Weekly Roundup April 2

Hello, all! Let me apologize for phoning in the crappy April Fools’ post yesterday… Admittedly it could’ve had a bit more heart. I do have to admit I want to order a couple of hats from the crochet woman. Her hats look pretty sweet. Anyway, been enjoying the breaks in the weather on the MTB, and enjoying what I’ve been reading lately. With that friends; The Weekly Roundup!

Harp Rider: I’ll start off this week with the infamous poissonier Harp and his post Would You Ride A Pink Bike?. To answer, yes… yes I would. It takes a serious guy with serious stones to rock a pink bike while bombing down a trail. Pink is the new black, and it says to the world, “Hey, I’m on a pink bike an I’m about to beat the crap out of you!” Harp, do it! Buy the pink bike.

Fat Cyclist: Very much along the same line of thought Fatty discusses the intricacies of picking your style and color of bike. How To Choose Your Bike’s Color is a riot. Fatty throws in his two cents about how to pick a proper bike, and what the color says about you. By the way, the ads are sweet too! Oh, and one more thing… yes, red is still the fastest color. Even Fatty agrees, more or less.

50K Loop NS: Bluenoser is in the same boat as I was the last few weeks. Go to bed to beautiful weather, wake up to crap! On Again, Off Again is his journey into the on again off again weather. Also, what he finds along the way in his rides. The good, the bad, and the ‘evidence of Tri Cyclists’.

Travels With A Tin Donkey: The Brewery to Brewery (B2B) Ride: still yet another intersection of beer and cycling, ahhhh. Yet another post after my own heart! There is only one thing in life more refreshing than water, to me, and that’s an ice cold GOOD beer. For me that means a hoppy microbrew. Better yet one of my, or a dear friends homebrew. This is a quickie to announce the eighth annual Harpoon Brewery B2B.

Bike Snob NYC: Finally I’ll leave you with a funny look at Bike Snob NYC’s round up what he considers the humor posts for April Fools Day. BSNYC April Fools’ Day Roundup covers the bases that were the best of the April Fools posts, or are they? *Duhn duhn duhhhhh* Heh, heh, heh... this was a good one BS.

Well, that’s all she wrote for now. Keep up the great rides. As usual, I’m the Phun Cyclist, you stay classy Cleveland.

Favorite New Blogs!

With the "Weekly Roundup" coming up tomorrow, I wanted to take a minute to introduce you to a few new blogs that are really of interest to me as of late. For those of you who read regularly, you know that I've been riding road, and recently have picked up a Mountain Bike. With this change has come a myriad of changes in what I read and what I've found interesting. So before I jump headfirst into a Roundup of totally different blogs, I wanted to give you all a sneak peak.
The first is a great blog to catch up on all of the latest cycling gear. Cycle Gear Weekly is the latest in chic cycle apparel. In a similar vein, Cycle Style is what all of the latest cyclists are sure to be wearing on your next ride!
Everyone knows that every true mountain biker needs to get some ink, right? Riders Ink (get it? a play on Riders, Inc.) is about what all the cool MTBers wil be tatting! Finally, last but not least, here we have a blog for your bitch.
I hope you receive as much joy as I do from reading these daily!

Weekend Riding

Whoa! talk about living life like I'd like to. I had a weekend of spoiling myself. Friday I had some things to get done, and I did, but first I woke up early. I woke up at the time I normally would if I were going to work, only I took a nice long ride around the trails. Came back showered, and got done what I had to. Saturday I woke up and had a healthy breakfast, donned the gear and went for a much longer ride. Trails, streets, etc. Sunday? You guessed it. First, though, did Church, had a bite and jumped on the bike for day three of three weekend riding. It was how I've always wanted my life to be. It go me thinking about how I could rearrange my life to better fit in biking. That will come later, as will my thoughts on road biking vs. mountain biking.
There is something so awesome and pure about getting out in the open spaces, in the fresh air, riding the side of a ledge, animals all around you. It's so cool, after an obnoxiously long winter, to get back on a bike and feel the pain of a hill, feel the wind hit you in the face. Now all there is to do is wait for some serious riding, hopefully soon, once the snow is totally gone and the trails have drained. Who knows, I may just get out and ride with the award winning Fat Cyclist in Utah, wouldn't that be a blast? John has also promised to abuse me a bit around Ohio. There might even be an opportunity later in the year to wind up riding the mountains of Arizona; man would I need to get some serious work done in order to prepare for that.
All in all it is really shaping up to be a good year so far. Would anyone be interested in coming up to the Cleveland area for a ride this summer? Road or mountain... or both. Hey it could be fun.

Yeah... What The Tape Says.

Yup, as it says Gone Riding. Had the day off Friday 'cause I'm a damn slacker. Got some riding to do, among other things. Saturday, you guessed it, start with a ride. Maybe swim afterward in the evening. Then Sunday Church followed by? No, lunch... THEN a ride. Sorry, but I'll se you again Monday!
-Don

How Truly Aware Are You?

OK, only catch here is you have to be totally honest. If not, like so many spam emails, you will be forced to endure a group or rabid penguins slowly pecking one-eighth inch squares of skin from your body while dwarf hamsters eat your flesh and poissonier's (yer welcome Harp) drip left over lemon juice on your carcass. (Man, I need help). OH! and as a side note: I'm totally unhappy with YouTube. This was supposed to go up Monday... it finnaly posted from YouTube to the blog today. Pshhhh.

Weekly Roundup March 26

Hello folks and welcome! Freaking cool week so far... Again! I have a new router which is making blogging and work a heck of a lot easier, business is picking up, and the coolest of all I got to ride Friday and Saturday! It’s still cool having a mountain bike. I can’t wait to have the daylight to get out again, but I’ve been busy the last week or so. I can’t believe what I’ve been missing. With that I give you (in no particular order): The Weekly Roundup!

50K Loop NS: Congrats to my man in Nova Scotia, Bluenoser on his new acquisition. Test Ride is about his new Motobecane, and Im mad... it's orange. Orange is (one) my favorite color ever, and (two) faster than red. Once again if you're not a regular the story goes: I called him out on account he’s riding a blue bike, I told him red is a much faster color (my new MTB is red) but I have it figured out fairly well that orange is in fact THEE fastest color.

Cozy Beehive: This week Ray introduces what seems like it might just be the most useless waste of money ever. I honestly can't decide if the Click Stand Folding Kick Stand is the coolest thing ever invented, or an utter waste of time and resources. You'll have to decide for yourself.

Fat Cyclist: This weeks biggie was an open letter to Mellow Johnnie An Open Letter To Mellow Johnnie. As in the past, Fatty takes his opportunity to bag on the one, the only, Lance Armstrong. I'd actually have a problem with Fatty if he didn't give so generously to the Lance Armstrong Foundation, but I guess I'll let the bagging on the founder slide. This is a great read, but you will laugh out loud so do it away from work.

Bunny Hop Rockstar: I'll end with John's blog and just leave it at this. John is pulling off some races on the west coast the next couple weeks, and will be documenting with photos. Keep checking in, I'm sure it's going to be very cool.

Well that’s it; hope you enjoyed. As usual, I’m the Phun Cyclist, you stay classy Cleveland.

