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Prepping for this morning’s 32-mile ride around Puyallup, Orting and Sumner I dropped by REI yesterday to buy a pair of riding tights. I’ve let myself get pretty out of shape this spring, wimping out on riding opportunities because of the cold weather. I figured a pair of riding tights would help fix the problem.

Well, according to the clerk at REI – a guy that rides his bike to work – bike tights are out of season.

I laughed and he smiled, because we both know the current conditions definitely require cold weather clothing.

So instead, he gave me a tip. Wear a pair of polypro long underwear over your bike shorts.

As dorky as this sounded, I tried it this morning and it worked well. Not only did I stay warm but I probably saved $100.

The big test, however, would be my riding buddies. For a bunch of guys who prance around in spandex they’re not above playing fashion police. No fashion faux pas go unnoticed.

It was our first ride together since last year’s STP – minus Kenny Espinoza who reportedly is modeling in Paris - and when we met up I was surprised their wasn’t a single “Capt. Underpants” reference.

While Scott Wagar and Russ Meyers tend to be as well dressed as Lance Armstong, I figured Rick Beitelsbacher, the biggest mouth in the group, wouldn’t let it slide considering he bought his Turf King cycling gloves in the Fred Meyer gardening center.

Wrong.

When the guys figure it out they let me have it.

But that’s OK. If it saves me $100 I can take whatever they dish out.

The first important race occurs this weekend and is the 2008 Lisbon ETU Triathlon European Championships. This race is considered a Continental Cup race, earning more points than a World Cup event, less than a World Championship event. For the points breakdown, look here.

There will be no USA athletes at this race, because it is a Continental Cup event. The Continental Cup event for the USA was the 2008 Mazatlan PATCO Triathlon Pan American Championship event, held the same weekend as the Tuscaloosa trials race. Our top-ranked athletes were all at the Tuscaloosa trials race. While the trials race was exciting, there were no ITU points awarded for this event. Points are critical, especially now, as you know.

Jesse, you noticed that Polyansky popped past the USA and we lost our third men's slot. Not only did he step past the USA, he also stepped past Switerland's Olivier Marceau. Now Switzerland becomes the country we need to beat out to be the last country to secure three slots.

Unfortunately for the USA, Switzerland and Russia will have the opportunity to score points this weekend, while the USA (Hunter Kemper, Matt Reed) and Australia (Brendan Sexton) will not.

Here are the current standings for the race for the third men's slots, which changed from last week:

Brendan Sexton (AUS - three country slots): 2507

Dmitri Polyansky (RUS - three country slots): 2500

Olivier Marceau (SUI - three country slots): 2452

Hunter Kemper (USA- two country slots): 2359

Matt Reed (USA): 2305

More than likely, Polyansky and Marceau will both pass Sexton this weekend for accumulated points at this weekend's race.

Polyansky is working from a base of thirteen races, only nine of which count in the total, so his lowest scoring race will be dropped. Marceau is working from a base of only five races, so any points he accumulates will count in his total.

The next race that counts is Madrid. All of the men discussed above are on the start list for that race. As discussed previously, watch for all of the countries discussed above to be positioning their bubble-points person (or people) for a maximum points score. For us, Friman (World Rank = 72), Fretta (WR = 114) and Seymour (WR = 181) should all be working for Kemper and Reed to help them get that third country slot.

Recall, athletes must be ranked in the top 125 in the ranking to be eligible for the Games.

The final race that counts is the World Championships in Vancouver on June 8th. All of the contenders will be there as well.

After the European Championships, I can give you a better guess at what needs to happen for the USA to get that third slot back.

If we do not get the third men's slot back by the end of the World Championships race (the cut off for Olympic ranking points), Big Matty Reed loses his Olympic slot. The final slot will be determined at the Des Moines race. Carefully read the USAT's Amended Selection Criteria at this link to see the selection process in print.

You can watch the European Champs as well as the Madrid race live on the ITU website, Tricast Live.

Things were looking up late Wednesday morning as I grabbed for the sunglasses as soon as I crossed Snoqualmie Pass. I was headed east of the mountains for a fishing trip, the first in a long time.

But the good weather didn't last. Sure the sun was out, but the SUV started rocking in the wind half way down from the pass. By the time I reached Ellensburg, it was a full-blown, grab-your-hat gale. At the gas station, one guy said he would rather have "snow and rain than THIS!"

For those trout bums thinking about trying the Yakima in the next few days, forget it. Below Cle Elum it was high and the color of a vanilla latte. Even above Cle Elum the river was high.

I love to fish the Yak, but for this trip I was headed east for Lake Lenore.

But the winds followed me. The swirling gusts made it difficult to cast, which made it difficult to catch anything.

After an hour, I headed to Rocky Ford Creek. It was still windy, but not quite so bad. I managed to catch a few trout, nothing big. I did talk to an angler who salvaged his day of angling when he landed a 28-inch rainbow.

The forecast for Thursday is better, so hopefully that means good things will happen when I fish Potholes Reservoir.

Photo by Lui Kit Wong

Each year we get press releases from people who are pedaling across the United States. Usually they're doing this to raise money and awareness for a worthy cause. However, we get so many of these - four to five per year - we can't feature them all. In fact, as amazing as this accomplishment is, it takes something pretty special to get us to feature your trans-America pedal.

