gwadzilla: October 2011

10.31.2011

Travis is asking that you go to the TREK FACEBOOK Page and vote for his custom design... THE EVIL EARL

check it out...
ZOOM in and examine the specs and design
then...
LIKE it...
and
leave a comment!
www.facebook.com

BAC: DC's Bicycle Advisory Council

Bicycle Advisory Council
http://dcbac.blogspot.com/

MEETING THIS WEDNESDAY!

Dupont Circle in the rain.

SUSTAINABILITY!

SUSTAINABLE DC
http://green.dc.gov

AMAZING VIDEO... our children are capable of so much more

wow!
natural ability?
no... EXPOSURE and PRACTICE
and then some more practice

this kid RIPS!
father and son bicycle trial team
www.whoisthemonkey.com

for those who are not into Suicide Girls

Robot on a Bike
www.wired.com

rachael reckless

I am not sure who Rachael Reckless is
but...
here she is Rachael Reckless...
with a bicycle of course

Rachael Reckless
www.modelmayhem.com

not all roadies are bad... I like some of them

my friend's daughter asked to be "a roadie" for Halloween

fun for the day... but she better stay a MOUNTAIN BIKER!

hard to justify...

Millions of Dollars?
15 Million Dollars?
25 Million Dollars?

really?
come on... really?

hard to believe that fixing a building is more important that feeding the hungry, housing the homeless, giving aid to the sick, or whatever

http://wamu.org
http://dcquake.nationalcathedral.org/

http://gwadzilla.blogspot.com/search?q=National+Cathedral

name that NCVC team member

NCVC: National Capital Velo Club
www.ncvc.net

just registered for Ed Sanders' Memorial Cyclocross Race
www.bikereg.com

http://gwadzilla.blogspot.com/search?q=NCVC
http://gwadzilla.blogspot.com/search?q=Ed+Sanders

talking about DCCX...

then on with the MABRA SUPER 8...

this pump for the public is a good idea!

I was at a meeting last week in NE DC

there was no bike parking in front of this building
but there was a bicycle pump for communal use

NICE!

the city could use more of these
maybe a kiosk with a few tools as well!

I never owned a Big Wheel

Occupy...

I have snapped a few shots of the Occupy DC encampments
but none of them move me
not worth resizing and sharing
but worth visiting

I was going to see if they wanted my old camping inflatable mat and my plug in inflatable mat... both have slow leaks
but with a some time and a patch kit... they could be fixed

a few shots of people on bikes around DC

did the new breed... CARGO FAMILIES AND CARGO LIFE!

t-shirts with a variety of cargo bike designs
http://cargobikelove.spreadshirt.com/

fun... not my design
but fun!

To all you Witches Out There!

DON'T TEXT AND FLY!

Texting while flying is like flying blindfolded!

Historic St. Mary's City

too funny...

The Ark, The Dove, and THE LOVE BOAT at Historic St. Mary's City Maryland!
www.huffingtonpost.com

ah...
I am not so sure they cared about our health this much when I went to St. Mary's College of Maryland

if this boat were dorm in my days of St Mary's
people would have been jumping off the sides...
some joker would pull the fire alarm every night at 2am...
someone... someone... skilled or not would try to take this thing for a spin in the St. Mary's River!

10.30.2011

Happy Halloween

the spirit of the day

Ofori and Grant race with passion and spirit
their efforts display competition and camaraderie
this picture depicts some of that energy

we really lucked out on the weather for DCCX
last weekend was beautiful
this weekend... well is cold and wet in Washington DC
the surrounding areas got snow while we got wintry mix

glad the weather of last weekend was favorable to such a great day

as a victim of an iPhone theft I found this interesting

Easy to Use, or Steal, iPhone Inches Out of Reach
www.nytimes.com

this was sent to me... as many things are... with the aim for me to share

Ozan Yildirim has a short film ON THE WHEELS
ON THE WHEELS
http://vimeo.com

Push Bike Versuses Old School Training Wheels

Sam is off to a fast start at the lil' Belgian's Event at the 2011 DCCX cyclocross race in Washington DC

ah... the push bike
I have no dog in this fight
yet I still manage to have an opinion

push bike or training wheels?

when my boys were of the "push bike" age the options were few and far between
and those limited push bike options were all righteously expensive
so... I went "old school"
both my boys learned to ride bicycles with training wheels
each of them riding bicycles comfortably without training wheels before the age of five

it is clear to me that people have ingested the push bike flavored Kool Aid
training wheels are looked down upon by so many
but really... I am not so sure that the push bike is the ultimate answer
in fact... it may be a solution to a non-problem
it may be a cool trend that offers its own set of issues when the young rider goes to the pedal bike with coaster brake

it may be more of an issue of "this versus that" than actual one better than another
not sure if the push bike culture has more fun than the training wheel culture
and not so sure that the push bike kids learn to ride a bicycle more quickly or more easily than the kids with training wheels

in fact... I think that the push bike may offer up its own set of difficulties

the training wheel kids learn aspects of bicycle riding that push bike kids do not learn
off the top of my head
the training wheel kids learn to pedal, steer, and brake in a situation that is more similar to bicycle riding
I have seen kids transition from push bike to pedal bike... often these kids try to brake with their feet
not having the pedals and back pedaling part of their second nature

really...
the move to the bicycle with pedals involves a certain amount of growing pains
both my boys argued about taking their training wheels off
then both of my boys requested that they get put back on

learning to ride a bike can be a frustrating process for parent and child
in so many ways it is a leap of faith for the child

personally I think that the push bike could be a good transition tool
a toy for the child in addition to the the bicycle with training wheels
something brought in when the child is getting ready to transition to the pedal bike without training wheels
but... since my boys are now 7 and 10...
well... there is no opportunity for me to run any personal experiments

are push bikes better than bikes with training wheels?
the new breed would emphatically say yes
but really... I am not so sold on this
I have memories of my boys riding their bicycles with training wheels in a fashion that I would not expect from the push bike crowd

push bike is too similar to walking
that said... the kids love their scooters
and well
I am not so sure that the scooters are any faster than running for the kids

