dos muchachos

2010-07-03T08:08:00.002-05:00

Abel D. Gonzalez

10/13/1940 - 7/3/2004

Miss you everyday Chumpy.

Bad boyz. . .bad boyz. . .

2009-09-30T06:43:00.005-05:00

Ulla brought home Francisco's Halloween outfit. Of course, she couldn't wait to try it on him and wouldn't you know it, Francisco started acting the role. Nothing unusual for this kid. He wakes up making siren noises and goes to sleep making siren noises. The neighbors down the block can hear him. . .he is a nut. Francisco wore this outfit all day, through his nap and wanted to wear it to bed. I think the only thing missing is a cop stache.

Remember to always visit Pablove and be a warrior in the battle against Childhood cancer

Pablove Across America Ride

2009-09-10T20:03:00.003-05:00

A few months ago I wrote about a friend of mine that lost his beautiful six year old boy, Pablo, to Wilms Tumor. Even though his young life was cut short, his spirit is abound and growing. His Dad, Jeff Castelaz has created the Pablove Foundation to keep Pablo's battle going. His goal - to spread the word and keep the fight alive. Jeff is about to embark on a ride across America. He needs our help in any way - by donating, by posting this on your blog, whatever. I am also working on organizing a ride here with Jeff on October 3. This is in it's early stages, but we are hoping to spread the word and create a huge group ride. I will have more on this ride later. In the meantime, please watch the video and THANK YOU!

We have success on #1

2009-08-13T21:42:00.004-05:00

Patiences is a virture. . .

. . .because the payoff is worth it

Now all we have to do is work on #2 because that still happens in the underwear and of course, night time.

Growing old is getting old

2009-08-10T21:05:00.006-05:00

The title fits the update and the band I saw. Fred was cool enough to hook me up with a ticket to Lollapalooza 2009 courtesy of Dangerbird Records. We got there around 4pm on Sunday and it was blistering hot and humid. Not to mention, because of some 80k bodies producing heat and the lack of air movement, it felt like 1000 degrees. But I suffered through it all and drank some of the worst beer ever made, that stuff sucks. However, never fear as we did seek out the craft beer tent and landed some Stella Artois at the Biergarten. Our mission was to absorb the sounds of the Silversun Pickups. We were not disappointed as they put together a well laid out song lineup. They started the show off with probably my favorite track on the new disc, Growing old is getting old. Threw some Future Foe Scenarios in the middle and ended with Lazy Eye. It was a damn good performance and I'm digging their sounds everytime I flick them on. We did manage to see Snoop Dog, a little bit of the Killers *yawn* and Jane's Addiction. Jane's was pretty good. Original lineup was back to together again, we'll see for how long though. The first time I saw them was back at the first Lollapalooza in 91. Perry's voice is pretty horse now and he didn't sound too good. The music on the other hand, was heavy as it should be.

I do have to give a shout out to Ulla. She was cool enough to give me the green light to go without her, although it would have been cool to have her there with me.

Here's a shot at night in Grant Park looking back at Chicago. That city is just awesome and it was pretty cool to see those tall buildings all lit up.

Dancing in the park

2009-08-08T10:08:00.003-05:00

Had a great time with the family at the Washington Park Bandshell on Wednesday. Although the park can have it's moments as an "unsafe" park, it is usually a safe place to go. The surrounding neighborhoods are really trying to revive this area to be a more family fun place. That, of course, is a work in progress since they did close the pool recently due to a fight. Nonetheless, a good time was had by all who watched De La Buena play a fantastic show.

Francisco found a little lady bug to watch

Fun in the sun

2009-08-03T18:20:00.006-05:00

Yesterday was the Alterra Coffee Bean Classic WORS race at Crystal Ridge. The weather played out perfect and the course was in excellent shape. I spent most of the day roaming up and down the course to make sure we had all the pieces set. We did a pretty good job with this event, afterall, we've been running a mountain bike race for 10 years now, we should be pros. It was a long day though. Almost 12 hours yesterday and 9 Saturday and another 5 hours on Friday meant my weekend was tiring. Well worth it since many racers if not all enjoy the wicked single-track, fitness proving hill climbs and pucker fast downhill. The best vantage point was from on the very top of the hill. I snapped this pic on my phone just about when the Sport race ended.

It shows a full parking lot and that trail you see there is the Pave Plunge. It's a little knarly, but loads of fun. We even had Fox 6 do a little story on the race.

We have over 700 racers and a perfect day. The whole day was excellent and I can't wait to have the race again next year.

Older by a year

2009-07-29T12:06:00.004-05:00

We had a wonderful day to celebrate the boy's birthdays. Matias turned 1 on July 23 and Francisco will be 3 on July 31. How time flies by. Everyday I am more and more excited about my boys growing up. Yet at the same time, fearful of them growing up. I think I've become more humble in my existence since I've had children. Not that I thought my presence was special, but that I am now living to grow, teach and develop my children. The scariest part of it all is how fragile their little lives are at this moment. It puts allot into perspective on just what is and what isn't important. When you really reflect on that as a father, you then get the true definition of being a father. Which I love the most, being a Dad.

Some photos of the celebration of their lives. . .in this world.

Francisco's cake

Matias's cake

Loving the cake

Lots of gifts

Fire!

Another day in the books

Butterflies & Pablo

2009-07-24T20:19:00.003-05:00

Pablo is the son of Jeff and JoAnn Castelaz. I wrote earlier of his passing on June 27. He was only 6 years old. Jeff is an avid cyclist and has met Lance Armstrong and has become friends with Lance through his son illness. Lance and Nike invited Jeff and his family to Paris to watch the finale of the Tour. Lance has been riding specially painted bikes since his come back in different races and stages. For Jeff and his family, he is going to ride a bike with butterflies painted on it for Pablo. Pablove!

Check out Jeff's blog with the pictures and story.

Pablo, Butterflies and Lance

One year ago today. . .

2009-07-23T06:48:00.003-05:00

. . this little muchacho was born

.
Happy Birthday Matias

It's about twice as much courage. . .

2009-07-17T23:55:00.005-05:00

Deep in thought

2009-07-17T19:51:00.008-05:00

So for the last week I've been deep in thought about Pablo, a friend of Fred and Erwins who Ulla and I know. His little son passed away from Wilms' Tumor a couple of weeks ago. I can't help think of how he must hurt since I have my own little boys. I've been reading his blog and I'm amazed at his strength and stamina to work through this time. I don't know if I could keep myself together. I read his blog everyday to somehow connect with him and his family. It seems to serve some form a therapy for him, which I hope it's helping. Jeff has created a foundation to support the CHLA. He's also become friends with the greatest American cyclist, Lance Armstrong. Lance actually gave Pablo a Rest In Peace on the day he passed away during a recon of one of the stages for the tour. Pablo and Jeff will be featured in one of the LIVESTONG commercials and Jeff and Pablo have a spot on this trailer. They will have their own commercial soon and I can't wait to see it.

Birthday boys of July

2009-07-14T12:14:00.003-05:00

Thoughts. . . when you ride

2009-07-09T11:45:00.007-05:00

I love riding by myself. I love the moment that I can just ride and here myself breath. I love it. My thoughts tend to come and go. There are times, where I'm only focused on the road and my surroundings. Listening to the tires hum on the road or the wind floating past my ears, I also get lost in thought. I think about a lot of things on long rides. Lots of things.

Mis dos muchachos. My two precious boys. They are my life along with my wife. I almost tear everytime I think of my boys. I love them that much. I love my family and I think about them all the time. I love thinking about them on my ride because sometimes, suffering on the bike isn't that fun. Especially hill repeats. But when I think about Francisco and his police siren wail. The hill doesn't hurt so much then.

Mi padre. He passed away 5 years ago July 3rd. I think about my father all the time. It's funny how my family didn't really talk about the anniversary of his 5th year passing. No one did really. I had a small gathering over at my house, but we didn't talk about it. I know we all miss him, but we all cope with his death differently. I do think allot about his passing and still shed some tears. Sometimes allot of tears. I don't say anything to anyone about that, although, most will know now. I was real angry that he died. I didn't think it was fair. Nothing ever seems fair when you don't like it. Life isn't fair really. I guess I was angry that I didn't do more with him in his last months. I mean, I did go to the hospital to visit, not every day though, but I didn't involve myself more. Don't know why. I can't redo anything.

I don't know why.

Recently, I've been thinking more and more about Jeff Castelaz's son Pablo who passed away about 12 days ago. His short life cut down by the horrible disease, bilateral Wilms' Tumor. In short cancer. Jeff is from Milwaukee and is good friends with Fred Gillich. We know Jeff from Fred. I've been reading his blog, PABLOg. It is an emotional blog. I can't imagine losing a son or daughter. I lost a father and it hurts. I can't imagine the pain Jeff, Jo Ann and Grady are going through. I've been thinking about Pablo and how scared he must have been. It brings tears to my eyes. It sucks.

I love riding by myself. Although, I'm not really by myself, I have my thoughts. I love riding.

If you would like to donate to the Pablove Foundation please visit The Pablove Foundation

You're not having fun until you start to suffer

2009-04-11T20:47:00.005-05:00

Today was my first actual mountain bike ride at John Muir in well over a year. I can't remember the last time that I was actually there. I'm pretty sure the last time was a group ride after I haven't ridden months. Needless to say, I was REALLY hurting then. No so much today. I was impressed with the trails. The trail work was excellent with all the new changes and additions to the trail. The crowd at the trail head was relatively small considering I think this was the opening weekend. I was pretty amped to get out on the new steed. I picked her up for a mere $800. The bike was in excellent shape since the previous owner was a 55 year old man who primarily rides a bike with a recliner on it. I was pretty sure it was going to be a lot of fun laced with some pain and suffering.

I rode the 29er a few nights ago on the Tosa Trails with Ty-Rine, a buddy from work and a new guy to the area, Dave. The was a slower and much different ride than today was going to be. Today was going to be test for both me and my new bike.

For the second ride on this bike I was just planning to do 2 laps of the blue loop. I wanted to see how the bike handled on some hills and rough trail. I was going to time myself and check the heart rate. I knew that the last time I timed myself on this tail was back in 2004 at the Fall Color Festival. The circumstances here are way different then they were back in 2004. I just wanted to see how I would fair after being off the bike more or less for 3 years. Of course being so gung-ho to ride, I pretty much just got on it and started to ride, forgetting how the blood just pumps to your leg and they start to feel real heavy. That kind of sucked and thought that this was going to be a long suffering ride -- so in other words FUN.

The 29er is an interesting size for a mountain bike. I wasn't set on getting one, I really wanted a 26" SS, but after talking to a bunch of riders and reading reviews, I went the way of a 29er. The bike looks bigger than it is though. It rides amazingly well and has a quick wit about it. It is a hard-tail, so it is a bit rough on me right now, but I think I'll be able to adapt. I don't think I'll go with a carbon rigid fork though. I'm not that young to withstand that type of beat down, kudos to those who can absorb that. I'll stick with the Reba and enjoy the 100mm of forgiveness on the front. I'll be getting a remote lock-out though, I've been spoiled racing this bike for many years of racing and riding. The tires gotta go though. The big 2.3's are just not for me. I'm going with the 2.0, which is plenty big enough for me. My gearing is 32x18 and feels a little light for the flats, but I am digging it for the climbing. I had no real issues on the climbs, a little bit of suffering is good every now and again. I went out hard and tried to keep a pretty solid, aggressive pace. I also wore my HR monitor to see how the ticker would respond. The first 2 miles were pretty rough, HR was clicking in the 170's right off the bat and the legs were heavy. There were a few noobs on the trail, so being courtesy on the pass was a must. About 2.5 miles in, a fallen tree. That sucked because I had to stop and navigate my way between the tree branches. Got it going again and hit it pretty good until the big split. The tail was rerouted on the beginning of the Blue\Orange climb so the climb is a little different. After the switch back portion, I got redirected onto the old trail to finish the climb. That was the first real climb and it had my HR up in the low 190's. That's fine for me still, I'm use to going into the 190's, but that was when I was in fitness to do so, today that hurt. I was now certain that I was having fun after that climb. Got it going after the climb and feeling pretty good. I came across another downed tree and once again, dismounting and I forage my way through that tree. Back up and going hard again and my HR is holding steady at about 174. Feeling ok, but sucking wind more than I wanted. The middle climbs had more fun for me. Those were pretty lung busting, but the 29er handled real nice up the climbs. One of the advantages of the 29er is the ability to roll over things. Not that a 26" can't, it's just that you have to have more finesse on a 26". So the 29er held the rocking climbs very well. I was in pretty good shape going in the 7th mile, which is approximately where the Orange trails splits. There is a long straight way that lead up to the Pines that has the really fun sand to ride through. So I was getting prepared to hit the sand, locked out the fork and then, the trail turns. The new trail, is bumping and twisting. That new section was a suffer fest for me. Already feeling tired and then to go through the new bumping trail was torture. But I figured that I needed to suffer through this and keep going hard. I recover on the way to the mile 8, which is where the Blue trail splits to go to the connector. I stayed on the Blue and started the switch-back climb. That really made me suffer. I knew for sure that I was having a ton of fun at that point. Get to the top of that climb and some guys are stopped right at the time, in the middle of the trail, recovering from the fun they just had. I had to give them the "Yo!" After I got past them, I pushed as hard as the body would allow. The bike rolling smooth over the trail and conquoring the climbs. I get to the end of the Blue and instead of going around again, I make the left and head to the parking lot. I needed to stop -- I was having too much fun. I did recover for a bit and went out and hit the White trail for a cool down. I didn't realize that the White trail had so many fun climbs;-)

The results were fair for the amount of training that I've done in the last three years. I ended up with a 58:15 at an average HR of 172. That is 14 minutes slower than I did the 2004 Fall Color 20 at 1:27:03, which is 43:57 a lap. Of course the lap is different and I think a bit longer now or at least it felt longer. I've only been riding solid for about 2 months, so I think I'm coming alog ok. I'll test myself again in another month.

