Thursday, September 30, 2010

Undecided





Yeah, I’m talking about the Tree Shaker again. The more I think about it, the more confused I get. I’ve already listed the pros and cons, so now I just have to make up my mind. I received a few comments, e-mails, and had in-person discussions, but I still don’t know what to do. After riding at night last week, I know that I would definitely enjoy some night ridin’.



Go the hell away, David Hasselhoff. I’m not talking about you.


Anyway, aside from the night riding, why else would I even consider riding for 12 hours on my mountain bike? The same reason I get up and take a leak first thing in the morning: I pretty much have to do it. After so many races ending in failure this season, I kind of need to redeem myself. Since this is pretty much the last race of the season, I guess I should go all out and punish myself. So yeah, less redemption and more punishment. I kind of like the sound of that. I couldn’t think of any worse punishment, unless I tried to put noodles in the water fountain:




Last year, while I “raced” on a three-man team, I learned a lot about myself. I learned that I didn’t like sitting around for most of the race waiting for the rest of my team to do their laps. It left me with too much idle time that I filled with beer drinking. While I did enjoy sharing that experience (and the beer) with my teammates, I would much rather have been on the bike the whole time. I can rest whenever the hell I want this year, so what’s stopping me? Maybe I can take a big lunch break and a nap between laps. I’ll have to bring my pic-a-nic basket though:



I even had a discussion with the MadSS this past weekend about it. He’s going for his first solo 12 as well, so I listened carefully. Well, actually the only part I really remember is the fact that he said we should take a break in the middle of the race and grill some steaks. I said something to him about bringing the beer, so it sounds like we have a race strategy. His I guess that’s reason enough right there to go for the whole enchilada.


Well, I guess I’ve made up my mind. Or have I? Magic 8 Ball, what say you?



Shit. I guess I’ll concentrate and ask again later.

Wednesday, September 29, 2010

Rainy Day


How do you know when it’s raining cats and dogs? You step in a poodle. (Thank you folks, I'll be here all week.)


Yeah, it’s that kind of day. After over a month of no rain, we’ve been hit with a shitload of the wet stuff around here in Charlotte. I guess we need it though, especially since the trails have been dry and dusty for far too long. The sad news is, I haven’t been on my bike in a few days. I got a chance last Saturday to go mountain biking at Sherman Branch, and Sunday of course I got in a few miles on the road bike during Little Miss Sunshine’s triathlon. That’s not nearly enough for me.


Tonight was supposed to be another night ride at the U.S. National Whitewater Center, but I can’t do that for reasons other than the fact that there is rain falling from the sky. Yes, I’ve had yet another mechanical-type setback. Back before I went tubeless, I suffered many flats (the main reason I converted to tubeless.) One of those flat tire times I kept riding, which caused a little damage to the tire bead that I knew would come back to bite me in the ass.


On my trip to The Big Sherm da udda day, my fears were realized near the end of the trail when I heard the sound of air leaving my rear tire. Shit. After a close inspection, I saw that the air was escaping from the area between the bead and the rim, which wouldn’t stop no matter how much Stan’s fluid flowed through in a vain attempt to plug the leak. I ended up walking out, which wasn’t bad since I was close to the exit. Even though I was equipped with a fully loaded Awesome Strap, I didn’t want to waste time and money by putting in a tube and using my CO2 inflator. I’ll save that for my pathetic attempts at racing. The bad part was that I had to find a new tire, and fast.


I called one local shop, but they didn’t stock my favorite tire, the 29er Kenda Small Block 8. They offered up some “similar” tires, but since I have OCD, I can’t run two different tire types on my bike. I stopped in another local shop and they didn’t stock them either. They offered to order one for me, but I can do that just fine by myself. The MadSS even offered up one of his many spare tires to get me going again, but he also knew that I couldn’t accept because of my inability to run two different tires. I decided to peruse the Internets to find a tire that would get here in time for the Tree Shaker 12 Hour Mountain Bike Race.


I used The Google, and I was overwhelmed with the search results. Just then, I remembered that I had been wanting to try to order something from the folks at Bike29, especially since I’ve heard a few good things about them. Also, Little Miss Sunshine had made one of her almost-famous “Genital Non-Displaying Devices” for the proprietor, George, so at least I wouldn’t get anyone’s junk residue on my new tire. After finding the tire on their website, I clicked the order button and waited. The next day I received this e-mail:

Bike 29

The comments for your order are:

We are currently out of the country, and will not be processing any orders until we return on October 1st. Thanks for you patience.

