World Bike Relief at Le TOUR !

Yellow Bikes at Corsica is an Achievable Objective ! It requires commitment by a few " Committed People " representing some " Charitable organisations " but the scale of publicity would be immense . !5 years of turning up on my " Tod " , has been reported back to me by people from a variety of Nations . If i am getting a result from " same old , same old " , can you imagine the results to be garnered by a New Story peppered with interesting characters ?

What i think could be done is one thing , what will eventuate is another ! During the past month i contacted by email a person associated with " WBR ", an address from her comment to " Fatcyclist.com " ! In that email i suggested that a " Pink WBR bike " could be built , so as to be available for use at the " GIRO d'Italia  " in May , however , it remains unanswered , too hard to decide what to do ? Each year at the Giro , i ride with " Moser , Motta , Fondriest , Bettini ( not so often this past year ) and with the Racers ! Can you imagine the interest these Guys displayed when i was riding my " Reef Monocoque Time Trial bike "? Some even commented on the " Black Specialised " , used again in Italy as a backup to the " Il Giro ( pink bike ) "!

What i had proposed was , that several " Pink WBR Bikes " , similar to those sent to Africa , be made available at the Giro , one i would ride daily , others be available for " Publicity Purposes " , photos of Moser , etc , in " Gazetta Dello Sport " appearing daily , would open new " Donation Opportunities " WORLDWIDE ! In addition i thought that there could be readers of " Fatcyclist.com " willing to invest time and effort to either BUY a pink bike to ride at the Giro or Take the time to RENT a WBR Bike , for the day at the start or finish of an Etappe . Fatty has recently proposed , to ride one of these WBR Bikes , at a " Fund Raiser " in the USA next year . Seems there are others willing to join him in this endeavour , question is , will these bikes be " Bog Standard " , or will there be some tricking out of them to create a " publicity situation "?

With a successful launch of the " Pink WBR Bike " , it would be very easy to get some " Yellow Bikes " to Corsica . This year's " Le Tour " is the 100th Edition , thus the Media will be Hungry for ANY New Story , and what better way to grab attention by having a team of WBR Bikes ridden for the " FIRST TIME " by people associated with " Paralympic Sport "? There are in the UK , people associated with " Help4Heroes " that attend the " Le Tour " . There are i am sure , people associated with " Wounded Warrior Project " that make the visit to France each year . This year , in the past months ,  i discovered " SoldierON " from Australia and i am sure that there are Aussies , who would do their best to join the ranks and Finally there is a French Charity Associated with the French Armed Forces that those working with the Gendarmerie would want to see represented .

Yorkshire having won the 2014 Grand Depart of Le Tour will be represented at the 2013 Le Tour . Could be interested in seeing their " Shirts " worn by a Team going the distant , perhaps they might have Vehicles available to be " Dressed for the Publicity "? I am going to talk to a variety of " Sporting Interests " that enjoy being involved with the various tours , about what resources they would be willing to commit .

Funding for this enterprise will require a " Chip In site " where people can make Donations . This will be done when there is a " Major Charitable Body " to control the receipts , for Accounting Purposes ! The main purpose of this " Chip In ",  is the Taxable Benefit to the " benefactors "!

PLEASE NOTIFY YOUR INTEREST IN BEING ADVISED OF FUTURE INFORMATION

email to :  skippi@ausi.com  

YORKSHIRE " Le Bid " SUCCESS !

6th July 2014 will bring the Grand Depart of " Le Tour Edition 101 ", from Leeds , United Kingdom ! With several bids , from various parts of the United Kingdom for this event , it was a jubilant reaction from the Yorkshire " Le Bid Team ", on the Sky TV Network this evening . Chanpagne on the table with reports of work stopping to celebrate , but back to work in the morning , to deal with the huge amount of work that will be generated to create a successful event .

Earlier in the day i was watching Sky News Morning Programme's segment on Sport . During the news items they reported the item about " phat's " denigration of Greg LeMond and the other principals of the www.changecyclingnow.org Petition . If i were the chief of an organisation , that failed to detect , what is now described as the Greatest and Most Successful Doping Conspiracy in ANY SPORT " , i would be keeping my head down , certainly avoiding controversy ? phat must get up each morning and ask himself :

"what stupid thing will I say today"?  In his usual inept way , he has once again " Shot himself in the Foot "!

On the day that Yorkshire is celebrating their success in bringing 5000+ " Le Tour " personnel and Millions of Spectators to the Yorkshire Region , phat is saying " Look at me " , " I am responsible for the voiding the results of the " Lance Armstrong Era "!  Does the UCI need this type of Publicity ?

My personal interest is generated by meeting the Bid Group at the 2012 " Le Tour " . This took place in the VIP Area of the " Le Tour " , on it's arrival in Paris , late on the Sunday Afternoon , after the Racers had paraded on the Champs Elysee . Having been introduced to all the Delegates i left with Peter Dodds card so as to arrange  receipt of " Le Bid " shirts in Box Hill , when i had a delivery address in the UK . Tuesday i arranged with the Dauphine Cycle Shop for the delivery and Wednesday i was riding with the Olympic Racers wearing the " Le Bid " Shirt . Can't claim any success in the success of the bid but as reported in August , i passed one of these Shirts to Francesco Moser . That story and Photos can be found via www.parrabuddy.blogspot.com

During the evening News reports , Sky News played footage of a Skype link to Ben Swift , a Racer from Yorkshire , currently racing with the Sky Team . When ii first met Ben , he was with the Katusha Team at Jesolo for the start of the " Cento Anni " Giro d 'Italia , May 2009 , the photo follows :

Wondering if my friend John Roche , who lives in Ilkley , will have Camping space left on his lawn at this time . Leeds is a reasonably sized City and i recall that it was the Start of an Etappe of the " Tour of Britain " that i attended some years back . Routes of the two days in the area , are yet to be announced , but there are some interesting " bumps " in the neighbourhood . The 2013 Tour of Britain is bound to include parts of the " Le Tour " routes ?