Ahhhh. . . feel the burn

2009-03-15T19:20:00.004-05:00

It's been nearly 8 months since I updated this thing. Got back on the saddle yesterday and did 3+ hours with TyRine and Greg. Greg actually bailed for a 2 hour ride, probably should have gone with him, but I decided to suffer for another hour longer. Wasn't too bad. Although, the legs aren't what they used to be. Considering the last time I did a ride this long was well over 3 years ago.

Legs did burn up those hills around Pewaukee Lake. We'll see how bad it hurts come June, I'm thinking the hills will be asking for my forgiveness then.

Maybe I'll start updating this thing more often

First night at home

2008-07-26T08:59:00.004-05:00

How I forget how different it is with a newborn. The first night at home with Matias was quite a change from the norm. Usually, it's getting Francisco ready for bed, he fights it sometimes, but mostly it's getting him into his PJ's and then calming him down. Last night started out pretty normal. Francisco got ready for bed, then he laid on the couch with me and fell asleep. Matias has his little newborn crib in our room (almost done with the upstairs) and he fell asleep pretty good too. But throughout the night, he seemed to have quite a "jimmy leg" going on in his crib. He was moving and moving, not crying at all, but just rustling and rustling around. I got up a couple of times to check on him, but he was doing fine, just a jimmy leg. Needless to say, it was a long night because I kept hearing him and checking on him. I just hope he doesn't get calic like Francisco had. That would be bad, very bad. However, so far Matias seems to be a very quiet baby as he doesn't really cry and when he does it's a little squeak. He probably is trying to adjust to his new surroundings, I hope so please.

Francisco has adjusted quite well already. He understands that Matias is a baby and he is very gentle with him. He helps where he can like sitting with us when Ulla feeds him or brings a pacifier to him. He's even offered up some of his Kix cereal and one of his cars, now that's a good big brother.

Here are some more pictures of the family.

Big brother

Francisco saying Cheese!

Mom and new son

Getting ready to go home

A sleeping baby

Matias Enrique Saroldi-Gonzalez

2008-07-23T22:29:00.003-05:00

Today at 4:22pm our second son was born. Matias Enrique was a very cooperative baby with Ulla only being in labor for 2.5 hours and a mere 17 minutes of birthing. That is extremely quick and compared to Francisco which was 31 hours of labor, Ulla said it was nothing. The Doctor said it would have been quicker if the baby wasn't face up. I think he said it probably would have been around 10 minutes of pushing and that's it. As soon as he was born, he started screaming and not more than a half hour after, he was already nursing.

I on the other hand am amazed at the strength and pure dedication that Ulla (or any woman that gives birth) has shown in both of these pregnancies. It is truly an amazing sight to witness and to be a part of.

Here are his stats:
7lbs 10oz
19.5 inches

Mom and newborn are doing real well.

Here are some quick pics

2275cc a beast of an Air-Cooled engine

2008-07-18T09:42:00.003-05:00

In between my efforts on remodeling the upstairs and family, I've had time to work on the bug over the spring. I was able to put a narrowed, adjustable beam on the car, get my old school Riveria wheels powder coated and wrapped in some new rubber - 185/55 on the front and 205/70 on the back (thanks to Prescott and Kevin). Refinished an old 1970's Dino Raid wood steering wheel and aquire a very nice 1970's Hurst curved shifter. I also redid the fuel line to a 3/8" and Holley Blue fuel pump with regulator. I put on a set of Weber 48mm IDA carburators with some nice AN -6 fittings. I still have to jet the carbs to suit the engine, it's a little lean right now. My plan is to take it to a buddy's shop for some dyno time and proper tuning in about a month.

Here's a pick of it pretty much done.

And here is a vid of it running

In Loving Memory. . .

2008-07-03T08:33:00.005-05:00

In Loving Memory ofAbel D. Gonzalez

BORN TO LIFE

October 13, 1940

BORN TO ETERNAL LIFE

July 3, 2004

God saw the road was getting rough,

The hills were hard to climb.

He gently closed those loving eyes

And whispered, “Peace be thine,”

The weary hours, the days of pain,

The sleepless nights are passed.

the ever-patient worn-out frame

Has found sweet rest at last.

God said you were getting weary

So He did what He thought best:

He came and stood beside you

and whispered, “Come and rest!”

You bade no one a last farewell,

Not even a good-bye.

You were gone before we knew it

And only God knows why.

Bathtime

2008-02-23T14:36:00.001-06:00

Despair

2008-02-13T21:47:00.000-06:00

Winter wonderland . . . .

2008-02-08T23:05:00.000-06:00

Bundled up

2008-01-13T10:20:00.000-06:00

We like to breed

2007-12-28T18:04:00.001-06:00

Mustache Friday

2007-12-03T20:51:00.000-06:00

December 7, 2007

www.mustachefriday.com

You touch - I bite!

2007-11-28T21:44:00.000-06:00

The staredown

The Poke

*CHOMP*

The aftermath

Pics courtesy of the Rine

The VW does the quarter

2007-10-27T07:03:00.000-05:00

So this post isn't about Francisco, it's about me and my beloved VW. I've been gathering components for a new engine all winter and spring in hopes of having a new engine built by late spring. Well, one thing led to another and delay after delay, I didn't get the engine built until September. Better late than never the saying goes. Finally, it's all built and I have to give a HUGE thanks out to my VW expert Prescott Phillips as he was the master engine builder that guided me and assisted me in my built. I also have to give an even larger than HUGE thanks to Ulla for having patience and understanding for all the time and money spent to get the bug up and running.

The break-in for the engine consisted of me running the engine at 2500rpms for 20 minutes to allow for the cam to match up with the lifters. Made sure there were no major oil leaks, ACVW's tend to lightly mark their territory every once in a while. Changed the oil and then took it for it's maiden drive. Which many say is to drive it like you stole it, so I did. I was very impressed with the power and torque that my new 2276cc engine provided. After a few hundred miles, I decided it was time to test her out on the strip.

Last Sunday was the last day of the Import Wars at GLD, Prescott convinced me that I should come down and watch him win and at the same time, I can do the Test and Tune fun runs. So I prepped the car to get it ready for the dragstrip. Since this was going to be my first time ever taking a car down the quarter mile, I was pretty excited and couldn't wait to get on the road.
Sunday was a beautiful day, couldn't have asked for better weather. The dragstrip was packed since the Import Wars was a make up date on a V8's drag day. So there were lots and lots of cars, which meant long, long lines to run your ride. After signing in and going to tech check, I was ready to do my first run.

Staging
Prescott briefed me on what I should do and how I should launch. We set up my e-brake with a pin in the depress button so I could use it as a staging brake. He then told me to drive around the water box as I had street radials on. Stage up to the line slowly so as to not deep stage. A staging tree is what drag racers use to "stage" at the line. A deep stage is when you light up only the stage lights and not the pre-stage. So I made sure I staged with both the pre-stage and the stage lights are lit. He then told me to pull up on the e-brake and ease the clutch out till the rear of the car sank, then put the clutch in. This is a pre-load and pretty much gets the transmission gears as close as possible so not to have any violent mashing of the gears when you launch. He said that the three amber lights will light up in order and when the third light is lit, let her rip.

First Run
I did all things I needed to do during the staging process. My heart rate is thumping hard and fast in my chest. Nothing is on the line for me here, but it is very exciting and I am ready to run my car. I look over and I am lined up against a 1967 Firebird 400. We aren't racing against each other, but just like any guy at the strip, I'd like to win regardless. So I wait, I have my shift point set at 6200rpms and I am going to launch at 2800rpms. I see the amber lights start to light up. 1st light, 2nd light, 3rd light -- I let her rip! I spin through 1st gear, get a little excited and short shift into second around 5800rpms. I glance over and I am about 1 car length a head of the Firebird. Wow! That must have been a great launch for me. As I near the eigth-mile mark, I see the big V8 pass me and get to the traps a head of me. I scream into the traps in 3rd gear and let off the gas and let the car coast. That was fun! I stop by the timing booth and pick up my slip. Nice! I clicked off a 14.709 @ 89.47mph with a .104 reaction time, not bad and pretty much what I expected for my first run. The Firebird clicked off a 13.5 run.

Second Run
After waiting for 2 hours in the staging lanes, which was incredibly painful I figured that this would be my last run. There were literally a hundred cars waiting to get their turn down the strip. I staged like I did the first run and decided that I would launch at 3000rpms and shift at 6500rpms. This time I am lined up against an early 90's Civic Hatchback. Completely gutted with only a drivers seat. The car has a V-tech SI engine with a turbo. I'm thinking that this car is going to scream because it doesn't weigh much and it is boosted. I wait holding the rpms at 3000 and I see the 3rd amber light shine and I let her rip. I get a huge amount of wheel hop but I keep the gas mashed. I nail 2nd with authority and I am about 1 1/2 car lengths a head of the Honda. Bang 3rd gear and nearing the 1000 foot mark I see the Honda catching, turbo must be kicking in and he finally goes around me at the end by less than a car length -- DARN! But that was a boat load of fun. I clicked off a 14.601 @ 90.76mph while the Honda came in at 14 flat.

All in all, that was not bad for 60 year old technology. I ran the car on 165/80/15 radials, which isn't a very big foot print to power down on. It ran very fast in comparison to other cars. Anytime you get a car deep into the 14 second range, it's quick. My car has the ability to go even faster. Bigger rear tires will help that along with a little lightening of the car. I'm pretty sure I can get it into the 13.XX range next year. I am very satisfied with how this car performed.

Check out my timeslips

Funny kid

2007-10-22T19:49:00.000-05:00

Just a nut, for some reason, he likes to wear a t-shirt on his head.

Learning and hanging out

2007-10-15T19:31:00.001-05:00

Francisco is learning each day. It's pretty cool to see a little boy learn things by the minute. I never thought that this would be so much fun, but it's a blast. He is now picking up books and looking at the pictures. We sit together and read. It's pretty funny because he has his favorite books.

A couple weekends ago, we went to Sheboygan to give a hollar to all the peeps racing. It was a lot of fun. Francisco seemed to like it alot, he actually lasted the whole day without any issues. Here he is enjoying the beginning of the race.

Like father like son

2007-10-01T18:32:00.000-05:00

I finally got the bug all tuned and tweaked, just in time for winter -- go figure. Anyway, the boy seems to be really attracted to the bug. Maybe because of the color or maybe because he is my boy! So while doing a little fine tuning on the little bug, the boy comes up and wants to assist. So me being the good pops that I am, I let him wrench away.

Teaching him young

2007-09-23T19:21:00.000-05:00

Teaching the boy how to vacuum. Gotta start him early so I can relax in a couple of years. It's tough being me with all the chores I have to do. He already likes messing with the dishwasher and he's drawn to brooms. So as soon as he can reach the lawmower handle and snowblower handle, I am on easy street.

In Other News

I finally got my engine built and in the Bug. I had been collecting parts over the winter and had been waiting for my heads from the head porter. I had a goal of completing this by June but had a couple of set backs, some delays with parts and other obligations, but alas it's together and in the car.

It's a 2276cc engine and should pack a pretty good punch. I'd probably bore you to death with all the goodies in the engine and gearbox. But let me tell you, it is going to be a pretty nifty little bug. Here are a couple of more pics

Pretty amazing that I've posted twice within one month, let alone the same week.

