A Note from Fatty: If you’d prefer to skip straight to the links to the podcast I’m talking about today, here you go: You’ll find the episode on fattycast.com, on iTunes, and as a downloadable MP3. You can also play it directly on this page, but you’ll have to scroll down a little bit to see the player.
When I decided I was going to do a podcast, one of the first things I did was start making a list of people I wanted to talk with.
Bill Strickland, Editor-in-Chief of Bicycling Magazine (shown here kissing the statue of Tullio Campagnolo at the top of the Croce d’Aune,where he, according to legend, got the inspiration for the quick release) was right at the top of that list.
Why? Because I identify with him in a lot of ways. We’re about the same age. We both love bikes. We both love writing about bikes. We both have written books. We both have made our living for most of our careers in magazine publishing. We both have been through some very tough times.
But also, because we’re really different in a lot of ways. Specifically, Bill is insightful and wise and sought after for thoughtful analysis, while I’m…ridiculous.
So I thought it might be interesting for us to get together for an hour to chat.
Then we wound up talking for almost exactly two hours.
Yeah.
As it turns out, Bill and I had quite a bit to chat about.
A couple weeks ago, I read Bill’s book, Ten Points. And it was an extraordinary book. A great story. A tragic story. A beautiful story. It was one of those books that made me think, “Hey, I need to be a better person.”
So of course I talked with Bill about Ten Points, in spite of the fact that it’s been published for almost a decade.
We talked about magazines in general, and about his favorite writing from Bicycling in particular. And about writing about riding. We talked about Lance Armstrong — Bill’s history with Lance, my history with Lance, and about the time I was super angry with Bill about what he had said about Lance.
We talked about his quest to have no more than three bikes (we did not talk about how many bikes I have, which is for the best).
We talked about where he has ridden, and where he’d like to ride.
Basically, we talked all over the place. It was a great conversation, and I think you’ll enjoy listening to it.
Here are a few links to things we talked about:
What Ever Happened to Greg Lemond? Bill’s favorite story in Bicycling Magazine. In the podcast, Bill tells the remarkable story about this story — how long it took him to get this story, and how it came about.
Ten Points: The book Bill published in 2007. Truly an outstanding story.
Joe Rogan Experience #737 – Lance Armstrong: I have listened to this conversation; Bill has not. I think it’s worth listening to for a couple of reasons. First, Joe Rogan is an extraordinary interviewer / conversationalist, and now I plan to listen to a lot more of his interviews. Second, I think Lance’s perspective has moved meaningfully.
Earlier this week I talked with Burke Swindlehurst and Diane Lees; I will be editing and posting these conversations very soon. Today, I’m recording a conversation with Janeen McCrae (aka The Noodleator). Tomorrow, I talk with Neal Rogers. Saturday, I’m talking with Sonya Looney.
That’s six interviews in one week. And there were two more interviews that I would have done but need to be rescheduled.
Why am I suddenly podcasting like a madman? Because I enjoy it. A lot. I’ve been writing about riding for about eleven years now, and I’ve covered a lot (most?) of the ground I can cover. But having long conversations with other people who love riding (and focusing on them instead of me) — that’s new, and it’s fun, and I’m loving it.
I don’t have any plans to abandon this blog, but you can definitely count on me featuring more of this kind of conversation. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.
A Note from Fatty: This review contains lots and lots of spoilers about the new Star Wars movie, which I have seen, and which I hated.
I was ten years old when I saw the original Star Wars. Now I’m pushing fifty. I’ve grown up a lot in the intervening years. Sadly, the same cannot be said for the latest film in the Star Wars saga.
Boring Plot
The title of the new Star Wars film, “The Force Awakens,” can only have been penned ironically. A more appropriate title might have been “Forced to Stay Awake.” As in, the only way you’ll possibly stay awake through this snooze-fest is if you are forced to, through liberal ingestion of amphetamines, frequent dunking of your head in water, and occasional electric shocks.
Don’t believe me? Fine. Here’s what happens, from the beginning of the film to the end.
The movie starts with a closeup of a stormtrooper named Finn, who isn’t even Finnish (I have lived in Finland, speak Finnish, and am pretty darned good at recognizing Finnish accents, so I’m not just speculating here). Inaccuracies like this make me so mad.
But anyways, back to the story. “Finn” (who isn’t Finnish) has crash-landed on a desert planet. He looks scared. Fine so far. Who’s in pursuit? What danger is he running from? How do you even put that outfit on, and how much work is it to get off when you need to use the restroom?
