Paul Newman, the Queen of skinny tires and the Broken King

I awoke this morning to the news of Paul Newman's passing. I can not say I followed his career closely, but what I do know of him I liked. He lent his names to causes in order to raise funds, he seemed to live a mere mortal life instead of one as a faux Hollywood star and was in one of my favorite movies of all times. My condolences for those who were closer in his orbit than I and knew him as a friend. He lived a good life and made an impact for the better. That can not be said of most.
This girl is unstoppable-Nicole Cooke wins again. Had she been a man, she would have been on the front of every cereal box from here to Shanghai.
Broken King-King headsets have the reputation that every component maker wishes they had in the bike industry. It is rare to see one break, so I thought it was noteworthy. This belongs to MTB Tom up on the North Shore.  There is no other bike part that I appreciate more than the King: It is the must have bike part. 

And that wraps up this weekend update...

Conspiracy Theory and Killer Candy

Conspiracy Theory and Killer Candy

WTC7_Poster_05, originally uploaded by ParadigmShift911.

I love a good conspiracy theory. It shows that people are willing to not take the media or governments words at face value. Whether there is merit to the theory is another story. But the outside the box thinking and the questioning of authority is in many regards the theme of this countries development. It is as American as apple pie to have a conspiracy theory. I hear a new one every single day: from the woes of wall street to the shooting of John Lennon it seems everyone has some perspective on what is going these days.

What is yours?

White Rabbit candies: one of my faves if I can find it. News reports are now saying that melamine has contaminated it...Melamine is the substance that has contaminated a bunch of baby formula in china and subsequently killing a bunch of babies.

So much for one of my favorite treats...lucky for me I guess it is way hard to find them anywhere.

The last bike ride of summer.

The last bike ride of summer.

It is strange to think that Sunday was my last ride of summer...The last. The moments of carefree bike riding  are nice, but for some reason I feel as if a ride epic in nature would have been more worthy of my last day of summer. It is akin to the last kiss you ever had with your last lover that really had a hold on you: would you have done it differently knowing it was the last kiss? Exactly. There is  regret. It should have been more than shits and giggles. It is the lacking of appreciation on my part for that very day that annoys me. A toast to the last day of sweet summer seems more appropriate. Nothing fancy, maybe just some PBR on the side of the road/trail, with a mental recap of the bright spots, the laughs and the  hopes she comes back quicker, as summer is sweeter than her sisters. 

Listening to the Thrills now...

-The Thrills-

I came all this way just to say that's not what I want.
Those smug lovers they might as well just rub it in my face.
I guess that's when the penny finally dropped
You're as clueless as i am.
Those backseat fumblings oooh no. oh no. oh no. oh no.
But now I know I'll never be someone else someone else.
Now I know I'll never be someone else somebody else not for a long time.
I came all this way just to say my feelings have grown
No longer a good friend
I long to hold you in my arms

Switching it up.

Too often my bike rides are sporting related: training rides on the road, or hard mountain bike rides on my single speed are my typical diet of rides. Not allot of variety in my bike riding diet. Kind of like my actual diet: Typically I eat the same thing till I am soo tried of it, I may never eat it again. Whole wheat pasta, Parmesan cheese, tuna and for desert banana with muesli has just recently suffered that fate as my apres ride meal of choice. Now it regular angel hair pasta, turkey burger and oatmeal with blueberries.

Recently I have been peppering my ride diet with commuting. Commuting by bike has been riding to a destination not at the expense of pure fun, as there have been stops to take pictures, get cafe con leche and other none sense that I typically do not do while out on my velo.

Highly recommended.

What am I becoming?

Survived to live another day: the news is out and I am happy to say the least. I will leave it at that. More bullet dodging on the street is in the future I think.
What am I becoming?
As I get older I start to look more and more like my father. See below. I commuted to work today on my bike. It added much needed additional mental health, as the ride was one of the best i have had all year. It only last 30 minutes, but it was fun and kept me off of the much dreaded subway. The subway makes me feel like I am a part of some refuge camp trying to get to some place with basic amenities like food and water.

Sort of weird right? Am I imagining it or am I looking more and more like my father? At least I still have my hair...it might be gray from the last two days but I have it.
Who cut the Cake?

