Racing costs money...and I dont have any.
So why do I race?
Because its the most fun I have ever had.
I enjoy competition.
I like the atmosphere. (most of the time)
I am a masochist.
I just like to...Why else would I?
You can win money....thats the main reason.
But really, I just enjoy racing my bike.
I really hate it when drama comes into play.
Were racing bikes, why do we have to hate one another?
Is life really that crappy?
If it is why are you racing?
If it causes that much poo in your life...why would you continue to do it?
Why ruin it for everyone?
Just try and have fun...and if you cant, well then find another thing to do so you can better enjoy life.
Thursday, September 3, 2009
Monday, August 31, 2009
Bums, Hobos, Transients, Vagrants and other Homeless folk.
Sometimes, when I'm riding through the southern part of downtown Oklahoma City, mainly the cross-street of Reno and Classen, I notice a multitude of homeless folk just wandering about. My first reaction to these people is "holy crap I'm glad I'm not in their shoes." But most of the time, I think about this for a good chunk of the day and upon further review, I think "wow, it would almost be cool to be homeless.
What?! Did I seriously just think that? Why did I think that? Who thinks stupid stuff like this?
The fact of the matter is I think this stupid crap.
I wonder, who loves that guy....or this lady who's crossing the street....or those kids....I get really upset sometimes. I mean who honestly cares about those people? There at least has to be one person who cares about them. Nobody goes un-loved throughout life. At this point ask yourself, who cares about me? I guarantee theres one person, living that cares about you. Even the homeless have people who love them.
I also ponder, why are they homeless? What happened along the way? Are they crazy? Are they veterans? Who screwed them over?
Why is anyone homeless?
There are too many answers to this question. Many, if not most homeless in Oklahoma City are truly koo-koo.
Here's an experiment to prove this fact:
If you have the cojones go up to any vagrant pushing a cart, riding a bike or just meandering about and ask them to, if they are wearing a hat, please remove their hat.....You might need to coax them with money or food.....but chances are, the hat is lined with aluminum foil. Why? Who cares....they're crazy. Mostly, the common answer is its to block radio waves. Who knows...
Another common vagrant is the war veteran. They are just plain nuts....Drug addicts and what not....steer clear of these guys....While they are nice most of the time, they can turn very quickly.
Probably another very common hobo is the drug addict. The thrill of pushing that needle into the vein, taking pills, smokin herb and chronic has got these fun folk operating on white dog poo. They literally only think to the next acid trip. Constantly looking for that next fix.
How fun and exciting would it be to live like this? Chances are not very fun. I do however think it would most definitely be an event. One that would stick with a person forever.
But how would it be, to live....just looking for that next meal. Not even from paycheck to paycheck....meal to meal. Can you imagine? How terrible. It's really primitive and primordial to think about these people's thought process....Doing anything for food or shelter. wow...
A lot of times I like to make up stories for these guys.
For instance, theres a number of vagrants under the I-40 bridge at all times. A majority are just meandering around like zombies....and I like to pretend they are. So I will ride through there SO fast, not looking to the left or the right....just keeping my eyes straight ahead. Granted, the distance you are in hoboville to the time you are back in Oklahoma City is only a few seconds...its still fun.
Other times I like to give them names...like Jedidiah, Jose, Rosie, Bob, Susan, Princess, Mobutu and Khan.
Mostly I just wonder what it would be like to be homeless. How simple, or how complex life would become. Things would be drastically different.
What?! Did I seriously just think that? Why did I think that? Who thinks stupid stuff like this?
The fact of the matter is I think this stupid crap.
I wonder, who loves that guy....or this lady who's crossing the street....or those kids....I get really upset sometimes. I mean who honestly cares about those people? There at least has to be one person who cares about them. Nobody goes un-loved throughout life. At this point ask yourself, who cares about me? I guarantee theres one person, living that cares about you. Even the homeless have people who love them.
I also ponder, why are they homeless? What happened along the way? Are they crazy? Are they veterans? Who screwed them over?
Why is anyone homeless?
There are too many answers to this question. Many, if not most homeless in Oklahoma City are truly koo-koo.
Here's an experiment to prove this fact:
If you have the cojones go up to any vagrant pushing a cart, riding a bike or just meandering about and ask them to, if they are wearing a hat, please remove their hat.....You might need to coax them with money or food.....but chances are, the hat is lined with aluminum foil. Why? Who cares....they're crazy. Mostly, the common answer is its to block radio waves. Who knows...
