totally awesome.

watch this.
no, seriously.
watch this.

Belgium dominates

Bravo to Niels Albert!
Nice try, Stybar.
For a second I thought it might be Bart.
But that was only for a second.
Boom had a tough day.
Sven scored a predictable podium finish.

The Cyclocross World Championship is the most exciting sporting event of the new year. There's some sort of big bowl on teevee tonight. I hope the score lots of home runs in the third period and make an exciting sports-watching day for the rest America too.

health assessment

My place of employment asks that its employees participate in an annual health assessments outside our doctors' offices; these are optional (I did not participate last year) but in 2009 the penalty for non-participation is in excess of $70 per paycheck as opposed to $20 in 2008. Our employer, who is also our insurer, gets aggregate data from these assessments and we each get... well... information and data that we'd otherwise get in the privacy of an annual doctor's visit. But that's neither here nor there.

Since my "figures" will kind-of no longer be private, I thought I'd just go ahead and make them all the way not private. Save the blood work (which takes some time, duh) here are my vitals:

** "Measurements taken without shoes, bulky clothing and empty pockets"
Height: 5'11"
Weight: 182lb
Waist: 34"
Hips: 39"
Body Fat: 19%
Pregnant: No, N/A
BMI: 25.4 (classification: overweight)
Blood Pressure: 122/78
Pulse: 68

My secret's out; now everyone will know they can kick my ass on the bike this year. Awesome.

let's go doods!

x100

As of this afternoon, an estimated 400 Palestinians are dead as a result of Israeli air strikes in Gaza.
The air strikes are said to be in response to 4 recent Israeli deaths due to Palestinian rocket fire into Israel.

Apparently 1 Israeli is equal to or greater than 100 Palestinians.

Slumdog Millionaire

Go see it.

Happy Festivus

hooray!! winter solstice has passed!

and we can only go up from here.

time to go pack for detroit city!

When you forget why you ride your bike

Read this post.
I hope it makes you smile as it did me.

zero dollar - that is how many I have

I have absolutely NO motivation to ride the trainer right now.
Every day seems unrealistically filled with tasks to accomplish.
The nights come fast, the daylight slipping through my fingers while I sit bound in my office roundicle as if it were a cell.
Work only lets up long enough to make sure I've not lost consciousness before reapplying the pillow to my face.

The bicycle that I have strapped into the trainer is a "B" frame (if I dare ascribe to it such a lofty title). I cannot seem to get it properly adjusted in order for it to feel "right." The "A" frame was sold off because it has always been too small. The only redeeming quality of this new set-up is that the rear shifting is flawless. Astoundingly so, in fact. The chain hunks into gear at the slightest tease of my shift lever regardless of its trajectory up or down the cassette. But let us not get ahead of ourselves -- there is only so much joy (and very much irony) that can be found in perfect shifting on a trainer-bound bicycle in one's living room.


I eat far too many cookies.
One might deem this to be enough motivation TO ride the trainer but I assure you that in my world delicious cookies only serve to motivate me into eating more delicious cookies.
I can literally hear myself getting fatter.
When I bend forward, where there once was one small roll of belly fat now reside two.


I haven't done any serious exercise since the state cross champs.
This weekend will mark 4 full weeks.


I can't stand the idea of getting onto the trainer right now.
I can't stand the fact that I haven't yet.