Francisco's first haircut

2007-09-20T20:37:00.000-05:00

Well so much has happened since I've posted last I don't know where to begin. Let's see, Francisco has turned 1 year old. He is getting big and is real vocal and is just a joy to be around.

We took him in today to get his very first haircut. Pretty funny since he has his big pouty bottom lip thing that he does when he's kind of scared or angry. Everytime he does it, we laugh. Poor kid, we are going to give him a complex. Anyway, I'll write more later and post a video of something that is pretty funny that he does, but for now, here are some pics.

Before

During the cut

After the cut, he's all grown up now!

Te amo Papa

2007-07-03T13:50:00.000-05:00

Abel Donald Gonzalez

October 13, 1942 - July 3, 2004

Sippy Cup

2007-05-07T21:34:00.000-05:00

Custom fit

2007-03-07T18:19:00.000-06:00

pla·gi·o·ceph·a·ly - a deformity of the skull in which one side is more developed in the front, and the other side is more developed in the rear.

That's what little Francisco has. The exact type of plagiocephaly he has is Brachycephaly. This is basically when the head flattens uniformly, causing a wider and shorter shape, hence his head looks big. His head is also kind of pointy and slops down towards the forehead. So he has this flat spot on the back of the head, which then made his head grow wider than it should. What we have to do now if get a band, which sort of looks like a helmet that he will have to wear for 3 months. That's 23 hours a day for 3 months. Kind of sucks because I feel responsible for this condition. Remember he had colic and was a challenge to get to sleep. So, whenever we could get him to sleep, where he was is where he slept, most of the time that was in a baby swing. We think that is where he developed this condition along with us not watching too carefully and lack of belly time resulted in a flat spot. His head isn't really all that bad, but it could pose medical issues later in life if not corrected. Some things that could result from this is sinus problems, hearing issues or sight impairment, so we are getting the band. The insurance company on the other hand does not agree. In fact, the $2800.00 band is excluded from our great Anthem Blue Cross\Blue Shield coverage -- typical.
So Wednesday we went to CranialTech to get his head casted for a custom fit band. No off the shelf stuff here, it needs to be perfect in order for the head to grow back to normal proportions. He was pretty good through the ordeal. He cried but was pretty good about not moving his head around. He did great. Here is a short sequence of pics starting from the head measurement to the end. Click here to see the full array of pics and titles Franky's Custom Fit

Past to present

2007-02-25T12:56:00.000-06:00

So here we are getting things prepared to start a huge renovation project. The funds have been secured and we have started the concept drawings and things are starting to look pretty good. This is going to be another chapter in the remodeling by Tony novel, but I will have some professional help this time. Drywall is NOT going to one of the parts that I will do, this time, I'm paying someone to do that. We are going from this and this and this and this to hopefully something that looks like this. We should be getting our final concepts and construction plans in a few weeks, so we'll see how close they are to what we want.

The Past
In the process of cleaning up the attic to get it prepared, I've been coming across some items and pictures of the past. Last month I came across my old COBOL Syntax Guide and an invite to Ty's divorce party. This month, I have a plethera of pictures for you to have a good laugh over. I'll detail each picture for you as it is pretty damn hilarious to look back at the past.

First up, we have Ty in his glory days of wanting to be a Prince prodigy. He has his trademark "Sex me up Stache" and the infamous Prince flop top. Nice work bro!

Next we have some pics of me and Ulla from back in the day. These are circa 1993 and we lived the life of Grunge. I even have on my 1991 Lollapalooza concert tee. Ulla on the other hand, was a true east sider as she had the dark clothing and long dark hair thing going on.

The last of the oldie but goodies involves Big Greg. Check out the mullet on Greg, nice stuff. While everyone moved on with the mullet, Greg still held strong. Although, my buddy Manual, who was my partner in crime back in the day really keep his going. These pics are from 1991 to 1995.

The Present
Well, I sold my fixie to John Wooden, thanks John, hope you will enjoy it. I also finally got sick of shoveling snow, so last night I went out and got me a snow thrower. Action pics!

And as always, finishing the post off with some pics of the boy. He's almost 7 mos and is becoming acutely aware of his surroundings. He is such a treat to be around it's great.

Man this post was long! Until next month.

Hmmmmm. . .long time no post!

2007-01-30T20:19:00.000-06:00

Well, well, well. . .seems like I still have this blog to update once a month. I should just change the name of this blog to Nunca loco hable since I rarely post now. Well, to give a brief of what's going on in my little corner of heaven, my boy turned 6-months yesterday! That went pretty fast. The little guy is amazing to watch as he finds new things to put in his mouth. I'll post a vid of him taking his first bites of baby food, now that is funny. . . .

. . . . digging through some old boxes the other day I stumbled across some old college school books. Now, I went to school to become a software developer. I had to learn some of the old coding languages. Welcome to the world of boring coding. I give you COBOL!

I also stumbled across an old invite of which the party was for my brother. For some of you that didn't know, my bro was married before he met his beauty queen. Ironically, both of their names are Christine, however, the first wife, we just called Chris, and you must say that like a drunken trucker. Well, when he got divorced, and in March of '95, I threw him a grand ol' partaaaaaaaaaaaay! Now, you have to remember that Ty kind of looked like a greasy Mexican with his little mustache, if I could only find that picture. However, our friends dad who can draw, drew us a pretty close resemblence of Ty. We drank alot of beer that night, I mean a lot. We went through ½ barrel of Pauliner Hefe-Wiessen, ¼ Miller, ¼ Miller Light and a ¼ Lienies. We ended up going to Discount Liquor and getting another ¼ barrel that night as well. Enjoy!

Close up

And finally, I'm putting up my fixie for sale. It just sits when it should be on the road. So to a good home is where I hope it goes. I got it on eBay right now, but if any of the bros want it, give me a hollar, I'm asking $475.00.

Frankie Files

2006-12-26T15:27:00.001-06:00

Been a while since I made an update. The little boy keeps you busy and well, quite frankly, been just plain forgetting. I got smashed on Mustache Friday. We had around 34 hairy lips sporting the Stache loud and proud. Once I get the photos from the people taking the snapshots, I'll post them, way too funny. I have to admit, there were some pro-Stache guys in the photos.

Francisco is getting big. Last checked he was 18lbs and around 26" long. He's finally recognized the dog and laughs everytime he sees Jessie. He's also acutely aware of what his formula bottle looks like and reaches for it everytime he sees that, whether or not it's time to eat. Here are some pics for your enjoyment.

Frankie at 4 months

I got all my stuff

Merry Christmas

Multi-tasking

A little Santa!

Grandma and me

Peekaboo!

Concentration
His usual look of "Who are you people?"

Stache

2006-12-08T05:59:00.000-06:00

Stache name: Sanchez

T minus 1 day

2006-12-07T17:16:00.000-06:00

Bear + Wolf = BearWolf

2006-12-05T20:21:00.000-06:00

Since I work up der in Shliinger\Artferd area, they are still looking for this guy. So if you are up in that neck of the woods and run into him, tell the BearWolf that the guy he took the deer from wants his ramp back.

Humble Pie - Francisco's first - Ulla back on a bike?

2006-11-27T20:00:00.000-06:00

Humble Pie
Got geared up to join Ruscle on his Wednesday pre-Turkey day ride. For only riding my bike for a total of seven times since the Alterra Race, I felt pretty good. I've been on the road bike one other time since then. That should paint the story. As the ride progressed, I was starting to feel it. Shoulders started to get fatigued, then came the knees and finally, the wall was upon me. We hit Tans Hill, I believe thats the name, and on any other day with fitness, I would eat that hill up like no tomorrow, but not this day. The only other time I did this hill was about seven years ago with RZ hammering up dropping the group and then roll back down half way and hammer back up and drop us again. After about two hours on the road and a few stints at the front, I was pretty much cooked. I decided to let the group go, however, Cooop and Ruscle were having none of that and pretty much paced me back to the parkway. Thanks Coop for the gel.

Francisco's First
We had Thanksgiving at our house this year, Frankies first, among other firsts of course. Well, enough of my rambling, I suppose pictures would be better.

Ulla back on a bike?
You read it right, Ulla back on the bike, well, maybe just for one ride, but nonetheless, back on the bike. We got a small group together of Superfly, The Ganj and Ulla out for a ride. The Tosa Trails were in nice shape, very smooth, fast and most of all dry. Felt really good to ride with little lady again.

Parked

2006-11-10T19:58:00.000-06:00

That's my other fun toy. A '73 Standard Type 1 or as most people know it, a VW Beetle. I just installed a lowered front end with disc brakes, can you tell? That's a quick little car. With it's 85WHP and 101 FPT and only weighing in at 1460lbs, it gets going pretty good. It's not a fast car by any means, but it sure it fun to drive. It's parked for the winter now and I'll be pulling the engine out and tearing it down to get the engine prepped for a set of DRD heads. These heads will be pretty sweet, ported and polished and of course match ported to my 44mm Dual Weber carbs. That little bugger will kick. I'm expecting around 145HP at the flywheel, so it should make a good 120WHP and nearly 140FPT. Air-cooled VW's are my other passion next to cycling and with the time off the bike, I've been able to dedicate much more time to the bug. Giddy up!

In other news. Our teammate and good friend Dave Volm, also known as Cover Boy and his beautiful wife Lisa, are proud parents of a baby boy, Andrew Thomas Volm. Congrats.

Franciso has been doing well. The little guy is growing fast. He's got to be around 14 or 15 pounds now. It's amazing how a little infant transforms daily. Never quite know what he'll be able to do next, it's pretty fancinating. I am still in awe of the fact that I helped produce such a beautiful child. It's funny, that no matter how shitty my day was at work, when I see his little face after I walk through the door, all is good.

Frankie making sounds

All Hallows Eve

2006-11-01T19:31:00.000-06:00

Got on the single-steed for a night ride with Mikey and Tyrant. Mikey came over after work and we got suited up and waited for Tyrant to stop over. As we were waiting we started watching the uncensored version of the Pamela Anderson Roast. Which is pretty damn funny! Jeffrey Ross just tore it up. Funny shit! We got out on the trails and we ran into Bubba and DIHAF, who did not disappoint us with his name. I had an owl lead the way for about 10 feet of the trail about a foot above my head. Weird. The weather was perfect and the ride was even better. Mikey decided to blaze his own trails at Harley, nice job. We hit Bubba's trails, which I think were all of them. Those did ride nice. Thanks Bubba. I felt pretty good, but could have felt a lot better if I was in shape.

Got the little tot all dressed up in his nifty little Halloween suit for his very first Halloween.

Vids

2006-10-22T21:07:00.000-05:00

K Car?

For all of us that had a crappy car from the 80's.

Fun with a VW Bug

A 2 liter Type 1 VW engine with Dual 48 IDA's attached to a VW trans with a Quaife installed. This is my kind of car. Test Driver the late Mark Herbert.

Francisco and Family

Hanging out with the Grandparents.

It's ON!

2006-10-17T21:34:00.000-05:00

The grow season is upon us. When men turn into REAL MEN! The day is December 8, 2006! That's right Mustache Friday! Pay homage to a man who can wear a 'stache with pride. Be like Magnum P.I. and grow that hairy upper lip that make the women melt. The "cookie duster" that says I A MAN DAMMIT! This year we are having the bash at the Parkside Pub and Grill in Hartford. The party starts at 4pm with the double bubble from 3:30 to 6:30 $1.25 double taps and $2.00 double bottles. We'll have shot specials such as, the Cookie Duster, the Magnum P.I., the Soup Strainer and of course the French Tickler. We'll also have some band playing all the 'stache favorites. Grow that 'stache and cast your ballot for the MVM (Most Valuable Mustache) and win all kinds of 'stache shwag.

You could be our poster child from 2004

'Stache rules and regulations are found here Mustache Friday

clean

2006-10-11T21:08:00.000-05:00

Francisco gets a bath.

a 13 pounder!

2006-10-07T14:47:00.000-05:00

Francisco has been reducing his colic behavior as of late. He is also growing well. We had a doctors appointment today to get him his shots, which wasn't all that bad considering he got jabbed 3 times. He only squawked a little bit and was pretty good after that. He weighs in at 13 pounds 1 ounce and at 24 inches long. That's almost 7 pounds and 3 inches more than when he was discharged from the hospital 10 weeks ago.

Below is the baby announcement that Ulla has put together.

Went to the last WORS race on Sunday to support the team and drink free beer! I did both very well. It was good to see some peeps that I haven't seen all summer. Some were looking in fine shape still for this being the end of a long mountain bike season. I have to give mad props to Mikey for having a stellar season and rippin it up! Those who didn't know who he was in the beginning of the year now know who he is now -- look out! The rest of the team looked real good out there as well. Good job to all this year.

Pic courtesy of The Rine.

Say Cheese!

