So far...

Slimey's coming

Pictures from the 2009 fall run. Which I had to do solo. The story of my life. This post..an effort to drum up some fellow riders. Gorgeous country, great scene.

Slimey Crud Run is twice yearly from near Madison to near Madison. Pick your own route. May and October. 

October 4, 2009, a cool and off-and-on rainy day. Upper 40's, low 50's.

In spite of appearances here, Harley's are NOT dominant. Thank God. In spite of the weather, perhaps 500 riders.

Rather; vintage bikes, cafe racers, dual sports, UJM, bimmers, sport bikes.

Most attendees on one bike goes to..

Me Homies

Minneapolis is the number ONE bike city in the US. It ain't just me, also Bicycling Magazine. Yes, I know, it's all about drama and selling Bicycling Magazine, can't-we-all-get-along and a rising tide lifts all boats. BikePortland's Jonathan Maus is taking the news in stride, writing that "this is more likely a sign that bike-friendliness is on the rise in cities across the country and Portland simply isn't as far out in front as it once was."

Course, us that know betta' write "choke on my dust Rain Man!".

Badgers vs. XX

In Dallas now. Working. I wouldn’t normally be working. Normally I’d be in Denver, or Washington DC, Milwaukee, Albany or Providence. But I don’t think Detroit. 

Wisconsin beat RIT tonight. Handily ahead, a five-minute-major allows the Badgers to score two quick ones in the second to really salt it away. They win 8-1 against a hardworking and talented Rochester team. The Badgers advance to the NCAA Final for hockey. BC is playing Miami of Ohio now to determine their opponent.
 

Normally, we attend the hockey final four. This is the first we’ve missed in a loooong time. Nothing directly against Detroit, Barb was there in 1990 for the hockey Final Four. Major problem with the venue, a hockey rink stuffed into the end zone of a football stadium in a dead and dangerous part of town. WTF. Crappy low-angle seating. A looong ways from the action. We sold our championship tickets to the highest bidder.
 

It would have been nice to cheer the Badgers to another championship. Really nice; if in a fun venue where we could actually see them. The NCAA makes it tough to be a fan. We made our choice, we won’t take the crappy end of that stick. We’ll be doing our taxes rather than attending this NCAA championship.

USCHO.com: For the first time in the history of the Frozen Four, binoculars were available for rent on the concourse.

Blackhawk

Before we move completely into spring, a quick recap of my first Bonspiel. The Blackhawk Curling Club Men’s Last Chance.

Our first game Friday 3/26 was against the Scott Reich rink. Sleepers. We curled fairly well, but this team left us absolutely no openings. No big misses, good offense, good defense. So this is how it is? Scott and team went on to play in the first event final. No shame in losing to them.
 
Second game we played very well. We missed little and made some crux shots to close the door. Sitting two down in one end, our opponents with two rocks touching the four foot. All under cover, we couldn’t get to them. Our skip Don threw the perfect must-make shot. The right weight, right angle, right line to bump up one of ours from out left on the 12 foot to just inside of theirs. Now we’re counting one and are unreachable. We dominated and they conceded early.
 
Third game, lose and out. We came up against some locals on a new sheet of ice. They knew the surface, we started behind and that was enough. Out after only three games.
 
In all, a high level of awesome play. Great competition. Great food and camaraderie. And a fair bit of sitting around – which is tough for me. I’ll do it again next year..or this summer!