Lust For Dirt: By Pervy Pervison

Damn it felt good to be on dirt today. As I was telling Wifey this afternoon, the road is great for training and getting the miles in, and the last two weeks or so I racked up some nice miles/hours, but damn is it nice to cruise through the woods and never have to worry that the a car full of teens swilling Bush Light 40 Ouncers is gonna make you into another stat.

I know that's grim, but it's a sad fact. And when you start feeling like that there is NO better cure than some chamois time in the dirt.

I slept like SHIT last night and pulled MAYBE 4 or 5 hours total, but I was geeked at the prospect of time in the woods on my Dos Niner. It looked like rain with the return of WPA's normal coat of of thick gray clouds overhead, so my java and PBJ sammy barely hit bottom and I was already getting the boyz in the chamois and heading out the door.

The mission was simple. Find a dryish 7 to 8 mile loop, do it a few times, dial in my new Lake shoes, the Dos, nutrition and skills with some hours in the dirt. I was stoked to find the trails in great condition! NO peanut butter mud except for some random service road area and a bubbling spring area. Most of the trails were either bone dry or nice and tacky. I almost had a Cham-oner (don't ask).

I was had the new Lake 230s on for the first time today, so I wanted to make sure my cleat position was dialed in and my saddle height was good etc. I don't need any bum knees. Ever notice certain shoes make you have to adjust saddle height?

After my first 8 mile mile lap I stopped at the Soob and adjusted my right cleat. Felt like it was too far forward and I felt like my saddle needed raised a hair.

The shoes felt great on my feet. A LITTLE heavier than my Sidi Bullets, but comfy. And walking/running in them looks like it will be great. Not hard, slip-fall and break you balls, plastic soles or clickity-clacks when you walk. Time will tell of course. This was but just one ride.

Nutrition wise I wore the CamelToe® for the first time in ages. Filled with Heed and I had a T6 bottle filled with a Hammer Nut cocktail.

Nothing like a little deer shit and mud to wash down your Perpetuem/Gel. I'll just be hovering above the shitter for a bit longer, no biggie.

All in all a great day in the saddle. Did 3 laps + a little side trail and put in 3 hours of tight ass single track. The Dos felt great, the shoes (after adjustment) felt great, nutrition was working, and the skills were spot on.

I was happy. Can you tell?

After the ride I did some cross training by doing some yard work and TRIED to make our back yard look like something that people will at least ignore, rather than walk by in disgust.

Time to drink a couple Sierra Nevadas (my new standby brew) and gobble some Guiltless Gourmet chips (that SOMEhow still manage to make me feel guilty)

Cooking up some White Trash Mexican for me and Wifey tonight. Then maybe a game of Puma Loco vs. The Evil Mamasita later. (if B-Man will go to bed when he's supposed to) ;) Sorry.

Later.

Man Stuff, Prepping and Some Race Porn

Pretty low key day today. Me and B-Man hanging out doing guy stuff (watching El Tigre), and prepping the Dos Niner for some hours in the dirt tomorrow (joy!!!). Then B-Man did some laps up and down the front walk on his bike.

When were at the gas station filling up his tires, he showed some old lady his Pepper Man bell on his bike. Even told her that it was Pepper Man on the bell. Sweet! Ride and Smile B-Man!

Saw that some stuff is shipping from Bikeman.com Wold HQ today. Looks to be the stuff from the SRAMies. SWEET! I am ALMOST there! New Reba, x9 triggers and some other goodies.

OK, here's some neat entertainment. We all know about the Tour De France, but did you know there's also a mountain bike version as well? It's called L'Hexagonal Tour De France VTT.

You can check out a few video clips of the action too.
Clicky the pic-y for the video links..

I sort of like the Stage 2/Urban TT. Neat idea. I like that they mix in regular XC stages with stages that can get the racers where the people are. In this case the racers zip right by an outside cafe and and more. Many events do short track etc, but the people still have to GO to the venue. This brings the venue to the people. Whether they want it or not!

Oh well, time to get the B-Man to wind down and get some sleep.

Later.

Boil Me Up Some Pickled Bulls Appendage

Wow, sweet night for a ride. Crisp spring temps, blue sky (again?) and sun. I REALLY wanted to get some time in the dirt with the Dos Niner, but thoughts of uber mud made me opt for the road. Looks to be dry here the next couple days, so I'm aiming for a Saturday in the woods.

Speaking of road riding Brad over a Dirt Rag had some good thought on it recently. Check it out.

Road Rule 7 Section 1- If you find yourself in the parking lot leaving for a ride saying "Arm warmers? (spit) I don't need no stinking arm warmers!" You WILL find yourself wishing for your arm warmers at about minute 100. TAKE THE ARM WARMERS.

Got my full Post Work Ride in, so a nice 2 hours/32 miles in the saddle. Sweet! I also got my 2nd "Hey, it's Lance Armstrong" of the year from some 10 year old kid. ONLY to be outdone by his buddy who counters with "Lance Asshole" Nice. Real nice.

If you enlarge the above pict you can see a group of wild turkey out in that field. They were crossing the road as I came up the hill. If you could see the road near my feet you would see an empty 12 pack of Miller beer. The Yin/Yang of WPA rural riding.

Heard from the Goat today. The Tifosi specs are on their way from Tifosi HQ, so looks like I won't be sporting the Q3s till next week. Crap. Oh well. Would have been nice to have them tonight, as I yet again got road grit in my eye!

So I'm reading the coverage of the Cape Epic over on VeloNews.com and see
THIS post ride meal the racers got..

Yeah, I just get done with pedaling my ass off and someone shoves a pot of what looks to be pickled bull's dicks in my face. I want to puke just looking at this.

Oh well gotz to help get the B-Man to bed.

Later.

Specs, Spins, Rakes, Salsa, Spinach & Chicken

Took the plunge and ordered some specs today. After reading thoughts from what seemed like just about every enduro racer and much deliberation, I went with the Tifosi Q3 glasses. Hope I dig 'em or someone will be getting a deal on eBay in the next few weeks.

Ended up getting them at Speedgoat.com. They're only about an 1 away, so I hope that if they're in stock at the shop I might have them in time for some weekend chamois soilage. I went with the silver, because I have way too much red and black in my cycling wardrobe and sometime I just like to feel a bit glam.

