2009 Training Goal

For 2009 my goal will be to win the biggest loser. Since my bike crash I have been training hard. I have doubled up on the sweets and have watched a ton of football. All of this while consuming that highest calorie food I could get my hands on. I have also given up playing with my Nintendo Wii. I don't want to burn those extra calories. It's playstation for me. I think I'll be plenty bulked up in time. Have a great Christmas and a Happy New Year. I'm off for the snack buffet at work. It's great that my coworkers are behind me on my efforts. They continue to bring the highest calorie treats that they can bake. Then to make things extra special they leave them out for me all day! When I fall short of my goal and not consume all of them by quiting time they insist that I take them home with me. Ah, great friends! I love them! Watch for me on TV!

Cancelled

The Rosie show was cancelled today after ONE episode! Well thank goodness. Rosie claims it was due to poor preparation. Or maybe people just don't want to listed to her crap anymore? I'll go with that one. Bye bye Rosie!

This is great!

Sorry, I'm out of control!

I don't want to turn my blog in to a political blog. But, I really can't help myself. This one is to good to not share with everyone.

I pulled the plug on the MaxLelli yesterday. It was just to good of a deal to pass up. It's actually a used bike. It was ridden by the gentleman that owns the bike shop. Since it's used I don't have to pay tax on the bike. It's set up just the way that I wanted and I like the look of the bike. Kind of a bit of a time trial look to it. While the Prince is one hot bike I think that it is way over priced. I'm sure it's a great bike but I don't think it's any better than the bike I'm getting. All for now, have a great weekend!

The Same Bike , half white, half nude (carbon)

I found a great deal on the bike above! I'm waiting for a final number but the Pinerello may be out and the MaxLelli may be mine. It's an Italian made bike and is awesome! The pictures really don't do it justice. I'm nervous to pull the trigger. I know that when I do I will find something else that I wish I would have waited for. But, I know that whatever and whenever I decide this will be the case. So, I like the looks of this and if the number is right it will be mine! Great, now I sound like Wayne's World. Today my good fellow it will be mine! haha

What do ya think?

I got my insurance money for my bike. It actually turned about better than I expected. To be honest I never thought that my home owners would cover any of it. So now I'm shopping like a kid in a candy store. It's hard to make up your mind. This is looking like a front runner.

Monday Rant!

Why would we consider bailing out the U.S auto industry? I have watched industry after industry pack up and leave for Mexico and China. Now the sacred cow of us manufacturing has fallen on hard times. The U.S Auto industry. Now there is a big surprise! Who could afford to pay the health care costs and retirement wages that the auto manufactures do? And then still remain competitive? Not to even mention the inflated wages they pay their employees. I have a relative that works for an automotive manufacture. His plant was shut down for 11 months to retool. For the 11 months he received 90% of his salary! 90% of his salary for not working! An entire plant! What did that cost?

First the bank bailouts, now the automotive industry, next the airlines, and so on and so on. The government takes partial ownership in the bailouts. Gee, what does this sound like? Gee, who else has government owned industry? And then of course we have this new redistribution of wealth program starting up. Kinda sounds familiar!

And now there is this talk of another stimulus package. The last one worked so well! Here is how it works in case you missed it. Our government borrows more money from China. Then our government gives the money to us, at least some of the money. The rest they spend on pork programs for their old cronies that get them elected. Then we run out to Walmart and purchase Chinese goods with the money that our government gave us that they borrowed from China. Then the Chinese take the money they make from us purchasing their goods and buy more and more property in our country. Now, whose country is stimulated? Then at some point down the road we expect our children to pay off this money. Do you think the Chinese government really thinks we will be able to some day pay off this debt? Maybe, just maybe could they have another motive? Gee, Golly, Gee I don't think so, do you?

Wake Up People! Wake Up!
The future of our country is not looking good.
Change is coming, are ya ready for it?
Is it the change everyone thinks it is?

Spandex King? No!

Today I was going to my blog from a guest computer. I went to Google and did a search for Spandex King. I found my blog. Then for kicks I hit Images to see what would come up. That's how I found this guy! Kinda scary isn't it? I'm not sure if I like the fact that people find my blog and this guy in the same search. Ahhhhh

Have a great weekend!

