Monday Grab Bag
A Note from Fatty: Everyone makes choices as to what’s important enough to spend a lot of time with, and I’ve (clearly) made a decision that this blog is one of those things.
The thing is, without my noticing it (until very recently), my life has gotten out of balance. There are people and things I have neglected, and I need to make some adjustments.
I know I’m being vague here. That’s on purpose. I’ve got my reasons.
What I’m saying is, expect kinda light posting for a bit, starting with this grab bag of non-related-but-still-interesting tidbits.
CycleDog Flies the Fat Cyclist Flag on TV
CycleDog was on the Tulsa, OK news recently, talking about why he bike commutes…and he’s wearing a pink Fat Cyclist jersey while doing so.
Nice work, CycleDog!
About the Raffle Second Place Winner
A lot of you were wondering — as was I — why the second place winner for the raffle last week didn’t bother emailing me.
Well, it turns out she had a pretty good reason: she was in Hawaii, kicking butt at the Kona Ironman. Congratulations, Charisa Wernick, on a great race, and on winning second prize in the Ciclismo Classico raffle!
I’ll let Charisa tell a little about herself:
My blog is, http://charisawernick.blogspot.com/. I am a triathlete, in Hawaii right now. This was my 2nd time competing in the Kona IronMan.
I sell microscopes for a living – it’s a small business that my Dad and I run. (www.microscopeworld.com). My husband recently started cycling (I’ll be giving the jerseys I won to him, so THANK YOU!).
I absolutely love cycling – it’s so awesome how many places your bike can take you!
You know something I’m noticing? Every time I learn something about any of the Fat Cyclist readers, I’m fascinated by who they are, why they ride, and what they do. I seriously have no idea why I have such an interesting set of readers / friends, but I like it.
Be sure, by the way, to read Charisa’s account of her race. It’s almost enough to make me want to try triathlons. Except for the swimming part, which I continue to never want to do.
And her description doesn’t help.
About That Ride for Awareness
Last Saturday, I showed up at SLC Bicycle for Trek’s Annual WSD Breast Cancer Awareness Ride.
Rain, wind, and snow showed up, too.
My intentions were good, but my threshold for pain was low. Which is to say, while I originally intended to do the 25-mile version, I made a game-time decision to do the ten mile version, and even that seemed a little long.
I am a pansy.
The good news, though, is others across the country showed up for the ride, raising money and awareness for one of the most common forms of cancer there is.
And a couple people sent me photos. Here’s Ro and Laurie, after their ride in Ventura (Ro drove 1.5 hours to get to the ride — way to go, Ro!):
And here’s Clay’s twin girls before their ride in Stillwater:
I think Clay will agree with me: there’s nothing better than to be a dad of twin girls (at least at this age — I reserve the right to reassess once they’re teenagers).Big props to Trek for supporting the fight against cancer (and for making that the focus of their current home page).
Comment by cheapie | 10.13.2008 | 10:44 am
wait…what? you let a triathlete win a prize? i guess since it’s for a good cause i won’t complain too much.
heh. jk. kinda.
Comment by MikeonHisBike | 10.13.2008 | 10:44 am
Great Post. Balance in everyone’s life is important. Hang in there.
Mike
http://www.mikeonhisbike.blogspot.com
Comment by Clydesteve | 10.13.2008 | 10:48 am
Fatty – don’t worry about the light posting in order to balance life, in fact – way to go!
Charisa – Congrats, for 2nd in the FC drawing and for the Ironman. And, don;t let anyone tell you triathlon is not a great sport. I mean, I can’t run anymore, and although I can swim fairly well, I dislike pools, so I think it is a suck-y sport, but don;t let anyone tell you that.
FYI, it is traditional to jab at triathlon on Fc.com, nothing personal!
Comment by Jeff | 10.13.2008 | 10:53 am
What? “light posting for a bit”?
Can you let us down slowly? I may go into FC withdrawal if you cut me off too quickly.
…that sounded kind of wrong…yet I am not going back to fix it…
Comment by Kathleen | 10.13.2008 | 11:37 am
I love when my worlds collide…I was reading who won and was like “hey, I *know* Charisa!”
