Other Blog Sites

I'm thinking about moving my blog.

http://www.weebly.com/
http://www.livejournal.com/
http://www.tumblr.com/
http://wordpress.com/
http://drupal.org/
http://www.squarespace.com/
http://www.xanga.com/

Man vs. Food

Everytime I watch Man vs. Food on the Travel channel, I'm amazed at the amount of crap Adam Richman shoves in his face, and I'm even more amazed his heart hasn't seized up on camera or that he hasn't at least puked on his shoes. For those of you unfamiliar with this show, Adam travels around the country taking on various "big food" challenges like eating a 7 1/2 pound hamburger in 30 minutes or devouring a pizza the size of a card table. It's insane! The daily recommended fat intake is around 65 grams for a 2000 calorie diet. I can't even begin to calculate how much fat, cholesterol, and sodium Adam is eating in one sitting. It has to be enough to last months. By all accounts, Adam Richman should have died last year.

What I hate about Blogger

Editing text and images in Blogger is beyond annoying. It's just downright cumbersome and anything but editor/designer friendly. I'm seriously tempted to pull up my blog and move somewhere else with better tools and more design options. Seriously!

I haven't abandoned this blog.

I haven't abandoned this blog. It's just that I've been preoccupied with so many different things lately and posting here just got pushed down on the totem poll. It also hasn't helped my posting since I don't have a computer desk at the moment. I'm literally sitting on the floor with my computer propped up on a box and end table. The keyboard tray on my old desk broke off during the move to the new house and it is now serving as a work table for the garage.

Hopefully I'll be able to catch up on my posting soon. I also plan to expand posts to subjects beyond cycling. This blog is about the "evolution of a mountain biker" and that implies change.

Remember

~ Fight Like Susan ~

Elden Nelson, the Fat Cyclist, lost his wife, Susan, last night after a long bout with cancer. Affectionately known as “Fatty” to his many readers, Edlen has entertained cyclist across the country with his humorous insights and inspired with his tireless fight against cancer.

My heart goes out to Elden and his family during this very difficult time.

With deepest sympathy,
Richard

History

Quotable Quotes

"He conquers who endures."
-Persius

Motivation is what gets you started. Habit is what keeps you going.
-Jim Ryun

"Until mountain biking came along, the bike scene was ruled by a small elite cadre of people who seemed allergic to enthusiasm."
-Jacquie Phelan

"The secret of health for both mind and body is not to mourn for the past, worry about the future, or anticipate troubles but to live in the present moment wisely and earnestly."
-Buddha

Life is like riding a bicycle. You don't fall off unless you stop pedaling.
-Claude Pepper

"People who think by the inch and talk by the yard deserve to be kicked by the foot."
-Anon.

Do not judge by appearances; a rich heart may be under a poor coat.
-Scottish Proverb

Ability is what you're capable of doing. Motivation determines what you do. Attitude determines how well you do it.
-Lou Holtz

"Don't tell me the sky's the limit when there are foosteps on the moon."
-Anon.

"Let me tell you what I think of bicycling. I think it has done more to emancipate women than anything else in the world. It gives women a feeling of freedom and self-reliance. I stand and rejoice every time I see a woman ride by on a wheel...the picture of free, untrammeled womanhood."
-Susan B. Anthony

My New Favorite Website.

I have a rather goofy sense of humor. Okay, I have a juvenile sense of humor. I admit it. TV programs like South Park and The Daily Show crack me up, especially South Park. While I really don't watch all that much television, I do often surf the internet for entertainment. You just never know what you'll find out there. With this in mind, I offer my new favorite website. It's a spoof of Wikipedia, the popular online encyclopedia, only this site is a collection of famous people who are ... well, dicks.

Be warned and enjoy! :)
dickipedia.org

Can You Read This?

Try reading the paragraph below. This is really quite interesting.