Your order has been updated to the following status.

New status: Processing

Please reply to this email if you have any questions.


Damn. It’s my own fault though. I regularly read their blog, and I remembered that they mentioned this a while back. I’ll survive though, since the tire will still arrive in time for me to mount it up for the Tree Shaker. The bigger problem though, is that I won’t be able to ride my big wheels until then. I may have found a used tire locally (Small Block 8 of course), but there could be some logistical issues with me picking it up. I guess that means I’m still searching, and hopefully I’ll find something in the meantime.


I have faith in the folks at Bike29, so when the new tire gets here it will be replacing whatever used piece of shit I temporarily put on my bike. It will all work out in the end I’m sure. When it’s all said and done, I’ll have a spare tire in case this happens to me again, and I’m sure it will. Half the shit I talk about around here has to do with my equipment malfunctions, so I wouldn’t wanna change that, would I?


See you tomorrow for more mindless drivel.

Tuesday, September 28, 2010

Ramblin’ Rose Report




Sunday was the big day for Little Miss Sunshine. She competed in her first triathlon, the Ramblin' Rose here in Charlotte (actually Huntersville, but whatever.) For once, we all got up early to go to an event that wasn’t about me, and it was a nice change of pace. We left the B-43 Compound (not so) bright and early, and she was ready to race:



When we got on the scene, it was wall to wall people. With over 1200 women competing in this event, things looked pretty confusing. Little Miss Sunshine eventually made her way over to the transition area, and searched through the maze of race gear to find her spot. It wouldn’t be easy:



After a short while, she found her spot (the transition area was setup according to the participant’s bib numbers.) She set up her transition area just as we planned, and it looked like she was ready:



We looked around the area, and spotted a familiar sight. The wife of the Chili Man had set up her area as well, and she appeared to be just as prepared:



After setting up, we looked around for the Chili Man and his family. We spotted him in the crowd, so we hung out with them for a while:



Notice that he had a secret weapon to help his wife in her first-ever triathlon:


Yeah, only a real man can carry a Barbie doll around and look cool doing it.

We headed inside to the pool area, and waited for the swim to start. What we found was an even bigger crowd:



The overpowering smell of nervous, sweaty bodies and chlorine was everywhere. We waited for Little Miss Sunshine to get into the pool to start her swim. They started according to bib number, so at number 464 she had to wait a little while. She eventually got into the pool and prepared to swim:



Once she got the signal, she was off:



She’s usually a pretty good swimmer, but I think her nerves got the better of her. She struggled a bit, but she was still doing okay. I can relate since I have also been known to panic when I swim during these types of events. I’m sure she was just trying to get through it just to get to the bike leg, where she was sure to excel. She exited the pool and headed over to the first transition:



After a quick transition (we practiced a lot), she grabbed her bike and headed out:



This is the part where I became more than just a spectator. I had brought along my bike, so I quickly hopped on my bike as soon as she left. I hammered away on the road, riding the course backwards so I could find a spot about halfway through to get some good photos. My effort paid off when I spotted her coming down a long hill:



I hopped back on my bike, and hammered some more to catch up. She was pedaling her ass off, so it was all I could do to get back to her. I whipped out the camera when I saw her again, and she showed no signs of letting up:



I put the camera away, and took off again. After shouting a few words of encouragement, I passed her and headed back to the transition area. I had to work really hard to get back there before she did, since she was really putting it down on the bike course. It all paid off when I arrived just in time to get the camera out and snap this photo of her coming up the hill to T2:



She got into the transition area and quickly parked her bike and changed into her running attire. Then it was off on the run portion:



After a making the two-mile run look easy, she approached the finish line:



She did it, and I was proud. She completed two of her goals, which were to finish, and also to do it in under one hour. I know the clock on the photo above says 1:44, but that was the overall time (she didn’t start until over 45 minutes after the event started.) She was so happy to finish:



Since the better half of the Chili Man started well after Little Miss Sunshine, I was able to capture her out on the course as well. Since she reads this crappy blog from time to time, I figured I would post up a few photos of her up here too. Here she is coming back from the bike leg:



And also coming in for the finish, with her youngins running in with her:



With so many people participating, I was amazed at how well put together this event was. Everyone seemed to have a good time. All of the women had smiles on their faces, even though some of them were having to tough it out. I’m really proud of Little Miss Sunshine and Tara (Mrs. Chili Man) for completing their first triathlon. Hopefully there will be many more in their future. Way to go ladies.

