Cancel It Out

Teammate needed

http://www.bcbikerace.com/

Who wants to be my teammate? It's only an $1800 entry fee.

Fixie Lovin'

Took the Langster out for 1.5 hours. Wasn't quite that cold like yesterday when the computer read 35 degrees in the last half of the ride, but there was some cold wind floating around.

Riding the fixed gear is a blast. I used to have one and I forgot how cool it is. I only had one oh shit moment when I forgot you can't coast. You see, on a fixed gear a funny thing happens when you go to lock your leg at the bottom of the stroke. The rear wheel comes flying of the ground intent on throwing you over the handlebars. I am unsure of the physics behind this, but rest assured it is sphincter clenching experience.

So here I am reaching for my cell in my jersey pocket to check the time and see how much daylight is left when I forget to keep pedaling. So I am in traffic with one hand on the bars and one in my back jersey pocket. I somehow didn't crash and roll underneath a pick-up truck, but I did have to ride through a few front lawns to save it.


Also, for those like me who hate wearing gloves and wait until its is absolutely necessary to preserve your digits, Burt's Bees Hand Salve is perfect. Slap it on your hands before you ride and it keeps your skin from cracking and bleeding. I love the feeling of coming in from a cold ride and your skin bursts into flames as it tries to heat back up. Seriously. I enjoy it. Also I enjoy Burt's Bee's Lifeguard lip balm - it leaves your lips looking like your near death but the wind won't rip them open.


I've also got a good beard going to keep the face warm. It really makes a difference. I also got a great set of Dinotte lights coming tomorrow so when daylight savings is over this weekend, I can ride after work with a little less fear of death.

Blogging is like training

When you interrupt the flow, its hard to get started again. So tonight I will blog once again after I take my new fixed gear out for a spin.

In the meantime:

Gotta play catch up

Got some racing to tell ya'll about and the Misfits concert. I've been sick as hell, but will update soon.

In the meantime read this shit. This is the stuff that scares the hell out of me.

VeloNews article

New Blog

I will be creating a new blog that I will write in, in addition to this one.

The purpose of the new blog will be to raise awareness for the iliac artery problems I experienced as a result of cycling. I will discuss all the tests, surgery(s), follow ups, and complications I have experienced and discuss the various schools of thought and techniques used to combat this issue.

There is a lack of information easily available about this condition and there are lots more people suffering from this than anybody probably guesses. Hopefully I can provide some people with the information and experiences I wish I had a my disposal before going under the knife.

I will try my best to keep the discussion neutral and not bring in all of my emotions around the topic. Once I get some info up there, start clicking and spreading the word.

Sunday Night at the grocery store

So, here we have an infuriating case of HCWDB.



What makes this so infuriating? The headband! WTF? The only white guys who can get away with that are bald, have gigantic arms, or Brett Michaels.

This tool was seen with his trophy wife checking out. They obviously just came back from the gym or a run together. She was really fit and toned, which I was actually impressed by as she looked like the kinda chick that liked to be spoon fed breakfast in bed.

As you can notice in the photo, he suffers from chronic forgetting to also workout my leg muscles cause all chicks see is my arms - itis. I thought this affliction was limited to frat head fucks at Penn State, but I guess it has spread. He stayed in the above position the whole time, making a point to show everyone around he didn't have help his woman with the groceries- thats the bitch's job!

Check it...

http://bikepennst8.blogspot.com/2008/10/lemond.html

Awe of Mountain Biking

I went for a pretty awesome Mountain Bike ride last night at the Lakes. I went around Lake Redman so I could ride trail 7, which is probably the most bad ass trail in the area. It used to be known as the Goat Trail as parts are very narrow, off camber, and very technical with roots and loose rocks. Like the kind of trail you see mountain goats screwing around on and are like, "damn, how do they do that?"

As I am climbing this trail, I think to myself, this is pretty incredible. Its amazing I can actually ride a bike up this shit. I am in awe of the fact that the tires can get enough grip, that the front end will stay on the ground (barely) with how steep it is, that my mind automatically applies the proper body english to keep the bike upright and straight, and that I have the power to muscle up it.

At some point on this trail, you have to go through this tunnel. It is part of the trail and there is no way around it. It goes underneath Route 83. It is about 4 feet high, so you have to get off your bike and walk through it all crouched over. Its also pretty damn long. And dark. And scary.


When I was in 8th grade I first rode this trail with my best friend at the time, Brad. We were out on this trail all alone and come to this tunnel and were scared shitless. We spent a good 20 minutes trying to find the trail that surely went around the tunnel, but no, it didn't exist. So we decided that we would walk through it and I would go first, but he would keep his hand on my back so I knew something didn't eat his ass. About half way through the tunnel we started screaming like little girls and frantically ran like Predator was chasing us.

