I was talking with my brother about his new hill-climb workout, and the nastiness of his chosen recovery drink. I mentioned to him that chocolate milk had some fame as an excellent recovery drink, and he was quite excited at the prospect of a non-bile-tasting post-workout drink. Being the good brother that I am, I did a little
internet research to find out if there'd been any new developments, as the initial "pro milk" reports
appeared around 2006. Didn't find any, but I still like
chocolate milk after a good bike ride. I'm not Lance Armstrong, my career doesn't depend on optimal recovery...but a some carbs, a little protein, and a whole lot of cold deliciousness really hits the spot after a long, hot ride.
In the course of my research, I came across an amazingly foolish comment from a doctor on some random website about the "evils" of dairy products. He was touting a dairy-free diet, claiming anecdotal evidence, and stating that "humans are the only species who seek out and consume the milk of other species".
Now on the face of it, this may seem like a reasonable thing to say. Sure, it's a little icky, drinking milk that came from a giant cud-chewing, methane-spewing poop machine. But thinking a little more about this statement, the absurdness of it becomes apparent. We also happen to be the only species with fire, who cooks their food. Does this doctor want us all to go to an all-raw, all-the-time diet? Not that I'm aware of. We're the only species that puts on clothes to stay warm and avoid freezing to death. Does the good doctor want us all to be nudists, even in Antarctica? Probably not. How about surgery to extend the length and quality of our lives, taking vitamins, exercise that's not involved in running down food, written language, giant frontal cortexes...does the doc want us to revert to a pre-fire caveman existence and perform frontal labotamies with rocks? I think you see my point. Just because something is different from everything or everyone else, is not necessary and sufficient reason to stop doing it.
Which leads me to another point. Logic, and the lack therof. Back when I was in school, they taught us "critical thinking". It was the educational rage at the time. Rather than rote memorization of vast numbers of facts - though there was some of that too - some lessons focused on thinking about things, and finding answers for ourselves. I thought that was quite a fine thing to teach. Do they still do that? I don't know. Did the vast majority of my fellow citizens sleep through those exercises? It would appear so. Most advertisements, get-rich-quick schemes, idiots telling us not to drink milk...many of these become ridiculous if you stop to think about them for a second. Sadly, it appears a sizable portion of our population falls for these schemes. At least enough of a portion to make it worthwhile. Perhaps their schools did not teach the progressive "critical thinking" skills, or they slept through them, or were too busy chasing cheerleaders.
On a completely different note, driving. Those of you who know me hopefully view me as a pretty mellow guy except when I see injustice, and bad - that is, blatantly unsafe - driving. Someone driving fast, with skill, in a safe area is fine. No problem. Someone driving fast, passing around a blind corner over the crest of a hill in a school zone during a snowstorm; that enrages me. I saw two accidents on the short 10 miles between work and home (I took a detour to warm up the car a bit). Both were incidents involving a car on a main road, and another car slamming into them while entering the road via a right-hand turn. Good visibility, dry roads...no explanation for the crash except for "I didn't see them." Or more likely, "I didn't bother to look." More and more people don't seem to actually stop before making a right turn. They zoom up, assuming they will be able to continue and not wanting to slow down. At the last moment, if they see a car (a.k.a. obstacle) out of the corner of their eye, they slam on the brakes with their car's snout hanging tantalizingly into the lane. Is it REALLY so FREAKING HARD to lose maybe 10 seconds to slow down and actually look at the lane you want to merge into? Are these people in that much of a hell-for-leather rush? Will people DIE if you are a few minutes later getting to your destination? If not, stop driving like an idiot. Because people WILL DIE when you slam your car into them. Or, more convincingly, YOU WILL DIE when someone does the same thing to you (or your wife, daughter, son, mother, father, dog, or canary). Get a clue. It's not a racetrack.
Can you believe it? The rich folk screw up our economy by giving out ludicrously-high-risk loans (I'm simplifying, but you get the picture) and we, the common worker bee, get the shaft! Not only are our taxes paying for their greed, but now we get the double-shaft from the credit card companies. Two of my three credit card companies have jacked up the rates to ridiculous levels. 19.99% for one, 20.24% for the other! I've had these cards for decades, mostly because it supposedly looks good for credit scores. Screw that. I'm chopping them up and canceling the accounts. Fortunately I'm able to do so, what about the people who carry large amounts on their credit cards, and have no choice but to lube up their butt and go further into the hole with these interest rates? A bank could make some good money loaning money to people for the sole purpose of paying off credit cards. Friendly neighborhood bank could say "sure, we'll loan you $10,000 at 10%" and happy consumer could turn around and stick it right back to the credit card company! Happy consumer gets a halfway decent rate, credit card company gets counter-shafted. Everyone wins. Everyone, that is, who is not consumed with greed.
I was talking with my brother about his new hill-climb workout, and the nastiness of his chosen recovery drink. I mentioned to him that chocolate milk had some fame as an excellent recovery drink, and he was quite excited at the prospect of a non-bile-tasting post-workout drink. Being the good brother that I am, I did a little internet research to find out if there'd been any new developments, as the initial "pro milk" reports appeared around 2006. Didn't find any, but I still like chocolate milk after a good bike ride. I'm not Lance Armstrong, my career doesn't depend on optimal recovery...but a some carbs, a little protein, and a whole lot of cold deliciousness really hits the spot after a long, hot ride.
