He's Back!

September 10, 2008
by Rodney Olsen
1 Comment

lance_armstrong.jpgEver since he retired from professional cycling there have been rumours that Lance Armstrong would make a comeback, so when the latest rumours started circulating I figured that I wouldn’t believe them until I heard the words from from Lance’s own mouth.

If you click here you’ll see Lance telling the world that he’s back.

As well as the short video of Lance announcing his return to professional cycling there is a media release annoucning a few more details.

Today, Lance Armstrong, cancer survivor, founder and chairman of the Lance Armstrong Foundation (LAF) and cycling champion, released the following statement regarding his return to professional sports:

“I am happy to announce that after talking with my children, my family and my closest friends, I have decided to return to professional cycling in order to raise awareness of the global cancer burden. This year alone, nearly eight million people will die of cancer worldwide. Millions more will suffer in isolation, victims not only of the disease but of social stigma. After the passage of Proposition 15 in Texas, a $3 billion investment in the fight against cancer which is helping to make this disease part of the national dialogue in America, it’s now time to address cancer on a global level.”

Mr. Armstrong will discuss his cycling program and an international LIVESTRONGTM strategy on September 24th in New York City at the Clinton Global Initiative.

If he intends riding for an eighth tour victory, the 2009 Tour de France should be amazing. I can’t wait to see Evans, Contador, Armstrong, Sastre and several other serious contenders battle it out through France.



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The perfect fit

August 29, 2008
by Rodney Olsen
1 Comment

cadent_1_small.jpgI’m very pleased to say that I now fit my bike perfectly.

After all the years I’ve been cycling I finally got around to getting a professional fitting. I’ve cycled thousands of kilometres and always just set up things like seat height based on what I’d read and how it felt.

I figured that I’d let the professionals help me get the right fit for my new Avanti road bike.

I dropped into Ward Cycles yesterday afternoon, put my bike on a trainer and pedaled away.

Petar from Wards videoed, entered data, checked angles, made adjustments and as it turns out not a lot had to be changed but even with the couple of changes he made I’m now feeling more comfortable on the bike.

I was almost hoping that there would be a few extra changes and that suddenly I’d be able to ride twice as fast. Unfortunately that didn’t happen. Though I must admit that it’s good to know that everything’s now as it should be.

I suppose that I now need to face the fact that the improvements from here on in are down to me



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Oh Yeah!

August 19, 2008
by Rodney Olsen
5 Comments

cadent_1.jpgThere comes a point when it’s no longer helpful to throw good money into maintaining an old bike. You end up spending a lot of money and still having an old bike.

I guess I got to that point earlier this afternoon when I made the decision to buy the Avanti Cadent 1.0 from Ward Cycles in Morley.

They let me test ride it yesterday on the way home and back into work this morning. I realised then that there was no way they were getting their bike back.

For the technically minded, it’s a carbon fibre road bike with Shimano Tiagra componentry all the way through apart from a 105 rear derailleur. It’s not the best bike in the range but it rides like nothing I’ve ever experienced before.

With 98.5 Sonshine FM moving across the other side of the city in the coming weeks I’ll be riding a lot further each day and I’ll need a dependable bike for the journey. This bike won’t just be dependable, it’ll be an absolute pleasure to ride.

Fuel prices continue to rise and so this purchase will pay itself off in fuel and maintenance savings fairly quickly. On top of that, the weather is getting better every day so I intend putting a lot of kilometres on the new bike over the coming months.

If you live in the Perth area and are looking for a bike shop you can trust, check out Ward Cycles and mention my name.



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The Sneeze that Pleases

August 11, 2008
by Rodney Olsen
4 Comments

I reached a significant milestone over the weekend. I managed to sneeze.

It might not seem like such an important event but for the last couple of weeks I’ve been suffering from a lot of lower back pain. At times I found it very difficult to carry out my daily duties. Simple things, like standing up, became quite a performance.

I’m still a little stiff and sore but things are so much better. Several days back I couldn’t let myself sneeze because I knew the jolt would cause my back too much pain. Over the weekend I was able sneeze confidently.

I knew then that it was time to get back on my bike so I was very pleased to cycle into work today. I guess I still have to be careful until I’m 100% but there’s something quite wonderful about returning to ‘normal’.

Of course now I just have to be concerned that the sneezing is only an allergy thing. The last thing I want is for my back to get better only to come down with a cold.



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What's your greatest sporting moment?

August 8, 2008
by Rodney Olsen
15 Comments

BeijingOlympics.jpgThe opening ceremony is in full swing and Olympic Games for 2008 are finally underway.

In the coming days the best of the best will be representing their countries and competing for gold.

I must admit that I’ve never really been a competitive sports person. I’ve won a sprint or two against friends during our casual Saturday morning bike ride but I don’t think that counts. I’ve certainly cycled long distances including five times across Australia as well as a couple of cycling trips in India and one in Canada, but I wasn’t actually competing against the other cyclists who rode with me.

I’ve also played a bit of squash over the years and even though I’m not great, when I play, I do play to win. (Not that I’m always successful in my endeavours.)

Have you ever been involved in competitive sports? Do you have medals and trophies from your younger years? What is your greatest sporting moment?

I reckon the closest I ever got to sporting greatness was getting a green ribbon for third place in the sack race back at Wembley Downs Primary School when I was in about grade one or two.



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