not even...

retarded, oh, i'm sorry i mean retired yet, and he comes out with his own line of bikes.

armstrong hasn't done it yet. lemond waited till he was done racing. the merckx waited. so why do it now? my guess is that the money is running out. lance has enough endorsements to last him a while, plus i don't think trek is going to put out another road line in comp. with their own. i believe this is a problem with lemond's line. it is linked with trek, and trek will push trek, b/c of armstrong, and put lemond to the back shelf. i believe that lemond would do better without trek, but that's just my two cents.

back to the topic at hand...ullrich is the jim kelly of the cycling world. coming in second place how many times? will he be remembered as a great tour cyclist, or the guy that came in second? just as jim kelly. sure he's in the hall of fame, but what is he most remembered for? losing how many super bowls.

i can see the ads now for the 'grand tour'...push up hills slowly, descend slowly, and win in second.

shalom...

so over the...

weekend; i hit a road ride out in lorain county that crossed into ashland county. sorry no pics, i meant to bring my camera, but i forgot it. but here is the map...




we headed out with others, since we really didn't know where we were going. we headed down a bike trail to the main road. then hit the main road from there. i was in no condition to do the century. so we stuck to the half century.

as we pulled out, i thought about a quick pit stop, but no go. so we peddled on. and on. and on. we began to chase down some groups. i couldn't wait. so the thought of riding and pissing entered my mind. i've never done it, so i thought this was a good as time as any. randy thought that it would be hard with bibs. no, on the contrary; easier. i took a look back, and there were too many people behind, and too many houses around. the last thing i need was some woman calling the fuzz, and getting arrested for pissing, so i stopped in some bushes. maybe next time.

we came to the cross of fifty and hundred, and all the people are hanging around looking at each other. randy and i slowed down, and took off for the fifty. i noticed some follow, but never caught us. we stopped just around the corner in the shade for a cliff break. still nothing. i began to question...are we that good, or are they just that bad? randy assured me that they were that bad. we rolled on. the day was great. my tan lines are coming back fast. i began to hurt the last fifteen, but thanks to randy pulling most of the time in a head wind i made it.

i think i have found one of the greatest pleasures in riding. its not the bike. its not the air. lets face it; it's like bobke says 'cycling is pain.' it's not fun sometime. it hurts. so where is the pleasure? in taking off the shorts at the end of a long ride. you take them off, and you can hear your boys breath a sigh of relief. going commando. great stuff.

enjoy the weekend. thank a vet.

shalom...

not too much...

riding going on now. weather has been crap. but i am moving pass that. i have found, hidden deep within, a new inspiration. to go out and ride where ever i am able. by fixie. by road. i just won't ride to teach. too much time...

so on monday it was raining. but i got out for twenty-five miles anyway. today i rode to the gym. and tomorrow...who knows. but the point i'm trying to instill in myself is as long as its not to teach, more than one person going with me, or if i'm going mtn riding somewhere; i want to ride there.

one of my riding goals is to take a friday, and head down to the baseball park and catch a game. not a hard thing to do, but fun none the less.

peace...

p.s....go cavs

today was a...

blessed day. i was blessed by the fixie gods. on my way to school today on the fixie i ride behind an school where a lot of parents let off their kids. as they stopped, i pulled off one of my greatest track stands. and there is nothing like doing it with a bunch of kids watching you.

i pull around the school where it is a one way during school hours. i need to make a left so i get in the left lane. this idiot pulls up in the right with his music blasting, and his little girl in the other seat. (she'll be deaf by ten) i make my left. he proceeds to make his left from the right lane, and speed past me. so our paths crossed, and i was on the bad end. if there were not kids around i would have invented some new words.

on my way home i came to another stop light, and pulled off another great track stand. with people watching. i have such a freaking hard time in my backyard with no one watching, but i pull these off. i was even doing some rocking back and forth. nice....

good ride, but i need a new saddle on that thing.

going back to my almost near hit...i'm a peaceful person. i believe that when i'm on the fixie i am in some sort of zenish state. in harmony with the buddha. but when i have to deal with some of these jerks driving...any buddhahood that i might have is gone. i want to yell, and curse, and do bodily harm. what a perplexing situation.

oh, well...be safe out there. don't hurt anyone. just run into their car, and then sue them. just an option...

so as i sit and...

watch the giro...why is it the only rider that they talk about 'getting' into shape is only one of them? sure they speak of other riders coming into shape. or getting there for the season. but only one about shedding the winter pounds? who is this rider? i'm sure you know...it's jan. mr. ullrich himself. every freaking year it's the same crap from him. winter comes and so does the fat. for us 'normal' folks its fine. the winter ales come up. the move towards the stouts. the weight that i lost during the season beings to come back a little, and then it's time to get my butt moving again. but riding a bike is not my living. it's not my cash cow. my livelihood. so i am able to afford it. he just seems to have so much talent that he just let's it go down the drain.

