baby bjorn

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marla streb getting wild!

this reminds me of a little incident with Steve Irwin

take a close look
and
read the fine print

SM100 Race Reports at DCMTB

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the folks at DCMTB/City Bikes have some race reports up
joe foley has taken some photos
there are some links to some other posts
mike k. has said something juicy about chris eatough
I am going to pour myself a drink and get into the cycling soap opera
matt d had a good race... even if he rolled at a casual post injury pace

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another one armed rider

my old friend scotty

a classic tale of my car... the first zip car

as a bicycle commuter my car often sits idle on the streets
a few years ago my car became the first zip car
someone spent the days zipping around in my car

gwadzilla archive about my stolen and returned only to be stolen again landcruiser

my archives are interesting
less images
more words
lots more words and better writing
guess the job is more demanding
I do not have the time to slam the keys like I would like

andy singer

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andy singer cartoons
often his cartoons touch on issues pertaining to cycling or traffic
this one was just funny


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the abc of mountain biking

the ABCs of Mountain Biking
I do not know anything about this
but... will bookmark it for myself here

travis brown

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travis brown in the mountain bike hall of fame


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joe murray may not even have one of these

joe murray

dad rushes the field

my dad never saw me play volleyball
while I was captain of the varsity coed volleyball team
my dad never saw me run track
while I was the anchor of the mile relay of the indoor team
and strong in other events

my dad never decked another kid during any of my soccer games
then again... it may have been me issueing the late hit

that dad needs some therapy

a few bicycle commuter tips...

the commuter and the bike lock-
it amazes me how many cyclist I see each day who ride with their lock bouncing around on their handlebars
a better idea...
-get the u-lock bracket for the bike
-put the lock in your bag
-better yet... do not drag the lock to and from work
leave the lock at the spot where you lock the bike each day
(unless you are going to need the lock on your way home)

commuter clothing tips-
-keep your clothes at work; or at least most of your work
-get a separate set of shoes that you keep at work
-use the dry cleaner near your office
-ride in riding gear and work in work gear

she has two arms

she has two arms
the second arm is holding onto her bag
which is giving her the power of one brake
maybe she needs to update her system

apple courier

apple courier
well a courier for apple

the many uses of the bicycle...

ah... not a bad tool for getting a leg up!
I want a closer look too!
that image is from the cover of the Washington Times
hope those cyclist's wives do not see that image!

Washington Times

hitting on me.... or looking into the sun?

people suck

people suck

the people that really suck really suck all the time
doing the same obnoxious and selfish things each and every day

the person heavy on the horn in traffic
that is the same person who pulls up to their friends house and uses the horn
in the age of cell phones?
sure... some people refuse to evolve
we have to hear that shit everyday
quicker with the horn than the brake

double parking
parking in front of a hydrant...
the same people do this same shit all the time
blocking traffic or blocking the hydrant
no concern for the backlash on traffic trying to flow through
never considering that there is an open space just feet away

denting and dinging a stranger's car...
the other night I was up in Baltimore
was a tad sketched that my car was going to be broken into
was relieved that no windows were smashed and nothing was stolen
was a tad bummed to see that someone crashed into the side of my car
it is a small scratch.... just the length of the car
looks like Freddy Kruger shapened his knife like fingers on my side panels
only to punch my doors in a few spots

people suck

I am pro death penalty for idiots and assholes

is the era of leaving a note and taking responsibility for one's action a thing of a by-done era?
okay the person that hit my car was more than likely a drunk crack head who can not write their own name
but what about regular folk?
do they leave notes when they have the incidental contact of cars in the Whole Food parking lot?

fight club... last weekend was a big weekend in many worlds

no
i do not skate
i did
but never very well

douthat dynamo

the douthat dynamo
this sounds sick
not sure of the specifics
but it sounds like a hardcore night endurance alleycat
wonder if they did the math on light time

this race is hosted by some cat named matt styer
who has apparently thrown some cool alleycats in the past

I need to get in on some of this stuff

mountain bike racing in harrisonburg... messenger racing in philly

there was mountain bike racing in harrisonburg
there was the north american courier championship in philly
I was in dc hanging out with my family

this guy austin horse won the title of fastest courier
he used a geared bike

got this image from bikeblog
bikeblog has some good stories and some good links
also a good archive

new york bike messenger association has some good information

do a google
go to YOUTUBE
there is all sorts of stuff out there
I AM NOT YOUR RESEARCH ASSISTANT!

