Last year I ran a virtual alleycat where I gave away an Electric Monkey spoke light. I’m thinking about another virtual alleycat where the prize this book of lovely bike pr0n. I anticipate interest will be high.

A virtual alleycat is a lot of work but it’s a lot of fun to put together and, I hope, to participate in. Contestants participate in a virtual scavenger hunt where they click through to various websites to find the next checkpoint. The final checkpoint gets you into the contest.

I plan to contact several blog owners via email for their permission to ride through, but drop me a note here if you’d like to be a checkpoint. For an idea of how it worked out last time, visit my original virtual alleycat page. I might take Dave’s suggestion and make this a virtual charity ride instead. I’ll talk with him and give it some thought.

Tuesday’s Transit Quiz might take some good knowledge of Santa Cruz Metro transit operation, but I’ll give the details and see if you can figure it out.

I’m in downtown Santa Cruz at the Santa Cruz Metro Center at 4:23 PM. All I have is a $5 bill and no bus pass of any kind. You can count on departure times from the Santa Cruz Metro Center to be on time. Three buses go near my home in Scotts Valley:

• The Highway 17 Express departs at 4:30 with scheduled arrival at 4:45 in the Scotts Valley Transit Center. This bus goes up Highway 17 to Scotts Valley. One way fare is $4.
• Route 31 departs at 4:25 with scheduled arrival in Scotts Valley at 4:45 PM. This bus takes Graham Hill Road. One way fare is $1.50.
• Route 35 departs 4:30 with scheduled arrival in Scotts Valley at 4:50, taking the same route to Scotts Valley as the Hwy 17 Express. One way fare is $1.50.

Which bus did I catch and why?

I’ll post my answer later today as an update to this article.

I’m a dirtbag. Yesterday, I repeated a rumor about Tyler Hamilton that apparently had absolutely no basis in fact. I apologize to you, to Tyler Hamilton and to Chris Brewer who all exhibited way more tact and restraint than I did. Salud.

Following the VTA Light Rail Train on my bicycle, downtown San Jose, California.

Tyler Hamilton for Rock Racing during the 2009 Tour of California Prologue in Sacramento.

Hamilton was scheduled to race in this week’s Vuelta Castilla y León stage race but pulled out because of bronchitis, according to Rock Racing. Francisco Mancebo took Hamilton’s place as team leader for Rock Racing.

Other nonsense that I originally published about Hamilton deleted, although it lives forever in the world of RSS.

Lance Armstrong looks like a hurt puppy in this video from Spanish television.

In case you haven’t heard, Armstrong crashed in a big pileup on a sketchy road on the first day of the Vuelta a Castilla y León. He broke his collarbone and was carted away in an ambulance. He’s on the mend and will probably miss the Giro d’Italia in May, but he should be healed up in time for the Tour de France in July.

Visit Steephill.TV for complete Vuelta Castilla y León 2009 coverage.