Friday, September 24, 2010

Weekend Junk




Since I didn’t really do shit last night, all I have to talk about today is what I’m doing this weekend. Well, actually it’s not even about what I’m doing. This weekend is more about Little Miss Sunshine and Lunchbox than it is me, and I’m quite okay with that. We’ll start with Little Miss Sunshine I guess.





Yup, she’s doing her first triathlon, the Ramblin' Rose. It’s a women-only triathlon and according to the website, “it is a celebration of empowerment of women.” The event consists of a 250 meter pool swim, 9 mile bike and 2 mile run. The series offers three events at different locations in North Carolina, but since we live in Charlotte, she’ll be doing this one:


Ramblin Rose Charlotte
Sunday, September 26, 2010
8:00am
Huntersville Family Fitness and Aquatic Center
Huntersville, NC



I’m really glad she’s doing this. In fact, I’ve been hoping that she would get into triathlons because she’s already doing the three events on a regular basis. She swims more than I do, rides her bike all the time, and has competed in several running events already. She’s more than ready to tear it up in her first ever tri, and I’m pretty proud of her. In fact, I fully expect that she could get on the podium if everything goes as planned. However, she does share the same mechanic as I do, so maybe we should cross our fingers.


There will be a lot of people there to support her, inclduing myself, Lunchbox, The Dirty Party Cycle, the Mom of Little Miss Sunshine (making a special trip here from way up near the Arctic Circle), and a host of other friends and aquantances. As an added bonus, the Chili Man’s better half will be there competing in her first triathlon as well. This should be a fun day, and I wish them the best of luck. With over 1200 people registered, it will be a huge event (and plenty crowded I might add.) Hopefully I’ll get out on the course and get some photos.


What else? Well, a couple of weeks ago Lunchbox had a birthday. Even though we celebrated with a nice family dinner, another party is in order. Since his birthday is so close to the beginning of the school year, we usually wait a few weeks to have a party. This year is no exception. We will be having a party for Lunchbox and 10 of his closest friend at a local skatepark, and it looks like even me and The Dirty Party Cycle will be busting out our skateboards for this special occasion. After a long day of cheering on our triathlon competetors, we get to relax with a nice skate session that evening. Should be lots o’ fun. If anything, it will give me something to talk about next week other than the Tree Shaker 12 Hour Mountain Bike Race (which will still see plenty of blog time, trust me.)


By the way, I’m taking Monday off, so if you come here expecting words of wisdom or even a mildly entertaining blog post, you will be shit out of luck. Well, that pretty much sums up every day around here anyway, so at least y’all are used to it. See ya Tuesday.

Thursday, September 23, 2010

I Like To Move In The Night










Check out that dude’s mustache. Awesome. Anyway, this isn’t a post about the Eagles Of Death Metal, although I do enjoy listening to them. No, this is about my preparations for the upcoming Tree Shaker 12 Hour Mountain Bike Race. I haven’t decided whether to do the 6 or the 12 hour version yet, but I figured I should get out and do a little night riding just in case. I headed out to the U.S. National Whitewater Center yesterday right after work, and I planned to do a little riding (including a night lap.)

My first lap out there was just a warm-up so to speak, so that means I didn’t really go all out. I did all of the options though (minus one loop that was closed), and I was feeling mighty fine. I got back to the truck to refill my water bottles, and I waited a bit for the sun to go down. I installed my lights, and prepared for a little night ridin’. Just like my tubeless tire setup, my night riding adventures are setup a little ghetto too. I don’t ride at night enough to warrant one of those big, fancy, expensive light sets, so I used the cheapest option I could find.

Exhibit A:


Yeah, it’s an “economical” helmet light, but it works well. WTF ever.

Exhibit B:



Again, not the best, but it works well. These handlebar-mounted lights were cheap, but the light is pretty bright. By using three different lights, I am able to adjust the angle for each of them individually for optimum light placement on the trail. I’m so damn smart.


Yeah, I know it may appear as if I am cheap (why yes, I am, thank you), but I really don’t give a shit about that. It works well, and that’s all that matters. I’ve been using this setup for the last couple of years, and it hasn’t let me down. I was ready to get on the trail for a little night action:




I was pretty much alone out there. There was a group of riders from one of our local shops, but they took off on the trail before I did. My pace at night is much slower, so I wouldn’t have been able to catch them anyway. I wasn’t going terribly slow though, and I had a blast. Riding at night is so peaceful, and you get to see cool stuff out there:




The moon looked pretty cool, but that photo didn’t do it much justice. I had forgotten how much I love riding in the dark. The trail looks so different, and you really have to pay attention. I only crashed once, but that was because I got a little overzealous on one downhill section. I clipped a tree with my handlebars, flew across the trail and hit my shoulder on another tree, and I was thrown from my bike onto the dark, dusty trail. I giggled at my stupidity, dusted myself off, and kept going.


