God doesn't believe in atheists....

Ride safe.

Peace out, yo!

Big group....

There were like 15 or 16 for the group ride tonight. The speeds went up before we even got out of town. Turned west on to 27th and they immediately went to 27/28 mph. Too fast for this old fart to hang on very long. LOL. I think the crazies should have gotten their fill tonight. They chased Fatty for about 15 miles! Go Fatty, Go!!!!! Redg, Chris, Ken, The Thin Man, and I rolled north to New Hartford and had a nice little ride.

I used my cell phone at 7:30 to call Judy and let her know I wouldn't be home at 7:30. I was still 8 miles out. She called me an ass. Last week I was a dumbass because I didn't call, this week I'm an ass because I did. Talk about mixed signals, eh? :) Can't win. I rolled into the drive at 8:05. She got home about 5 minutes later.

Ride safe.

Peace out, yo!

Wet....

Confluence of 2 creeks....
The water in this creek is over 4' deep....

3 3/4 inches of rain yesterday. Everything is wet, including my basement. The creek that runs through the back yard is normally just a trickle of water in a 4' deep ditch but it was flowing madly out of it's banks and through the yard yesterday. Sweet! The up side is that things are starting to turn green around here. Yay!

Ahhhhhh...... Springtime in Iowa! :)

Ride safe.

Peace out, yo!

Light rain and windy....

Worms. Ickkk....

Jackal and I rode the trail to Hudson and then rode the Ho Chi Minh back this morning in a light rain with the wind out of the SE at 15 to 20 mph. No drafting since I'm working on my fittness a bit more seriously this year. It was a "good effort" ride for me, but I don't think Jackal was working too hard.

Watched a pair of robins that were engaged in a fairly intense low level dogfight fly into Jackal's rear (he says front. not gonna argue) wheel as we rolled along at about 20 mph on the Ho Chi Minh. Now that he's explained what I saw, it makes sense. They hit his front wheel from the left and then his left leg. It appeared to be a pretty solid collision. Figured we'd see feathers and guts afterward!

Amazingly, they hit the bladed spokes of his Fulcrum wheel at a shallow enough angle that they both bounced off and continued flying. We were talking about the Liege-Bastogne-Liege race that we'd just watched on Cycling TV and saw them coming. Knew they were going to hit something. Kachunk-Boing-Zingippp..... Wild. Ah well....

Lunch time. More later.

Ride safe.

Peace out, yo!

Bringing a knife to a gunfight....

C-Dale mtn bike....
Brother of Jackal's new ink. My folks....

Bennie. The kid is a motor....

Jackal showed up for the group road ride tonight on his new Cannondale Scalpel mountain bike. Holy Crap, Dude! Crazy. He did good. Must've been a real workout for him.

Almost 40 miles in a touch over 2 hours. I'm hurting! It was a good ride. Bennie, Chris, Pat, Jackal, Striker, The Thin Man, Dave, Craig E, Doug E.... Redgie and me. Did I forget anyone?

We went west on 27th then north to New Hartford. Quite a bit of rebuilding out there since last year's tornado and flood. It's looking pretty good! Got home about dark. Actually, it was too dark to be riding without lights. I thought Judy was going to kick my ass....

For just a touch of Iowa irony: The legislature had the opportunity a couple of weeks ago to make Iowa roads a safer place for cyclists by passing a 5 foot law. They didn't have the intestinal fortitude to do the right thing and they let the bill die. As of yesterday it looked like they would "fast track" a bill that would allow hard liquor to be sold in rural gas stations along with food, gas, and beer. Didn't make much sense to me but I guess revenue generation is more important than safety and human lives. Anyway, that bill was set aside late yesterday. It will be revisited on it's own at a future date rather than being attached to a budget bill, as it was this time. It all makes sense, eh?

Pooped. Nite nite time.

Ride safe.

Peace out, yo!

Weekend....

Drinking Papa's tea....
"Oh really?"

Moo and Brother of Jackal....

Brother of Jackal....

Rolling into Hudson today....
The railroad bridge and dam in Cedar Falls yesterday....

Overcast, damp, and cool weekend. I rode the blue CX bike out through the parks on Saturday to stretch my legs from Friday's ride. It was sprinkling a bit when I left. Actually felt pretty good. Mid 50s for temps and the wind was out of the SE at 11. The entire route is pretty much sheltered so the wind wasn't an issue. Went out and did 3 laps around Big Woods Lake and called it good. 16 miles total in just under an hour.

