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.

My Aunt Helen had lots of friends...........

I suppose when you live to 86 years old and were a great friend to many people..........all of them are going to attend your memorial service.

I was pretty amazed at the number of people that showed up, but then my Aunt Helen was an amazing person. There aren't many folks that spend that much time on this earth and make that many friends and manage not to have any enemies but she was one of them.

She was way cool and I'm gonna miss her.

Thanks for reading.

Yuck.

Mike from Banjo Brothers sent me this because he knows I work in food service..............

It's just flat out nasty. Our store displays products in the "self-serve" type of display cases. Never ever, ever, EVER buy product from these kinds of displays. You don't know if some 8 year old with a runny nose sneezed on your bagel or donut before you bought it.

Or sprinkled shit on it like the guy in the article.

I take sanitation very seriously, I probably wash my hands dozens of times during the course of an evening at work-you can never be to clean when it comes to mass food prep.

I also take retail theft very seriously-caught another one last night, it's hard to weasel out of it nowadays since our store has about a bazillion cameras located everywhere. I saw some guy hiding in a corner eating a donut in full view of an overhead video camera. Busted.

I'm a numbers geek, I was looking at the viewer figures from the site..............

(click to make biggerer)
Hi to all those folks over in Europe :-)
That's pretty cool that folks from all over are reading this. Thinks! I also have to update my links, there are a few sites that link to me that I don't have listed and I always like to return the favor.

Holy crap, this article takes all the fun out of riding. Do I blow thru stop signs? Mmmmm, once and awhile when no one is looking. For road riding I guess they have a few good points, but as for mtbing? It ain't fun unless you fall off once and awhile.

Had a fun debate with a buddy at work last night concerning "sports". I told him that there aren't that many "sports"..... I feel that cycling, motor racing, bull fighting are sports and all the stick and ball stuff aren't sports-they are just games that people play in front of large groups of people.

To me-the main difference between a sport and a game is the likelihood of getting killed while you are doing it. How many guys die while they are playing baseball or football? Yeah, sure a couple do but it's always a shock when it happens. Get killed in a F1 car or descending a mountain pass at 60mph on your 17 pound bicycle?.....not as much of a surprise.

This is upsetting, thought I should pass it along. Check your drivers license... Now you can see anyone's driver's license on the internet, including your own! Not good if you are a privacy freak.

Our family has a memorial service for my Aunt Helen this Saturday so I probably won't be posting again until Monday. Thanks for reading.

I wonder..............

How much these bikes cost? I'm thinking 10 or 12 grand apiece and that's probably a lowball number. Most folks that can afford one of them will never use all the capability built into it. I think they oughta let me test drive one of those for at least a year. I'd see how it would handle off-road. I'd probably end up shipping them back a bike broken down into lots of small broken parts.

Someday I'll get to visit Las Vegas. On second thought, probably not, since I have no idea how to gamble. I'd rather spend the money on a Pugsley. Yes, I need one of those and I need it bad.

At first read, I kinda felt sorry for these folks. The more I thought about it, the less sorry I felt. If they were dumb enough to schedule a vacation during hurricane season to the Caribbean........well, they gotta realize shit happens and the folks that live down there probably have worse problems to attend to then to worry about some dumbass whiney Americans. So what if they had to wait a couple extra days with out a shower- The folks in the Gulf would trade with ya.

Aren't these guys dead yet? I suppose I'm not a huge Rolling Stones fan. My 2 favorite groups are the Beach Boys and AC/DC. I've seen AC/DC at least 1/2 dozen times. About the only thing I've ever heard that was louder then them was at the racetrack when the Top Fuel cars run.

Hey, maybe next time George might have better success with somebody that's already a judge. Not that having any experience seems to matter much to Bush. Everytime it looks like it can't get worse for ole George..........it gets worse.

This is a good one. I pissed off our car insurance company last year when I refused to update any info over the phone until they provided me with the correct old info that they wanted updated. As it turns out, they already had all the correct info they needed. Nosy bastards.

I saw this article and the first thing I thought of was how big the dog turds must be. Probably bigger then a football.

Cream filled donuts?

Hey, I could make donuts with messages on them.........."Eat Me" comes to mind.

I have a few geek friends that are gonna enjoy this link.

This has gotta piss Armstrong off.

Are you a bike snob? I was doing really well until they asked how many bikes I owned. Uh, more then one-less then a dozen?? By the way, I wave at any and all riders, I don't give a shit what kind of bike anyone has or what parts are hung on it............just spin those cranks.

Thanks for reading.

Mail....I get and delete mail, podcasting and 2000 dead soldiers

First off, I gotta say I screwed up. I get all my Blogger related e-mail sent to my Yahoo e-mail address and I had a couple of comments saved but I accidentally deleted them thinking that they would be "archived" like my G mail account. Whoops. They weren't there when I went to get them this morning.