I Feel Like a Democrat Today!

Boy oh boy! Since Obama has been elected the market had done nothing but go down. And another thing! I heard it's going to get cold and snowy this weekend. As a matter of fact the temperature has been dropping since Obama got elected! Nothing has gone right since Obama got elected!

I think I may get to like this blame game thing. Anything bad happens, blame the President! Today I feel like a real democrat!

Looking Fast-Standing Still

Wowza! He may be a little older but he still looks fast. Fast, even while standing still! I'm sure this is the way I look in my tri suite. Ahhh, not! Lance is ripped!

Tomorrow is here, Today!

My Grandfather always told me that there's free beer tomorrow, come back tomorrow and that sign is still there. Well tomorrow is here and I'm ready for the free beer.

The Democrats and President elect Obama have made a lot of promises. Now comes the hard part of fulfilling those promises. They now have complete control. It's first and ten and the ball is in there court. Next time there will be nobody to point fingers at.

Game on and where's my free beer?

I Voted

I voted today! Either way it will be an election for the history books. The best part? NO MORE POLITICAL AD'S! Whew hew!

A Star Is Born

Halloween night we went to watch my son's band, Lavader Scapula! It was their first of many performances to come. They have only played together for a month. They were awesome! My son is the bass player on the far left. He's so musically talented! He has learned to play the guitar all on his own. I took him to a couple of lessons when he was young and he said it was a waste of time and he could learn faster on his own. Boy was he ever right!

Rock on Lavader Scapula!

Happy Halloween!

Ya gotta love it!

To read click the image to make it bigger.

Kick em in the right knee, kick em in the left knee,
kick em in the weenie!

Haunted Cornmaze

Once again we worked the haunted corn maze this year. It is always a good time. We scared the crap out of so many people. Every year it gets better and better. That's me in the back. I switched costumes a couple of times. We have always gone with the killer clown theme. It's amazing how many people are afraid of clowns. That my wife in the front and Scoopie on the right. Some people called her a goat and she hated that. Her friend Sarah is on the left.

Free Beer Tomorrow-Maybe, Maybe Not?

Suppose that every day, ten men go out for beer and the bill for all ten comes to $100. If they paid their bill the way we pay our taxes, it would go something like this:

The first four men (the poorest) would pay nothing.
The fifth would pay $1.
The sixth would pay $3.
The seventh would pay $7.
The eighth would pay $12.
The ninth would pay $18.
The tenth man (the richest) would pay $59.
So, that’s what they decided to do.

The ten men drank in the bar every day and seemed quite happy with the arrangement, until on day, the owner threw them a curve. “Since you are all such good customers,” he said, “I’m going to reduce the cost of your daily bee r by $20.” Drinks for the ten now cost just $80.

The group still wanted to pay their bill the way we pay our taxes so the first four men were unaffected. They would still drink for free. But what about the other six men - the paying customers? How could they divide the $20 windfall so that everyone would get his ‘fair share’?

They realized that $20 divided by six is $3.33. But if they subtracted that from everybody’s share, then the fifth man and the sixth man would each end up being paid to drink his beer.

So, the bar owner suggested that it would be fair to reduce each man’s bill by roughly the same percent, and he proceeded to work out the amounts each should pay.

And so:
The fifth man, like the first four, now paid nothing (100% savings).
The sixth now paid $2 instead of $3 (33%savings).
The seventh now pay $5 instead of $7 (28%savings).
The eighth now paid $9 instead of $12 (25% savings).
The n inth now paid $14 instead of $18 (22% savings).
The tenth now paid $49 instead of $59 (16% savings).

Each of the six was better off than before. And the first four continued to drink for free. But once outside the restaurant, the men began to compare their savings.

“I only got a dollar out of the $20,”declared the sixth man. He pointed to the tenth man,” but he got $10!”

“Yeah, that’s right,” exclaimed the fifth man. “I only saved a dollar, too. It’s unfair that he got TEN times more than I!”

“That’s true!!” shouted the seventh man. “Why should he get $10 back when I got only two? The wealthy get all the breaks!”

“Wait a minute,” yelled the first four men in unison. “We didn’t get anything at all. The system exploits the poor!”