DC was well represented as well

just like our government to stretch the truth... always in their favor

it is just like our government to stretch the truth
but... they always tell the story to favor them

I hate to sound like a paranoid conspiracy theorist
but I think that we are being cheated all around
this cheating creeps into our everyday life

a few years ago I had an old beater truck
an '84 Toyota Landcruiser
it was a beautiful old rust bucket
one day I got one of those letters in the mail
one of those official governmental letters that causes some panic
simptoms may involve accelerated heart rate and sweaty palms
so... I got one of these letters and it had a photo of me in my truck going up a hill not far from my house
the device that was neatly hidden by Roscoe P. Coletrain clocked me at 55 MPH
I doubted the speed
so I got in my truck and went up that hill at 55MPH
sure... I could do it
but it was unlikely
as I felt like Steve Austin about to crash land my space rocket
I did not argue the ticket.... just paid it

then this weekend past I was at the Baltimore Aquarium with my kids
in an effort to park closer to the aquarium I opted for the street
with change on my person it seemed like a good enough idea
two hours seemed like more than enough time to entertain the boys with all the water and all the fish
each of the boys helped with maxing out the meter at 2 hours
I pushed start on my STOPWATCH

sure enough we were out of the aquarium in under two hours
there was enough time to grab a bite before we got back to the car
initially we talked about getting carry out and driving to the park
we had met a friend and his kids
who were good enough to hang out and start eating lunch as I ran back to the car
where I was either going to move the car or add more money
depending upon availabilty of spaces and chaulk on the tires

as I approached my car I saw a friendly Baltimore meter maid
she looke as friendly as the DC meter maids
as I got closer to the woman and my car I glanced at my watch
my stop watch was just over an hour fifty-nine
the meter read zero
the meter reac zero long enough to have the meter maid half way through my ticket
I motioned to my watch
I with very little effort petitioned my case
then went back to have lunch with the kids as I just bought parking for the rest of the day

if bothered me....
is it possible that the meter was off by thirty seconds?
is my TIMEX digital Ironman Triathalon watch thirty seconds off?
if does not take thirty seconds to puts start on my stop watch....
heck it does not take ten seconds to scroll through the modes, find CHRONO, hit stop, hold to reset, then push start to record the time
where did that thirty seconds go?

it pisses me off to think that the meters could be intentionally off

okay..
this is not hard science
I am human
it was foolish for me to try and cut it down to the wire
but... I am still curious if the timer on the meter is exact...
it did seem to be a little off
and that meter maid
she looked a little heavy to be a ninja
and if she is so effiecient
why is she only a meter maid
she is getting stuff done and could use her hyper efficiency for good rather than evil

I wonder how Rico Suave is doing?

not quite a year ago a dc bicycle messenger suffered a blow to the head while on the job

I was not there
I am not sure of the specifics
but...
from what I have heard
it was a case of hit and run
Rico thought he was fine
went about his day
finished up delivering his packages
only to find himself in a coma the next morning

again...
going off hearsay from the street
apparently Rico has improved
although he may never be one hundred percent

we are all brothers on the bike
I wish Rico the best

dcbca photos from an alley cat hosted in his benefit
spoke card and t-shirt from dcbca

the beach is not an ashtray... neither is the sidewalk or the city street

rule number one about blogging is
don't blog about the work place
so... this statement is not so much about my work place
this is a statement about most each and every work place

as the modern age has moved to the smoke free workplace
the smokers have taken to the streets
well... for some the smoking is limited to the loading dock or the alley
so the smokers have taken it to the streets, the alleys, and the loading docks

which has the smokers taking their work approved smoking break
then each work approved cigarette break is always finished with the same action
the disposal of the cigarette butt

how the cigarette butt is disposed of may vary, but the majority of the time the butt is tossed to the ground
it is shocking that so many of these officially or unofficially designated smoking spots without having an ashtray or a trash can in that same spot
but
beyond the shocking abscence of the ash tray
it is more shocking that someone could litter in this fashion as if cigarette butts do not qualify as trash
volume adds up
each butt is small, but the butts add up
not only do the butts add up, but the butts do not break down

the cigarette butts that are flicked to the streets are comprised of a long list of toxic chemicals

the volume adds up as do the toxins
in many of these areas the butts go into the street, drift to the curb, down into the sewer, only to go into the creeks and streams, then the rivers, the bays and the oceans

but...
if the smoker is not thinking about the enviroment
maybe the smoker should think how obnoxious it is to just toss liter on the ground
to expect that the building janitors or the city workers are responsible to sweep up after them
these clean ups are for incidental trash...
not for intentional trash

the fact is
this is just another case of action without thought

after a quick scan in the wonderful world of the web I found some information of the topic

www.cigarettelitter.org
the facts

GOOGLE the topic
there is more information out there

a friend of mine has been emailing me some info on the concept of a WATERSHED
people need to realize the interaction of it all
it is all cumulative
it all adds up
the oil leaking our your old beater car
the fertilizer from your lawn
the white wash from rinsing your paint brushes

North American Courier Champion!

this morning I ran into Scrooge
I was running late which did not allow for me to hear the full story
but... I could tell from Scrooge's excitement he was pleased with the events of the weekend past
guess I would be psyched too if I had just won the North American Courier Championship for the Cargo Class!