Craptastic Day

I woke up this morning with absolute dread about what I had to do. I knew when the alarm went off it was a day of reckoning of sorts. It would be the day I would have to weigh in after a crazy weekend of engorging and libations. Long story short, I figured I would have put on a pound or two and I did. OK, so that's only part of it, half of it to be specific. Yeah I gained four freakin' pounds. If you read yesterdays post you know I attribute it to a specific horrifying chain of events starting with dinner for my birthday and ending in holiday food.
So starting today I have gone back to my "Sprocket Boy's Muesli (Of Doom)". By the way if you haven't tried Sprocket Boy's Muesli you really need to. Muesli for breakfast and lunch with a sensible dinner. Today it was a few pieces of sushi, tomorrow a salad, Wednesday will be crab stuffed salmon (just for Harp) and asparagus. I haven't figured out anything past that. The only other snag in the whole thing is I have a business lunch that I have to be in attendance for on Wednesday, but there is also a 96.2% chance that the lunch will be salad, or there will be an option for salad. I have obligations Tuesday and Wednesday after work which will not allow for riding, and Thursday and Saturday is an expected torrential downpour, no word on Sunday yet. So as it stands I might get a ride in Friday, and there is always the option of manning up and going to the indoor MTB park.
Bottom line, by the end of this year I cannot be a fatass any longer. 193 now with a 170 goal.

Why Holidays Blow

I would just like to make the point that I LOVE holidays, for the most part. What, you ask, could I possibly have against holidays? As always, glad you asked.
You see, the main problem with holidays is that they're almost an excuse to overeat. I will start with my birthday. It was an excuse to go out and eat crap I know full well I should look at let alone ingest. Example: A half-pound burger the size of my head, chipotle mayo, pepper-jack cheese, a pablano pepper (arguably the healthiest part of the meal), tortilla strips, and steak fries with three twenty-four ounce beers. Yeah, I know... I have NO self control, it's why I'm a fatass. Enter Easter. My wife makes her world famous scalloped potatoes. Ingredients: Potatoes (duh), a gallon of whole milk, fourteen metric tons of butter, and an entire dairy farm of cheese. That's just the potatoes. Never mind the green bean casserole, sweet potato(e) (Dan Quayle joke... I know it dates me, but c'mon... the classics?) marshmallow casserole, turkey and stuffing, biscuits, bread pudding, etc. I swear I probably put on five pounds this weekend. I'm serious, no joke there. I'm actually afraid to weigh myself tomorrow morning.
Now I just have to hope it stays nice enough that we don't have the flooding rains we're supposed to get so I can get the new rig on a trail. If we do get what they're expecting there's no way the trails around here will drain. Guess we'll just have to cross our fingers, right.

Cold, Snow, Mud... Feels Good.

So I got out of work early today, there was less snow on the ground than last week, it was muddy and I was craving a ride. So I jumped on the new bike and hit the local trail. It was a good time, the only thing to get REALLY muddy was the back end of the Don (me), and the underside of my seat, but I got the bike a little bit dirty. It was a blast, not hikers, no joggers just me on the trail enjoying the scenes and riding. I'm really digging riding on less than paved routes. Also It will be nice on account I'll be able to ride into town on errands now and stuff... so long as they fit in a pack. Anyway, I have a feeling John was right, I'm going to like this way too much. Enough to sell the road bike? Probably not, much to the dismay of my wife, but a ton none the less.
With that I'd like to say that I'm taking the weekend off, Good Friday tonight and birthday dinner, libations with friends (message me if your in Cleveland and are really that bored tomorrow that you'd like to join) tomorrow, Easter "fun" on Sunday. Oh well, I'm sure I'll fit a ride in tomorrow and Sunday unless we get the three to six inches that they're calling for. So for now I'll leave you with the hottest peep show on earth! HAPPY EASTER!

Two Of The Crazier Things I've Seen

For those of you who read regularly, or might on the off chance know me, you know there's one thing painfully annoying to me about the Tour de France... Or should I say The Tour DEEEE France. That's right, folks, Bob Roll is the proverbial fly in the ointment, the thorn in my side, the bop in the bop shoo wop... no, never mind that. He annoys the crap out of me when he pronounces the Tour as the Tour dee France (Hard "e"... EXTREMELY hard "e" in de). It's almost as if he is mispronouncing it on purpose and streesing deeeeee just to piss of the French or something. It actaually makes me twitch at the sound. Still, I find this video funny as heck. One further thing of note, please get out your beatnik snaps for Bob "the Beatnik" Roll... this is an interesting look for Bobke.

Weekly Roundup March 19

Freaking cool week so far. I have a new router on the way which should make blogging (oh, and work too!) a heck of a lot easier, business is picking up, and the coolest of all? I got to ride Sunday! It’s cool to have a mountain bike, and getting my butt kicked in the snow was painful and beautiful. I can’t wait to have the daylight to get out again, but I’ve been busy the last 2 days. I can’t believe what I’ve been missing. With that I give you (in no particular order): The Weekly Roundup!

50K Loop NS: I love this blog, and this week Bluenoser even gave me a tag in More Snow 03/16/08. The story goes: I called him out on account he’s riding a blue bike, I told him red is a much faster color (my new MTB is red), so this was his answer. Much respect BN!

Cozy Beehive: This week Ray brings two extremely funny, yet informative blogs. The most recent is How A Bicycle Helmet Works, quite literally what it sounds like. The earlier is Human Accidents vs. Product Redesign. Here Ray explains the correct way to work on your bike sans a stand, and the problems that may arise.

Travels With A Tin Donkey: Need I say more… Eight Healthy Reasons To Drink Beer is Sprocketboy paying homage to a favorite past time; Beer, the reason I am a lardy lad!

Bike Snob NYC: Bike Snob was off for a week, but he is back in full swing craving a TT Bike and with a new webite!The Grand (Re)Design: A New Look For Spring! is a sneak peak at what might be his future bike, and the designs he’s “kicking around.”

Fat Cyclist: For those who are not regulars of one of my favorite, and award winning, blogs, let me bring you up to speed. Fatty went out and, on a whim, bought a Gary Fisher Superfly. The funnier part of the story is Fisher is willing to loan him one, so he will eventually be storing and riding TWO Gary Fisher Superfly’s. The one he bought he finally got around to riding, two weeks after the purchase. After riding it, he wrote Point / Counterpoint: Fatty’s New Superfly, a post where he point and counterpoints WITH THE BIKE?! A Very interesting, and award winning, read.

Did I mention I got a new bike (huge smiles)! Well that’s it; hope you enjoyed. As usual, I’m the Phun Cyclist, you stay classy Cleveland.

Translations For The Cyclist

So I just wanted to touch base on something I said yesterday and segue into todays post. If you caught yesterdays blog you know I said: My wife "got me" a new bike for my birthday. The reason I took the time to put "got me" in quotation marks is this. My wife found out she got me a new bike when I said, "Hey, guess what. My birthday is coming up and I could get a sweet deal on a mountain bike." The rest of the conversation leading to the purchase of said bike isn't as important is this; what cyclist say to their spouse/significant other/etc. and what the meaning is are oft-different subjects. here are a few examples that come to mind. Generally, I've found, guys are notorious for this, but I have met a few like-minded women as well.

