Adastra Hudson Sydney BB c1969_369
Originally uploaded by gtveloce

It’s VH-AGX at Sydney. Note the high security in place at Sydney Airport… I walked out and just took a shot. OK, it is the quiet ‘light aircraft’ side of the field… and I looked innocent enough at 11 years old with a Box Brownie in my hands.

CF-CPT CPAir DC8-55 Sydney BB c1969_367
Originally uploaded by gtveloce

CPAir, or Canadian Pacific Airways if you like. It’s 1969 again, taken with a Kodak Box Brownie… once more not great quality but (once more) a rare bird worth sharing. Again I simply walked through the gate and literally walked all around this bird.

Voyager 1000 DC7C N287 Sydney BB c1969_365
Originally uploaded by gtveloce

Yes folks, an 11 year old with a Box Brownie could go anywhere in 1969… note the “old” Sydney International Terminal on the left with a gaggle of 707s, notably Pan Am and Air India.

QF 707-138B and JAL DC8 Sydney BB c1969
Originally uploaded by gtveloce

The “new” Sydney International Terminal when it was actually new… taken with my Box Brownie in around 1969…

RAF Comet Sydney BB c1969_366
Originally uploaded by gtveloce

Get set for some old, blurry pics taken by yours truly with his Box Brownie, age 11 or so…

Yes, it’s 1969 again folks. Not great quality but (once more) a rare bird worth sharing, and to think I simply walked through the gate and literally walked all around this RAF Comet without question. Can’t do that these days.

In what can only be described as a tactical team victory – OK, you could also say it was a personal, individual win – Wesley Sulzberger (Aus) Australian National Team 3.54.54 (37.65 km/h) outsprinted GC leader Vitaly Buts after a monumental day of attacking in stage 3 of the Giro delle Regioni. The Aussies softened ‘em up with a leg-breaking mountain attack by Travis Meyer, followed by the counter. Each move included an Aussie and effectively launched Wes to the win. Yes, yes, he still had to sprint.

In what can only be described as a tactical team victory – OK, you could also say it was a personal, individual win – Wesley Sulzberger (Aus) Australian National Team 3.54.54 (37.65 km/h) outsprinted GC leader Vitaly Buts after a monumental day of attacking in stage 3 of the Giro delle Regioni. The Aussies softened ‘em up with a leg-breaking mountain attack by Travis Meyer, followed by the counter. Each move included an Aussie and effectively launched Wes to the win. Yes, yes, he still had to sprint.

I just have a few random ideas that may help you get started… nothing scientific, nothing guaranteed, but you may like to consider these thoughts:

• Ride a bit more than usual before your first race, and push yourself a bit harder to gain some confidence
• Then have a rest day before the race, or just a short, easy ride
• Get into bunches and practice riding with a group
• Eat well, keep fats to a minimum and eat plenty of carbs with fruit, rice and bread in the mix
• Don’t ride hard if you are sick or injured, or overweight (see your doctor for help there before starting any exercise program)
• Remember the rule of thumb: train in a week 3 times the distance of your race – so a 30km criterium means you should do at least 90km in a week, and you need to do that at least for a month prior to build your base
• Remember the other rule of thumb: you lose whatever you gained after 3 days, so don’t leave it 3 days between rides
• Get to the race early and warm up gently but firmly – end the warm up with a cool down and build up to a race gear, but don’t over-do it
• Don’t cool off completely before the race
• Register for the race and get your number ASAP, don’t leave it to the last minute
• Ride around if necessary to keep warm
• Don’t miss the start
• Follow the experienced riders, listen to them and watch what they do
• Within the limits of what you can do be prepared to dig deep and grit your teeth to “hang on”
• Don’t cross wheels with other riders, one swerve and you’ll be down
• Don’t show off in your first race, just absorb and learn
• Sit on “in the draft”, conserve energy, don’t fidget, don’t surge, be smooth – momentum is everything
• Stay close to and follow experienced wheels carefully, certainly not in a jerky, sudden or unpredictable way
• Do a turn when your turn comes, then pull off into the wind, allowing the next rider to shelter in your draft and easily come up to replace you
• As you pull off do so gradually and slowly ease up, drifting to the back
• If you feel comfortable ease back into the first 3rd of the bunch, otherwise go to the back again
• Do what the others do, unless they are totally out of their minds!
• Be there at the end
• Have a go at the sprint but be realistic – don’t get in the way.