Aside from that minor incident, I really enjoyed the ride. There were these little frogs everywhere on the trail, and all I could think about was the snakes that were lurking in the dark to hunt them. Also, every time I looked into the woods I kept seeing little red eyes staring back at me. I wasn’t worried at all. In fact, it’s all a part of the rush. I’ve spent plenty of time in the woods in my lifetime, so I was comfortable out there. It was a great way to clear my mind and just enjoy riding my bike. Night riding is so pure, and I wish I could do it more often. Maybe I will.


If I decide to “race” for 12 hours at the Tree Shaker, then I guess I’ll be ready for the night portion of it. If I only do the 6 hour version, then I guess I’ll still probably sneak out for one night lap just because. I’m really leaning towards the 12 hour though, since this riding in the dark shit is so cool. Besides, the more suffering on the bike the better. I’ll see y’all tomorrow with something a little different.






Wednesday, September 22, 2010

I’m Still Awesome




Well, sort of. I haven’t acquired any new skills or stumbled upon any training secrets, but the fact that I’m always rocking my Awesome Straps is good enough. Unlike the pathetic review that I had to do for those other products, you can bet your ass that I’m sincere when I talk about the products from the fine folks at Backcountry Research.


What’s with all of this Awesome talk anyway? Well, by now you all know about the genius invention known as the Awesome Strap and my undying love for it. Since I use it all the time, I’ve decided to experiement with the placement of said Awesomeness. The usual spot is cool and all, but some really smart guy said something about having the weight lower on the frame or something like that (I kind of half read what he said about it.) I figured that this past weekend would be a good time to try something different than the usual:




When I got to Lake Norman State Park da udda day, I grabbed my little bundle of awesomeness and looked for a new location. Even though I ride an XL (22 inch) frame, space is at a premium. I looked for a spot that would be lower, yet stay the hell out of my way while I was riding. After careful thought and consideration (basically closing my eyes and grabbing the frame anywhere), I came up with this:



Here’s a closer look:




That spot seemed to be out of the way enough so as not to interfere with my water bottles, yet it would be secure enough that I wouldn’t have to worry about it. As I rode the trail with the Awesome Strap in its new location, I soon realized that it wasn’t such a good idea. The spot was indeed out of the way, but it kind of interfered with my shifting ability. I didn’t notice it much because I hardly used my gears that day, but eventually it could become an issue when I need to shift a lot. While I am considering making this bike a single speed, it’s not happening for a while ( in due time, my friends.)


Shit. Just when I think I have something, it doesn’t quite work right. That’s kind of how my luck usually goes, so I would be heading back to the drawing board, so to speak. I finished the ride and thought about where I could strap my little Awesome buddy next time.


After looking over the frame a little before my ride at Sherman Branch on Sunday, I realized that there was really only one spot left on my frame (other than giving up and putting it back in the original location.) I noticed a prime piece of real estate on my seat tube, and it was just begging for me to uh, strap it on. Check it:



Again, here’s a closer look:



This was definitely out of the way, didn’t interfere with my shifters, and allowed me to keep the weight really low on the frame. After admiring my work, I took off on the trail to test it out. This time it was a success. It looks like I finally found a new home for the Strap of Awesomeness. It’s very secure down there, and the potential to gather a shitload of mud is probably about the same as it is when it’s strapped to my seatpost. I was happy. No wait, I was Awesome.


So yeah, I’m going on and on about the Awesome Strap, but it’s not some worthless product pimping just for the sake of blogging. I really dig the products from Backcountry Research, so that’s why I never shut up about them. Have you see the new and improved Awesome Straps? They look so kick-ass. Just check out the quote I “stole” from their website:


If your looking for the straps that can be fastened anywhere on your bike; that were purposely designed with relentless grip for securing your goodies when you hammer down ass clapping, high speed technical descents and climb like a scalded goat during epic rides, endurance and multi-day stage races…You found the right place.