Cyclist Says: There's a great sale at the bike shop, and I'd really love a full carbon set up honey.
Cyclist Means: I already put money down on this too hard to pass up carbon bike.

Cyclist Says: So if I were to buy a SRAM Force Groupe for the bike would it be cool with you.
Cyclist Means: I have a SRAM Force Groupe in the trunk, if I take it out now will I suddenly go missing?

Cyclist Says: I look hot as hell in my new (insert team or manufacturer) kit, right?
Cyclist Means: I look hot as hell in my new (insert team or manufacturer) kit, right?
Answerer Says: Sure, I guess?
Answerer Means: Your wearing all lycra, it's cold, and that's SO not flattering.

Cyclist Says: You don't mind if I go on a long ride tomorrow, do you?
Cyclist Means: You don't mind if I all but fall off the Earth for about twelve or so hours tomorrow?
Answerer Says: I guess not.
Answerer Means: You don't mind if you don't get any for the next six months, do you? (NOTE-this could also mean: You don't mind if I take the charge to the mall to shop for clothes, a bag and shoes?)

Cyclist Says: The spouse and I are planning a ride, you in?
Cyclist Means: I am planning a ride, she/he could give a crap less, you in?

Mind you, these are only a handful of examples, there are countless more. So there you have it folks, next time your talking cycling with a non-cycling significant other, pay attention and see if I'm right!

New Gear For `08

So this coming Friday is my birthday, I'll be 33 in case anyone cared to know. It kind of sucks because if you know me you know that I am Catholic, and that Friday is Good Friday, and Good Friday is a HUGE part of the Holy Week (Easter Week), and that because of its importance that Catholics fast that day (two small meals are the max). Long story short my wife and I were planning on going out and I was hoping for a few libations, but the sacrilege of getting a bit tanked on Good Friday is a bit much for me. All that aside, there is a reason I bring this up, and in my opinion it is THEE reason I bring this up.
So, Friday is my birthday (I know, I'm just restating after my long as heck sidebar) and the wife "got me" a sweet birthday present. Why I say "got me" to follow... She got me some new gear. Not just any new gear, but a sweet new Specialized Rockhopper Disc. I took 'er out on the road for a bit, and of course, half foot to foot of semi melted and now refroze snow, pitted with boot prints, muddy, flooded and all I HAD to get it on the local trail. Which I did. It was so sketchy that the shorter loop I took (a one mile loop) took over an hour, but man was it fun! I really enjoyed riding road this year, but I felt like a kid again getting out having snow, mud, and water kicking up in my face, wondering if I would lose my footing and bail, it was great. Now I'm at home and my calves kill, my knees ache, my feet hurt, I just downed about 96 Oz. of water, and I feel like I could take on the world! Isn't it great how when you get off your ass and do something you feel invincible, like you could take on the world. While when you stagnate you just want to sit on the couch until you have to get back in bed. It's going to be an interesting spring, I may just decide to try a century this year if I continue to feel this good. Maybe I'll try to build a teeter.

One Form Of Cycling Over Another

So, what better way to start a week off

Ahhhh, a nice quite Thursday morning. A cup of joe, and a nice, leisurely bike ride in the French Alps during the Tour "dee" France (see Bob Roll). Or is it leisurely? Apparently this is what happens when your coffee is just a wee bit too strong. You come up with half baked ideas.
As a sidebar: YouTube blew this one for me... sorry if you caught the technical difficulty cause by YouTube.

Weekly Roundup March 12

So much to say, so little time to say it. It’s cold, it’s miserable, and there is still far too much of the twenty-four inches of snow that fell to consider doing anything. The roads are down to near single lanes in some places, and that’s where they actually decided to plow, you can’t see around the ten to fifteen foot mounds, and where the streets are clear there I about a one inch thick layer of salt. I’m down, and I really want to ride. At least I’m not this guy. (Background info: This happened during the twenty-four inches in twenty four hours snow marathon. He is up over a guardrail, and about a foot, foot and a half away from going down an embankment into a river) With that friends, and to make up for the lack of substance lately due to the lack of a home network (what the hell did we do before computers and networks?!) I’m giving you an extended version of The Weekly Roundup!

Bunny Hop Rockstar: The homeboy at the LBS, John, whom I probably owe some favors had a deep meaningful type of post. Initiative is a great look at what life is really about. It talks about what is really important in life. The minimalist mentality, if you will. I have to say I think the kid has it right. I’ve really been starting to realize in the last few years what is important in life, and what just gets in the way and blinds you from seeing that which is important. Thanks for the philosophical discussion!

Let’s Rock…: Those of you who are regulars know I like me some “Let’s Rock…” and that I’m ALWAYS up for a good cause. This weeks good cause is Boobies!! Wow, I actually don’t want to say anything after that. It just seems like such a perfect way to end a sentence. I think I’m going to leave it there and let you find out for yourself. Go ahead, it’s not bad, really. It’s actually a post about a really great cause, serious. I whole heartedly encourage any of you can can support Yeahdog in her effort to get on it now! Best wishes on raising boat-loads of cash, Yeahdog!

How To Avoid The Bummer Life: A great, humerous blog that I read often, but haven’t talked much about. It’s the guys over at Swobo. The Synopsis of the Bummer Life post will catch you up to speed, and then I recommend that you jump right into the Moustaches In Cycling: It Goes Well Beyond The Handlebar post. These guys are great and Swobo has some great gear.

50K Loop NS: It seems as though the “not being able to ride” thing might be getting to Bluenosers head. But anytime there’s a gratuitous boob joke involved, I’ll take it. HEY! New theme for the week, boobs. OK, back to the point, Blue noser had his Rest Day, and from the looks of it he needs to get back out. I could appreciate that Thom!

Cozy Beehive: Will it ever die man!? Seriously, the whole Non-Circular Chainringthing just wont seem to go away. Ron delves into the shadowy underbelly of the beast that is the non-circular chainring. Ron, I’m going to start making heart shaped ones for bright pink bikes, with tassels on the bar ends, and… sorry.

Travels With A Tin Donkey: File under will it ever die man, part II. Inadvertent Doping talks about the resent issue some riders were having with Hammer Nutrition and the impending lawsuits.

Harp Rider: Another one of my eighty or so daily reads. I want to throw kudos out to Harp for finally shaving his legs. Can’t say I’ve been able to bring myself to join the ranks yet, eh… maybe this summer. Anyway, Fatty finally broke him down, it seems, and he broke out the razor. Great overall read Harp!

Fat Cyclist: I have to give kudos to Fatty for his Bloggie (Best Sports Blog), and also share that I’m constantly amazed by his graciousness. He gave away a load of stuff to his reader for making him number one. He is a great reader, and truly a class act. This past week he realized he may have to settle for Plan B. If you are a regular reader of his you could appreciate this, but I wonder how he hasn’t gone mad with all that goes on in his life. He is inspirational.

Well that’s it; hope you enjoyed. As usual, I’m the Phun Cyclist, you stay classy Cleveland.

Big Fat Congratulations Redux!