That tunnel still scares the shit out of me today. So when I went through it last night, I first threw a few rocks in the water to see if anything moved. Then found a big as stick and brought it with me. Its super dark, so you can see what you are walking on and the water is about 8 inches deep. About half way through I still get that damn feeling like something is chasing me. Christ.

I think I'll review my Specialized Stumpjumper 29er next. Why? Cause I am highly critical and hyper-sensitive. Most people think I am crazy, but I really do notice tons of shit most people don't. And I've always wanted to review shit, and if I can't get stuff for free to review, I'll just review my own stuff.

Why Wal Mart Rocks

A lot of people hate on Wal-Mart. But most of the dislike for Wal Mart is very unfounded. Let me just counter a couple popular arguments.

Argument: Wal-Mart's employees don't have insurance. Therefore Wal-Mart is an evil empire.
Counter: Yes, Wal-Mart employees may not have health care, but if it weren't for Wal-Mart, many of the employees would likely not have health care AND NOT have a JOB. Next time you go to Wal-Mart, look around. They hire many people who otherwise would be un-hirable. Like the 400lb morbidly obese lady at customer service whose only job is to sit in a chair. She doesn't even sit behind the service counter! Not to mention the mentally challenged they hire. Find me another company who will hire slow people just to say "Hello" all day long.

Argument: Wal Mart hurts small business.
Counter: You are damn right it does. But the smart companies have learned that you can't "out Wal Mart Wal Mart." So they make a fortune differentiating themselves from Wal-Mart. That's called free market ingenuity and ultimately creates jobs in the end. Plus, the economy as a whole and quality of life of society at large is greater off even with the loss of the small businesses Wal- Mart puts out. This is partly because of the previous argument- people who, without Wal-Mart, would be jobless now have jobs and purchasing power - and partly because Wal-Mart affords people a quality of life they otherwise would not have.

Case in point - a little while ago I was at WalyMart and I overheard this very hard lived looking man say to his friend, "You see WalyMart has computers now? I always wanted one of them there computers, but I never could afford one before. But now I can!" You could tell this dude has lived a hard, hard life. And it nearly brought a tear to my eye when I heard the joy in his voice over this.

And, Wal-Mart creates tons of jobs. Not only at the stores they open, but since they have such great purchasing power, they enable the manufactures of products to produce more products and therefore hire more people. Wait, whats that you say? All the products are made in China so it doesn't help create jobs here? WRONG! Someone has to import, inventory, store, and distribute all the merchandise here in the States. It hires truck drivers, forklift operators, importers, warehouse owners, etc. etc. etc.

Bottom line: If you hate Wal-Mart, its probably because you are well off enough to be in a position to hate Wal-Mart and shop elsewhere. Count your lucky stars.

Potted Meat

Instead of racing this past weekend, I helped Kat move into her new apartment outside NYC.

We stopped in at the local Dollar Store to stock up on some low cost essentials. I tell you what, that is one scary place. I tried in vain to find sugar fags. Seem the only place that has them anymore is Five Below.

Anyway, I did find the following gems:


We also saw this odd fellow at the grocery store. Too bad I couldn't manage a frontal shot, but the creature sports a mohawk, UnderArmour shirt, and giant football padded pants.


From a turnpike rest stop. When you don't someone pissing in a urinal, might as well advertise your tasty uric acid aroma McGriddles!

Buffet Knows Trickle Down Economics is Bullshit...

"Speaking at a $4,600-a-seat fundraiser in New York for Senator Hillary Clinton, Mr Buffett, who is worth an estimated $52 billion (£26 billion), said: “The 400 of us [here] pay a lower part of our income in taxes than our receptionists do, or our cleaning ladies, for that matter. If you’re in the luckiest 1 per cent of humanity, you owe it to the rest of humanity to think about the other 99 per cent.”

Mr Buffett said that he was taxed at 17.7 per cent on the $46 million he made last year, without trying to avoid paying higher taxes, while his secretary, who earned $60,000, was taxed at 30 per cent. Mr Buffett told his audience, which included John Mack, the chairman of Morgan Stanley, and Alan Patricof, the founder of the US branch of Apax Partners, that US government policy had accentuated a disparity of wealth that hurt the economy by stifling opportunity and motivation."

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/money/tax/article1996735.ece

National Priorities

http://www.nationalpriorities.org

Go there and play around on the site. You can take a look at the cost of the Iraq war or the Bailout plan among others specific to your state or community and then choose a trade off, or what the money could have bought instead.

For example:
http://www.nationalpriorities.org/tradeoffs?location_type=1&state=42&program=577&tradeoff_item_item=280&submit_tradeoffs=Get+Trade+Off