–Sept. 19: Vuelta a España – Noon ET
• Sept. 29: Road Cycling Time Trials – Men’s Under 23, Women’s Elite – 7pm ET
• Sept. 30: Road Cycling Time Trials –Men’s Elite – 7pm ET
• Oct. 2: Road Cycling Road Race – Men’s Under 23, Women’s Elite – 7pm ET
• Oct. 3: Road Cycling Road Race –Men’s Elite – 7pm ET
• Oct. 16: Giro di Lombardia – Noon ET

I don’t know about you but I believe this year will be an exciting year within the professional cycling ranks. I also believe the drama will be even greater once Lance Armstrong and boys land in France for the 2010 Tour de France. I, for one, am really looking forward to the showdown between Team RadioShack and Team Alberto …. I mean Astana.

So, before the 2010 season kicks off in Australia, here’s a comical video of Team RadioShack going to camp in their brand new Nissan Armada.

I realize that this has been out for a couple of years but still think it’s a great digital holiday card created by Specialized. Enjoy!

Many of you who follow Road Cycling Blog probably wonder why I haven’t posted in over two and half months. It’s not only wrong from a bloggers perspective, it’s down right pathetic. And, for that, I truly apologize.

To be honest, I’ve recently toyed with the idea of shutting this blog down to concentrate on other passions and endeavors. However, after much soul-searching, I realize that the purpose of Road Cycling Blog was birthed simply out of a desire to share my passion toward the wonderful sport of cycling — period. In other words, there were no ulterior motives, no business plan or monetization strategies. Just a simple desire to share thoughts, opinions and ideas about the world of road cycling.

Nevertheless, I’ve come to terms with reality — I simply can’t and won’t update content on a consistent basis. I have too many irons in the fire.

For example, I run a hugely successful blog for chiropractors over at next generation chiropractor. I also run and manage developing others, a web design, development and hosting company specifically for chiropractors. And, just recently, I launched a membership site for chiropractors over at Blogging Chiros.

See my dilemma?

So, instead of shutting Road Cycling Blog down, I’ll use it much like my Posterous account — to stream content that I feel is interesting and worthy to share. This will not only eliminate high expectations from visitors and readers but also will allow me to enjoy the evolution of its content.

In closing, I ran across an amazing video of Danny MacAskill. Even though it’s out of the realm of road cycling, I thought you’d enjoy it as much as I do. Let me know your thoughts!

Here’s Episode 8 of Trek’s Document series. A big thank you to Patrick Buckley, videographer and filmmaker for this series, for letting me know that these are now live!

Here’s Episode 7 of Trek’s Document series. Once again, a big thank you to Patrick Buckley, videographer and filmmaker for this series, for letting me know that these are now live!

Here’s Episode 6 of Trek’s Document series. A big thank you to Patrick Buckley, videographer and filmmaker for this series, for letting me know that these are now live!