Cycling 10,000 miles in a year

I haven’t written much about my cycling lately (with the exception of using my bike as a metaphor for how great my wife is). It’s not that I haven’t been riding, there just haven’t been any organized or “special” rides lately. However, Sunday’s ride was definitely “special” since I passed 10,000 miles for the year.  That’s right – 10,000 miles on the bike in 2008 (easy beating the number of miles I’ve put on my car this year). I needed 75 miles to hit 10,000 and knocked off 77 for good measure.

So I got to thinking, just how much riding is 10,000 miles?

• Assuming 2 weeks off for vacation, illness, etc.  that’s 200 miles a week . . . every week
• 555 hours – that’s enough time to watch Office Space 370 times
• 300,000 calories – enough for 1,500 Krispy Kreme donuts or 600 Sprinkles cupcakes or 400 large watermelons or 1,200 Clif Bars
• Far enough to ride from my house to Destin, FL-and-back . . . more than 6 times
• Enough watts to light the Christmas tree in Rockefeller Center . . . for two days

So how did I celebrate my milestone? I cooked a big Waffle House-style dinner for the family (hamburger steaks and hashbrowns).

Then Grant and I baked gingerbread cookies. Grant loves to bake and now I’ve got some “post-ride” treats for the next few days.

My original cycling goal for 2008 was to earn enough points to move up to Cat 3. I was making good progress towards that goal until an unfortunate crash ended my season early. The 10,000 mile goal is one I established during the summer (once Cat 3 was out-of-reach). Now it is time to set some goals for 2009. Trying to upgrade this year isn’t an option since I just won’t have the time for training and traveling for races with the demands at work and now having two kiddos. So this year, I’ll probably need to get creative.

iPhone App Review – iFart . . . genius

I’m a big fan of comedy. From the age of 4-10 if you asked me what I wanted to be when I grow up my response was always – “a comedian”. As a fan of comedy, I’m not immune to a little potty-humor. Which is why I find the iFart app for the iPhone so hilarious. We’ve already had 4 or 5 occassions in the ThinkCash offices when the iFart app has brought a room of people to tears – tears from laughing, not from the smell (the iFart app isn’t that powerful yet).

The video above gives a pretty good description of what the app can do, but it may be the best 99 cents I’ve ever spent. I’m not alone in my thinking, in it’s first week the iFart app has already had more than 10,000 downloans. Just watch out for “The Sick Dog”

Bush shoe toss/dodge video spoofs

You’ve probably seen the video above already, so I don’t need to give you the back story. However, what I will tell you is that this video is already one of the most viral in the history of the Internet.  Within 24 hours the video has been viewed more than 11 million times across 900 sites, and it has racked up 83,000 comments. This is hotter than SNL’s  “Jizz in My Pants.”

The video has started a tidal wave of parody games and video spoofs. I’ve collected some below for your viewing pleasure.

Nike Commercial

SNL Letter to my sister

Austin Powers

The Matrix

Talking Iraqi shoes

other random objects thrown at Bush

UPDATE – 12/17/08

Someone sent me this remix, basically a best of the ones above

Mondays suck, but this montage of inspirational speeches from popular movies should help

Let’s face it, few people like Mondays. It’s kind of the “airlock” that equalizes the pressures between the fun of the weekend and the meat of the work week. We normally aren’t quite as sharp on Mondays and might need an extra cup of coffee to get through the day. However, I have something even better than caffeine . . . the video montage of inspirational speechs from various movies (40 different movies) above.

I’m a movie geek (I did grow up in a video store and worked at Blockbuster for several years) so I was able to name almost every movie in this clip – including Jean Claude Van Damme from Street Fighter (maybe one of the worst movies ever).

Bookmark this page in your favorites for whenever you need a little pick-me-up that can only be cured by hearing the “victory or death!” chant from The Last Starfigher or the clapping scene from Hoosiers.

Tiger Stadium – covered in snow

LSU's Tiger Stadium Covered in Snow

I guess it is just a strange coincidence, but only a few days after I post on how I love living in the South because of the mild winters – it snows in my home state of Louisiana for the first time in almost 20 years.