The nine men surrounded the tenth and beat him up.

The next night the tenth man didn’t show up for drinks, so the nine sat down and had beers without him. But when it came time to pay the bill, they discovered something important. They didn’t have enough money between all of them for even half of the bill!

And that, boys and girls, journalists and college professors, is how our tax system works. The people who pay the highest taxes get the most benefit from a tax reduction. Tax them too much, attack them for being wealthy, and they just may not show up anymore. In fact, they might start drinking overseas where the atmosphere is somewhat friendlier.

Thought for the day.

Why is it the people who preach tolerance are the least tolerant of other people's views?

The Return of Big Earn!

Last night was my first good night of bowling this season! Games of 244, 247 and 255 for a 746 series. I had 23 strikes, 7 spares and one open frame. So basically I had 23 strikes out of 31 shots.

I attribute this success to my recent weight gain. Since my bike crash I've added a few pounds. It sure helps to have that extra counterweight for balance when throwing the rock. Game On!

Another Cheater!

In a press conference in Vienna, Austria earlier today Tour de France king of the mountain Bernhard Kohl admitted the he doped in preparation for the race.
“The pressure was overwhelming,” he said. “I was looking ahead to the Tour and realized I was not in the kind of condition I had hoped to be. I am just a man and a man who made a decision at a moment of weakness. I made a bad decision and I have to pay for that.”
According to VeloNews:
"Kohl took full responsibility for a “bad decision,” driven at least in part by the fear that he wouldn't land a new contract when his Gerolsteiner team announced plans to fold at the end of 2008.
Kohl denied that there was a systematic doping program at Gerolsteiner, despite the fact that his teammate, Stefan Schumacher, was also found to be positive for the new variant of EPO, known as CERA. "

Don't these guys ever get it? There ruining there own sport! Tour Of' Dopes!

Obama The Socialist! Lets spread it around!

Say goodbye to the American dream and hello to the Socialist Republic of America!

Wisconsin Winters

The weather in Wisconsin has been just great. However, the change is coming. Coming soon! Last year I was committed to Ironman Wisconsin and had a huge training goal to keep me focused for the winter. I also ran PF Changs half marathon for the last two years in January.

So here is where we are today. No Ironman race for 2009. No PF Changs in January. This leaves me with nothing to really focus on and get me motivated this winter. I know I won't just not do a thing. But! It's easy to just really get focused next week. And we all know that next week is always a week away. So I need to find an A race to keep me going. I'm thinking of a few but nothing has really jumped out at me. So it's off for another cookie and hey isn't the biggest looser on tonight? Maybe that's it! This year I focus on the cookies and then shoot for the biggest loser in 2010?

Go Hillary!

Bet you would never hear me say "Go Hillary, Go"! Well I'm saying it now! No no, no not that Hillary!
This Hillary, of course. That makes a lot more sense. After Hillary Biscay won Ironman Wisconsin she got cleaned up and came back down to the race to visit with all of the fans. The Queen and I were working the finish and got to visit with her for a little while and congratulate her on her first Ironman win. So now were pulling for her to win her second tomorrow in Kona, the big burrito of the triathlon world. So, Go Hillary, Go!

Let's Play!

Let's play the limbo! How low can they go? I was worried about this. But after checking my 401k I'm now retiring when I'm 130. So why not tack on another 20 years.

Actually I really am worried about this. I don't think anyone knows what going to happen next and how to fix it. This is now a Global Crisis! Greed! To think it's a few greedy people that caused this entire mess. And to make matters worse there the ones getting bailed out and vacationing in luxury on our dime. Again, the honest guy finishes last.

Be Careful What You Vote For!

Click the Link and watch this video.

Click here to see more about the book.

Is the kind of crap you want taught to your grade school children? It already is in Massachusetts! Who you vote for may mean more than you think!

I think if an adult person chooses to be homosexual than so be it. That's there choice. But when it starts being taught to grade school children in school it's to much for me. Parents are not given a choice on this stuff! They want this introduced in kindergarten! Kindergarten!

I think people often vote for these same sex laws not realizing all of the other stuff that goes along with it. The groups that push these laws through have an entire agenda to make it main stream. In today's world if you don't share this equality viewpoint your labeled as homophobic. If that is the case than I guess I am. So be it.