good job Scrooge!
(I will have to go to the Demoncats site to see if Kevin Dillard went to Philly for the "courier convention")

62.... sixty-two teeth on that front ring

an article that touches on a few ideas I believe strongly in

article about kids walking and/or riding their bikes to school

loved this quote

the odds of your child being the victim of a Polly Klaas-style abduction are roughly one in a million. Your child is 13 times more likely to die playing football than to be the victim of abduction

when my brother and I were kids our school forbade the students from riding their bikes to school
we decided that we would ride our bikes to within a block or two of school
someone snitched
not sure how or why our school thought that they had a say in what we did once we left the school grounds
but
that facist institution known as Our Lady of Lourdes had a long list of rules for us in and out of school
I would start on the list
but
would have to enter therapy if I really got into it

on K Street

when I grow old I want to be like bob barker

when I grow old i want to be like bob barker

go to YOUTUBE and do a little search
there are some classic The Price is Right Episodes worth viewing

man!

I love that stuff!

where is alec wheeler?

when I lived in colorado I had a housemate named alec wheeler...

alec was always smiling
alec was always pumped

alec always turned his music up to eleven
and
alec always left the house with the music still playing

alec only listened to two records
mr. bungle and frank zappa

I wonder what happened to Alec Wheeler?
that kid had some serious skill on a snowboard

an affordable option

darn gifs

why do the gifs invert?

anyhow...

the superbad site had me thinking of Biomega in Denmark

beautiful bikes

more art than function

Dynamic makes a more affordable shaft driven bike

shaft drive is not the center of my idea

affordability is really the core of the issue

I feel that it is the responsibility of the bicycle industry to modify its low end bike to meet the need of the low income consumer

the Huffy/Paciffic market makes a bike that resembles a downhill bike

the majority of these bicycle owners have never seen a long travel downhill bike or a downhill race

they are shopping by price

they are buying what is made available to them at that price point

lose the shocks

lose the full range of gears

the shocks do not work

and the wide range of gears go unused

there should be a 3 or 5 speed option

fully rigid

basic commuter

a rack and fenders are more valuable to this low income option then front and rear shock

the department store style bicycle does a fine job with the basic beach cruiser

they should step away from quasi-the mountain bike

modify the beach cruiser into a utilitarian bike

superbad

SUPERBAD is classic!

superbad on wikipedia


what do you expect next?
a frog in a blender?
if you have never been there....
go!
go now...
stay there till your eyes bleed!

stoke monkey for the karate monkey?

stoke monkey

I love ideas
even if this idea is not for me

this guy is one clever chimp

rainy day

the pain continues...

Shenandoah Mountain 100 Results

story from CYCLING NEWS

winner Jeremiah Bishop's blog

top women's finisher Sue Haywood's seldomly updated blog

sounds like it was a great day for racing
ah... the balance of life
I will have to stick to the feeling that I made the right choice to hang with the family
although I still wish I had raced

the morning in the alley

not a bad way to start the day
not a bad way to spend the morning

dean and grant rode their bikes in the alley with some kids from across the alley

the trip down the hill was the objective of the day
dean and grant did nothing but up and down
grant walked it up... always further than my commands
dean riding it up to the top with determination
both of them spinning as hard as they could testing their own personal limits on the way down

the weekend was bike free for me
although I did get to work on some bikes
straightened some wheels
disassembled my old broken jamis nova to hand over to see if it gets warrantied
tightened up my fixie... the already mentioned wheel, the left crank arm, and the front brake... yes I ride with a front brake
fixie is not my thing... not my second nature... more of a day off bike than anything else

rainy days are tough with the boys
any day can be tough with the boys
my wife and I tagged teamed the responsibilities of the weekend
had I raced... she would have had to handle the madness alone
as a team things can be hard enough
a joy
but hard

messing around going down

monkey see
monkey do
curious george rides a bike

grant follows suit

if dean walks across the log
grant walks across the log

the bar is raised for the second child

grant is tough
dean is tough
grant is rock solid and tough as nails

grant also needs to be watched
as he will try things that he just is not capable of
and when I try and help set his limits
I feel like the father, marlin, in finding nemo

grant at two and a half

grant at two and a half
he has steering
he has turning
he has training wheel assisted balance
he knows nothing about braking

I should post one of the photos that shows fear
not exhileration

croc hunter dies

this guy was awesome
I am sorry that we did not get to live to see him interact with wild life and the world for what should have been his whole duration
I am also sorry that steve's kids will not get to grow up with the wonderful life he could have introduced him to

rest in peace steve
thanks for sharing who you are with the world

as a father
animal planet is a popular channel on the tube

an experiment: steal this bike

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steal your own bike
an experiment

I have had to steal my own bike before
the key came out of the kryptonite lock before it went full circle

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new yorker covers... bicycles

new yorker covers
bicycle themes
nice gifts for your bicycle minded friends