I did get an e-mail from Mike at Banjo Brothers letting me know that he shipped me an expandable rack-top bag for me to try out om my Cross-Check. Awesome. I'll get it installed and let ya'll know how it looks and works after this weekend.

I did get a couple folks that e-mailed me about that "Keep your Jesus off my penis" link I put up...............everybody liked it. While this isn't a "family safe" blog due to some of the content I post, I'll always try to remember to warn ya'll if something is really out there.

Some of the podcasts I am listening to lately............

-Benjamen Walker's Theory of Everything
This guys is all over the place with his content-definitely an acquired taste.

-Tip From The Top Floor
This guy is from Germany and this one is all about digital photography. Since photography is a hobby of mine, I've found lots of useful tips from listening.

-The View From Here
A couple from Israel talks about daily life.

-Slate Magazine Podcasts
This is a short (5 to 10 minute) daily podcast about current events. Very well written.

-Keith and the Girl
This is the daily blog from 2 professional clowns that live in NYC. Not kid safe, family safe or anything else safe but it's funny as hell.

-Here a page with links to many Public Radio podcasts. I subscribe to at least a half-dozen of 'em.

-Diggnation
Couple of guys with a website that talk about the stories that are submitted to them. Usually very funny.

-The PK and J Show. A couple from the midwest talk about their daily life. Not even close to being family safe.

-TWIT (This Week In Tech) Remember Leo Laport from Tech TV? He has a weekly podcast about all things tech with John C. Dovorak. and weekly guests. Kinda geeky but it's still entertaining.

-Trucker Tom
The premise of this one sounds kinda boring.......A trucker driver pretty much just says what's on his mind as he drives across the country. Sounds boring but it's actually very interesting. You might not always agree with him and every podcast is different.

I gots a bunch more but I won't bore everyone. If anyone needs any more info on podcasting, just leave a comment in the comment section. You could also e-mail me, but I think you'd be safer just commenting-I'm less likely to delete it after I read it!

Everyone check the news lately? Nah, this Administration isn't corrupt, is it? Was Clinton and company any better? Nope, not even close, but 2000 American soldiers didn't die when Bill got a hummer in the Oval Office. Say what you want about Bill Clinton, he won't be remembered as the "Worst President Ever" If any President should be impeached-it oughta be Bush. He has truly lost his mind.

Okay, enough of that crap- I wanna end this blog entry on a high note.

Thanks for reading.

Rain......

Hey, how ya'll like my new header picture?

It's 4 pictures I stitched together. I took it on my ride up at Rocky Ridge on Sunday. It is from the northern overlook looking north. If you look very carefully, you can see Three Mile Island cooling towers to the right of the powerline support. I have a few more on my Flickr account.

I was planning on a road ride on Monday but since it started raining just about the same time I was ready to go out........I had to hit the "No" buzzer and pack it in for another time. Yea, I'm a fair weather rider- sue me. I don't like getting wet and I'll only ride in the cold if it's a big social ride so I can share the misery.

And now for something completly different. I'm sure it it's fun to ride, but not in traffic.........could you imagine having a few beers and then hopping on? Not me.

People like this scare the crap out of me. Since I live in Pennsylvania-there are plenty of them.

Unfortunately Mitch Hedberg ain't around anymore, too bad-he was funny as hell.

I'm not sure what this is all about, I'm one of these. Except I'm really shitty with tools.

Another religious joke........

How many Christians does it take to change a light bulb?

Charismatic : Only 1
Hands are already in the air.

Pentecostal : 10
One to change the bulb, and nine to pray against the spirit of darkness.

Presbyterians : None
Lights will go on and off at predestined times.

Roman Catholic : None
Candles only.

Baptists : At least 15.
One to change the light bulb, and three committees to approve the change and decide who brings the potato salad and fried chicken

Episcopalians: 3
One to call the electrician, one to mix the drinks and one to talk about how much better the old one was.

Mormons : 7
One man to change the bulb, and six wives to tell him how to do it.

Unitarians :
We choose not to make a statement either in favour of or against the need for a light bulb. However, if in your own journey you have found that light bulbs work for you, then you are invited to write a poem or compose a modern dance about your light bulb for the next Sunday service, in which we will explore a number of light bulb traditions, including incandescent, fluorescent, 3-way, long-life and tinted, all of which are equally valid paths to luminescence.

Methodists : Undetermined

Whether your light is bright, dull, or completely out, you are loved. You can be a light bulb, turnip bulb, or tulip bulb. Bring a bulb of your choice to the Sunday lighting service and a covered dish to pass.

Nazarene : 6
One woman to replace the bulb while five men review church lighting policy.

Lutherans: None
Lutherans don't believe in change.

Amish:
What's a light bulb?

Hey, don't blame me, I didn't write it-I just stole it and posted here.


WTF?