Be Careful what and who you vote for!

Political Adds

Rather than watch one stupid political add after another I have taken to book reading. So for the next couple of months I will be reading. Except for football of course and then I will be heading to the fridge for snackies during the commercials.

Read on!

My Bailout? And a wet race!

After the last week in the market I'm wondering just when my bailout package is going to come through?

Yea, I know the bailout package was to make things better and the market plunge was the better of two evils. Um, yea right. I'm totally sold on that!

On a more positive not we made it home form the St.George marathon last night. The Queen did awesome in what turned out to be bad running weather. Cool and rain at the finish, cold and downpour at the start. I'd show ya picture's of her finishing the race but she'd shoot me. I guess your supposed to finish the race looking all primped and stuff. They should really have a primping rest stop before the finish line with showers, blow dryers and stuff. This should be like a mandatory stop for say 15 minutes or so. Kinda like a TV timeout in football. I mean really if everyone would just stop and clean up it wouldn't effect the results and everyone would just look so much better at the finish. Not to mention just how much nicer it would be for the family to not have to smell there athlete's all the way home.

A Time For Change?

Everyone is talking about change. At first I didn't get it. Now I do. Change is what's left of my 401k.

Everyone wants to blame someone else for this crisis. I don't know who's fault it was but I do know one thing for sure. It wasn't my fault and yet I'm the one who has to pay to fix it. THAT'S NOT RIGHT. We are having this band aid bill shoved down our throat. We have to pass this bill NOW for the good of all of us. I have been honest. I have lived within my budget. I've payed my fair share and then some. Why do I have to pay again?

I don't have any faith that anyone talking about change is going to change a thing for me. The only thing that will change is who gets my money. As far as I'm concerned I still have to pay and pay and pay again. And then when you think your done paying, look out here they come again. They all take your money and look ways to get more of it? The phrase we can't afford it doesn't exist in government. To bad it doesn't work that way at my house.

Sram Wheels with Super HOT Decals!

(Click the picture for a closer look, I like the little frog.)

Last year Sram purchased Zipp manufacturing. I have been making the decals for Zipp for the last few years. This last month I have been working together with Zipp and Sram on some graphics for Sram. The picture is from the bike show in Vegas where Sram was unavailing there new wheels. It's kind of cool to be involved with this process and then see your work on the web.

Tomorrow we are headed out to Utah for the St.George marathon! I can't run but the Queen is going to run her third marathon. Stupid deer, stupid foot. It will suck to watch another race that I should be doing.

I'm now a T.V Star! Ha Ha

From last nights news
http://www.wxow.com/global/story.asp?s=9095045
Click the link above and then hit the "Bicycle vs Deer collision" link to see the video.

A Billion dollars is 8 Hours and 20 Minutes!

If you sat down to count from one to one billion, you would be counting for 95 years.

A tightly-packed stack of new $1,000 bills totaling $1 billion would be 63 miles high. In comparison, jet planes fly at 30,000 - 40,000 feet (5.7 - 7.7 miles high.

A billion is a difficult number to comprehend, but one advertising agency did a good job of putting that figure into some perspective in one of it's releases.

A. A billion seconds ago it was 1959.
B. A billion minutes ago Jesus was alive.
C. A billion hours ago our ancestors were living in the Stone Age.
D. A billion days ago no-one walked on the earth on two feet.
E. A billion dollars ago was only 8 hours and 20 minutes, at the rate our government is spending it.

Favre! Ha, who needs him!

Hit the road jack! we don't need you around here anymore!

If I was a Packer fan, which I'm sure glad I'm not, I would really, really be wondering why we ran one of the best quarterbacks in the history of the game out of town. I mean come on the Packers were one game from the Superbowl last year. One game! They are returning almost the same team. And then they run the leader of the team out of town. Why? Because he's not prepared to play football. Ah, yea, and today he throws six touchdown passes.

Great move, ya think?

Scoopie's New swimsuit

And just what defines a crazy, obsessive fan?

Okto BEER fest!

Are ya ready for some BEER? If so, then Lacrosse, Wisconsin is the place to be this weekend. Today is the kick off for Oktoberfest. It all starts at 10 this morning with the tapping of the golden keg. They bring the keg from the brewery to the fest grounds on a wagon. They actually make a parade out of it! For real! It's a parade with a keg as the star! Then they tap the keg and the party is on for the next week! Tomorrow it's the Maple leaf parade and then who knows? One year we even had a riot with tear gas, burning cop cars and everything! Maybe you saw it on cops?

Have a great weekend!

I went Run-Ning

Tonight I went running! Running! Exercise! First time in over six weeks. It was like I never missed a day,NOT. Oh man. It's like starting over,but it felt good to be out exercising.

On a side note I took Scoopie to swim team after my run and she told me my car stunk. Ahhh, I'm back!

Tough Choices

After hours of agonizing thoughts on Ironman Wisconsin 2009 I have reached a decision. I have decided that 2009 is not the year for me.

I came home from Ironman pumped up to commit again. I have my certificate that entitles me to a slot. I have until Sunday to confirm my spot. It came down to the fact the I just didn't want to train at this level for another summer. Let's face it, when your spending this much time training you miss out on things. The things I would miss out on next summer are things that I want to be there for. I can still be active in triathlons and be available for these things. I also want to do the Chequamegon 40 next year with my son. I really enjoy the off road stuff in the woods and it's a nice way to end the season. I plan on doing tri's until July and then hitting the bike hard for the Chequamegon.

There will be another year for Ironman. And if it never really works out then I'm okay with it. I think you have to be totally dedicated to do an Ironman. That would not be me in 2009. My family is behind me with whatever I decide. I think they would rather I do it. But like I said I think I want to be totally dedicated and that would not be me in 2009. All for now, have a great weekend!

Number 5 was for Da' Spandex King!

(I look like I did the race)

My niece IronSunshine just completed Ironman number five in my honor. She is an amazing athlete that has endured cancer twice in her life. You can read her race report and blog here.

Her first Ironman was the year of the heat at I-Wisconsin 2005. Next was the year of the cold and rain at I-Wi 2006. In 2007 she added Louisville and was the Ford everyday hero and went on to do I-Florida a couple of months later. That brings us to number 5 this year. It was extra special to work the finish and see her cross the line in my honor.

I didn't know a thing about it and was sure surprised to see her cross the line with the shirt she made.

Chequamegon Fat Tire Ride

Ready to ride or ready to work? This is my son Baggie Pants getting ready to ride the "Short and Fat"or "Short and Smart" as we like to call it. This is a 16 mile mountain bike race in Hayward,Wi. It's an awesome race. As you know I could not do the race because of that stupid deer. Okay, I'll spare you the whining.

Baggie Pants did awesome on the ride. The rain held of long enough for him to finish. I felt sorry for those doing the longer ride. We got to the car and the clouds opened up and the rain came down! I can't wait for next year!

Did I mention the stupid deer? Oh yea, sorry.

Done and Still Smiling!

Another Missed Race

Saturday is the Chequamegon Fat Tire race. The last two years my son, Baggie Pants, and I have done this race together. Last year it was 26 degrees at the start! We are both freezing in this picture! I was so looking forward to sharing a race with my son. Last year we did the 40 miler and he smoked me! This year we were slated for the 16 miler, the Short and Fat as it is called. We call it the Short and Smart.

The weather forecast is looking awesome for the weekend. I so wish that I was doing the race. My foot is my biggest problem. It is still very sore on the ball of my foot. Putting this much pressure on it with the rough terrain would be very risky. My elbow is pretty well healed but if I were to fall it would be bad. I know my chances of falling on this elbow is slim. I don't believe in luck but I'm a firm believer in dumb luck. I'm leaving my bike stuff at home to avoid any last minute temptation.

Have a great weekend and congratulations to all of those who completed IronMan last weekend. Enjoy your family, rest up and eat a lot of pizza! You've earned it!

I'm back!

So Lance is going back to try for number eight. I think this is a huge mistake. What does he have to gain or prove? Can he come back with the same desire and dedication to his training? I would have rather seen him pursue the Ironman! Now that would have been interesting!