Ahh, these stories are just too good to pass up…

• I went to the fortune teller, to have my fortune read… oh, VDB, where next dude?? The Belgian was released by Team Mitsubishi-Jartazi last week. He has ridden very little this season, and most recently had been named as a customer of gang drug dealers. If the 33 year-old is unable to come back on his bike, he may have a new career as a fortune teller. In the TV show, which was filmed before Sunday’s Liège-Bastogne-Liège, he accurately predicted that Alejandro Valverde would win the race. According to sportwereld.be, he had also predicted the winners in the Ronde van Vlaanderen (Stijn Devolder), Paris-Roubaix (Tom Boonen) and the Amstel Gold Race (Damiano Cunego), missing only on Milano-Sanremo, where he picked Filippo Pozzato instead of Fabian Cancellara.
• Can’t buy me love… Sunday was the deadline for Rabobank and Michael Rasmussen to settle their differences, following the Dutch team throwing out the Danish rider of its team during last year’s Tour de France.
• It’s a question of credibility? Sure is! “It is a question of credibility,” Maertens continued. “We are working already since October last year on a new team. By accepting Vino in the team, we would have to start all over again. We proved already this season – unfortunately some organisers don’t see it – that our team works super professionally and clean. We want to keep that.” Astana has not been invited this season to any races sponsored by the ASO, including the Tour de France.

It would be cruel to suggest that VDB will not find yet another team to disappoint, however someone must be cruel to be kind at some point, surely? And Rasmussen is holding out for more money, one presumes. One can only hope he has a strong case. Finally there’s Vino, in the wings, waiting to come back. I doubt it.

Ahh, these stories are just too good to pass up…

• I went to the fortune teller, to have my fortune read… oh, VDB, where next dude?? The Belgian was released by Team Mitsubishi-Jartazi last week. He has ridden very little this season, and most recently had been named as a customer of gang drug dealers. If the 33 year-old is unable to come back on his bike, he may have a new career as a fortune teller. In the TV show, which was filmed before Sunday’s Liège-Bastogne-Liège, he accurately predicted that Alejandro Valverde would win the race. According to sportwereld.be, he had also predicted the winners in the Ronde van Vlaanderen (Stijn Devolder), Paris-Roubaix (Tom Boonen) and the Amstel Gold Race (Damiano Cunego), missing only on Milano-Sanremo, where he picked Filippo Pozzato instead of Fabian Cancellara.
• Can’t buy me love… Sunday was the deadline for Rabobank and Michael Rasmussen to settle their differences, following the Dutch team throwing out the Danish rider of its team during last year’s Tour de France.
• It’s a question of credibility? Sure is! “It is a question of credibility,” Maertens continued. “We are working already since October last year on a new team. By accepting Vino in the team, we would have to start all over again. We proved already this season – unfortunately some organisers don’t see it – that our team works super professionally and clean. We want to keep that.” Astana has not been invited this season to any races sponsored by the ASO, including the Tour de France.

It would be cruel to suggest that VDB will not find yet another team to disappoint, however someone must be cruel to be kind at some point, surely? And Rasmussen is holding out for more money, one presumes. One can only hope he has a strong case. Finally there’s Vino, in the wings, waiting to come back. I doubt it.

Well, we hope he’ll be there come July. He can climb and sprint. He can mix it with anyone in a tour – and even in a Classic. Whilst he does have a small cloud still hanging about from his brush with that Spanish Affair, he’s not in the frame at the moment. So tick Valverde come July. Note also that Cadel Evans missed the key break but wasn’t too far off the pace.
One year ago in Ans, Alejandro Valverde found himself just short of his second victory in Liège-Bastogne-Liège, but this year the Caisse d’Epargne rider hit back with Davide Rebellin (Gerolsteiner) and Fränk Schleck (Team CSC) left wondering what could have been. The 28 year-old, winner of the 2006 Flèche Wallonne and Liège-Bastogne-Liège, added a third Ardennes Classic to his already rich palmarès by waiting until the final 200 metres to swing by his two escape companions.