I want to take a minute to give yet another congratulations to The Fat Cyclist who won his first ever Bloggie! I can't think of anyone who deserves it more that Fatty. He puts a ton of work in each week to pump out a hilarious blog. Congrats Fatty. Fatty took the opportunity to give his thank you speech from Disneyland in Fat Cyclist Declares Self Winner Of 2008 Bloggies Awards. The funniest thing about it? He gave his congratulatory speech about seventeen hours early, and strictly as a satire. But alas, the Fat Man pulled it off! He came through in the end to get the Best Sports Blog Bloggie. Way to go Fatty, way to go!

Oh, by the way, I am having some technical difficulties getting what I wanted to post to post. I will try again tomorrow, please bear with me. Thanks

Snow IV

I know, the snow thing has gone way too far. Yeah, you're right. But I post a five day week, one day is automatically the Weekly Roundup post (for now anyway), that leaves four days, and four days for me ti bitch about the weather. With that said, I want to admit something to you; I love the winter! There I said it. I love the snow, I'm OK with the cold, as a matter of fact the only thing that gets me honked off is people who don't know how to drive in, or cannot drive in snow and feel compelled to go out anyway. So I went out for a VERY short jog this morning on account I was an idiot for thinking it would be a good idea. It wasn't a bad idea, necessarily, once I got out of the countless knee-deep drifts. It really turned out to be more of a fast walk. I did get some pretty shots though so that was cool. One shot was particularly funny. The funny thing about this? Upon importing it I realized that when I took my wife's Crossroads for a trail worthy test spin. I have to add it faired well Considering it is a retro-inspired street cruising machine. It's actually a ton of fun to ride. Yes, I know... I was riding a "girls bike". Whatever.
Anyway, when I took it for a spin this summer I took a nearly identical shot (the before picture in the before and after). Also, I'd like to say that this was at 10:00AM, it has been a non-stop white out since last night, and its about knee deep right now. I'd have to say that we're going to clear a foot and a half if not two feet in a twenty-four hour period by the time all is said and done. With that I give you the final in the week-long series called snow. Hope everyone has a great weekend, and enjoy whatever weather you are blessed with!

*For the record: The after is NOT black and white, it was just that heavy a white-out that that's how the picture turned out.

Snow III: Phreakin' Traphic Edition

In an effort to use the hell out of the ridiculous weather we have had this week, I am pulling out yet another "Snow" post. For those of you counting this is three. For those of you who care: I am sorry for you, sorry that you have to put up with me. My wife has reasons (arguably financial among others) that she is stuck with me. Why you continue to subject yourself to my ramblings I just don't know. At any rate I appreciate your reading this and love the comments. Todays tribute to snow is the following: If you look close enough, or maybe if you click on it to pop it out bigger, you can see yellow trucks about dead center. They're just to the left of the pickup that you see the back end. Yeah, that IS snowplows three deep in a two lane road. The funniest part is how it was coming down about an inch an hour for a bit. Funnier yet was the following.
As I was driving I was in what can only be called a cluster (expletive deleted). There were people sliding all over, cars spinning out on the highways (like, tens of cars every few miles), traffic stopped as if there were an accident but there was not... you get the point, right? What I don't understand is this. Every car I saw had one thing in common; an Ohio license plate. Why is this a shock, you ask? Glad you asked! They were driving like it was the first time they saw snow! People, we do it ever year, man! C'mon, is it possible that you could just forget year after year after year?! Its painful, really, really, painful.
With that, I beg you... If you can't drive in snow, please stay home for everyones safety and sanity. Thank you.

Weekly Roundup March 5

So it was a painful “morning rush” to work today. The traffic guy on the radio said (and I quote) “better give yourself an extra 30-40 minutes out the door today.” The ice and snow made an encore appearance. It was a blast! No… really, it was (sarcasm). Why do I say this? I plan on trying to ride the snow thing for the entire week if possible. With that friends; The Weekly Roundup!

Let’s Rock…: This week I’ll give YeahDog first dibs at the roundup. Partly because if you know me you know I’m not a cat, or for that matter really a pet in general, person. Partly because I hate stupid people. Partly because it was just too freaking funny to pass up.How Not To Behave In A Museum is a perfect example of why I hate people, and I suppose to a smaller degree cats, OK so I like dogs, but not ankle-biters. Anyway.

50K Loop NS: Bluenoser shares one of his favorite blogs (which I’ll get to in a minute) in Fish And Bikes. It takes us on a journey, and a funny one at that, through a quote that he found on Cozy Beehive.

Cozy Beehive: This blog is one of my daily’s, and Bluenosers. This week one of his journey’s is into How A Clipless Pedal Works. Ron explains the inner mechanical workings of the clippless pedal… and how you can use it to pull a fast one on your friends and enemies.

Fat Cyclist: By far one of my faves out there. I catch up on the (now not so) fat man The Fat Cyclist. Fat Cyclist wrote a post after my own heart, while I now have rollers (and am getting OK at riding them) I really hate the idea of riding a bike inside. That’s exactly what All In Your Mind is about. It’s an enlightening tidbit on why Fatty thinks that he hates rollers and overall riding indoors, and why I need a mountain bike desperately.

Bike Snob NYC: Finally, this week the Bike Snob chimes in with some humor. Tuesday Fun Quiz was just what I needed to break up the chaos that was my Tuesday hell. Fair warning though, the “NSFW” part… yeah, is in fact not safe for work.

As usual, I’m the Phun Cyclist, you stay classy Cleveland.

Snow II

This is going to suck for a couple of reasons. The first of which is I've been up working polls in Ohio since 5:00AM. The second is it's not quite 11:00 PM and I just got home. The third is unlike Bluenoser, we did not gain 16º in 24 hours. On the contrary, we were at 64 for a high yesterday, downright balmy really. Today, on the other-hand, we were a whopping 30º! Thats not the best part, this is the best part. Not impressed? Let me fully explain. This is what was left after I spent five solid minutes just trying to get my door to open in the first place, broke two ice scrapers, spent roughly an hour to try to clean my car and finally just gave up. This was the freezing rain storm that came through at about 6:30 PM in Northeastern Ohio, and gave a solid 1/2 inch coating of ice by 7:30. The aftermath looked about like
.
Bottom line: let me apologize once again for the lack of substance. Due to the lack of any real network in my home it's kinda been lame. This added to it stinks. Weekly roundup will come tomorrow, but it will be in the late afternoon. Please bear with me, if you will, and I'll make it up... promise!

Snow

Man, I can't wait for things to settle down. For example:
Cycling: How in the heck am I supposed to get in any good rides when it's constantly snowing, freezing, raining, freezing and snowing again? Not just any kind of snow but kind of snow. The foot plus in about six or eight hours snow. I mean seriously, how the heck am I supposed to ride with that? I suppose I could get a Pugsley. But I have a moral problem having a bike that has car tires on it, I think.
Network: Yeah, the network is still down. As you know there was a problem with a misplaced magnet and a non-shielded wireless router. It sucks! I depend on my laptop for work. OK, that's a half-truth. I plan on sitting on my ass working from the couch over the weekend and couldn't. Positive side: I did manage to get the desktop up and on the net this weekend so I was able to work from my desk. Negative side: You're stuck with this crap again. Lesson: Magnets+routers=crappy weekend!
On a positive note, the wife signed up to do "Beauticontrol". Not really doing it as much as she's doing it for the discount and a couple of friends who will buy from her. Not important except to say that she bought this "Therma Del Sol" stuff.
Best stuff ever. It's a crazy strong peppermint bath soak, so I soaked in it this weekend... it made my entire weekend. Now I just need to get to the chiropractor and/or masseuse.
How am I doing?: Better than most, not as well as some.