$500 of Bling

What do ya think? I paid 500 dollars for this Mylar wristband. Pretty snappy I'd say. The only cool thing is that it entitles you to walk around and talk smart with all of the other athletes. Yea, I'm one of them crazy Ironman people. It sucks to be there and know that I should be doing this race. Tonight I'm going to go drive around some country roads and look for a deer to run over.

It's fun to be at the race. The swim course looked awesome today! The water was calm and there are tons of people out in the water. Tomorrow is bike porn day. I get to walk around and ogle all of the hot sexy bikes.

Oh this wristband also entitles you to sign up for 2009 on Saturday. Not that I intend to use it for that. I'm just enjoying talking smart and race strategy.

Good luck to all of those who are racing on Sunday. Wait until after 8:00 to finish and I can hang your medal around your head. Most of all have fun and enjoy your day. You've earned it!

First Photo of Michael Phelps!

Like a fish out of water

It has been three weeks since my crash. Since then I have not been able to exercise. I'm kind of screwed with one bad foot and one bad arm. That pretty much eliminates all exercise. I can't believe how much I miss it. What a great stress reliever aerobic exercise is. I even asked a girl at work what people that don't work out do on the weekend. She goes to the bar. Me, I'll pass on that one.

I'm excited to go to Ironman this weekend even though I can't compete. I thought about not going but I think that would be worse. It will be hard to watch knowing that without a freak accident I would have been competing and accomplishing my Ironman goal. I want to cheer on all of my Iron buddies. I picked up a shift at the finish line and will be there to greet them as they cross the line. Take care and have a great day!

Happy Birthday to Me!

46 years young today. Yea, right whatever. It wasn't so bad until my daughter pointed out I'm now closer to 50 than 40. And then it was pointed out that I'm closer to 60 than 30. On a positive note your only as old as you feel. No wait. I take that back. I've felt closer to 60 than 30 for the last few weeks. My birthday cookie consists of a deer and a bike. ha ha

1495 was to be my official race number for I-Moo. The number that wasn't. I'm still undecided about Ironman 2009. I would like to finally have that notch in my belt but another summer of Ironman dedication doesn't sound to great right now.

The Spandex King Phenomenon.

http://www.news3online.com/index.php?code=51oZ2K0GCE01tPu63w24

The Real Coverage!

This has a nice look to it.

Last night as I was counting sheep while trying to fall asleep this came flying by. I have always liked red. Have a great weekend!

Going Crazy!

Ahhhh!!! I'm going crazy not being able to workout! People thing the taper is hard before an Ironman. Me, I'm going cold turkey! No exercise of any kind is just driving me nuts!

On a positive note I found out that my home owners insurance will cover my bike. So I've been having fun looking at possibilities to replace my old bike. I plan on mountain biking when I'm able to this fall so there is no rush to buy a new bike right away. Looking is a lot of fun.

Again, thanks to all of you that have wished me well with my injuries. Now go workout for me. I just heard the ice cream call out for me. I've been a bad bad boy with my diet since being injured.

A look back

All in all I'm a lucky guy. Lucky to escape with only the injuries that I did. I'll never forget the sound of the crash. Seeing the deer directly in front of me and knowing that I was going to crash. When the accident was over it's kind of amazing the way your brain takes over and blocks the seriousness of the situation. I was sure I was okay, a little scraped up, but okay. All I needed was a ride home.
When I got to the clinic they had a much different attitude of my situation. They were very worried about internal injuries and especially worried about my kidneys. My first urine test showed that I had blood in my urine. I also was on the verge of passing out every time I tried to stand. The upper number of my blood pressure dropped from 140 to 90 when I got up.
A week later and I'm feeling a little better. My foot is still really swollen and my elbow, back and knee hurt like crazy. The realization that there is not going top be an ironman for me this year has set in. Up until today I thought I could still pull it off. But today it's still a struggle just to get around the house. The hard part will be knowing that I could have done it. I have visualized it all year. All those late nights at the pool away from my family knowing that it all had a finish. I never thought that it would end this way.

The Gore (For Speedo Sreve)

Today is finally a better day. Up until today more and more of my body would ache. My doctors all say that I am extremely lucky to escape with only bruises and road rash. All for now, have a great day and thanks for all you that have wished me well.

Whats left of the Bike