Well, we hope he’ll be there come July. He can climb and sprint. He can mix it with anyone in a tour – and even in a Classic. Whilst he does have a small cloud still hanging about from his brush with that Spanish Affair, he’s not in the frame at the moment. So tick Valverde come July. Note also that Cadel Evans missed the key break but wasn’t too far off the pace.
One year ago in Ans, Alejandro Valverde found himself just short of his second victory in Liège-Bastogne-Liège, but this year the Caisse d’Epargne rider hit back with Davide Rebellin (Gerolsteiner) and Fränk Schleck (Team CSC) left wondering what could have been. The 28 year-old, winner of the 2006 Flèche Wallonne and Liège-Bastogne-Liège, added a third Ardennes Classic to his already rich palmarès by waiting until the final 200 metres to swing by his two escape companions.

Well yes and no. Car engines are more efficient, but people keep buying the wrong cars! Let me put it few other ways. Rather than buy smaller, lighter cars, wealthier car-buyers these days tend to buy bigger, heavier cars. So any gain in engine efficiency is lost in weight gained. They (the modern affluent consumers) also tend to buy 4WDs when they don’t ‘need’ them, adding further weight and complexity plus transmission losses. When they want a ‘faster’ or more powerful car they tend to go up in cylinder numbers or sheer capacity, neither or which improves fuel efficiency. Sigh. So the numbers get all skewed.

Which renders this article ‘predictable’ but – alas – it needs to be said nonetheless: While engine efficiency has increased since 1963, car size and extra features – air-conditioning, power steering and windows, safety and entertainment systems – mean petrol consumption per 100 kilometres has not budged. Freeways had also reduced fuel efficiency, Dr Mees said. “If you drive at 110kmh you use more fuel than if you drive at 70kmh.”

Well yes and no. Car engines are more efficient, but people keep buying the wrong cars! Let me put it few other ways. Rather than buy smaller, lighter cars, wealthier car-buyers these days tend to buy bigger, heavier cars. So any gain in engine efficiency is lost in weight gained. They (the modern affluent consumers) also tend to buy 4WDs when they don’t ‘need’ them, adding further weight and complexity plus transmission losses. When they want a ‘faster’ or more powerful car they tend to go up in cylinder numbers or sheer capacity, neither or which improves fuel efficiency. Sigh. So the numbers get all skewed.

Which renders this article ‘predictable’ but – alas – it needs to be said nonetheless: While engine efficiency has increased since 1963, car size and extra features – air-conditioning, power steering and windows, safety and entertainment systems – mean petrol consumption per 100 kilometres has not budged. Freeways had also reduced fuel efficiency, Dr Mees said. “If you drive at 110kmh you use more fuel than if you drive at 70kmh.”

Well it was an interesting result in the end, but not so surprising. NZ’s Greg Henderson won the final sprint for High Road, and the team picked up the overall as well – just. What conclusions can we draw? Is this a serious indication of tour form for High Road? Will Slipstream’s Trent Lowe come of age this year with a major win? Where’s Mick Rogers?

Well it’s only April. Let’s look at the top 30 or so anyway.

Siutsou was a revelation and deserved winner, and Aussie Lowe came oh-so-close to end up 2nd on GC. Leiphemer could only hang with these guys for 3rd. (But it’s April, and Astana won’t be at Le Tour anyway.) There was a bunch of guys close, too, but they also won’t figure in July. However it was nice to see Oscar Sevilla racing at a high level again (6th). Rory Sutherland was a good 9th and could have been higher with a bit of luck. Julich’s 10th also under-rated his potential. Willo, Chadwick and McGee were all in the mix, too.

1 Kanstantin Siutsou (Blr) Team High Road 22.44.44

29 Jeremy Vennell (NZl) Bissell Pro Cycling 5.46

30 Matthias Russ (Ger) Gerolsteiner 6.02

Well it was an interesting result in the end, but not so surprising. NZ’s Greg Henderson won the final sprint for High Road, and the team picked up the overall as well – just. What conclusions can we draw? Is this a serious indication of tour form for High Road? Will Slipstream’s Trent Lowe come of age this year with a major win? Where’s Mick Rogers?

Well it’s only April. Let’s look at the top 30 or so anyway.

Siutsou was a revelation and deserved winner, and Aussie Lowe came oh-so-close to end up 2nd on GC. Leiphemer could only hang with these guys for 3rd. (But it’s April, and Astana won’t be at Le Tour anyway.) There was a bunch of guys close, too, but they also won’t figure in July. However it was nice to see Oscar Sevilla racing at a high level again (6th). Rory Sutherland was a good 9th and could have been higher with a bit of luck. Julich’s 10th also under-rated his potential. Willo, Chadwick and McGee were all in the mix, too.