One trip that definitely qualifies as special will be the centerpiece of tomorrow's News Tribune. The Mortimer family of Gig Harbor will start pedaling 3,900 miles from their home to New York on May 17. So aside from ranging in age from 10 (Chanel) to 53 (Bob), what makes them different? Well, a couple things:

1. They don't really have a cause. They say they're simply spreading a message of courage and hope.

2. Bob Mortimer is a triple amputee. Mortimer lost his legs and left arm in an accident 32 years ago. He will be traveling on a handcycle.

Here are some links to more information about the Mortimers:

- Hope and Courage Journey Across America

- Bob Mortimer Motivational Ministries

- The route map.

- Track the Mortimer's via their blog

- Sign up for e-mail updates from the Mortimers' trip

- Make a donation

It will likely be early June before Skate Creek Road opens. And it is equally like other mountain roads in the Mount Rainier area will open much later than normal.
Record low elevation snowfall over the past several months and several large slides have covered the road, also known as Forest Road 52, between Ashford and Packwood.
This road, which provides visitors with an access route across the Gifford Pinchot National Forest from Packwood to the west entrance of Mount Rainier National Park normally reopens in mid-May for summer and fall travel.
This year¹s unseasonably deep snow has slowed and halted at times the plowing effot. In addition a large slide/avalanche on the road near Packwood, will have to melt further before it can be removed and repairs can be made to the road.
Based on available information and snow conditions, Forest Service officials estimate that Forest Road 52 will not be opened to public traffic for the Memorial Day holiday, but should be open in early June.
With snow continuing to fall in the area, it is expected that efforts to clear other mountain roadways, including Highways 123 and 410 inside Mount Rainier will be slow, forcing later than normal openings.
For additional information about the status of this route and other Forest roads, visit http://www.fs.fed.us/gpnf/recreation/current-conditions/roads.shtml
Elsewhere in the region, crews are working to clear mountain passes near Mount Rainier. Here is a look at their status:
Cayuse Pass: The pass is closed for the season within Mount Rainier National Park from the Highway 410 Junction to Stevens Canyon Road, five miles north of the junction of U.S. 12 and Highway 123. There is no projected opening date.
Chinook Pass: The pass remains closed from milepost 57, near Crystal Mountain Boulevard, to milepost 74.5, near Morse Creek. On April 7, WSDOT crews started plowing the pass. Weather and work progress permitting, the target date to have the road open is Memorial Day weekend.

Sometimes everything breaks just right and your calendar looks like this on Cinco de Mayo:

9 a.m. to 10:45 a.m. - Ski at Alpental to get interviews for ski story.

Noon to 12:45 p.m. - Staff meeting at the Tribune (Man, even on the good days.)

1:15 to 3 p.m. - Meet Kevin Sullivan of Puyallup and Brian Henderson of DuPont at Banner Forest to test ride a new mountain bike for future story.

3:30-6 p.m. - In the office to finish the aforementioned skiing story for tomorrow's paper. (Ok, so the day didn't end on the most exciting note.)

It’s getting more and more spring-like every day, meaning many more bicyclists on the streets of T-town, yours truly included. Check out this awesome ad from the U.K. (Via Grist.)

I’ve noticed something this summer, at least anecdotally, which I think is a great sign for Tacoma: there seems to be a lot of bicyclists on the road. In summers past, I typically went for days or weeks without seeing other people biking while on my rides to and from work. This summer, rarely does a day go by when I don’t see at least one other person biking, and often I’ll see multiple other people out for a ride. I don’t have any empirical evidence here, but this really suggests to me that people are out-and-about more than in the past, and are experiencing the city from outside the confines of their car. People are going to work and to the grocery store on their bikes. The racks are nearly always full in front of Blackwater. I could bust out a Seattle or Portland comparison, but I don’t think I need to; we’re our own town, and growing into our own. One big caveat: let’s be careful out there, though, folks… While I was amused by the person I saw the other day pedaling down the road with a guitar on her back, I’m not sure I can say I approve of the dude I saw talking on his cell phone…

Woohoo! Local cycling group the Tacoma Wheelmen’s Bicycle Club made it onto Lifehacker with their list of 1,997 ways to use WD-40. Check it out here! Represent!

I couldn’t make the City Council meeting last night due to some other commitments, so I didn’t hear until this morning what happened with the St. Helens One-Way hoo-ha. I’m definitely disappointed to hear that (essentially) no concession will be made for the concerns of bicyclists. Granted the “Lonergan Amendment” may add a bike lane on the sidewalk(!?), but this seems ill advised and I imagine the idea will die or be killed before long. Fey’s comment that serious bicyclists use Market or Broadway flies in the face of the reality that numerous bicyclists use St. Helens everyday to ride up the hill. And to my knowledge, no serious consideration was ever given to the common sense idea of switching to parallel parking so that two lanes could be accommodated…I guess we wouldn’t want to piss off the businesses, now would we?

Anyway, I’m sure you’re all ready for me to stop spouting off about biking stuff. It’s good to know that at least a dialog happened about the impact of this change to all sorts of safety concerns, not just those that impact bicyclists, and that it at least the Council’s decision was not unanimous…

See also Exit133 and the TNT.

ThriceAllAmerican’s Bike to Work Ride was a resounding success this morning. (Right, Kristina?)

But tonight it gets even better. It’s Friday. You deserve a nice drink and some pleasant company. Join us for part two of Take Your Bike to Work Day, where we will be biking from the plaza by Tacoma Art Museum to Engine House No. 9. Who knows who may show up. We’ll be meeting at 5pm. (If you want to be a wuss about it, just meet us at the bar…)