LSU's Mike the Tiger

Being a huge LSU Tigers fan, I love these photos my uncle sent me of Tiger Stadium (all covered in snow) and Mike the Tiger playing in the snow. LSU fans – enjoy the pics (especially since this football season hasn’t been all that enjoyable).

Mike the Tiger enjoying the snow in Baton Rouge

Big “thumbs-up” to ProFlowers.com

Flowers more than two weeks after delivery

For Thanksgiving this year I ordered some flowers for Jess (my wife) since it was her first year preparing the feast. I ordered the “Large Thanksgiving Bouquet” from ProFlowers.com. I used to be indifferent about ordering flowers online – I would use ProFlowers, FTD.com, 800Flowers.com . . . whoever had the best coupon or deal at the time. However, I’ve always had such a good experience with the quality of flowers from ProFlowers, that I now use them exclusively. They came through for me again. I went home for lunch today to visit with Jess and Baby Lauren and noticed that her flowers still look great (see pic above) – 15 days after they were delivered!

Why do I love living in the South?

There are many reasons I like living below the Mason-Dixon Line, but  a big reason is the weather. I’m not a fan of cold weather. As a cyclist, I don’t really like cold weather or rainy weather (neither makes for fun bike rides). Say what you will about the “change of seasons” or the fun of the first snow fall. I like being able to wear short sleeves in December and not need to shovel out my driveway . . . ever. The amazing “car pinball” video above just confirms my love for warm weather.

How is my bike, like my wife? Or vice versa?

My Kuota Kredo with new Deda Synapsi handlebar/stem and Flashpoint FP60 wheels

I recently got myself an early Christmas gift and made two upgrades to my bike. I haven’t been riding my race bike much lately – think I got a little “burned-out” and have been riding my single speed bike. So I took my race bike to FWCycling and had them due a full tune-up and install the new Deda Synapsi carbon handlebar/stem that I purchased. Then I put on some new Flashpoint FP60 wheels (with some help from Josh at Colonel’s).

The maiden voyage with the new equipment was amazing. I forgot just how much I love my bike. It handles well, it accelerates, it climbs and it looks pretty damn good too (style points do count). So I got to thinking, a good race bike is a lot like a good wife . . . follow me here for a second:

• When my bike is working properly, everything seems almost effortless. The bike takes all of my effort and translates it into forward motion. At the same time, the bike’s carbon frame dampens the vibrations from the road and makes the ride more enjoyable.
• My bike surprises me. It’ll take corners I didn’t know it could handle . . . with ease.
• Looking at my fancy-carbon-bike everyday, I sometimes forget how beautiful it is. However, every so often I catch a glimpse of it and realize just how beautiful it really is.
• At the end of the day, there are few things I would rather do then ride on my bike.

Jess and her first turkey

So how is Jess, my wife, like my bike? I think you know where this is going:

• Jess takes care of our kids, the house, and the mundane tasks of life so that I can focus on work, quality time with the kids, and a long ride now and then 😉  So you could say that Jess takes my “effort” and helps translate it into “forward motion” while “dampening” the “vibrations” to make the “ride” of life more enjoyable.
• After 8 years of marriage, Jess still surprises me. This year we hosted Thanksgiving dinner for the first time. It was also Jess’s first time cooking a turkey. She pulled it all off – with ease.
• I’m lucky to be married to a beautiful woman – inside and out.  I might take that for granted sometimes, but all it takes is a glimpse of her through the kitchen window when I pull up to the house and I realize just how beautiful she really is.
• There is nothing I would rather do then spend some quality alone time with Jess. Although, with two kids, work, friends, etc. – alone time is rare. That’s why this summer we are going to take a long vacation, just the two of us (we’re both lucky to have awesome Grandparents willing to watch the kids while we are gone). More details on the trip to come, but let’s just say that it will combine a couple of my passions . . .

Basically, I’m pretty lucky to have such an amazing partner for the ride that is life.

Macy’s Parade Rick Roll

Any regular reader of this blog knows that I am a big fan of Rick Rolling. In fact, I’ve managed to include a Rick Roll in all of the company videos I’ve produced for ThinkCash – ThinkCash Halloween, Back to the 80’s, etc. Apparently the folks at Cartoon Network are also big Rick Rollers, because they pulled off the awesome stunt above at the Macy’s Thanksgiving parade.