20 Great Rules for Riding the MS150

I'm not riding in the MS150 this year, but I still get cycling e-mails from my cycling friends. This one came this morning from Richard Chesney of the Woodland Cycling Club with 20 great rules to follow when riding in the MS150. For the most part, they're also a great primer on rules to follow when cycling in general.

1> Bring a little cash, if you had your bike inspected prior to this ride and you need mechanical assistance along the ride, you will not be charged labor if your bike has the official inspection sticker attached. Tips are always welcomed.

2> Be prepared to change your own flat and carry at least two tubes and a supply of CO2 inflator and cartridges (Wal-Mart 50cents each), I like to carry a small hand pump for backup.

3> Move your hands on your handle bars OFTEN, I know a few individuals who have long-term problems with their hands because they failed to change their hand position often during this ride.

4> Use Body Glide or Chamois Butt'r or another cream or lotion wherever you expect fabric and skin to rub. Do not wear underwear underneath your shorts.

5> Use sunscreen, a few years ago I was using sunscreen liberally all weekend, after arriving in Austin and showering I forgot to apply a new batch of sunscreen and gor REAL burnt in those few hours of sun in Austin.

6> Be prepared for whatever the weather may throw upon us. In prior years when the weather was cool in the morning but warmed up fast, I have witnessed many cyclist still wearing these multiple layers of clothing in the afternoon because they had no place to put these extra layers of clothing. I told them just make a donation at the next rest area.

7> Leave the headphones at home!!!!

8> Obey all traffic signs and signals.

9> Thank the volunteers and officers along the route for doing what they do.

10> Enjoy Fayetteville, TX and its citizens

11> Be careful thru Industry, TX

12> DO NOT CROSS THE SOLID YELLOW STRIPE IN THE CENTER OF THE LANE. We do not need any head-on collisions this weekend.

13> Pass on the LEFT only!!!!

14> Ride no more than two abreast

15> Allow riders to pass you on the left and stay in communication with those in front and beside you as to your moves.

16> Call out BOTTLES / HOLES / GRAVEL etc..........

17> Ride friendly, some of the small towns welcome us, while others do not want us there.

18> Most important - you most likely will not be the first to arrive in LaGrange or Austin or even the last, enjoy the ride and be careful

19> If you come up behind someone who's shorts might be "a little thin" - I will quickly pass the rider but let him know that he/she is showing a little too much crack (it will happen) if you know what I mean.

20> Along the route individuals with MS will be on the side of the road thanking you for riding - remember though, "Two days of pain - we are the lucky ones"

Best of luck to the riders this weekend. I wish I was with you. Next year...

WTF, TV Land? Is nothing sacred?

Check out this ad for a new original show that will soon begin airing on TV Land:


The series is about a group of younger guys who are vying for the hand of an older woman, Bachelorette-style. There are TONS of shows like this on TV, and I have very little problem with that. Well, I have a problem with that, but that's for another time... My problem with this show is that it's on FREAKING TV LAND!!!!

Isn't this the channel that began as being about good, wholesome entertainment by showing nothing but the good old favorites from yesteryear??? Who the hell thought putting this on TV Land was a good idea? Now if this show were a reality show about trying to live Survivor-style on Gilligan's Island, I could accept it being on TV Land. But what does a show like this have to do with classic TV? Or even current TV with good taste? Again - nothing. Why would TV Land even feel the need to have original programming?

Message to TV executives: if your channel has a format, stick with it. You're confusing (and ticking off) your audience. You don't see the Food channel running weather or wrestling (although pudding wrestling might work within the format - but I digress....).

My fellow extremists...

From a Reuters story:

MIAMI (Reuters) - Right-wing extremists in the United States are gaining new recruits by exploiting fears about the economy and the election of the first black U.S. president, the Department of Homeland Security warned in a report to law enforcement officials.

If by "extremist" they mean "someone who actually gives a damn about the direction of their country and its future and who don't want to live in a socialist nation," then, yeah, we're gaining new people on our side every day.

And let me make this plain and simple: Obama's race has ABSOLUTELY NOTHING to do with the fact that I don't like him, his ideas, his policies, his politics or his world view. And NO ONE on the right is saying anything about the guy's race in an exploitative way. It's all coming from the left.

Damn it, people...

The best painting of Barack Obama EVER.

This was lifted from the craptastic site badpaintingsofbarackobama.com. This, by far, was my favorite.



The unicorn says it all, folks.

I don't recall seeing so many pictures and paintings of either Bush or Clinton only two and a half months in. People think this guy is friggin' Jesus.

The fast track

From CNN: "Dems could use controversial 'fast track' for Obama legislation"

What the hell were the stimulus bills that was passed so quickly that Congress didn't even have a chance to read it? The slow track??? God help us if they do the same thing with Socialized Health Care and punitive and knee-jerk Global Warming initiatives.

Is it just me or do the Democrats and the Obama administration seem like a bunch of frat boys in a room full of drunk sorority girls? (We, the American citizen are the sorority girls in this analogy).

Bayou City History

Interesting blog on the Houston Chronicle site that deals with the history of Houston. If you're a Houstonian, this is worth a look. I spent a lot more time than I expected just reading an article and the comments about the Goodyear blimp and its former base in Spring.

Economic stimulus that works

Dear Mr. President
Patriotic retirement:
There's about 40 million people over 50 in the work force -pay them $1 million
apiece severance with the following stipulations:

1) They leave their jobs. Forty million job openings - Unemployment fixed.
2) They buy NEW American cars. Forty million cars ordered - Auto Industry fixed.
3) They either buy a house/pay off their mortgage - Housing Crisis fixed.
Can't get any easier than that!

I still don't like the idea of the government handing out cash, but if they're going to do it, they might as well give it to the people who will really make the economy start moving again: the consumer. After this, if a company fails, it's because they deserve to by true capitalistic principles.

(Thanks to Aunt Peggy for forwarding this to me)

...and the second most random video ever.

What's amazing is that this piece of randomness is by a completely different person.

The most random video ever

I was looking this morning at iStockphoto for some stock video footage with a search term of "Texas" when I came across this video. Of a clown. Shooting a rifle.



You can find (and buy) the video in glorious high definition 1080p on istockphoto.com.

Time to Teabag the Congress

Our current state of the nation as viewed by Thomas Paine:



Brilliant, although a tea bag won't get past the White House or Congress mail screening. Send a photo of a tea bag instead.

Where's the outrage?

From an update this morning in an e-mail from Senator John Cornyn (who got a scathing e-mail from me following his vote for the first bailout bill last fall):

Since President Obama took office 56 days ago, Congress has already spent more money than the previous Administration spent on the Wars in Iraq, Afghanistan, and the response to Hurricane Katrina – combined.

Holy crap. That's simply staggering.

Childish things

This really spoke to me.

via Kottke.