As a novice triathlete I’ve been sucked into the vortex of blogging tri-women and a subset of those were training for Kona. They seriously ROCK!
Take care of bidness Fatty…we’ll stumble along without you but know you will be missed and we’re rooting for you and Susan!
Comment by cheapie | 10.13.2008 | 11:45 am
what is it with women and triathlons? it seems that the vast majority of female cyclist i know from the bike club and charity rides are triathletes. a much higher % than men in my totally non-scientific estimation.
Comment by Sara | 10.13.2008 | 11:45 am
My parents and I did the Trek WSD ride after seeing it posted here. We had a great time doing the 10 miler and plan to tackle the 25 miler next year! Thanks for posting info on it.
Comment by Marla | 10.13.2008 | 12:09 pm
Everyone needs to balance their life. VERY important.
Comment by 331miles | 10.13.2008 | 12:13 pm
Fatty – I identify with your need to balance your blog and other commitments. Light posting will be totally understood. I, for one, will be here to read whatever you write. Well…almost whatever.
Comment by Duncan Watson | 10.13.2008 | 12:35 pm
I am doing the life-style reset myself. Reevaluating my priorities and making decisions with that in mind. Introspection is a good thing. Keep it up.
Comment by Hamish A | 10.13.2008 | 12:39 pm
Well done (again) to all those who won prizes in the raffle. I’d say taking part in the Ironman was reason enough not to claim 2nd prize instantly :-)
Fatty, life balance is as important as… well… a very important thing. Take all the time you need to get it, I’m sure those who’ve been on the off-balance end will appreciate it and we’ll still be here when you post. RSS is a wonderful thing and there’s still a whole lot of archived material to read through if we really need a fix!
Take time to sniff the flowers, hug your Friends (and Family) and sneak in a ride wherever you can.
P.S. How’s the Guy (sorry, I’m terrible with names) who sliced his leg with the chainsaw doing, anyone know?
WIN Susan!!!
Comment by Mike Roadie | 10.13.2008 | 1:30 pm
Balance is as balance does……..
Keep the Karma flowing.
Peace, Dog (and GO GATORS!!!!)
WIN
Unite
LiveSTRONG
Comment by bubbaseadog | 10.13.2008 | 1:33 pm
sorry about the light posting family should come first and your twins look great. winter is almost here and you probably need to rest and heal ….will miss your stories but keep us posted on susan….cause we ARE all win susan fans. good luck and GOD BLESS.
Comment by Mike from Melbourne | 10.13.2008 | 2:40 pm
Well done Charisa ! I had a quick read of your race report. I’ve never been to Kona but it is on my “to do” list. That wss a great time on a tough day. Enjoy some well deserved rest.
Go ahead and take some time out Fatty, you and your family deserve it.
Comment by Rob B | 10.13.2008 | 3:34 pm
Since this is a grab bag discussion, I thought I might be able to ask this question here. Why did Dave Zabriskie wear a TT skinsuit during the Paris-Tours race?
Comment by dug | 10.13.2008 | 3:36 pm
if you go more than a day or two without posting, i may forget you even have a blog. like, i forgot for most of 2007 that you were still posting.
i’m just sayin.
Comment by Paula Kirsch | 10.13.2008 | 6:14 pm
You know what Fatty? You keep Susan at the top of that priority list and all if us will be happy, I guarantee it.
str
Comment by ann | 10.13.2008 | 7:10 pm
But not all of us ride…how un-interesting is that? I read for the metaphor. It’s all about the metaphor.
Comment by BamaJim | 10.13.2008 | 7:10 pm
Balance – the essential skill of the cyclist. Good for avoiding crashes. (Also good when you’re riding home, like tonight, and it is apparently wacky driver day.)
May God bless. Win Susan!
Comment by Di | 10.13.2008 | 7:37 pm
“You know something I’m noticing? Every time I learn something about any of the Fat Cyclist readers, I’m fascinated by who they are, why they ride, and what they do. I seriously have no idea why I have such an interesting set of readers / friends, but I like it.”