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Did a sit in spin in the basement tonight. Just an hour to keep a feel for the pedals and get a sweat on. iPodious was laying down the new cd from The Rakes I got from eMusic.com. GOOD stuff! If you like The Kooks or Maximo Park you'll dig it.

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Anyone see this Salsa El Mariachi over on MTBR.com?

The dude did a SWEET job making it his own with the custom painted Reba and stem. I LOVE that color and he matched it perfectly.

I was really lusting this bike last fall, but since I planned to run it geared, I didn't want to mess about with a EBB. Then of course Salsa dropped the Mamasita and thoughts of steel and EBBs turned fast as shit to scandium and carbon fiber. I'm a bit of a bike slut. Its' one of my many vices.

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Tonight I experimented in the kitchen and came up a winner. Whole wheat pasta, some sliced boneless chicky-breasts, fresh chopped spinach, e.v.o.o., lemon pepper and some low fat cheese mixed through. DAMN! That was some good stuff. Tasty, high protein, high fiber, good carbs, etc., etc., I did eat more than I should have, but hey 2 hour on the bike tomorrow should burn it off. (I hope)

Oh well, bed time.

Later.

Fire In The Hole!!

Contrary to popular belief, whole wheat pasta, black beans and chicken breasts stirred up in some Frank's Red Hot is NOT a good meal to stuff down your pie hole the night before a ride. Yikes!

EEEEEEEEEEEEEEVEALLLLL! But damn tasty!

Struggled through the 8 hours of mind numbing work, and then hit up my local road loop tonight. What a great ride! Avoided the rain, temps were in the high 70s, no head winds. Just perfect.

I did NOT want to do the BIG ass climb down the road from the Boston Rail Trail access. BUT I can avoid weekday traffic on Rt. 48 if I do it, so UP I went.

For all my dread, I actually felt great on it. Maybe it was the red hot 5 pounds I dropped between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. today?

All in all got a slightly amended road loop in and a hair under 2 hours in the saddle. I'll take that action on a Tuesday evening in March.

The only downside to the ride is that for about the 4th time this year I got debris in my eye, making it water and blurry (not to mention sorta hurt). Nothing like going 40 mph down hill with one eye.

Which brings me to... do I attempt yet again to wear some glasses? I don't want to spend too much in case I don't like 'em and I don't want to go too cheap for fear they'll suck and I wasted time/money on crap.

I can get some real good loving from Bikeman.com on stuff from Optic Nerve, but lots of folks seem to dig Tifosis (Q3s or Kilos) which I can get up at the Goat at an ok retail price. I just want to make sure that I get good peripheral vision and that I don't get that "fish bowl" affect that some glasses can give. I have a feeling I'll end up getting NOTHING, just not sure I have the extra pennies right now, but the way my eyes feel from all the gunk in them it just MIGHT happen.

Thinking out loud here: Stuff I still need to purchase soon- new grips, some cable, and an extra SRAM chain, Co2s, extra set of 29er tires (where the hell are the IRD "Panaracer Fire Pros"??, a set of road tires soon and an extra jug O'Heed from Hammer.

PLUS! I need to figure out which kidney I'm selling to pay for Big Bear. I continue weighing the options of Big Bear ($330) vs. The Hard Core 24 ($85) a week later. It looks like it will boil down to the fact that Big Bear is closer, I can get some support crew, I can sleep in a bed the night before, and have some baby sitting for B-Man down in Morgantown at my siter's casa. But DAMMMMMN a $245 difference?? I might have to start pricing some motels near Naples!! Grrrrrrrrr!

Later I'm going to go check on what a 35 year old kidney will go for, ha!

Low Key

Kicked the Monday rest day today. Rest day means hanging with B-Man playing t-ball in the back yard and doing some minor yard work (that's about the extent of any of my house maintenance abilities). Super nice just to hang outside and not be freezing to death.

Plan on some road miles tomorrow. I'd rather hit some dirt, but with the T-storms in the forecast and the trails still getting dried out from the last week's rains, why take the chance on a suck ride. Just gonna hit the road loop.

That's all I got.

Later.

Milan-San Remo Highlights...

Watch this and see the "pole time" crash mentioned below.



Later.

A Fast Fifty+

Today was the sort of day one suffers through 4+ months of snow, freezing rain and diamond hard nips for. 70 degrees and sunny. SUN! In western PA!! NO SHIT!

Me and B-Man headed out to Papa-M's today and of course my road bike came along for the ride. The goal was 3 to 4 hours on the road. I split the difference and did 3:30/52 miles and about 4000' of climbing.

I would have loved to have gone longer and the legs felt great, but as much as my dad loves hanging with B-Man, I don't like to be too big of a dead-beat dad and I was also running out of roads to rides as well as water.

I had the PERFECT nutrition for the ride. I had Hammer Cocktail going today of Banana/Tropical Gel mixed with Perpetuem in one bottle, Heed in another and water in a smaller T6 bottle stuffed in the rear pocket.
I never got the least bit hungry over 3.5 hours. The stuff works!

Watching some of Milan-San Remo on Versus right now. Holy crashes!!!

Bettini had to stop for to scratch the corn hole (or crash).

HOLY CRAP! I'd rather crash in the dirt for sure! DID you see this crash?? HOLY SHIT! Dude did some "pole time" and not in a good hot chick/stripper kind of way. I gotta track this vid down. Hope he's ok.
(above photos from CyclingNews.com)

Not digging it too much that much. I mean I'm enjoying it, and I'm glad it's on for sure, but I want some dirt action!

I've been following the Cape Epic from South Africa the past couple days. I posted some links to some info over on a "hobby" blog that I'm working on. You can check it if you want. Not sure how long it will stay around or how often I'll update it, but it's there for now.

Later. Time for some liquid "reward" in the form of a Sierra Nevada Stouts for a good ride and some Mexican food for the 2nd day in a row (as if THAT matters!)

Now let's photo-blog-

What more could you want here? Winding low traffic road, pastures, cows, blue sky.

Miles of WPA pavement are needed to put in miles of dirt.

Nothing to see in this pict, and THAT'S why I love it! Just a muddy farm field,
and a rare western PA blue sky. Drink. It. In.

