sphinxy. substitute.

While I’m too busy not blogging about my myself, it’s a good thing someone else IS!

Announcing my debut on NPR’s featured Tacky Tourist Photos blog!

Also to be mentioned, I’ll be appearing on the Pongr advertising blog thanks to my fascination of American brands in foreign countries. Will link when ready.

dark. days.

[Post also seen on Pedal Power Training's blog]

It’s happened.

I’m not sure who I am anymore.

The die hard roadie just got herself a mountain bike??

Oh, but it sure is PRETTY.

Lord Kegasus

Meet Lord Kegasus, my new (to me) 2010 Trek Top Fuel 9.8. I’m still not sure what exactly I’ll be doing with it (probably riding/falling/crashing/flailing more than racing or showing any signs of competence), but hey maybe I’ll acquire some much desired steering skillz that have eluded me riding exclusively on the road.

Thanks to Uri for letting me borrow his extra Fisher for the last year and helping me commit to yet another financially zapping hobby.. disposable income is overrated, anyway.

And to all my mtb friends.. you may regret offering to teach me the ways of the dirt. It’s a good thing I have so many of you to burn through.

youtube. magic.

First, watch this news report. Yes, it’s real.

If that’s not hard enough to believe.. now it’s a music video. And it’s DAMN CATCHY!

lacking. lefts.

Dear Internet,

Is there a reason why I cannot make lefthand turns?

Heart (and sad face),
deeps

bacon. tree.

Two Mexicans are stuck in the desert after crossing into the United  States, wandering aimlessly and starving. They are about to just lie  down and wait for death, when all of a sudden Luis says………

“Hey Pepe, do you smell what I smell.   Ees bacon, I theenk.”

“Si, Luis, eet sure smells like bacon. “

With renewed hope they struggle up the next sand dune, & there, in the distance, is a tree loaded with bacon.

There’s raw bacon, there’s fried bacon, back bacon, double smoked bacon … every imaginable kind of cured pork.

“Pepe, Pepe, we ees saved.   Ees a bacon tree.”

“Luis, maybe ees a meerage?   We ees in the desert don’t   forget.”

“Pepe, since when deed you ever hear of   a meerage that smell like bacon…ees no meerage, ees a bacon tree.”

And with that, Luis staggers towards the tree.   He gets to within 5  metres, Pepe crawling close behind, when suddenly a machine gun opens  up, and Luis drops like a wet sock.   Mortally wounded, he warns Pepe  with his dying breath,

“Pepe… go back man, you was right, ees not a bacon tree!”

“Luis, Luis mi amigo… what ees it? “

“Pepe.. ees not a bacon tree.   Ees

Ees

Ees

Ees

Ees a ham bush….”

nonexistent. nation.

August already?? What’s even more shocking about the speed of time is the fact that it’s August and there is no air conditioning use occurring. This DEF doesn’t happen in the south. The lack of air conditioning temps can only mean one depressing thing: cold and dark days are ahead.

So, what has been so distracting from regular blog updates? Here’s a hint:

The Wall of Pain! It started off last fall looking decidely less crowded. Thanks to cycling, race frequency exploded exponentially (practically every weekend v. every month or so).

The Wall of Pain

I couldn’t even get the whole picture to fit. Here’s a further away attempt.

Massachusetts Criterium State Championships

This summer alone I’ve completed 18 road cycling races (the 19th and final road race will be on Wed). The only thing worse than complete burnout is the mental estimate of $$ spent on race dues. And that’s just the beginning, cyclocross season is right around the corner! And I wonder where my disposable income and free time goes.

I wish there was something more exciting to post about for the non-cycling audience, but really, you’ll just have to deal with it until I get a normal hobby. Of course, more frequent updates can be found on Twitter, Facebook, Facebook pt II and Foursquare.

chalk. chatter.

Le Tour. It’s French for The Tour. I’m totally multilingual, ya’ll.

Back for its second year, we’re not talking about retirement-spurned Lancelot, but the Nike Chalkbot! Graffiti the French countryside with a message that will forever last in history be around til it rains.

The only thing more exciting would be if a fight broke out and a cyclist used a wheel as a weapon. Wait..

Make your own Chalkbot message here.

music. mash.

This is probably one of the best representations of my musical taste.

The only thing that I can think of that could improve upon this mash up would be the inclusion of some Pat Green/Garth Brooks/Lonestar.

world. watching.

It’s that time again.. once every four years that those of us in the States pay attention to soccer football. What’s unfortunate is that stupid vuvuzela makes watching games like you have a ginormous hangover for the entire 90 min. If rugby was smart enough to ban them in South Africa, why can’t the football gods?

Even more importantly, what might inspire more Americans isn’t fancy footwork or actually winning (Slovenia? Really?) Why don’t we take a page from the Italians and their partnership with Dolce and Gabbana?