Just started experimenting around with Bit Torrent, I downloaded a couple of TV shows I missed this summer.............pretty cool stuff. If my computer had a DVD burner, I could burn stuff to a DVD and go watch it on TV instead of my computer. I no expert at it but it can't be rocket science if I figured it out..............just look around on Google, you'll find everything you need if you're interested. I guess you could also download just about any song or piece of software written if you can find at least one seeder, but I suppose we won't get into that right now.......

This is well done video concerning Critical Mass. For those of you that live around here in York, PA..........how do you think something like this would go down? I would like to say it would be successful, but I have my doubts. I don't really think that many riders here would be interested in trying it. I'd sure like someone to prove me wrong though.....

I read a lot of cycling related stuff. Mostly magazines and good books on the history of cycling when they are published. I usually only run into this problem with some of the British magazines but sometimes they will print the text of an article over a picture and it's hard as hell to read........thing is, the British mags are far and away better then 90% of the stuff written here in the USA. Dirt Rag rules. I guess I better get better bifocals.

Pussy Wagon. Get your mind out of the gutter already,huh?

Thanks for reading.

Post number 300.........

Kinda easy to figure out the title to this post, huh? 300 posts already? Man, I sure have a lot to say about nothing.............



Anybody ever use this? It's kind of hiss or miss as to when it's available but I downloaded it from the "support" page-check on the left hand side of the page for a link. It's worth the download-I was really sursprised at how much faster web pages download even though I am on a cable internet connection already........and it works on Firefox as well as IE 6. You can thank me later...

These bikes are sick. Check out the rear tire on that bad boy. Makes me almost ashamed to ride my store-bought Kona around the neighborhood.

I get quite a few e-mails commenting about stuff folks have seen on my blog, not all of it's nice but I have a thick skin. I am going to allow anonymous comments again for awhile to see how it works out. Go ahead and disagree with me if ya want-just try not to be too much of an asshole about it or I'll just delete your post.

I went for a ridey-ride up at Rocky Ridge Sunday instead of fooling around with my Cross-Check.

It was a gorgeous day so who could blame me.

I ate too much..........

My family took me out for a belated birthday dinner Saturday night after watching an awesome movie.

Anyone ever eat at Old Country Buffet?

It's full of people like this and they all have one thing on their minds.........FOOD and lots of it and stay the hell out of their way. The place was full of senior citizens which is okay but get a bunch of seniors together and all the wanna do stare at people and wander around because they forgot where they are sitting.

Kinda creepy, well it was until our daughter let an awesome belch rip...........the old lady at the table next to us really enjoyed that. I also enjoyed watching some lady dispense 10 or 12 ounces of soda on her arm instead of in her glass. I sure hope she didn't drive there..........

I went into full "Thanksgiving mode" which means I ate 2 plates of fried chicken, mashed potatos, stuffing, gravy and salisbury steak.

Then I had dessert.

I don't think I will eat anything for a day or so.......I'm kinda full.

Looks like rainy Sunday-I think I'll take the Cross-Check apart and get it ready for winter.............

Till later.........

The Donut Guy's guide to Supermarket Etiquette

Okay, so lets face it, I'm not gonna be using my unusually high IQ to be curing cancer.

I make donuts for a living.

I figured I would at least write up a guide for folks so they annoy me the least possible amount when they are shopping..............

Here are some guidelines and observations...............

-I see you, we've made eye contact. It's not necessary for you to yell HELLO, HELLO, HELLO until I walk over to see what you need. Trust me, if you're in hurry, I'll go slower just to piss you off. I'm here all night.

-Do you work here? Mmmmm, lemme see, I am covered in flour, wearing an apron, have donut glaze all over my shoes and am holding a pair of oven mitts............ Yes, I work here, asshole. If you need assistance, just ask me.

-If you call in on the phone to order something, it's not a good time to play "Family Feud" with 5 members of your family while you all argue about what you want written on the top of your cake. Go ahead, take all the time you need, I'm just gonna misspell the name on the order form anyways.

-When you come in or call to place an order for something........please try to speak English. Yeah, I realize some folks might have just moved here from Turkey so they can staff the local convenience store, but somebody in your family has to speak English. Bring'em along next time.

-This one's simple. Take a bath. Or at least wash your armpits and use some deodorant.

-If you have kids, go ahead and bring them along shopping, but please, please don't let them ride inside the shopping cart. Shopping carts are top heavy. Kids fall out of them very easily. Trust me, I know this from seeing it happen more then once, so don't be an indignant asshole when I politely ask you to take your child out of your cart. Kids have died from falling out of shopping carts.

Speaking of kids, we ain't your babysitter. I could give a shit if Junior opens up 6 packs of cookies and eats one or two out of every package. You're gonna be the one buying 6 packs of half eaten cookies.

-Here's another simple one. Be nice. Face it folks-very few of us make 80,000 bucks a year working in a supermarket so lets make a deal......you at least make an attempt at not being an asshole and I'll try my best too, okay? You know why? Life's too short and you'd be surprised at how well you are treated when you are nice.

Fat happens. Sure, some of us are a little overweight (me) and some of us are grossly overweight.

Whatever.

If you do happen to be in the second category, at least dress properly. I mean seriously, go ahead and get the next larger size of slacks when you shop for clothes the next time. And while you at it, try and buy a shirt that covers your entire stomach-that goes for guys and girls.

If your a guy, at least try and wear a shirt without grease stains. If you are a woman, try and not wear pants so tight that we can read your lips, if you know what I mean. If you wanna wear a white shirt, you might want to think about wearing a bra-grocery stores are cold. We get a laugh out of old men trying not to be obvious when they check you out. Half the time, their wives catch them and the other half the time, they end up walking in a pole or something.

One more thing about fat bald guys........skip the mustache and goatee thing. We know you are trying to make your chin more distinguishable but it usually ends up making your head look like a bowling ball with a tuft of hair growing out the center. Not a good look.

Last thing -whatever you do- don't shoplift. I have been working in the retail industry for a long time and I have a knack for picking out the shoplifters from the crowd. I have no problem pointing you out for security to detain. Go ahead and try me, I love catching shoplifters. You're taking money out of my pocket when you steal and that ain't cool.

That's about it for now, till later and thanks for reading.

My numbers and thanks go out to Mike.

I haven't looked at my site numbers for awhile.........70 to 80 people (on average) read this on a regular basis?

Wow.

I'm almost sorta nearly famous.

Yeah, .........right.

Mike from Banjobrothers.com is gonna be sending me a racktop bag for my Surly to try out this winter. Here's the pictures of the products there are coming out with. I can hardly wait until I can buy one of those messenger bags-they look way cool.

I like the fact that they deal with LBS's..............I suppose mail order has it's place but without LBS's, most folks would be riding Huffy's so spend the extra few pennies to make sure the guys at the shop can pay their bills too.

Thanks again, Mike.

IE 6 blows..........

I read this newsletter every week because I like to stay up to date on spyware issues. Most, but not all spyware issues pertain to IE 6. I haven't used IE 5 or 6 for years. The only time I use it is when a website won't run on Firefox...............which isn't very often nowadays.

Firefox isn't the easiest thing to set up (but it ain't that hard) because you have to download and install plug-ins for it (flash, shockwave,etc). It is way more customizable then IE however, you just have to "explore" a little bit. (yeah, I know-bad pun alert) If all you want to do is browse porn sites, use IE-you deserve the spyware that will be automatically downloaded onto your computer.

I have about a dozen "extensions" installed on my build of Firefox, I don't see any pop-ups, banner ads, pop-unders or and slider ads. In fact, if I see an ad I don't like, all I have to do is click a little tab at the bottom of the ad and I'll never see it again.

Ever.

All kinds of extensions are available, you can even keep track of your cell minutes on your T-Mobile account.

Now all I have to do is get rid of the 40 or 50 spam messages I get daily on my Yahoo mail account. To be fair, my Yahoo e mail addy is my "junk" e mail address, everytime I have to register for something or other- my Yahoo e-mail gets used.

I'm toying with the idea about moving this blog over to MSN, any fellow bloggers have any experience with MSN blogs? I actually have a MSN blog started but I want to play around with the layout some, right now I am not that familiar with it.

The only thing that turns me off to this point is the fact that their "word verification" for comments is even more of a clusterfuck then Blogger's is. I need new glasses or something, it took me a couple of tries to get something to post. I must be a retard.

Reading articles like this, scare the living shit out of me. Maybe the cyclist in the article was fairly new to cycling or something. I know when I ride in traffic, I ride like I am part of traffic and not an obstacle to be ridden around but......If I knew there was a soccer mom in a 3 ton SUV in the local vicinity bearing down on my rear wheel.............I'd get the hell out of it's way. Eye contact goes a long way...............

A fellow bike blogger has come up with what I think is an excellent idea. Sure, I'd like more trails and stuff but I don't think government should be paying for them in the first place. The less government....the better.

Sometimes being morbidly obese kinda sucks.

Just imagine what's gonna happen to this poor bastard when his jailhouse "buddies" find out why he's there. He's gonna be walkin' funny for a long time.

I used to smoke. It was a real bitch to quit, so I think this is a great idea. You wanna kill yourself? Go ahead, as long as I don't have to help pay for it.

Holy crap, I gotta get in on this new fad. What the hell? Did this reporter just wake up from a 5 year long nap?

If I ever have to go back to dial-up...........shoot me.

Here is one of my all-time favorite videos. Before you click on the NSFW link, ask yourself this.........Am I narrow-minded about religion or politics? If you are.............save yourself some aggravation and skip it. If this guy ends up burning in hell, I'll be right next to him because it's exactly how I feel. If you are close minded about religion and politics and you clicked on the link anyways......... and I know you did...............whaddya think? Does the guy have a point or what?