Later. Hope you all got some miles in this weekend.

Sat In The Saddle

The big miles/hours I wanted didn't happen today. The weather had some scattered storms all over and since my bod felt like it was still trying to fight some funk yesterday (not sure what all that was about) I thought I'd either hit the trainer or do my regular road ride.

Thank God the weather broke and I didn't have to ride the trainer. Now that spring is here the thought of time on the trainer for a main workout is not that appealing.

I got my ride in without getting completely soaked. I had the wet chamois going and was covered in road grit, but the temps were near 70 so it wasn't too bad.

The good news is my legs/bod felt great and the 2 hours went by super fast. The bad news was that 2 hours really didn't seem like much of a workout. I guess that's good? Hope to get 3 to 4 hours in tomorrow, but plans are always loosely based.

Had this thought today: How do you know you're doing a "rural ride"? If you see 2 or more of the following you're probably on a pretty kick ass rural road ride: farm, pig, cow, junkyard, wet couch on front porch, dead deer, jacked up truck, confederate flag, dog tied to tree, car on blocks, car submerged in river flooding, diaper along road, empty bottles of Iron City Light. Saw all of this and more today. Yep, I had me a kick ass road ride.

Later. Time for some food at Mad Mex and crime fighting.

Getting Closer

Today was pretty sweet and not only because the work week is FINALLY over.

1. I got my new wheels from Bikeman.com today. Sweet build job from the folks up in the Vacation State. Hope Pro II hubs, Bontrager Mustang Rims and Salsa Flip Off Skewers. From what I can tell just sitting around the house slobbering on them, they look pretty sweet. Rick was right about the Hope free hub. Loud for sure (like a King) but look damn sweet. I don't mind the noise since it will spook snakes (I hope) ha!

2. I got my new Lake MX230 shoes too. Fit is DAMN good. I was worried about the fit. When you order something that you've never tried on and it's via a sponsor, you don't even want to get in to trying to return/replace etc. if you've f*cked up your sizing.

The fit is an A+. Also cool is rubberized toe area and heal. The outer sole is UBER grippy too. The only thing I can see doing right now is maybe trimming away some rubber from the cleat area to give more opportunity for cleat engagement. They seem a tad heavier than my Sidi Bullets, but not as heavy or at least the same as the Specialized ones that I used for racing last season.

Only some long days in the saddle will prove their durability and comfort though, so check back for some updates on that in a month or two. Thanks to Lake for the support in OH-7!

3. Word received that SRAM parts should be shipping to Bikeman.com World HQ, which means by the end of next week they should be headed this way if all goes well.

4. This last one is super cool but really doesn't effect me yet. Got official word from Alberto Grande that a VERY limited quantity of Mamasita frames are on their way to Bikeman.com. When I say limited I'm talking one SMALL, one LARGE and one X-Large. If you want one I'd recommend contacting them FAST. You might be better off calling (1-800-BIKEMAN) since they may not show on the site.

No word on team frames yet. I suspect that they may be in the next shipment of goodies next month. I'd like to have it for Leesburg, but if not the Dos Niner with the new wheels should be boss.

Look for more frames to ship in about 3 or 4 weeks, but for now that's it.

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Weather is suspect for tomorrow's BIG ride. It might be held off until Sunday and normal road ride tomorrow. Who knows, you just have to go with the flow.

Later.

Fire, The Crystal Method & 24 Hour Chills

Finally got my easy spin in tonight. Glad I went outside yesterday 'cause the rains and wind were pounding WPA pretty good come 5.

Had a nice hour spin on the trainer. High cadence, smooth, steady circles. Tried keeping the thoughts of something I heard once about imagining the your feet are hitting flames at the bottom of your pedal stroke, and you stay light and quick on the pedals. Kinda works.

I also had iPodious hooked up to some The Crystal Method. For a work out like tonight sometimes I just like to zone out to some fast paced electronic stuff. Bass, samples, beeps, buzzes, etc. Some people might not even considering it music, but damn it helps me stay in the zone. Get some focus and do some meditation.

Oddly The Crystal Method ALWAYS makes me think of the 1999 24 Hours of Canaan (the last one at Canaan) and in turn it makes me think of 24 hour racing.

I wasn't racing back then. Just hanging out watching with Wifey, my buddy Tom and his family. I remember getting chills when "Busy Child"* started playing as we watched racers descending through the woods with their lights blazing. I remember thinking how much I wanted to be out there riding. Not just standing there like a doofuss.

I can also remember what song was playing when I pulled into the check-in tent to complete my first lap, of my first 24 Hour race back in 2001 when I was on a 5 person team for Snowshoe. It was "Orange Crush" by R.E.M. Good song so that made me damn happy and again I remember getting chills as I pulled into the tent.

Those songs still give me some good mojo and some fire. Good mojo from the memories and fire because it drives home the memories that I failed to complete either of my 24 solos in 2006.

One (The Hardcore 24) was a DNF (heat/chills) the other (Seven Springs) I "officially" completed, but pretty pulled the plug Sat. night and only did 4 laps total. Conditions sucked ass and sucked the will to compete right out of me.

I hung around till noon. Finished, and was totally embarrassed. I just wanted to slink home and forget the experience. The only thing that made me stay was the thought of seeing DNF beside my name again and the thoughts of that solo entry fee.

This year I may only have one 24 on the schedule (Big Bear) but damn I'm motivated for it (and all my races). I just want to know I did my best, ride hard and strong. I want to drive home from the race with that excited, proud feeling in my stomach of knowing I did my best.

I felt like that after all the M.A.S.S. races last year and hell I only got on the box once! But the consistent efforts paid off with a 2nd place overall in the enduro series. I'll take 2nd, but that "feeling" is better.

So bring on the electronica, the driving bass lines, the buzzes and beeps. Bring on focus, meditation, and chills from a job well done. Bring on the fire and bring on the freaking season!!!

Later.

*If you go to the Crystal Method home pages linked in this post, you can see/hear "Busy Child" on their video link.

Doing What I Do...

I wanted to sort of take it easy today, since I laid down a short, but hard effort yesterday on the road. The problem is that with the amount of climbing around here, it's damn hard to keep efforts in control so I figure some lower HR efforts on the local rail trail would do the job. I'd also like to roll a fat one this weekend- (meaning I'd like to get some big miles in) so why not keep it low key this week.

