T-Minus 21 hours...

...and counting...
A few things are on tap this morning, then it's time to pack up the Boss' company car for the trip to Pennsyltucky.  Not taking the Yukon XL, as the wife has claimed it for her own.  Of course, she IS schlepping three children and all of the crap that goes with them to the beach.
On the gasoline tip, the Yukon drinks it like a rapper drinks Cristal.  The Terrain isn't much better, but the gas is ostensibly free, as it's a company car.  Sweet...
The downside, there's only room for one bike inside.  The Helium is getting the call.

Spencer said this ad was rejected.  I wholeheartedly disagree!  It should be the next print ad in every magazine...

WHAT.  THE.  FUCK?  The new Campag TT crank.  I've seen clubbed feet that are more attractive.  Italian style?  Sure, if those Italians are at the Jersey shore...

I never realized that Cavendish was so little!  He seems to be a really good boy though...

Read the caption...Jered is so good!  And the Giro is easily the biggest piece of eye candy that exists in cycling.

Small(er) ride last night.  Only about 35 or so showed up...
It was smaller still after the National Champion and his little band of brothers rolled out five minutes early.  It begs many questions.  I guess he's tired of getting shelled out the back, so he's leaving early?  Whatever...they get caught every time, so the point is moot at best...
And special thanks to the dude on the brand new Fuji and his brand new Hincapie kit for telling me how to take a pull last night.  I pulled through and immediately came over, as one is wont to do in a large group.  He pulled up, 'educated' me and rolled through.  I asked him if he noticed that I was on 35mm wide knobby tires, yet still taking pulls.
I guess this sufficiently irked him, and he took some huge hero pull into the headwind.  Irony?  After this hero pull, he couldn't catch the line as it went past him.  Derp...
I turned left onto the dirt and came home after that.  I had zero urge to do the whole ride.  The way my luck runs, last night would have been the perfect time to get taken out by someone riding over their head...less than 36 hours before ManCation.
And as the sign so correctly states...

I'll update again at some point on Sunday, after my first ride/exploration down into Delaware.  I've mapped out a good 40-50km loop that includes a 2 mile dirt road climb.  Sweeet....

Like...a...BOSS!

Dan Majerle was cool when he played for the Suns.  This makes him just that much cooler...

Less than 48 hours until ManCation begins...

Yo...read this...

....and pass it on to your non-cycling friends and family.  Ask them to pass it on as well...

HOW NOT TO KILL A CYCLIST...

Good ride last night.  Left with the group, but told the H.O. I'd take the short way, as she claimed to need the time to begin her preparations for vacation.  Have I mentioned she's leaving for the coastal office on Friday?  You'd be surprised at the logistics involved with getting this corporation ready to go to the beach. 
Me?  Yeah, bikes in the car, clothes in a bag...DONE!

Anyway, as I said, I left with the group and rode out 12th, into quite ominous skies.  The run out was pretty quick last night, even considering the headwind.  Once to the end, the decision became whether to turn right and take THAT short way, or turn left, on to the dirt, and come home on Old State.  I'll let you guess which option was taken...

The dirt was NIIIIICE last night.  Hard packed, dry, and fast.  The pace was kept high all the way to the old water treatment plant.  Good stuff...

And this isn't bike related, but it's damn funny...

Short one today, as I need to start getting my poop in a pile for ManCation.  A trip to Target, and 17-22 minutes of packing should suffice...

Grab a Kleenex...and your smile..

There's a lot you can learn from an 8 year old...

3 days to go...

 Pippo's Cipo.  No US importer, but I can get you one if you want it!  Good to have friends in other lands...

 Quoted for truth...

 And speaking of shit, remember how Trek said Bontrager wheels were built in Wisconsin?  Yeah, there must have been an influx of immigrants from the Pacific Rim to Wisconsin...

 And I'm telling you Junk, they say there's a bike in these pictures...

I'm having trouble seeing it now too...


Riding tonight...rain is coming, but I need to spin the legs around.  I'm going out unless there are large arcs of electricity between the ground and sky.
Time to run errands to get ready for ManCation.

Peace.

Is that the Sun?

