BRUMOTTI IN MANILA

Another brilliant video by Signor Brumotti! Tutti Brumotti!

Which leads me into yet another rant… anyone happen to catch the Red hook highlights from Brooklyn? Oh there was some good racing as always with Red hook
but there also massive pileups in both the men’s and women’s races… which is easily explained: POOR bike handling skills. Period. Now I’m not saying a rider needs to be like Brumotti, MacAskill or Ashton (was) to be a good racer, BUT, a rider does NEED to have good bike handling skills.

Unfortunately, the majority of racers don’t have the required skills. Why? Well from what I can surmise, it is something not given a lot of thought or attention to. Both for the seasoned vet and the newbie. The focus is always on getting faster or gaining more endurance, which is great, which is fine. But becoming fit and really fit it should be secondary to acquiring good bike handling skills first and foremost. Handling a bike is the crux of riding. Without good handling skills, a rider will not have proper avoidance skills nor be safe in a group, etc. etc. Want to improve your road bike skills? Ride a mountain bike or a cross bike to help with getting a ‘feel’ for a bike moving around and finding its limits of traction.

Vision. Body position. Steering. Awareness. These are some of the critical sub-skills that make up most of what is referred to as bike handling abilities. Visual Perception, with the ability to (ARR) Anticipate, Recognize and React to any and all situations is something every single rider and racer should be working on. It should NOT be an afterthought. Sadly, for many it is. That is why it is crucial to practice and understand what makes for a”good” bike rider. It’s not just power and speed. It is ‘feel’ it is awareness and it is deliberate action for avoidance or maneuvering.

Okay rant over…for now! 😀

‘Don’t Sleep Through the Revolution: A Graduation Message for a Dark Age’ by John W. Whitehead

Resistance is an absolute Right.
“No concept of sovereignty can justify extending government power beyond the bounds of political right.”

John W. Whitehead, Constitutional Attorney

“The most striking fact about the story of Rip Van Winkle is not that he slept 20 years, but that he slept through a revolution. While he was peacefully snoring up on the mountain, a great revolution was taking place in the world – indeed, a revolution which would, at points, change the course of history. And Rip Van Winkle knew nothing about it; he was asleep.”—Martin Luther King Jr., Commencement Address for Oberlin College

The world is disintegrating on every front—politically, environmentally, morally—and for the next generation, the future does not look promising. As author Pema Chodron writes in When Things Fall Apart:

When the rivers and air are polluted, when families and nations are at war, when homeless wanderers fill the highways, these are the traditional signs of a dark age.

Those coming of age today will face some of the greatest obstacles ever encountered by young…

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VALENTINO ROSSI CONQUERS SPANISH GRAND PRIX

The Doctor wins big in Jerez!

BikeGP

Movistar Yamaha MotoGP’s Valentino Rossi highlighted why he is the most successful rider at Circuito de Jerez today and rode one of the strongest races of his career to receive a standing ovation as he jumped onto the top step of the podium for the Gran Premio de España. Jorge Lorenzo also put in a stunning effort under the Andalusian sunshine and made it a perfect 1-2 for the Movistar Yamaha MotoGP team.

Starting from pole the nine-time world champion had a strong start and took the holeshot with his team-mate following his every move like a shadow. Two laps of tense racing action followed as they pushed each other to the limit. Rossi tried to make his YZR-M1 as wide as possible as Lorenzo tried to steal the lead. He had a brief success, but Rossi immediately responded. Realising the threat that was coming from behind, the Doctor dropped…

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