Spring ahead.............Fall over.

This one's a long one and goes all over the place with no rhyme or reason..................

It's that time of the year to turn your clocks back and begin the long process of winter. Yuck. October is one of my favorite months of the year, I just wish it came after winter instead of before it. Cool crisp days are going to turn into damp grey days in short order.

Snow? Yuck. I like snow while it's snowing and right after but that's about it since I don't ski or snowboard. I know lots of my fellow bike bloggers bike commute in the winter-hats off to them, I plan to ride more this winter then last but only when it's at least 35-40 degrees. I'm a cold-weather wuss. This bike blogger is the real deal-he lives and rides in Alaska.

Spring will be here in 5 months. I can hardly wait................

.......................Mike from Banjo Brothers is one helluva nice guy.

He had asked me if I would like to try a product from his catalog and I had picked out a rack top back to try and the guy sent me one of those, a seat post bag AND one of those way cool messenger bags. Holy cow!

My first impression of the racktop bag is how well it is built, this is going to replace something with about 1/2 the space. This particular model is the expandable one, the top has a zipper that opens up an additional pop-up and increases the capacity substantially. It also has two side compartments, a strap to carry it off the bike, an inside key holder and tons of reflective piping.

Oh, it also has a blinkie strap. Gotta have one of those.

This is gonna work out great this winter, I like to carry a couple of tubes, power bars, a multi tool, an extra windbreaker, a cellphone..........ah, I'm a packrat.

Whenever I roll on a solo ride, I figure if I can fit it-I'm taking it because I don't wanna be 30 miles from my house and have a mechanical and have to figure out how to get home. If my bike weighs 45 or 50 pounds loaded up-so be it, I'll just be faster in the spring.

The messenger bag? I've never owned a messenger bag before so this is kinda new to me. The tag says 840 cubic inches. If I had to convert that to something most riders would relate to-I'd say it would easily hold 2 6-packs of beer (probably 3) with plenty of room left over.

It has a cell phone holder on the strap, the strap is padded and adjustable as is the cross strap. It has more pockets, nooks, flaps, handles, loops and holders then I know what to do with. Very nicely made with reinforced seams at the handle and where the strap attaches to the bag.

It's gonna make it a lot easier to run errands with this set up. My wife was eyeing up the messenger bag as well, so it might get more use then it bargained for. It's a very nice piece. I'll let ya'll know how things are holding up in a couple weeks. Again, thanks to Mike for playing Santa Claus in October! Check out the site, I put a link on the side of my blog.

On to other stuff............

I don't know what they are saying, but I don't think the announcer oughta be laughing. I'm pretty sure he ain't gonna be needin' a jacket when he dies.........it ain't gonna be cold where he's going.

These folks are excited. We have a Cracker Barrel near where I work and I don't see what the big deal is. It's like having your overpriced meal served to you inside a really shitty antique store.

You think the Iraq war is bad..... let these two countries get their war on. They'll show the world how war is done.

Number 2 is not a good thing.

WTF? Don't they have better things to worry about?

I like dogs and I like cats. Dogs are smart. Cats? Would a dog let itself be built into a wall? I think you know the answer.

Anybody know where I can get ahold of this UK magazine? Our local Borders doesn't carry it and I'd like to check it out. The photography looks like it would make the magazine worth the price.

I am going to update my links section, just have to set aside the time to play with the template......... When I do, this guy is going to have a link. He's a good writer. I liked his October 28th entry. I also have a finger that points at a funny direction due to a mountain bike crash. I can't believe no one walked back with him to his car after he separated his shoulder! I have lots of friends and I wouldn't hesitate for a second to cut a ride short (even an epic ride) to make sure they got to the hospital. That's what friends are for.

Pardon my French, but sometimes the French can be real assholes. Why bag on the guy just because he kicked your asses for 7 years in a row? 50 years from now-they ain't gonna remember who was running the race but they damn sure will remember who won it 7 times in a row.

Driving back from my Aunt's memorial service on Saturday, I was wondering when the leaves are going to change color. It's the beginning of November and it seems that at least half of the trees still full of green foliage. Are they just gonna stay green and fall off?

Since we were in Lititz this past weekend, we stopped in at the Wilbur chocolate factory. Mmmm, dark chocolate Wibur buds. You haven't lived until you've had some of them. They are like little buttons of chocolate crack. We also stopped in at the Sturgis Pretzel factory. Mmmm, chocolate covered pretzels.

Since I quit smoking over 5 years ago, I've tried to take better care of myself. This website sure is an eye opener. Lots of interesting side links. Sure, some of it might be bullshit, but it is interesting reading nonetheless........ Yeah, I work in the food business and most of the stuff I make isn't very good for you, but last time I checked-donuts weren't a food group. And nobody is holding a gun to your head making you eat them.

Just ordered a case for my Nano from Newegg.com. Been dealing with those folks for about a year-saved a bunch of money buying stuff online with them. I'm an iPod freak, I own a Shuffle, a Mini and a Nano.

I've linked to this guy before. I pretty much dig where this guy is coming from. The Couch rocks and Lucas is pretty much insane..........yeah baby.

Dusty makes fun of kids letters to God. Check out the rest of his entries..........

Halloween will be over Tuesday so ya'll know what that means..........it means we skip the rest of fall and Thanksgiving and go directly into Christmas merchandising. I work in retail and quite honestly-it gets old. Pretty soon, we will be setting up for St. Nick right after Labor Day.

The holidays have lost their meaning-it's all about the money. I think we oughta do what the article above suggests........keep your wallet in your pocket until Thanksgiving is over.

I was planning on going for a really nice mtb ride with some members of our local cycling club Sunday, but I slept in. Since I work 3rd shift, I had stayed up all day after work Friday night to attend my aunts memorial service.........so I ended up doing a Rip Van Winkle when I went to sleep Saturday night. Whoops.

A fellow bike blogger up in Harrisburg took a ride yesterday. The same thing that is happening with suburban sprawl here in York is happening up there as well. I drive by 3 different new developments on the way to work every night, two of which have prices starting in the lower 300,000's............ To me, that's one helluva lot of money-who's buying all these houses?

Making fun of George's public speaking skills is like shooting fish in a barrel. Gotta thank Stacey from over at "a flower called nowhere" for that link.

That's about it for today.........I gots stuff to do.

Thanks for reading.