In Italy right now doing Tirreno Adriatico.  During the first stages I kept hearing murmurings of my name throughout peleton, which was weird.  I would look behind me and it would be someone like Robbie Mcewan saying  “Look there he is!”  He says I look like Ned Flanders so he said to me something like “Hidley Ho neighbor.”  Then I heard Pozzato behind me talking with someone in Italian.  He said something like, “yeah man that is that crazy dude that was on CSC…”    Pozzato scoots up to take a look, sees me with my facial hair and says, “Wow, not normal.”  All I have is a mustache.  He, on the other hand, is covered in tattoos.  I had to ask him to explain what the tattoos were of on his arms.  From the looks of them, I thought he was a huge fan of the Da Vinci Code.  It turns out, the tattoos were from day he won Milan San Remo,  Now, that is not normal to me.  So from here on out Pozzato will be known as Tom Hanks.  Now that I’m a few days into the race, everyone is getting used to my mustache and that’s good because all I want is to be accepted for what I am.  

 

Today was the TT.  I got pretty excited and wanted to pull of a W but Fabian seems unbeatable at the moment; he racked up another win and took the lead in the overall.  

 

I am rooming with Timmy Duggan, time timialist, climber, and a man after my own heart (see latest procycling).  I’m excited for when I return back to Spain as I dropped off a mountain bike at the bike shop before I left so when I get back it should be ready to roll.  

 

I was pretty upset not be doing Paris Nice. I love racing in those rainy, wet, cold conditions -- that’s what it’s all about.  My theory is, if we can race in that, just think about the message: people can commute by bike in anything.

 

My wife is getting close to popping and I’m getting more and more excited about that.  She said hospitals require you to have a car seat before they let you take the baby home. I said what if you don’t have a car?  Seriously, I want to walk him home.  It’s going to be his first time outside and I don’t think he’ll want to be in a metal box.  

 

Man, they love the Elton John at this hotel, but that;s ok; he’s alright with me.

 

-DZ