Unfortunately, two of those questions are answered in short order. He’s not running from anyone. He’s just lost, and is prone to anxiety when he gets lost. And the uniform is fastened in the back, with laces (which is pretty disappointing, not to mention difficult to properly adjust).
For the next thirty-two minutes he just wanders around in an ever-widening circle, yelling “Hello?” in an increasingly panicked voice.
Not Realistic
And then he finds and enters a bike shop. Now, I can apply suspension of disbelief as well as the next guy, so don’t have any problem accepting that bikes might exist in science fiction movies. Frankly, in fact, I have always wondered why bikes (or wheels of any kind for that matter) hadn’t shown up in the previous Star Wars movies.
I can even believe that Finn might want to buy a fat bike, to make it easier to get around on that sand dune.
But when it turns out that the bike shop had the brand, build and size this Finn character wanted, and that the bike was built and ready to ride…well, that strains my credulity past the breaking point.
Anyway, by now we’re about forty-five minutes into the movie, and I’m getting restless, but Finn pays (using ApplePay, in only the first of an astonishing number of blatant product placements) for his bike (a Sidious Fat Bantha or something like that) and rides out the door.
Bad Message
And he’s not even wearing a helmet, which is a terrible message to today’s children.
After a while, he runs into a decrepit Chewbacca. As it turns out, the near-complete lack of ergonomic accomodations for Wookies in the Millenial Falcon have done terrible things to Chewbacca’s back, and he is forced to ride a recumbent, which is even more embarrassing to Wookies than it is to humans.
And that’s the only time we see Chewie for the whole movie. One stupid cameo, on a recumbent. Sheesh.
Confusing
After this, Finn enters a bike race, where he meets Rey, which would be fine if not for these three facts:
Star Wars keeps giving its characters confusing names. Like, Darth Vader’s nickname is “Annie.” (And in the first movie he’s a little orphan. Yes, George Lucas made Darth Vader into a sly “Little Orphan Annie” joke.) Now we have a woman named “Ray,” and she’s doesn’t even remotely look like one of the hosts of Car Talk.
The movie never accounts for the intense discomfort Finn would feel while trying to ride a bike while still wearing that Stormtrooper outfit.
They don’t even try to explain why there’s a bike race happening on this planet (which is called “Ratatooine” or something equally ridiculous), unless they did that during the opening all-caps yellow crawl, which I missed because the popcorn line was long.
Anyway, during this race, predictably, Supreme Leadeer Snoke (played by Gollum) catches and passes Finn and Rey (who are working together for no sufficiently-explained reason), riding a bike made of lugged light sabers. Which totally would not be UCI-compliant, I can assure you.
Predictable and Confusing
And then Snoke takes off his mask and it turns out he’s Kylo Ren. And then he takes off that mask and it turns out he’s Luke Skywalker. No big surprise. But then he takes off that mask and it turns out he’s Lance Armstrong.
Okay I admit that caught me off-guard, because I’m pretty sure Armstrong would at least have been wearing a helmet.
Then Armstrong pulls off that mask and reveals he’s actually Hayden Christensen. This was the best moment of the movie, to be honest, and explains a lot.
They then have a light saber battle, but the batteries drain before it really goes anywhere.
More happens, but someone had posted a funny video on Facebook and I got caught up in watching it on my phone, then I read the comments. By the timeI finished and went back to the movie, there was a space battle going on, intercut with a musical number for some reason.
I’m pretty sure I saw Han Solo in there somewhere, but it was just for comedy purposes. He just yelled at Princess Leia to “get those kids offa my spaceship” and then went back to watching Larry King, which is apparently available throughout the universe. Strangely, Larry King looks just as old in this movie as he does right now in our galaxy, even though this is supposed to have happened a “long time ago.”
Conclusion
I’m glad Star Wars (finally) brought bikes into their storyline, but am vastly disappointed by the movie.
I am having a lot of fun with FattyCast, my new podcast. It’s a chance for me to do something new, which doesn’t happen all that often after ten (closer to eleven now) years of blogging. I’m talking with very interesting people. I’m hearing amazing stories. I’m learning a lot.
The latest episode of the FattyCast is with Yuri Hauswald, the winner of the 2015 Dirty Kanza. But Yuri’s a lot more than a pro cyclist. He works full-time as the cycling community manager for Gu Energy. He writes. He raises money for good causes.
