HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!!!

Be safe! Stay out of trouble!

Peace out, yo!

Indian Summer....

My passport photo....
The railroad bridge over the Cedar River....
The dam from the south....
Cedar Falls dam from the north....
The Green Bike....
Kinda cool, but nice....
It's Election Season....

Congrats to Nicky Hayden, the new Moto GP World Champ. The race between the Ducatis at the front was good, the rest was so-so. Pedrosa didn't take anyone out, nor did Stoner. Troy Bayliss (current WSBK champion) led from flag to flag and won the race. Not bad considering he hasn't been on the Moto GP bike since 2004!

The ride this morning started out COLD but ended up 31 miles later being pretty nice. I'm still trying to get used to the speed of the Surly as compared to my geared bikes. (a whopping 12 mph) The workout is good even though the speeds are much slower! I know I'm going to hate the time change from daylight savings time.... Almost all of my riding will be after dark now. I need to be looking for something more effective in the way of lighting in the near future. My Cateye EL 500 works alright but why not upgrade to something a little brighter? The ole Opticube will still make a great backup light source.

I don't know about you but I am getting tired of the election season. I had 8 pieces of junk mail in my mailbox yesterday, which brings the count for the week to around 40. Oh well, only a few more days.

I'll be off to New Orleans on Thursday and back on Sunday. Hopefully that's the end of the travelling for this year. I'm looking forward to some good meetings and some good food while down there. Real Cajun, baby!!!!

That's it for now, off to The Evil Empire to look at a DVD recorder....

Peace out, yo!

500....



The Surly hit the road for the first time on the 19th of September and the itty-bitty Cateye 'puter said "500" miles last night!!!! Woohoo! I like that bike!

Peace out, yo!

Courier....

The Waterloo Cedar Falls Courier is running a special in their classified section. For only $23.50 you can "Honor your Veteran" on the 11th of November (Veterans Day) by having his or her picture put in a special section that is running that day. Only $23.50!!! You have no idea how much that pisses me off! They should be doing everything that they can do to get those pictures from the veterans and/or their families and run them in a very large special section for free that day.

If I need to explain this to you, you'll never get it anyway.

Peace out, yo!

Rant on.....



Just a few random thoughts regarding the upcoming elections....

Who's tired of our politicians and the way they continue to say and do the same old things and nothing ever seems to improve? They say whatever they feel they have to say during their campaigns in order to get themselves elected and when they do get elected, they become a small, ineffective part of the ineffective "political machine". You don't hear much from or about them, unless they are involved in some scandal, until the next election cycle when they attempt to perpetuate the system that we've allowed them to create. They raise taxes and cut services and generally drag us down. Are they performing the will of the people? I don't think so. The bigger problem is that the people are so apathetic that it doesn't matter. "If it doesnt affect me directly, why should I care?"
We won't know how badly we've been screwed until it's too late to do anything about it. Perhaps we're already there?
Do you mind giving, on average, 35% of your income to the government to spend as they please? Do you think that they are spending your hard earned money wisely? Don't you think you could do a better job of spending your own money than they do? Personally, I'm sick and tired of the negativity involved in the campaign process and the lack of measurable action on the part of politicians when they are elected.

What do you suppose would happen if, on election day, we voted all of the incumbents out of office, no matter how "good" or "bad" their performace had been? Do you think that they would percieve the message being sent as "we're tired of business as usual, we want effective government"? Suppose an incumbent decides not to run for reelection.... Put someone from a different party in that office. Shake things up a little. Know what I mean? Then what? Next election cycle, do the same thing. And do it again after that until we get a responsive government. It's our responsibility. We get what we deserve. If we really don't care, then I guess we've already got what we deserve. Personally, I believe that we, as a society, are lazy and ignorant and we're looking for someone to lead us by the nose, like so many sheep, to slaughter. We must like things the way they are. That, or, we don't dislike things enough to get off of our lazy asses and do something about it.

Rant off, for now. :)

Ride your bikes!

Peace out, yo!

Sunshine came softly......

Yup, 32 F this morning....
Salsa lobster gloves....
Dressed in layers....
Wore my Gators today....
George Wyth Park....