1 Kanstantin Siutsou (Blr) Team High Road 22.44.44

29 Jeremy Vennell (NZl) Bissell Pro Cycling 5.46

30 Matthias Russ (Ger) Gerolsteiner 6.02

art006d
Originally uploaded by gtveloce

And then Photoshopped as well. I like it, anyway.

It’s the Zig Zag Railway near Lithgow, NSW, Australia, btw. Before the railway cut through the Blue Mountains like power-crazed engineers are wont to do, they zig-zagged their way up the steep bits instead. A bit slow to traverse in this manner but a lot easier than boring long tunnels and slicing deep cuttings into the rock (which of course they ended up doing later anyway).

art006d
Originally uploaded by gtveloce

And then Photoshopped as well. I like it, anyway.

It’s the Zig Zag Railway near Lithgow, NSW, Australia, btw. Before the railway cut through the Blue Mountains like power-crazed engineers are wont to do, they zig-zagged their way up the steep bits instead. A bit slow to traverse in this manner but a lot easier than boring long tunnels and slicing deep cuttings into the rock (which of course they ended up doing later anyway).

If you are way out freaky weird like me you’ll enjoy…

• Killerstartups.com, yet another way to keep track of new stuff you don’t necessarily need but may take off and become huge – and we don’t wanna mess up our early-adopter status, do we?
• Vimas Web Audio Chat and Comment system… add not just sound to your site, but your users‘ sounds (sounds dangerous!!). Sadly there’s a small charge for the service… (aka MobaTalk or MyChingo, I think)
• But the WordPress-only Riffly Audio and Video plugin does something similar (but not as neatly) for free!
• Alternatively checkout Jaduka, who offer a range of audio products that appear somewhat way-cool… including dukaBuzz that appears to do what the Vimas product does…
• And for something completely different, there’s KickApps, providing a range of online community templates, widgets and what have you ( a bit like ning.com but different)

More later!

If you are way out freaky weird like me you’ll enjoy…

• Killerstartups.com, yet another way to keep track of new stuff you don’t necessarily need but may take off and become huge – and we don’t wanna mess up our early-adopter status, do we?
• Vimas Web Audio Chat and Comment system… add not just sound to your site, but your users‘ sounds (sounds dangerous!!). Sadly there’s a small charge for the service… (aka MobaTalk or MyChingo, I think)
• But the WordPress-only Riffly Audio and Video plugin does something similar (but not as neatly) for free!
• Alternatively checkout Jaduka, who offer a range of audio products that appear somewhat way-cool… including dukaBuzz that appears to do what the Vimas product does…
• And for something completely different, there’s KickApps, providing a range of online community templates, widgets and what have you ( a bit like ning.com but different)

More later!

Big ambitions, but there’s a lot at stake. This article in Forbes mag caught my eye: Amyris’ technology harnesses a modified yeast that essentially “eats” the crushed sugarcane and spits out a hydrocarbon-like renewable fuel. The technology came from research at the lab of Jay Keasling, a professor at the University of California, Berkeley. Now if it’s a goer and can scale up then it solves a few problems. If, I said, if.

Let me list a few of these problems and the claimed advantages of this solution:

• Biofuels generally take land away from food-generation and give it over to fuel production, although it may be that this idea has less of a footprint in that regard
• Biofuels also need energy to be expended in manufacture and distribution, but whereas some biofuels are incompatible with existing petroleum fuels and their infrastructure, this one can use the same pipes end-to-end without raising concerns about solvency, impurities and corrosion. Although it seems unlikely that major oil pipelines serendipitously pass by sugar refineries, at least we can envisage building some short spur lines to wherever we do the bio-processing, and we can assume cheap water transport is nearby to sugar refineries as well
• Given that ethanol requires more extensive trucking, this idea could sink the aggressively expanding ethanol industry pretty quickly (probably a good thing, but not everyone would agree!)
• But it still robs us of a food source and valuable agricultural land, although in this case it’s sugar cane rather than corn (somewhat preferable I guess as rich western nations need to reduce their sugar intake anyway!)
• And it still needs energy in manufacture, although there may be less of it required (don’t know the actuals here, do we? What energy is expended in growing the microbes, or in encouraging them to feast on the cane?)
• And as a bonus the biotech involved can be used elsewhere: Keasling and his former post-doctoral students started Amyris to develop a synthetic anti-malarial drug. But the process of modifying either yeast or bacteria to churn out specific byproducts is general enough that they could make products as varied as drugs or fuels.
• So in a nutshell this particular idea potentially uses much more of the existing oil distribution infrastucture, saving the expense and carbon-cost of building new pipelines or trucks to get the product to market, resolving a big minus of the ethanol alternative.