This morning I chatted with Fat Albert for a few minutes and got the low-down on his 3rd place finish in the Ragnarok 105 up in Minn-ee-so-tah yesterday. Good job, Buddy! Those Hostess cupcakes must be the fuel to get the job done! (What does that do to your sponsorship contract with Little Debbie?) I hear Super Saul did a nice job on his finish up there too.... Fatty says that Super has a story to tell about a cupcake in the middle of the road. Hmmmm..... I expect weird shit from Fatty but not so much from Ron. Can't wait to hear what he has to say. :)

Watched the last hour and 40 minutes of the Amstel Gold race this morning. I'm not going to spoil it for those of you who haven't seen it yet, but I will say it was GREAT!!!!

After the race was over I got on the C50 and headed south to Hudson. The wind was kick-ass out of the NW, so the ride down was a pretty easy spin at 20+ mph. The trip back was a different story. It was 45 minutes of lung-searing, thigh-burning, butt-busting torture. It was all I could do to keep the bike in a straight line and maintain 16mph. I'm pretty sure that I used the "F" word several times during the trip north but I'm also pretty sure I was smiling all the way. I was really hoping to meet Fatty out there near Hudson so that I could hide behind him all the way back. Ahhhh well. You can't always get what you want.

After I got back and took a shower, it was off to Toad's for lunch with Judy, Jackal, Moo, The Queen of Cross,and Brother of Jackal. Yummy! Spicy chicken sandwich with swiss cheese and bacon. Plenty of HOT jalapenos. Blew my nose then my mind. They were HOT!!! I probably should have put them on my sandwich rather than eating them off of my plate, eh?

Anyway, I have to go back to work tomorrow after a week and a half off. I am soooo looking forward to that. NOT!

That's it for now. Watching The Stones on YouTube. Good stuff! Keith Richards doesn't appear to be as limber as he used to be!

Ride safe.

Peace out, yo!

Friday....

Wheeeee.......
Cutie Pie.......

72F and sunny....

Cancer Sucks....
Sure sign of spring....
Old out buildings on Zanetta....

43.66 miles in a touch over 2 1/2 hours this afternoon. It felt pretty good! The wind was out of the SE at about 13, so half my ride had a quartering tailwind. Yes, that means that the other half had a quartering headwind. South to Hudson then west on the Zanetta blacktop to the Dike/Reinbeck blacktop. North into Dike then continue north to 27th street and back east into Cedar Falls.

Only one incident with an idiot in a big blue Dodge SUV while going north. I was almost to the 27th Street turnoff and several cars were coming south and were almost even with me. The asshole in the Dodge wasn't about to slow down for a bicycle so he came on by. He was travelling at a much higher rate of speed than the 23.5 mph that I was doing. His mirror missed my shoulder by inches. I guess you're gonna have idiots like that every once in awhile. Oh well.... They'll never stop and talk to you....

Thankfully, all the other traffic today was considerate of the poor dumb cyclist. I think 99.9% of the drivers out there are good and that they watch for cyclists. It's that one "Hater" out of a thousand cars. Whatcha gonna do?

The Queen of Cross is upstairs and wants her "Papa" so I'd better answer her call. :)

Ride safe.

Peace out, yo!

He's baaaack.....

Dad, Susi, Yours Truly....

It was a good trip. I wish I could have stayed longer. More to follow.

Ride safe.

Peace out, yo!

Spring seems to be here....

When I bought the Passat the headlights were very yellowed and rough. It was part of my bargaining strategy to get a bit of a discount on the car because of that. Saved me $500! Well, I figured I'd just buy new lenses. Nope. Not happening. They don't sell them. Complete housings only. Almost $500 from Volkswagen. No problem, eBay! Nope. Anywhere from $200 and up for decent after-market headlights. Crap.

Walking through K-Mart one night and Judy says "hey! Look at this..." A headlight "Restoration" kit. Sweet! $20! Made by 3M. Comes with an attachment for your drill and a bunch of different sandpapers and a polishing bonnet. Remember working with Plexiglass in Jr. High shop class? Same thing goes here. Guess what? It worked! I spent about an hour out in the drive sanding them till you couldn't see through them then sanding them again with a finer grit, then one more time with an even finer grit, then some polishing compound on a foam polishing bonnet. Whoa! SUPER!!!!! Almost like new. I'm happy, Judy is impressed with my restorative abilities. What more could you ask for?

