Category: General Page 4 of 17

The results of the Floyd Landis arbitration hearing were announced a short time ago.

Floyd lost the case on a 2-1 vote of the arbitrators.

I will have more details on The FredCast tonight. In the meantime, you can always find a complete roundup of Floyd Landis news at the Trust But Verify Blog. There isn’t anything new on Floyd’s blog yet. Stay tuned.

UPDATE: Floyd Landis’ statement following the decision can be found here.

No, not the sexy new ad starring Alicia Silverstone naked.

Instead, this one features cycling’s own naked-headed star, Levi Leipheimer. In the ad, Levi talks about how easy, and important, it is for pet owners to spay and neuter their dogs and cats.

Check out the new Levi ad on PETA’s web site. And if you want to see that other ad, you can find it here.

In addition to The FredCast’s coverage of Interbike 2007, we are also happy to report that The Spokesmen Cycling Roundtable Podcast will have a very special, live version of the show on Wednesday, September 26 at 12:45 pm.

If you’ll be at Interbike, please stop by the cycling.tv studios where all of the regular Spokesmen contributors (Carlton, Tim, Tim, and Donna) will be joining me for a live taping of our show.

This live episode will feature not only our regular contributors, but also some of your favorite cycling bloggers. We will be recording the show in audio and video and making it available to you here, on the-spokesmen.com as well as in the regular Spokesmen iTunes feed.

If you have any bloggers you’d like us to invite, topics you’d like us to cover, or questions you’d like us to ask, please add your comments to this post. Otherwise, we look forward to seeing you at the live taping next week.

As you now know, the campaign of Senator Fred Thompson has graciously decided to change the name of their podcast. They have now publicly announced their intention to change the name, and are now having a contest on their web site to name the new show. They have assured me that they will stop using the name FredCast by next Monday and I believe them.

Shortly after the posting on Fred Thompson’s web site, I received two emails. Each of these messages represented a first. My first truly hateful email, and my first request for an interview by a major national network.

The first email was from a Yahoo email address, and the name associated with the account is The Shadow. Scary, huh?

The hate email had just two simple words: F*** Bikes.

I don’t know whether or not the Thompson announcement and the arrival of this email are connected, and I am certain that the campaign had nothing to do with it. It should also be noted that of the 109 comments associated with this issue (as of this writing) on the Fred Thompson web site, not a single one says anything even remotely negative about me, this site or my podcast.

I guess hate mail just comes with the territory.

The second email was from an ABC Network News producer who is traveling with and covering the Thompson campaign. She read about the FredCast issue on the Senator’s web site and wanted to interview me about the timeline and the way in which I was treated by the campaign. We had a very pleasant 20 minute conversation, but I have no idea whether or not the story will be picked up by their web site or other outlets. If it is, I will be sure to let you know.

All in all, it was quite an interesting evening.

Oh, and by the way, I entered Senator Thompson’s contest. Listener/attorney Doc Bradshaw came up with a great name and I submitted it. If I win, he’s getting my prize.

Had a conversation with the attorney for Senator Thompson’s campaign this morning. She agreed that they will stop using the ‘FredCast’ name within 7 days.

A huge THANK YOU to all the listener support, to Doc Bradshaw (listener/attorney/Fred) and to the Senator’s campaign for doing the right thing.

Now I need to have a conversation with fredericksburg.com.

Thanks to listener Mark for sending along the link to this article in The Onion.

This tongue-in-cheek jab at pro cycling’s doping woes tells the story of the non-doping cyclists who have only recently finished the Tour de France.

According to the fictional account:
Finland’s Piet Kvistik, a domestique with the Crédit Mondial team, was this year’s highest-finishing non-doping rider (142nd overall). Kvistik claimed the maillot propre, the blue jersey worn by the highest-placed ‘clean’ rider, on the ninth stage of the race when the six riders who had previously worn it tested positive for EPO, elevated levels of testosterone, and blood-packing.

Click over to The Onion for the entire story. I think you’ll enjoy it.

FredCast listener Henry just returned from Paris and reports on the new rental bikes available around the City of Light. He writes

These new rental bikes seemed to be very popular when I was in Paris last week. They come with built-in generator and front & rear lights (not bright enough, IMHO), as well as hand brakes. I don’t think they have more than one speed, but I didn’t try one myself, so I don’t know for sure. No helmets, however. I hope that this system works, so that it will be copied in other cities (although hopefully with brighter lights & helmets).

For more information visit: www.velib.paris.fr (French language only)

Meanwhile, here’s an article> that says that Chicago’s Mayor Richard Daley is looking into just such a program for the windy city.