He’s strong, like bull.
I really enjoyed talking with Yuri, and I’m confident you’ll enjoy listening. For reals.
Here’s where you can find the FattyCast with Yuri:
I’m really excited about the guests I’ve got lined up in the upcoming weeks (I’m actually conducting an interview every day this week, so will have quite a few backlogged for editing). And I’m tempted to tell you who they are. But I’m not going to, at least not yet.
However.
So far people have been really generous with their time. When I reach out, it’s been pretty rare for people to say “no.” So. If there’s someone you would like me to reach out to, let me know. If I think to myself, “Yeah, I’d like to ask that person questions for an hour or so,” I’ll do it. Especially if you have contact info.
Meanwhile, enjoy this episode (and please, if you’re using iTunes, do me the favor of leaving a review, OK?)!
Now, I would have liked to make these free all the way through Christmas day, but Amazon.com will only let me make them free for five days.
So don’t wait. Go get them now. Tell your friends to go get them too.
I hope you enjoy them. But if you don’t, please let me know and I’ll promptly refund your money.
Merry Christmas, A Note About Today’s 100 Miles of Nowhere Race Report: This race report comes from Jeff Dieffenbach, who you might remember as one of my teammates at Boggs last summer. I predict you will enjoy this report very much.
100MoN Jersey Confounds Man and Machine Alike
Curious Cycling, Curious Math by Jeff Dieffenbach
I rode my first 100MoN in 2012–200+ miles down the length of New Jersey. Because what says nowhere like 200 miles of New Jersey?
2015 marked my second 100MoN. The announced November dates fell squarely in the middle of cyclocross (CX) season. One hundred miles asks a lot during CX season–perhaps I could find a Sat-Sun event, enter multiple races each day, and wrap a number of preride laps around the races to piece together some sizable mileage.
I checked the Massachusetts schedule–the Plymouth Festival of Cyclocross spanned Sat Oct 31 and Sun Nov 1. Based on my age (getting up there) and ability (not really up there at all), I qualified each day for one race in the morning and two races in the afternoon.
A Digression About Cyclocross (CX)
Failing to sense much of a CX presence in Fattyworld, I’ll digress a bit to provide some context. Amateur CX races typically last around 40 minutes and consist of 4-6 laps of one and a half or so miles on a mixture of dirt, grass, sand, and a bit of pavement.
At first glance, CX bikes look like their road counterparts, but a closer inspection reveals wider, knobbier tires and either cantilever or disc brakes. The tire and brake variations accommodate the often slick or downright sloppy course conditions that the fall/winter season often offers.
Racers maneuver their machines around laps spotted with numerous technical elements. These elements include technical sharp and off camber turns, power straightaways, and barriers or steep climbs that force riders to dismount and carry their bikes.
A day of CX features multiple fields starting at hourly intervals. Ability, age, or both define the makeup of each field. Regarding ability, as with road racing, CX uses the “Cat” system: Pro and Cat 1 at the advanced end and Cat 4 and 5 at the lesser end. Brackets of ten years typically make up the age groups.
As a 50 year old Cat 4 racer, I qualified for the 9am Cat 4/5 race, the 1pm Masters 45+ race, and the 2pm Cat 2/3/4 race. Even two races a day is a lot–there was no way I was doing three.
Still, I owed Camp Kasem the miles, so I opted for Cat 4/5 and Cat 2/3/4 on Saturday and Cat 4/5 and Masters 45+ on Sunday.
Race 1: Saturday, Cat 4/5
Resplendent in my 100MoN jersey (thanks, DNA Cycling, for the expedited shipment!) and 2015 Team Fatty bibs, I lined up in the starting grid with 86 like-minded knuckleheads and waited for the starting whistle.
A Digression About How Cyclocross Points Work
Unlike road racing, which finishes with a bunch sprint, cyclocross STARTS that way. The objective: be first to the first turn (the “hole shot”) and avoid the inevitable bottleneck that quickly builds up behind.
Winning the hole shot pretty much requires a start in the first row, or maybe the second row for a particularly strong rider who gets a lucky break. So what determines a racer’s starting row? Cross Points, or CXP.
Every CX racer carries a CXP designation based on prior results. The best male racers in the world cluster from 100 to 150 or so CXP (lower being better; at present, the top 12 are either Belgian or Dutch, with the top-ranked American, Jeremy Powers, sitting at 34th).