It's views like this that sometimes make being on the trainer listening to my iPod seem ok. HA!

I had hoped to keep my efforts a little lower than I was. The problem was the trails were still a bit damp, and while not soggy, they were "soft", speed was slowed down and it made efforts a bit harder. ADAPT!- go with it, keep the HR where it is, and mix in a climb on the road at the half way point. I can do "easy spinning" on the trainer tomorrow, Friday off and the above mentioned mileage with a weight problem on the weekend.

This is nice sweet climb at the turn-a-round. Look at this road! Glad I was rolling 2.1s! The climb up the road and the decent that followed were there only real highlights of the ride.


At least things look different on the return.

All in all, it was good to be outside spinning the legs.

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Wheel News: My new wheels are done and Grande Alberto @ Bikeman.com reports that they came out pretty spanky. Should have the Hope/Bontrager wheels by the end of the week or next week.

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Not to cop style from BKW, but check this YouTube of last year's WC in Madrid. I can't believe the amount of riders! Not to mention the gaps between the lead pack and much of the rest. The whistles, the screams, dust. It rocks. But XC is boring, right? VENGA! VENGA!

Muchos Gracias

Thanks for the words folks. No plans stopping. The Blogging is like therapy for me, and God knows THAT'S not in the budget!

Like I said I'm just gonna keep doing my normal stuff. That's what makes me happy.

Rich B.- If I've been any influence on you throwing down in some Enduro's in '07- my work is done. And Yancy- If I've motivated you to try your hand at racing- again my work is done. Good luck guys.

Now back to my regular scheduled blogging.

Later.

What It Is. What It Might Be. Do I Care?

As I eluded to last night, I've been kinda wondering about the Soiled Chamois.

After 2 years of doing the Soiled Chamois, I've come to a crossroads of what I want it to be. It's been a little bit of everything; personal journal, training journal, product info, food & nutrition, beer, race reports, and a bunch of other crap.

It doesn't have the emotion of Fat Marc's blog, the inspiration of Adam's, the technical insight of Dave's, the humor of Sager's, or the living the life good reads that is Kerkove's or Nick Martin's blog.

Does anyone really want to read about someone like myself who is an average racer at best, and has no qualified technical insight to the sport other than I love to ride, race, and "this is what I want to use, this is what works for me".

I live in sort of a dump. You won't see photos of grand vistas and singletrack. My rides are for the most part boring (to the reader, not me, I love 'em). I ride alone 99% of the time. Family, and work schedules have me riding and training pretty much at set times, on my schedule. It's the only way to make this work even a little bit.

I don't have a clique of riding buddies that you'll see picts of, or read stories of. I ride for a shop that's about 1,000 miles away. (thank you Bikeman.com). I had to go that far out of state to find folks who didn't think I was a talentless knob head. My rides are "solo" all the time, not just races ;)

I'm sure more than just a few folks who see my blog and think "what does this stuff have to do with endurance mountain bike racing?" I've been trying to make the blog more about the "culture" of being a amatuer endurance racer, rather than just about "me".

Most of my day/life is built around cycling in some way. Whether it's my training, racing, making a dinner to keep the engine going, creating a mix to train to, a new product I'm lusting for, using or eating. There's also some race or industry news etc., etc.,

Someday in the future when I'm too old to attempt these races anymore, I hope the Soiled Chamois will just be a site dedicated to the sport of XC racing, endurance racing and culture. Sort of Ride424.com meets Dirt Rag, meets cyclingnews.com meets BIKE meets VeloNews. Anybody want to back it $? I smell a 2nd, I mean 3rd blog. HA!

The blog is just me. This is my style. So for now It's just gonna keep being what it is. If you dig it, thanks. If you don't, you don't. Time to grab some lunch, put the Dos on the rack and head back to work. Then maybe some recovery on the rail trail.

Thanks for reading.

Jason

The Cool Resfreshing Taste Of March

Sweet, but short ride tonight. Only got 1:35 of riding in due to lack of available daylight, but went pretty hard and felt good. The legs were spanky and the the air was a crisp 48 degrees with plenty of sunshine.

Registration is open for the Wilderness101 and SM100. Chris Scott from Mountaintouring.com also mentioned talk of some other races taking shape this summer, including the "Stooooopid 50" on June 10th and the "Catskill 50" on June 30th. Details to come soon.

Oh well, that's it. This blog might be having a mid life crisis. I need to spend some time to see what I want it to be.

Later.

Signed Up & Foodie Monday

Threw some plastic around this a.m. and got signed up for the Leesburg Bakers Dozen 13 Hour race on April 21st. Excited to get the season going.

Not sure what my expectations are of myself will be at this race, being that it's the first race of the year. I'll probably stick with- Ride hard, do my best, have fun and hope for the best. I'll also get to race with Marc, Fernando, Gordon and Loretta for the first time since last August.

The Leesburg course was described by Plum Grove Cyclery on MTBR.com as: "7.5 miles, no big climbs. One or two tricky sections with rocks. Nothing overly technical. It is a very fast course. It runs through some nice wooded sections, some cool pine trees that have been planted in straight rows. Some open field sections." A 7.5 lap is a little shorter than some of the races I've done, but being that I may be self supported on this one, a shorter lap might work out best.

Hope to have the wheels, parts and 2nd bike by then, or I might be borrowing a bike for a back up. 5 weeks away. Shouldn't be too big of a problem. I hope.

Took a rest day today and hope to get some road miles in tomorrow.

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Foodie Monday Part I: Chamois Chicken Chili

Mistakenly called this one a "White Chili" on Saturday. Still good.

1.5 lbs. boneless chicken breasts
1 Tbs. of Olive Oil (Says Vegetable Oil, I like E.V.O.O.)
1 Cup Chopped Red & Green peppers
1 Medium chopped onion.
1 Can of Chicken Broth (14.5 oz)
1 Can of Chopped Green Chilies
1 Can of White Kidney Beans (Drained and Rinsed)
I also like to add some Black Beans. (Drained and Rinsed)
1 Can of Corn (Drained)

Chili Powder/Taco Seasoning to Taste (I say 1 Tbs. of each at least) Possibly a dollop of Salsa.

