Moving Forward

It's not like I love paying taxes, but my income is a result of the society in which I live. I do better when people have good roads to get to work and a good education to perform the intricate work required to keep us moving forward. If I make more money, then I want to pay my fair share in order to keep health care options reasonable and not discriminate against women; they are a big part of my success. I feel a responsibility to the society that has created the conditions that have allowed my success. I didn't get where I am solely on my own. I had good police and fire protection, I relied on an education system that produced enough other people that were articulate, well enough informed to think critically, and people who enjoyed the fruits of their civil rights not because they had the same perspective and made the same choices as me, but because they were free to live without fear of reprisal for who they are.

Yes my life is richer for all these things and I am voting for Obama in the hope that we won't head in the direction of tax breaks for those least needing them, cutting off support for the true 'fair and balanced' reporting ONLY found on public radio and television. Big Bird as a talking point? Please. I also can't imagine a world where women's health care would be under attack; I don't care much for abortion, but I believe that it is the result of ignorance on how not to get pregnant or the capability to prevent it. Doesn't it make sense to work on educating and supporting women on how to care for and manage their own bodies, the core mission of Planned Parenthood? I am dedicated to moving forward into a sustainable future, not back into an idealized, and largely fictional, past.

Please join me and vote for Obama so we can realize our potential.

Hi, been real busy

Found life outside of blogging

Submerged in life now...

Lost art of the group ride

Lost art of the group ride

"...The group will surge, gap, and separate, only to regroup at every stop sign. I’ll hear fifteen repeated screams of “HOLE!” for every minor road imperfection. And then no mention of the actual hole. Some guy in front will set a PR for his 30 second pull. Wheels overlap, brakes are tapped, and some guy in the back will go across the yellow line and speed past the peloton for no apparent reason. A breakaway?!..."


This article should be required reading for every single person joining a bicycling club AND for each time that membership is renewed. It's about safety, respect and responsibility in ascending order. When we don't ride responsibly, we don't earn respect and everyone's safety is put at risk.

We're willing to go on and on when cars screw up; we should clean up our own habits too!

Beer for Bloggers time

The weather is nice, the beer is cold and the wheels just keep on turning.

June 14 @ Sea Salt?

You know who you are.

Hill Repeats

I don't live in a very hilly part of town, but that doesn't mean I can't find over 1000 feet of hill climbing in the neighborhood. Short, sweet and to the point.

I think I had some blades like this on my table saw at one point.

30 Days of Biking

Been doing it since it's pretty close to no effort on my part. Well there is effort, but little change to my routine since I bike most days anyway. Tweeting as prescribed though keeping it pretty low key. This guy, on the other hand, has been doing it up big time with videos most days. He posts as The MinusCar Project, but in this case should maybe post as The PlusHumor Project since it's had me laughing every single time I watch it.



And, yes, I have questions; Is that a tubeless rig?

It's Good

It's good to get out of your comfort zone every once in a while. I'm a midwestern boy and know how to ride midwestern single track. Sure there are some rocks but they are nice round ones and I know how they move under my tires. I've ridden in Alaska, but that's much like the midwest just on a grander scale. Steeper, a little grittier than the swoopy MORC designed trails that I have come to know and love, but close in kind.

I've also ridden in Arizona before where the rocks are sharp, the climbs are steep and everything would just as soon kill you. But it's always been day trips on a rental. This time I'm 5 days into long hard rides on my own bike. I'm starting to learn how these sharp rock channels filled with loose rock shards, and deep gravel beds carry the bike. I'm riding stuff I wouldn't want to walk and loving the hell out of it.

I have to give a lot of credit to my Pivot, a bike that is proving it can carry me through amazingly rocky, nasty trails just about the same when I very carefully pick my lines as when I just blindly bomb my way through. When the bike is engineered to take almost any terrain I point it at, confidence goes up. I'm riding faster, harder and cleaner than ever. Thanks goes out to John and Harlan at Bicycle Garage in Fountain Hills, AZ for putting me on this bike!

Fantastic Spring Riding!

I don't have time to do this weekend's riding justice, but have to send a shout out. Here in the Twin Cities, MN, we don't get two warm, sunny days like this in March.

Like ever.

Except this weekend we did. Mid sixties both days, lots of sunshine with a bit of wind. It doesn't get much better than this. Fifty warm sunny miles in March riding from the house is almost like winning the lottery.

Almost...

Rites of Passage

Seven years have passed.

So how can you trust anew?

It's not love without.

Carry that baggage?

Love like you never got hurt,

else it isn't love.

Not baggage, learning.

Didn't kill me. No. Stronger.

Past won't stain future.

Ready for today.

Free of yesterday's baggage.

Together we go.

Can't get enough

I don't think it would be possible to get too much of this stuff: