As some of you may know, yesterday AKINGSLIFE.COM received it’s first unhappy comment (please reference “To The Drunken Man….”) in it’s 46 day existence. For the record, AKINGSLIFE.COM, it’s employee’s and affiliates take these “fairness” allegations very very seriously as moral fiber an integrity are the foundation of our crusade into the big unknown commonly referred to as “LIFE”. AKINGSLIFE.COM appreciates the support and concern received during this trying time and continues to value and appreciate it’s loyal fan base. Without the fans, this would simply be a computer screen of organized letters forming nothing more than incoherent babble with the relevance of a tall warm glass of air. At the current moment, AKINGSLIFE.COM President and CEO, Austin King is contesting the Athens Twilight Criterium and is unavailable for comment. In a brief statement, he did however say “Dear fans and cycling enthusuiasts, untill we can get these matters resolved, please do not attempt to give me or any of the other cyclists at the Athens Twilight Criterium a “push”. Not only would that not be fair to the other racers, but you’ll probably get run over as well.”

A thorough investigation of this matter is under way. Please stay tuned to WWW.AKINGSLIFE.COM for the most current information regarding The Unhappy Comment………..

Categories: Daily Jibber Jabber.
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Yesterday, I convinced 67 kids to drop out of Elementary school. I told them there was a team called Jelly Belly and the riders got lots of free candy…..

Actually, we had a lot of fun yesterday talking with the kids about cycling and helmet safety. The best part was when I opened the talk to questions. This tiny pre-kindergarten girl in the front row quickly raises her hand.

“Um, yes, and what’s your question”, I said.

She replys, “My mommy has a baby in her tummy.”

I couldn’t help but laugh.

On a very different note, I couldn’t help but laugh at the intense smell of beer on the steep part of Brasstown Bald. Hopefully I was dehydrated enough to get a bit of a buzz from it. You know, numb up the legs and stuff….. But, those guys were the best “pushers” of the entire hill. It was at that point I strung together 5 solid pushes to clear that section with minimal effort. Which is a good thing because the grade is about 20%. Eureka! If there was a Most Pushes On Brasstown Bald Leaders Jersey, I feel that I put out a solid effort to obtain it. Being on the hometown team and not allowing myself to say “no”, I had a fun time going up Brasstown with the aid of an estimated 30-40 pushes. Good times.

So, to the drunken man enjoying himself on Brasstown Bald………..I salute you.

Categories: Daily Jibber Jabber.
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A whole lot of lovin!!!!!,
originally uploaded by akingslife.

Another light day…….

Later this afternoon, I’m heading out to a local Athens elementary school to chat with some kids about cycling. My agenda will include 2 things absolutely necessary for the blossoming of their sporting abilities……

1. I’m going to recommend they all start dieting now in an attempt to one day be the size of Danielson or that Janez Brajkovic guy who had the Best Young Riders jersey. Many will confirm that this young man was the ultimate specimen of littleness.

2. I’ll also recommend that the 4th-6th graders drop out now. They’re not getting any younger you know….. If they want to be the next Tom Boonen, they must buy a ticket to Flanders RIGHT NOW and prep themselves for wheel to wheel combat with strong and angry Vlaamse man. As for the K-3rd graders, they’ll still need to remain in school to mature a bit more and gain fundamental skills such as reading and writting before attempting to cross the pond.
Guys, I’ve got a good feeling about this talk…….. I’ll keep you posted.

Categories: Daily Jibber Jabber.
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Ah, Monday morning and no bike racing on tap for the day. I’m not disappointed…..I would have posted some stuff a bit earlier but the advertised Wi-Fi at our hotel was nowhere to be found.

Well, for starters, the rest of the TdG wasn’t too much fun for me.

Verdomme.

While my fitness was good enough to get through it, my race legs were nowhere to be found. I think I might have left them at home in AZ? I found out quickly that my sick time after Redlands had affected me more than I had thought. As soon as the road turned up, I couldn’t have ridden myself out of a pee soaked paper bag. Luckily though, by stage 6 I was finally starting to come around….Just in time to do nothing today. And I mean nothing. On the bright side, I should be rockin’ and rollin’ by next weekend. Starting next Saturday with the Athens Twilight Criterium, we begin a series of 6 criteriums in 8 days. Each crit has $10,000 on the line. Not to shabby.

Remember how I told you guys about the Quick Step guy sitting on Neil’s wheel and giving him some pushes in the TT? I now have proof……..You’re busted Mr. Francesco Chicchi.

I just saw bass fishing on ESPN……a so called “sporting network”. Crap…..pure crap.

Alright, I gotta go do nothing. I’ll type more later.

Cheers.

Categories: Daily Jibber Jabber.
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Stage 2 was a bit odd…..the race started slow and remained slow untill the local laps. Then it went like hell. In between, some guy slipped off solo, there were a few point sprints, and it dumped rain. The local laps were quite tough with the Clocktower climb. It was all about positioning. In the end, I was tucked away in the strung out peloton.

As for the Stage 3 TT……I dropped anchor. Big time. Not too sure what went on there but it wasn’t too much fun. Christophe Rinero blazzed by me on the steep climb. Eureka! On the bright side, tomorrow is a new day promising to be filled with plenty of rain soaked kilometers dotted with a few bergs!

On the funny side of things……….. In the TT today, my teammate Neil Shirley caught a Quick Step guy who was infront of him on the course. The guy ended up tucking in behind him for the rest of the race despite the officials yelling at him. When they hit the big descent to the finish, the Quick Step guy even gave him some pushes from behind to help him keep his speed up! In the end, he got fined a few hundred Swiss francs for his actions……

Sweet.

Talk to you later.

Categories: Daily Jibber Jabber.
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I played a sweet game of caravan tag yesterday. Actually it wasn’t sweet at all. More on that later. Everything was going well as I was doing my job of fishing for the early move. I caught a few, but not the big fish itself. Luckily, Neil did. His group took it all the way to the local laps before being caught. After the break went, it mellowed out for awhile before it ramped back up as the sprinter’s teams hit the front. With about 40k to go I punctured. I got my wheel change and was at the back of the caravan where the ambumance’s hangout. Crap-ola. I got a little bumper time in on the Mini before the commisaire said no to that and began to barrage me. The barrage is where they dont let any cars infront of you creating a big open gap between the rider and the peloton. Once the gap gets big enough, they’ll fire cars through one at a time. If you’re lucky, you can grab a bumper somehwere around the 10th-15th car…….A bit of poor choice to barrage a rider with a puncture…..particularly in an HC. I finally worked my way through the cars and back onto the group right as Lotto gave it a nudge. I was sitting tail gunner and the guy right infront of me oppened a gap. Crap-ola. This time the officials barraged me again…….To make a long story short, after 30 minutes of caravan tag, I finally got back in the bunch. Needless to say, I was spent for the final. But that, bike racing. Todays a new day.

Cheers.

Categories: Daily Jibber Jabber.
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