Somehow I think today is going to go down as a great day. Yes, the Basso news is sad and a great Giro victory is tarnished, but as many have acknowledged, it's also a turning point in the battle against doping. So which is the real lesson? Well, all around me are positive omens. The sun is out in Seattle, which isn't unusual, but it brought with it temperatures in the 70s, which is. On my ride in, a bald eagle soared directly overhead while making its fishing rounds in Green Lake. Plus, we got a new espresso machine, which means the old one can come to work with me. No more Dr. Pepper to get me through a 200-page document after lunch.
A little housekeeping is in order. I had several fun things planned for today, which I'll get to perhaps a bit more slowly while the Basso confession sinks in. But although doping always wins the headlines, many of us are still hoping to talk about racing, especially this week. A few thoughts:
- I am posting a diary called "What We Ride" where people should post pictures of or links to pictures of their A-bike, if you want. Some may consider this a poor alternative to Pez' babe shots, but we're all about the bikes over here.
- The Giro colors will be up momentarily. Update [2007-5-7 14:22:2 by chris]: ta da! Sorry for the shock, but it wears off. By the end of the Giro, you'll wish these colors were permanent.
- For a few days I will be excerpting from Dino Buzzati's Giro d'Italia, the finest piece of Cycling literature ever. Now, there's a fine line between paying respects and copyright violations, so let me just say that you should read this book. Amazon has two copies left (and dropping).
- In a separate post, I will officially kick off the Giro-only Virtual Directeur Sportif competition, a format that increases in relevance with every OP story.
- Starting tomorrow we will begin previewing the Giro bit-by-bit.