The big bet here is that oil will run out sooner rather than later and that prices will stay high. It’s possible however that there’s more cheap oil yet to be found, or that the big exporters have kept a supply “for their children”. So they could kill off this competition by short-term overproduction (driving down prices), although that’s a dangerous play. Also, alternatives like ethanol, solar, wind, geothermal and tidal generation – perhaps even nuclear power – may ramp up quicker than expected and drive down costs again, but that seems unlikely for now. But in 20 years, who knows?

Assuming just such a 20 year window, these biofuel ideas, including ethanol to some extent, may embed themselves and come to wield considerable power, both as a method of stretching out current oil supplies and as a means to keep prices down, forcing the alternatives to remain a mere slice of the overall market. Unless they get a leg up by legislation or subsidy, of course.

Big ambitions, but there’s a lot at stake. This article in Forbes mag caught my eye: Amyris’ technology harnesses a modified yeast that essentially “eats” the crushed sugarcane and spits out a hydrocarbon-like renewable fuel. The technology came from research at the lab of Jay Keasling, a professor at the University of California, Berkeley. Now if it’s a goer and can scale up then it solves a few problems. If, I said, if.

Let me list a few of these problems and the claimed advantages of this solution:

• Biofuels generally take land away from food-generation and give it over to fuel production, although it may be that this idea has less of a footprint in that regard
• Biofuels also need energy to be expended in manufacture and distribution, but whereas some biofuels are incompatible with existing petroleum fuels and their infrastructure, this one can use the same pipes end-to-end without raising concerns about solvency, impurities and corrosion. Although it seems unlikely that major oil pipelines serendipitously pass by sugar refineries, at least we can envisage building some short spur lines to wherever we do the bio-processing, and we can assume cheap water transport is nearby to sugar refineries as well
• Given that ethanol requires more extensive trucking, this idea could sink the aggressively expanding ethanol industry pretty quickly (probably a good thing, but not everyone would agree!)
• But it still robs us of a food source and valuable agricultural land, although in this case it’s sugar cane rather than corn (somewhat preferable I guess as rich western nations need to reduce their sugar intake anyway!)
• And it still needs energy in manufacture, although there may be less of it required (don’t know the actuals here, do we? What energy is expended in growing the microbes, or in encouraging them to feast on the cane?)
• And as a bonus the biotech involved can be used elsewhere: Keasling and his former post-doctoral students started Amyris to develop a synthetic anti-malarial drug. But the process of modifying either yeast or bacteria to churn out specific byproducts is general enough that they could make products as varied as drugs or fuels.
• So in a nutshell this particular idea potentially uses much more of the existing oil distribution infrastucture, saving the expense and carbon-cost of building new pipelines or trucks to get the product to market, resolving a big minus of the ethanol alternative.

The big bet here is that oil will run out sooner rather than later and that prices will stay high. It’s possible however that there’s more cheap oil yet to be found, or that the big exporters have kept a supply “for their children”. So they could kill off this competition by short-term overproduction (driving down prices), although that’s a dangerous play. Also, alternatives like ethanol, solar, wind, geothermal and tidal generation – perhaps even nuclear power – may ramp up quicker than expected and drive down costs again, but that seems unlikely for now. But in 20 years, who knows?

Assuming just such a 20 year window, these biofuel ideas, including ethanol to some extent, may embed themselves and come to wield considerable power, both as a method of stretching out current oil supplies and as a means to keep prices down, forcing the alternatives to remain a mere slice of the overall market. Unless they get a leg up by legislation or subsidy, of course.

Forbes mag says that Splunk.com‘s moniker is a play on “spelunking,” a term coined by IT specialists to describe sifting through mountains of machine data. Or so they say. In fact it’s a word that means “caving”, as in cave exploring. So to say it’s a coinage is wrong or a stretch at best but it is an interesting new use for an existing form.

