Clean Laundry Isn't Always A Good Thing

Bad weather, end of QTR at work, wife out of town, 3 kids to take care of = no riding.  Normally my shelf of bike gear isn't busting at the seams like this.  But the lack of riding means I'm all current on the laundry and just about every piece of bike gear I own is clean and ready to wear.

Not a good thing.

P.S.  I'm really not a messy person but I don't fold lycra and jerseys.  That's just silly.  Don't judge me. 

Dancing Shoes

One of these shoes is not like the other. Can you tell which ones are my dancing shoes? The new company team stuff is starting to roll in. Kits should be here by end of April. I'm a little excited. Even a dirtbag like myself likes to get dressed up every now and then.

But I still like the rule of never wearing the matching team kit unless:

1) it's a road ride

2) it's race day

Charts and such....

Who's with me? Tell me I'm not alone in this mess.

Snap, Crackle, Pop

34 x 20 = back pain.

Heading to the chiro today for some adjustments. The riding in Palm Desert was steep. I may have pushed a little too hard up some of those grunts. Or maybe it was the 10 hours non-stop in the car?

"Andy's Corner"

View Larger Map

Location: Orem, Utah
Pucker factor: 8
Number of times I've ridden this corner: 2
Number of near death experiences on this corner: 2

Greasers and Socs

I usually ride with 2 different groups. The core group (Greasers) are all about camping, dirty bikes, no gears, and brats over a fire. The other group (Socs) are all about nice hotels or rental homes, clean-well tuned bikes, and sit down restaurants.

Both groups have hard core, fast riders, and people I really like hanging out with but they are totally different. I have elements of both groups and can usually adapt quickly to either of them. For example, I generally prefer to go cheap, camp and eat brats but can appreciate things like having access to a shower after a ride. I also try to keep my bikes clean and well maintained.

Every now and then, the two groups will meet for a joint ride and I feel a lot like Costanza in Sienfeld. My two Worlds collide and I get all stressed and confused.

Road Trip

The combined cost of these bikes is worth more than my truck. Niner- I hope you are reading this post. 3 of the 4 bikes are yours.

I'll be driving all night to get to our destination. Pics and stories to come soon.....

Racing Stripes

These are the new arm warmers for the Corp. team kit. Every time I see these (which I really like), I think of that fruit stripes gum I used to buy as a kid.

I think they will go well with my white "jazz hands" gay guy gloves.

I'm so glad I work for a company that supports cycling. As of yesterday, we had a total of 86 jerseys that have been ordered (all employees)

Put those golf clubs away and pick up your bikes. It's 2009. Golf is old school.

ICUP Desert Rampage

The first race of the 09 season is always a fun one. It's a wild card. Legs are pasty white, most people are packing a few extra lbs. It seems more like a big group ride and a chance to catch up with people you haven't seen all winter. But that group ride feeling all goes out the window when the gun goes off.

Brad wearing the MASHer jersey with a slight modification to the sleeves.



The Start



Brad (2nd) and Kenny (3rd) on the podium for the Expert 40+ division (time to move up)



Me (3rd) and Sam (5th) on the podium for the Singlespeed division



Seth, Sambo, and Will throwing rocks at the racers trying to make them go faster.

It was a great weekend and fun to have the family come down to escape the cold and offer their support. Watching the kids and my wife cheering always takes the pain away even if it's only for a few seconds.

The Master

(photo borrowed from Adam)

Dropped the bike of at Racer's for some pre-race love. I hope he can work his magic and give me back a really fast bike for the race tomorrow.

Don't Ever Call A Woman A Horse

At work, we've created a cycling team and have been able to get a lot of interest from new riders. It's great. Yesterday, there was an email thread going around from a new rider and the question came up:

"why is the big man division called clydesdale but the big woman division is athena?"

Before I could respond with my answer, a woman on the thread jumped in and responded with this:

"Because if you refer to a woman as a horse in any way-- you're going to get slapped."

I think this is solid advice and applies to life outside of cycling.

Badge of Honor

I wear my stench as a badge of honor.

As I sit in a conf room at work, picking clumps of dirt off my socks and legs, thinking about the lunch ride I just did, I can't help but smile. I know I probably smell ripe to those around me. I don't care. It's worth it. I'm proud of my stench.

To me, it smells way better than that cheap cologne that "puff" is wearing next to me.

I just hope HR understands.

Style Points

These are my new MTB gloves. I wore them for the first time on Sat while riding w/ some of the "core group" and got nothing but gay jokes and chuckles.

I have used black gloves for years. I wanted something new. Something sassy. So I went with these.

Would someone please step up to the mic and tell them that these are cool, non-gay, gloves.

The best thing about these- no velcro. Slip on, slip off.