Mike Anderson on His Life as Lance Armstrong's "Landscaper"

Mike Anderson - Lance's "Landscaper"

 Some of my friends admire Lance!  Some of them know him for who he is and how he has treated people.  In this Fred's opinion he is just jerk (I'm being nice).  I hope he goes down!   Just ask his former friends, ex-wife,girlfriends, employees, competitors and team mates. Some people that I know here in Austin are reluctant to say anything but I have no skin in the game.  I hope he gets stripped of every title he has ever had.  Read Mike Anderson's story.  Sometimes even the "landscaper" gets it right!  Good luck Mike.  There are a lot of People that believe you. 

Excerpt from Mike's story::

I was Lance’s personal assistant for two years, during the height of his racing career. Do I think he cheated? Yep. But my real problem is something that diehard fans seem unable to grasp: the vengeful tactics he uses against people who tell the truth about him, on and off the bike.

Stripped

I joined Armstrong’s staff in late 2002 as a mechanic, trail builder, and all-around handyman and assistant. At that time, we were friends who had often been on mountain-bike rides together, and he had made a written and verbal commitment to finance my dream of opening an Austin bike shop once my work with him was done. Armstrong soured on me for reasons that had nothing to do with my performance as an employee, and when I was abruptly fired in late 2004, no clear reason was given for my termination. He reneged on the promise about the bike shop and started attacking me, personally and professionally, in a way that ruined my job prospects in Austin. I ended up moving my family to New Zealand to start a new life.


Mike Anderson on His Life as Lance Armstrong's Personal Assistant - Page 1 | Road Biking | OutsideOnline.com

Orville and Wilbur Wright would have approved of my Surly Mountain Bikes!

I was introduced to the Surly brand a couple of years ago.  The company has been around for a decade but I am a Fred and it takes a while for me to catch up.  I will never go back.  One, there are beer bottle openers on the bike!  Two, there is a drunk guy that actually answers the phone when you call (I've called).  Three, the bikes are modern but old school at the same time.

 Four, you can turn these bikes into anything that you can dream up.  I ride my Karate Monkey like a selfish little kid who is hoarding the best piece of candy.  One day not on the monkey is like a day forever lost.  Then there is my 1x1 which waits faithfully for it's master.  I get on the 1x1 and I feel like I can go anywhere and do anything (literally) and that's not a bad feeling for a fat guy!



 When picking a bike for a ride I feel like a dad choosing between two sons.  If both bikes had wings I know these could fly.  With that being said I have decided the name them Orville and Wilbur.

Wilbur

The 1x1 is Orville and Karate Monkey in Wilbur.  After riding these bikes I want to take my Specialized and crush it into dust.  I am so disappointed in my 2011 Rockhopper that I want to throw up on a regular basis.  Orville consistently gives me KOMs on Strava and Wilbur gives me a personal record everytime I ride. Two wrongs don't make a right just like Two Wrights don't make it wrong.

Orville

BMX JAM in San Marcos Texas

It's a small world.  I stopped at this bar called Zelicks in San Marcos after a ride on the Comedy Mountain Bike Tour and some guy was taking pics. He got me in the shot wearing a black shirt sitting at the bar having a cold brew. Check out the BMX Jam in San Marcos it looks interesting.

After walking about two miles with my bike on my shoulder a cold beer hit the spot. If your interested in the video of the ride click here.

USADA to strip Lance Armstrong of 7 Tour titles

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) -- With stunning swiftness, the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency said Thursday night it will strip Lance Armstrong of his unprecedented seven Tour de France titles after he dropped his fight against drug charges that threatened his legacy as one of the greatest cyclists of all time. Travis Tygart, USADA's chief executive, said Armstrong would also be hit with a lifetime ban on Friday.

Under the World Anti-Doping Code, he could lose other awards, event titles and cash earnings while the International Olympic Committee might look at the bronze medal he won in the 2000 Games. 

By JIM VERTUNO
AP Sports Writer

Story Here!

Mountain Biking near Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia

Nice Video Hutch!

Judge throws out Lance Armstrong's lawsuit aimed at halting doping probe

He is toast....

(CNN) -- A federal judge on Monday dismissed the latest lawsuit filed by champion cyclist Lance Armstrong aimed at halting the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency's case against him.

"This Court cannot interfere, contrary to both the will of Congress and Armstrong's agreement to arbitrate, on the basis of a speculative injury," U.S. District Judge Sam Sparks wrote.

The USADA -- a quasi-government agency recognized as the official anti-doping agency for Olympic, Pan American and Paralympic sports in the United States -- has accused Armstrong of using, possessing, trafficking and giving to others performance-enhancing drugs, as well as covering up doping violations.