Another common vagrant is the war veteran. They are just plain nuts....Drug addicts and what not....steer clear of these guys....While they are nice most of the time, they can turn very quickly.
Probably another very common hobo is the drug addict. The thrill of pushing that needle into the vein, taking pills, smokin herb and chronic has got these fun folk operating on white dog poo. They literally only think to the next acid trip. Constantly looking for that next fix.
How fun and exciting would it be to live like this? Chances are not very fun. I do however think it would most definitely be an event. One that would stick with a person forever.
But how would it be, to live....just looking for that next meal. Not even from paycheck to paycheck....meal to meal. Can you imagine? How terrible. It's really primitive and primordial to think about these people's thought process....Doing anything for food or shelter. wow...
A lot of times I like to make up stories for these guys.
For instance, theres a number of vagrants under the I-40 bridge at all times. A majority are just meandering around like zombies....and I like to pretend they are. So I will ride through there SO fast, not looking to the left or the right....just keeping my eyes straight ahead. Granted, the distance you are in hoboville to the time you are back in Oklahoma City is only a few seconds...its still fun.
Other times I like to give them names...like Jedidiah, Jose, Rosie, Bob, Susan, Princess, Mobutu and Khan.
Mostly I just wonder what it would be like to be homeless. How simple, or how complex life would become. Things would be drastically different.
Sunday, August 23, 2009
Comparing two crazy sports.
Oh wow.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aXo_e9buLww
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XUgENaPPPBg
and a couple cyclocross videos:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pkOhzvv-4vA
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zWGnM_1ViZA
That was my first reaction to the clips you might have just watched...if you didnt watch them do so now, they will smoke your brain. So, your first question you might have is "what the heck is this stupid sport?"
Well, its one of many events that RedBull sponsors and organizes called the RedBull Romaniacs. They are races, much like cyclocross, that tests more or less the racers body mind and spirit. The events go through the Romanian (hence the term 'Romaniacs') countryside, up mountains, down treacherous decents, and event features a prologue as the first event.
The prologue, looks, sounds and feels just like a cyclocross race. With stupid manmade barriers for the riders to 'try' and clear, large crowds, beer, European women, beer and loud audiences....You would think upon arrival..."hey this is just like Hoogerheide, only no."
While the prologue is more spectator friendly, the rest of the races over the four day event are more like gnarly mountain bike races. As said before, they feature grueling obstacles....such as mountains that the racers must traverse up and navigate down. While speed is the name of the game in any race....duh, finesse is also key. One simply can't gun it and run it through a rock garden that looks ridiculously gnarcore...Well, you could but would you? I think uhh, no. Would you gun it over a set of barriers in a cross race? Of course. Maybe. No?
Another thing I thought to myself is how...by Zeus's beard, did these crazy Euros' come up with this? I think they planned it to be as silly, stupid, gnarly, stellar, super-duper, thrilling, hard and crazy as possible. What other sport set out to do that a long time ago? hmm....it starts with a C and ends with -YCLOCROSS.
I see cyclocross culture spilling over into other sport venues and it's awesome. I feel this is just another inadvertant way for the sport to grow and gain popularity.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aXo_e9buLww
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XUgENaPPPBg
and a couple cyclocross videos:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pkOhzvv-4vA
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zWGnM_1ViZA
That was my first reaction to the clips you might have just watched...if you didnt watch them do so now, they will smoke your brain. So, your first question you might have is "what the heck is this stupid sport?"
Well, its one of many events that RedBull sponsors and organizes called the RedBull Romaniacs. They are races, much like cyclocross, that tests more or less the racers body mind and spirit. The events go through the Romanian (hence the term 'Romaniacs') countryside, up mountains, down treacherous decents, and event features a prologue as the first event.
The prologue, looks, sounds and feels just like a cyclocross race. With stupid manmade barriers for the riders to 'try' and clear, large crowds, beer, European women, beer and loud audiences....You would think upon arrival..."hey this is just like Hoogerheide, only no."
