my roomates...

*******MY ROOMATES ARE SWEET-TOOTHED NERDBAGS!*******

i like riding in the cold

so, as of right now, i'm loving riding in the cold. ask me in a week....maybe not....but until then!! oh boy! its windy and cold and my toes are numb.
i'm loving life.

rode to volunteer at school today. rode over to von maur to pay a bill and change my address. rode downtown to visit the bank. for a change of pace didn't weigh myself on the bank scale. am already regretting it....it is, afterall, my favourite part of going to the bank. rode home again. and will probably ride downtown for the studying later. but first....cars & cold & very little gasoline is not a good idea...so i'm out to fetch some groceries and gasoline.

i know, i know....i'm still not nearly as tough as those of you who are still out riding big long training rides and things like that. but i'll take what i've got.

i'm hating my blog layout....i gneed a gnew one.

looks like the friday night fixie freeze will be conveining on thursday at 5.30 for a ride before the winter riding seminar at 7 pm. be there or be square.

its crummy out.

since its gotten cold and rather crummy, i haven't been riding for fun as much, actually that makes it sound like i'm riding somewhat...that's a lie. i think i've ridden the road bike once since the end of october, and the mtn bike is still in pieces, likely to remain as such for a long time. still riding the fixie around town more often than not.

thanksgiving break was nice. visiting with the family was good. but as usual the break was too long for me. i've been saying it for a while, but i wish we'd have a fall break sometime earlier in october, while the weather is still nice, rather than a full week for thanksgiving. its too close to the end of the semester and i'm not good at coming back with so little left. oh well. i remember my first year when we only had the last two days off for thanksgiving. no one liked that either.

on the riding front...today i was nearly blown off the bike on the way home. the wind around here is acting up something fierce tonight. plus earlier today, after classes, i had the distinct pleasure of riding to work in the rain. then driving around in circles for the next few hours with a wet bottom. i have GOT to get me some fenders.... it may sound it, but i'm not complaining, the whole time i can't help but smile...wet winter-esque roads = super fun fix riding.

and with that.......hope for snow....

friday night fixie freeze

we had us a good ol' friday night fixie freeze this past thursday. arguably, well actually in truth, we did more eating than riding, but good times none-the-less. afterall, the bank thermostat registered 24, that's degrees F. which means cold, but nice. we hit up a couple of new joints for the fixie ride. 1st george's, and their infamous hamburgers, which in my humble opinion, lived up to the hype, not to mention spotting the most magical pair of signs in iowa city. 2nd pagliai's, for some pizza. sadly paul flatted his "clinch-u-lar" between the two stops. anyway, that was the fixie ride. nice, cold, and around town. i'll be back in fixie action in two weeks time. no ride for me this upcoming as i'll be out for the txgiving with the family.

break has officially started, and i love it.

psuedo-snow!

first and foremost...it is amazing just how wet the front of your pants can get while the back stays bone dry. riding bike in the rain is fun. cold, but fun.

it snowed. albeit the snow melted upon contact, but it was snow none-the-less. keep your fingers crossed that snow season has indeed arrived.

i've simply got to get some fenders for the fixie. this ride annihilated me. my shoes are soaked....i can't feel my toes. my pant legs (front only) are soaked up to the mid-thigh level. my bum....well, hence the fenders comment....

anyway, i'm happy. it may be raining, and kind of crummy...but i'm taking it to be a sign that winter is on its way. i'm just hoping its coming fast.

on one last note, have you ever heard anyone say, "people sure drive crazy during the first snow?" i have. it is a totally, undoubtedly, beyond a doubt FACT. those suckers were out to kill me today. all day. and i was all over iowa city to and from work and class and the like. yep, crazy. i think people were so busy watching out for, and being careful in the snow, that they forgot to look out for me on my little bike. several sketchy incidents. grrrr.... but, thats their problem....as for me....

winter!!! yay!

"yesterday's sock becomes today's kleenex"

--matt while camping in kansas
-------a few weeks ago

....night racing....

and no, i don't mean this weekends super-fun-ness planned in decorah.
----sadly----
1. no bike assembled, or cleaned for that matter, since nats
2. a decided lack of owning lights (although super nice dennis did offer to lend me some)
3. still recovering from this weeks crummy bug
----will all keep me away, but YOU should go.----

on another note, perhaps uiowa had better get on the ball and plan a campus crit, or some kind of night race. it seems the minn boys (noonan and company) are putting us to shame in this department. looks like they're having fun. we've been batting around this idea for a couple of weeks now, have a location, and even course marking ideas...all we need to do now is get on it!

our top-not-so-secret team mission is well under way. at least we've got the ball rolling in that department. figure out that bit of cryptic-ness my friends...

not much to report, looking forward to a weekend of rest.

ill

so come tuesday evening past, i got all sorts of ill. let me tell you, not so fun. it also had a detrimental affect on my stat exam wed morning at 8.30. so, as a result, i'm taking a break from my stat class today...as there is a good chance i will have the distinct pleasure of taking the class again...and opting for some chicken noodle soup. feeling better though.

mtn bike still not put back together, or cleaned or anything like that. bummer.

fixie ride is still on tonight. i said i'd go. we'll see, i'm thinking time on the bike in this cold weather just might not be all that bright of an idea.