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fi yuo cna raed tihs, yuo hvae a sgtrane mnid too Cna yuo raed tihs? Olny 55 plepoe out of 100 can. i cdnuolt blveiee taht I cluod aulaclty uesdnatnrd waht I was rdanieg. The phaonmneal pweor of the hmuan mnid, aoccdrnig to a rscheearch at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy, it dseno't mtaetr in waht oerdr the ltteres in a wrod are, the olny iproamtnt tihng is taht the frsit and lsat ltteer be in the rghit pclae. The rset can be a taotl mses and you can sitll raed it whotuit a pboerlm. Tihs is bcuseae the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey lteter by istlef, but the wrod as a wlohe. Azanmig huh? yaeh and I awlyas tghuhot slpeling was ipmorantt! if you can raed tihs forwrad it.
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Never Forget

Rain, rain, go away.

Rain, rain, go away,
I really need to ride,
Rain, rain, go away,
Go far away and hide,

Rain, rain, go away,
I really want to ride my bike,
Rain, rain, go away,
Please go take a hike,

Sperling’s Best Places

I was playing around on the internet the other day and happened upon Sperling’s Best Places. There is a test on this site where one can answer a few questions to determine their “best place” to live. My best place for major metropolitan city is San Francisco, California. My best smaller city (less than 300,000) is Boulder, Colorado. I’ve never been to San Francisco, but it is a place I’d very much like to see. I’m not sure about living there since it’s so big. I’d probably prefer to live just outside the city. Boulder is a place I’ve actually visited. I have to admit to being a little disappointed because the city, at least what little of it I saw, didn’t live up to the hype. Boulder is actually very flat, and I didn’t see one mountain the entire time I was there. There’s also a lot of traffic in Boulder. I was amazed at all the congestion. The city bike paths were also congested with roller skaters, people walking, joggers, and the occasional cyclist. This is all based on a visit of about half a day, though.

San Francisco, California
As of 2007, San Francisco’s population is 744,041 people. Since 2000, it has had a population growth of -4.21 percent. The median home cost in San Francisco is $958,700. Home appreciation the last year has been 1.53 percent. Compared to the rest of the country, San Francisco’s cost of living is 87.23% Higher than the U.S. average. San Francisco public schools spend $5,874 per student. The average school expenditure in the U.S. is $6,058. There are about 18 students per teacher in San Francisco. The unemployment rate in San Francisco is 4.00 percent (U.S. avg. I (4.60%). Recent job growth is Positive. San Francisco jobs have increased by 2.31 percent. People live in San Francisco because they are passionate about the city, willing to work two jobs and sacrifice while developing other creative or artistic pursuits. Quality of life is paramount in this environmentally conscious city, ranked among the top five cleanest in the US in 2005. Perpetually on the brink of the next wave, change is both embraced and inevitable, be it political upheaval, earthquakes, or a new social or spiritual movement. Tolerance for all ways of life is perhaps the city’s keynote, and people are constantly reinventing themselves. A city of cultural diversity ever since the Gold Rush days, San Francisco is not a melting pot, but a salad bowl. Her irresistible charm that captivates all who visit is perfectly echoed in the words of the song ‘I Left My Heart in San Francisco’. One would be hard pressed to name another city positioned so glamorously, between the ocean and Sierra Nevada mountains to the east and west and redwood forests and the California desert to the north and south. Alistair Cooke, the British-born commentator, summed up this most beautiful and breathtaking of American cities as a ‘fortuitous mating of marine grandeur and terrestrial snugness’. It remains the best summation on record, of this city, perched precipitously at the edge of the world.

Boulder, Colorado.
As of 2007, Boulder’s population is 91,481 people. Since 2000, it has had a population growth of -3.37 percent. The median home cost in Boulder is $660,600. Home appreciation the last year has been 1.75 percent. Compared to the rest of the country, Boulder’s cost of living is 40.21% Higher than the U.S. average. Boulder public schools spend $5,161 per student. The average school expenditure in the U.S. is $6,058. There are about 17 students per teacher in Boulder. The unemployment rate in Boulder is 3.30 percent (U.S. avg. is 4.60%). Recent job growth is Positive. Boulder jobs have increased by 3.24 percent. Boulder is a very unique city located on the footsteps of the Rocky Mountains in Boulder County. Boulder is located virtually in the middle of Colorado, only 28.6 miles from Denver. With a modest population at nearly 95,000 residents, Boulder is one of the largest cities in the state.