Still Sucking After All Of These Days

My days are continuing to suck. Allow me to apologize now for the lack of a real Friday post, but I still have no network at the house. I'll make it up over the weekend or something, I promise. I love you! (smooch) Sorry, was that too pushy?
Thanks in advance for your understanding and feel free to browse my favorites in the right hand sidebar.

I have to apologize for how much this sucks today. I honestly don't even know where to begin, and I'm sure that even what I say will only graze the kind of day, nay week, I am having. Actually I can promise it will barely graze the kind of week I am having. And to make matters worse I really want to ride, outside, and not have a foot and a half of snow since last night. Ugh.
Ever have "one of those days"? You know the type, even though it's not Monday the...
"looks like somebody's got a case of the Muhndays" days.
Yeah, well I'm there. The kind of day you wish your brain was an Etch-A-Sketch so you could just turn your head upside down, shake it, and have it just go blank. The kind of day where you realize that for all of the work you've wanted to get done, you've actually got about 3% of it done, and it's Wednesday. The kind of day where you deal with your local cable company (not a huge fan of formerly Adelphia, now Time Warner but it's all I gots in my area) for about an hour-thirty only to find out that after getting pissed off by them that it was a magnet shielding issue+router=SUCK! Yeah, like...
kind of suck. for those of you keeping track, that makes two strikes. You know how they say things can only get better? Let's just hope so. In fairness though, I'd sum up things as not as well as some, better than most? That sounds about right, just trying to keep positive. I'll try to be happier Friday, OK?

Weekly Roundup February 27

Yeah, it’s Cleveland… and it’s February… and it’s a constant 20º high, snow, ice, sleet, more snow, melting snow, rain, wind, more ice, and (yup) snow! I guess I’m not the only one with this problem though, with that friends; The Weekly Roundup!

Let’s Rock…: I have to, first, apologize for not throwing love at what is arguably one of my favorite blogs to read. I guess knowing that Yeahdog is out of Chicago I feel a sort of bond that I’ll call “The Hell’s Of Lakefront Weather”. Anyway, Reflections On ½ A Season Of Winter Biking is a fun little post that talk about her love of the winter, and her looking back on it being like this all her life. She says it gives her street cred, I think it’s just crazy, yeah I’m a wimp… and I don’t have an appropriate winter bike, just saying.

Miles And Madness: Another blog I’ve recently added to the “Quiver-O-Blogs”. The first sentence of 14 says it all “It was supposed to be sunny with a high of 38 which is nice running weather. They lied. Not only was it cloudy but as soon as I headed out the door it started snowing.” Yup, it’s winter in Ohio, Cleveland is worse though. She also had me at Yum.

50K Loop NS: Where to start. Bluenoser throws in an appropriately weather related blog about the ToC. In case you missed it ToC. Is a humor filled take on how crappy the weather was at the Tour of California (or should I say Tour deee California?) which wreaked havoc on the riders. Also had a great rip on Cipollini.

Cozy Beehive: An added Cipo rip can be found at Mario Cipollini’s Bikes: Cracking The Code. Ron does his best to crack the mysteries that are the new bikes of “Super Mario” Cipollini.

Bunny Hop Rockstar: Where do I even start with John? I think he may have lost it with this one, but I also think it was a riot. My wife and I laughed till it hurt, without further adieu Nothing To Do With Cycling.

As usual, I’m the Phun Cyclist, you stay classy Cleveland.

The Truth... Hurts?

This one was just too good to pass up. Those of you who know me well, or I guess since I started the blog anyone who's been a fairly active reader of Cycling Phun, know that I lost my father some years ago now to cancer. A very large part of his cancer was due, quite probably, to the fact that he was a half-pack to two-pack a day smoker depending on what was going on in his life at the time. So I think it goes without saying that I really hate cigarettes, really. I saw this and my wife and I laughed our asses off. I laughed so hard I almost cried. With that, I plucked this one from the guys at thetruth.com, enjoy!

An Ode To Tiramisu

Whilst talking to my wife this weekend I came to, what I thought was, a brilliant realization. I could almost completely live on Tiramisu. Egg yolk, sugar, mascarpone, espresso, dark rum, lady fingers, bittersweet chocolate and cocoa powder all come together in the orgy of joy that is Tiramisu. Definitely NOT lowfat, or Adkins, or on any diet for that matter, but quite possibly a perfect food. The only way to enjoy it more is with a glass of dark rum, straight up, chilled glass. Now, I will agree that you probably couldn't eat Tiramisu every single day, so I figure you can alternate between Tiramisu and Cassatta Cake. For those who may not know of the Cassata that I speak of, I am referring to the following. Layer of an Italian pound cake, soak in rum, cover with a cream and sheep milk ricotta, layer in strawberries, more cake (I suppose you could throw in rum if you wanted again), and frost. Again, excellent served with a glass of rum. Let me take one of my famous sidebars to say I prefer scotch, but that's neither here nor there. Wow... I'm realizing two very important things here. One, I may have a problem with alcohol, and two I need to keep my butt out of Little Italy.

An Open Letter From Lance

Those of you who know me know that I totally want to kick the crap out of cancer, what you might not know is I am also buried on any given day with politics or advocacy. That's only important in this sense, I'm no doctor, so that's out. I'm no chemist, that too is out. What I feel I can do, and what everyone out there could and should do is this; we need to band together with time and money to kick cancers ass! I think a lot of people want to do a lot more that they do for causes they feel passionate about but they don't. Furthermore a good portion of the time it's not their fault, they just don't know where to start and how to go about making change happen. If you want to help make a difference, know that it could be as simple as $5.00 to a cause, or an hour of time, or even 15 minutes to write a letter to your government officials to share what is important and on your mind. If you are interested in contacting your officials is it very easy o find out how to reach them online, heck drop me a line in my contact me in the upper right hand corner and I'll help. It doesn't take a lot to make a difference!
A big part of what sparked this is a form letter I got today from the LAF Folks, here it is (below) please take a minute to read it, and check out their site LiveStrong.org

Right now, the nation's eyes are on Texas, Ohio, Pennsylvania and several other states that have not traditionally played a deciding role in presidential primaries. In my hometown of Austin, the airwaves are flooded with commercials, the candidates are everywhere, but what's missing is an honest dialogue about how to fight cancer.

Yesterday, I was convinced we had done enough to start that dialogue at the Democratic debate. I submitted an op-ed to the Austin American-Statesman: Armstrong: Candidates, Texans have spoken: We care about cancer. The LIVESTRONG Army took to the streets. I called in every favor I could think of.

Yet despite our efforts, here in my own city – where my Foundation is headquartered, where thousands have turned out to support our cause – we still weren't able to get the candidates to tell us what they'd do about cancer.

I said a year ago that I was getting impatient, and now I've flat out had enough.

I've had enough of the media and candidates ignoring the 560,000 Americans who will lose their lives to cancer this year. I've had enough of the blatant disregard for the nearly 12 million cancer survivors alive today and the challenges that they still face. I've had enough with a government that says cancer is a problem but won't fund the necessary research to make any real advances.

