Feel free to skip this one; I’m just whining and sniveling.
It’s time to face a sad truth: my spring racing season is going to be terrible. I am officially writing it off. I will race, but I know I will be nothing but pack fodder if I’m lucky, and most likely I’ll be OTB and [...]
Archive for January, 2009
Well, Hell
Posted in cycling on January 28, 2009 | 4 Comments »
The Afterlife
Posted in Books on January 27, 2009 | 6 Comments »
The first semester of college was a disaster. Dorms were auctioned off in a lottery, and my number was so high, there was no hope I would get one, so I lived in a seedy motel for the first two weeks of classes. I finally found an apartment in the basement of an old Victorian [...]
Some Dark Wanderings
Posted in Uncategorized on January 20, 2009 | 3 Comments »
I wrote a post about our new president’s inauguration speech, where I analyzed it and made some facile comparisons to John Winthrop’s “A Model of Christian Charity,” but I decided not to publish it because it was turning into a mess. Let me say this, though: unlike a few of the early reviewers I have [...]
Yes, I Bought More Books. So Sue Me.
Posted in Books, travel on January 18, 2009 | 3 Comments »
It has been very cold around here lately. Yesterday I saw the lowest reading I have ever seen on my front porch thermometer: -0.6F. If you’re in Minnesota, that’s not very cold, but I’m a transplanted Californian living in New England, so that’s plenty cold. The larger problem for me is [...]
Pssst! Wanna Buy Some Wheels?
Posted in cycling on January 16, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
I was very, very disappointed to learn that Campagnolo 11 speed cassettes will not fit on Flashpoint wheels, but of course I did not learn of this until long after I bought the wheels. The cassette does fit my Fulcrum wheels, though. So, if anyone wants a set of Flashpoint FP 60s, Campy [...]
Some Cannondale Coolness
Posted in cycling on January 14, 2009 | 2 Comments »
As you know if you scroll down a little, I have a new bike. Alert readers will notice that it a Cannondale. Because the weather has been so awful lately, I’ve been taking out my other bike, which has now been relegated to bad weather bike status. It, too, is a Cannondale. [...]
In Which I Discover that I Am Fat and Out of Shape
Posted in cycling on January 13, 2009 | 4 Comments »
The first race of the season springs on unsuspecting cyclists in a little more than six weeks. After my relative success last season, I want to do well this season, but that desire is complicated by the fact that I upgraded categories, so the races, theoretically at least, should be harder.
So here [...]
The Woods Are Scary, Dark, and Deep
Posted in Books on January 10, 2009 | 8 Comments »
Two things about Tana French’s masterful debut novel, In the Woods, bother me, and the main reason for the bother is because I can’t decide if these things are weaknesses or strengths. I’m leaning heavily toward strengths, though, which says a lot about why this novel works so well. The first bother is [...]
The New Bike
Posted in cycling on January 8, 2009 | 8 Comments »
Finally, after waiting to get all of the components, and taking the time to build everything, my new racing machine for 2009 is complete (with one minor exception). After I got the insurance money from the crash, I wanted to build up a bike that would be perfect for racing, a real no-compromise, serious, [...]