1. Cut chicken into 1 inch cubes. Heat with oil in large skillet over medium heat for a bit, then add peppers and onions until chicken is lightly brown and vegetables are done to your liking.

2. Add everything into a big pot, simmer for a bit. Eat. Etc., etc

Makes 4 servings. I like to double it and have some for lunches, or just major gut stuffing.

Foodie Monday Part II: REVIEW

As I mentioned last week I was asked to drop some opinion on the The new Nature Valley Oats 'n Honey Cereal.

I may or may not be a good guy to ask to review a cereal. I've always loved cereal and at the height of my (major) weight loss (close to 15 years ago) I used to eat Wheaties® for at work all the time. EVERYDAY for 2 years or more! Odd, I know.

After spending a few days and then the weekend with the cereal, I'm digging it. Good stats, and good taste. Crispy rice flakes with mini hunks of Nature Valley Granola bars.

The flakes are like that of the Smart Start (another good cereal) I found myself looking for the hunks of granola bar like a kid looking for marshmallows in Lucky Charms!

This is no low cal cereal. 270 calories per 1 cup bowl. But this is a good POWER breakfast cereal. Meant to fill your gut with good stuff for a day in the saddle or hiking. Kinda like you would fill up with some Oatmeal or similar cereal. Since I'm only the occasional fan of hot cereals, a cereal like this is cool.

Stats: 270 calories (with 1/2 cup skim milk), 3g Fat, 48g Carbs, 4g Fiber, 4g Protein

Since I don't ride or workout until the evening during the week, on weekday breakfasts I of course mixed it with a bit of Fiber One to up the fiber, help me stay filled up and clean out the pipes without adding too many more calories.

When I was grocery shopping over the weekend I forgot to look at the retail price. That's ALWAYS a big selling point. All in all a good cereal that I'll be looking for coupons and and sales on.

If I was in major weight control mode like I was couple months ago or as Wifey is doing now with her Weight Watchers, I probably wouldn't eat it. Too many calories. I'd choose to focus on higher fiber/low cal/low fat cereals (F1) and other breakfasts like egg white/fat free cheese omelets with whole wheat toast, etc.,

Since I'm in a "build" phase right now and I can use to extra "quality" calories, so I'm gonna munch 'em up and enjoy.

Ok, time to put the B-Man to bed.

Later.

Marathons & Cold Rides

This a.m. I hit the Net looking for some coverage and info on yesterday's World Cup Marathon in Gran Canaria. Here's your top 5 for the 90K event (according to CyclingNews.com).

1. Leonardo Paez (Col) 3:27.24

2. Thomas Dietsch (Fra)

3. Alban Lakata (Aut)
4. Mazio Deho (Ita)
5. Massimo De Bertolis (Ital)

Had fun checking out the sites of some of these racers. Be warned some of the Euros like to use some cheezy porn music on their sites, so if you're check them out on the d.l. at work you might want to kill the volume.

There are some cool archived .WMV videos linked from Deho's site that you can download to your desktop. The one of the Liquigas Cup is sort of neat. An "urban" mountain bike race. Kind of good inspiration for "urban assaults" when the trails are muddy. Would also be a neat idea for an early season race for a place like Pittsburgh.

On the Woman side Pia Sundstedt from Finland took 1st. Could Maja be "out", Pia "in" ? ;)

OK enough with "real" racers, now I'm gonna talk about me.

Are you still here?

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B-Man and I headed out to see my Dad today. This time of year that usually means that I take my road bike with me and while B-Man plays his ass off I get a couple hours or more of riding in. The roads were clear of snow, but the temps this a.m. were in the 20's so I said "F that!" and just planned a visit, with a serious "grump on" from not riding.

Well through the day as I scoured the Net looking at the Marathon coverage, I started getting the "itch" to get some chamois time. So I adjusted my diet (meaning I didn't eat anything that might see some time on my top tube later), and departure time so I could head home, get the Dos Niner, and get intimate with it for a couple hours this evening on the road despite the cold temps.

I chose to ride the Dos Niner, because I've spent so little time on it over the past few months I wanted to get used to the feel again and test out my new stem position.

The flipped stem rocked. What didn't rock was my saddle height. I hadn't marked the post and I've been switching saddle/post from my trainer to the Dos. I had it a few mm too low. Damn! Normally NOT a big deal. BUT I left my multi tool at home DOH!!! It wasn't too bad, but bad enough to F with my head for a few miles.

Temps at 4:30 were better than the 20's but still only in the high 30's. So by the end, the "headlights" were on full blast, and my fingers and toes were less than comfortable. Mental Note: Next year get some freaking booties!

Ended with a little under 2 hours, hit some good climbs, and got about 1:55 of nippy saddle time.

Super tired now. Later.

Projects

Home Alone: 3.17.07

• Cleaning of the Dos Niner- aborted. Hose frozen (shit.)

• Swap Panaracer Rampage 29 x 2.35s swapped out for Maxxis Ignitors (plan to get some road time on the Dos and why wear down the Rampages? The 2.1 Ignitors look like 1" tires compared to the 2.35!!

• Make Chicken Chili. Done. Damn good.

• Drink some Sierra Nevadas. Pale Ale- yum. Porter- Yummier!

• Look at Porn on the web. BIKE PORN!! I don't lust for road bikes, but damn, the new Campeon looks fast just sitting still!! At my size, not sure I dig compact geometry, but 'tis sweet. But hey, it's a road bike and I say if it ain't broke, don't fix it. Maybe I should break the Trek? HA! No.

• Then I finally got around to flopping my Race Face stem on the Dos. Just sitting on the bike feel so much better I'm anxious to try it on the road/trail. Kinda stupid that Race Face would make a flop-able stem, but not put logos on to accommodate. Oh well.

Oh well, that's my Saturday night.

Later.

Breath Luckily Not Held

As I mentioned yesterday I wasn't gong to hold my breath for an outside ride today. Thankfully I didn't or I would have ended up clutching my chest panting on the floor like Fred G.

We got a few inches of wet, sloppy white stuff over night. Day off to FANtastic start.