anyway; on another note...i was thinking back to the last group ride i did. and during this ride i found myself in the back, going down hill, and i was braking. well, i can't have that. so i moved up to the front the next chance i had. and then i wanted to catch the two ahead of us. so i put the hammer down, and the rest followed. and i was driven to catch them. i almost did, but i think we got caught by a light or something. but i was thinking...why am i so driven sometimes in a group ride like that, but when i'm just hanging out with friends i'm just doing my best, but not busting ass? i got into cycling, because of the individuality, and not the group thing. but when i find myself riding in groups of five or more, i tend to find myself up front pulling sometime, and busting ass for what purpose i don't know. what is up with that? am i more concerned about the whole? not letting the whole down? should i find a team and see what happens? i know in c-cross i just loose it, but i'm often on a single speed, and they put a huge flat out there, and everyone takes off. my c-cross bike is coming back, so maybe i build up a pure c-cross race bike, and see what happens there. what's wrong with me? you'd think i would bust it out there on my own with close friends, and not with a group of people i don't know. anyone with any thoughts?

i have decided...

to go schizophrenic. i'm going to stop posting anything here that is not bike related. i believe that i have gotten away from my original premise of this blog. so i have created a new personality to function in a non-cycling manner. the link to this personality is under the philosophical quote.

we'll see what happens....

thursday was a good...

ride day. i took the monolith to school, and had some time in between classes. so i thought i go for a ride.

i went south on three zero six. some action shots while i was riding...


what happened here...?


i hit my destination...


check out this sign...

no snow...i'm a go...

this is a map of the trails that they have...

it's a short ride around the park, but a real fun one.
this is one of the begining trails...

most of the trail was this rock/gravel stuff. not only are you able to ride on these, but it is for hiking, and horse riding too. that must be fun. coming down a hill and come upon a horse. nice.
hey, where did the trail go?

turn around and hit the bridge...

more trail...




rest stop...


i love pines...

great sign...


gu stop...


this was a great tree...


contenplation of more trail...


up onto some roots, and onto some rocks over this...


action shot...


rocket u.s.a.


headed back to school to give some tests. the trails were really nice. nothing technical, but fun short ride. i might go out there again with the fixie.

good stuff.

enjoy...

it was a great day...

to break in some new equipment.

my new cap...


and this beauty for the fixie...

i picked it up off of rogue. thanks man. it worked out great. just a little vintage action happening. we looked it up on ebay, and it looked like it might be from nineteen seventy-four. nice. yeah, the year i was born. it was fate. anywho...i also picked up from him the chainring which is a forty tooth, and feels much better than the forty-two. just a little quicker. but now my chain tensioner won't fit. but i'll make it work. not really for the chain, but you never know when you will need to pop open a recovery drink; a.k.a. beer.

take care...

stop!!!!!!

look out for those canadians. they may be coming over the border. as the debate over ill-legal immigrants heats up, and our border control to the south of us makes news. we are forgetting about the border to the north. do we really want 'those' people coming into the u.s.? taking away our jobs? no we don't. so thank the creator that canada is beefing up it's border control. better canadian/u.s. border security i don't know about you, but i feel better.

now when i go over to canada to gamble, i will be greeted by armed canadian guards. grrrrrrreeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaatttttttt. forget about bringing back any cuba cigars. you'll get shot. we thought that having a passport was going to be a bitch. the american giving you the stink eye as you went into canada. like they are saying to you "why are you going over there to gamble? detroit is behind you." that is exactly why i'm going to canada. to get away from detroit. the only good thing to come out of detroit is hockey. go wings. but i digress....

canada wants to buy more "up to date and combat ready equipment..." what? i'm no world history buff, but what the hell has canada done in terms of war? other than the french and indian war in the seventeen hundreds.

you've been warned...

how far do...

our freedom's go? should the new york times be held responsible for what they have done?

the new york times has released highly classified material in their 'newspaper'. certain information concerning surveillance during this conflict. (i refuse to call it a war, but that's for another time). is this wrong? someone, somewhere would then be able to pick up the 'newspaper' and read what our government is doing, and then would have the upperhand on us. putting us in a compromising position. what then?

what is the newspaper's responsibility?

bill keller (editor of the new york times) believes that if they would be found guilty of compromising national security then they feel that their first amendment rights would be in violation, and that this is just being blown out of the water because the pieces stand against/criticisms the government. wsj opinion freedom of press? but how free is free?

i know that i cannot go into a crowed theatre and yell 'fire', for it would put others in danger, if there was no fire. is this a limitation of freedom of speech? in some sense, yes. i can't speak what ever i want, if it puts someone else in danger. same case applies here. what they have done is put the u.s. in danger. thus compromising our security, and safety as a nation.

so yes, they should be held accountable. even if someone else 'leaked' them the info, they have a responsibility not to publish it.