I went into the plant and worked for 5 hours yesterday and then came home and slept the better part of 18 hours. Head congestion, chest congestion, generally felt like crap. Add to that the fact that it was raining outside and you end up with a miserable day. I woke up early this morning feeling a bit better so I slowly dressed in several layers of lycra and polypropolene and took the Surly out for a spin. It didn't take long to warm up but my legs never really felt very good. I just pedaled at about 11 mph up through Black Hawk Park and then back through Big Woods and Gateway Parks and finished up by cruising through George Wyth Park. I saw 2 cyclists and perhaps 3 groups of people out walking. One of the cyclists was an older gentleman on Grand being pulled along by his Jack Russell and the other was a gentleman whom I met on the bridge crossing the Cedar along the highway. I waited and let him by so that he could avoid the ice along the east edge of the bikeway. When I got back home, Judy told me that Jackal had called and that he had called me a bad name because I went riding without him this morning. Sorry, Jackal. I didn't know if I'd last 5 miles or 50 this morning. Turns out I made it 21 or so. Another time?

Jackal has a couple of pics of baby Rhea in Cannondale team kit on his site. You may want to check that out! She's soooo cute!

Wo ist Kerkove?

Later!!!!

Peace out, yo!

Tifosi....

Diggin' the new Q3 Fototec specs.... Pimpin'

The ride tonight was chilly.

My friendly neighborhood Tifosi expert recommended the Q3 Fototec....

His twin brother seconded the motion.....

I ordered them from the shop....

They stayed in place while riding and didn't fog up at 35 degrees....

The Fototec lenses are clear during low light times like mid-October evening rides....

I like them....

Peace out, yo!

Thursday.....


You can see my cuddlebug right HERE.

Peace out, yo!

Chicago....

Lots of people at the show...
Off f the I55 and onto the I94....
Chicago after dark....
Sears Tower and Hancock Building in clouds.... Sweet VeeDub in Kenosha....

Flew in to Midway Monday moning and took a cab to the Graph Expo trade show at McCormick Place in downtown Chicago. It was a long day! Cab back to Midway at 5 pm where I picked up my rental car and drove back into the city from which I'd just come! Traffic sucked. Not as bad as The Cities, but bad just the same. Made my way north on the I-94 to Racine, where I spent the night. I was up early and headed into Kenosha to take care of my business there and was on the road back to Waterloo by 11:30. It was a long trip but got a lot accomplished so it's all good!

Had emails from Kerkov and Jackal telling me that my new Tifosi Q3 Fototecs were in at Europa so I ran up there to pick them up. Sweet!!!!! Thanks, guys! Chatted with Russ about the "old days" for awhile then headed back home for supper. (Someday you guys that are laughing right now will be talking about the "old days" of your lives. Make good memories and relish them so you'll have something to talk about) Now it's time for some rest. I'm pooped!

Peace out, yo!

Sunday....

Rode the green bike yesterday and The Yellow Bike today. Hit the Hartman and George Wyth single track both days as well as some paved trail riding. The trails definitely weren't crowded! I had run into Deerslayer and Connor last Sunday as they had just finished clearing the east end of the trail in Hartman North. Thanks guys! All of the single track is in pretty good shape. There are a couple of places with trees down but it's all managable.

We went to lunch today at Toad's with Jackal and Moo and little Rhea as well as Eric and Nikki with all 3 of their boys. It was good!

Pedrosa did today what I think most followers of Moto GP had to have known he would eventually do.... He took Hayden out on lap 5 of the next to the last race of the year. Why would you try to make a risky pass on your own team mate when you had nothing to gain by doing it and your team mate was leading the points standing by a fairly small margin? Valentino now leads by 8 points with one race to go. (Yeah!!!) It's my opinion that Pedrosa is dangerous and shouldn't be racing Moto GP at all. The problem with Pedrosa is that he doesn't even realize how dangerous he is and doesn't remember "ever" making a dangerous move before. Wow! He's definitely out to lunch!

Jackal says that Eduardo stopped by yesterday and that he truly is alive and well.

That's it for now. Chicago tomorrow and Kenosha on Tuesday. It's all good!

Peace out, yo!

Things....

This is my little sweetie, Rhea....
Don't mess with her....
Kinda cool tonight.... 39F
11 Oct 06
Just crossed the river in Cedar Falls....
Should've worn my Gators....

Jackal and Moo brought Rhea down for a visit last night. Grandma and Grandpa held the little cuddlebug and took a couple of pictures. She' a sweetie. Oh yeah! One pink Surly coming up!

I rode the Surly for a little while this evening. Brrr.... It will only get colder! Rode up to the north end Of Black Hawk Park and back , making for about a 20 mile ride. I should have grabbed the Gators because my feet got just a bit cold. Not bad, just a bit. Still better than sitting in front of the tube. It was spitting a few little white flakes while I was out and about....

