Keeping Tempo: 8-30-07

So The Vuelta starts this weekend. Can you imagine, at this point in the season, getting ready to start a 3-week race? I cringe at the thought of a 3-hour ride right now. Bully to them, though, for giving their sponsors another 23 days of anxiety at the thought of their precious brands being scraped across a scandal. Grand tours really require amazing fortitude. For the racers, too.

• Battoowoo Greekgreek asks whether he has to declare his winnings on his taxes. Which leads him to a list of other questions all competitive cyclists should be prepared to answer. Just in case.
• "It's like being French - I find myself totally comfortable in slimy, ambiguous, dangerous situations where I can't get much traction and don't know what I'm doing, yet still find myself reacting hastily, with great arrogance." The Unholy Roleur, naturally, on training for Cross season.
• Mike Price of Team Hall Nissan dropped me a note with an update of how his fellow Team Hall Nissan'ers were doing at the Masters Track Nationals: Grant Soma - Team Hall Nissan - 45-49 KILO NATIONAL CHAMPION - 1:12:084 - 49.942 kph; Simon Walker - Team Hall Nissan - 40-44 PURSUIT NATIONAL CHAMPION  - 3:43; Grant Soma - Team Hall Nissan - 45-49 Pursuit 2nd place podium - 3:44; Matt Mega - Team Hall Nissan - 35-39 - KILO 4th place Podium - 1:11:116
  - 50.622 kph. Way to go, guys. Lots of other local folks were out representing, including Josh Frick, who added another National Champs' jersey to his collection with a win in the Men's 30-34 3K TT. Full results are here, but if you want to give a shout-out to a friend or teammate here, just let me know.
• Alan Road Frames are on sale. What does that have to do with local racing? A couple of things, actually. See, the North American distributor rights for Alan was recently picked up by Sally Snead and her husband, who run Stellina Sports. They're local, based in Richmond, VA. It's not often you can support a local cycling entrepreneur and get a kicking Italian frameset in the process, and at 20% off if you select from current inventory. But the other reason they're relevant here is because Alan is currently best known for their Cross Frames, and judging from my server logs, you guys will click on just about anything that says Cyclocross.
• Speaking of, K-Blogg wants to know if you should mount a computer on a Cross bike. Dunno, I'm still working on Battoowoo Greekgreek's tax question. If you have an opinion for K-Blogg, chime in on his K-Blog.