Nader? Yes, Nader.

The 74 year old consumer advocate has thrown his cardigan into the ring once again, and I couldn't be happier. It's not so much that I believe he is faultless, or that he did not have an impact on the results of elections past, or even that he is the best candidate for 2008. His participation, however, is a reminder that we are not such a simple species that we can be defined by the perspectives of a few wealthy individuals from a mere two political parties that have become more and more concerned about manufacturing the best personalities, rather than exalting the ones that already exist. Instead, the existing ones are excluded from debates by media bedfellows and spoken of as "not viable," until that repeated lie is made reality. We are all a little bit democrat, a little bit republican, a little bit libertarian, a little bit green, etc. If you do not consider yourself such, then I pity your existence. It is thinking in such absolute terms that will be (has spelled?) the death of democracy. Being scared into not voting for somebody that best represents you by the same "people" that have brought you the latest round of "politics as reality-TV" and care more about ratings and shareholder profits than the best interests of the majority of the country does not make sense. You don't also buy the things they tell you to buy during the commercial breaks, do you?

What is Endurance?

Well, I rode the 6 hour solo option in Florida, instead of endangering the lives of hundreds of other riders, and I am content. I'm sure I could have done the 12 hours, but the course was a little more technical than one would have thought. This being my first race and only my second nocturnal off-road experience, I thought it best not to flirt with the cliff-hanging, knee-bashing stuff the Santos course offered at the beginning and end of each lap. Part of it looks to have been an old limestone quarry, which lended to some pretty difficult passages. Dave overcame massive mechanical miasmas and placed fourth out of 50 12-hour soloists. I did better than half of the 75 6-hour riders, but not quite as well as the top 29.
For images, check out: http://www.eventpictures.com/app/event/viewEvent?eventInstanceId=13629&cobrandDomain=floridaactionsports
Dave was #9 and I was #418.

The event was truly a sensory smorgasbord, and I am left with the following observations, among others.

-Too many Americans own dogs. Very few of them know what dogs need to thrive and be happy (it ain't that difficult, people...run, eat, play, sleep...kind of like what you need to thrive and be happy). The event in Florida was attended by some 200-300 people, I think, and there seemed to be dogs in every direction. A good example of how stressful the event was, from a canine perspective, was the poor fellow a few tents up from ours that barked (no lie) from around 10am, when the race started, until 10pm when the race was over. Needless to say, he was scolded quite violently by his owner, who probably never has the time to run his dog because he is so busy running himself.
-Florida is just as kooky as I remember it. From the jacked-up, 4x4 bus in the mud pit off of 301 to the gigantic skate park in the middle of nowhere to the fire and brimstone AM radio over the speakers in the restaurant on Sunday morning to the accents from everywhere other than Florida; this state is truly a gem among our great southern states (see: Vernon, Florida by Errol Morris).
-Sporting events are one of our only remaining collective consumptive catharses. It is here that we throw recyclable materials in with the garbage. It is here that we toss used tubes, empty, metal gel packages, and other refuse onto the side of the trail, in spite of requests for the contrary from the race promoter. It is here that our dogs' feces fall where they may and remain to contaminate surface waters for the local wildlife. And, it is here that we run generators and vehicles through the night, polluting the local air with fumes and noise. This list could be extended or contracted, depending on the sport/event, but I think the point is made. This will improve, however, as some promoters are putting up recycling stations, and there are ways to reuse nearly everything. I would think if any group were capable of generating some good reuse ideas, it would be one containing a bunch of bicycle mechanics. There are already some cool operations out there doing candle-holders, lamps, bottle openers, and tons of other stuff with old bicycle "waste." Come up with some of your own.
-What is endurance? I do not wish to denigrate those that win such events as the one in which I just participated, but to praise those that do such things with a minimum of investment in technology, be it nutritional or otherwise, and the employment of skill and mechanical ability under duress. A great example is the vegan guy, Rob, who was set up in the tent next to ours, who relied on real food to get him through and into the top three. Another example was the guy that had regular, old, non-LED flashlights fastened to his handlebar with bungee cords, while others had lights that blinded all wildlife within a half-mile radius. Finally, there was Dave, who had a tire blow off his wheel in the first lap, but managed to come out near the top of the heap, regardless of replacing that wheel with a spare that didn't line up with his brake calipers (leading him to adjust the calipers, only to discover that his rotor was bent on that wheel, which meant going back to the other wheel after a couple more laps and readjusting the calipers). Winning is nice, but if it only happens because you had tons of money to buy the best of the best equipment, or because of drugs you took that suppressed the pain, or because you ate things that were engineered to jack up your system, or because you had the benefit of a dedicated mechanic and several replacement bicycles, then I imagine it doesn't mean as much as it could.
Thanks, Dave, for the motivation and inspiration.

The Long Haul

The old X-Cargo garden is coming along nicely, although the aphids are already doing their thing down here, as evidenced by the poor soul in the bottom right of the image. These lettuce and spinach seeds are heirloom organics from Clemson University, and they grew into some beautiful specimens that have been mighty tasty. They were preceded by radishes that were huge, snappy, and spicy...just the right mix with a bottle of hoppy ale.