2006-09-24T21:58:00.000-05:00

Mi vida como yo ahora lo sé

2006-08-30T20:43:00.000-05:00

It's all about that little guy up there feeling au naturel. He may cry his little arse off at times, almost uncontrollably, but when he's looking like this, you are truly grateful for him. He does take a toll on you though. I am almost always tired due to lack of sleep. I'm feeling a bit heavy due to lack of riding and pretty much feeling the need for cerveza a lot. That's my life now. My blog has morphed from a thirty-something bike racers blog into a thirty-something father baby blog. That's fine by me, but maybe boring for some of the readers looking for fun and exciting bike stories. Here's one, it's kind of graphic, so if you are a young'n, please click here now.

Ok, here we go.

There once was a beautiful Cannondale Team Replica Scalpel 4000 that roamed the trails of Wisconsin. It was piloted by a fine, fine young (well, maybe Thirty-something) Alterra Coffee racer. This once cherished steed has now fallen into a not so glorious life. In fact, this year, this once powerful stallion has only tasted the dirt only once. She now hangs in pity and shame. How sad and disgusting is that? If you look close at that picture, you'll see that I even got drywall mud all over it, man am I a tard.

Enough of the horror stories, let's talk about the here and now. Took the dog and little tot out for a stroller ride on Saturday from Estabrook park down to Alterra Coffee on the Lake. Man is that place a madhouse on Saturdays. We bumped into some of Team Wisconsins finest racers, Kevin, Amy and Lori having a nice leisurely cruise on the bike path. We chatted a little and cooed at little Frankie, discussed how much hair he has and the like. They went on to enjoy their ride while we on the other hand had probably taken too long of a walk with little Cisco since he had some issues along the way. We had several breaks along the way, which made for a lot longer walk than expected. Next time it's going to be a lot shorter walk.
So we've still been battling the colic that the little boy has. It has gotten better somewhat, we still are able to get some sleep. But it usually ends up here and not on the bed, where good sleep can be had. However, any sleep we get now is good sleep I guess. A friend at work, who has a couple of kids told me that her friend had a baby with colic and to get him to sleep she used one of these. Basically, you bounce lightly on the ball and the boy falls a sleep after about 15 - 20 minutes. I didn't think it would work, but we are up for anything to get the boy to sleep. The end result is me looking like this and feeling like Ulla and I will get some good sleep that night. It works, but of course, not all the time.
No matter how ridiculous colic is, there is no better feeling than seeing someone truly happy holding the little one. Just like my wife's father is below. That's what life is all about.

'kä-lik

2006-08-22T19:23:00.000-05:00

col·ic - - Severe abdominal pain caused by spasm, obstruction, or distention of any of the hollow viscera, such as the intestines. Often a condition of early infancy, colic is marked by chronic irritability and crying.

This seems to be a common occurrence with me now. Holding the tot and all is about a fuss. Man, kids are worse than a 50 mile hammer ride with "Glenn, Glenn, Glenn. . ." Well, it appears that our little Frankie has the infamous colic. I provided the definition for you from Websters, but I have my own definition of it and it's not what the dictionary has! PITA! Now, he's not like this every minute of the day, he is very cute and he even sometimes sleeps. But there are plenty of times where he is just plain rude. How dare he. I'm still getting used to being sleep deprived and learning how to power sleep every couple of hours. One of these days I'm gonna fall into a coma at work. I can't imagine this going on for six months as some have told me. I mean, Frankie is only three weeks old! I think I'd go insane even more than I am already. There is some relief in the works for us though. Our next door neighbor, Laurie, seems to have the Midas touch. She can somehow calm him down. I think it's just dumb luck. She doesn't have to deal with the FBI like Ulla and I do, she has the luxury of the aftermath. That's cool though, she is going to be able to watch Frankie as Ulla and I get back into training next year. We also have help from the Grandmas, as you can see below, the recipe is one part Grandma, one part of wine (red or white), one part rocker, one part of Enfamil - Gentlease Lipil (the stuff for colic babies). Add it all together and that makes for a beautiful, peaceful time for the parents.

Insomnia

2006-08-18T23:17:00.000-05:00

That is what my life has been the last 2 weeks. Thank god for a strong wife, because she is taking most of the heat, although, I am awake at the wee hours, drifting in and out of sleep. Each day I gain a new respect for parents who have gone through the ritual of raising a child. At this point, Ulla has already become ill with a 103° and I'm just tried. Our little Francisco has been whipping our butts almost every night with his demands. He's very much to the point and for the most part we can figure it out, however, lately, he's just been off the wall. This sure is hard work.
So we've been trying all sorts of things to get him to sleep at night. It's kind of funny because we've tried the vacuum cleaner, it worked once, but Frankie was on to us and didn't fall for it again. The fan option didn't really pan out too well either, didn't phase him. Tonight was a terrible night. He had been wailing for about 2+ hours. Not constantly, but off and on for about 2 hours or so. I think he just has bad gas, go figure. I burp him and he lets out a good one, he even drops his ass pretty good, but he still ends up like this. So with a little advice from Ulla's friend Di, we decided that we'd try her tactic on her cute little girl Maddie when she was an infant. We placed little Frankie in the car seat and put him on top of the dryer, cranked it to 30 minutes and fired it up. As you can see from the photos below, crying when he went on, sleeping like he should be a few minutes later. Thanks Di, it worked!

I want to thank everyone who wished us well, gave us gifts or stopped over to see Francisco, Ulla and me. Our goal this weekend is to send out all the Thank You cards to everyone, but time is truly a factor here.

Baby Time

2006-08-01T11:52:00.000-05:00

Francisco Abel Saroldi-Gonzalez

2006-07-31T07:48:00.000-05:00

He has arrived into this world @ 3:59 AM 7/31/2006!

What a wonderful experience this has been. I can't begin to explain to you the flood of emotions that overwhelm you. Only those that have had a child and have seen this first hand may be able to explain how this feels.

At approximately 3:00 AM, I once again was awoken from my slumber with the shuffling of an RN into our room. I guess Ulla had been getting contractions quicker and she was beginning to feel them more. I popped out of bed to see what was going on. It appeared that "it" was time. The RN explained what was going to happen and how I was to assist. Ulla had her first big contraction @ 3:10 AM and she started to give the 'ol heave ho! I on the other hand started to get that anxiety feeling, clammy, cold sweats and that infamous blackening around the eyeballs. Uh Oh! I thought, I'm gonna hit the floor. The RN saw me look a little weird and called for a cold compress and I sat down for a few minutes. Shawoo! I almost bonked! Slammed some OJ and drank a glass of water and I was completely recovered. Back on my feet next to Ulla.
Let me tell you, all that you've heard about childbirth doesn't compare to what you see during childbirth, it is truly amazing! After about 50 minutes, I see the head completely pop out and a few body and liquid noises occur and plop out came little Francisco! Ulla did a fantastic job on the delivery. She is in such damn good shape that this was one of the fastest deliveries the doctor has done. The epidural is awesome according to Ulla and the woman next door who didn't have an epidural - it sounded painful! Francisco let out a bellow and we knew he was ready to greet the world. As a side note, the doctor said that he has a nice set of man parts, atta boy! I'd post a nekkid pic of Francisco, but all of his glory is exposed and this is a PG rated site, plus you never know about the weirdos out there. However, I do have some nice pics of mom, dad and baby.

Ulla and baby are doing great and Westallica Memorial is a great facility, even though they don't have high-speed, the people there are terrific.

West Allis Memorial Hospital main line (414) 328-6000

Well, after hours of trying to upload some pics to this blog with zero success, blogger keeps timing out or something, don't know why, the pics are on 500k, whatever, go to these links here.

Francisco and Ulla

Francisco and proud Papa

It's time. . .sort of

2006-07-30T17:02:00.000-05:00

7:47 AM Ulla tells me that we should probably head to the hospital. She had been having contractions since 9:30 PM the night before and has been up all night. They were about 10 minutes a part, but the pain had been enough to keep her up all night. I on the other hand, slept pretty good.

We've been here for over 9 hours and things have not progressed as much as she had hoped. The contractions have been down to around 5 minutes a part, but everything else has pretty much stayed about the same.

We are in a holding pattern as of now. The RN that is attending to Ulla said it looks like this may run well into the next morning. One thing is for sure, the dial-up connection that this hospital has is killing me. It may be more painful than Ulla's contractions, just kidding. So since the RN is anticipating a birth around midnight or so, I decided to head home for a bite and get cleaned up so I can spend the night with Ulla at the hospital.

The walk around the Maternity floor to get things moving. The storm rolled in and a bolt of lighting hit the hospital so the fire alarm went off for about 45 minutes. That was annoying.

I spent most of my time reading a few books and flipping through useless t.v.

This is what happens when you get an epidural. Sweet oblivion!

Donuts?

2006-06-22T07:08:00.000-05:00

Pretty damn hilarious. Donuts on a bike

Web humor

2006-06-14T21:36:00.000-05:00

Sandwiches

GI Joe used to have these Public Service Announcements during their cartoon on t.v. some years back. I barely remember those. What I do remember is that every time Cobra was to attack him, he'd scream out -- COBRAAAAAAAAA! Well, GI Joe would turn around and end up winning, stupid villain, if he just would have said nothing, he would have destroyed GI Joe. Anyway, these guys at Fensler Film over dubbed the PSA's and they are a riot to watch. Mikey turned me onto these a year or so ago and I just came across them again. Number 7 and 22 are freaking funny as hell!

GI JOE PSA

Adrian!

Rocky! What can I say, I love this movie. I remember when this movie came out, my Mom took me to see it at Southgate theaters. I was hooked, love that Stallone. However, I just came across this the other day and ummm. . .I just don't know what to make of it. One thing is for sure, it is damn funny.

BunnyClub does Rocky

Cooops Dump has been added to list of Amigos

Bunch of sissies kicking balls

2006-06-10T09:09:00.000-05:00

Next to Cycling, Soccer is my next favorite sport, although some would argue that Cycling is not a sport, but if they can call NASCRAP a sport, then Cycling is too. Anyway, my topic is the World Cup. I have to admit that I don't follow nearly as much as I used to since I started getting more into Cycling, however, this sport holds a place for me. Soccer has that same established following as Cycling does, maybe not here in the US, but world wide, there is none better. The fans are frenzied and dedicated to the bone for their team, especially when it comes to the World competition. 100k - 125k people will pack the stadiums to see these games. One goal the entire game can mean victory in Soccer. The tireless attempt to just score that one goal is what the game is all about. Unlike other sports where points come in bunches, Soccer prides itself on the events that lead to that one goal. That's the part that I love.
I own several jersey's from around the world from local teams in Argentina to major teams such as Bayern-München and the infamous Brasillian blue jersey. I don't own the United States jersey though. That will come this year. I am all over the team this year, they have a real shot. Maybe not to win it all, but to get to the finals, but then again, you never know. A tough squad of powerful strikers and stingy goal keepers to a brutal defensive lineup. They have a chance and I'll be glued to the games just as I am when watching the Tour.

Nothing of anything

2006-05-22T21:09:00.000-05:00

He even wears his brain bucket off the bike, maybe he falls down a lot. I think I see a little bit of drool on his lip, I think he's disturbed. You can find more about the tard here.

A pic of the Jay man smiling (sort of) from last year!

Driving to work today in my '73 Bug, I approached a late model Porsche Carrera 4. He moved over to the right lane. As I passed him, I had to study the lines of that Porsche. As I glanced at the driver, I see he's doing the same to my car. Before I can acknowledge, he gives me the thumbs up. That was cool.