I've had enough, and I need your help.

If you are getting this email we know that (1) cancer has affected you in some way and (2) you live in a state that has yet to vote. I need you to help me get the candidates on the record. Flood their rallies, attend their debates, overwhelm their town halls and ask them one of these questions:

"What would you do to decrease cancer deaths in this country?"

"Would your administration be in favor of a national ban on smoking in public places?"

"If elected President, would you work to significantly increase funding to the NCI and CDC?"

Let's get the dialogue going.

LIVESTRONG,

Lance

American VS English

*This is a tribute to my buddy in blogging Bluenoser. In appreciation of his added vowels and “eh’s”. He dropped me a line and spelled favor, “favour” and ended a sentence with “eh”. He’s Canadian, and it got me to thinking about a couple of things that we in America have sort of botched. I still think you guys up there have it right up there bro!

American vs. English – A while back I said I was going to talk about the things I think Americans have sort of corrupted. This is going to be a quick soapbox about where I think we have it all wrong. I want to preface this by saying that I love the US, and I mean no disrespect or ill feelings toward the US. I live here, I think for the most part it’s a great place to live, and we have a huge number of freedoms. With that said there are some things we ruined, I think we have a tendency to ruin things sometimes. With that, I give you my soapbox.

Cars:
Subaru, Audi, Porsche (I could go on but digress) vs. Chevy, Ford, Chrysler. Need I say more?

Football:
I’m just going to say it once. In America we play a botched game of Rugby. In England and all over Europe they play football.

Finally, Language:
So the other day I got into this argument at work. I made the statement “we speak American”. I made this statement quite intentionally and by no means incorrectly, in my mind. You see, in my humble opinion we, in America, don’t really speak English any more. I say that because I think, and you can correct me if I am wrong, we have ruined the English language. Therefore I would like to propose that from this point forward we call what we speak what it is, American. Furthermore look at our spelling. Two, too, too. Or what about know, and no? Know and now? It’s just insanity!

Weekly Roundup February 20

I’m still too disappointed in the contest results, and thus a bit too peeved to really write. With that I give you, The Weekly Roundup!

Fat Cyclist: Fatty gets me ticked off with his post, Exclusive! Details Of Shimano’s Acquisition Of Pearl Izumi. You may be asking yourself “but why would you be ticked off?” I’m glad you did, I now have nothing for tomorrows post. That’s right, he beat me to the punch! To make matters worse, it’s a freaking riot!

50K Loop NS: Bluenoser wrote a really interesting post recently looking at a side of cycling I think few ever think about. Kids is about that, a story about kids and their interest in bikes. A throwback to the simpler times, and how important a childs bike is to the child, and a touching wish to his recently married daughter. Class act Thomas!

Cozy Beehive: This is why I totally would feel weird riding a carbon fiber bike. Dubious Frame Cracks is a quickie about the cracks that are showing up a little too frequently to be coincidental. For a longer, but equally cool read, Kano Diagram Applied To Cycling is a good read covering Kano in relation to cycling goods and service.

Bike Snob NYC: BSNYC alerts us of another sign of the apocalypse is upon us in Apoca-Watch Update. Everything from Cipollini’s return to cycling, to the ghost bike, and finally the Apocalyptic Horsemen update.

Well that’s all I got folks, I’m the Phun Cyclist, you stay classy Cleveland.

Cyclepassion Giveaway

Wow, Valentines was truly a sad, sad day. I don't know where to start with my disappointment of the entries in the Valentines Day Cyclepassion Giveaway (AKA: The VD Giveaway). First off let me start by explaining the later "AKA". I was working on limited space on a dry erase at work, and wrote "HAPPY VD!" Yeah, I know... and no, I didn't catch the faux pas, at first anyway... and yes, I did at some point catch it and erase it... and no, I did not have a sexual harassment charge brought up on me. OK, enough of that.
Anyway, for those of you paying attention to the Thursday blog, I ran a "tell me your best Valentines story win Cyclepassion stuff" contest. I think the best story I got was Harp making lobster for his lady. I say that very loosely, since it turned into a debate between him and Bluenoser about lobster vs. snow crab ending in Judi's comment that her cyclist boyfriend did the big squadoosh for her. I felt bad at first, but after finding out he had (what based on her blog) sounded like some suspect dental surgery the day before.
Long story short is this; I think that I am obligated to give the three of them prizes based on the fact they were the only ones who posted. Further I can't decide if Harp should win for doing the lobster or Judi should win for playing nurse. So I think this is how it will go down; one calendar & two posters later I'll give the calendar to Judi (for her or her boyfriend) since playing nurse is pretty sweet and totally unselfish. Harp will receive the Rita poster, and Bluenoser will receive an Emilia (the poster, not the woman... I'm not THAT good). If anyone cares to drop a BS card on me for my decision I will take submissions for appeal until this Thursday, at which time I will be readying the items to send. Likewise, I need Judi, Harp and BN to use the contact me to get me their mailing addresses. Here's hoping the next contest goes a wee bit better, right?
-Don

Weekends Suck

They really do. That's not to say there aren't good things about weekends, but there are parts that just suck! For example, all wee I work, I eat relatively well, not much, drink buckets full of water at a time. Weekends however I don't fare so well. I have taken to swimming again for the winter, and I'm desperately trying to get the hang of the rollers to a point where it is effective as a form of exercise. The problem in this whole equation is as follows:
Weekends are made for grazing. There I said it. Weekends have way too much free time in them. Especially in the winter, ya know when you really don't need an excuse to just not do a thing anyway. So it's easy to pull out the excuse book and say "It's too cold", "It's an ice storm", "Too rainy and cold", etc. Add into that it makes the average person crave comfort food, and the fact that I swear I have Seasonal Effective Disorder (depression brought on by the shortened days), and a wife who is a great cook, throw in the fact I love to cook and (to a large extent eat what my wife and I cook) love to eat what we cook it all adds up to disaster.
A perfect example of this; I got in (a minimal) ride on the rollers, and then preceded to go for a nice swim... After having Southwestern Potato Pancakes. Or tonight's dinner of the single best homemade spaghetti, garlic rolls, and caesar salad that my wife has ever made. Did I mention that we polished a bottle of wine and some Great Lakes Brewing Company Conway's Irish Ale? I swear that I'm going to be up, like, ten pounds tomorrow.
With that said I need to be able to ride, outdoors, not on a road bike (again I remind you if the snow and ice situations). There is only one solution to this situation; I must acquire a mountain bike, and soon. Hmmmm, I think I just might know where to get a sweet deal too!
The craptacular mountain bike (of doom?).

I'm Giving Away More Stuff... Cyclepassion Stuff, Get It?

<<<<< ADDED 2/15/2008>>>>>
I will keep this open through the weekend, and decide he winners on Monday! So PLEASE leave your stories in the comments and I will choose winners Monday, Thanks!
<<<<<<<<<<<>>>>>>>>>>>

Get it? Cycle P-A-S-S-I-O-N, like "il mio amore, yearn per il vostro amore", like Vallentines Day (any want to critique my Italian?). Anyway it is VD, uh that's just not right, Valentines Day and what better way to show passion on Vallentines Day? Your absolutely right! I'm giving away more Cyclepassion swag! *courtesy of Anke and the crew over at Cyclepassion* So I kept kicking around just what would be the perfect way to give away scantly clad women (and men) on posters (and a calendar) on Valentines Day. Here's what I came up with:

Guys- first off let's admit it, if you have a special someone in your life you (like me) are probably luck she hasn't had the sense to run while she could. Think about it; we're guys, we think like guys, we act like guys, and if you ride probably spend way more on yourself than you do on you lady. Need I go further?