A strong Cat 2 rider might be at 250-300 CXP. By comparison, a back-half-of-the-pack Cat 4 racer such as yours truly naturally falls around 600-650 CXP.
Cross Points earned in a given race depend on the relative strength of the field (be thankful that I’m sparing you the detailed underlying formula). By selectively choosing one’s field for a given race, it’s possible to game the system a bit and artificially lower one’s CXP.
And exactly that sort of manipulation explains why I’m currently sitting on 562 CXP, almost 100 better than I deserve.
I find myself several rows ahead of riders who match my ability, including teammates DavidG, MaxG, TroyK, DanS, and JasonW. The whistle sounds–aiming to widen my starting position advantage, I put everything I can into the opening sprint to get as far forward in the hole shot bottleneck as I can.
At Plymouth, that hole shot consists of a sharp left turn up a curb off the pavement and into a narrow, curvy descent on dirt. We jostle our way to the bottom at a walking pace, dismount, shoulder our bikes, and navigate the Plymouth course’s defining element–a steep run-up.
Photo Credit: J.Daniels/muddydogbikes
At the top, it’s back on the bike, knock the mud out of my cleats, clip back in, make a few turns, and dismount for a pair of barriers.
A Digression on What a “Cyclocross Barrier” Is
A cyclocross barrier is a 12 to 15 inch high plank set perpendicular to the course. Barriers come in pairs separated by 12 to 15 feet.
Safely over the barriers, I remount, then just as quickly dismount to run the short sand pit leading into the woods. On later laps, I’ll ride the sand, but congestion makes that impossible on lap one.
Back on the bike, I navigate some fast technical turns through the trees before reaching a fire road for the course’s first real power section. The slight uphill grade coupled with the dirt and rock surface takes its toll and I slide back a few positions.
I pop out of the woods onto playing fields, navigating hairpin turns through trees before the next power section, this time on grass. A short set of steps interrupts the power section, forcing a dismount/run/remount.
The lap finishes with a straight paved path through more woods, a few turns around a tennis court, and finally a few more turns before the paved finish straightaway. Now I just have to suffer this ordeal four more times.
A Digression on Why I Love Cyclocross, Even Though It’s Awful
Cyclocross is raced pretty much at heart rate threshold for the full 40 minutes. Yes, a few sections afford recovery, but for the most part, it’s all out. With one lap down, four to go, and my heart rate pinned, I once again question why I love CX so much.
Several reasons:
The camaraderie. I train and race with a great group of friends always ready to trade a tip, a beer, or in tight turns, the occasional elbow.
The competition. In road racing, a rider of my “talent” quickly finds himself off the back and alone; in CX, the slower speeds and lack of the peloton’s aero benefits means there’s almost always a rider ahead to chase and another behind who’s chasing.
The course. Racing CX bikes off road is a melt-away-the-years blast without the imminent death risk of full-on mountain biking.
The next four laps see essentially a repeat of lap one, so I’ll spare the description save for the finish. As I come out out of the woods after the fire road midway through the final lap, I spot a rider a hundred yards or so ahead. Too far for a catch, I think, but I give it a try. The gap slowly closes, and as we round the final turn onto the finish pavement, I’m right on his wheel.
I’m built more like a sprinter than a climber, but my 1×11 gearing gives up a lot at the high end. No time for gear regrets, I go full throttle and upshift to my top-end 38-11. I’ve got more left in the tank than he does and cross the line ahead by several bike lengths.
The results would later show that I took 61st out of 87, a pretty typical outcome for me, earning 659 CXP in the process. Better than that, though, was holding off my teammates. Without my starting position advantage, I likely would have lost to Troy and been in much more of a dogfight with David, Jason, Dan, and Max.
Cumulative miles: 3.4 for preride, 7.4 for race, 10.8 total
Post-Race
Race 2: Saturday, Cat 2/3/4
Fear not, I won’t spend nearly as much time describing races two through four. I’ve got no business being in a 2/3/4 race, and this particular edition proves the point. I’m quickly off the back and riding solo, demonstrating the occasional fallacy in my point above a rider behind who’s chasing.
I finish 42 of 45. On paper, much worse than the morning effort. But the strength of field comes into play in determining my CXP–I end up with 492, my best ever by 30.
Cumulative miles: 4.6 for four more prerides, 7.4 more for race 2, 22.8 total
Race 3: Sunday, Cat 4/5
Overcast and hints of rain replace Saturday’s sun. Saturday’s 40 degree temps at 9am give way to Sunday’s 50. I’ll take the trade. But just barely.