LEGENDARY FRAUDS

Just been watching  " Aljazeera "program "South to North " where thez were discussing " boosting " , a practice that can lead to Health problems , but also a 10 % boost in the resulting effort ! In the studio was Oscar Pistorius ( Blade Runner ) with 3 other guests , one of whom was a Professorial level expert .

Brought to mind a character that has caused huge Headlines this year , Lance Armstrong . Read in another blog that he has al but disappeared but the " Jokes " have grown in volume :

Originally Posted by Merckx index on CNF clinic :

  "  I’m a little astonished there aren’t many floating around on the internet, and no very good ones that I’ve come across. Surely his legacy won’t be complete until he inspires them?

Q: What is the most positive thing you can say about LA?
A: Probably his blood.

Q: How was LA able to pass hundreds of tests?
A: By ignoring calls from the tent, and just moving on.

Q: Didn’t LA do a lot of good for a lot of people?
A: Yes, he distributed PEDS to more teammates than any other rider.

Q: How much is LA currently worth?
A: It depends. Do you mean on the black market, or over the internet?

Q: Wouldn’t LA have won on a level playing field?
A: Yes, if the field had no hills, and numerous opportunities for taking short cuts.

Q: Name one race LA won without the use of PEDs.
A: Stage 16, 1995 Tour de France. Ridden in honor of deceased rider Fabio Casartelli, the peloton allowed LA and Casartelli’s other teammates to cross the line first.

Q: Was it impossible for a rider to say anything bad about doping while LA was riding?
A: Not at all. Information on the drawbacks of any particular substance or procedure was always welcome.

I honestly can't spot what's supposed to be funny in the last few Q&A's, they're just factual information? "

photo


Recently many Blogs and Forums have been active in discussing the Changes needed so as Cycling can have a future . Quite rightly it is necessary to determine whether changes will be either :

A    Personnel , getting rid of phat & heinous ?
or
B     Changing the Constitution and the mission of  " UCI " ?

An example of the discussion :

  "  babastuey comment :

http://forum.cyclingnews.com/showthread.php?t=19415&page=19 "

  "  And to add to my earlier comments on "Change Cycling Now" vs. "Change the UCI President Now" -- changing the leadership I feel is only a small component of changing the sport.

Ultimately, what needs to change is the mindset of the people who take the drugs. What most amazed me about reading Hamilton's book was that he blood doped and took whatever he was given -- seemingly without any thought to his health or well being. Change Cycling Now should use their members who have a doping past to speak about their personal experience and talk about the hazards to their well being from doing it. The goal being, that they should change the perspective of the riders -- so that they focus more on the dangers and the risks. Changing the UCI leadership would be helpful in this area, because it would present an opportunity to set up a system where riders can feel empowered -- that they have an advocate and a support network in the event that they are pressured by anyone associated with their team into doping -- and therefore can stand up to it. Before, riders either had to cheat or quit. Some quit, but most decided to cheat because they weren't educated about the health risks and they lacked the support to stand up for themselves and say no.

What also needs to change is that the sport needs to prove to its supporters -- who drive the efforts of sponsors to be involved in the sport and therefore provides the funding for the sport -- that the sport is clean and heading in the right direction. Otherwise, more sponsors will follow Rabobank out the door and cripple the sport. In order to accomplish this, the drug testing must be improved and the system as to how tests are administered must improve. Changing leadership would also be instrumental in this area as well.  "

Another Blog i visited recently had this to say about " Sponsors " :

http://justaguyonhisbike.blogspot.ca/2012/11/are-you-stakeholder-in-cyclings-future.html

 " Will there yet be more withdrawals, like that of Rabobank, because it no longer makes sense to companies to be connected to a sport with a reputation sullied by years of carefully organized coverups of cheating?

The sad truth is the aftertaste of L'affaire Armstrong will remain bitter for perhaps years to come.

Very few Racers are choosing to breach the " Omerta " but there is another example below :

http://justaguyonhisbike.blogspot.ca/

 "  In the end, cycling—and any sport, really—is about personal achievement rather than beating the world . Canadian cyclist Will Routley put it rather well this week :

  "  I compete to see how good I am, and test the limits of my capabilities. If I dope, then I am really cheating myself. I am happy to remind anyone that will listen that you can indeed be a professional athlete without drugs. You can even win."

So it comes down to zero tolerance being about looking in the mirror and about being honest with the face in the mirror first and foremost. "

Moreover, zero tolerance should not even be called that because of the notion it will just lead to more sophisticated cheating and deeper covers for the secret keepers. So rather than oust from the sport someone who admits, ten, twelve, or even two years after they cheated; make them do something good for sport. Send an admitted doper to local schools and sports clubs—not

This is what we need to see cyclists doing: making a commitment to bettering themselves through the way they live rather than through the PEDs. "

OMERTA is the elephant in the room , for any Racer . Until there is a willingness to address the problems , without fear of reprisals by the hierachy , no current Pro World Racer is about to cut off his  Employment Prospects. So many of the current racers faced with the type of Ultimatum served up by Team Sky , will seek another Team , rather than be bullied into revealing information of which they may be aware . 

To my mind , these people are defrauding themselves , since 99% of Fans , now feel comfortable with treating their efforts with suspicion ! Too bad for those Racers that are genuinely " Dope & PED Free "!