The Floyd tragedy; Turkey Hill open/closed; Dillerville bridge improvements; Duryea Downhill
I begin with an apology. I took a break from the blog for two weeks while traveling with my family in Egypt. The apology comes from my taking more than a week after I returned to find my way back here.
*I was stunned when I returned and read about Floyd. The arbiters decision to retest the cleared B samples from the other Tour de France tests is ridiculous. Having them tested by the same lab at issue in the case and with a stake in protecting its reputation is a travesty. The US Anti-doping Agency seem clearly to be fishing to support a weak case against Landis. The revelations on Monday that Floyd’s representative was barred from the lab on Sunday and the reports of the presence of synthetic testosterone leaked to the French press seem to have come right from the script of a Shakespearean tragedy.
The proceeding next month seems like a foregone conclusion. There is no longer any pretense of justice. And appeals, possibly meant to exhaust Landis’ financial resources, seem guaranteed.
* A press release was distributed today publicizing the Turkey Hill Country Classic in less than two weeks. Information on the event was not available when I compiled the events schedule last month.
Bicycle races for elite men, Cat 3-4 men, masters 40+, masters 50+, and Cat 3-4 women. Each of those races is open to between 100 and 150 riders. The only race with less is the Category 5 men’s race. It is slated for only 50 riders - and it is already closed. That follows other races this year in which Cat 5s need to register early or be shut out. The Tour de Ephrata this weekend is another example.
*State Transportation officials closed the Dillerville Road bridge earlier this month while one section is being rebuilt and the remainders repaired. Bicyclists, like everyone else, suffer the short-term inconvenience of the road closure. But, when the bridge reopens in mid-August, bicyclists will get more benefit than simply a reopened road.
According to information provided by Lauri Ahlskog, Lancaster County’s Bicycle & Pedestrian Planner, the reconstructed portion of the bridge will have shoulders of at least five feet in width. The shoulders will be welcomed by bicyclists familiar with the old steel walls along some portions of the narrow connector road between Harrisburg and Manheim pikes.
*And the Reading Convention & Visitors Bureau is hyping the Duryea Downhill, May 5 and 6, as the “only downhill mountain bike race held in an urban setting in the country” and one of only three in the world.
The actual race begins at noon on Sunday, May 6. Racers will take practice runs on the course on Saturday, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
The race starts at Reading’s famed Pagoda, descends Skyline Drive to City Park. It is free to spectators. For the first time this year, the race is part of a series of national qualifying events called the Gravity East Series. Promoters say there is a possibility that racers such as Lars Tribus and Sam Hill (the number one rider in the world in that discipline) may be participating.
