First Open event of 2017 entered

The Team has entered its traditional season opener, the Port Talbot Wheelers 2-up '25' in south Wales on 12th March, on the Resolven-based course R25/24. As usual, this will form part of a weekend with the equally traditional preparation which involves conspicuous consumption of curry and Belgian energy drink. On the equipment front, Grumpy Bob's SRAM eTap system on his primary TT bike is once again functional, after a two month wait for a replacement part. So no equipment excuses there. And both Grumpy Bob and Grumpy Art have been engaging in some serious turbo training. So, perhaps unwisely, Grumpy Bob is exhibiting signs of optimism.

Beer that Team Grumpy can't drink

Team Grumpy has noted this now resolved lawsuit between energy drink company Red Bull and a microbrewery operating under the name Redwell. Apparently Red Bull are happy that the brewery can continue operating as long as they don't move into the energy drink business (Red Bull ends dispute with Redwell brewery in Norwich).

Team Grumpy does recognise the magnanimity in this decision, but clearly also notes that since beer is the team's energy drink, Team Grumpy riders will obviously be unable to consume this stuff for fear of getting the brewery into trouble with the energy drink titan.

Just to clarify Team Grumpy's position, neither Red Bull not Redwell are official Team Grumpy energy drink.

Team Grumpy protests: "We never drank 'energy drink' while racing"

Team Grumpy has noted that among the truly epic landslide of doping confessions (mostly from now-retired riders, we note), Michael Boogerd has finally come clean (Boogerd confesses to doping in television interview - Cyclingnews.com). Boogerd confesses to doping for a decade in the professional peloton. However, he does still seem quite delusional about what doping's for, as he's quoted as asserting he always rode the Tour de France clean:

Boogerd, now 40, said that he didn't use doping products while he was racing the Tour de France, instead - "It was in periods, usually periods of training in preparation for competitions. I have always ridden the Tour clean."

So it's OK to dope in training and in preparation for an event, as long as you don't dope during the event. Oh well, that's clear. As mud.

All this brings to mind the Team Grumpy 'energy drink' scenario. Team Grumpy can confidently assert that the riders have not consumed 'energy drink' while actually competing in 2-up time trials. The riders, however, are willing to confess to 'energy drink' consumption prior to and following competition. The Team Grumpy Manager is mostly concerned that pre- and post-competition 'energy drink' consumption is actually detrimental to performance, and that not putting 'energy drink' in the Team Grumpy bidons could be seen as performance-enhancing. Oh what a muddled and confused world we live in.