While the prologue is more spectator friendly, the rest of the races over the four day event are more like gnarly mountain bike races. As said before, they feature grueling obstacles....such as mountains that the racers must traverse up and navigate down. While speed is the name of the game in any race....duh, finesse is also key. One simply can't gun it and run it through a rock garden that looks ridiculously gnarcore...Well, you could but would you? I think uhh, no. Would you gun it over a set of barriers in a cross race? Of course. Maybe. No?
Another thing I thought to myself is how...by Zeus's beard, did these crazy Euros' come up with this? I think they planned it to be as silly, stupid, gnarly, stellar, super-duper, thrilling, hard and crazy as possible. What other sport set out to do that a long time ago? hmm....it starts with a C and ends with -YCLOCROSS.
I see cyclocross culture spilling over into other sport venues and it's awesome. I feel this is just another inadvertant way for the sport to grow and gain popularity.
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
My First Article
Heres a link:
http://cxmagazine.com/equal-pay-in-cyclocross-one-young-mans-opinion#more-4152
Heres the article:
Equal payout for men and women cyclocross racers (and any racer in any discipline for that matter) is quite a big deal. It has been one of the hot topics not only in cycling, but many other sports around the globe for a couple years now. The Swatch TTR FIVE STAR Nissan X-Trail Nippon Open Snowboarding Competition in Japan, The Wimbledon Tennis Tournament and now the Cincinnati UCI3 Cyclocross Festival are just a few examples of major sporting events in which both top men and women achieve the same outcome as far as a financial reward.
Why shouldn’t men and women get paid equal amounts? As far as we all know it costs the same amount to get to the events, equipment costs the same, and entry fees are the same amount. The prestige, in most minds, is the same. So why aren’t all sporting events in which men and women compete in separate gender categories the same? The answer to this is progression. The activity of sport started thousands of years ago, in which men and only men competed. It was not only frowned upon for women to compete, it was unheard of. Death was often the punishment for women who disguised themselves as men to compete.
The world saw women compete in the Olympics as early as 1900, however, in very few events and in very few numbers. Professional women’s leagues did sprout up throughout the 20th century only to fizzle out within a few years. While men’s sports continued to dominate and flourish, women still sought after equality in society let alone in sports.
Men’s sports have had not only time on their side, but also society. Time to progress and society to urge them on. Only in recent years (1990’s-now) have women seen success in professional sports. With only 20 years of professionalism behind women, it’s awe inspiring to look at our women who compete now and to look at where they all came from.
It’s honestly a great sight to see women achieve equal pay in racing. Not only is this good for the progression of women’s rights, but it’s good for the general progression of the sport. Equal pay means greater opportunities for more sponsors, more money and more participants. Granted, in a down economy, this can be a challenge, but all of these things generate interest which in turn generates prestige, which in turn generates progression. With the sport progressing, people may notice and want to start to race. Isn’t this the goal? And with more entrants creating revenue for the promoters and sponsors, this could mean sponsors might want to return the following years to help out. That’s exactly what this sport needs in times like these. It’s a cycle. Are you dizzy yet?
The opposing argument is that women’s racing doesn’t attract the same spectator draw and isn’t as deep. The smaller fields can warrant a few number of prizes, as the Ohio weekend has done. But while the spectator draw for women at some events may be lower, it’s a viscous cycle as well. In the states, where ticket sales or TV rights aren’t the backbone of a race promoter’s financial model, how much does this argument hold water? I’d be willing to bet you’d still see the same amount of race coverage on Cyclocross Magazine, giving sponsors as much value. And it’s clear that if you have a good calendar date and offer higher prize money, the top talent will come out. It’s no coincidence that Katie Compton is making the trip to Ohio for a rare domestic racing appearance. And although Compton often dominates her races, one only needs to notice the continuing buzz ten years later over Daniele Pontoni’s dominant debut on U.S. soil to realize that domination by a champion can be riveting for spectators as well.
Progression is what it’s all about. Without progression, sports die. We must strive to be progressive. Equal pay for men and women is only one factor in this very long and complicated equation. We are just beginning to see the wheels turn.
http://cxmagazine.com/equal-pay-in-cyclocross-one-young-mans-opinion#more-4152
Heres the article:
Equal payout for men and women cyclocross racers (and any racer in any discipline for that matter) is quite a big deal. It has been one of the hot topics not only in cycling, but many other sports around the globe for a couple years now. The Swatch TTR FIVE STAR Nissan X-Trail Nippon Open Snowboarding Competition in Japan, The Wimbledon Tennis Tournament and now the Cincinnati UCI3 Cyclocross Festival are just a few examples of major sporting events in which both top men and women achieve the same outcome as far as a financial reward.