Ass clapping. That’s so choice. Anyway, it looks like they will be available soon, so just hang on for a bit longer. I can’t wait to get my grubby mitts on one. If you have one of the current models, then be sure to hang onto it. They are destined to be a classic. Besides, it’s not like you’re gonna wear it out or anything. Just keep rolling with what ya got, and then get some of the new ones when they are available.

Stay Awesome, my friends.






Tuesday, September 21, 2010

Back To The Bike

Since yesterday was a total love fest for beer (nothing wrong with that by the way), I guess I could talk about the riding I did over the weekend. I mentioned that I decided to head up to Lake Norman State Park, and I’m glad I did. After packing up all the beer I obtained in a cooler, I was ready to ride. I got ready and headed out on the trail. I decided I would hit the new Laurel Loop first, since it would be a nice warm-up for the much faster sections in the park.



On the way to the trail entrance, I ran into (not literally) the Space Cowboy as he was finishing up. We realized that next time we should coordinate our efforts to ride and maybe one of us could save a little gas when we head this far out of town. After a brief chat, I headed out to ride, or so I thought. As soon as I hit the trail, I noticed that my rear tire was a little low (I had forgotten to check the air pressure.) Rather than waste one of my Genuine Innovations CO2 cartridges, I decided to head back to the truck to inflate my tire (since I wasn’t that far away from it yet.) As I headed back into the parking lot, the Space Cowboy spotted me and asked, “What did you break this time?” He obviously knows what kind of luck I’ve been having lately. After putting a little air in my tire, I was ready to go again.


When I hit the trail, I felt great. The weather was nice, my legs felt good, and the trail was in superb shape. It was the perfect ride. I took all the corners at full speed, and I had just the right amount of air pressure in my tires (which gave me maximum traction with minimal rolling resistance.) When I finished the Laurel Loop, I headed over to the other loops in the park with the same great results. I managed to finish the ride with no mechanical issues. I quickly headed home to enjoy the mass quantities of beer I had acquired.


Sunday was a little more of the same. I managed to talk Lunchbox into coming along with me for a ride at Sherman Branch. We got to the trail and he was ready to go.


I really gotta get that kid on a 29er.

We met up with our pal Keith and his daughter Madi. They are usual participants of our local Kids Rides, but this was just a fun ride without any other youngins or adults. We rode at a nice, easy pace, and enjoyed yet another beautiful day. The picture taking was at a minimum, but Lunchbox still managed to capture me riding on the big ol’ log skinny:



I returned the favor a little while later after I raced up ahead to get a photo of him riding the trail:



A little ways back, I spotted Keith and Madi riding down the trail:



And we waited so I could get a better shot of them:



I gotta say it was a good weekend. I didn’t do a ton of miles, but it was great to spend pretty much the whole weekend on the bike. I should be busting out a bunch of miles in preparation for the Tree Shaker 12 Hour Mountain Bike Race in a couple of weeks, but I was just riding for fun. Besides, the Tree Shaker will be more fun (and painful) if I don’t actually “train.” I still haven’t figured out whether I’m doing the 6 or the 12 hour, but either way it won’t be easy. This mountain biking stuff is supposed to be difficult anyway.

Monday, September 20, 2010

I Love Beer…

But you probably already know that. I guess I should start from the beginning though. Even though I worked a shitload of hours last Thursday night/Friday morning, I still ended up working almost a full day on Friday. I was able to get out of work a little early though, and I briefly considered grabbing my bike and heading over to on of our local trails for some mountain biking action. On the way home though, I quickly realized that I didn’t have enough energy to even load my bike on the truck, let alone take it out for a spin. Instead, I decided I would get a good nights sleep and try to get out on the bike in the morning.


A strange thing (for me) happened though. I actually slept in a little bit. Even though my phone went off early, I didn’t roll out of bed until after 9:00 a.m. That’s odd for me, especially since the herd of animals we own usually won’t let you sleep past 7:30 (they have to eat for some reason.) When I finally got up, I check my phone and saw that the MadSS had texted me to see where we were riding. I texted him back and told him that I just got up, but I never heard back. Little Miss Sunshine had already made plans to ride with one of her friends and Lunchbox had some skateboarding plans, so that left me on my own to find some place to ride. I decided on Lake Norman State Park, because I figured that I could manage 18 miles of singletrack goodness without killing myself.


I quickly made a plan. Since I was heading up the road and would be passing the town of Mooresville, I decided that I would make a trip to the Carolina Beer Company to fill up some of my growlers for a little post-ride refreshment action. I loaded up the bike, my growlers, and within about 30 minutes I was pulling into the parking lot of the brewery.