Ernie and Bert

Monster Mash Bike Ride attracts icons Ernie and Bert
http://www.columbiamissourian.com/

10.29.2011

life in the city...

life in the city...
or at least... life in this city
or
life in Washington, DC

yesterday I was making small talk with the clerk at the bank
my patronage to that location is not that frequent
but every time I am there I manage to get the same clerk
which has us sharing a pleasant exchange

the final words that passed as I finished my transaction was about Halloween
I left saying I was not sure what I would be for Halloween... but something with a beard
to which the clerk responded... you can always go as Abe Lincoln

okay...
simple enough
too bad I trimmed my beard a bit the other morning
I could have sculpted it in a more Lincoln-esque sort of way

so...
today I found myself looking for a stove pipe hat to go with my already existing Lincoln-like beard
hmmm.... where to go? where to go?
who would have a top hat with a Lincoln feel to it?

I thought for a second and figured the gift store at Ford's Theater should have something that would work
a glance on line and then I picked up the phone to let my fingers to the walking
called the Box Office and got confirmation that they had a hat that would suit my interests

in the car with my seven year old son Grant we headed out on an adventure
some alone time
some one on one time
time with one son instead of two

Grant is a clever little monkey who can sometimes be interested in my mental tangents
as we drove I talked about Abe Lincoln... what number president he was... what coin and what bill is decorated by
some stuff Grant knew other stuff was new to him
we talked more about Abe Lincoln... we talked about Lincoln's historical significance
and then we talked about assassination
the Lincoln assassination and assassination in general

our historical discussion on Abe Lincoln moved to Ronald Reagan as we passed the Washington Hilton where Hinkley made an attempt on the president's life all in an effort to get Jodie Foster's attention

our trip to Ford's theater was a quick in and out
we parked the car and rushed straight to the gift shop
there was a little browsing and then there was some buying
I got the adult size Abe Lincoln hat and Grant got a blue child's size Union soldier cap
both leaving pleased with our purchases

then back to the car
I accepted that this hat was not exactly as tall as the stove pipe hat that is usually seen in the black and white photographs of old honest Abe
but... the price was right and I had it in hand

our adventure continued
we went to Barrack's Row to poke our head into a costume shop
they did not have everything I needed but they had some stuff
they had some stuff and they had a line
rather than let the place be mobbed and chaos they staggered the customers

no black spray hair coloring so I settled for brown
no brown wigs so I settled for black
I bought the black wig and the brown hair spray
so my beard would match the wig

spent too much energy deflecting Grant's requests for things he does not want or need to even look for an alternative to the Ford's Theater Lincoln Hat
as I felt that its association with Fords Theater would outweigh the value of anything other than a real stove pipe hat
or even a real top hat with a Lincoln-like shape to it

well...
after a stop into Woven History to say hello my friend Mehmet
and then a purchase of two pumpkins from The Eastern Market and we were headed from home
our historical conversation had gotten off track until we passed The Kennedy Center

bringing us full circle as we drove the final miles to home

now lets see how my costume comes together for this evening's party

10.28.2011

H20

H20
a bunch of good people
well... when I knew then decades ago they were all good people
my guess... they have not changed that much
aside from having a million and one cool stories to tell
okay... maybe they have changed
but I bet they are still good people

love the graphic
definitely an homage to Dischord Records
H20 on Gwadzilla
http://gwadzilla.blogspot.com/search?q=H20
Dischord mention on Gwadzilla
http://gwadzilla.blogspot.com/search?q=dischord

all sorts of good randomness on those two links

rainy days

it has been rainy here in DC
talk about snow this weekend

snow?
really?

BIKES on FACEBOOK

snagged this from BIKES on FACEBOOK
www.facebook.com/pages/Bikes

and of course... do not forget to LIKE GWADZILLA on FACEBOOK
www.facebook.com/pages/GWADZILLA

out capturing cyclists souls

out capturing some images of the passing cyclists
stepped out of the office and found that it was wintery outside
brisk to say the least
a bit of a bite in the air

maybe we will get that snow that people have been chattering about

best way for girls to lose weight

this is fun

best ways for girls to lose weight
www.youtube.com

Goldsworthy-esque

Bob Verschueren
www.bobverschueren.net

cool dog.

or is that "lap" wookie?

10.27.2011

there are times when I wish I were Canadian

I think he pre-rode the whole course the day prior

funny...

this little racer of the future was seen pre-riding the adult course at DCCX on Saturday
but not sure if he raced with the lil' Belgians on Sunday

maybe he is waiting for his "upgrade"

need to come back and read this later

Gripped Racing Recap of DCCX with images by Jason Berry
http://grippedracing.com

photo credit to Jason Berry
(and I kid... as Jason made note of my last use of his photo lacking proper credit)

lots of talent at DCCX

I was not able to follow all of the racing at DCCX
but the tale of the tape tells a story
the meat of that message being... all the classes at DCCX from the Elites to the Lil' Belgians was Chock-Full-of-Talent!

lots like Erin had a strong day on the bike
no shame in a 5th place finish in that field

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