Kill your TV.

Where I work, there is one particular road where people drop off junk all the time. I think it's been unofficially designated Baltimore's Junk Yard Road. Couches, Ovens, Tires, Cars and TV's line the side of the road... so classy. Yesterday on the way home from work I found the same TV that I own. (Yep, I own a TV)

This photo describes, perfectly, how I feel about cycling and television. Get out there and ride fools!

-Mike

Sharing the morning.

This morning I had a friend along with me, for 3/4 of my ride, to work. My girlfriend accompanied me, on her bike, as I pedaled westward. - it was great. Riding to work is, undeniably, my favorite part of the day. It's new, fresh, crisp and dark; often times amazingly beautiful; even in the worst parts of the west side.

Baltimore pisses me off a lot of the time. But for the most part; I love living here. I love the way my life is right now and I love my morning rides through darkness into a new day. Sharing it with my best friend today made it better than ever.

-Mike

Christmas was great!

My egg-nog is gone. My tree has been packed away. There are no twinkling lights in my windows anymore. No, Christmas music bouncing around my four walls. All that’s left of Christmas are a few cookies my mom mailed down to me. You’re the best ma’!

So, here, at long last, is how my Christmas went.

Christmas Eve was spent consuming large quantities of Belgian waffles with strawberries and real maple syrup. I insisted on thick slices of BACON and some whipped cream in a can. (C’mon, it’s Christmas Eve!)

Christmas eve dinner/breakfast

Santa left my girlfriend a shiny new bike!

Santa left me a nice frame job around my favorite bicycle print!

And so then, after opening presents at my girlfriend's place on Christmas morning, we hopped in the car, little Doris too, and drove down to her parent's house for Christmas/Chanukah...

My girlfriend's mother got her Father a beautiful watercolor painting that he really loved.

My girlfriend's sister, Becky, was happy to get her blenderfor Chanukah and showed it off in true "The Price is Right" fassion.

There was no mercy when it came to shreading potatoes to make Latkas...

Oh, and there were plenty of Latkas... so tastey...

The chicken was delicious... so juicy... so tender...

There certainly was no shortage of desserts!

Yes, I had a great Christmas and it was also my first Chanukah experience... good times!
-Mike

My fortune today...

Oh great.

And what a Merry Christmas it was!

My Christmas was merry! My Chanuka was Happy! My girlfriend was... well... both of those things as well!

Lots to report about; I had the best Christmas I've had in years!

Here's to a really great New Year!

-Mike

Merry Christmas.

Susan & Peter's tree.

Merry Christmas Baltimore. I've got a lot to report about, after having a weekend full of tree decorating and Christmas parties; so stay tuned! Browse some NY photos from Last weekend's trip to RI via the Bronx:

NYC PHOTOS

-Mike

Cross Nationals Galleries

Well, I have finally gotten my photos from the Mens Pro race up on my site. Enjoy. Links are below.

I mostly, concentrated on the Kona Boys (Trebon and Wicks) and another favorite of mine; Gunnar.

My girlfriend and I had a really great time watching the races. It was unbelievable to watch the pros cruise around the course - they made it look so easy. Doing it myself on Sunday really made me realize how skilled those guys really are.

***Cyclocross Nationals Galleries***
Men's Pro Gallery Killer B Gallery - photos by my girlfriend 

my girlfriend enjoys the Pro Race

-Mike

Cyclocross Nationals!

Well, my girlfriend and I just got back yesterday from the Cyclocross National Championships in Providence, RI. That was an incredibly frigid, fun, and painful event! There was mud, ice, broken arms, hypothermia victims, fans and racers falling on their arses... it was great! I managed to place 52nd out of the 170 racing in the Killer B's - the most fun race so far this season! I'm still getting a gallery together from the racing, but should have it up tonight!

Merry Christmas,

Mike

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas Baltimore. I've been knee deep in egg-nog, Bing Crosby, hot coa-coa and Christmas cheer since Black Friday - call me crazy. Christmas has always been my favorite holiday though. Be sure to catch all the excitement of those warped, old, scarey, claymation Christmas specials my friends and for goodness sake... be good. Santa's watchin' you know.

Bed view: Santa reviews his list.

-Mike

George gets lit.

On December 1st, at 6:24pm, John Waters himself, plugged in the the string of lights draped from the Washington Monument in the center of Mt.Vernon. Yes, George looked quite pleased, perched upon the top of his tower while fireworks exploded all around him. The ceremony was pretty cool actually. The Walters Art Gallery was admitting folks for free and had refreshments as well as a choir singing Christmas carols.





My girlfriend watches George get lit!
The fireworks were actually quite amazing. I highly recommend taking part in Baltimore City activities. Just pick up the City Paper and see what's going on. Most activities have free food.
-Mike

Freezing cold cross race - 5th place

Yesterday was the coldest race of the season. It was the 8th and final cross race of the MAC Series, held in Elkton, MD. I managed to pull off 5th place and narrowly escape hypothermia! It was THAT cold.

The course was a completely swampy mud bog that made it difficult to propel yourself forward even on the flat areas. My tires had a little too much pressure in them to hook up as good as they could have but I wasn't about to stop to let some air out.
above photo by: Dennis Smith

Several sections of the course were so muddy that you could bearly keep it upright while you slowed to make it through the tight turns. Thank goodness there were some road sections which enabled you to gain speed and make up lost time spent in the muck.

above photo by: Dennis Smith


above photo by: Dennis Smith

My girlfriend did a great job shooting the race with the digital Nikon and did a great job shouting encouragement as usual. My number one fan, she is. Below are a few shots from the race that she took.

I tried to hop this barrier... not a good idea....




-Mike