Moronacity Cycling Journal » Entries tagged with "Cyclists"
The Purposeful Lance Armstrong
Andrea’s blog inspired quite a lengthy comment from me. I even told her that I should be posting it on my blog since I’m experiencing a little writer’s block. I wasn’t really going to do it, but changed my mind shortly after clicking the submit button. Andrea wrote about Lance Armstrong’s comeback and referred to his reception by the media. Check out her post, Don’t Be a Hater, to read more. Lance comes across as an arrogant Texan who leads a life that nurtures this persona. I truly understand how this can turn people off, because I’ve been turned off by several celebrities whose careers and reputations aren’t as prestigious as they could be because they choose to publicly take sides on controversial issues, or their personal lives … Read entire article »
Filed under: Bike Culture
Anticipated Loss
Blogging has its own little community. A person starts a blog and shares it with his or her friends. Then, that person checks out the links on his or her friends’ blogs and finds that he or she is suddenly checking out several blogs. This happened to me. One day, while reading Ali’s blog, I saw a link for The Fat Cyclist. Being a cyclist of the fattish variety, myself, I felt … Read entire article »
Filed under: Lifestyle
Cyclocross Recap: Choco Cross
We travelled to “Tom’s house” for the fourth race in our UP Cyclocross Series. It was a beautiful, sunny day complete with bikes, brew, and burgers and brats on the grill. Yes, cross is done with style in our neck of the woods. I had a great race. I also had a bit of an epiphany. Even though I learned how to properly mount my bike, I quit doing so because I could never … Read entire article »
Filed under: Cyclocross
Ghost Bikes Are Sadly Common
The battle between cyclists and drivers continues, and it even worsens in some areas where driving is the predominant mode of transportation, as in Southeast Michigan. With high fuel prices and a dragging economy, the bicycle has become a popular mode of transportation. Unfortunately, many roads were not built with the cyclist in mind; bike lanes are not very common. Therefore, cyclists must share a lane with automobiles, which is the law … Read entire article »
Filed under: Advocacy
Fat Cyclist Interview
I am a Fat Cyclist fan. I discovered the Fat Cyclist through Ali’s blog. Fatty’s Fat Cyclist Fake News Service recently published a story about Lance Armstrong’s return to pro cycling. What I found particularly noteworthy about this blog post is one of the notes at the bottom citing Fatty’s interview in the September 2008 issue of Cycling Utah. It wasn’t like I read the article and was in shock and awe and thinking, “Man, this guy is incredible!” or, “Man, this guy is a freak!” No, what I found interesting was the fact that I completely understood his [cycling related] answers not because of my superior reading ability, but the fact that I share that lifestyle. I would like to comment that Fatty, also known as Elden … Read entire article »
Filed under: Bike Culture
Social Network? No. Social Hurricane.
One of the interesting things about the Internet is the vast network of people out there. I’ve met a lot of those people through the MMBA. Unfortunately, I’ve met most of those people during races and related social events when crowd hopping is a necessity. For example, I was deliriously happy at the pre-race party for the Copper Harbor Fat Tire Festival. Ask anyone who met me. I had a big smile on my face and I was euphoric. I was just so freakin’ happy that I don’t know how to describe it. I knew almost everyone in the room and was highly entertained by those I didn’t really know (thanks Wisconsinites!). One group of people was the Lakeland Area Mountain Biking … Read entire article »
Filed under: Bike Culture
Inner Turmoil
I wanted to return to Copper Harbor, today, for several reasons: * Many of my friends were there; * It is the place to ride; * A music festival raising money for the new stage was the event of the weekend; * It is the last weekend our AmeriCorps group was staying, and I wanted to say goodbye. I headed toward Marquette for the Ore to Shore, anyway. It took a lot of strength, but I had to. I kept telling myself that it was a great opportunity to see my friends, Sandee, Ali, and Glen, again. However, it didn’t really help when I ran into a fellow cyclist, Blu, at the gas station in Baraga. Blu, from Marquette, wasn’t doing the Ore to Shore. No, he was heading up … Read entire article »
Filed under: Bike Culture
Cycling Progressive Dinner
A League of American Bicyclists publication gave the splendid idea of doing a progressive dinner by bike. If my cycling friends didn’t enjoy beer with food so much, this might be a great idea for us. With a little help from your friends, a progressive dinner might be just the thing to add a little spice to your cycling life. Wow. That looks really good. I’m suddenly feeling hungry. What is a progressive … Read entire article »
Filed under: Bike Culture
Cycling Advocacy: Exercise the Power of the Word
What is National Bike Month without a little advocacy? Today is a great day to pick a cycling topic that needs the attention of your local government, or even the state or federal government, and write your representative(s). I first heard about a clearance law when I was reading a blog by an American girl who was living in France. I thought it was a spectacular idea and wondered why a law like that didn’t exist here. After more searching, I found that many states have already incorporated the 3-foot pass law: a passing vehicle must allow three feet of clearance between the vehicle and the bicycle. My state currently does not have the 3-foot pass law, and I have started an email/letter writing campaign this … Read entire article »
Filed under: Advocacy
From Prozac to Road: Cycling for Happiness
It is amazing how a vigorous ride to school sucked all the stress out of my body. I would sit in my 9 a.m. class with a runner’s high and not a care in the world. I also felt an incredible sense of accomplishment and self-confidence. This is a far cry from what I used to experience in my daily life. Ten years ago, I was an overly-stressed, directionless student searching for accomplishment. … Read entire article »
Filed under: Cycling