Rode down to Hudson and back this afternoon. Cross wind at about 10 mph, so no problems there. Great ride! Took the arm warmers off for the ride back. It was cool (58F), but nice.

Off to Arizona tomorrow for a few days. Back on Thursday. It'll be good.

Ride safe.

Peace out, yo!

Sock Guy....


The Thin Man has received the new Bike Tech logo socks! Stop down to The Shop and buy yourself a pair (or two)! They are pretty sweet and, of course, they are the great Sock Guy quality that you'd expect. Lightweight, durable, comfortable.

Ride safe.

Peace out, yo!

Intense....

Who's bottom is that, MJ?
Sweet cruiser....

Rollin' into Janesville....

Redg, you da' man!

Cedar River at Janesville....

Chit-Chat....

The roll out to Union Road was at a good pace but uneventful. I think there were 10 of us when we crossed First Street and headed down the drop that leads to the climb up to the viaduct near The Retreat House.

The group stayed together over this rise and down the other side. It stayed together to Beaver Hills and beyond. It was still together at Beaver Valley Road, which is when I think things started to get crazy.

It looked like Doug went off the front, then the group spread out as David and Pete and a couple of others went after him. I bridged up to Jackal and Striker for a couple minutes but couldn't hang on. What was I thinking? LOL. They're all animals. A couple more riders went by and I hung on for a ways but had to let them go.

The wind was out of the north east tonight and it just wasn't to be. It wasn't terrible but it was enough to make one work. I'm pretty happy with my ride though since I am able to stay with the group much longer than I could last year. I'm taking Jackal's advice this year and hanging on till it hurts. Gotta get faster that way, eh?

The super fast guys headed west at C57 to beat the hell out of each other going into Finchford then up 3 tier hill. 5 of us kept going north at that intersection and then continued on to Winslow Road then east into Janesville.

The ride down old 218 from Janesville was much easier tonight with the wind at our backs. Didn't get caught by the fast guys until we got back to Cedar Falls.

A little incident at the Cedar River bridge in Cedar Falls when someone rolling along in a big pickup wanted to argue with Redg about bicycles being on the road. The Thin Man and Dave rolled right up in support and the situation defused itself pretty quickly. I hit a pot hole pretty hard when the truck slowed down in front of us but it doesn't appear that there was any damage to my wheels. Had me worried for a second, though. A little old lady in a big truck wanting to argue with 7 cyclists. Hmmmm.... :0 Kinda funny, in hindsight.

Saw Brother of Jackal and Carlie rolling through the intersection of 1st and Franklin while we were waiting for the light. Goooo Tats!!!!

Tons of fun riding in the group at high speed, eh Redg? That was good stuff out there tonight! You be da' man!

Not sure yet what the weather will be like for the remainder of the week and the weekend. Heading to Arizona on Sunday for a few days.... Should be good! Maybe I'll get some sun on these "whale belly white" arms and legs.

That's it for now.

Ride safe.

Peace out, yo!

Blue Colnago....

Jackal and I went out for a 15 mile recovery ride tonight. The wind is howling! Yeah baby! It was good. Rode the Blue Colnago Master X Light. 9 speed Dura Ace. I like it! There's something about steel that just can't be duplicated with carbon or aluminum. Like Leans on Wood says.... "steel is real".

You'll notice that the pink saddle and tape are gone.... The Thin Man is going to put new cable housing on it for me, so the pink cables will soon be gone too. It was fun while it lasted.

Ride safe.

Peace out, yo!

Rumble....

13 showed up last night for the group ride. Fatty owes me beer because I beat him to the top of 2nd Street on the roll out. I have to admit that he was no slouch and he worked his ass off in this little "contest". I beat him by mere inches. I almost feel bad about collecting the sixer of Guinness from him but, well, a bet is a bet. It has to be that way, Buddy.

We headed north on Union Road and quickly broke into 3 groups. At the intersection with Cedar Wapsi, the really fast guys turned west toward Finchford and the rest of us headed north to Janesville. We would all meet up at the intersection of Cedar Wapsi and Center Street on the way back south. The wind was mostly west at about 18 mph so it didn't really effect those of us who took the north route to Janesville but it had to be killer for the boys and girl who headed west to Finchford.