Tuesday Trouble.

Give us grace to accept with serenity the things that cannot be changed, courage to change the things that should be changed, and the wisdom to distinguish the one from the other. -Niebuhr

Most people think of 12 step programs when they hear the quote above. It seems like non- alcholics might benifit from the phrase as well.

Perspective:
My cousin Dan (the long haired fellow in the picture below) brought over Uncle Peter from Holland. Peter is autistic. Danny is was my partner in crime for a summer in London when knowing better was not even an option.

(Photo: Peter, Dan the Man, motha and sista.)

Peter is one happy go lucky guy. He tells people, sometimes strangers, in his broken English how much he likes you. It is refreshing in this day and age when people typically are so reserved as to never let a drop of emotion be spilled in the most miserly of manners.

Life is not half bad when someone tells you that you are a great person. Remember that and remind those that are important that they are important.
The new 'do:

new do, originally uploaded by georouan.

Panic on the streets of London

Panic on the streets of Birmingham

I wonder to myself

Could life ever be sane again ?

-Smiths

Less Than Perfect

Today was odd. I don't think that I am really processing what is going on, but it is strange to be inside of a company that is imploding. I have been bearish for some time but I never thought it would happen. I just assumed that I assumed the worst. Wow.

Sam Hill is a little less than perfect...Last time on a DW link as next year he will be riding a Specialized.

He's back....

"With Armstrong, you get the impression that everything is easy: he stops for three years and then comes back as if nothing happened. That's not how cycling works. Now, we can ask ourselves what the recipe is..."- Marc Madiot.

There is much buzz about this and so I feel no need to add anything. And while I am admittedly not a fan of his due to the fact that he has pulled one of the greatest dupes of all times on sporting fans world wide (he needs to answer the questions of the re-tested samples from 1999 that found traces of EPO in it, when the test for EPO had come out in 2005) , I will be keenly interested in the equipment and the training methods he will use to attempt the comeback.

Babes in Bikeland

Babes in Bikeland 2, originally uploaded by Jonny Cycles.

Love what it conjures up in the imagination...

Stolen...

Images from other sites.
Crazy stuff.
Long travel 29er: 29er bikes seem to be much more than a fad. The racing community has really embraced the big wheel, and now the demand by the trail riders seems to have been answered.
Boxxer: New stanchions. Stiffer. Killer graphics.

Matt Boobar...former east coast mega dirt honch. Funny where people land in life. Good for Matt Boobar. 
Ti Mojo: I wanted one 10 years ago and still one now. No comes with disc brake mounts. Lynskey is making this beauty. I am glad to see that Lynskey is thriving and Litespeed is sinking.
Orange: I have always had a soft spot for their bikes....On the short list for 2009. Had one once and liked it just fine with no fancy pivots.
Santa Cruz Nomad: looks slimmer and faster.  
Classic Colnago: Polished lugs are classy.
World Cup Killer: The new Intense.
The new Tracer.
Small pretty things: Thomson has been working on this for some time. Everyone wants one.
German engineering: Cube has not yet landed in the good ol' US of A....but they sure they make a nice bike.

Formula: The Italians have made some of the best brakes for any and all applications. They have won World Cup races in both DH and XC: no other brand has such a strong pedigree. Too bad no one really sells them here in the US. I am always fascinated by what sells here and what does not sell here. Europe has such deep cycling culture and yet what is sold here and what is sold there is often night and day. For certain, high end stuff is much more readily available and sold in Europe. 

Gary Fisher: Hi Fi at 5.5 pounds...Another rig that is my short list for 2009 when I return to riding FS.

New Moon on Monday

The early 80's hatched a band named after a character in flick staring Jane Fonda and for a time was like the Beatles second coming except with synthesizers, high fashion Italian clothes and weird makeup. I was a fan and even had some bootlegs before I even knew what it meant to have bootleg: I had a crush on a Japanese girl a couple of years a head of me (she was an 8th grader when I was a 6th grader) and she had made me a mixed tape of some imports and live stuff she had gotten in Toyko. Crazy fans in Japan. You know you have made it when you are a worshipped in Japan like Budha himself. New moon on Monday was a song off their 7 and the Ragged Tiger LP (yes LP: this was well before the CD and I owned it in LP form).

