Messenger Video, and "World of WORS"?

Here is a link for a video about a NYC bike messenger race.

I wonder if anyone has ever come up with a video game where bike messengers dodge hazards to see who can get the delivery there first. I don't know much about video games - for all I know there could be several like that out there.

There could be a WORS video game too. How about "World of WORS"? "World of WORS-craft"? You could have a lot of fun making up things to find in the woods that could make you go faster, and various ways to beat your opponents.

Also, could you put the WORS courses on a Computrainer and preride from home? I don't have a Computrainer to know if it would work.

What if someone made a HelmetCam video of each course and put it on DVD? Or better yet, walked it and videotaped it? Do the courses change too much from year to year for that to work? Those of us that don't get to preride might like that. maybe this kind of stuff already exists and I don't know it?

Tour de Georgia Video

For live Tour de Georgia video coverage on the web, go here and click on the AT&T Tour Tracker Link.

Not everyone is training....

Here's a link to a silly music video that I received today.... I have never heard of her before.... apparently not everyone is training for racing season!!

(thanks to Gil for the video link.)

Ride your bike to the grocery store....

For Earth Week, my local Wild Oats grocery store is offering 10% off your groceries if you ride your bike to the store, starting today. Just show them your helmet when you check out. I don't know if every Wild Oats store has this, but if you live near one, check it out.

Paris Roubaix coverage is on tv right now..... looks like way too nice a day for this race! (Unlike the unfortunate folks at Sea Otter....) Ooops, there's a big pile-up! Ouch.

Olympics in Chicago?

Wow, Chicago just won the race over L.A. to be the U.S. bidder for the 2016 Olympics a few minutes ago. 2016 seems so far away. If it actually works out, just think of the racing we will get to see here in the Midwest!

Tax Deductible Eating and the Cargo Bike Movement

I read an article in the Chicago Tribune (paper version) Thursday about the cargo bike movement. I started hearing more about these when I stopped by an old friend's framebuilding shop in Seattle last year. A former messenger and bike mechanic in Chicago, he had been building cargo bikes in Seattle for quite a while. I've been wanting to convert one of my old mt bikes into some type of cargo bike for commuting and grocerying for a couple of years, but haven't gotten around to it.

At the end of the article was something I found amusing (see below). There has got to be a way for hungry racers to take the same idea and make it work for them!!

"Alan Wayne Scott, 57, a bike messenger in Toronto, is also an important figure in the cargo bike movement. After realizing that as a bike messenger he was eating three times as much as he was used to, he wanted to deduct food costs from his taxes the way an automobile driver deducts the cost of gas. Scott fought for many years in the Canadian courts until, in the late 1990's, the Canadian government agreed to allow the deductions."

Don't leave food in your car in bear country.....

As I'm writing this, there is a Pimp My Ride episode on where a outdoorsy girl is showing where a bear attacked her car in the San Bernadino mountains. He opened the door and got inside in search of the food she had in the car, accidentally locked himself inside, tore up the inside trying to get out, and then pooped in it! They showed what looked like a ripped open bag of cheetos and a Clif bar wrapper on the seat. There are claw marks everywhere on the outside, and the inside is really trashed. He tore off door panels, etc. She said that when the sun heats up the car the poop smell reappears. ugh. I guess she is going to be ecstatic to have her ride Pimped and De-Pooped!!!

I'm glad there aren't bears at Kettle after seeing that car.... we'd all be in trouble!

Now they are fixing up the car and are showing a hammock that pops out of the trunk for when she goes camping. It looks like the paint job is going to include giant stylized bear claw scrape marks on the hood and sides of the car.

Anyway, last weekend I worked the Clif booth at the Shamrock Shuffle expo Friday night. There were alot of shufflers shuffling by at the expo, but not as many as I expected, given that 30,000 people had to pick up their registration packets Friday or Saturday. Maybe the rain kept people away. The people watching was ok. The Potbelly booth had a roulette wheel where you could win different thing, such as free sandwiches or Potbelly items. The enthusiasm of the women running the booth made it fun and made it not so bad to wait in line - they cheered everytime someone won something. I got a handy Nalgene-type water bottle the first time. I was trying to win the lettuce head-shaped stress ball (there was something strangely appealing about it, all green and squishy), so I had to go back and try again later. She made sure I hit the "stress ball" on the roulette wheel the second time around, with a little "help". I also filled out a survey to get Saturn cowbells which will be ideal for 'cross season next year. I don't think the woman doing the surveys had any idea what the cowbells were for, until I tried to explain it. It probably still sounded kinda strange.

