Tuesday, February 26, 2008

Another Year

As King Eddy & Felice Gimondi look on, I celebrate another birthday. My lovely wife gave this to me for my birthday. I've been feeling under the weather, so I waited until today to uncork. My dream vacation is to go to Europe for the Spring Classics, & spend a week in Belgium. Some day, it will happen. Every year, my birthday celebration becomes more subdued, by my own choice. Maybe, when I reach the half century mark, I'll revert to the recklessness of my adolescence, & pull out all the stops. But, then there is the matter of the ever lengthening hangover. Oh well, I have a few more years to weigh out my options. Until then, I raise my glass in tribute to all the folks that have inspired me to ride. Thank you.

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Now playing: The Clash - Spanish Bombs
via FoxyTunes

Monday, February 25, 2008

Coming Clean

I was at a restaurant the other day & ran into an old acquantance. This man is a cycling icon in my hometown. He mentioned that he reads this blog, knew about LBL, but wasn't sure if he would fit in with our bunch. I assured him that he could easily ride with us: WE ARE SLOW (12 to 15 mph)! Don't feel intimidated: CiTy BiLLy would be thrilled to have you join us for LBL. Go here for the registration & here for the schedule. The ride costs $10, which includes food, beverages & a commemorative shirt. You can bring the registration & money to my house (1844 S. 41st) the day of the event, but please e-mail me as soon as possible , so I can get your schwag assembled.

Tuesday, February 19, 2008

The Bottle Opener


I have one of these hanging on my wall, next to my computer. Nothing special, except mine was at my favorite shop, Lincoln Bicycle Company, hanging on the side of a workbench. I cherish this opener because it reminds me of the good times I had. Thank You, Matt, Jay, Tony, Sam & Tyler for being inspirations to me. You were patient & taught me a lot.

Saturday, February 16, 2008

Spilker is the Official Beer of LBL!


CiTy BiLLy CycLe is proud to announce that Cortland's very own Spilker Ales will be the beverage served at the post ride banquet! We will be featuring Foggen Lager & Hopluia, fresh from the brewery. Stay tuned for more surprises!

Wednesday, February 13, 2008

LBL Schedule

Here's the tentative schedule for LBL. Depending on wind, times may change. I want to stress this is a ride, not a race. No one will be left behind (especially not my fat ass).

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Now playing: Acker Bilk - Strangers On The Shore
via FoxyTunes

LBL Registration Form

Here's the registration/ waiver! Print it out & bring it with you the day of the ride (April 19th). Please drop me a note if you're coming. Thanks.

Tuesday, February 12, 2008

An Embarrassment of Riches

A couple of weeks ago, I was working at another store, during a remodel. There was a small cooler that was in the backroom, & I was told to throw it away. I asked if I could have it, & voila, instant beer cooler (it sits in between my tools & trainer; hence, the fan). Note the 6 pack "quilt" adorning the front of this bad boy.

Sharp eyed viewers will notice two new CiTy BiLLy items in this shot. Yes, Virginia, that is a 30 pack of High Life, with room for plenty more. Can I get an "Amen"!

Registration for LBL will start tomorrow. I will post jpegs of the registration packet: all I ask is that you send me a note telling me you're going to come. Please let me know as soon as possible, because some of the schwag is being made by outside vendors, who operate with lead times. Plus, as I've already stated, I don't have the resources of eDBiLLy, so any kind of "heads up" would be much appreciated.

Sunday, February 10, 2008

Now for something completely different

Sigur Ros is one of my favorite bands. There music is cinematic, similar to U2, where every song opens up new possibilities in your mind. This is a video for their song "Glosoli". In completely different news, registration for LBL will open up Wednesday!

Thursday, February 7, 2008

Pop Perfection

Here are the Beach Boys performing "God Only Knows". Now, before you respond with "I hate those sell-outs, they play at baseball games & have John Stamos playing percussion", please listen to this song. It was originally released on "Pet Sounds", which to my ears (and many others) is a masterpiece. There's this guy named Paul McCartney (maybe you remember him from the Beatles), who says this particular tune is the best pop song ever written. I'm not going to second that, but I think this one is definitely in the top 20. Enjoy.

Tuesday, February 5, 2008

Gore signs contract for LBL!

After extended negotiations, CiTy BiLLy CycLe is proud to announce that the one & only Gore will be providing motorcycle support for LBL! Whether it be a tire pump, a beer or just directions to the next bar, Gore will be the man. Now, just to remind everyone: Gore does not have a loudspeaker on his Harley (Schnoctobeerfest joke). Thanks, Gore!

New LBL image


eDBiLLy has redone the LBL image. He calls this one "King of the Road". This image is really going to pop on whatever garment its on.

BRR: the full report

eDBiLLy & I arrived in Perry, Iowa at about 9 am (the ride started at 10), so we had time to eat & get dressed. The ride started at the Community Center, which was a beautiful facility, with plenty of parking.

eDBiLLy even had time to test out the latest CiTy BiLLy schwag. Oh, the agony!

Eventually, we went inside the Community Center to pick up our registration packets & eat breakfast (breakfast is a great thing to have before any ride, especially cold ones). The BRR ride has a rich history, so here is a table where they sell the inventory of shirts from previous years. eDBiLLy (artist extrordinaire) had an interesting observation: the early edition shirts (where graphic design was done by hand, not by a computer program) were not only simpler, but actually more effective.

In the far background, you can see folks lined up for the start. We moseyed up there, after we set up our rollers & got our heart rates up to 155 bpm for 10 minutes (translation: we sat in the truck & had another Leinies). The route is an out & back, from Perry to Rippey & back (25 miles). When the starting cannon fired, we took off at a pretty good clip & tried to get to the front of the pack, mostly for safety's sake. We faced a very mild headwind until we got out of town, where there was no windcover, & the terrain was a giant tabletop. The gusts of wind made me glad I layered (wool base layer with windblock on top & bottom, with two more layers of wool on top).

Once we reached Rippey, we stopped at Sparky's, the convenience store & bought 24 oz. High Lifes (which fit perfectly in water bottle cages). Since we had a headwind on the way out, the way back was gravy. The wind had increased during the ride, so we were glad to be on our way back. I nursed the high life for about 6 miles. Some of the people still on their way to Rippey looked at us like we were nuts, to be drinking beer when it was 20 degrees. It was very interesting to see some of the folks still on their way out: some were dressed appropriately and some were dressed, as eDBiLLy put it, "Like they had just jumped in their car & were heading to the Kwik Shop for a 12 pack".

We finished the ride with one additional stop. The local grocery store sponsored a hot chocolate stop, complete with a bonfire! A quick stop there warmed us up & we finished in fine style. Here's eDBiLLy, getting ready to head back to CiTy BiLLy World Headquarters.

Sunday, February 3, 2008

BRR

Just a quick note: we finished BRR-it was cold enough to make you feel alive, but not so cold to make you wish you were dead. Pictures & a full report tomorrow.