Okay, so I’m slightly biased because I’m part Italian, but seriously.. Count me in!

acute. alteration.

So, my non-collegiate spandex/team kit is brought to you by the clothing company Giordana. I’ve always liked this because 1) Giordana makes good stuff 2) it’s Italian and 3) it has the word ‘dana’ in the name. What isn’t there to like?

Naturally, I have one improvement.

I’m sure the folks at IBC won’t mind the slight modification.

preppy. politicos.

Recently at the Cupcakes and Cocktails event on Newbury St., my liberal friend CP (if you can’t make peace over cupcakes, where can you?) made the observation that my political views, much like many other things in my life, are an anomaly. Having grown up in a small, southern town (and in a Catholic family), my conservative roots have been in place for decades.

However, as I transition from the twilight of my youth to quasi-adulthood, my political views can be summed up in the following: I don’t care what you do, who you marry, or how you are paying for healthcare.. as long as you leave me and my hard earned money out of it. And you’re generally not an IDIOT (no crying for a bailout when you buy a home you clearly can’t afford). So that’s kinda libertarian, but I really don’t want to move to Verhampshire and live in the bush and not shave my legs to embrace the affiliation.

So after some big think tanking (the booze helped), we came up with this. This ain’t your average Libertarian or Conservative Party.. this conservative libertarianism is a revolution:

PREPPY LIBERTARIANS

We focus primarily on fair taxes, personal accountability and seersucker. Based on one-day feedback via Twitter, the movement is strong.

Pretty sure the Tea Party is regretting not recruiting me to be their mascot/chairperson.

bacon. bonanza.

Marathon Monday = Christmas in April

How to make this week any better? Two words. Bacon. Beer.

Yes, it’s true..

It’s as if this was my own birthday party so thoughtfully planned out by complete strangers. Not on my birthday.

Questions that linger:
- will this hold up to the original baconfest, the one Skybil and I discovered before it was even cool to like bacon?
- how much bacon is too much bacon? Unlike beer, which gives you a pretty good indication on when you should be put in timeout.
- why am I racing at Dartmouth the next day? Not even sure why I’m going at all. If you recall, this was the scene of my most horrific crash to date. (And shockingly, that was NOT the elbow fracture).
- how do I top my outfit from Halloween?

bacon. bouquet.

Attention: current and potential suitors and admirers

Rage against Ridley

Need to harness inner rage. Need some motivating songs for a 30 min all out blitz session. Any suggestions, Nation?

Some of my all time running faves:
- Push it, Garbage
- Stronger, Britney Spears
- Change, Deftones
- Song 2, Blur
- Diary of Jane, Breaking Benjamin
- Faint, Linkin Park
- List of Demands, Saul Williams
- Riot, Sugarcult
- Get Free, The Vines

Got some to add?

nova. nation.

Villanova: Tournament Ready, Since Day One

http://go.nike.com/villanova

collegiate. consumers.

As an MBA with a specialization in informatics, I can only conclude that this is irrefutable proof that UVa is superior to Virginia Tech.. as we are worth more according to Lowe’s.

practical. presents.

Happy birthday, Skybil!

What do you get somebody who can already run for office?

Remember that one conversation where we talked about acceptable presents from people? Happy bday, from all your favorite acceptable presents!

The Nation

The Preteen

The Brit

The master

The tree

peeps. photography.

This ain’t no Washington Post peeps diorama, but peeptastic nonetheless.

National Geographic peeps contest!

The Nation is now recruiting participants:

KMM: “this would be fun to do!!!!!!”

The Twin: “i’d like to eat them too. maybe we can incorporate their new choco covered kind and take them to the MoMa as they are the essence of modernity.”

midweek. moodswing.

Is everyone having one of those weeks? If so, hop on the bandwagon. What’s with today, today?

Some things to lighten your mood..

The twin’s stuffed animals from China:

Texts from last night:

(501): I changed the name of my iPod to ‘The Titanic’ so when I plug it in it says ‘The Titanic is syncing.’

(215): is it bad that i have made the decision to never travel to vienna simply b/c of that transvestite that won the bachelor?

[More] Bachelor commentary:

“he’s going to pick the horse’s ass named after sausage instead of this adorable little doll?”

Just announced: CHOCOLATE COVERED PEEPS!

Seriously!

And if that’s not enough, three words:

Giant. Inflatable. Beavers.

Happy hump day, ya’ll.

celeb. citing.

Bill Clinton happy hour appearance @ Papillon! Guess his heart is feeling better? [Meanwhile, all the men in the bar clung to their gf's, fearing  Slick Willy's tractor beam of charm and charisma].

I’m not even a Democrat, but this was still pretty cool.