Photo Credit: Kristin Brandt/Steve The Bike Guy Velo Studio
A few changes to the course, as is typical in a two-day event at a given venue. Only one friend with whom I’m competitive today: TomP, whom I’ve never beaten, but against whom I’m close. Maybe today’s the day.
Tom and I spend the first few laps trading positions–I’m better at the technical stuff, he takes me on the power sections. On the final lap, he pulls away. For me, 65 of 88, good for 650 CXP.
High point of the race? Just as the starting whistle blew, the organizers tried to pull me. They’d tell me after the race that the black “100″ on white field of my 100MoN jersey, adjacent front and back to the race number pinned to my right side, was wreaking havoc on the human scorers and finish line camera.
Cumulative miles: 2.6 for preride, 8.6 for race, 34 total
Sunday: Masters 45+
Black duct tape covering the 100MoN “100,” I’m ready to go, and ready to be more competitive than Saturday’s Cat 2/3/4 effort.
Typically, compared to a 2/3/4 or 3/4 field, a Masters race will have equally good talent at the front of the race. But the falls off faster across the typical Masters field. I should finish better than yesterday’s 42 of 45.
I don’t. Twenty-two of 23. And only 668 CXP, not even as good as the 4/5 race.
Cumulative miles: 7.5 for race, 41.5 total
Not even 42 miles? I’d fallen well short of the target 100. Or had I?
Applying the universally-accepted dirt-to-pavement multiplier of 2.5, my 41.5 became an eerily Leadville-like 103.8.
And, despite never placing in even the top two-thirds of a field across my four races, I nonetheless eked out a position on the top step of the podium in the 100MoN-Clad, Half-Century-Old, Sub-300-Watt category.
As I have been politely instructed, I have therefore put a penny in an old man’s hat (i.e., my own). And also, I have made a list for you. A list of Christmas present ideas. Specifically, these are ideas of presents I think most cyclists would like to get.
Which means, as you might expect, that you should probably share this post around to people who are otherwise probably going to get you a novelty bicycle bell.
You’re welcome.
Idea 1: Make the World a Better Place: There’s a good chance the cyclists you’re buying presents for already have everything they need, both bicycle-wise and otherwise. But you know who doesn’t have everything they need? Kids in Zambia and Kenya. They don’t have anything close to what they need, but the gift of a sturdy bike from World Bicycle Relief will help them have a vastly better life. So how about this? Make a donation in honor of your favorite cyclist. Anonymous wonderful people will match that donation, and WBR will send an e-card (or if you donate $147+, WBR will send an actual printed card) on your behalf.
Idea 2: Send Them Fat Cyclist Gear: Did you know that FatCyclist gear is totally in stock and ready to ship? It is, right now. And it is awesome — the best-made gear I have ever had. The technical gear (jerseys, shorts, bibs) is made in Italy, and it is wonderful. And priced to sell. Order here.
Idea 3: Stan’s Tire Sealant: If there’s a mountain biker on your list, that mountain biker almost certainly rides with tubeless tires. Which means that rider needs sealant on a regular basis. And that sealant is quite likely Stan’s. Get that rider a twelve-pack box of tire sealant, each of which is good for repairing one tire on the go. Or get that rider a pint of sealant, for setting up up to eight tires (because you’ve got to replace the sealant a couple times per season).
Idea 4: A Bike Fitting: A bike fitting is one of the very best things a cyclist can spend time and money on; a well-fit bike makes a huge difference to every ride you go on from that point forward. But it is really rare for people to get themselves a fitting. So, go to your favorite high-end shop and buy a gift certificate good for a fitting for that rider in your life. For what it’s worth, I’m a big fan of the Specialized Body Geometry Fit methodology. Find a Specialized shop nearby that does these. Your friend will thank you.
Idea 5: CO2 Cartridges: Most riders use CO2 inflators to take care of field repairs, and having a big ol’ box of CO2 cartridges on-hand is really convenient. And it’s a lot cheaper to buy them in semi-bulk than one at a time. About every three years, I buy myself a box of thirty 16g threaded CO2 cartridges. And while this isn’t exactly a sexy present, it’s something they’ll be glad you gave them when they need it.
