So the bike is shattered. Again. But this time, Fuji is sending yours truly the new hotness, which means I only have to go through 5-7 business days of constant, necessary changes of the pants before I’m out riding again. Hallelujah.

In news people care about, the Amgen (worst sponsor for a bike race EVER) Tour of California kicked off this week in its new Bat-time of mid-May.

Of course, those whose memories can stretch back a mere 15 months will remember a world where the TOC was everybody’s winter training motivation — get home, hem and haw about riding the trainer, watch five minutes of Levi and Big George trucking through Cali and shame yourself into an hour-plus of easy spinning.

When the announcement was made that the annual stage race, by now easily America’s most recognizable, would be matching swords with the Giro di Italia, those in the cycling know (or just fool schlubs like me) laughed at the idea. Cycling on American soil would never, ever be as popular as one of Europe’s great classics.

Not so fast.

Seriously, hear me out. Or rather, check out some team rosters.

We’ll set aside the number of top-flight Americans in the TOC, under the assumption that, well, of course Hincapie and Zabriskie and Leipheimer are gonna show. That Armstrong guy too. It’s best for cycling in America, and they are all for that.

But check out the foreign talent as well. Mark Cavendish won the race’s first stage, supported by what essentially boils down to HTC-Columbia’s A team. Michael Rogers, Mark Renshaw and Bernard Eisel were there too.

So was Tom Boonen, although his awful 2010 luck continued with a crash in the opening stage’s final minutes. And Saxo Bank’s big guns — Fabian Cancellara and Andy Schleck — and established pros — Jens Voigt and Stuart O’Grady — grace the field as well.

Now, why does this West Coast race have so much pull? You’re right, it doesn’t make sense. I mean, they’re not even on Eastern time people, come on!

But seriously, there are several draws to the Tour of California as opposed to the Giro. 

• It’s shorter. Much shorter. Like, eight days as opposed to 21 f@#(*ng stages. It’s challenging, with a strong course over varied terrain. But it’s also perfect in length and timing for riders looking to transition from a tough spring to grand tour season without burning too much energy or suffering the disappointment of pulling out of a stage race before it’s done.
• The Giro has gotten ridiculous lately. The stages aren’t staggered well in terms of difficulty, the courses are, at times, awfully technical, and there was that sweeping rider revolt at an apparent lack of safety at several points along last year’s course.
• Money. Money, money, money. America’s full of it, at least when it comes to cycling. No, the sport will never be as popular here as it is in Europe, of course not. But everybody in Italy already loves cycling. Sponsors, investors, etc., are already defined, attached and involved. There’s not much new blood to be drawn there. But in America, where the greatness of Lance Armstrong spawned a generation of weekend warriors who looked like they should have been delivering your mail except they weren’t, there’s plenty of untapped wealth to be passed around. On the whole, the United States will never pass the cycling-crazy countries across the pond. But it’s an untapped market with a growing love of two-wheeled fun, and an easy target for teams looking for another checkbook.

Of course, not all answered Arnold Schwarzenegger’s siren call. Liquigas, for obvious reasons, put most of its eggs into the Giro basket. Also racing in Italy are Cadel Evans, Alexander Vinokourov, Bradley Wiggins and Carlos Sastre.

And it’s not like the Tour of California is going to replace the Giro — or any of the grand tours, for that matter — in terms of popularity and importance.

But in an age when the Giro itself is actually talking seriously about opening in Washington, D.C., America as part of the world cycling community is gradually becoming less novel and more normal.

So long live the May start to the Tour of California. And long live my new frame (or at least for more than two years).