truth in advertising

fashionistas in the news!!

these olive green t-shirts are the latest thing. when the beautiful people at cannes were not flashing the flesh and their pearly whites on the runways and beaches, they were seen wearing these babies.

now, you, too, can look like brangelina, shu qi, andie macdowell, and others.

in medium and large only, at this time.

$15, plus shipping.

get 'em while you can.

the red ones you can get ONLY by winning the prestigious "most aggressive rider" award at select races throughout the midwest.

kids sizes, SM, XL, and XXL will be available soon.

PENAL TOUR of IOWA

COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa (kim west radio cycling news) - Close to 10,000 prisoners will cycle around Iowa next month, watched by scores of guards on bicycles, in the 37th penal version of the Tour of Iowa, authorities said Monday.
The 10,000 prisoners will cycle in a pack and breakaway sprints will not be allowed. They will be accompanied by 500 guards, prison sports instructors, and Gannett employees. There will be no ranking, the idea being to foster values like teamwork and supression of joy.
"It's a kind of escape for us, a chance to break away from the daily reality of prison," said Flava Dave, a 38-year-old prisoner in the western Illinois city of Galesburg, at the official launch of the event. His last name was not given.
"If we behave well, we might be able to get released earlier, on probation," he told reporters.
The prisoners' Tour de Iowa will take them 708 km (442 miles) around the state, starting in the western city of Council Bluffs on July 19 and stopping in 170 villages and towns, each of which has a prison. However, participants will sleep in tent cities, local shanty towns, and homeless campsites.
The finish line will be in Burlington, following Tour de Iowa tradition.
"This project aims to help these men and women reintegrate into society by fostering values like inhumane effort, teamwork and loss of self-esteem," said T.J. Juskiewicz, of the Gannett prison authorities.
"We want to show them that with some training, you can achieve your goals and start a new life, albeit a pitiful, worthless one," he said.

photos from the weekend [family stuff]

the grandkids had their first taste of competition, doing the children's snake alley and melon city. in great racer tradition, i fudged jabari's "racing age"--from 22 months to 3 years--to get him in at the snake, on his strider cycle.
waiting, waiting, waiting

jabari is READY to race

nyla does hot laps to prepare

jabari's laps were not as hot, but he did MANY of them

he might not have been the first to cross the line, but he had as much fun as any of them. he did not stop at the line: jabari went another half block, and cried when i turned him around to go back

nyla, who actually DOES know the proper way to fit a helmet, was cursed and blessed with a head full of beaded "hair pretties" on her braids, so she only appears to be sporting a "marge simpson 'do" in these shots.

i'll most likely post more in the days to come, as i sort through the ones i have. they had a great time racing, although jabari was NOT pleased to be too young for sunday's and monday's events.

2009 iowa state track championships this sunday

[click on photo to see more]

poor victoria would not be allowed to race like this-

-she'd have to remove her brakes and derailleurs, too.

but chances are you have a track bike hanging around somewhere.

why not toss it in the car, get some friends to go with you,

and head up to kenosha this sunday for some track racing,

iowa style [read: out of state].

here's the poop, patty:

State of Iowa Track Racing Championships,

Washington Park Velodrome,

Washington Road and 22nd Avenue,

Kenosha, Wisconsin

Sunday May 31:

9:00 am --Registration and practice begins

10:00 am --RACING begins

Open to riders from Iowa and other states

Entry fee for all classes $25 (one entry fee cover all events)

Likely events:

--200m flying start sprint

--Match Sprint

--Individual Pursuit

--Points Race

--Kilometer

Medals will be given to first three male and female riders in each category, as well as overall omnium champions.
For information contact:

Bruce Timmerman

1350 O’Hagen St,

Dubuque, IA 52001

563 557-9344 (home)563 599-3296 (cell)

timmermanbruce@netscape.net

USA Cycling Permit Applied For

Organized by Chain Reaction Cycling Club

.....

by the way, wanna carpool to kenosha? let me know, via the comments. i'll arrange a guest house saturday night for us.