Last Sunday I went to see the Parkside race. I got up in time to make it to the afternoon races. Another nice day! Almost perfect. Two out of three amazing days for the parkside series this year. Lucky racers. I heard the women's field was big, would have liked to have seen that one. I didn't see as many familiar faces at this one, but it was nice to catch up with the friends that were there. Congrats to Chris S. on getting second in the Masters 30+ race and then going back out there and doing well in the 1,2's as well. I was sorry to hear about Kim's grandmother. My condolences to both of them. I'm sure the last couple of weeks have been tough.

I shipped a box of goodies off to my little nephew and brother in law for their birthdays. It took a couple of hours to wrap everything and draw cool little pics on the labels of each present. The pictures I drew on the labels give a little hint at what's inside, without being too obvious.

Last night NZ Wendy had a game party at her house. The people that hadn't seen the slides of her Africa trip got there early. The rest of us got there later, and ended up playing a game called Rigamarole. It was fun, but no one was really that into playing games. Most of us hadn't seen each other in a while and wanted to talk. We were like an unruly class who wasn't paying attention to the teacher. She had to keep reminding us to focus. It was a pretty fun game, though. Examples of stuff we had to do by drawing cards in different categories: count the number of tatoos on everyone on your team and win the corresponding number of points, sing the first couple of verses of the star spangled banner (I can't do that but we found out who was a good singer!), compare the number of piercings one team has vs the other to see who has more, read the ingredients label of a food to the members of the other team while they have their eyes closed and make them guess what food it is. (I completely stumped the other team by reading the label of a bag of Clif Shot Blocks! Not even the rustling of the bag gave it away!) Wendy is taking guitar lessons, so at the end of the evening she ended up reading the words to the songs she was learning and we tried to guess what the songs were without hearing the music.

I have been trying to study for a continuing ed test but it's been really hard to put everything else aside and concentrate on it. The phone keeps ringing, for one. I am hoping tomorrow I can do that.... I've just had too much other stuff to get done lately. Gotta work on the taxes too.

Some people are going on a riding trip on the trails near St Louis next weekend - I really wanted to go, but being injured, it's probably a really bad idea. And I have so much to get done in the next two weeks. I don't think I'll be able to go. Which is too bad. With racing every weekend during the season I don't end up going on fun trips like that. Next year, I guess.

I really liked Gina G.'s performance of "I'll Stand by You" on AI this week. She's the rockingest female on the show - a good thing. I also thought her cover of "Call Me When You're Sober" was better than the Evanescence version. I hope she hangs in there, partly because I like her spirit, because she's from around here, and because she used to be in former teammate Lisa K's band Catfight.

Good luck to Holly K. in her first expert race in AZ at the NMBS race this weekend! I hope it went well.

Happy Birthday to Carlos!

Interchangeable?

This page about Lance's Ladies gave me a chuckle today. Thanks to June for the link!

I don't like the new Blogger very much so far. I just recently switched, because they forced me to. Doing a link now means going to the help page every time, since I haven't memorized it yet and my old posts no longer show the HTML characters for me to copy. Why did they make it so you can't see the HTML when you go to edit a post? Argggh. I know I don't really know how to do this yet, I'm a total newbie, but why not keep it easy for people? I don't have an icon on my post page for links, but apparently some people do, judging by the Help page. All I have is spell check and an icon for photos. Is it because I am using Safari? I used to just be able to go to an old post and copy and paste the characters needed to do a link.

I really wish I were going to the NMBS #1 in Arizona next weekend. A few days in the desert would be perfect right now!

I had a great time catching up with people I hadn't seen since Sheboygan at the first Parkside race a couple of weeks ago. It was a beautiful day in the sun. I went to watch a friend do her first crit, though ironically she got there late and missed the race. Since I was already there, I stayed most of the day and saw lots of familiar faces. I didn't make it last weekend, I had too much other stuff to do, and it was cold anyway. If it's nice on Sunday, I'll be headed back.

