2008 Predictions

Long awaited prognostication for the year ahead:

Somebody will be elected President of the US of A this NOV. Just because of the name thing alone, it will not be Obama, nor Huckabee, same for Giuliani. Obama will accept Hillary's gesture to be her veep. They will run against a Romney/Lieberman ticket and win.

No plans for an Obama Elementary School outside of Illinois (and perhaps in Oakland, CA) in the near future.

Sticking with the election theme - Mike Pruitt will abandon his campaign to be Pakistan's next Prime Minister in protest on the lack of a viable & secure bike path anywhere in the country.

Several endurance events will be cancelled at the Olympics in Beijing in AUG due to terrible air quality. Both Men's & Women's Marathon (if they are run) will see the highest dropout percentage in Olympics history. One of the five official mascots will collapse during the opening ceremonies.

Jordan Campbell win be invited to join the USA Cycling National Development Team for 2009.

The grandson of Joop Zoetemelk (1980 Tdf winner, 1985 World Champion, 6 times 2nd place & finisher of all 16 Tours he started), a Junior racer from the Netherlands, will emerge from nowhere to win the TdF. He will be proclaimed to have the cleanest "biological passport" and will be hailed as the next great cyclist.

He will be busted for enhancing his performance illegally in 2009.

American Ned Overend will finish 2nd at the Tdf just shy of his 53rd birthday.

Tyler Hamilton will bite somebodies ear off during the Brasstown Bald stage of the Tour of Georgia.

The third runway will open at SEATAC to much fanfare with the initial landing made by a Singapore Airlines A380 mega jet which will cause the west retaining wall to fail creating a gigantic landslide demolishing the newly restored Miller Creek

Landslide area will be made into a BMX park for local kids.

Alaska Airlines will be bought out by American, will close its Seattle operations, and focus on building Boeing Field hub trumping & snubbing Southwest Airlines at their own game.

Southwest counters by opening up operations from Renton's Clayton Scott Field (KRNT) - where 100% of their Boeing 737's were assembled. Though due to performance issues they can only carry 4 passengers a flight, or limit their full passenger range to service only as far as Tacoma Narrows Airport.

Al Gore will move onto a North Atlantic iceberg and not leave until all countries accept his moral challenge to reduce greenhouse emissions. Unfortunately the world will continue to ignore his message and Al, with his Nobel Peace Prize by his side, will go missing as the iceberg eventually melts before a rescue ship (with an offset carbon footprint) can reach him.

Unfortunately Tipper wasn't with him and continues to bash objectionable music lyrics.

Al will turn up 5 years from now living in Venezuela secretly running their state-owned petroleum company PDVSA (Petróleos de Venezuela, S.A.), with kickbacks to former President George Bush who can't get a speaking engagement since it was learned he really does have an IQ of puppet.

Britain's Prince Charles will reveal he is gay (not that there's anything wrong with that!) and that with his "Misses" (Camilla Parker Bowles) they have a lavender marriage.

Evening Magazine will do a feature on some old cyclist attempting to ride up Maui's Mt Haleakala several times.

Old guy loses track of the number climbed so far and has to make a do-over the next day.

The team formally known as AxleyUSA/Spoke & Sprocket (cannot reveal new team name) will dominate NW cycling. Mike Pruitt will be nominated as WA State Prime Minister of Bicycling.

All 5 grins will keep on grinning & growing.