 Bristol and I went out Saturday and just sort of rolled around in Lex and Calhoun.  Seeing that I hadn't ridden all week, and he had plans to race in Charlotte today, we really made no effort to do anything other than roll the pedals over.  It was a big sun sort of day.  3 hours got knocked down without much fanfare, other than a really large cow that had escaped his pasture out in Calhoun.
The wind, however, was blowing dead out of the North, and the idea of fighting it on 12th St. held little romance for either of us, so we decided to hit the dirt...



Even after 4 days of rain, it was damn nice.  Not heavy at all, and only one truly damp section.  It's only a little mud...

TVH, Il Prof and I went out at 9 this morning for another jaunt into Lex and Calhoun.  Perfect day, other than the block headwind all the way home from Pelion.  Did I mention Pelion is 25-ish miles from the house?  Yeah, that shit was fun.

 Terrible roads out there.  I just don't know how much more I can take.  I may have to go back to riding the junk roads in Lower Richland...

And the scenery is akin to riding through Detroit.  It's simple abuse of the eyes...

Anyone have a flat-bottom canoe?  I have plenty of fishing poles...

Il Prof turned off to go do another two-ish hours.  TVH and I came home with 4:15 on the bike.  Cooked legs, and cooked caucasian flesh were the theme for the afternoon.  I definitely tightened up the tanlines today, although they'll be pink for a couple of days.
And my semi-custom Ultegra 12-28 cassette worked perfectly on it's shakedown.  Yeah, you're right, Shimano doesn't make an Ultegra 12-28, but it's not terribly difficult to figure how how to do it.  Lose the 11, throw in a 16 and a spacer, and lock it all down with a 12t lockring.  It should work fine to get my big self up and over some of the steeps on ManCation.

I guess the Tour of California ended today.  That news ranks right up there with watching the NBA playoffs.  Both are horribly boring, and will put an insomniac to sleep...quickly...
And Phil and Paul should probably be forced to some sort of sobriety testing before doing the VO.  They're either hammered, or have just lost it...or both...

5 full days until ManCation...

So this is living in Portland?

If living in the PNW is like this, I'll gladly stay in the "backward" South! 5 days of rain, and one day on the bike has made me (more) difficult to get along with. The highlight of my week was that I could actually get on the bike on Wednesday afternoon. JBrstl and I did I nice CX spin, and ended up at Summit for the Ride of Silence. Big turnout with nearly 70 riders on hand. Good coordination by Tim and PCC. Big thanks to the West Columbia PD for absolutely locking down traffic. We took up a whole lane, and they kept us safe! Best part of the evening? Getting shushed by an extremely vigilant 10 year old. Excellent!

 The rain is supposed to subside, and El Sol should make an appearance tomorrow...Maybe we'll get to ride in the Sun.

Now, are these of any aerodynamic benefit?  I mean, I understand the skinsuit part of it...

With all of the rain, I was going to ask her if she'd loan me her full fenders.  Yes, Junk, there's a bike in that photo!

Who went from 55+ km out and made Roubaix his bitch?  THIS GUY!!!

As badass as BoomBoom may be, he's still not   ^^^^^  THIS GUY!

Oh well, end of the week....
Only one week until ManCation.  Of course, I'm going to Pennsylvania in the Spring, so it'll probably rain to whole damn time I'm there too.  Rides will happen anyway...

Hope to see folks on the road tomorrow...

Namaste...

Pretty pictures...

 And yet another photo by Jered Gruber, who has once again proven why he's pretty much the best cycling photog out there...

 There are two ballers in this photo...

 Not only has Sagan made the Tour of Cali his beesh, he has also shown everyone that their bike handling skills aren't as good as they thought...

 Hoogerland T F U! 

This photo makes me warm in all the right places.  Lance as WC, Tchmil as UCI points leader...both on steel Merckx frames.  I would buy that Lotto Caloi/Merckx that Tchmil is on TODAY!  So hot...

And from the 'Two Wheels Good' File, a Triumph design exercise.  Yes please, don't change a thing...

Didn't ride last night as every possible loop available was covered by a large thunderstorm.  And I'm NOT getting on the trainer!  CX ride tonight, rain or shine...unless there's lightning again.  I'm down with riding in the rain.  Having untold voltage run through my body...not so much...