Why shouldn’t men and women get paid equal amounts? As far as we all know it costs the same amount to get to the events, equipment costs the same, and entry fees are the same amount. The prestige, in most minds, is the same. So why aren’t all sporting events in which men and women compete in separate gender categories the same? The answer to this is progression. The activity of sport started thousands of years ago, in which men and only men competed. It was not only frowned upon for women to compete, it was unheard of. Death was often the punishment for women who disguised themselves as men to compete.
The world saw women compete in the Olympics as early as 1900, however, in very few events and in very few numbers. Professional women’s leagues did sprout up throughout the 20th century only to fizzle out within a few years. While men’s sports continued to dominate and flourish, women still sought after equality in society let alone in sports.
Men’s sports have had not only time on their side, but also society. Time to progress and society to urge them on. Only in recent years (1990’s-now) have women seen success in professional sports. With only 20 years of professionalism behind women, it’s awe inspiring to look at our women who compete now and to look at where they all came from.
It’s honestly a great sight to see women achieve equal pay in racing. Not only is this good for the progression of women’s rights, but it’s good for the general progression of the sport. Equal pay means greater opportunities for more sponsors, more money and more participants. Granted, in a down economy, this can be a challenge, but all of these things generate interest which in turn generates prestige, which in turn generates progression. With the sport progressing, people may notice and want to start to race. Isn’t this the goal? And with more entrants creating revenue for the promoters and sponsors, this could mean sponsors might want to return the following years to help out. That’s exactly what this sport needs in times like these. It’s a cycle. Are you dizzy yet?
The opposing argument is that women’s racing doesn’t attract the same spectator draw and isn’t as deep. The smaller fields can warrant a few number of prizes, as the Ohio weekend has done. But while the spectator draw for women at some events may be lower, it’s a viscous cycle as well. In the states, where ticket sales or TV rights aren’t the backbone of a race promoter’s financial model, how much does this argument hold water? I’d be willing to bet you’d still see the same amount of race coverage on Cyclocross Magazine, giving sponsors as much value. And it’s clear that if you have a good calendar date and offer higher prize money, the top talent will come out. It’s no coincidence that Katie Compton is making the trip to Ohio for a rare domestic racing appearance. And although Compton often dominates her races, one only needs to notice the continuing buzz ten years later over Daniele Pontoni’s dominant debut on U.S. soil to realize that domination by a champion can be riveting for spectators as well.
Progression is what it’s all about. Without progression, sports die. We must strive to be progressive. Equal pay for men and women is only one factor in this very long and complicated equation. We are just beginning to see the wheels turn.
Sunday, August 16, 2009
Nerf-Herders
Man, there are a lot of weird band names out there.
For instance:
Natalie Portmans Shaved Head
Thats by far the goofiest name for a band that I have found.
I need a job in which I make money.
For instance:
Natalie Portmans Shaved Head
Thats by far the goofiest name for a band that I have found.
I need a job in which I make money.
Friday, August 14, 2009
Sunny disposition
Pretty happy I have been, sort of.
I've been mostly...cloudy.
Being bored for a week can do this to a dude. I haven't been to work once this week, besides Tuesday. I haven't been fired, no, I have been put 'on call' whatever that means....I'm a doctor now. A love doctor, that is. I suppose Terry down at the good ol' Bicycle Alley hired a few too many employees....I see a reoccuring theme in Oklahoma City bike shops....hmmm.
Oh well, nobody has the need for shop experience anymore. It's fine with me, this stuff happens. I really see no reason getting upset or glum about it all. What good will that achieve..? Nope, I'm just gonna keep doing what I'm doing.
School is starting in a couple of weeks anyway and I'll be somewhat busy with that. Cyclocross is coming up, so I won't need to be putting in the long miles. Oh, an internship as well. So needless to say I'm gonna be a wee bit busy til Deciembre. Well you could say I'm going to be workin my brain out a bit more than usual the next couple of years. Which is a very good thing.
I'm looking forward to trying this whole 'school' thing for awhile. I'm also looking forward to it being over and what comes after that...MYEAH BOY.