I’ve met a lot of great people since I started mountain biking. I continue to meet more. I’ve made a lot of friends and we all have a really cool thing in common: we ride. :-)
You’re right, though, there is quite a bit of diversity in their backgrounds – lots of interesting people.
Comment by Jenni | 10.13.2008 | 7:53 pm
Post whenever. I’m not going anywhere.
Comment by Flyin' Ute | 10.13.2008 | 8:15 pm
Fatty,
Jay Leno used to stand in for Johnny Carson every now and then. Maybe you could have some stand in’s post for you every now and then.
You could assign them a topic to write about and then them rip. It could be fun.
Plus, with your folowing you could probably get some pretty interesting/famous people to take a crack at it.
Think about it.
Comment by Big Mike In Oz | 10.13.2008 | 10:04 pm
Flyin’ Ute
You’d be hard pressed to find anyone who can churn out 1000 words 5 days a week with so few spelling mistakes. And the chance of the same person being funny as well is infinitesimal.
BM… I’ll take periods of silence over second rate drivel
p.s. Did you realise your initials are F.U.? It’s nothing personal, just an observation.
Comment by Richard | 10.13.2008 | 10:19 pm
Take your much deserved time off…I still have plenty of old posts to read.
WIN Susan
Comment by buckythedonkey | 10.14.2008 | 1:44 am
CycleDog’s video is brilliant! I simply love the fact that you were wearing Pink Lemonade when you said this:
“I’d rather spend my money…on a nice dinner than on a tank of gas”.
Spoken like a Fat Cyclist. Good Sir, you have done the jersey proud!
Enjoy your break Fatty and…
…WIN SUSAN!
Comment by Flyin' Ute | 10.14.2008 | 2:49 am
Big Mike,
It stands for Firm and Undaunted like the 2,000 Stripling Warriors.
Nice catch on the typos. Rookie mistake.
Comment by Daddystyle | 10.14.2008 | 8:50 am
BUDDY, we all need balance, I can relate. My son was injured big time when hit by a car on a training ride 3 years ago. Now with a brain injury we/me had to make some changes in priorities.
Take care of yourself and the family
Love to all.
Comment by Bonzai Buckaroo | 10.14.2008 | 9:11 am
Good choices lead to good karma. IHMO you’ve got it right. BTW, recieved my new FC Jersey last week and love it.
Comment by bikemike | 10.14.2008 | 11:01 am
balance…it’s a slippery slope
take your time…we’ll go bug dug for a while.
Comment by dug | 10.14.2008 | 12:10 pm
flyin ute, um, i thought it stood for, well, flyin ute. no?
Comment by JimmyNick | 10.14.2008 | 12:43 pm
This just in: Maybe Bush ISN’T worthless!
Bush to open national parks to mountain bikes
By DINA CAPPIELLO
Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON (AP) – The Bush administration is taking steps to make it easier for mountain bikers to gain access to national parks and other public lands before the president – an avid cyclist himself – leaves office.
The National Park Service confirmed Tuesday that it is preparing a rule to allow park managers in some cases to decide which trails to open to mountain bikers.
Once it’s finalized, the rule would take this authority away from federal regulators in Washington, who sometimes take years to decide whether to allow bicycles on individual trails.
A park service spokesman said the rule would be proposed no later than Nov. 15 in order for it to be finalized before Bush leaves office.
Comment by Little1 | 10.14.2008 | 12:47 pm
is reminded to remember 2:01!
Comment by SurlyCommuter | 10.14.2008 | 1:43 pm
WIN
Comment by joliver3 | 10.14.2008 | 7:34 pm
FC, you don’t owe us anything, not even an apology for sparse postings. Do what you’ve got to do. I’ve been wondering for a while how you fit it all into the day anyway.
WIN Susan!
Comment by Big Boned | 10.14.2008 | 7:50 pm
I’m practicing a track stand myself. That doesn’t mean I’m not doing anything (if you’ve ever done a track stand, you understand that). I’m looking around to see where I’m headed next.
Best to you & yours, your royal fatness. See you when we see you.