Mud

2006-05-16T20:35:00.000-05:00

Been working on the basement the last few weeks. Almost getting to the point where I'll be calling the Worlds WORST Racer to help me hook up the electrics. But right now, I'm in the mudding stage and it's not that bad considering that I have butt joints everywhere. Although, I have to say, it's a pretty boring ass job. I'd hate to be a drywaller. That shit actually does suck. But some folks like it, it's not for me, I'm a desk jocky. Give me climate control, a computer and people to boss around and I'm happy.
I've been riding only 2 or 3 times a week on no sort of plan and it really feels like it. OY! I don't have the kick on the hills, I can't hold the front as long as I used to, my sprints are lacking and it's pretty much downright depressing. But, hey, it's all about sacrificing so I can bring in another Mexican into the US of A legally.
Took Mikey and Greg out for the hill ride I used to do before I became a sandbagger in the Comp world of WORS. A nice 40 miler out towards Neosho and back to Hartford. Good hills, but man oh man, was it painful for me, seems like some of Mikey's noodle leg bad mojo rubbed off onto me. Oh well, glad I'm not racing I guess.
It might be pretty muddy this weekend for the race. I'm not a real big fan of racing in the mud like the Goat is. He's just wierd! I'm gonna try and make it to the race on Sunday with the prego to watch, hand out some bottles and make fun of everyone. If I don't make it out, I hope everyone has a safe, fun and good race.

this blog is really lame

A Sunday without racing

2006-05-07T21:45:00.000-05:00

Well, today marked the first time in six years that I missed the opening race for WORS. Last night, I was kind of sad, thinking of all my bro's sitting around, eating pasta, feeling lethargic and dropping ass before we drift off into a mind full of race thoughts sleep. I did however, jump on the FrankenBike and do a nice 1½ hours of the Tosa Trails and Bubba's Secret trail. Bubba's Secret trail needs some work, lost of debris everywhere.
Today was spent hanging out with the wife and dog. Working on the Bug, she sure is purring like a cat. And of course, thinking about the fellas getting all amped up for the race. Every now and then, I'd glance at the watch and think about what state of mind I would be in. 9:30AM - preparing my breakfest, usually 3 or 4 cakes, toast, maybe an egg. Then I'd do some stuff and then see 11:30AM - I'd be drinking some energy drink, walking up to the Sport start, making fun of Lil' Beotch. The last time I glanced at the watch, it was around 1:50PM and all I could think of, trying to recover from that lung busting, leg burning start that Iola has. Knowing that after about 20 minutes, I was round the back section of the course and heading towards the Pines.
There will be plenty of more Sunday's without a race, I just hope I don't miss them too much.

What did the five fingers say to the face -- SLAP!

2006-05-03T21:00:00.000-05:00

It's a little strange not preparing to race

2006-04-30T21:12:00.000-05:00

No racing

I have to admit, it's a little weird not preparing my body for the up coming race season. I've done it for 7 - 8 years now and to just stop preparing for a race season just doesn't seem right. Don't get me wrong, I'm still riding and trying to stick to a low key training plan, but I know I won't be using it for a long time. I've decided not to race until September since I need to keep working on the basement office and the baby's room. Not to mention I've been sick all week with a URI and some on and off fever like symptoms. Haven't ridden in a whole week, which alone is just plain weird. So my whole summer will be spent trying to beat up the guys on the Thursday night Alterra ride. Although with Noodle Leg being cautious this year and the Ganj MIA for weeks now, I guess it's just MC HammerTY. Which, if the road isn't going up, he's hard to keep behind you. Ulla and I may drive up in her new vehicle with the mutt and watch this up coming Sunday at WORS #1 in Iola. Although, I'm not missing the anxiety that comes with the first race. For some racers it doesn't phase them, but for me, the first couple of races get my heart racing.

Progress

Got most of the drywall hung and I should be ready to mud in about a week or so.

Solitude

2006-04-23T20:21:00.000-05:00

Got up and went for a nice long solo ride today. I love riding by myself a lot. It's the only time that I can really concentrate on my HR, pedal stroke, cadence, breathing and my thoughts. Probably the most satisfying of all my rides are my solo ones. Some people have a hard time riding alone, not me. I ride with no ear phones too. I hate having music in my head when I'm out on the road. On the trainer, that's a different story, but on the road, I love the wind in my ears. I also like to hear my surroundings. I need to hear the cassette clicking and the tires humming along. I also like to be able to hear what's coming up from behind. It's kind of funny how you can tune your ears to listen for cars coming up from behind. I love the way I understand my body on the bike.
I think my life has changed a lot since I started riding and then racing. I only wish I would have started it sooner rather than when I was 29 years old. Not only am I more fit than I have ever been, but I also feel more accomplished. My racing career, although not over, just suspended for a while, has been great. I think the solo rides have helped me a lot as a rider and racer. I used to get dropped a ton when I first started while on group rides. I made up my mind not to do any more group rides for a while and rode solo for a whole year. Working on my breathing, my cadence and HR the whole time. It worked and for that reason, I think that is why solo rides are sometimes so dear to me.
Today I went out for three hours and loved every minute of it. I was able to think a lot and feel very satisfied after the ride. My thoughts tend to wander quite a bit. I would cycle through all of my thoughts and go back and forth on them as the ride progresses. I thought about my wife, my new baby on the way, family, my Mother, my Father, my house, the knuckle head who almost hit me, my beetle, work and a whole bunch of things that I can't even remember. Thinking about life and how people have entered it and left it. Thinking about what's coming up for me with a family, at 37 years of age, I'm gonna be a father. And on the other hand, how I lost my father almost two years ago to a cancer I've never even heard of. How life works is so simple yet very complicated. I know I thought about the dinner I just had with Ulla and my Mom and my Aunt Judy and Uncle Dick, two of my favorite people. Funny how my Aunt Judy was just my best friends mom until she met my Uncle at my brothers first wedding back in '91. Now she's my Aunt Judy. I hum tunes in my head too, words are sometimes just made up or not even there, laughing as I ride occurs and then there are times where there is no thought, just nothing, tunnel vision almost. But mostly, there are thoughts bouncing around my head.

Thoughts.

The whole ride is just about me, that is what it's really all about, just me, my thoughts and my bike.

Café Racer

2006-04-19T19:40:00.000-05:00

Messengers

2006-04-16T08:25:00.000-05:00

So I just finished reading the MKE paper that had an article on Bike Messengers. Retarded! That's all I have to say about that article. Don't get me wrong on the whole delivery process that is needed, but let's get real about what was written. It follows around one of Milwaukees Breaking Away couriers for a day. On the same page, he writes that at 8:05:01 they blow their first red light and then at 9:25 they are bitching about a van that just cut them off, without using a blinker. That's what I mean about retarded. If you are gonna disobey the law, then don't bitch about it when someone does it back. The article goes on about this and that and how tough it is to ride in 30° temps blah, blah, blah. Try actually riding for hours without having to stop in doors to warm up or stopping for a smoke. But then again, only a few of those guys if any of them actually train to race, so I guess it fits. The article goes on to mention how you have to be a "Hero" to be a bike messenger. Right. Hero is getting up every morning at 5am to get to work, and put in 8 full hours and then go home get on your bike for another 2 - 3 hours. That's a hero. Real life boys, not your make believe land you live in. They should follow around for a week the life of a Cat 1/2. The ones who work 40 hours a week, train another 15 hours a week and have a wife and kids, that's a hero.
I have no love lost for the bike messenger after that article. They destroy what we as cyclist have been working to correct. Respect. Blowing red lights, stop signs and blantant disregard for traffic makes it a harder place for everyone else on a bike. Maybe they should read the Know Your Rights Manual for NYC Messengers and get a clue as to how a real messenger should behave. Do I sound harsh? A bit. Does it mean that the bike messenger is at fault for all the happens to bicyclist. Not at all. All I am saying that glorifying these guys the way that this article did is retarded and proves why people in motor vehicles have no respect for cyclist.

Another thing -- WEAR A HELMET FOOL!

No fat, snot rockets gone bad, 168km, Pavé disaster, fitness

2006-04-08T09:02:00.000-05:00

No Fat

No selection in the Cheq40 has got me a little aggravated, but I will submit a damn essay to hopefully get into that race. Even though that race is really nothing compared to a whole race season, it sure has the killer feeling when you finish. I think it has to do with all the fun afterwards and really caps off the season. If I don't get in, I don't know what Mikey, Greg and the Ganj are going to do about reservations, they don't know how to make them.

Snot Rockets Gone Bad
Ever been behind someone who lets a snot rocket go and it misfired? Ty ripped a snot rocket that had a malfunction. That baby ripped around his check and landed on his back. I had to sit behind his entire pull watching this thing flutter. Stretching out like elastic. I was waiting for the final thread to snap. It never did, thank god for that.

168km
We had a good crew make it out for our century ride + 4. Mikey, MC HammerTY, CommanderG, Lil' Beotch (we let him ride with us), Roger and new guys Christopher and Dan. We had a good one, I felt great the entire way. My neck and shoulders were the only thing that got a little sore. At the end of the ride I tried an attack, since our ride had kind of turned into a higher than normal HR since the wind decided to fight us. MC HammerTy came with, but couldn't stick. I got stuck at the light and we all came back together. Then I tried it again and MC HammerTy came with but I dispersed him only to have a sneak attack from Mikey and get me at the end. Mikey did his best Marc De Meyer impersonation. That was fun.

Pavé Disaster
This is a nice bike. It's George Hincapie's that he rode in this years Paris-Roubaix. Too bad it broke!

Fitness
Feeling good. Training well considering I have scaled it down quite a bit from last year at this time. Hope to feel good in about a month. I think I'm only doing the first two races as Comp SS and then I'm done until the end of the season. Hope to get one or two in by then. We'll see.

The debate. . .Is NASCAR a sport?

2006-04-03T20:57:00.000-05:00

I've had this discussion many times at work. I work with a bunch of NASCAR fans. Most, if not all, believe that this is indeed a sport. I have to say that I do not believe that NASCAR is a sport. I think it is a motor competition that is mostly referred to as a Motorsport and not to be confused with an Athletic sport. By definition, it does qualify as a sport, but is it REALLY?

Sport

Physical activity that is governed by a set of rules or customs and often engaged in competitively.

A particular form of this activity.

An activity involving physical exertion and skill that is governed by a set of rules or customs and often undertaken competitively.

An active pastime; recreation

The 3rd bullet would actually qualify NASCAR as a sport.

My question to you is, Is NASCAR a sport and why?

To help you along, here are two links that I found on pro and con of this debate.

NASCAR is NOT a sport

NASCAR is a sport

Now this is racing!

2006-03-27T22:13:00.000-06:00

Can you tell he used to race GT4?

Sucka!

2006-03-23T18:35:00.000-06:00

The beauty of the internet. You have to love the scammers. Phishing as it's called. I get 2 or 3 of these memos a day. I'll never fall for them, but some dumb bastard will and he'll end up on the 5 O'Clock news crying about it. Here is the latest one, thank god, no really, thank god she contacted me. Feel free to take my place and contact her for 1.5 millllion dollars!

GREETING IN THE NAME OF GOD,

My name is Mrs. Jennifer Wilson., I am a dying woman who have decided to
donate what I have to you/church. I am 59 years old and I was diagnosed
for cancer for about 2 years ago,immediately after the death of my
husband, who has left me everything he worked for.I have been touched by
God to donate from what I have inherited from my late husband to the you
for the good work of God, rather than allow my relatives to use my husband
hard earned funds ungodly.

Please pray, that the good Lord forgive me my sins.I have asked God to
forgive me and i believe he has because He is a merciful God.

I will be going in for an operation in less than one week and I decided
to WILL/donate the sum of $1,500,000 (One million five hundred thousand dollars)
to you for the good work of the lord, and also to help the motherless and less
privilege and also for the assistance of the widows.

At the moment I cannot take any telephone calls
right now due to the fact that my relatives are around me and my health
status.I have adjusted my WILL and my lawyer is aware I have changed my WILL.
If you are a Godly person, please contact my lawyer and he will arrange
the transfer of the funds from my account to your preffered account.

I wish you all the best and may the good Lord bless you abundantly, and
PLEASE use the funds well and always extend the good work to others.
Pls. Contact my lawyer, Barrister Joseph Wallace , with all these specified
email addresses-:

1. att_jowallace@yahoo.com
2. barrister_josephwallace@walla.com
3. barrister_joswallace@myway.com

Tell: +44-702-408-0309

Please ensure that you copy all your correspondence to the three email addresses above.

Please tell him that I have WILLED ($1,500,000.00) to you.
Goodluck in all your future endeavours!

Thanks,
Mrs. Jennifer Wilson.

Why don't I just publish my credit card number on my blog and save her the time.

By the way, we have two group rides this weekend, see the link about Amigos on the right for details.

Dribble

2006-03-19T18:11:00.000-06:00

I like Air-cooled VW's that are stroked with HP. I have one, hopefully this year I'll have more time to work on it. I love the Cal-Look style. Which is typically a big motored, agressive stance ACVW. Mainly Beetles, but I love all the Air-Cooled VW's.

Riding is feeling good. How many of us are not feeling so good? How many of us are feeling good right now? How many of us are feeling too good? I'd like to discuss the feeling too good right now. Unless you are going to be racing in the next month, you may be setting yourself up for a short season. I know of one guy that is feeling way too good right now, which may prove to be fatal come July. We'll just have to wait and see.

I think I'm doing Comp SS this year. Wait let me rephrase that, I'm going to do a few races as Comp SS this year in WORS. Other than that, who the hell knows what else I'll be doing as far as the race season goes.

Shaved legs! When do you start to shave your legs? For me, it's as soon as I start to train seriously. I don't shave every day nor like I would during the season, but once I start to shave my legs. I really don't know why we shave our legs. For me it's the start of my committment to train, bottom line. How about you?