Women- You guys put up with us, for that I'll cut you a break. Im going to make this easy on you. As far as the Calendar and posters, hey... they are what they are. you get the calendar there are some guys in it, mind you not many, but it's tasteful and artsy, right? If you're not into it yourself, give it to the guy in your life, I have a feeling he'll like it.

OK, with that I want stories! What (guys) was the most romantic thing you did for the lucky lady in your life. I'll give bonus points if it involves bicycling (since thats what the blog is generally speaking about), and double points if it's something I could later use to impress the lady in my life, cause I'm probably going to steal the idea. Lady's you could go the "most romantic thing my significant other did for me" route, or the most romantic thing you've done for them. (*Guys if you complain enough I'll entertain what your other did for you as well, at minus 3 points, got it?)

Well, I hope you get the gist of the contest, again:
The most romantic thing you've done for a significant other, or your other has done for you.
I will employ the assistance of my wife, and my "mushy friends" (again that doesn't sound right either) who are into romance to pick one grand prize winner for the 2008 Cyclepassion Calendar, and three runners-up will each get one Cyclepassion Poster.

Well that's it folks, leave your entries in the comments, guys you may want to read comment for tonight, and the winners will be chosen and announced very soon.

Happy Valentines Day! Thanks for reading, and good luck!

Weekly Roundup February 13

I find it hard to believe that it’s already week two of February. I’m thinking it might be time to do something insane and impulsive, but more on that another time. For now I’d like to point out that tomorrow is Valentines Day! For any beautiful women who might be interested I am accepting gifts, a size 17 is perfect, hardtail, 29er if it’s not asking too much. Nah, the wife won’t mind. You know, she’s cool and… Oh, sorry, bit of a sidetrack, with that friends; The Weekly Roundup!

Cozy Beehive: Quickly becoming a favorite blog of mine. This week Ray does up a really nice three parter on a Princeton University mechanical engineering student / Espoir National Time Trial Champ who is working on a practical racing bike made of bamboo. Bamboo Natures Composite Part 1, Part 2, & Part 3 follow through some of the buildups they have done, and their findings. I really can’t do this justice in the limited space here, you just need to go and read it.

Fat Cyclist: Along a similar line, Fatty chimes in this week with I Am Not Impressed By Your Wooden Bike. A story about a 16 year-old boy and his homemade wooden bike. In the post Fatty points out the severe flaws to his design, missing pieces, weight issues and on and on. Further Fatty points out the materials the he himself has made bikes out of. It really is a hugely funny read.

50K Loop NS: My brother from another mother up in Nova Scotia puts in his two cents with Where Are All The Mountain Bikers?. Apparently I don’t need to BUY a mountain bike, they are just left around for the riding, hmmff, something I did not know, but fascinating! A good read once again from Bluenoser.

Bike Snob NYC: BSNYC brings yet another best of, er… worst of, Craigslist NYC Crap! Worst Of Craigslist Bike Ads #46-#50 is your typical crap-fest of high quality poo! More Pista’s, track bikes with top tube bars, hubs, hubs, and more hubs, potatoes, and the “stealth street rocket”!

Well as usual, I’m the Phun Cyclist, you stay classy Cleveland.
*By the way, someecards rocks.

Craigslist Strikes Again, And Again, And Again...

So for years now I’ve been a huge fan of Craigslist. OK, not really, but it does make for an interesting read, seriously. Today I hark back to a great little post this weekend. You know, typical weekend at Craigslist:
Bike, crappy bike, some free pallets (recycle or firewood), formula, some spare bike parts, dudes wife, moped, antiquated Apple printer.
What? Wife? Oh, yeah… some dude has his wife on Craigslist. Not just has his wife on Craigslist, but has her listed in the “free” section. For real! OK, you don’t believe me… Well, I guess I’m glad I got a screen shot of it then before they removed it! (click it to pop to bigger picture)
Check it out for yourself if you don't believe me. Hmmmff, you don’t believe me.

Also one more time we have the re-listing of the craptacular mountain bike (of doom?). (You can click it if you really WANT to pop to a bigger picture)
That’s right folks, this polished turd apparently didn’t sell the first time, maybe on account the bar ends?! Regardless of why, it’s back on the market so don’t miss it this time!

Finally, I will come up with SOMETHING to do for a contest THURSDAY! Thats right folks, I will give away the Cyclepassion 2008 Calendar and posters! I will have three more posters and one calendar to give away, so be on the lookout Thursday. In case you forgot what the look like check em out at the Cyclepassion Store.

The Question Of Cars And Bikes

The question of car/bicycle or bicycle/car safety has come up quite often in the past. It’s actually come up recently for that matter. This weekend Fatty posted Both Sides Of The Windshield, a flashback and follow-up to a previous post called An Open Letter To The Passenger In The Green SUV Who Screamed As He Went By Yesterday. Also, there was a recent How To Avoid The Bummer Life post called Excuse Me While I Get Up On This Thing, that in combination got me digging around for other posts on the subject. Reading further posts on said, as of yet unmentioned, subject got me wanting to take up a soapbox of my own. Those of you who truly know me well know this might prove both difficult and interesting, but I will be keeping politics out of this post, no use for that here.
After reading Fatty’s blog, I thought about how some cyclists might exasperate (to say the least) some drivers. I’ve noticed the guy who blows in between cars, only to blow through a red light and just disregard all semblance of law. I know as a cyclist I’ve seen it and thought, “because of crap like that, I’m getting flicked off on this Saturday’s ride.” I even took it a step further by bringing to mind the following question, one that I’ve been asking myself for a while now:
Is Critical Mass doing more harm than good for cyclists and the sport as a whole.
Now, I’ll give you this; Critical Mass has virtually nothing to do with the sport side and everything to do with the commuting side, but isn’t this logic kind of warped? I mean, CM seems like it’s truly a case of people trying to prove whose proverbial stick is biggest, if you get my meaning. It doesn’t seem like they are really making a difference, unless you call pissing people off and perpetuating road rage making a difference, and I don’t know that it’s the difference I’d want to tie myself to. I will admit, I think the point they're trying to make is a good one, I just think they're going about it all wrong.
I’d love to hear your thoughts on this, as no doubt I’ll probably get some good and bad, but please keep an open mind and try and keep it at least PG13.
Thanks

Spin Sale! (call me fanboy)

Congrats to Spin Bike Shop for another successful year of business, culminating in making the Bicycle Retailer And Industry News Top 100 Retailers of 2008 . Last night they had a great party, showing off all of the 2008 gear, everything was on sale, and the place was packed wall to wall. Odds are pretty good if you live near, you were there, but if not don't fret! The sale is continuing through this weekend. If you're looking for a closeout bike (or any closeout merch for that matter), you'll need to take a trek out to the Lakewood store. If you're just looking for a great deal on tools, clothes, accessories, whatever you can hit Willoughby or Lakewood.
Last night brought the camera along to get picts to share, I took exactly zero pictures, sorry... I did manage to steal the following from John, I've been good at bogarting pictures lately... Hope he doesn't mind.