So I after I skulked around the house all a.m., I took my old iMac down to the Stankment® and fired up the '06 CX Worlds, strapped on iPodious and did 2 hours of loosely structured time on the trainer.

After the great rides I've had recently climbing on the trainer was a real nut kicker. Minutes 1 through 15 I thought of climbing off, going out and buying a GIANT pizza, cookie dough, donuts, wings, a 6 pack, salsa and nachos, then coming home and eating and drinking like a glutinous swine until I passed out and woke up in spring.

Thankfully my desire to not completely suck in 2007 is way stronger than the want to forget about the suck weather. So I stayed on, and sort of enjoyed the remaining 1:45.

Wifey and B-Man are heading to an annual St. Patrick's Day party that some family friends put on. I'm passing. Not so much my scene. Just gonna stay home enjoy a couple Sierra Nevada's and cook up some good eats, most likely some White Chicken Chili and some Guiltless Gourmet chips and salsa. Oh yeah babe.

First I actually need to leave the house.

Hope it's warm where you are, and you're getting some miles in.

Yeah. Friday's. They're Great.

Well I knew it was coming, but damn. After 2 great spring rides, winter returned with freezing rain, slush and snow. And it's not even the snow that you might be able to still ride in. The temps are too high, there's just WAY too much slop. If I'm REALLY lucky I might get some time outside, but I will NOT be holding my breath.

Since I see more trainer time in my future I'm taking advantage of my "new to me" G4 and burning up a 2+ hour DVD of CX races to watch tomorrow. I wanted to try to burn a live morrissey I downloaded too, but I'm having some trouble with that one, since it's a .NRG file and I have a Mac, yada, yada, yada. I'll get it though, I'LL GET IT!

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The 1st UCI Marathon is tomorrow in Gran Canaria. I LOVE following this stuff, but coverage is few and far between, but if you scour the Internet (as I will do) you can dig up info.

Cylingnews.com had mentioned the upcoming race in Gran Canaria this week. Ad I've mention here Simoni will be there as well as other Roadies turned Dirt Worshipers, set to throw down with the likes of Frischi (most likely), and German Hannes Genze.
When I was cruising the Net looking for info on some of the faves for the race, I stumbled on Genze's sponsor's site- Noodle maker Alb-Gold. How cool is it that A. Alb-Gold sponsors a mountain bike team, and B. if you lived in Germany you could get yourself some of these noodles??...

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I'm not very hopeful of time outside tomorrow, but hope that my plan B. of 2 hours on the trainer whilst watching some freshly burned Cross races will dull the want to put my head under an oncoming snow tire.

Later.

Thursday (again)

Trying again after Blogger crashed. Was going to go to bed. Didn't, so here's Thursday, shortened.

Did a short spin tonight, doing what I call the Washer Ride. Load up the clothes washer, hop on the trainer and spin the legs. When the washer is done, you're done. Simple, active recovery.

Listened to the most recent Sloan on iPodious tonight. I think Sloan are the best "cover" band in the world. I dig their stuff, but everything sounds vaguely like something you may have heard before. Still dig'em though.

Their latest "Never Hear The End Of It" is 30 songs that sound like they were ripped out of the the a.m radio, in your dad's '78 Volkswagen Rabbit as motors down the highway on a hot summer day. Melodic 70's sounding power pop/rock with just enough modern influence to make it cool. You can take a listen on the Sloan site: HERE.

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All parts for my wheels are in at Bikeman.com World HQ, so now is for them to be built, my parts from SRAM to show, and the Mamasita to get her sweet carbon ass here. Oh yeah and for the trails to dry. YIKES! We got POUNDED with rain today and snow on the way for the weekend. Joy.

Got another box of cereal in the mail today so as to drop some O-Pin on it. Nature Valley Oat 'N Honey Cereal. Looks like they would make a good ride day breakfast. I'll be trying 'em out and drop the thoughts and stats on you next week.

No ride tomorrow. Just relax with Wifey, B-Man and some Mexican food. Who knows what the weekend will bring. Most likely me with my head in an oven if it snows!

I had more useless knowledge for you in the first post, but now I AM going to bed.

Later.

Jacked Beyond Words...

Blogger/Netscape just F'ed me. Blogged my ass off with some neat stuff. Went to add a final link. BAM! Gone. My loss is your gain. You don't have to endure my blathering. I'm going to bed.

Later.

A Muddy Road Ride

Rained all a.m. and it seemed as if there would be no ride tonight, but when I took a look at the Weather.com radar (the new radar is freaking BOSS by the way) it looked promising, so a lunch time bike fetch was in order. Right on!

Temps were in the 60s and that meant another ride in shorts. Oh yeah! Gonna be short lived, but I'll take what I can get, when I can get it. (sounds strangely like my sex life- ha!).

I started the ride from down at the Boston Rail Trail parking lot. Hard to believe that I start from a trail head parking lot to a flat ass rail trail and choose to IMMEDIATELY start up a hemorrhoid inducing hill. Going up Rt. 48 is easier, but busier. This road sees less traffic, but damn some warm up would be nice.

Once I removed the bloody, mucus covered lung from my throat, I settled in to a nice rhythm and enjoyed the ride.

Had to move with some tempo due to the fact that although the time has changed, it still gets dark by 7:30. I also knew they were doing some construction on one of the roads I normally ride, so I would need to be creative with shortening the loop and avoiding the closed road.

Road Rule 11 Section 1- an unknown alternate route/getting lost will ALWAYS lead you uphill. The added unwritten "bonus suck rule" is that many times the way down is worse. STEEP, pot holes, mud, gravel, dips, rocks, construction vehicle ooze, etc., It was like Roubaix cobbles going down hill. Shit, I had less obstacles during my ride in the woods yesterday. But hey, I got to work on the skills.

This uphill/down hill suck road, had now put me behind schedule. I needed to giddy up and get back to the Soob without becoming road kill.

Got it done, with my overall average HR keeping me in Zone 4 for the 2nd day in a row. 1:40/about 30 miles and some big hills. Me thinks I need some easy spinning tomorrow.

Later.

The First Tastes Of Dirt (Mud)

Got out on dirt for the first time since, I think late December. Felt gggggggoood.

Hit up Boyce. There were a TON of cars parked near the archery field. There, must have been a PORC ride or something. On the trail I only saw one rider (twice) sporting a fulls suspension Garry Fisher 29er.