What about The Baron? He definitely has a pair of steelies, his wife too as a matter of fact. Good luck and I hope it works out for you and your family. Maybe someday I'll be able to do something like that. Lucky!

Rode on Saturday for 3+ again. Need to keep the bottom happy on those long rides. Good crowd. The Ganj finally showed up and A Fink came out as well as did Tyrine, Commander G, Carlos and MattG came down with Dave from UW-Whitewater Cycling. We left almost on time this past Saturday from Alterra on Prospect to Port and back. Not too bad of a ride. Too many flats, tho. Way too hard at times, but then again, we had MC HammerTy with us. He should race road, he has the metallity of a "rip your legs off" roadie. Woke up on Sunday with a sore lower lumbar, getting old.

Getting close on the basement -- Spinninmud shoot me a memo, I need to touch base with you on the layout of the electrical.

Casa de Bubba and Haulin on the Bike have been liked.

Night Vision

2006-03-15T17:00:00.000-06:00

Flashing red lights and bright bobbing white lights. A train of 3 headed out for cold and windy night ride for a 2 hour trek. Noodle leg, Craig Buckett - Private Eye and yours truly headed out on our Tuesday night ride. Wind was a factor early in the ride. Blasting us at times and then it seemed as if there was no wind at all. The night was clear and crisp. Funny how people appear to be confused when seeing 3 20 Watt lights bouncing as you approach them. We did our normal route from the Tosa Village to the Parkway and up Burleigh. Some of the open straights heading West and North West had some pretty strong wind gusts. About 45 minutes into the ride, Gregs rear tire started to deflate slowly. He brought a hand pump. After a few stops to keep his tire inflated, he decided to call it quits and head back to my house. Mikey and I continued up through Brookfield and the climb of Gebhardt where we ended up in the Village of Elm Brook and heading back East down through the subdivision and connecting up to Watertown Plank Rd. All the way dodging ignorant drivers. Apparently the lights and the Orange coats of Alterra aren't as visible as we thought, but I'm leaning more towards drivers not believing that they are seeing bikes. They tend to live in a land of make believe.

Good ride and felt great. I think Noodle Leg is coming around. Not sure about the weekend, we'll have to see how much snow falls tonight and tomorrow. Rode past the Tosa Trails, those appear to be out of commission for awhile, flooded. I feel like a fixie weekend. I also feel like trying to put in a century soon.

Wind Blocker

2006-03-13T20:34:00.000-06:00

I love the Wind Blockers on long rides. You get behind them and you glide along, with little to no effort. These guys and sometimes gals, don't get enough credit on long windy road rides. Heres to you Wind Blockers!

On Sunday we headed out to Port Washington from Alterra Coffee on Prospect. 10 O'clock sharp was the ride time, but sharp really doesn't mean sharp anymore, but that's a different topic. We had a good crowd. Wind Blocker number #1, also known as Russell with two L's showed up. Then came Wind Blocker #2, Greg "The Buckett" and Wind Blocker #3 Double D, now you know it's going to be a good day when these three show up. We also had Cover Boy, Cathy D, Keith "The Energizer Bunny", Noodle Leg, Dirty Dale and Ilene, it's just Ilene cause I just met her, but you can sing the song if you'd like. I have to say, riding down by the lake was chilly compared to the comforts of the inland Wauwatoserville. The Northeast winds were a killer on Sunday, it made for a slap in your face ride out to Port. Thank god we had those three Wind Blockers. I think it was a fight to see who could get behind one of them. I lost out to get behind Russell or Greg. But I was saved as I got lined up behind Double D. Double D is bigger than me and provides plenty of shelter from the wind on days like Sunday, so I was pretty glad to be behind him. That is until it's his turn to pull, he kind of, well, just motor's away from you. Being as it was a base ride, I had to let him go, he of course realized that no one was behind him and eased up for us to catch. The ride back was a lot better since we had the tailwind. We cooked back around 25mph most of the way. Some of it was a bit higher in the HR for me, but then again, when you have Wind Blockers, their HR tend to be lower than guys my size. We got in 3+ hours on Sunday, which is my first ride over 2½ hours this year. Good day capped off with a Chicken Mole Burrito from Qdoba and some entertaining storys from Russell about his brother and Cooop.

Hey look at me, I'm building a room, even though it's probably not square at all!

Need to build a new office since we have a little peanut on the way. Our house is pretty old, Arts and Crafts style Milwaukee Bungalow from 1918. It only has two bedrooms, no closets and tons of wood work and character. So, I'm building an office in the basement. Progress is going pretty good. I've had help from my neighbor and my bro. I just have few more wall frames to put up and then it's onto the electrical. So, if any of you out there know how to do electrical, give me a hollar.

We are planning a night ride tomorrow (3/14/06) from the Tosa Bridge @ 6:30 if anyone is interested. Depending on the trail surface, we may be doing the Tosa Trails. In any case we'll be on Mountain Bikes.

First race bike

2006-03-09T19:01:00.000-06:00

The bike shop. We all have our favorite, which we all swear by and we send everybody we know to it. Mine is Ben's Cycles, which for a long time, I was a closet Ben's Cycles shopper since we were sponsored by. . .well, a different store. The place has been around for years and I mean years, three generations to be exact. I used to go there when I was a kid for BMX stuff. It was like the "far" place to go since it's located in the Barrio on Milwaukee's South side and I lived on the Northwest side. Although, I was born in the Barrio, but moved away when I was 5 or 6 years old. Ben's is just cool. Period. Racers work there, smart asses used to work there and plenty of friends go there. Vince, the owner, is a true character. I don't know him as well as some do, but he's pretty cool. Sometimes forgetful and I suspect a bit of a bullshitter, but then again who isn't. He seems to be always there and always working on some kind of deal or cutting a break for someone. He also has the biggest collection of bikes that I've ever seen. I'm sure Jay, Russel and Eric the Bald rival him, but Ben's has an old movie theater full of them. I was there on Wednesday and helped Vince pull some bikes out of the movie house. I'm always amazed when I go over there, I mean when's the last time you saw one of these.

Well, the real story here is not the bike store but the purchase of my nephews very first race bike. I took my Sister and family down to the barn last weekend to watch the practice. My brother in-law and my nephew, Max, thought it was pretty cool and that my nephew, who is only 5 wanted to try it. That following Sunday, he took his trusty Wal-Mart special to the track. He raced and made it to the mains, albeit a big crash in his moto allowed him to make the main, the taste was there. Some how, I suspect that would probably be the way I'd make it to the mains too. Anyway, he liked it so much, his dad thought it would be a good idea to get him a real BMX bike. So I called up Vince and we lined up a Specialized Hemi Junior for him. I also got his little pal, Drew, a Specialized Hemi Mini. Check out the happiest kids on the block.

Life is good when you plant a smile like that on a youngster!

Stupid people in cars. . .

2006-03-06T18:54:00.000-06:00

Why is it that when people get behind the wheel of a car, they automatically turn stupid? I never will understand that, as I am sure that I am guilty of the same offense on occasion. Maybe it's human nature to be idiots at times. However, since I've become a cyclist, I've been more aware of the idiots that are driving around our streets. Not that I'm an Angry Cyclist, although, I have been in that fury of rage when I get buzzed or nearly killed, but more as an objective observer of stupidity.
Take this weekend for instance. We were on a group ride, hugging the right side of the road, going down Lake Drive near Atwater park. Smart-ass kid in his crappy Potiwreck Grand Prick buzzes by and nails the horn. Obviously thinking that it was a funny stunt and that no way could the guys in bikes ever catch him. . .Wrong. Stupid is as stupid does, right Forrest? Well, the little punk-ass gets stopped at a red light on Capitol Drive and Lake Drive. . .He's crapping his pants because a few of us turned up the speed and caught up to him. Now, we hold true to our sponsor Alterra Coffee and we don't get belligerent, but we did stop and tried to speak to him. Little punk wouldn't even roll the window down. Funny how when confronted about your stupidity that you have nothing to say. Also funny how when called out, you turn on your friends. The passenger, obviously scared poopless, literally pointed over to the driver. We had the last laugh because it was clear that the idiot driver felt like a coward. Maybe next time he won't be so stupid. In hindsight, we probably should have just let it go, but sometimes you have to be strong and stand up for your rights as a cyclist to share the road respectfully.

Mikey, I'm done with OG's&YP's, it's yours!

Turning of age, porn and Bike Porn

2006-03-04T09:58:00.000-06:00

Just would like to say thanks for all the great comments about Ulla and I having a baby boy. I am excited as hell.

About last night, it was a fun filled night with two seperate parties that involved people turning of age. We started the night out with about a group of 20 that went to Maggiano's Little Italy resturante for Sanjay's 30th Birthday. It was a good time, we had quite a few in attendance, Lil'B came down from Shevagas and pretty much all of Team Polska, since Sanjay's girlfriend, Anna rides for them and Sanjay has got to known them pretty well. The usual gang were there as well, Mikey, Chi, Tyrine, The Owens's and Greg. The food was plentiful and good, just check out the "Brick" of Lasagna I had.
We then ventured over to E's house for a shabang. He turned a ripe old age of 4T. I left my camera in the car, which Ulla took home, that sucked, because it was a pretty fun time, I wanted to take pictures. It was a killer setup. He had a firepit roasting in the backyard with a keg of Lakefront Stein stuffed in the snow. A grill going of vegitarian delights, including veggie pizza. The house was rocking with a vintage bullet garbage can signing. The basement was alive with a two piece punk group, which rocked the house. Lots of bikes and of course, drunk people, one being E-roc! Hopefully someone was taking some pics that I can scam and post, because it was a riot. Oh, I forgot, Russel was in fine shape pounding down the 40oz as well. I'm sure he'll have something to say about the party as well.

Walking the dog, yesterday over by 45th Street I stumbled upon a DVD entitled, Old Grannies and Young Panties lying on the ground, porn ground score! Ulla and I popped in for a second, obviously the curiosity was killing us. Ummm. . .yup, it was pretty bad. I think it's right up Ty's alley, just kidding.

Finally, I scored a BMX bike. My boss, Bryan Dickerson, sold me one of his old Felt bikes. I was able to try it out on Thursday and I can safely say, it crashes just like any other bike, except, you are closer to the ground so you just get there faster. I was in the wrong place at the wrong time as Bubba schooled me in the art of being ran over. However, if I wouldn't have fallen, Bubba wouldn't have run me over. I have a sore ankle and some road rash, but am fine other than that. Can't to get into some racing this year.

We have a ride scheduled for today, it will be my maiden voyage on the fixie.

Es un chico!

2006-03-01T18:26:00.000-06:00

Look what Ulla and I made all by ourselves. . .

Coma-Toast!

2006-02-27T18:06:00.000-06:00

Wow, what a drunken stupor Saturday night turned out to be. It's funny how when drinking from a kegger, you don't realize how much you've consumed. Which would account for me being as wrecked as I was. About 20 or so team members showed up and had a great time. Christine made some meatless Chili, which was pretty damn tasty. Ty showed off his newly acquired Schwinn Grand LeTour, I am envious, I'll post a picture of it soon. It's pretty dope, hand painted pin stripes, lugged frame, all period pieces, nice ride. Not sure what year it is, but Eric was impressed. Speaking of which, we had an appearance from Eric The Bald who is going to be reaching the honorable age of four-T next weekend. I think Greg and I were the last to leave around 2am from Tyrines house. You try to leave quietly, but somehow, when you're drunk your inside voice turns out to be a tad bit louder. Needless to say, I was pretty much laid up yesterday, which wasn't my original plan for my Sunday. I did however, manage to be motivated in between naps to prep the basement wall to accept it's newly framed exterior. Tried to get on the bike, well, not really, but while laying on the couch, I could see it sitting on the trainer, which was close enough to riding it. One good thing about being coma-toasted is that I was damn rested today and felt great all day!

We have a ride scheduled for Tuesday night @ the Tosa Trails, click here to see the details.

The New Guy Rides!

2006-02-25T15:14:00.000-06:00

Had a great time today on the trails. Got in a solid 2 hours as I rode around a little bit after the fellas and I ended the ride. MattG from Madison by way of Minnesota made it down to finally ride with his new team. Greg, Tyrant and I along with MattG took to the trails at 11am this morning. We headed down the normal route past the pool and decided to hit the trails next to the river. Well, that was a little bit of a lung buster and we bailed on that side, we hit the road and connected back up at North Ave. Not bad at all from there to the Harley trails, which were not ridden very much. Nonetheless, we did the short route at the Harley trails and moved onto Bubba's Secret trail. Which, at this point, aren't too much of a secret anymore. We blazed through Bubba's and headed back. Towards the end of the ride, the snow got a bit mushing, but were still pretty ridable. I'm gonna bail on the BMX stuff tomorrow as I promised the wife that I'd start the basement, since we are expecting and I gotta get it done. If I go to the track, I could expect to be there all day, and then be in the dog house a lot longer. So I'm planning on doing a road ride tomorrow instead, as I think the trails make me work harder than I want to at this point. Not sure on the time tho, since we have a team party tonight at Tyrines, which will end up in a drunken stupor since LakeFront Brew and Martini's will be flowing heavy.