A Very Public Thank You

Allow me if you would a moment to both thank and express dislike for someone I think of as a dear friend in the blogging world, though I don’t really know him outside of the blogosphere. OK, so not really dislike, but you'll get the sarcastic point as you read. Ya see, the story goes a bit like this.
A while back I was posting about getting a trainer. I was quite anxious for it really, but then had a bunch of people basically talk me out of it. They said I wouldn’t really get into it, and that sometimes people actually walk away from it hating being on a bike afterward. John from my LBS (local bike shop for you outsiders) actually went so far as to suggest I hold out for a basic mountain bike, go figure. Well, long story short I thought that sounded like a good idea. So I was talking about it in a past post and Bluenoser
dropped me a line that he had some rollers to give up after buying a trainer himself. So he recently shipped them to me, and I just know I’m going to wind up regretting this.
Anyway, I just wanted to take a minute to both express my dislike of Bluenoser
for his quest to completely break my tubby ass, and thank him immensely for what I consider to be his hugely amazing generosity. Thanks again BN, that was truly a cool gesture on your part, hopefully we’ll get to ride up in NS someday!
For those of you who are interested in reading a really great, funny, entertaining bike blog, check Bluenosers blog out. It’s called 50K Loop NS, and it’s by far one of the best I’ve read!

Weekly Roundup February 6

Happy Day After Fat Tuesday! I have a limited amount of wit today, due to the workload, but an extreme exuberance due to the Paczki! (POONCH-key) For those of you who don’t know, it’s a Polish thing. As a matter of fact it is THE Polish thing, the one you have on Fat Tuesday. It’s kind of like a jelly doughnut, only filled with jelly, fruit, or custard. Oh, and did I mention delicious? Or that I stole the following picture from Yeahdog? With that friends, The Weekly Roundup!

Fat Cyclist: Let me start by saying first thing to do is go to Super Tuesday, while you’re there, click th ad and check out the info on the LAF site. Once you’ve done that check out Rock Racing Q & A a great look at the wonderment that is the Dope Racing, er, Rock Racing Team. No doping allegations here! Once you’ve done that go to the home page and start from the begining.

Let’s Rock…: This week, my fave female blogger is a bit too political for me. Once again, there is a saving grace, and once again it is PACZKI! If you must deal in politics, at least you get Paczki!

50K Loop NS: I laughed, I cried, ok so I didn’t really cry but I laughed my butt off! Why Two Wheels? is Bluenosers dilemma to understand the seemingly overlapping differences between Trials Riders and Unicyclists. He points out how they seem to know what they are looking for but don’t realize they’re missing the obvious answer.

Cozy Beehive: Everyone pretty well agrees I should’ve been an engineer, but alas I am not. The reason I like Cozy Beehive is that I totally dig his mix of bicycles and engineering. It’s an absolutely fascinating read.

Finally, but arguably more important, the cycling world lost a sort of icon this week in Sheldon Brown. While I was not terribly familiar with Sheldon's life I can say that he touched a lot of people, and certain seemed to live each day to it's fullest. Condolences to Sheldon's family on their loss. You can check out many tributes throughout the web, these are just a few of the sites tributes, listed by site name:

Bunny Hop Rockstar
50K Loop NS
Travels With A Tin Donkey
Bike Snob NYC
Belgium Knee Warmers
Bicycle Diaries
Bicycles And Icicles
Bike Commute Tips Blog
bikelovejones
Chasing Wheels
Ramblings
Human Powered Transport
Kent's Bike Blog
Bike, Chicago!
Roc Bike

One thing is certain, Sheldon was appreciated and loved. In the end, isn't that really what we all want? His legacy will go on for an eternity on the net.

Pimping Burritos & Bicycles

With the talk about team Slipstream Powered By Chipotle ®, I got to thinking. My first thought, which I've expressed in a roundabout sort of fashion is what cyclist in their right mind would eat Chipotle? Fer serrious, I mean isn't that like sacrilege in cycling? Wouldn't that be like a pizza bender, or a Big Mac Attack ® to the average cyclist? So how as a pro team do you justify pimping bikes and burritos? Furthermore, the burritos aren't even arguably healthful burritos. I mean, they're not like a three white, one yolk scrambled egg, no cheese, with a touch of Cholula for taste burrito. They're like full on fat and carbs burritos.
So, you can imagine the chuckle I got when I found this:on the Chipotle site. That's right, a bannered Felt promoting the cycling team. What is the world coming to? Do we really have to ruin all that is good and sacred as a culture, man? Hmm, I'm seriously going to have to expound on that one... later. Seriously, what's next? Oh, on a side note, the do have a somewhat boring but questionably funny game (can you call it that?!) here on their website.

Cycling Phun Phake News: New Teams Edition

04 February 2008
Cycling Phun News Service

As many of you might know, and as reported 8/11/07, Slipstream and Chipotle have got together in sponsorship of a team this year. While one would think this would be a good thing, it’s not. For starters their teams weight gain has increased by a whopping 536%. Why just in the last week two of their riders broke their carbon bikes based on sheer weight. Apparently they have also had some IBS problems due to the insane amount of Tabasco consumption on the team (Please note, Chipotle only serves Tabasco. I prefer Cholula, just saying).
Other problems abound as there is not only continued rumors of Team Hardee’s “Powered By The Monster Burger”, but other rumors are now coming to light. The latest rumor being Team Jack and Diet “Powered by Jack Daniels and Diet Coke”. The rumors may have been substantiated by the following video of what's believed to be their training camp.

So what will happen in 2008? It remains to be seen, but stay tuned and enjoy the ride.

Happy Groundhog Day

Apologies for skipping class yesterday, but as penance I will throw out a very appropriate Saturday post. That's right kids, today is (in a good portion of the world) Groundhog Day! So, Happy Groundhog Day! For those of you who either may not celebrate (I'm told there are a handful of countries that do not), forget the folklore, or just could care less I will give you a brief rundown on the holiday.
Groundhog day is a day where we just short of deify the groundhog (marmot, woodchuck, ground squirrel) for its pseudo-psychic qualities. You see, the fat little booger (the animal not the man) come out of his home in the ground. If the clouds are out he doesn't see his shadow which means winter will soon come to an end. A rave party ensues and the world must repent since God hates raves. You see, God was OK with raves until we blew it in the 90's and turned them into the crappy parties that they became. But I digress, back to the groundhog. If he comes out and sees his shadow, six more weeks of winter ensue. At which point a mob is formed, and said groundhog is turned into meat to later be served at Taco Bell, OK that may be a lie, but it makes for a good story. The funny (ha ha funny) part of the whole story is this; the only reason for a male groundhog to come out this time of year is to hook up with a fine groundhog lady-friend. You see he comes out of his hole in the ground, finds a nice lady, takes her out for a nice dinner, some dancing or a movie, oh, sorry. Right so his love interest is the only thing that would bring him out, then.
And there you have it! The joy that is groundhog day. With that, a picture that I Googled of a large man with a large top hat holding up a large groundhog, enjoy and Happy Groundhog Day!