New tires. And I'm going shopping again!

Well, I got my new tires from PBK.com! They came even faster than the wheels did. I would have no reservations in ordering from them again, and you cannot beat their prices. Here they are:




Today, I'm heading to Racine Cyclery to buy some more tubes, then I will assemble the tires and new Aksiums later today. I want to start looking for a cassette, I want to try them out on the road. It's supposed to be in the mid 40s this weekend, so I should be able to (finally!) be able to get out and ride for an hour or so.

Other sad news I saw on cyclingnews.com earlier today:

Heynderickx first to find dead rider

By Gregor Brown in Doha, Qatar

Frederiek Nolf died in his sleep
Photo ©: TDWsports.com / Topsport Vlaanderen

Jean-Pierre Heynderickx, directeur sportif of Topsport Vlaanderen-Mercator, had the unfortunate experience on Thursday of discovering one of his riders had died in his sleep. Frederiek Nolf passed away last night in Doha, Qatar, of an apparent heart attack.

Heynderickx recalled the moment he found his rider in his bed, unresponsive.

"I was the one to wake up the riders. The first room I passed was [teammate Kristof] Goddaert and Nolf's, at 9:00. I rang it and Goddaert opened the door. I passed the other rooms and returned back to their room," said Heynderickx.

Heynderickx found that the two were still in bed. He told them to get up and prepare for the fifth stage of the Tour of Qatar, February 1 to 6.

"There was no reaction from Nolf. I went to shake his leg and there was no reaction. I turned on the lights and then I saw that it was not good. He did not move, I felt his hand and it was cold."

Heynderickx confirmed Nolf was lying as if he was sleeping. He told Goddaert to leave the room and he went to find a doctor. The doctor confirmed Nolf was dead.

"I was the last man to see the two last night, at 10:15. We were joking around. Nolf called his parents and said, 'Tomorrow, I will race hard, I will give it a try.' There were no signs that he was ill or sick."

The riders are tested four times a year in Leuven, Belgium. Heynderickx called the doctor this morning. The doctor looked over his cardiograms and said that he could not find any abnormalities."

Nolf became professional in 2008 with Topsport Vlaanderen. As a junior he had very good results and his most successful year was 2005. Among others, he won the overall of the Route de l'Avenir that year and finished second in the Ronde van Vlaanderen for juniors.

The neutralised stage started at 14:05 local time with a minute of silence. All riders were wearing a black mourning band.

Scary! 22 years old, world class athlete, tested for cardio fitness at least four times a year. It goes to show you, tomorrow is guaranteed to no man. Enjoy every day you have in this life! (I'm approaching 13,700 days of life here soon! WOO HOO!)

Well, I'm heading to the bike shop for those tubes. I'm doing my part to keep the lousy economy chugging along. How about you?