It sounds like Kerkove made it through his surgery alright today. Glad to hear it! It sounds like there may have been some tendon damage as well as the broken digit. Gotta be careful out there, Brother :)

I'll be flying to Chicago on Monday then to New Orleans for a manager's meeting in a couple of weeks. Perhaps a short trip to Minnesota in between and a drive to Kenosha to pick up a new machine. It's gonna be a busy couple of weeks. I guess it's true that there is no rest for the sweet, lovable, and innocent. Ah well.... Should be some good eating in Louisiana! Hoping to get to Shaw's in Chicago for some blackened yellowfin tuna. Scrumdiddlyischious!

That's it for now. Go ride your bike!

Eduardo found me! He's alive and well! Woohoo!!!

Peace out, yo!

Jackalette....

Baby Rhea....

Jackal and Moo had a baby girl at 6:40 PM this evening. The baby came a little early but she's doing fine. Her mom and dad are fine too. Amy was 36 weeks along. It all happened really quick!

She weighed in at 5 pounds 12 ounces and is cuter than a speckled pup! :)

They're already talking about hockey equipment and a pink bike. I think she will be a goalie on a pink Surly!

That's it for now.

Peace out, yo!

Gravel goodness....

Jackal has something to smile about....
The Yellow Bike after the grinder....
Dirty....

45+ miles of gravel tonight with cool temps and a full moon. Awesome!

We left Pfeiffer at 6 with Kerkove, Jackal, Super Saul, Chief Bulging Calves, and myself heading south toward Wally World on the Cedar Falls bike trails. John Adamson caught up with us near Greenhill road and we took off into the sunset. Shortly after we passed the Intersection of Death at Viking Road and 58, Kerkove punctured the rear on his Rush. Craig and John kept going to meet up with Doug and Jeremy out where the trail comes out of the woods at Highway 63 while Jackal, Ron, and I watched Kerkove change his tube. Yeah, we got pics and gave plenty of advice. I'll post them in the morning sometime. John and Craig thought perhaps I'd had a heart attack or something and that the guys were giving me a proper sendoff.... :)

We met up with the other four out near US 63 and headed across to the gravel. Oh yeah! It was good! Started out at 66 degrees and dropped about 10 degrees as soon as the sun went down. There were quite a few farmers out combining beans and picking corn. That's Iowa in October for ya! We rode most of the route without headlights because the moon was huge and bright! It was one sweet ride!

Anyway, I'm pooped and need sleep. More tomorrow. Check Kerkove's and Jackal's blogs for pics and possibly a video clip of Jeff fixing his flat.

It's all good!

Has anyone seen Eduardo?

Peace out, yo!

Thorns....

I hadn't had a puncture in 2 years then all of a sudden I have 2 in about 3 weeks. Damn! I hate flats nearly as much as I hate dogs that chase bicycles, horse poop on bike trails, and people who are too busy talking on cell phones to notice me on my bike while they drive stupidly along in their cars and trucks. I can deal with the thorns because they belong there. I'd rather they didn't, but they do.

That's it.

Peace out, yo!

The night time, wow ee ayyy, is the right time, wow ee ayyy....

Downtown Cedar Falls....
The 1st street bridge....
1st and Main....
80F at 9pm on the 3rd of October....
The world famous Toad's Bar and Grill....

"If the walls could talk...."

Night time bicycle ride tonight out around Big Woods Lake and back. It was good.

Peace out, yo!

Sunday ride....

We visited Wisconsin on Saturday....

I 'spose you could train for le tour here....
Lemon/Lime Surly....
Avid Ti levers and Flak Jackets....
Buzz off....
Fatties Fit Fine....
Black Hawk Park trail....

continued....

Black Hawk Park....
Leaving BH Park for Washington Access....
Everyone is nuts around here....
Poor little snake....
A little gravel....
Ford Road....
GW singletrack....
It's in excellent condition....

By the river in GW....

Just cruising along....

Met Super Saul and the Missus at BH yesterday. They were out cruising around in the beautiful weather too.

Rode the trail up through Black Hawk Park and then the gravel back to town where I then hit the GW singletrack. It's in great shape throughout. The bars on the Surly are quite a bit wider than those on The Yellow Bike and I nearly caught trees a couple of times but it ended up fine. I tried the singletrack on the east end of Hartman north last week but it's pretty much grown over. Time for a weed eater out there. I didn't try the west end and don't know how it is.

I think that those who ride horses in public areas should be held to the same standards as those who walk their dogs and be required to remove the poop that their animals leave behind. Nasty!

More pics to follow.

Peace out, yo!