This might be a witch-hunt, but let's face it........the guy is a sleezeball. As are most of the residents of the White House.

Oh yeah, this is a real shocker. Budweiser must be stunned.

Those damn Christians know how to ruin every holiday don't they? Oh, by the way, if you are reading this and you are my mom..........the website in the link is a satire web site so don't get too upset, your son hasn't turned into a devil worshipper. For those of you that don't know......my mom does read this blog.

Love ya mom:-)

Mike from Banjo Brothers e-mailed me and asked me if I would like to test out something from his 2006 line of products.........heck yeah I would!

That 2000 cubic inch messenger bag looks way, way awesome.

2000 cubic inches?

Good Gawd, that's gotta be huge. Send me one of those and our 18 year daughter and I can fight over who gets to use it!

Gonna be switching the Cross-Check over to winter mode this weekend. That means the cross tires, rack and light mounts get installed. I love the way it looks with those 700x45 fatties and fenders.

I'll post up some pics after I get it switched over. I love going for road rides at night in the fall, I usually head out for some lightly traveled roads nearby and ride for an hour or two. I run a 10 watt light on my bars, a 3 beam LED on my helmet, 2 rear blinkies and I wear one of those highway worker orange vests with reflective tape all over it.

I look like a total geek but it's worth it, to make sure Billy Joe Bob in his pick-up sees me.

Gotta go, time to get our 12 year old up and ready for school...........

Till later and thanks for reading.

Word verification..............

Don't have lots of time, only one thing I want to put out there...............

Is this "word verification" thing for posting comments a total pain in the ass or what? It seems that the letter strings are getting longer and longer and getting harder to read.

.................maybe I am just extra cranky this morning.

I know it's to cut down on comment spam but do all blogs have this problem?

More later this week or weekend, just to busy to put much up right at the moment.............

Till later.

Britain, UK news from The Times and The Sunday Times - Times Online

Britain, UK news from The Times and The Sunday Times - Times Online

I read this and thought it was from the USA. Britain is just as bad as we are..........

Holy CRAP.......

Newsday.com: Wilma winds intensify to 175 mph as it becomes possibly worst storm ever

No riding..........

I'm about ready to trade in my 46 year old back for a new one. I was planning on riding Sunday afternoon but things didn't quite work out that way due to my back still bothering me. I did manage to get a nice hike in up at Rocky Ridge Monday morning.

A hike in the woods is okay but I woulda rather had a ride. At least it was a nice day.

Sometimes the news media likes to make you think one thing while you are actually watching something else. Kinda hard to trust what you see sometimes............

These guys are musical geniuses. Or not.

I'd like to try something like this. Minus running over the squirrel.

This video is drivin' me nuts. How the hell did he do that?

Another one of those video compliations of people getting the shit scared out of them.

This is an interesting piece of software. To be honest, I rarely read through the agreements before I install anything.........maybe I should.

Here's my pet peeve of the day..........

People with shitty telephone ettiquette.

Here's an example of a call I received yesterday.

Caller- Is Janet there?

Me-No.

Caller- a few seconds of silence.............. When will she be back?

Me-I don't know.

Caller-Can I leave her a message?

Me-Yes.

Caller- .........again a few seconds of silence then the person gives me the message.

Me- By the way, who are you? Then the person finally identifies themselves.

Is it me or is it too much to ask for when a person calls to identify themselves if they don't know to whom they are speaking?

Another pet peeve? Table manners, but we'll get into that one some other day............

Till later.

Rip Van Winkle.........

I didn't get much sleep Friday and made up for it Saturday by sleeping 12 1/2 hours. Not 12 1/2 hours of sleep where you get up a couple times, 12 1/2 hours of "dead to the world" sleep. When I woke up, I thought the clock was wrong, I couldn't believe I slept that long.

I guess I'm all caught up now...............

My mom made me a very cool birthday card this year. She scanned some old photos of me into it........


That's me in 1968. Dig those apehanger handlebars. I'm pretty sure that's the bike I broke the head tube off of by jumping over gravel piles. I was hard on bikes when I was a kid.
Still am.


That's me and my dog Charlie in 1965.


Another shot of me with my dog. Don't mess with me. I sure look pissed off about something, don't I?


That's my first car. Dig those socks.


Here's me and my second car. I beat the living shit out of this car. It had a 302 in at and it went like a bat outta hell.

Wow. Is this poor guy OCD or what?

I love practical jokes.........

I was an only child, unlike this family. Holy shit. 16 kids? From the article, it sounds like they can afford them and all but 16 and they want more? Pretty soon they will be able to have their own zip code. Whatever, just as long as they don't end up like this.............

Middle management terrorism.

This guy gets around. But not as much as this guy.

A joke..........

A huge muscular man walks into a bar and orders a beer.