Jackal, Fatty, Kat, and Pete came around us about 2 miles south of Cedar Wapsi Road and I caught on to the tail of that group and hung on as long as I could. Whoa!!!! There was so much movement in that tight knit group that it made me dizzy. They were like a well oiled machine, taking their quick turns at the front, dropping back, pulling again.... It was all I could do to hang on to the back of that group for 2 miles. It was impressive to me to be a part of that for a short while. Awesome!

Kat moves into the group of "animals" now, in my opinion. Holy crap! She is wicked fast! I was impressed! Fatty and Jackal were on their CX bikes and you couldn't see any daylight between the 4 of them, they were in such a tight group. Like I said, I struggled to hang on to the back of that group for 2 miles. I know Jackal was turning 42 x 13. I was turning 53 x 18 at the time and as soon as I lost the draft it was all over for me. All I saw was a group of colorful bodies pulling away from me. I rode as hard as I could to the edge of North Cedar then backed off a bit. My legs were fried! The group I had left caught me soon after that and we rolled back to the shop together.

Fatty, Super, Redg, all of you guys that showed up last night.... Great seeing you! It was an awesome ride! Thanks!

That's it for now.

Ride safe.

Peace out, yo!

Update....

About 2" so far....

STOP!!!!

Today....

Almost there....
2 in a row....
The top 10....

WTF....?

4-6" of this crap is expected today....

Stijn Devolder showed who was strongest in The Tour of Flanders today. Wow! He put the hurt on the entire field, winning on a solo breakaway from the second to last climb. No one could catch him. The chase group of 3 had a lead of about a minute over the peleton with 12k to go and got caught. Sylvain Chavanel was in that group and didn't want to help very badly since Devolder is his team mate. Had he helped, the top 10 would have looked quite a bit different. Ahhh well. Devolder still won by about a minute and there was no way that he was getting caught. That's 2 in a row for Devolder, putting him in a pretty elite class with Merckx and Boonen and a very few others. It was great racing from Belgium. Sunny and warm there, unlike here. Thousands of fans lining the last climbs and the finish area. Awesome! Beer and frittes, anyone? Thanks for the reminder, Fat Albert. You are my hero!

It's 33f and snowing here. 4-6" expected. This sucks. This really sucks. I'm happy that Jackal and I got a good ride in yesterday. Oh well, it won't last long but I suspect that I'll have to get the shovel out one more time.

This time next week I'll be boarding a plane for Arizona to see my dad and sister. I suspect that it will be a bit warmer there.

It's all good.

Ride safe.

Peace out, yo!

Boom....

Fire trucks....

That has to suck....

Tree down....

"I think we can make it...."

Piece of cake....

I was sitting in the living room in my Dr. Seuss jammie bottoms and a tee this morning when I heard a "BOOM". Judy asked "what was that"? "I dunno, probably nothing". About 3 minutes later we heard a siren. I went outside and walked to the end of the drive but didn't see anything. I turned around to come back down to the house and saw a pillar of thick black smoke rising from the house of my neighbor about 3 houses away. Whoa! I came in and grabbed my coffee cup and put on a jacket and ball cap and walked up the street. When I got to the corner I saw a lady Waterloo Police officer so I walked over to talk to her and looked at the aftermath of an engine fire in an Aerostar van. Well, the engine fire toasted the van and melted the siding on the garage right in front of it. Like I said, that has to suck. I was talking to the officer for a few minutes when we heard another siren and saw another fire truck coming up the street. She said "I wonder where they're going?" when it turned in to go to the van fire. I said they must have been bored sitting at the fire house and wanted to get out. (the fire was out by then and it got a chuckle from the officer) They got out of the truck and walked up to the garage and started poking and pulling siding and soffet off to make sure the garage wasn't on fire. About that time I told the officer that I'd better get home before my wife came looking for me. She thought that was pretty funny, for some reason. I turned to walk back home and she let me know that she liked my jammies. Too funny. I guess you'd of had to have been there.

Jackal showed up at the house shortly after that with his cx bike. Said he'd just had a text from G-Ted saying it was raining in the south part of Waterloo. I asked if he wanted company and he said sure, so I got dressed and we went out and did a nice 28 miler through the parks. 38F and kinda windy but not bad at all. Didn't get wet but did see a couple of snow flakes falling. We were about 24 miles into the ride and I was starting to feel the effects of not eating breakfast. Jackal had a "Cookies & Cream" Powerbar with him and shared it with me. Perfect! Kinda tasty, too! Thanks, Buddy!

Anyway, that's about it for now.

Ride safe.

Peace out, yo!