The Mud Index!

A friend emailed me a must-click link today! Anyone who has ridden in a muddy cross race or a muddy mountain bike race has got to see "The many names of MUD" !

Otherwise, lots to say but no time to say it in! Hopefully a longer post is on it's way!

Fairness

I went to a fundraiser for the Floyd Fairness Fund tonight. I got there kinda late, just before they had the auction for a Cannondale System 6 (I think that's the model name) bike generously donated by Lou of the Pony Shop. They had a silent auction with items donated by, I think, Chris M. of Turin, Brendan of Albertos, and other shops, and were also selling some autographed posters. One poster was a portrait of Floyd. It had a dark background, and part of his face was in the shadows. It was very striking. I would have bought one of those had I seen them before I got to the raffle. I got the last raffle ticket, so I didn't have a chance to walk around and see what else I might have chosen. I had to make a quick decision about the ticket. My raffle luck was not with me today, unfortunately. I didn't win anything at the WORS banquet raffle in October, either, and almost everyone else there did. Hopefully that means I'm saving my luck for something really, really special in the future!

Floyd looked super-professional in a dark suit for the occasion. When I pulled out the camera, he said that it isn't often that he wears a suit. So I figured I had to share this rare sighting with you. Unfortunately I didn't think to get one of him alone, which would have been better.

When People Are the Message

I just finished a book called "Citizen Marketers: When People Are the Message", by Ben McConnell and Jackie Huba. I have been reading it in bits and pieces at the gym and on the airplane a few weeks ago and I realized it was due back at the library and I had better finish it. I just realized that by writing about it in my blog, I am (on a very minor level) taking part in the viral marketing that they write about in the book!

From the inside cover : "The woman sitting next to you at Starbucks focused intently on her laptop may just be determining the next big thing. In coffee houses, offices, homes, dorm rooms, and airport lunges around the world, millions of people use laptops and cell phones to become today's new publishers and broadcasters. Armed with only a broadband connection, these regular citizens are exercising enormous influence on culture and what we buy."

Hmmm, am I about to exercise my influence on you by telling you to read this book??

Yes, actually, this book is a must-read if you are interested in viral marketing. Or, for that matter, in how how people have used their blogs, knowingly or not, to promote something or to get something they want. It talks about how ordinary citizens who are passionate about a product often are the best advertisers of that product. They give significant amounts of their own time, uncompensated, to get the word out about a product because of how they feel about it. They may even create music, art, music, ads or videos inspired by their love of the product, or in some cases, their disdain for the product. It gives examples of how some companies fail miserably at recognizing this and how others really "get it'. There's a lot more to it than my description, but that's a start... (ie. the book is more interesting than my description of it!)

Citizen Marketers fall into 4 categories, Filters, Fanatics, Facilitators and Firecrackers.... did you know there is (or was) a blog titled Slave to Target, about one woman's obsession with buying stuff at Target? And that a link on her site actually increased traffic and sales at Target.com? I haven't looked to see if the blog still exists, but I will! The authors have a blog called Church of the Customer that I want to check out soon, as well. But for now, it's after midnight and I need some sleep.....

If you were going to create a blog or a video or podcast about a product you love, what would the product be?

Can't wait!

I pre-ordered a copy of 24 Solo today. The World Premiere is going to be at Sea Otter in April, and then I imagine they'll send our DVD's after that. They were filming Chris Eatough at 24/9 last July. It was cool watching them spring into action to film him coming through the pit area at 2 in the morning. His crew would put little inspirational messages on his bike for him to read when he changed bikes.

You can see some of the torrential downpour scenes from 24/9 in the trailer online. I can't wait to see this movie. I loved Off Road to Athens and I'm sure I am going to like this one too.

Santa Cruz Blur for Sale!

