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40-50 degrees with 12 mph winds
t6 cap
rapha winter jersey, vents open
under armor
bib knicker
wool socks
specialized shoes (no covers)
half-gloves (coulda went either way, really)

arrived dry and just a little cold, good getup.

hello weather

notes to self.

57-63 degrees and certainly windy this morning.
getup: helmet
twin six cap
rapha france jersey
pearl izumi bib knicker
pearl izumi socks
specialized shoes

when i got out to the garage my first thought was to go back in and get a coat. i actually went in and grabbed one before i changed my mind. it was cold to start but once i got going everything was fine. i think the cap helps a lot. i suppose i could have gone with full fingered gloves, but my hands never bothered me. long sleeves would have been ok but i woulda been more sweaty when i got to work. as it stood i just toweled off my head and was pretty much good to go.

this type of weather doesn't last long.

yesterday/sunday i did this:



it's a route i'm used to with a few quirks thrown in, including a half mile hill with an average of 7.9% climb - if you live anywhere but indiana that wouldn't be a big deal, but it nearly killed me. i worked through all my gears and was a little worried i was going to fall over on the bike, clipped in and lacking momentum.

anyway, didn't happen.

on the back side of the loop i bombed down a hill and hit 43.5 mph, which seemed fast until i remembered that mark cavendish can sprint that fast. maybe next time i'll spin out a gear and see if i can hit 50 or so. though that gets kinda scary...

why mike, what have you been up to?

First off, I've got a bike for sale on ebay. So far, one bid. It's less money than I'd like to make off the bike, but I did set the minimum there. So it goes.

After that bike is sold, I have two options: pay down a credit card that has too much money on it, or buy a mountain bike. I think I'm leaning mountain bike. Even though that may be stupid.

What else.

John is leaving Casa de Atwood on October 5th, on his way to live in New York City.

My Spanish is not good.

What else.

Hoosier Beer Geek, that lovable group you may or may not be familiar with, is moving on to bigger and better things, including having a budget. Which will be nice, since we throw events. You may or may not have known that.

Also about a month ago we got a letter from a large beer company asking that we refrain from using our logo, which looked like theirs. Some would say that when the lawyers from multinational companies start contacting you, you've made the big time. I'd prefer to not see those letters. So... new logo? Ok, done. I can make logos.


That was the third anniversary logo great font debate sheet. Since we are now past the third anniversary, we've touched the logo up. Looks like this:


what you should know about the logo is that the lines through the lower half of the circle are meant to echo the design of a knight's facemask. The anniversary logo featured 3 candles (third anniversary), with the flame on the candle coming directly from the Indiana state flag. Look how clever I am. Sometimes I surprise myself.

Hmm... what else.

I have 6 days of vacation left, and no idea how to spend them. I might spend two of them in a tent in a park for lack of anything better to do.

Work is work. Biking there about 3-4 days a week now, I guess. Eating horrendous amounts of junk, maintaining a weight below 200 lbs.

I've taken up a habit of buying a pound of bacon from a local purveyor recently. I want to hang out with my old friends and their wives in a room with some nice drinks, fancy salamis and cheeses, grilled sausages, tasty breads, and we'll drink ourselves into nice conversations about god knows what. Getting old. Back pain. That damn economy. Health care.

Let's not talk about any of that. Let's talk about cars we're going to buy and drive fast. Let's talk about clubhouses. Let's talk about Colorado.

your car is a dog, mine races one

so gina and i are looking at doing this as vacation next year:


View Larger Map

a two-week blitzkrieg of everything i ever wanted to see (well, almost) ending with a trip to one or two great american beer festival sessions.

this'll surely be stupid expensive, but if i start saving now... and we also know people here and there along the way, so that helps at least a little bit.

she's on board so far, though every time i look at the map i find a new opportunity to go hiking somewhere amazing...

movies

inglourious basterds: b
extract: b
hangover: b+
harry potter and the halfblood prince: a-
ponyo: b
public enemies: b
star trek: b
up: a-
moon: a-

netflix
the dark knight: a-
batman begins: b
tyson: a-
grand torino: c+
watchmen: a
waltz with bashir: b+
the island: c
fitzcarraldo: c
the rock: d
paths of glory: b
the french connection: c
gone baby gone: b-
perfume: the story of a murder: a
tony takitani: a-
taken: c

another another song you should like

just behind THIS LINK

another song you should like

this one feels very small