As for the race this weekend, I'm in for 12 hours alone. My entire team is out (pneumonia, broken bone, and funeral), so I'll be doing Florida solo, and I'm pretty excited about it. The fellow from Gone Riding was a stand up fellow, and said I could get the difference refunded (I paid $140 for the team, but the solo fee is only $60).

I bought a few accoutrements to ease the endeavor, yesterday, including my first official carbon bicycle part...a handlebar. There's no better time than the present to investigate the durability of this material I have for so long forsaken. I also put on a stem with more rise to try and avoid the inevitable axe-in-the-spine feel that usually accompanies longer treks in the woods. Thirdly, I was able to acquire a Cane Creek Thudbuster seatpost to prevent the destruction of my backside.

I'll call back Rachel Van Slyke, today.http://www.rachelvanslyke.com

She's doing a music tour on her bicycle, and she's trying to get donations for recycle-a-bicycle-type programs in each of the cities she's visiting. Very ambitious and very cool idea. Hopefully, I or the shop will be able to help her out with this in a town that so desparately needs such a program.

"See" you all after the race!

Pursuing Ponce

It's official; I'm headed to that great land of filled in wetlands and cyress knee lamps for the first bicycle race of my life. It's MTB, it runs for 12 hours, and it's near Ocala, Florida. I'll be sharing those 12 hours with two teammates, so it won't be as grueling as my other two friends are likely to find it, since they're taking it on solo. I'm pretty excited, and I'm finding it really easy to get in more riding, running, and working out than usual with this thing hanging over my head. I look forward to bringing back a few photos for this page, as well, since there is always good scenery in Florida (human and otherwise...see: Vernon, Florida by Errol Morris).

As for the time being, the wife and I are going to take a page from those Earthcrafter folks and do a home-based, no-power campout in the backyard this weekend.


Wish I could offer something on the political scene, but even the round table discussion on Democracy Now! yesterday was pretty uninspiring, so I haven't done much reading. I miss Dennis.

Scouts and "footballers"

I went to a local elementary school to assist in a LAB (League of American Bicyclists) course on bicycle safety. There were around 12-16 kids and at least a parent for each one. We got across some good stuff, and the kids had a good time...only one wipeout, and it was on the grass, so the tears were limited.
Otherwise, a pretty uneventful, supposedly super Sunday. Football, American-TV-style, is crap. It is yet another game that is nearly always fun to play, but has become progressively more boring to watch as the whole thing has been turned into just another product on the spectator shelf. Too much money, too many drugs (alcohol not excepted), too many commercials, and too much violence have rendered the whole thing pointless. Our games are supposed to assist us in mate selection, not detergent selection, and talking about the sport has become our substitute for physical engagement; predictive abilities about upcoming games is the new proving ground...what a joke. Anyway, one team beat another team, and I'm sure it had much to do with hard work and dedication...I'm just tired of hearing about who threw the most yards and who went to what team. Your conversation is a waste of our time. Anybody is liable to accomplish anything, and statistics is probability, not certainty. Have a great Monday!

The Birth of Brad Blog

I thought this might be a good way to stay in touch with family and friends with which I have not remained in such close touch...so I did it. As well, I'm constantly finding things within the realm of popular culture that beg comment beyond that which I find in the mass media or my everyday conversations among the general populace.

As a perfect example, my buddy Dave and I recently went for a tremendous ride at Manchester State Forest, here in our great state of SC. We popped in on the infamous Exit 98 Smith's Chevron for some boiled peanuts (the best to be found on I-95, if not in the entire region...I'm somewhat of a boiled peanut expert) and, by the time we exited the car, the rain yielded to a wash of solar pleasantry. We rode every marked trail, including the ones that had fallen to the motorized version of two-wheeled transport (like riding through mortar, it was), and finished up by dropping a check in the iron ranger for the required permits. The next day, I got a call from a non-iron ranger at the adjacent Poinsett State Park (where we had made the drop). He proceeded to speak to me as if I were a disobedient child and tell me how I could, "...get in a lot of trouble if they caught you riding out there without a permit." Nevermind that we checked the office for staff at 12:12pm and found nobody. Nevermind that the park only has office hours from 11am-12pm. Nevermind that he could have just forwarded the check to the Forestry Commission and had a pass generated and sent to me, as per my request on the accompanying note. Nevermind that the only park vehicle we saw went sailing by at about 40mph, preventing me from hailing him on such a winding road. And, nevermind that I was trying to do the right, legal thing, as I'm well aware of the dire condition of state budgets. He was more interested in flexing a little misguided muscle, I suppose. I told him I was well aware of the consequences, which was why we made the effort to indicate who we were and what we were doing there.

Anyway, the ride was dead on, regardless of the consequent interference. The trails there are loads of fun...just avoid the "Hardcore" section, as it has been rutted up nicely by motorcycles and contains enough sand to make the ride feel like a spinning class...pedaling like hell, but going nowhere.

I found a frame painter in GA, today. I'm considering sending my Surly touring frame for some refinishing, since the estimate on average jobs runs from $200-$400 or so, and I've got loads of rust pebbling the frame, already...it can't be more than 3 years old. I might go with another color, so here's a photo of the "The Army Brat," before her makeover (if image didn't make it to this post, I'll figure it out and get it up on the next one).