I've been mostly...cloudy.
Being bored for a week can do this to a dude. I haven't been to work once this week, besides Tuesday. I haven't been fired, no, I have been put 'on call' whatever that means....I'm a doctor now. A love doctor, that is. I suppose Terry down at the good ol' Bicycle Alley hired a few too many employees....I see a reoccuring theme in Oklahoma City bike shops....hmmm.
Oh well, nobody has the need for shop experience anymore. It's fine with me, this stuff happens. I really see no reason getting upset or glum about it all. What good will that achieve..? Nope, I'm just gonna keep doing what I'm doing.
School is starting in a couple of weeks anyway and I'll be somewhat busy with that. Cyclocross is coming up, so I won't need to be putting in the long miles. Oh, an internship as well. So needless to say I'm gonna be a wee bit busy til Deciembre. Well you could say I'm going to be workin my brain out a bit more than usual the next couple of years. Which is a very good thing.
I'm looking forward to trying this whole 'school' thing for awhile. I'm also looking forward to it being over and what comes after that...MYEAH BOY.
Thursday, August 6, 2009
I can look into your eyes and see poop.
My car, a 1999 Ford Escort SE station wagon, was recently wrecked.....and now it's BACK TO LIFE! Albeit it's not the same....It now sports 3 new body panels. A white right front panel, a red hood and a red front bumper. Also, a No Puffin sticker on the back...SHWEET. Yes, I love this car. It's true. It is a perfect "race gettin' to macheen". With a 3 bike roof rack on top, and loads of space on the inside, I can carry all yo race shtuff, or whatever you need. And I will, if you ask properly or if you don't smell or look too bad.
party party in my tummy.
SO, I am enrolled in three classes for the Fall Semester at OCCC. This is about two classes short of what I waaant to do but hey, I am at least enrolled. The classes I chose to take this semester are as fellows: Intermidiate Algebra, News Writing and Intro to Sociology. I might go back up to the school before school actually starts and see if there's any other classes I can still enroll in. I really really want to get school done and out of the way as soon as possible. Oncw I get my associates, I plan on at least moving out, finding a job and making a decent amount of money. Then once I get into the groove of things, go back to school and earn my bachelors on my own time. I feel this is a good plan. I feel it in my loins. My tenderloins. My pork tenderloins.
peas and carrots in my tummy.
CYCLOFRIGGENCROSS
I did a time trial lastnight on my road bike. I think I finished 5th on the day. I didn't go out with the expectation of winning. No I went out to see what sorta WHATS I could push. I averaged about 300 WHATS for about 30 minutes, minus about 4 minutes. On Monday I averaged 320 WHATS for 30 minutes. I felt this was good and I might be able to better that in the upcoming weeks before Hotter dan Hellito and GateWay Cup of Coffee. SO I WILL BE FLYING LIKE A PILOT IN THE LUFTWAFFE. Crash and burn. Thats me.
Red Baron
Pepperoni
Pizza
party party in my tummy.
SO, I am enrolled in three classes for the Fall Semester at OCCC. This is about two classes short of what I waaant to do but hey, I am at least enrolled. The classes I chose to take this semester are as fellows: Intermidiate Algebra, News Writing and Intro to Sociology. I might go back up to the school before school actually starts and see if there's any other classes I can still enroll in. I really really want to get school done and out of the way as soon as possible. Oncw I get my associates, I plan on at least moving out, finding a job and making a decent amount of money. Then once I get into the groove of things, go back to school and earn my bachelors on my own time. I feel this is a good plan. I feel it in my loins. My tenderloins. My pork tenderloins.
peas and carrots in my tummy.
CYCLOFRIGGENCROSS
I did a time trial lastnight on my road bike. I think I finished 5th on the day. I didn't go out with the expectation of winning. No I went out to see what sorta WHATS I could push. I averaged about 300 WHATS for about 30 minutes, minus about 4 minutes. On Monday I averaged 320 WHATS for 30 minutes. I felt this was good and I might be able to better that in the upcoming weeks before Hotter dan Hellito and GateWay Cup of Coffee. SO I WILL BE FLYING LIKE A PILOT IN THE LUFTWAFFE. Crash and burn. Thats me.
Red Baron
Pepperoni
Pizza
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)