The bartender can't help but stare at the guy because in contrast to his large muscles, the man has a head that is the size of an orange.

The bartender hands the guy his beer and says, "You know, I'm not gay but I want to compliment you on your physique, it really is phenomenal! But I have a question, why is your head so small?"

The big guy nods slowly. He's obviously fielded this question many times. "One day," he begins, "I was hunting and got lost in the woods. I heard someone crying for help. I followed the cries and they led me to a frog that was sitting next to a stream."

"No shit?" says the bartender, thoroughly intrigued.

"Yeah, so I picked up the frog and it said, Kiss me. Kiss me and I will turn into a genie and grant you three wishes."

"Keep going!"

I looked around to make sure I was alone and gave the frog a kiss. POOF! The frog turned into a beautiful, voluptuous, naked woman.

She said, "You now have three wishes."

I looked down at my scrawny 115 pound body and said, "I want a body like Arnold Schwarzenegger."

She nodded, snapped her fingers, and POOF there I was, so huge that I ripped out of my clothes and was standing there naked!

She then asked, "What will be your second wish?"

"What next?" begged the bartender.

I looked hungrily at her beautiful body and replied, "I want to make sensuous love with you here by this stream." She nodded, laid down, and beckoned to me. We made love right there by that stream for hours!

Afterwords, as we lay there next to each other, sweating from our glorious lovemaking, she whispered into my ear, "You know, you do have one more wish. What will it be?"

I looked at her and replied, "How 'bout a little head?"

Holy Mother of God, this is funny............

With that, I think I'll go hit the sack for a few z's

Til later.

Thanks..........

Just want to say "thanks" to all the folks that e-mailed me and wished me a happy birthday.

Thanks.

There, I said it.

Till later.

46 by God

I turn 46 today and I feel it.

46? 46 on the outside and about 12 on the inside.

Holy crap, that's closer to 50 then it is to 40. Gotta get serious about dropping a few pounds and start back up working out, none of my clothes fit. The "obesity at mid-life" got my attention in this article. My pop had a heart attack when he was 50 and I ain't gonna be going down that road if I can help it.

And I'm pretty sure I can help it.

Went back to work last night after being off for a week due to my lame back. Sure would like to say I had a relaxing time last week, but I spent a good bit of it with an ice pack on my lower back. Feels a bit better but I kinda think it's gonna be awhile until it's 100%.

I forgot how much fun work is, by the time I had everything baked....... I was baked. I'm wearing one of those back support belts for at least part of my shift because it forces me to have the correct posture. I have a prescription for muscle relaxants but I hesitate to take any while I'm at work for fear of cutting a finger off or deep frying my forehead bobbing for donuts in the deep fryer.


I suppose people have worse problems then a little lower back pain, but it sure would be nice to make it through a whole day without some sort of discomfort..........or brain damage.

Anybody see this? Horses with diapers? WTF? Do they make horse diapers? I guess if I lived there, I wouldn't appreciate a horse taking a 20 pound dump in front of my house either. Hell, I'd be out on the front yard with one of these. I have to ride through enough horseshit when I am out mtbing..............

This is some seriously cool shit. Where I live, the 3 ton SUV's with the soccer moms (or dads) on their cell phone rule the road. I didn't see any road rage in that video but there sure as hell is a lot of it around here. I see more of it when I'm driving then when I am riding my bike strangely enough.

Maybe it's because when I ride my bike, I signal all my turns and take the lane when it's too narrow for a bike and a car.

I ride my bike like I own the fucking road.

When I'm on my bike I've had people lay on the horn for me to get out of their way, they seem to lose all the bravery when I pull up to their driver side window at the next light, tap on their glass and ask them what their major malfunction is.

I suppose I get my confrontational manner from my mom, she doesn't take shit from anybody. Go ahead and piss her off, you'll see.

My Aunt Helen is not having a traditional viewing or burial service, just a memorial service in a couple of weeks. Personally, I think that's a great idea as I hate and I mean HATE going to viewings and funerals. Everyone can get together and talk about all the cool stuff my great aunt did without her body laying in a casket 10 feet away.

I don't understand the whole viewing thing, I mean if you haven't seen someone for awhile and you go to their viewing when they die.....what the hell are you supposed to say?

Oh, they look good?

Jesus H. Christ on a pogo stick, they're dead! How the hell can someone "look good" when they ain't breathing?

When I die- I want my ashes spread on the trails I ride. I'm pretty sure that ain't legal, but I'll be out on the trails for a long time.....................

I bet even money that George Bush will be be picking someone else to be a Supreme Court justice. Maybe this time it will be someone who is a judge already. He is about a dumb SOB.

Did everyone see the video of the guy in New Orleans getting the living shit beat out of him? Cops have a tough job and NOLA cops even more so. Do I think the cops should be fired?

Why, yes I do.

