Kudos to Richard (not Yul) for this link that I pilfered off his Facebook page.

*and due apologies to the Prince of Peace*

good yuks, enjoy ...... http://uglyrenaissancebabies.tumblr.com/

Don’t the “how to ride” manuals (beginner riding schools as well?) teach that you should place your left foot down when stopping at a light? I believe the logic there is that your right foot is then still on the foot peg to cover your rear brake.

This has always been maddening to me. Unless you’re riding in San Francisco with it’s ridiculous hills, IMO you really don’t need to apply both brakes (after coming to a stop) when stopping at a light. I feel I can manage the bike just fine with only my front brake (if even THAT) applied.

I know often when I’m riding in a group setting and several bikes are in front of me while waiting at a light, I’ll feel like the black sheep when I see everyone placing their left foot down and I’m placing my right, ha!

How do others feel about this?
 
World financial markets collapsing?
Starving children in North Korea?
Occupy Wall Street criminals (oops, I mean protesters) rioting?
Housing values plummeting?
NO! Right – left shuffle is on my mind this dreadful Monday morning. 

Greg

wtf ... is that like "in the closet"?   

*Tony has asked that I post this report*

Tony Kellen, myself and 5 other riders traveled to Arkansas for some riding. Weather forecast when we arrived in Harrison still looked pretty grim. Of the 4 days of riding, the forecasts predicted 60-70% chance of rain 3 of the 4 days.
It had rained early morning on Saturday, but had stopped by the time we were saddling up. We rode to a diner in town and had a leisurely breakfast hoping that things would dry out and warm up a bit.
When we were ready to leave breakfast it was in the low 50's, very overcast but not raining.
As the sun hadn't come out yet, the pavement was still damp.  We headed southwest out of Harrison on HWY 43. The pavement was chip-seal / tar with spotty "tar-snakes" and sporadic patches. We were maintaining a controlled, smooth and moderate pace for the conditions. All of us felt our speeds were appropriate for the conditions.  James from KC was leading, Tony was next, then me, then the other riders.
We had traveled about 15 miles. As we were approaching a beautifully banked but sharp right hand turn, I could see ahead of Tony that in the corner there was a tar-patch without any chip-seal added. This patch was ~6' x 12' in size and covered most of our lane of traffic. I could almost read Tony's mind while watching his body language approaching the turn. Although he doesn't remember this, he has asked that I share what I saw. I could tell he was very concerned about the tar. He knew it could be slick even though it wasn't raining. He was as gentle as you could possibly be with his turn in, but physics took over and he low-sided across the pavement and into the ditch on the other side. The added 5-10MPH that I was able to shave off my speed was the only reason why I didn't follow him down.
There were several large boulders in the ditch as Arkansas is prone to flash flooding and erosion given it's poor soil.
It took the first "First Responder" only 5 minutes to arrive though he didn't have any medical gear. He was a calming influence so he was appreciated. It took the ambulance 35-40 minutes to arrive after my 911 call. 
Tony broke his right femur. He was incredibly brave during the whole situation and remained calm throughout. He received 2 shots of morphine (lucky guy, hehe) while being treated in the ditch by the EMT's.
Tony was transported to Harrison Hospital. I followed Tony to the hospital on my bike, 3 of our group went to get the truck & trailer to pick up Tony's bike and 2 riders left and continued riding for the day....

He had surgery the next morning and pin was put into his thigh. He was released Tuesday evening.
Tony is a gem and an ace in our community and I'm proud to have ridden with him. 

Please send him your best wishes.

Greg

Whenever I take a group to Arkansas, we put together a list of "in case of emergency" phone numbers on the off change that a family member or close friend may be needed to be contacted. Thankfully, the phone numbers have never had to be used, but it's nice knowing they were there if needed.
I can't imagine being in a situation where someones life is on the line and I have no one to call to let them know their assistance/support is needed. One thought that occurred to me is to have all group ride attendees give their ICE numbers to the organizer of the ride, even for local rides.

Thoughts?

Pagans,
   Is enough mounting hardware included in the basic GoPro HD package to safely mount this system on your bike?

Greg

Free
Big Ass Plant (indoor).
I've had this plant for 13 years and it's time for it to find a new home. I'd post it on Craigslist, but the recipient would have to come to my house to pick it up, and well .... need I say more?


Free
Impossible to kill
4' tall x 3' wide
You can see that it's prone to turn towards the light, but if you placed it in a room with a lot of sun, it would only take a matter of a few weeks and it would "round" itself out.

PM me for details
Near Lake Nokomis in the urban core.