That trifle aside, it’s an interesting company that uses indexing to assist trawling through log files for data mining purposes. They offer a free download which I haven’t tried as yet but will. It’s meant for IT shops and the like but anything that indexes alerts and log files can’t help but assist in managing anything ummm, voluminous and ineffable. Like IT generally.

Forbes mag says that Splunk.com‘s moniker is a play on “spelunking,” a term coined by IT specialists to describe sifting through mountains of machine data. Or so they say. In fact it’s a word that means “caving”, as in cave exploring. So to say it’s a coinage is wrong or a stretch at best but it is an interesting new use for an existing form.

That trifle aside, it’s an interesting company that uses indexing to assist trawling through log files for data mining purposes. They offer a free download which I haven’t tried as yet but will. It’s meant for IT shops and the like but anything that indexes alerts and log files can’t help but assist in managing anything ummm, voluminous and ineffable. Like IT generally.

Kidding. As I’ve said before, he attacks when he thinks he has an advantage, not because it’s his only tactic. Evans plays a strategic game in his races, mulling over the pros and cons whilst digging deep to counter important moves. Well, that’s how most riders do it, too. But he has the engine to launch decisive attacks, which is not the case for every rider. So there are expectations.

Anyway, he launched but lost. It was close. It confirms his form and his motivation. It was worth a shot. Kim Kirchen won instead, Cadel 2nd, Cunego 3rd. Read CN’s report of the Arrow of Wallonne here: With Efimkin exhausted, Wegmann pressed on solo and held a 20-second advantage to the final kilometre. But he quickly succumbed to the savage gradients of the Mur as Evans blasted past with 400 metres remaining. Davide Rebellin (Gerolsteiner), Cunego, Joaquím Rodríguez (Caisse d’Epargne) and Kirchen were all in tow as the 31 year-old Australian fought hard with Amstel Gold winner Cunego and last year’s winner Rebellin.

Kidding. As I’ve said before, he attacks when he thinks he has an advantage, not because it’s his only tactic. Evans plays a strategic game in his races, mulling over the pros and cons whilst digging deep to counter important moves. Well, that’s how most riders do it, too. But he has the engine to launch decisive attacks, which is not the case for every rider. So there are expectations.

Anyway, he launched but lost. It was close. It confirms his form and his motivation. It was worth a shot. Kim Kirchen won instead, Cadel 2nd, Cunego 3rd. Read CN’s report of the Arrow of Wallonne here: With Efimkin exhausted, Wegmann pressed on solo and held a 20-second advantage to the final kilometre. But he quickly succumbed to the savage gradients of the Mur as Evans blasted past with 400 metres remaining. Davide Rebellin (Gerolsteiner), Cunego, Joaquím Rodríguez (Caisse d’Epargne) and Kirchen were all in tow as the 31 year-old Australian fought hard with Amstel Gold winner Cunego and last year’s winner Rebellin.

He’s tried another excuse and failed, and must be running out of ideas, surely? Which is not to say he won’t appeal again… The disciplinary committee of the Vlaamse Gemeenschap (Flemish Community) on Tuesday upheld Björn Leukemans’ two-year suspension for testosterone usage, rejecting his appeal of the sentence handed down in January. The Belgian rider had argued that a team doctor prescribed a substance which caused the positive test and therefore he was not responsible. Leukemans can further appeal the suspension to the Council of the State.

He’s tried another excuse and failed, and must be running out of ideas, surely? Which is not to say he won’t appeal again… The disciplinary committee of the Vlaamse Gemeenschap (Flemish Community) on Tuesday upheld Björn Leukemans’ two-year suspension for testosterone usage, rejecting his appeal of the sentence handed down in January. The Belgian rider had argued that a team doctor prescribed a substance which caused the positive test and therefore he was not responsible. Leukemans can further appeal the suspension to the Council of the State.

But triathletes fare better. Well Armstrong was a triathlete many moons ago, and it shows. As a cyclist and not a runner I can quite honestly say that I was “fast enough”, but only over about 400m max. After that it became a slog, a real slog.

Anyway, from CN: Seven times Tour de France champion and cancer survivor Lance Armstrong finished the 112th Boston Marathon in 2:50:58, placing 488th out of more than 25,000 Monday. Kenyan Robert Cheruiyot won the men’s race in 2:07:46, missing the course record he set by just 32 seconds. He became the fourth man to win Boston four times, joining American great Bill Rogers.