I think Mr Davis is gonna have a good case for a lawsuit should he decide to go down that road. He's lucky he didn't get killed.

This means winter is on it's way. Here in Pennsylvania it goes from 70 to 35 in the span of one or two weeks and stays shitty until April. I know lots of my fellow bike bloggers are way more hardcore then I am. When's it's cold enough to freeze up my water bottles.........it's time to stay inside.

Go hard or go home.

I go home, thankyavurrymuch.

Did something to my computer I should have done awhile ago......... I cleaned out all the unused registry keys, dll's and old files. I used a program called Easy Cleaner and another called Crap Cleaner. Cleared out nearly a gig of unused stuff, over 100 old registry keys and my boot-up time is a lot quicker now.

It always makes me nervous when I am screwing around with the registry because I know if I mess it up, the computer might not boot back up. Let's face it-I make donuts for a living, I'm not an IT professional.

This is a good article about...........mmmm, I forget.

Recycling is bullshit. I wish we had Showtime..........If anybody wants to buy me Penn and Teller's Bullshit DVD's...........here's the link.

Buy a Hummer and save gas. Is this a great country or what?

I entered the Powerball lottery for tonight. I think the main prize is 140 million bucks. If I win..............yeah, you guessed it..............instant retirement.

Till later and thanks for reading.

Aunt Helen................

My Aunt Helen passed away this past Sunday at 5 AM.........

We sure are gonna miss her.

Till later.

5 things .........

What are the five things you couldn't live without?

Excluding my family, air, water and food.............

#1 Would have to be my bikes. If I had to pick just one bike out of my stable-it would be the Cross-Check. That bike can do it all.

#2 I'd say my computer and it's broadband connection to the internet. It's how I get my news everyday and it's also a relaxing form of recreation.

#3 Would be my iPod Nano. I use it mainly to listen to podcasts but it's also nice to listen to music once and awhile.

#4 My LBS. Sure mail order is nice if you want to save a few bucks but mail order ain't gonna let you try out 6 different stems until you find the one you like. Support your local bike shops.

#5 Ice cream. Peanut butter and chocolate swirl is my favorite.

Went to visit my Aunt Helen yesterday, she ain't doing so hot. If I ever have to stay in a nursing home-somebody please come and get me out and put me on the back of a tandem and go down the scariest hill you can find.

When I die, I want the last two words out of my mouth to be.........

"Oh shit"


If it doesn't fit-force it.

A joke......

A little boy was lost at a large shopping mall.

He approached a uniformed security guard and said, "I've lost my grandpa!"

The cop asked, "What's he like?"

The little boy replied, "Jack Daniels and women with big boobs."

Not sure how this guy does this, but it's kinda neat.

Hey, I'm thinkin' I might vote for this guy.


I can hardly wait for this trial to be over. Doesn't make me very proud to live in York.

Till later.........

Stuff I've noticed..........

Ever notice................

-When people put the "I'm away and can't answer the phone right now" message on their answering machine-they talk painfully slow like the person that is calling is mentally challenged and can't understand people talking normally?

-Whenever you are following someone entering a building-that person in front of you stops and stares at the ceiling as soon as they are inside?

-When people talk on their cellphones-they can't walk or drive in a straight line?

-When people are in line at the checkout counter at the supermarket-they act surprised when the cashier asks them for money and it takes an additional 3 minutes for them to fumble around to find their wallet?

-If you are at the mall and one of those roving salespersons comes up to you to sell you something, they will leave you alone if you pick your nose right as they make eye contact with you.

-When you go into a store and the salesperson won't leave you alone after you've told them you are just browsing? The "pick your nose" trick works quite well here as well.

-Whenever I order food at a fast food restaurant, it never looks like the picture on the menu board. It looks like someone sat on it.

If I could have done something like this to my father when I lived at home, I probably woulda did it. I love practical jokes. Thing is, if I woulda tried something like that with my pop..............one of us wouldn't have lived through it.


Maybe I'll buy my dad one of these instead.

Back is feeling somewhat better, can't sit or stand in one place to long, it let's me know it ain't happy. My doctor gave me a prescription for a muscle relaxer, they work pretty good but they make me kinda dopey. Well, dopier then usual.

I can't believe this is in court. The fact that it's in York County isn't a surprise though. After all, we had someone arrested at the York Fair for animal bestiality with a sheep a couple years back.

Our area has had at least 3 to 4 inches of rain in the past 24 hours. It's been awhile since we've had any rain so since I can't ride right now, I say-let it rain.


Lots more here.

Our daughter turned 18 a couple days ago.........how did she manage to grow up so fast? I guess the same way I managed to get to middle age so fast. October 12th is my 46th birthday.

46 on the outside and 12 on the inside.

Till later.

NYPD Bicycle Theft

That really sucks.

Strapped to an ice pack.............

Having a lame back is no fun at all. While mine isn't as bad as some folks........it's bad enough.