it's that time of the year

each may, as the flora at the orphanage comes into its own, i've taken a couple quick snaps from the same spot across the street. it's been fun watching the place evolve. the obvious things, the autumn blaze maples and the row of miss kims [the dwarf lilac bushes that define the perimeter of the estate], are difficult not to notice. but it's the subtleties of life at the orphanage that make it an interesting place. as i study the the serial [i'll post the entire collection in a few days], i notice the passing of my roommates, from spotted and deaf, to fleet and elegant. the cars i drive have been prominent some years, and they, too, are ever changing. my bicycles have been seen from year to year, and although the photos are always taken with the morning sun, i notice the variety of bikes that i've ridden prior to making my early-morning records.

here's how the orphanage looked a few hours ago:

settle in for another exciting tale from yesteryear

god loves a blonde; shouldn't you?

happy bike week

everyone in des moines, and all of iowa, for that matter, is all "i wanna be bike friendly" -- although what they are REALLY saying is "i want my city to receive a bike friendly STATUS." there's a hell of a big difference. you know it. i know it. most REAL cyclists know it. but for some reason, politicians just don't quite seem to grasp it.

neither do engineers, nor city planners.

here's an interesting article about ONE city that DOES get it.

In German Suburb, Life Goes On Without Cars
By ELISABETH ROSENTHAL
VAUBAN, Germany — Residents of this upscale community are suburban pioneers, going where few soccer moms or commuting executives have ever gone before: they have given up their cars.
Street parking, driveways and home garages are generally forbidden in this experimental new district on the outskirts of Freiburg, near the French and Swiss borders. Vauban’s streets are completely “car-free” — except the main thoroughfare, where the tram to downtown Freiburg runs, and a few streets on one edge of the community. Car ownership is allowed, but there are only two places to park — large garages at the edge of the development, where a car-owner buys a space, for $40,000, along with a home.
As a result, 70 percent of Vauban’s families do not own cars, and 57 percent sold a car to move here. “When I had a car I was always tense. I’m much happier this way,” said Heidrun Walter, a media trainer and mother of two, as she walked verdant streets where the swish of bicycles and the chatter of wandering children drown out the occasional distant motor.
Vauban, completed in 2006, is an example of a growing trend in Europe, the United States and elsewhere to separate suburban life from auto use, as a component of a movement called “smart planning.” [for complete article, click here]

give me a waterboard, dick cheney, and one hour . . .

for mom

i come from rather modest roots. folks who know me know that. i don't live high on the hog, i don't spend money on tight jeans or loose women. i know the value of a dollar, and know the meaning of an honest day's work. that's why i went to college for so damned many years. i've tried to pass along to my daughter, and now to my grandchildren, the core of my values, so that they, too, might grow up appreciating classic lugged steel-framed bicycles and mid-sixties and older volkswagens. many of my core values were given to me by my mother, a woman also of very modest means, the child of immigrants, a single mother working to support her two young sons, living on the wrong side of the tracks. during her life, which ended all too soon, some twenty-one years ago, she did manage to touch the lives of many thousands of people, all of whom were better for having met her. some may not have realized who or what it was that caused that upswing in their lives, or what it was that turned the tide of events in their existences. but many others did, and some of those who recognized the contributions my mom made to them tried to at least acknowledge her, later in her life. one such occasion is shown below.

mom later confided in me that "ron always made me feel a little uncomfortable. i don't know whether it was that horrible cologne he wore--a gift from jane wyman, he said, or those cheap, brown polyester suits that had never seen the inside of a dry cleaners shop. he was a large man, and he was always sweating like a stuck pig. i always believe that the more a man sweats, the more lies he's trying to conceal. and i don't take a cotton to liars." as such, any time she knew she was going to meet with ron, she'd carry a little scented kerchief in her hands to cover his aroma. mom was always fond of patchouli.

happy mother's day, mom.

tom boonen's tour bus

oh, tom. temptation is such a bitch.

zippy suggests thinking ABOUT the box

random thoughts and observations

drama queens [above]
fucking lunatic [above] gonna fucking ROCK this year [above]

moving to may next year [16th through 23d], competing with the giro: WTF?!?

cinqo de mayo: glory days stories permitted today only

a long-standing oft-ignored rule of cycling etiquette is honored today, cinqo de mayo, and to it, i say, "did i tell you about the time i . . . "

yes, that's correct: it's may 5th, that ONE day each year when it really IS okay to let the bullshit roll, when it IS permitted to tell anyone who appears to care how great you really are. or were. so i strongly recommend that after tonight's ride, y'all should get together with buds and throw some back.

be sure to bring a trophy or medal along, to back it up.

enjoy!!

thought for the day