I have a Santa Cruz Blur Classic, size Medium, in anodized orange (great color!!) that is going to be for sale online soon. If anyone is interested, let me know very soon!!! I can take better pics once I get the bike back from the shop. Leave me a comment letting me know how I can contact you.
Info:

Santa Cruz Blur Classic, size Medium.
the frame is a brand new 2005, anodized orange aluminum (2005 Blur frames are disc only and have increased rear tire clearance over previous models)
Progressive 5th Element rear shock, fully factory rebuilt.

the Components are used:
XTR shifters/disc brakes, XTR crankset, XTR front derailleur, XTR rear derailleur.
DuraAce chain, don't know what the cassette is.
Wheels: Mavic disc rims w/XTR hubs and XTR skewers
Selle Italia Flite saddle
Thomson Elite setback seatpost
Chris King headset
Easton EA50 stem
Easton MonkeyLite SL riser carbon handlebars (probably a 3/4" rise)
Fox Float 100 RLC fork
pedals are not included.
Maxxis Steve Larsen tires
$2650 or a reasonable offer

On the Santa Cruz website they suggest that a Medium fits people from approximately 5'6 to 5'10".

I bought the frame thinking it would fit me and when it was built up it turned out that I needed a bigger size. I had my heart set on the orange at the time, and I couldn't locate a new anodized orange large anywhere! Luck was on my side and I was able to buy a used one from someone who works at a local shop and I put my sram parts on the used frame and the used xtr parts from his bike on the Medium new frame, which is the one for sale. Part of the deal was a rear shock rebuild to make the bike like new, and that shock is now on the Medium. The Medium frame being sold is still brand new!!

This bike is really sweet!! If you want a Blur Classic, this one is the one to get, since the frame is new! The Blur has been one of the most popular trail bikes with great reviews in the bike mags over the past few years, pretty much since it came out. The anodized orange finish is striking and looks great, in my opinion. If you are not familiar with this bike, it uses the Virtual Pivot Point suspension system, has about 4.5 inches of travel, and is considered an all-around trail bike which can be raced XC or endurance or just ridden for long fun rides.

Have a good weekend!

Wishful watching....

When I got home from the gym tonight, I wanted to catch up on the Tour of California stages and make some space on the DVR for shows later this week. My DVR recordings menu came up blank - so I couldn't watch anything, nor could I even get to the list of recordings to delete some stuff. Arrgh. The customer service guy told me to power cycle the DVR - hope that works.

I came very close to going to see the last few stages of Tour of California. I was still thinking about going until last week. It turned out both of the friends I would have visited there were going to be out of town. So as happy as I am that OLN, er, I mean, Versus, is broadcasting it, watching it makes me really want to be there. Especially the prologue. It's not like watching a Euro race that is so far away you don't really think about the possibility of being there. This race feels so close (yet so far, to use a tired cliche). Other than that, it's great to be able to watch a world class race in the US on TV in February! Just what I need to get motivated.

Since I didn't go to Tour of CA, that opens the door to maybe go to some other "escape-the-Midwest-gloom" event, like Sea Otter or the NORBA nat'l in AZ. Being in AZ briefly a week ago I was reminded of how the Sonoran desert surroundings make me feel both energized and at peace, strange as that may sound. I am thinking that the AZ race might be in some ways be more fun and less hassle than fighting the crowds at Sea Otter. It would be warmer, too. Tough call, either one would be great in different ways.

Sunday I got to play outside for the first time in a while. I wanted to take advantage of the snow before it went away. I went snowshoeing with a friend and his dog. My friend was on skiis but it worked out fine. His dog had an unusual "snack" out there in the woods - steaming horse poop - ugh. We later found it regurgitated on the trail in front of us. I did not know this was considered a treat by dogs!!

A Day without Chocolate....

..... is an evening with a headache!!

I'm trying to cut back on sugar, so on the spur of the moment I attempted to have a chocolate-free day today (Tuesday). I forgot about the chocolate withdrawal headache until it hit me like a ton of bricks. Ugh.

Where was I?

The other day I woke up, looked outside, and saw this...


And then, later in the day I could see this...


Can anyone guess where this is, and better yet, the name of the peak on the right? It has some significance in mountain bike racing history....

more to come....

Condolences

My thoughts are with Jason LaBella and his family this week. I found out, from his team's blog, that his father just passed away. My condolences to them at this very difficult time.

Reading the sad news made me think of a scene in Gray's Anatomy a few weeks ago when George's dad dies and Cristina sadly welcomes him to "the dead Dad's club", wishing that he didn 't have to become a member. I guess I have to say the same to Jason - I'm so sorry he had to join us in the club.

Myrtle the Turtle?

In this extreme cold, I have been wondering how DJ and Mike are doing in the Arrowhead Ultramarathon. This has to be the coldest weekend/week of the year, and they are out there riding snow bikes for 135 miles!! It hurts just thinking about it.

So, I looked at the web site to see how they are doing. A posting as of 7:30 pm tonight (Tuesday 2/6) says that the Myrtle the Turtle award goes to Mike, meaning he was beat in the sprint by DJ. That means they passed the (one and only!) checkpoint together, and that they were the last ones to cross it. Good for them!! I think that's a good sign that they could sprint, turtle or not! It sounded like 3 people had finished at that point, and quite a few people had DNF'd

No more Age Classes?

I just got an email today that USA Cycling is doing away with age classes in some categories of women's MTB racing.

Please help sign a petition to get this decision reversed!

Even if it does not affect you, it will probably affect someone you know, and make them less likely to race at NMBS races. The link is in the letter below, and the details are available on the petition web site. You can check a box if you want to remain anonymous on the public petition.

This is the gist of the email:

Dear Friends,

I have just read and signed the petition: "Support Reinstatement of Age Classes in Womens MTB Racing"

Please take a moment to read about this important issue, and join me in signing the petition. It takes just 30 seconds, but can truly make a difference. We are trying to reach 1,000 signatures - please sign here:
http://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/671795204


Once you have signed, you can help even more by asking your friends and family to sign as well.

Thank you!!!!

Arrowhead 135 Ultramarathon

Good Luck to DJ and Mike, who are leaving Friday for the Arrowhead 135 Ultramarathon!

from the web site:

"The Arrowhead Winter Ultra is a non-profit human powered ultramarathon on bike, foot or skis, covering 135 miles across the Arrowhead Region of Northern Minnesota from International Falls near the Canadian border to Tower, MN. The course follows a scenic, hilly, State multi-purpose trail under extreme winter conditions starting at 7am--Monday, February 5 through Wednesday night, 7pm--Feb. 7th, 2007.

Completing the course is no small feat as winter temperatures in this area of Minnesota have been known to reach a record -60F degrees. No wonder the locals have dubbed their town the "Icebox of the Nation" and "Frostbite Falls".

There will be one race check point serving hot soup and water at a cabin about the midway point by Elephant Lake near the town of Orr. Otherwise, racers are fully self-supported with a cutoff time of 60 hours. Each racer is required to carry mandatory food, water and gear as outlined on the rules page to cover the 3 days and 2 nights outdoors."

Brrrrrr!!!!

Here are some (but not all) of the race rules I found on the site:

No outside help from anyone except other racers. This means that there are no support crews of any kind and no rides/tows accepted from snowmobilers, nor other vehicles. Participants are encouraged to help each other. The buddy system is a good way to do this race.

No littering. (and no stashes). This should be obvious but it is so important to us that we thought we should put it in the rules. Leave no trace. Make use of sanitation facilities provided along the trail. There is an outhouse next to each of 9 trail shelters along the trail. Bring your own t.p.

Last person to reach the MelGeorge's checkpoint wins the Myrtle the Turtle award.

Snow machines and dog sleds have right of way. You must pull to the right side of the trail and let them pass. Stop at all intersections and obey traffic rules.

(do wolves and bears have the right of way too??)

All racers are expected to carry or tow a minimum of 15 lbs. of gear (not including the sled, bike, skis, nor water) at all times and must finish with at least 1 day or 3000 calories of food and 8oz. of fuel. Racers may share gear and assist each other; however, each participant must have their own mandatory gear at all times.

(One hint they give is that a lb. of butter has 3200 calories!! ugh!)

They also mentioned somewhere that it burns too many calories to eat snow. better to take water. I guess I knew that already.

So, who wants to sign up for next year? Not me!

I think it's supposed to be 4 degrees here this weekend. I'm sure it's much colder up there. I hope it "warms" up a little for them by Monday!

Now THAT'S an adventure.