JB's Adventure Blog

It's interesting how much pomp surrounds the Olympics. I guess it makes the suspense build. I sure as hell know that I don't need the extra suspense, but the spectators seem to dig it.

My favorite tradition is the torch relay. I think it should be it's own game, like you get a route and a distance and you have to take a human powered method to get there. You know, paddle across the Great Lakes, mountain bike upstate New York and then have someone pedal-boat across the North Atlantic in their thong Speedo.

Now that would be cool!

Anyway, the flag of the Olympic Games has five interlocking rings: blue, yellow, black, green and red in front of a white background. The rings represent the five parts of the world that were joined together in the Olympic movement: Africa, the Americas, Asia, Australia and Europe. It is a real pity that Antarctica was denied representation or a team especially since they could rock the winter Games. It seems now they are just considered a third class continent ever since Al Gore took charge there.

The motto of the Olympic Games is "Citius, altius, fortius," which means "Faster, higher, stronger." The heart of the Olympic spirit is all about improving upon achievements and striving to be the best you can.

Just some trivia to get you through Monday.

Peace,
JB

Labels: Bejing

posted by Jeremiah Bishop # 5:11 PM 0 comments

For those of you who are looking ahead to the 2008 Olympics, the following information provided by USA Cycling will give you some early season insight. Currently, the US men are focused on maintaining a top-5 nation ranking and securing the greatest amount of Olympic start positions. A nation's ranking is determined by the combined total of its three highest ranked individual racers. If the US men remain among the top-5 nations, the US will be given 3 start positions for the men's Olympic cross country event in 2008.

The third round of the UCI Cross Country Mountain Bike World Cup took place last weekend in Champéry, Switzerland. In the men’s contest, Adam Craig (Bend, Ore./Giant) came away with a tenth-place finish, Jeremiah Bishop (Harrisonburg, Va./Trek-VW) finished 23rd, Jeremy Horgan-Kobelski (Boulder, Colo./Subaru-Gary Fisher) came in 30th and Michael Broderick (Chilmark, Mass./Kenda-Seven) finished 60th.

Elite Men World Cup Cross Country Standings
1. Julien Absalon (FRA) 700
2. Christoph Sauser (SUI) 490
3. Jose Antonia Hermida Ramos (ESP) 480
4. Cedric Ravanel (FRA) 420
5. Roel Paulissen (BEL) 380
30. Adam Craig (Bend, Ore.) 121
33. Jeremiah Bishop (Harrisonburg, Va.) 106
41. Todd Wells (Durango, Colo.) 90
49. Jeremy Horgan-Kobelski (Boulder, Colo.) 73
75. Sam Schultz (Missoula, Mont.) 28

In the UCI nations rankings, the United States currently has 963 points, and sits behind France (1,934), Switzerland (1,474), Spain (1,206), and Belgium (1,103). A nation’s ranking is the primary factor used to determine the number of start positions a country receives at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing.

2007 UCI Mountain Bike Rankings as of June 12, 2007:
Individual Men’s Rankings
1. Julien Absalon (FRA) 940
2. Roel Paulissen (BEL) 660
3. Christophe Sauser (SUI) 650
14. Todd Wells (Durango, Colo.) 380
20. Adam Craig (Bend, Ore.) 318
28. Jeremy Horgan-Kobelski (Boulder, Colo.) 265
34. Jeremiah Bishop (Harrisonburg, Va.) 236
71. Sam Schultz (Missoula. Mont.) 151
72. Michael Broderick (Chilmark, Mass.) 146
108. Sam Jurekovic (Colorado Springs, Colo.) 99
155. Jeff Hall (Farmington, Minn.) 67
162. Colin Cares (Boulder, Colo.) 63
198. Ryan Trebon (Ventura, Calif.) 45

The 2007 UCI Mountain Bike World Cup series will make its first stop in North America, June 23-24. The world’s top mountain bikers will head to Mont-Sainte-Anne, Quebec as the Canadian city hosts World Cup competitions in cross country, four cross and downhill disciplines. It will be the fourth round of cross country competition and third round of gravity events. Following the Mont Sainte Anne World Cup, the international mountain bike community will remain in Quebec for the fifth round of the cross country series in St. Felicien.

Labels: Bejing

posted by Jeremiah Bishop # 11:27 AM 0 comments

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