It’s been a little while since I visited this lovely place, so I was pretty excited. Usually though, I get to have a seat and sample their many fine beverages. This time I still had to go ride my bike, so I couldn’t drink anything. I would have to wait until later, which was tough. I am very familiar with most of their beers, so I knew what I was getting. They did have a new brew on tap, a nice little Pumpkin ale that I was told is delicious. I took the brewery worker’s word for it and had them fill up my jugs full o’ beer:



Everyone in that place looked at me like some kind of town drunk when I walked in carrying four empty growlers to be filled. That changed on the way out though, when I heard several people say, “That’s a good idea. Beer to go.” It was a good idea indeed, since it only cost me $22 for almost 2 gallons of beer. What a deal. Check it:



Since I do in fact love beer, I’ll skip the riding part of my day (until tomorrow no doubt) and tell you all about it. I filled up one of the bottles with Strawberry Blonde for Little Miss Sunshine, which is one of her favorites. For a fruit beer, it’s actually pretty good. I have one from time to time, but I’m not really into the sweet stuff when it comes to beer.


The next beer on the menu was the Cottonwood Endo India Pale Ale. If you’ve been around here for a little while, then you know how much I love IPAs. The Cottonwood Endo is a good one, and I’m happy to be able to drive a few miles up the road to get some fresh off the tap. I actually filled two of my growlers with that stuff, so I would have plenty. One can never have too much IPA goodness.


The last container was filled with the new pumpkin beer I saw. Even though I didn’t sample any of it, I took a chance of the Cottonwood Pumpkin Spiced Ale. I enjoy pretty much everything that comes from the Carolina Beer Company , so I figured that this would be a good beer as well. I could have sampled some, but I probably wouldn’t have ended up riding my bike that day. Since Autumn is right around the corner, it’s only fitting that I drink a few “seasonal” beers. I couldn’t drink pumpkin beer all the time, but I do enjoy have some this time of year while it lasts. I’m glad I waited to sample it though, because it was so good. The Cottonwood Pumpkin Ale had a nice pumpkin flavor (duh), and it had just the right amount of spices with a nice little clove aftertaste. In fact, Little Miss Sunshine and I polished off the giant jog o’ beer that night. I guess she liked it too.


What about the riding? Well yeah, I did get out and ride the bike over the weekend, but I’ll save that for tomorrow. Apparently, nothing is more important than beer right now. Or else I just feel like dragging stuff out just for the sake of dragging it out. That’s what I usually like to do, so why should I change that? Come back tomorrow and find out if it’s worth the wait.

Friday, September 17, 2010

Fridays Should Be Fun





In my case, it’s not right now. I’m actually kind of dragging ass this morning. I don’t want to bore you with any of my “real job” details or anything, but I was up until about 3:00 this morning working. I had to do an upgrade for a phone system at work, so it basically meant an 18 hour day. The bad part of that? I had to be back at work this morning to verify that everything is working properly.


Initially I had planned to skip work today (due to the hours I put in last night) and go ride somewhere. This post should have been a report of where I was heading with my mountain bike. I was thinking of taking off to the Kerr Scott Trail System for some fun in the mountains, but I was too tired to do anything else but go to work. Maybe I’ll get in a ride this afternoon, which hopefully will give me something to talk about on Monday. Meanwhile, I’ll find another way to entertain y’all.


Check this out. I saw this weird vehicle this morning on the way to work:



If I was a religious man at all, then I would call the preacher man and tell him about that. You know what he would say?



Yeah, that would be fine.


So, where’s the bike stuff? Well, since you asked, I’ll break out a photo or two from my Internets Art Collection. This fine work of art is one of the weirdest contraptions I’ve ever seen, so I’ll share it with you:



Yeah, I’ve resorted to busting out random photos just have something to talk about. At least I have my priorities straight:




Today’s post is sinking fast. Here’s an example:



I’m sorry. I’m not really trying to be an asshole, but remember that I’m half asleep. You want to see a real asshole? Check it:




I guess I could talk about what I have going on for the weekend, but that would require too much thought. I do have some things planned, but I’ll just save it for Monday morning. Do you feel like I’ve left you empty-handed? Do you feel short-changed, bamboozled, hoodwinked? Well, here’s a bonus photo for your enjoyment. It’s not funny, but my male cycling friends will definitely appreciate this one again:




That’s it. That’s all I have. Go play with your bike or something. See y’all Monday.