. . . gonna need you to go ahead and come in on Sunday

2006-02-24T17:17:00.000-06:00

Well I finally went down to the Barn last night to get back my mad skillz from 20 years ago on the BMX bike. Didn't happen! I did about 10 - 12 passes on a borrowed Cruiser and helmet from my boss. It was a blast tho. The full line of homeys were in attendence showing their mad hops. It's a little tricky at first, setting up at the gate. I can track stand like no one's business, but get me on a 24", that felt more like a 20" and leaning forward on the gate, and it's a little different. Not to mention, you really can roll with the bike, you need to just balance. Gate dropping was tough to time in the beginning, but I got it at the end on the last two drops. The track is pretty nice, it almost is as hard as cement, but smooth as my legs after a shave. Even though the track length is shorter than most outdoor tracks, it still was a decent work out. Not nearly as hard as pounding a few laps at Crystal Ridge, but doing the passes back to back to back was a bit tiresome and hot.
So the boss invited me down to do the races this Sunday on his 20". It's a charity event and anyone can race without a license all day. You just need to pay $10 I think, which goes to charity. I would obviously do the 28 & Over Novice for kicks. Who knows, maybe I'll do this for a little while. It sure was fun to be back on a BMX bike, tho.

We have a ride scheduled for tomorrow @ 11 from the Tosa Trails, click here for details.

Here are some photos from last night.

Whats going on

2006-02-20T19:07:00.000-06:00

The Weekend

Seems I've contracted a little bit of an Upper Respiratory Infection Friday night into Saturday and throughout the weekend. These suck because you do nothing but sneeze, sniffle and have trouble breathing. I've managed to put in 3 hours on the bike, indoors, but still feel like crap. I'm still going to try and get in a decent night ride tomorrow night with Greg and Tyrant. For those of you who want to ride, you can check out our website for posted rides here. The weather should be pretty good and the trails are in decent shape now that MountainGoat and the boys packed the trails down on Saturday. Brave souls they are for slapping on the lycra and riding in sub-zero temps.

Tour Of California

A friend of my wife called us on Sunday and told us that ESPN2 is carrying the Amgen Tour of California. Set the TiVo up and I'm good for the entire Tour. The Prologue was yesterday and Levi Lepheimer took the stage. He looked strong as did Jullich, Hincapie and Landis, which should make for a good race. The field is pretty stacked with quite a few Europeans coming over to do the tour. Good for the U.S. and great for Cycling in the U.S. On a side note, a new pro team that I was not aware of has hit the scene, The Toyota-United Pro Cycling team. It's always good when a new pro team shows up in the U.S.

Roid Boy

So flipping around the channels last night and I come across this show on TLC called, The Mans Whose Arms Exploded. WTF is this? Have you seen a picture of this Roid Boy? It's freaking retarded! I mean, come on, this guy is like 5 foot nothing and his arms are the size of Popeyes! Big difference is Popeye is cool and is all natural while this dude is just a tard! Let's sit back and analyze this less than a man meathead. You go on Roids and then claim you have the biggest arms, which he does, yet, everyone knows he got them through cheating. He then has his self-proclaimed web-site call The Biggest Arms in the World, with him pumping his guns. We know all to well about cheaters in our sport and other like sports. I guess this guy thinks it's ok to cheat and claim that he got those 27" arms COLD by working hard. He never admits it on his web-site, but he was caught red handed for injecting and dealing Roids. So if you want to have a good laugh, watch this show, he looks retarded.

March of the Saint

2006-02-17T20:06:00.000-06:00

When sitting on the trainer for a couple of hours your mind starts to wander. Sure, I got something on the tube, but you tend to drift and the next thing you know, you've ridden an hour. Well, I was surfing some stations today while on the trainer and came across the Heavy Metal satellite music station. The band, Armored Saint. The song, March of the Saint. Now, I don't exactly remember the lyrics, although, I have to admit, I have listened to them back in the mid-80's. I took the liberty of looking the lyrics up to the song, as you can see, very well done:

You're the youth bangers fight forever more 
Raise your golden hammer bring it down like Thor 
Ooh the force is going to bring us victory 
No foe or rival will stop the energy

Which got me to thinking of picture I saw of them back in 1984, which is also nicely done. This I do remember, because it stuck in my mind as funny as hell. Based on the name, you can guess what kind of outfit these guys wear. If you're going to pose for a group picture, and expose your arms up to the shoulder, you should kind of not have a farmers tan! As you can tell in the picture below, no such thought there.

Which leads me to this website that's been around for a couple of years. It's the funniest shit I've seen in a while since I'm a metal fan. The pictures of these guys brings metal to a whole new level. These bands are actual Black Metal which is pretty scary stuff. Not only do they look like idiots and sing like idiots, these guys actual believe in what they are singing. Pretty freaky. So this site called Ruthless Reviews totally slams them, funny as hell. It's the Top Ten Most Ridiculous Black Metal Pics of All Time. Which was followed up by the (The Other) Top Ten Most Ridiculous Black Metal Pics.

Rode the trainer today for 1½ hours on my fixie, can't wait to get that out on the road.

Snow Day. . .But the Beer man still delivers.

2006-02-16T14:35:00.000-06:00

Well, I think we finally got hit by our "big" winter storm. Piss on that little rodent for predicting 6 more weeks of crap. Anyway, I work out in Hartford and they got nailed today. They already had about 6 inches or so from the night before. It was around 8:00am this morning that it started to really snow, then bam! A bolt of lightning and it came down in a hurry. El Hefé of our company called it a day at 11:00, with about 3 - 4 inches added to the total already, it was a mess. I sat in traffic at times up to 20 minutes. A commute that usually takes me only about 50 minutes took 2 hours and 5 minutes. It totally sucked! The highway was at a standstill around HWY45 and 167West. I took that exit and made the rest of my way home from 175 until I got to County Line rd and then I jumped back on the highway it was great.

So off to shovel the driveway and walkway . . . It's like moving wet cement. That snow was heavy, it had a layer of wet, mush snow underneath the layer of snow. My back was killing me, since I have yet to get the budget department to approve a snow blower for the household. I did however, catch the beer man delivering his product, albeit, crappy Miller, but then again, there's worse, PBR comes to mind. Vile sewage at best!
So I guess I'm on the trainer tonight instead of the night ride, so be it, I guess suffering on the trainer pays off in the long run. I'm going to put my fixie on the trainer and run that.

Remember the funniest show on network television is on tonight - The Office

People Suck!

2006-02-15T18:05:00.000-06:00

This is nothing new and we already know this, but as Mikey always tells me, "you're so obvious", so I have to reiterate this with a few of my stories from the week. I have a long commute to work, which allows me to see every a-hole on the road and I admit, at times I'm the biggest a-hole there is. But sometimes, there are just no excuses for stupid actions and stupid people. . .None! I'll start off small and work my way up to the top shelf, if you will.
The first of all dead brain moves are the people who insist that, even though the sign shows the lane ending, keep using the lane until it's too late and pretty much makes everyone else, who understood the sign and is in the correct lane, stop for them. Inconsiderate dumbass! You then run into that same person, I am sure, that determines that the left lane is in fact the slow lane during the morning commute. Speeding is speeding, but speeding is not speeding when every freakin person is going 75! So, if you're in the left lane going 55, you are doing more harm than making a statement that you abide by the speed limit. At least get the clue that when 50 people cruise past you and cut back into the left lane, that maybe you should move!

The next one gets me burned, no pun intended, but it's not as bad as my last story. I despise the jack-asses that flip their damn cigarette butt out the window after you've cherished it's last surviving life! WTF! It's yours, you chose to smoke it, you keep it, I don't want it and neither does anyone else who doesn't smoke. You don't want to dirty your car, HUH? You've blasted your lungs with carcinogenic smoke, tar and nicotine, but you don't want it in your car? Complete idiot's rule move!

This last one, I have to take a breath and cool down, because this one will get me shot some day, I am sure of it. I am stopped at a red light on 92nd and Center going East. In front of me is a nicely done up Ford Tarus from lets say 90 or so. The door pops open a crack and out comes an empty orange juice bottle. My mouth drops and my blood boils. The nerve of this mutha-f@*ker! No more than 2 seconds later comes out the fast food bag, right there in the middle of the damn street. At this point, I am about to implode. I nail the horn, keep in mind the light is still red. I see the stupid-ass bitch look in the mirror and sort of flip me off. On the horn again, and I don't let go for about 2 or 3 seconds. The light goes green, off she speeds down the road to the next red light. I want to pull up next to her and give her some good ol verbal abuse, but the light turns green. She only goes through the intersection a few feet to left into the gas station. Go figure, you throw your thrash out on the road, but you will stop at gas station no more than a mile down the road, ever think of using the garbage can at the gas station when you get there? Anyway, I pull up next to her in the right lane because she has to wait for traffic. Stupid ass bitch has her kids and mother in the car. Has no clue as to why I'm asking her to roll her window. I scream, "You left your F@*CKIN trash on the next block, you STUPID F@*KIN BITCH!" Give her the number one salute for which she is and take off before she can spew out any of her garbage back at me.

PEOPLE SUCK!

I rode last night with Kramer, Tyrant and Greg, it was a blissful night.

Snow, trails and bike porn

2006-02-11T19:20:00.000-06:00

Snowy Trails

What a kick ass ride today we had. Nothing better than riding a SS on the River Trails while it snows. Mikey, Tyrant, Greg, EricN and Dirty Dale were all in attendance today in what was prolly one of the coolest rides I've done in a long time. We're talking primo trails, clear, hard-packed and with a few inches of fresh powder. We rode from the North Ave bridge, North on the West side of the river and did the loop around to the East side river. I was pretty amazed at the trail in itself. I haven't ridden the River trails since Mikey took a dinger 3 years ago and pretty much fractured his collar bone. We had a good ride thru and thru, although I think Greg was having a bit of a tough time. He hasn't ridden the SS too much and it's hard to get used to if you're not really riding it. He's getting better, but that trail is kind of technical, add the snow and a new bike and it adds up to difficulties. After the ride we kicked it over to Alterra Coffee for some Mocha Cafe's to warm us up a bit. Good day of riding and it should be another good ride tomorrow at the Tosa trails -- 12:30 @ the Bridge if anyone is interested.

Bike Porn

So we get back to Mikey's house and start to warm up and change and I get a call. It's Vinny @ Ben's and he tells me that my Fixie will be done at 3:30 today if I care to come and pick it up. That was kickin since Vinny told me last night it wouldn't be done until next weekend. So I hook up with Mikey and we go down to get my "Desnudo Negro". Oh man oh man is this bike porn or what, here are some pix of it, there is more in the works, I'm not done with it, but it's still looking smooth. It's a 2000 Schwinn Peloton 853 Reynolds Steel with Campy Track dropouts, 105 cranks, WCS headset, Edge Carbon blade fork, Dede stem, Ritchey seat post, Fi'zik Pavé seat, Mavic CPX22 rims with Formula Hubs and I'm running a 42x16. Powder coated mate black and I'm trying to keep the bike naked with only a Schwinn head badge.

Hello. . .My name is John. . .

2006-02-08T18:44:00.000-06:00

Cool guy Mikey has once again supplied us with a fine, fine story to tell. He has had some good ones ranging from his near death collision with a parked car on his Serrotta. That netted him a nifty ride in a chopper. To opening his mouth when he probably should have just kept it shut. He also had several awesome cars, that believe it or not, did not quite run as they were said to have. Nevermind his trek to New York to purchase a car sight unseen for some ghastly amount of dough only to turn up as a lemon. Oh, and his drive back from NY with ear plugs in because it was a true winner of a car. We did have that one time where I was driving with some other Alterra members to Sunburst for a pre-ride. Mikey was to meet us there, but as we past EVS on Hwy 41/45, we see this guy on the side of the highway, yanking out a Mountain Bike and jumping over the fence. As we drive by, we notice, it's Mikey, with gas can in hand trying to get his bike over the fence. . .that was way too funny. Then there was the time that we were looking at race results, and we notice the name Steve Miller, Mikey in his infamous sarcastic tone, says, "Steve Miller, what a crappy name that is". Only to have a voice directly behind him say, "Hey, that's my name. . ." What a foot in the mouth that was. . .ahhhh, good times, good times, there are plenty more. However, this next one takes the cake. Mikey sends me a memo at work and tells me that he thinks he left his cell phone over at my house on Superbore Sunday. I respond telling him that I will look for it. I then see 2 voice messages on my cell. I call them and the first one is Sanjay. He says something to the fact that some guy called him from Mikey's phone and said he found it in some shirt pocket at a Thrift shop. I'm like WTF! He selling the clothes off his back now? I listen to the second message and well. . . here for yourself, just click here to listen to Lost and Found. This may not work on a Mac, but really, who owns those things anyhow?