The trails were better than I expected in parts, and worse than I expected in parts. I had planned to skip all the usual muddy spots entirely but the trees at Boyce are mostly dead, dying, or mildly suicidal. Winter can pretty much have its way with them. Pushing them down with even the weakest of storms, so several reroutes were needed and that interrupted said plan.

The mud at Boyce is the tires worst enemy. It's either HEAVY stick to everything mud or slicker than K-Y. Tonight's mud was mostly the HEAVY shit. Figured it just upped the workout stats.

I would be more critical of the Rampages, but I've said it a million times- there is NO tire I've used that hasn't clogged up for me at Boyce. Bontragers, Panaracer, WTB, Maxxis. The mud there is just evil. It's Satan's feecus!

Muddy 1 " in The Rear

The first ride on dirt after a layoff, with nothing but road miles and trainer time is kind of a slap in the nuts. The skills were on, fitness was pretty good, but I realized what still needs to be done, and now I'm a bit happy that I still have a little over a month to work on the perceived problems.

Really, I just need MORE time on the dirt. There were parts of the ride I was real happy about. Ended with a just 1:30 of riding, but it was a nice workout. Not sure what the weather holds for the rest of the week. Looks like by the weekend I'll be on the trainer again. Booooo!

Sorry for kind of a shit post.

Later.

P.S. Thanks Dillon. Good luck with the Hammer Products.

What's A Week?

So today was a rest day. I had 2 days of sweet ass riding, so it was time. The thing I sometimes struggle with, is when does a week start and end? Too often I fall into thinking my "training week" should start on Monday just like a work week. Just seems strange to START the week with rest.

During the winter season it's easy enough to control, but during riding/race season, the biggest mileage/races come on the weekend, so in the early season (now) it takes a bit to get used to the week STARTING with rest.

"On the Hood"

So I guess is what I'm saying is, it felt weird to go to work, come home and not ride. I did spend some time looking for things to put on eBay. Kinda sucks when you find some stuff (in my case an external USB CD burner and Zip Drive) only to find out they sell for about $1.99 on eBay. No thank you.

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I did some minor bike prep/clean up and might take the Dos Niner out for a bit tomorrow. If not maybe some hill repeats on the Trek.

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So I'm sure you know I get a bit bored on non ride nights, and after some other house chores/dad time I fired up the stove for some fine Vegetarian Mexicana.

I'm not vegetarian, but I like to cut back on meat. I'm pretty used to it, since Wifey was vegetarian for years before she got pregnant with B-Man, but then POW! She started eating meat.

Anyway, here's another Rice and Bean recipe. Simple stuff and only takes about 15 minutes to make. Plus you know you went out and bought some brown rice last week after you saw the Buffalo Chicken Recipe.

Get yourself:

1 bag of Success Brown Rice
1.5 cups of Diced Red/Green Pepper
1 Small/Medium Diced Onion
1 Bag Boca Burger Crumbles
1/2 cup of Low Fat Shredded Mexican Cheese
1 Can of Black Beans, rinsed and drained
(I also added some leftover kidney beans tonight)
1 cup+ cup of Salsa to taste
2 Tablepoons (or to taste) of Taco Seasoning Mix
1 Tablespoon of Olive Oil
Few Tablespoons of Water

• Cook rice, drain, set asside.
• Stir Fry Peppers in Olive Oil, add onion towards the end of cooking.
• Add Boca, a hit of water and Taco Seasoning
• Add some salsa to taste, mix in rice and beans, mix through on low heat.
• Top with cheese, cover and let cheese melt. Add more salsa if desired (it is)
• EAT!!! Could serve two. But why?
• On a weekend I would have thown down with a good Pale Ale, and maybe some
chips, but since it's Monday it got paired with H20 and nothing.

Rough Stats: 931 Calories, 62g Protein, 116g Carbs, 28g Fat
30% Fat/42% Carbs/28% Protein

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Well, I'm sure I've bored you enough.

Later.

More Saddle Time. Joy!

Ah, clear and sunny today. Temps were not the warmish ones of yesterday with ride time temps about 40 degrees, but it's better than 20 and snow!

Headed out to Scottdale with the B-Man. I would ride and he would hang with Pappy-M. Everyone wins.

Road loops and options abound out that way, and that's cool this early in the year, 'cause if you find yourself in over your head, biting off more than you can chew, etc., etc., there are many bail outs to cut the loop and get back to home base. I would sorta do this today.

SIDE NOTE ON: I'm watching the Paris-Nice TT as I blog. Not a fan of TTs. Although I mentioned to Wifey a cool drinking game could be developed based on every time Phil, Paul, or Bobke say "race of truth" or every time they're wrong about someone beating the best time. SIDE NOTE OFF.

Soon as the ride started, It was pretty apparent that my early season legs didn't have another chilly & hilly 3+ hours in them. A steady cold headwind seemed to follow me through most of the a.m. and early afternoon.

On one of my fave rolling farm roads I was giving it everything to go 11 mph on a road I normally push 20 to 21 mph. Yikes! Not bitching by any means. Being outside and riding was the tits!

At the 1:45 mark I weighed my options and decided to hit the roads that would let me finish up with a little over 2 hours and 35 miles.

With about 4 miles to go I spied a small group of roadies on the road below me. I got a warm fuzzy feeling seeing other folks out and had the urge to go join them. But, figured I should listen to the legs and head back to my dad's.

A great weekend to start off the final building stages to my first race on April 21st. Ended up with a little under 5 hours of riding on the weekend. Not bad for early March in Western PA.

Now I'm anxious to get the Dos Niner out on dirt and get the (mediocre) skills back in form before then.

Ah, time to let the meat sticks rest.

Later.

Giddy Like A School Girl

God damn I love this stuff!

Wrench Tom finished the road bike last night and I headed over early a.m. to fetch it. NOTHING like a fresh chain and cassette to feel spanky. Although the new 105 cassette felt like a 10lb. weight. I'M KIDDING, it felt great and I pedaled faster just knowing the cash-eesh I saved on gaining about 40 grams or what ever it is, but saving over $20!!!

