Stay classy Madison

Earlier in the week, I thought it would be a good idea to do a cyclocross race that was supposed to be part of some 'winter festival' at the capital in Madison. Seemed like a good idea at the time. Besides it being horribly organized and run, the course that was advertised as being "half pavement, and half snow-covered," in fact ended up being completely snow covered. Six inches of extremely loose, soft, wet, man-placed snow. Essentially unrideable. Even after letting all the air out of my tires, no seriously, they were FLAT, I could [uncontrollably] ride as far as about a hundred yards and then crash. Then be completely unable to get going again. A bike race is bad, when the guy says GO, and it looks like the start of a 5k run. Without exaggerating, a forth of the people entered quit immediately, and the rest ran 80% of the race. I told myself, I paid $20 for this stupid shit, I'm not quitting, and it's a bike race so I'm not running the whole stupid thing either. So I was quickly shuffled straight to last place as everyone ran away while I was trying to ride. It didn't work. So I walked. The stupidest, worst race I've ever been a part of. Period. Something that upsets me the most. There was general public spectating. And now these people, as a result of this shit event, will now associate this with cycling, cyclocross in particular. Unfortunate.

Afterwards, we needed some place to eat. I was with Ben and Danny Marchewka, Ben suggested a sandwich place on State street. Looking at the menu on the wall, it reminded me of one the places Adam Richman (on one of my favorite shows, Man V. Food) had gone to. A place for drunk and/or high college kids to go when they have the munchies. To which I think I even said, "This place reminds me of someplace like on Man V. Food," to which the brothers pointed out, "Oh well they do have a sandwich challenge..." Reading the description, though it was $25, it sounded like a pretty tasty sandwich, and if I finished it in 15 minutes or less, it was free, and I'd get a T-shirt! How could I not do it? Upon delivering it to our table, they played a special inspirational mix cd just for the occasion of people eating the sandwich (haha). Finally seeing the 'sandwich,' I saw what I was in for... This was a SIX pound sandwich, that apparently no one in Madison has ever finished... But I went for it, gave her the ol' college try! And believe it or not, I was doing a great pace, finishing half of it in 5 minutes! Yes, 3 pounds, in 5 minutes. As I tackled the second half, I knew it felt like there wasn't a lot of room left, and I started chewing more and more. The clock started working against me at that point also, and that fast start I had, quickly slipped away. I valiantly choked down about another pound, but that was it. I was out of time and out of stomach. However, I was happy to hear how impressed all the employees were with how well I did (haha). They told me I did "really well, and got a lot further, a lot faster than most everyone they've seen try it." So I got that goin' for me, which is nice.

But in the end, it but a good spin on a day that was otherwise a complete failure. And it may have ended up being a $25 sandwich, but I'd call that priceless :)

Overhaulin?

So as someone that truly loves cars, I do watch the show 'Overhaulin' on the Discovery Channel every so often. Unlike say, 'Pimp My Ride,' it doesn't completely disgust me, and generally, I do rather enjoy it. Or should I say I enjoy seeing the elaborate plan, the work being done, and of course, the pristine final product. (Yes I do enjoy the female cohost as well...)

Now I, who do not have a rotting old muscle car sitting in my backyard, can't exactly come out and say, "Now if any of you guys decide to have me on that show, and have my car 'Overhauled,' here's what I want, and what I don't want." But, that's what I'm gonna do anyway.

The thing is, to really like the cars they turn out of this show, you have to be a fan of what they call "resto-mods." That is an older car, that essentially still has the body of the original car, but pretty much everything else is completely modern. In essence, it's a good idea. A car that still has the beautiful looks of a 60's/ early 70's car, but that can stop, turn, is reliable, and has even more power.

Problem is, a lot of the time, they end up either going completely overboard ruining the car, or they'll have a pretty sweet car coming along, only to again ruin it, when they put some terrible 'graphics' on the car, or some God awful looking wheels... And then there is of course my biggest pet peeve of this generation of car 'tuners.' Instead of just drooling at what's under the hood, there they go, popping the trunk and checking out the 'mad-tight system, yo.' I absolutely hate seeing huge stereo systems being put into these cars. Not only is it just a lot of dead weight with all the 'custom enclosures' and crap, thus hindering the performance they just spent so much money to increase, but in a muscle car that is now most likely pushing five hundred horsepower through a custom straight back exhaust, I think I would prefer to hear what's coming out of those pipes. Call me crazy.

So in the end, whatever car I may have when I get on that show... Be it a '69 Plymouth RoadRunner or a '70 Ford Torino, or whatever... Give me the all new race suspension, the big caliper brakes, the big (but tasteful) wheels and tires, and of course that huge lump under the hood. But for the love of God, keep the Fast&Furious graphics and stereo, because they do not belong on my car.

Furthermore: Check this out---> http://www.xvmotorsports.com

Oh hey Y'all

Blogging is something I've considering dabbling in for a while now. After all, probably everybody wants to know what's on my mind. Right? And well, here goes...