Mikey here's to ya! I'll have to buy you a beer this weekend bud.

Work 14 hours a day = Trainer riding

2006-02-07T19:38:00.000-06:00

Trainers. . .the most depressing feeling is having to get dressed to sit on the trainer. I do it because it's my only means to train, when you can't do the obvious. But what can you do when you put in late hours at work. My trainer is set up in the back side of our living room, right next to the couch and the dog's crate. Crank the tube over a bit and watch what I record on TiVo, since I've worn out all of the current bike racing DVDs. I have some good ones at that. Sunday In Hell, everyone should have a copy of that film. Even though it wasn't focused on Eddy, it sure shows you his power. Stars and Watercarriers this is also a classic to have. Old footage brings back the real flavor of how these guys actually had to really ride for themselves . I think of all of the old footage DVD's that I have, the coolest one is La Course en Tete. This film details Eddy Merckx and gives you insight to who he is, not dramatically, but it's during the height of his career as a cyclist. It's a really good film to watch because it brings to the forefront, what I believe, is the greatest cyclist.
I have some current flicks too. I have the 2001 Tour, which features the now infamous Lance shot ever, The Look. I got a couple other good ones, 2004 Tour, poor Beloki crashes out on that one, it looks real bad, I replayed it over and over and over. But since I've watched those over and over, it's time to put the TiVo to good use. I'm a car racing guy, not your Nascrap, but the German Touring Cars, Austrialian V8 Supercars and The British Touring Cars. You want to talk about drivers, these guys run mainly on Circuits and bang with the best of the yahoo rednecks in those pickups. Once the Spring Classics come on, I'll be recording those, but who knows if OLN will pick them up this year since the Outdoor Lance Network no longer has Lancey. I'm not even sure if the Discovery Channel will pick up any of the races either. It would really suck if neither picked up any cycling, I guess back to reality.
Well, hopefully I'll be able to post some funny shit tomorrow. If you haven't seen what Mikey posted recently, go check it out, because I got that guy on answering machine. It's just that this is a typical Mikey stunt. Phone in a pitcher of beer and lost phone at Bastille Days, broken down car on the highway. . .I'll have my Mikey story topic tomorrow I think. . .stay tuned.

The day before Monday

2006-02-05T22:09:00.000-06:00

Went out Saturday night to celebrate one of Ulla's friends 30th birthday party at Mo's Irish Pub in Downtown Milwaukee. It's a nice place and the food is really good plus they have real "imported" Irish bartenders. I mean, I couldn't understand a damn word they were saying and I was talking to them a good portion of the night about the basketball game. . .go figure. Anyhow, the Black & Tan's were going down good, too good, I had to stop after 4 or I would have been in the same situation as this morning (see previous post: The long cold one). I did however, have one car bomb, which is damn tastey if I do say so myself. Well after chowing down swedish meatballs, cheese, sausage and crackers and pouring a few good ones, we were about ready to leave.
Around 4am this morning, I wake up with one hell of a gut ache. I'm betting it's those crappy meatballs that I grubbed earlier, I mean, I ate a bunch of them since I didn't eat dinner and I did a 3 hour ride earlier in the day, so my appetite was catching up to me. Well, after debating whether or not I was gonna blow chow, I decided to get up and get some water and mosey over to the toilet and wait a bit. I stroll over to the bathroom and click on the light. . .sitting on the toilet seat was my cat. . .freaked me out! It actually helped because I didn't feel like puking anymore since I kind of crapped my pants (not really). Some how I fell back asleep without incident and woke up feeling pretty good to start my Superbore Sunday!

Meatheads and mud

Ballys Total Fitness is where I go to lift weights and workout. This place is a joke, but it's inexpensive and close so we go to it. It's always dirty and smelly, I mean locker rooms have a smell, but this one is nasty. I don't sit on the benches, I don't let my feet touch the floor, even if I have socks on, I just hate it.
So I am to meet up with Greg and do our workout plan. Greg is late, as usualy, so I start on the sled without him after stretching for about 10 minutes. As soon as I get on the sled, some huge muscle dude, sweating from doing massive lifting is asking me if he can join in. I look at him surpised as I don't really know what he's saying, thinking, maybe he'll just leave because I'm scrawny looking. Nope, he's like, we'll lift in turns. So I think, hmmmm. . .I'm 160 lbs, only gonna lift minimal weight and he's like 250 lbs and is probably going to max it out. NO WAY! I tell him I'm waiting for another and that him and I will be switching. He gives me that look - you know the "I'd crush you on any day" look and says, "just let me know when you're done". Greg shows up like 2 seconds later and we do our work out. Meatheads, I wonder what they do with all tha muscle. I can see building it to do something with it, but just building up your body to be over-blown is retarded if you ask me. Well, after about an hour or so, Greg and I finished our routine and Ulla was ready to go, so we left that hell hole we call a gym.
Mud - Wet, sticky, soft earth, as on the banks of a river.
That is the definition of mud and we found out today. Now, I don't know about most of you, but I really just hate riding in mud. I see no worth of it. I understand if I have to compete in mud, you have to, but just for the sake of riding in it, you can count me out. Then add in the cold of today and you have one not so friendly time. So we got in on the trails and they should have been rock hard, but since the sun came out and ruined it all, we had to bail on the trails and just ride the Oak Leaf trail. Not so bad, but I was really looking forward to a trail ride, so I wasn't really into it. Greg and I turned back after about 45 minutes into it and my brother went a little further.
Watched the game tonight, with the gang, I made some Turkey tacos and some home-made Spanish rice, it was pretty damn good. The game was ok, but kind of wished it was a bit closer. If it's not the Pack, I really don't care, but I did take Seattle and now I own $10 to my buddy at work -- Stupid Seahawks!

The long cold one.

2006-02-04T17:50:00.000-06:00

Ooohh. . .My aching head, my dry mouth, my full bladder. . .I hate waking up with a hang-over. I guess when you indulge in too much sauce, you have to pay up some how, hang-over's are the payment. Man, did I wake up feeling shitty this morning after our night of "training". Ulla got up all chipper and went off on her little way to the gym at 8am this morning. Me, I knew I had a ride scheduled at a 11am, so that meant, at least 1½ hours of painful rest before I needed to actually do something. I did manage to struggle and get up to the medicine cabinet and find 4 Ibuprofen, man how I wish for just one Vicotin. That would be great to have a nice little stash of that wonder drug, ahhhhh....anyway back to the subject. So after about an hour, I'm feeling somewhat able to do what I need to do, get up and get my gear ready. Just as I was managing to do this, Ulla comes home and pops into the bedroom. . .I guess the releasing of the toxins from the previous night had made the room more or less inhabitable, she lites a candle and leaves.
Well, I'm up and about, I make my first call to Greg making sure he's going to make the ride. Greg is usually the first one I call when there is a ride scheduled in cold weather. . .he usually bails. But not this time, he's in and getting ready. Call Mikey, he picks up and sounds just rancid. He's like, "Dude, I'm soo hung-over, I'am at the store getting some food. . .I'll see you there at 11:30 right?" That's a typical Mikey response, always trying to push the time out, I correct him and let him know it's 11am sharp.
I am the first one at the coffee shop, I'm in the parking lot across from Alterra getting ready, jamming Slayer and Greg pulls up. He's looking chipper and ready to go, Mikey pulls in on his ride, looking like hell, sounding like hell. Carlos pulls in a few minutes later and we are ready to roll. Even though it was only 28º out, it wasn't all that bad until the wind from the North came whipping in around 24mph. Man was that brutal at times, dropped the temp down to around 14º. We get moving and we're doing all right until about 50 minutes in and Mikey says he's gotta go back. Mikey has been suffering from some type of fatigue, mainly on his left leg, it's very strange, but he hasn't been the same for awhile. It started happening about ¾ of the through last years race season. So, we about ready to go back, but I was feeling a lot better and decided to keep going. Mikey, Greg and Carlos turned back and I kept going. I rode for amost 3 hours keeping pace of my goal today. I actually rode for 2 hours and 50 minutes. Eating Lemom Poppy Seed bread for fuel from Alterra's finest baker. I'll take that bread anyday over a cold crappy Clif Bar. It wasn't all that bad, once I started to head South, the wind was at my back and it didn't feel that cold anymore. I did that all on my Mountain Bike SS since I don't have my fixie back from the shop, it's getting repainted and I didn't want to bring out the good road bike.
All in all, it was a pretty good day riding and tomorrow we have a short mountain bike ride on the Tosa trails and then we will watch the SuperBore.

Night Train. . .ing

2006-02-04T15:01:00.000-06:00

So me and boys ventured out last night to the River Horse Bar to meet up with Mikey to check out his girl, Chimene, spinning vinyl and looking hip. So after Greg and I get sort of lost, yea, I know, I've lived in Milwaukee all my life and I still get lost in crappy Riverwest, we finally find the bar after calling Mikey. We stroll in and it's pretty dead, Mikey and the Ganj are already there and we are ready to start Training. The night goes pretty good, Spotted Cow goes down easy especially when it's still Happy Hour! Hours go by and Chi is kicking the vinyl pretty good. Of course we are training better and better as the night goes on as well. Then she starts to kick the beats with Slayer which then bounces over to the Thompson Twins and then back to some Iron Maiden. The beats just get better and better, or maybe it was just the beer. Well, more and more beers go down and then we see this! Mikey choking down the butts -- WTF!
I guess old habits are hard to break, what a cool guy. Well the night goes late for us as we are planning a 11am rendezvous at Alterra for a nice 3 hour base ride up to Port and back. However tipping the hour hand to 1am is getting a bit late and since I've poured more than a half-dozen Spotted Cows down my throat, I'm getting about done.
So we send Mikey on one final beer run to, you know, get us ready for the road. Actually Greg didn't get a last beer, he was driving, but me, ahhh. . .serve it up. We left but Mikey had to stay till close with Chi still spinning, I think he pounded down his share. However, I knew once morning came, I was going to be feeling it.

Russell needs a new job, lets help.

2006-02-03T12:05:00.000-06:00

After reading Russell blog, it came to me that he may need some help determining his new career path. Let's face it, all we've known as Russell as "the guy that works at the shop". He obviously has more talent than wrenching and selling his wares on eBay. So I took it upon myself to help promote his new career, but what that career may be, I'm not so sure.
I think we may need a collective here from all of us to help determine what his goal in life may be. So I took the liberty and put together this little poll to help him along.

RUSSELL'S NEW CAREER

Must be fair. . .I suppose

2006-02-03T11:34:00.000-06:00

Well to be perfectly fair to Mitch, not all of us navigated that slippery bridge, yours truly had the same type of incident, however, not nearly as funny as Mitch's

Remember the good ol' days. . .

2006-02-02T21:36:00.000-06:00

MitchMud. . .nuff said

Part I

Part II

Sorry Mitch, I just has to post these, been wanting to for a long time.

There an back!

2006-02-02T07:18:00.000-06:00

Well, funny as it may seem, I've had this blog active for almost a year. Yup, it's been here, just nothing written to it. I started this when Mountaingoat got his up and running. But as some things go, it fell to the way side. Then my good friend Mikey started his after a year or so of reading other blogs. That got me to thinking, is this blog still around? Did it fall off the infinite web that Al Gore built? Nope here it is in all of it's boring glory, ready to bore anyone else that chooses to read my dribble.
What can you expect from this blog? Well nothing much, that's for sure. I have opinions like everyone else, political views and twisted thoughts like everyone else and most of all a keyboard and monitor to type it all on. As the title states, it is what is, just Crazy Talk.
So I've been visiting other blogs over the past year and all I have to say is, wow, everyone has a lot to say, I don't even know if I could come close to all the dribble that "Life in the Rusty Tool Shed" has to say. Lots of nothing and then there's a lot of something, so I guess I'll try to keep up and be as clever as some of these other guys. I do help maintain a web-site, Alterra Coffee MTB, but it's not quite the same. I mean I have to be a bit careful of what I put in the Whats New section. We have sponsors to think about and it's really a family style site, so I am putting all my useless words here.
Until then, I'll spread this link around to all my friends that have blogs and hopefully keep pace.