Smithers MINNEAPOLIS

Your Best Race Entry

Super Rookie:

While many of my fans would assume that my best race was when I kicked Smithers ass to win the State Kierin Chumpionships in the Cat 3s it might baffle my loyal following that my actual favorite and most enjoyable race was when I got 50 ^th at the Michigan State Road Race Chumpionships.

 

The Friday before the race I got a call from the Courteous Fellow and he asked me if I wanted to go. So we jumped in the car and drove to the Hand State and pulled into a lame ass State Park to campout. After spending a restless night sleeping on top of a root that dug into my back we arrived in some crappy town that was the staging area for the race.

 

The first lap of the 13mile loop was nice and slow like. I put down the hammer a couple of times and the CF and I were singing some Maiden, Sabbath and Rush. It was awesome. As we approached the start/finish for the second loop the officials decided to start the entire cat 3 field. So it was just a matter of time before we caught those guys. As we were getting close I got up close behind the uscf official on the Motor and drafted his ass around the entire Cat 3 field. It was this experience that got me the victory in Minnesota.

 

The next 4 laps were lame. Going into the finish I was in about 7^th wheel with the CF right in front of me for the leadout. At about 200m to go he and I were at the front of the pack. We didn’t even crack the top 20. It was the best finish that never happened ever…there is nothing like being at the front and falling so far back.<!–D(["mb","

\n

 

\n

Oh well. That was a fun day.

\n

 

\n

I did kick Smithers ass on several occasions and now I am on his blog telling you all about how awesome I am and how lame he is….don\'t let him fool you with his "I beat Super Rookie in the Match Sprints…" I let him win that one so he wouldn\'t have to sleep on the couch.\n

\n\n",0]);D(["ce"]);//–>

 

Oh well. That was a fun day.

 

I did kick Smithers ass on several occasions and now I am on his blog telling you all about how awesome I am and how lame he is….don’t let him fool you with his “I beat Super Rookie in the Match Sprints…” I let him win that one so he wouldn’t have to sleep on the couch.

That’s the final entry. Your voting begins on Monday!

Posted by Smithers at 10:36 pm in Uncategorized | Permalink | 18 Comments »

American Family Association:

Send an email asking your U.S. Representative and Senators to pass a law making the Bible the book used in the swearing-in ceremony of Representatives and Senators.

There is a word for a law like that.

Unconstitutional.

Posted by Smithers at 9:14 pm in Politics | Permalink | No Comments »

Josh Marshal effectively boils down conservative strategy to shift blame for the current situation in Iraq off the President:

Why President Bush isn’t responsible for the catastrophe that has become of the policy he and his authored, planned and executed, more or less singlehandedly, for going on four years.

Bush is pressing to stay the course, or what ever he is calling it now, in Iraq until his term expires. Then, when the new President takes office and makes the necessary changes in Iraq, Bush can point to these changes and say “See? Everything was going great in Iraq until you departed from my strategy.”

Changes have to be made. Apparently Bush is content to let more American soldiers die during his term in order to eventually fail to prove a point. Cynical, tragic and disgusting.

Posted by Smithers at 8:26 pm in Uncategorized | Permalink | 3 Comments »

Dennis Prager:

Keith Ellison, D-Minn., the first Muslim elected to the United States Congress, has announced that he will not take his oath of office on the Bible, but on the bible of Islam, the Koran.

He should not be allowed to do so — not because of any American hostility to the Koran, but because the act undermines American civilization.

Forgive me, but America should not give a hoot what Keith Ellison’s favorite book is. Insofar as a member of Congress taking an oath to serve America and uphold its values is concerned, America is interested in only one book, the Bible. If you are incapable of taking an oath on that book, don’t serve in Congress. In your personal life, we will fight for your right to prefer any other book. We will even fight for your right to publish cartoons mocking our Bible. But, Mr. Ellison, America, not you, decides on what book its public servants take their oath.

Yea, except for the fact that it’s not required for members of Congress to hold any book when they are sworn in. They are sworn in en masse on the floor of the House chamber. The swearing in ceremony that Prager is referring to is the private and non-official swearing in ceremony that some members stage as nothing more than a photo op.

America is interested in only one book? Four U.S. Presidents have taken their oath of office without using the Bible. Some states require than an oath be taken on the Koran if the individual taking the oath is Muslim. The Christian Bible must not be so important.

Local talk show radio host Jason Lewis got into the act last night claiming that Ellison taking his oath on the Koran does nothing but promote multi-cultural divisiveness.

In reality this issue does nothing but show the Anti-Muslim bigotry of people like Prager and Lewis.

Posted by Smithers at 5:39 pm in Uncategorized | Permalink | 60 Comments »

Your Best Race Entry

Posted by Smithers at 4:36 pm in Local Cycling | Permalink | No Comments »

Your Best Race Entry

Gilby:

If there is one thing that I’ve learned about what motivates me, it’s that I have no pure, singular desire to win. In fact, my greatest successes have come when I was resigned to simply finish a race that I had no hopes of winning. Aside from that, the prospect of beer at the finish line helps.