Now on the face of it, this may seem like a reasonable thing to say. Sure, it's a little icky, drinking milk that came from a giant cud-chewing, methane-spewing poop machine. But thinking a little more about this statement, the absurdness of it becomes apparent. We also happen to be the only species with fire, who cooks their food. Does this doctor want us all to go to an all-raw, all-the-time diet? Not that I'm aware of. We're the only species that puts on clothes to stay warm and avoid freezing to death. Does the good doctor want us all to be nudists, even in Antarctica? Probably not. How about surgery to extend the length and quality of our lives, taking vitamins, exercise that's not involved in running down food, written language, giant frontal cortexes...does the doc want us to revert to a pre-fire caveman existence and perform frontal labotamies with rocks? I think you see my point. Just because something is different from everything or everyone else, is not necessary and sufficient reason to stop doing it.
Which leads me to another point. Logic, and the lack therof. Back when I was in school, they taught us "critical thinking". It was the educational rage at the time. Rather than rote memorization of vast numbers of facts - though there was some of that too - some lessons focused on thinking about things, and finding answers for ourselves. I thought that was quite a fine thing to teach. Do they still do that? I don't know. Did the vast majority of my fellow citizens sleep through those exercises? It would appear so. Most advertisements, get-rich-quick schemes, idiots telling us not to drink milk...many of these become ridiculous if you stop to think about them for a second. Sadly, it appears a sizable portion of our population falls for these schemes. At least enough of a portion to make it worthwhile. Perhaps their schools did not teach the progressive "critical thinking" skills, or they slept through them, or were too busy chasing cheerleaders.
Also, the team time trail is back! This action-packed display of just how fast a team of professional cyclists working together can go is not to be missed.
Overall, it will be a tension-filled, nail-biting season. With Astana boasting FOUR top contenders for the Tour (Contador, Levi the Wheelsucker, Kloden, and Armstrong), the contention for team leader will be ferocious. Not to mention Garmin-Chipotle making the rounds abroad, Hincapie not riding in support of Lance since he's on Team Columbia...should be fun.
Uh...ok...I'm not bitter. Hopefully the governing bodies in question (you know who you are, and you also know who you are) will be better behaved this year. It will certainly be a first. I especially enjoy this quote, from Dick Pound, speaking of Floyd Landis' failed test in the 2006 Tour de France: "Pound declared 'I mean, it was 11 to 1!' referring to the testosterone-to-epitestosterone level. 'You’d think he’d be violating every virgin within 100 miles. How does he even get on his bicycle?'[13]" Now there, ladies and gentlemen, is a man of refinement, sophistication, and sensitivity.
I would not be surprised if metal detectors appear and random searches begin. And for God's sake secure the perimeter of the site! I frequently go cross-country to shorten my walk to work. No camera coverage, no fences...anyone could stroll onto the site from the street. Not that I work in a high-crime area, but I can do without a terrorist army strolling in, taking over the campus, and turning it into their own private terrorist fortress.
Well, I thought I'd take tomorrow and Friday off, to make up for having to work on my arch-nemesis the ever-broken robot. Turns out, the arch-nemesis robot is going to have the last laugh. Guess what? Yep, broken! So I will be returning to work when I should be enjoying some nice time off. It would be a shame if somehow the robot found itself in...oh I don't know...a lake of fire where it belongs!!!
So today I was back to work, and walked in. Shins are sore. Do my shins really lose mass that quickly?!?! Shocking. By the way, that is not my leg. My leg is much longer and better-looking. That leg is short and stumpy. Plus my leg has cool scars. Chicks dig scars, right?
Ideally, I would get the RS geometry with the R3's straight seat stays. But who am I to be picky? It would of course be built with my patented SRAM Red/Rival component blend. That is, Red shifters and Rival everything else. Although the new Rival shifters are said to have zero-loss travel and trim, just like Red, so maybe all Rival, all the time. Probably some nice Easton wheels. Though I do like the reflective stickers on ROL wheels...
And here's a shot of the two "brothers". The original bike on your left, the modern reincarnation "Velotron" on your right. My original bike has sadly been stripped of it's tires and pedals by mysterious cannibals. Velotron currently has massive 48cm wide handlebars on it. Thought I'd give 'em a try. They are monstrously wide...time will tell if I like them or switch to a more normal width handlebar. I do seem to breathe deeper, though I'm sure the aerodynamics are suffering. Decisions...
And no, that's not an optical illusion. My nose really is that big*! I will never by stranded at sea, because my nose doubles as a very efficient sail. Oddly enough, even with such a huge honker, I can't hardly smell anything. Irony: I has it!
Velotron has a NOS Turbo saddle. Unfortunately, the one with world champion (?) stripes cost roughly twice as much, so Velotron is lacking the full color effect. Still comfy, though.