Judge throws out Lance Armstrong's lawsuit aimed at halting doping probe - CNN.com

US cycling body sides with Armstrong against USADA

Hmm......

US cycling body sides with Armstrong against USADA - WSJ.com

Extra monstrous FrankenBike set for Aug. 25

Sounds like a good one.

FrankenBike # 85 ~ August 25, 2012 ~ 10am-4pm

Cycle Progression ~ 2153 S. Lamar Blvd ~ 78704

We'll have bands all day long plus several kegs from our good friends at Independence Brewing Company!
IPD Music's Website
If that's not enough to make it a great day consider that we'll also have a half pipe set up as well as a raffle with chances to win a brand new folding bicycle from Austin's own Tern Bicycles plus lot's of other items from several of our sponsors!



Extra monstrous FrankenBike set for Aug. 25 | Fit City

Dirt Derby in Austin Texas starting on 9-25-2012

As an unofficial spokesman I will speak for myself.  The derby will be starting a little early this year.  Come race on the new track.  I will post video of the new track within the next couple of weeks. 

Surly Krampus -Attempt to Answer Your Krampus Questions

 I called and talked to the drunk guy that answers the phone at Surly and he told me that the Krampus will be unveiled at several trade shows in November and that they will be for sale to the general public in early 2013.




Attempt to Answer Your Krampus Questions  

He also told me that they are going to show the new colors for the Karate Monkey and other bikes at those same trade shows. The Krampus looks like a kickass bike.

MTB Hill Climb at Walnut Creek Austin Tx

A small group of us went out for a ride a the park today. I was shown another route on the trail that I have ridden past everyday for months.

I did not even see it. I was in denial. It doesn't look very steep but on the  2nd attempt the bike tumbled about 20 feet down the rocks (only got attempts 3 and 4 on video). Now I have to start running at it.  I will probably commit stravacide in the process.

Thanks to A.J. for the margarita and beer! Thanks Ryan for the ride to the trail!  Thanks Adam, A.J. and Ryan for waiting on me at Thumper!

Comedy Mountain Bike Tour Part 1

Bike ride and eventually a bike carry at Purgatory Creek Park in San Marcos Texas. Taken from the my Karate Monkey with the my GoPro Hero. The video shows about 4 miles of trail. Nice trail if you are the central Texas area. On a side note there was a confirmed sighting of bigfoot riding a single speed mountain bike.



Trail Review: Prospect Park & Purgatory Creek Greenspace features some very nice singletrack and technical sections, but unfortunately seems to be rather unknown to most. The main park entrance is very limited on parking; however, there is another location down a dirt road not too far from the main trailhead that allows a few more vehicles. When I say limited parking I mean like 2 or 3 cars. Nevertheless, from the main trailhead you start out along a gravel path, but within seconds you will see where the singletrack goes left and the gravel path goes right (see photo). Um, take the singletrack. Your initial introduction to these trails will make you start wondering if this is going to be a good ride or not, as the trail wastes no time in providing very rocky sections of trail as the elevation decreases. Get through that little intro to Prospect Park and the trail calms down a bit. Actually, at times it even becomes nice and flowing, especially in the open areas, as you can see in the photos below.

As far as difficulty and technical features, Prospect Park tends to fluctuate from one extreme to the other. Although most of the trails wouldn’t warrant much more than a 2 on our scale, there were enough sections that popped up here and there that would easily earn a 3; hence, the reason it's rated as a level 2-3 trail. After-all, while many sections allow for easy riding, the more technical sections might prove to be quite trying. The most common technical feature would be the rock gardens that require a rider to be slow and calculating in the line he/she chooses, but quickly bring a bike to a halt if the speed isn’t there. Many of the trail's switchbacks, if not too rocky are often quite loose, making for a quick loss of speed or control if you don’t hit them right. On a positive note, Prospect Park is a fairly suitable place to take someone who may not be the most technical rider. Even though technical sections abound, the not-so-technical sections are generally the norm. ~ MountainBikeTx.com

Brits banning bikes!

Following on from a blanket ban on bikes across the South East Trains network during the Olympic Games, South West Trains announced that they also were to introduce a ban. Now some 36 hours later that ban has been reversed and CTC report that few knew about the ban until the announcement and have issued the following statement.
CTC is greatly relieved to hear this afternoon that South West Trains have reversed their decision – taken yesterday - to ban non-folding bikes.
Yesterday a statement appeared on South West Trains website suggesting that all non-folding bikes would be banned throughout the Olympics and Paralympics. CTC understood that operational staff had no idea that the ban was coming until that morning.

UKCycleSport - South West Train Reverses Olympic Bike Ban | Latest News