Idea 6: A Torque Wrench: The carbonization of the bike universe means that just cranking down hard on a bolt ’til it won’t turn anymore isn’t the right way to go. A lot of riders, though, are guesstimating on how tight to go…and often, we’re totally wrong. A couple of years ago, James Huang at CyclingNews/BikeRadar recommended the CDI TorqControl adjustable torque wrench, and it’s been my go-to wrench ever since. It comes with the bits you’re most likely to use most often, too.
Idea 7: Grips: If your friend mountain bikes, they probably need new grips on their bike. See, grips wear out, just like chains and cleats and tires and everything else. But while most riders know to change these other things, they just let their grips get older and more compacted and torn up. Which is a shame, because a set of grips is a pretty economical buy, and can make a real difference in how your bike fits. About half my friends ride with Ergon grips, while the rest of us (me included) ride with the ultra-plain ESI silicone grips. Both are great at what they’re for; you just need to check with your friend to see what they are using right now.
Idea 8: Another Floor Pump / Shock Pump: It’s unlikely your riding friend doesn’t have at least one pump. But if they put that bike in a car fairly often, maybe another pump would be really welcome. I personally have two Specialized Air Tool floor pumps: one I keep in my garage, one I keep in my truck. This way, no matter where I start my ride from, I’m guaranteed to have a pump on-hand to make sure my tires are good.
Also, if your friend is a mountain biker, they need a couple shock pumps, for the same reason. I have two Bontrager Shock Pumps (again, one in the garage, one in the truck), and they’ve served me flawlessly.
Idea 9: Road ID: These are such a good idea, and The Hammer got me one a couple years ago. I haven’t gotten in the habit of wearing it, which just goes to show: I’m an idiot.
Idea 10: Gloves: Everyone’s got their preference, but for the past several years, I wear Specialized Ridge gloves on pretty much every single ride I go on, both road and mountain. For one thing, they’re comfortable. For another, they sorta-kinda work with smartphones. They don’t last forever (I generally go through a pair or two each season) but they’re good protection in case of a fall, and they keep your hands from slipping on the bar.
Idea 11: A Helmet: Helmets don’t last forever. If your rider has been using the same helmet for more than three or four years, maybe it’s time to swap out to a new one, even if they haven’t wrecked. I recommend buying this gift in the form of a gift certificate to your local bike shop, because getting the fit right is absolutely essential and can be done only in person. For what it’s worth, the two helmets I switch between are the Specialized S-Works Prevail and the Giro Synthe.
Idea 12: Seat bag: There seems to be a disdain for seat bags lately. I don’t understand it. It’s so nice to know I have what I need to take care of a flat or basic mechanical attached to my bike…without having to remember to bring anything. For my money, Banjo Brothers seat bags look great, are affordable, and are incredibly durable. I have a mini seat bag on all my road bikes, and a small seat bag on all my mountain bikes.
Ideas 13-19: Movies and Books About Bikes: Lately, I’ve read/watched and enjoyed each of the following:
Inspired to Ride - Mike Dion’s documentary about the self-supported inaugural TransAm race
Ten Points - Bill Strickland’s intense, inspiring and beautifully-written story of childhood, fatherhood, and trying to score ten points in a local crit series.
Rusch to Glory - Reba Rusch’s extraordinary story of her life (so far), from childhood to adventure racer to rock climber to pro cyclist.
Fat Tire Flyer - A gloriously beautiful history of the early days of mountain biking.
Becoming Frozen - Jill Homer’s latest book, a telling of her first year in Alaska.
Road to Valor - An amazing true story of racing, the Tour de France, heroism, amazing strength, and incredible nobility.
I can’t imagine any cyclist not enjoying any or all of these.
Idea 20: A Race or Event: Got a significant other who’s a cyclist? Here’s an incredible gift to give: a race or other big event. No, not just the entry into the event. Give them the promise of time to train, and support during the event. That is a massive gift.
PS: Is this a comprehensive list? No.This is not a comprehensive list. Add your own ideas to it. Thank you.
PPS: Because I didn’t get this post finished ’til late in the day (on Thursday), I want to leave it up for a few days. Hence, the traditional Friday 100 Miles of Nowhere Race Report will go up this Monday. Thank you for your attention to this matter and stuff.
When I decided I was going to do a podcast, one of the first things I did was start making a list of people I wanted to talk with.
I am having a lot of fun with 
A Christmas Gift for You from Fatty: I am very lucky to have a lot of readers, and even more lucky to be able to think of all of you as my friends.