As I am typing this-I have a ice pack right at the base of my spine to reduce the amount of pain. It's more of an annoying pain then a searing pain so I suppose things could be worse.

My lovely wife has problems with her sacro-illiac as well and when hers acts up-it puts her out of commission, so I ain't gonna complain too much................

Looks like it's time to play some more games with politics. I guess the politicians forgot about all that stuff going on down in New Orleans already.

I don't know which is scarier..........the flu or George Bush.

Reading this article........ one word comes to mind. Vietnam.

Till later..........

October is.............

Random thoughts (again)

I wanna a big bike like these guys.

As I get older, I am becoming attracted to more off-beat kinds of cycling. I took a ride on my chopper on Sunday and got stopped a couple of times by some young guys on skateboards and a couple of older guys who wanted a closer look at my bike.

I let the kids take a spin and one of the older guys (my age) took a ride as well. They all thought it was way cool and wanted to know where I got it and how much it was.

Goes to show you, bike riding ain't never gonna go out of style no matter what kinda bike you ride or who you are. Try to be in a bad mood while your riding a bike-you can't do it, especially if you have a chopper like mine. I grin like a 12 year old when I ride it. I guess that's why I bought it.

One of the county parks we all ride our mountain bikes in has been sabotaged by some asshole spreading staples on the trails.


Here's a picture of the staples. Notice how the bastard has twisted them so they have at least one point sticking up?

Not cool at all. We have an idea who is doing it but until someone catches him-we have to put up with it.

I don't know why people have to go through life being so angry at the world, all this person is doing is making it bad for himself because we ain't gonna stop riding the trails we helped create. Life is too damn short for stupid shit like this.

You want gun control? One shot. I'd say that's pretty good gun control.

This website tells you a lot about how government is run. Or how well it's not run.

I sure hope they don't come out with one of these for donuts. Like America isn't fat enough already. And I'm not helping any, am I?

Bad joke time.............

Jesus, hanging on the cross, says, "Peter, come here." Peter, thinking he is about to receive a profound religious truth, moves towards Jesus but the Roman soldiers push him back.

Again Jesus summons, "Peter, come here." Peter tries again, but the Roman soldiers again push him away.

Jesus summons a third time, "Peter come here." Peter gathers all of his strength and finally breaks through. Bleeding from several lance wounds, Peter says, "Yes, Master?"

Jesus looks upon Peter and says, "I can see your house from here!"

Check out Emmanuel's trip around the world. He just finished, this is a link to his last journal entry. I've been following his trip via his podcasts and it was very interesting. Some of my high school friends and I had wanted to ride our bikes across country after graduation, this trip goes way beyond something like that.

If I was a Marine, Dick Cheney would be about the last person I would want to see.

If I lived in New Orleans, this would definitely suck. I couldn't imagine how badly my house would stink after it was submerged in sewage and then baked for 4 weeks at 9o degrees. I think I would just move somewhere else and start over.

You are really gonna have to be a geek to dig this site, all kinds of high speed camera action.

Last link for today, this is too cool for words. I really like Cleverchimp's bike.

That's about it for today, looks like I am gonna have some spare time this week, my sacro-illiac is acting up again, so I might be taking a few days off of work and riding. I have something like 8 or 9 weeks of accumulated sick pay........looks like it's time to use some of it.

Till later and thanks for reading.

Happy Birthday Dad

That's my pop in (I'm guessing) 1957 or so.

Today is his 68th birthday..................


This is a picture of my great Aunt Helen. She is about 18 in this picture. She's now 85 years old and not in the best of health.

She has been all over the world and has more friends then I have brain cells.

She's pretty cool.

Till later.

Ultimate light for bicycling at night.

Politicians are scum.

20 Things That Only Happen In Movies

Now I know.

The Donut Guy rides a bike.......

Yeah, I know it's been awhile since I've had a ride report but I plan to ridey ride one of my mtb's later today. If I remember to take my camera............I'll take some pics to share with ya'll.

I keep reading more negative stuff about the Bush presidency..........how much worse can it get? One thing's for sure, it'll be a long time until I vote Republican again. Or Democrat for that matter.

I'm not the smartest guy in the world but it's getting close to the point where I might be able to do a better job.

Some of the things I'd do by executive order............

Make it mandatory for everyone over the age of 18 to carry a sidearm at all times.

Make everyone and every company pay 10% of their earnings as tax. No exceptions, no loopholes.

Double the going price of gasoline and use ALL of the extra money to pay off the deficit and when that's paid off........ fully fund Medi-Care and S.S. And when that's fully funded? Put some money in the bank.

Look at what Government agencies that were around in 1960......keep those that were here in 1960 and scrap the rest.

Pay U.S service man and woman competitive wages, just cut the pay of most elected officials to fund the pay raise.

Outlaw cheap ice cream and cheap bicycles.

Vote for me.

I'm going to bed.

Till later.