T. also put some new Salsa Goma bar tape on for me. I put some on last month and let's just say I f'ed it up royally and after Tom saw it, in his words - "it made me cringe". Yep I know how to pedal for long periods of time, change a tire, lube a chain/cables, and it ends about there. Thanks for all you work Tom.

After I got home, I loaded up the car, lubed up with some Greyhound Juice anti friction chamois cream to take the edge off the results of yesterday's Fiber One Fiber Feecus Fest. Yikes (now there's a "soiled chamois" for you. Sorry) chamoised up and headed out for some road miles or as my friend KoKo says "some road head" (that will up my the Chamois Google search hits. Shit, there are some freaks out there).

SIDE THOUGHT: Did I mention that someone from Occupied Palestine hit the Soiled Chamois not long ago with the Google Search "Big Teets" WHAT???? They have NOTHING else to worry about there than looking for info on tits??? Seriously!!! I'm not sure why I used the term, but I'm sure they were disappointed by seeing that all they got was some half wit, bike slacker's blog.

Back to the ride. Felt great. Rain was in the forecast so I stuck the rain jacket in the rear jersey pocket and started out. If felt SO F*CKING GOOD to ride with just some arm/knee warmers. Only needed the jacket for about 45 minutes of the ride when it started to light drizzle.


Some Heed, a Perpetuem/Hammer Gel Cocktail, and my legs which looks like albino salamis wrapped in Twin-Six socks.

The roads were still white from "salt", my legs were white as paper, and the trees were all still bare, so it was like riding in one of George Dub-Ya's "axis of evil" nuclear winter nightmares. Enter on "Day After". via two wheels. HA!


You might THINK I'm looking at the camera. But what I'm really trying to do is try to catch a glimpse of that bloody snot rocket on my chin. Good times my friends. Good times.

I was so geeked to be outside today. I upped my overall speed from last week, felt great on the climbs and never wennt below 5 mph on the last BIG ASS-WAL-MART-DIVA- RIDE IN AN ELECTRIC SCOOTER-I'M SO BIG CLIMB that I had me struggling to maintain 3 mph last week. And in the last 300' to the summit of the climb I sprinted. Take that BITCH! Not you silly, the climb.


P-Man Is My Co-Pilot. Might not be riding the spicy goodness on the road, but P-Man is always with me.

Since I didn't get lost this week and had some giddy up in the meat sticks I got the 45 done in about 2:45. This ride rocked and I'm feeling good that with some minor route adjustments a double lap of this could be a nice spring time century.


Check out the guns. Don't act like your not impressed. (all that stolen from Anchor Man) I got me chick super model biceps. I need garter belts for my arm warmers now.

Well time to enjoy a couple Sierra Nevada's, cook up some Mexican and fight crime.

Hope you all are getting some miles in too.

Later.

End

Ah another week in the bag. Another week closer to Spring, another week closer to the first race, another week closer to rockin' a new 29er, another week close to sanity.

No workout tonight. The weather is "if-y" tomorrow, with some rain coming in, but as long is it's light, that will be cool. No use going out and getting drenched for one day when the next 3 days or so after look dry and warmer.

Wrench Tom has the road bike ready for chamois time, so I'll shoot over to his crib in the a.m., then see what the day throws my way. If nothing else I'll get some trainer time in, then some big miles on Sunday.

Cooked up some yummy Whole Wheat Pasta, Boca-Burger Italiano tonight. Yum.

Time to digest, and get in to crime fighting mode.

Later.

997% of Your RDA of Fiber

I FINALLY had a good workout tonight. I guess if one is gonna have a week steeped in feecus (physically) why not let it be essentially the last week of Winter Training, so as to go into spring healthy. S

Tonight I was still not 100% but the best I've felt mentally and physically all week.

Hoping to kick the week in the ass and say goodbye to winter over the weekend with some outdoor miles. Wrench Tom has has the Road Bike, not sure if it will be in my possession for the weekend or not. If not, the Dos Niner will be called into action. I'll be "slummin' it" huh?

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Holy Crap!
(no pun intended)

Came home to grab some grub at lunch today and there was big ass box on the porch stuffed with Fiber One of all varieties. Some of the stuff (The F1 Honey Clusters) I've never tried, so I look forward to stuffing my face with them in the a.m. Thanks Sara!

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Dirt Rag News: Now that M. Browne is headed to the Cheese State to work for Trek, Dirt Rag has promoted Karen Brooks to Editor. Good luck to Karen in her new duties. I'm sure the mag will be in good hands. Check out Mo's low down over on Dirt Rag Dot Com.

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I'm sure you've heard me talk of one of my recent favorite post work out meals: Buffalo Chicken Brown Rice & Beans, well here's a look at its' spicy goodness (NOT to be confused with Salsa Cycles "spicy goodness"). Damn it's a real junk kicker.

Quick, easy and packed with lean protein, good fats, fiber, and carbs..

1 Bag of Success Boil in Bag Brown Rice
1 Small Diced Onion (optional)
1 Tablespoon of Extra Virgin Olive Oil
2 boneless chicken breasts, sliced or cubed
1 can of Black Beans (drained and rinsed)
Frank's Original Hot Red Sauce (to taste)
Red Pepper Flakes and Black Pepper (to taste)
1 dollop of Fat Free Blue Cheese Dressing on the side (optional)

Boil rice according to directions. Drain and set to the side. Stir fry chicken in olive oil, add onions toward the end of cooking with a BUNCH of hot sauce. Add black beans, rice, red and black pepper. Mix through, dish out, scarf it down and enjoy. Could serve two, but damn it you just busted nut working out, enjoy the whole thing! Plus with that fiber content, it will only be "visiting", ha!

Stats (whole meal): Roughly 975+ calories or so, 62g protein, 98g carbs, 18g fat,
and about 15g of fiber or more.

On a night like tonight, with 1:10 on the trainer, that included a 50 minute TT, the meal is "free" for me. Ca-chow!

KoKo, feed this to Double-K in few weeks and HJK will come flying out!

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In the grand tradition of fast food places giving away toys to lure kids into beginnings of a nutritional nightmare, Burger King is giving away toys called Chub City. What is up with that name? Sounds like urban porn.

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Well, that's it. Bring on Friday. Hope the bod gets back to 100% soon.

Later.