Six Degrees of Floyd Landis’ MTB and 2 other Snapshots

Maintain An Active Lifestyle...Or Else!

An avid reader pointed out this sparkling priceless gem to me earlier this week from a grocery store ad.  Like all cyclists we’re drawn to words like adventure, exercise and active lifestyle.  Things like that reach out from the page like rusty bike frames on the trash day curb.  Then you look closer.  Oh it’s a Huffy.  If you get out your bifocals here, to “maintain an active lifestyle” you might want to ebay your current 2-wheeled steed and pick up something that’ll really get the job done.  Lose weight, get fit, stay healthy, and escape your couch potato life with this incredible…$39.99 Folding Walker!  If that’s just too much to handle, maybe your skinny biker bean arms cannot support your weight, try the wheel chair that has no big wheels to push yourself around, but instead relies on a stoker.  It could be the perfect gift for a convalescent tandem team.  Now I’m not picking on people that actually need these devices, my grammy has a fine folding walker, but maybe the copywriter should’ve chosen a more appropriate phrase such as, I don’t know, “maintain a mobile lifestyle.”  Either that or “maintain an active lifestyle…or else!”

Six Degrees of Floyd’s Bike

I knew I should’ve got the phone with a better camera than 1 mega pixel, but that’s what I had at my disposal at the 2008 Mohican 100 when, gathered at our bunkhouse cabin in Loudonville Ohio, Floyd Landis rode by.  Had I known how much mileage I'd get out of this photo, I would've hired Anne Geddes to photograph us in cute vegetable suits.  The Friday before the race, Floyd was doing some recon of the last few miles of the course with a few buddies.  As they zipped by we invited them by for beers afterward.  They kindly obliged.  On their return, we shared a few Sierra Nevadas, laughs and snapped some photos.  I guess none of us noticed that the bike Floyd was riding was not his team bike, but a replacement.  According to this article that ties the loose ends of the Floyd Landis bike mystery, it must have been that same morning when his bike, being brought up by his buddies, flew off the bike rack, disappeared into the brush, was discovered many months later and eventually sold to a very happy Greg Estes at a yard sale for $5.  

Trailside Sobriety Checkpoint

At first glance the single track looks plush.  The trail system very well marked and it wont be torn up by ATV tracks.  All systems go!  Then…wait…what?  Dammit!  One of our readers sure the hell picked the wrong trail to bring the Camelback with the martini shaker and bottle of Grey Goose inside.  Either this trail is in a dry county or James Bond and comedienne Chelsea Handler are not allowed shred here.  Cheers!