But triathletes fare better. Well Armstrong was a triathlete many moons ago, and it shows. As a cyclist and not a runner I can quite honestly say that I was “fast enough”, but only over about 400m max. After that it became a slog, a real slog.

Anyway, from CN: Seven times Tour de France champion and cancer survivor Lance Armstrong finished the 112th Boston Marathon in 2:50:58, placing 488th out of more than 25,000 Monday. Kenyan Robert Cheruiyot won the men’s race in 2:07:46, missing the course record he set by just 32 seconds. He became the fourth man to win Boston four times, joining American great Bill Rogers.

Go Ivan! There’s always something nice about a US and Japanese corporation-sponsored US-domestic pro bike team winning ahead of the ProTour teams. Better yet, being Cuban in origin allows everyone to use the “Cuban missile” cliche yet again. Life is good.

Interesting to see who was up there in the sprint… and it’s a loooong way back to the first Yank, Taylor Tolleson (sorry, who?), let alone non-sprinter Chris Horner:

1 Ivan Dominguez (Cub) Toyota – United Pro Cycling Team 2.30.18 (45.43 km/h)

18 Chris Horner (USA) Astana

Is that 9 Aussies ahead of Chris? Is that Bradley McGee I see before me? And Sanderson – great result in 2nd place. Tomorrow will sort the guys out, this was too short, more like a crit than a road race…

Go Ivan! There’s always something nice about a US and Japanese corporation-sponsored US-domestic pro bike team winning ahead of the ProTour teams. Better yet, being Cuban in origin allows everyone to use the “Cuban missile” cliche yet again. Life is good.

Interesting to see who was up there in the sprint… and it’s a loooong way back to the first Yank, Taylor Tolleson (sorry, who?), let alone non-sprinter Chris Horner:

1 Ivan Dominguez (Cub) Toyota – United Pro Cycling Team 2.30.18 (45.43 km/h)

18 Chris Horner (USA) Astana

Is that 9 Aussies ahead of Chris? Is that Bradley McGee I see before me? And Sanderson – great result in 2nd place. Tomorrow will sort the guys out, this was too short, more like a crit than a road race…

Peak oil? Well the oil-rich Middle-East woke up in 1973 and discovered the power of restricted supply, and once they opened that particular magic lamp they have used it ever since. It’s fairly clear – and eminently logical – that if there is a limited resource and wild demand that the suppliers are in the box seat. In the case of oil we have seen a deliberate slow down in production, a restriction in supply, that has forced the price up. Indeed we now see that some oil fields have been left untapped, for future use. Which is sensible, of course, but does impose another restrictor on peak production.

Now this creates a more controlled stream of wealth for the oil exporters, which is what they need. They don’t want to give the stuff away, or pump it out too quickly and create a glut. So they restrict supply. Now back in 1973 this was a sharp shock for the oil-desperate, now it’s more like a blunt weapon. The answer for the consumers is to look at alternatives, but they all carry costs. Ethanol creation relies on a wasteful method of production and robs us of food. Solar is largely inefficient, useless at night, dependent on weather and locale and consumes enormous areas of land. Wind farms suffer similar constraints. Geo thermal and tidal generation requires specific locations, usually far distant from the consumers. And nuclear is just plain scary to most people. Hydrogen? Yes, well, we all want to see it happen but the problems of storage and distribution are horrendous.

Now we can fix these problems, but we haven’t had the will to do so. And the suppliers have let us have enough of that powerfully addictive black gold to keep the price too low to encourage the development of alternatives. I think “sucked in” in one way of putting it. (And I don’t blame the oil exporters at all – it’s plain enough we’d all do the same.)

Have a read of this:“King Abdullah’s remarks reflect the new thinking in the Middle East, where the Kuwaiti parliament has also expressed a need to stabilize oil exports. Higher oil prices enable producers to focus more on domestic investments than on increasing exports. All Gulf countries have seen huge growth in domestic demand for power and fuel. By 2015, Iran may consume as much of its crude oil as they export. The King’s remarks mean that we in the industrialized countries better start looking for other solutions.”

Now get back in your gas-guzzling cars and rage against the cost of gas at the pump. As I said, sucked in.