Monday: Normally a day of dread, as the weekend has fully eclipsed and left us with only the memory of careless activities and frivolity of the highest magnitude. Monday is the reckoning day of the weeks slog to the next weekend.

Today I awoke feeling better than I have in months. Rest in copious amounts was processed over the past 2 weeks or so. Early hour retirement to the bed has served me well and brought life to me. Going to bed for the last 2 weeks at 9 or well before has recharged me. God Bless Sleep- A wicked invention. Back on track: The most important Bike Show is now is now in full swing and several themes seem to be emegring: Carbon engineering (not necessarily new, but a new level has been attained) and companies willingness to develop products that are outside the confines of the parts on the bike. Meaning that companies no longer want to build the bike around the parts that are readily available: more and more companies are starting to create their own crank sets, brakes and headsets in order to fit the specific purpose.

Now for something different-

He is coming back...from what I have heard it is all about making the Lance movie. From what was told to me by one source is the main purpose is to get footage and also to try and legitimize his performances in his past: Hollywood put a stop in filming because of all the rumors of his doping. I am not a fan, but I will be curious to see how this will pan out. I would not be suprised if his team was not invited to next years tour.

Canada: The Canadian PM dissolved Parliament over the weekend. Not totally sure of the meaning of this but in my reading I read that the death toll fro Canadian soldiers in Afganistan has risen to 97. Interesting only from the standpoint is that this is one of the major points that hurts the current conservative PM in Canada in his quest to maintain a conservative government. And yet the death toll for US Troops in Iraq and Afganistan is now at well over 3000. Why is this not a bigger issue in our own political system? Are we so removed from the war, as it is only vile images between fluff news programing and Desperate Housewives, that we choose to ignore it? I would invite anyone and all to watch the nightly news over the course ofthe next week and time the amount of coverage that is given to the war. It is a huge expenditure for our government and has sullied our position in the worlds eye.

Bummed to the max but perspective is crucial.

Bummed to the max.
I am off the velo until further notice.

It is hard to explain to people other than to say I am in rough shape to the point that I often have a hard time walking up a set of stairs. My legs always feel like they are on fire. They just ache all the time as if I just rode a double century the day before.

Since much of my social interaction revolves around riding and other bike activities, I am left wondering what to do while I am getting fat doing nothing. My time is filled with sleeping (I have been going to bed before 9 most nights outside of last Friday-more on that later), reading and other quiet time activities. The only upside to this is that with my self appointed quiet time I have been making some art on a more regular basis.

I have been pondering new activities for my time off. Here are some that I came up with:
I thought about drinking as a new hobby: many Americans and their kidneys seems to enjoy it. I am not sure it is for me because the last time I did some drinking, I did it to excess, and I got sick. In fact I left LD's place and full tilt barfed on the street. I felt terrible and wont be doing that any time soon. Remind me not to try and match LD and his gal pal's pace at the bar. Ugh, that sucked.

Knitting: relaxing. Mindless in the sense I imagine you get into some sort of rhythm and away you go. But it also seems super boring and way girly. Not that there is anything wrong with girly- I like girly, just not for me. So that one is off the list.

Picture taking: I was just told by my doctor that I look like crap. Because the medical expert just told me that I look like crap, I wont be regaling any of you with any of my selfies. Your loss.

Perspective is crucial:
As I wrote this post I stopped at a fellow IF rider's blog. I had been reading his posts up until early this year when his wife got sick right before a race. I had even wished him and his special gal a speedy recovery. Although I am not sure of the details, she unfortunately passed on. My heart goes out for this rider I have never met. But it reminded me that even when things seems bad I still have my friends and family.
http://harveyminton.blogspot.com

Random pictures:
That is me running up a section...gotta love the single speed. For the record I had just ridden up the little hill and then jumped off to clear a rock face.
I feel like the antithesis of the chicken since I can no longer ride...am I the cow?
Java ride: I am hoping that my first ride back will be a ride to a spot that sell cafe con leche. In college I would ride into town get my cup of coffee and ride back home with it in my hands...I like when other people make my coffee for some reason.

Beautiful country side in Ireland...Picture stolen from Pez.
Again, another picture stolen from Pez.