In all honesty, I never would have done the time trial if it hadn’t been part of the five race MWCMR series; a series which, in my first year of racing, was all that I was willing to commit to. Of all the events, the time trial was the one I was least looking forward to. What fun could riding 20K by yourself possibly be?

On that cold and dreary May day, we arrived at the bar where registration was taking place much later than we had planned. After my teammate pinned the “117″ to my skinsuit, I began my frantic search for the start line. My “warm up” was an involuntary elevated heart rate upon hearing “115 to the start line!” I looked around, finally spotted the start line, sped over to it, and had just enough time to get clipped into my pedals before it was time for me to go.

I had a set of clip-on aero bars that I hadn’t actually used before, so I spent the first mile or so trying to weigh the likelihood of falling over while in that position. I also noticed that my computer wasn’t registering. With nothing to focus on other than how much pain I could sustain for 20K, I was primarily thinking about how the race results were to be posted at a bar and about how I could have beer there.

I passed a couple people and didn’t want to look back to see how close my chaser was to catching me, so I didn’t. I couldn’t see anyone in from of me, either. I wondered if I had accidentally taken a wrong turn. But I remembered the beer, and hummed some comforting tunes to pass the time. A bunch of cyclists on hybrid bicycles wearing rain gear passed me going the opposite direction. A few cars honked at me for being on the road. A few drivers pulled past me, then onto the shoulder of the road before jumping out to snap photos. Whenever this happened, I noticed that a lot of snot had accumulated on my face. I wasn’t sure if it was better to a) leave the snot on my face in hopes that it wouldn’t show up on camera or to b) quickly wipe it off with my glove and hope the camera wouldn’t capture that moment. I had chances to try both, so I did, and then I hoped for the best. Eventually, I turned what seemed like enough corners to be relatively close to the finish, then passed a group of official-looking people who called out my number. I thought that was the end. I was casually coasting along when Nate yelled something to the effect of, “Finish strong!” I thought he was joking around. Then I looked up and saw something in the distance that said “FINISH”. I half-heartedly pedaled towards it.<!–D(["mb","

\nOnce all my teammates had finished, we headed back to the bar to change into\nwarm clothes, drink beer, and wait for the results. As my teammates and I were\nstanding in the parking lot, Paula approached with a grim look on her face. She reported that Karla\n\n\nwas still the series leader. Then, with her straight face cracking into a sly smile, she informed us that I\nhad won. By three seconds. I began to laugh. My first first-place finish in a\nrace, and it was in a time trial?! A time trial I didn\'t really want to\ndo in the first place! The 1st place prize was a set of Dura Ace wheels from NOW Sports. This, my friends, is what a reluctant attitude and a thirst for beer can do\nfor you.

I arrived home to find that my picture was on the front page of the Skinny Ski website. There was no visible snot on my face.\n

\n\n\n\n",0]);D(["ce"]);//–>

Once all my teammates had finished, we headed back to the bar to change into warm clothes, drink beer, and wait for the results. As my teammates and I were standing in the parking lot, Paula approached with a grim look on her face. She reported that Karla was still the series leader. Then, with her straight face cracking into a sly smile, she informed us that I had won. By three seconds. I began to laugh. My first first-place finish in a race, and it was in a time trial?! A time trial I didn’t really want to do in the first place! The 1st place prize was a set of Dura Ace wheels from NOW Sports. This, my friends, is what a reluctant attitude and a thirst for beer can do for you.

I arrived home to find that my picture was on the front page of the Skinny Ski website. There was no visible snot on my face.

Final entry to be posted later today. Your voting begins on Monday, stay tuned!

Posted by Smithers at 4:06 pm in Uncategorized | Permalink | No Comments »

Posted by Smithers at 2:26 pm in Politics | Permalink | No Comments »

Dennis Prager:

Keith Ellison, D-Minn., the first Muslim elected to the United States Congress, has announced that he will not take his oath of office on the Bible, but on the bible of Islam, the Koran.

He should not be allowed to do so — not because of any American hostility to the Koran, but because the act undermines American civilization.

Forgive me, but America should not give a hoot what Keith Ellison’s favorite book is. Insofar as a member of Congress taking an oath to serve America and uphold its values is concerned, America is interested in only one book, the Bible. If you are incapable of taking an oath on that book, don’t serve in Congress. In your personal life, we will fight for your right to prefer any other book. We will even fight for your right to publish cartoons mocking our Bible. But, Mr. Ellison, America, not you, decides on what book its public servants take their oath.

Yea, except for the fact that it’s not required for members of Congress to hold any book when they are sworn in. They are sworn in en masse on the floor of the House chamber. The swearing in ceremony that Prager is referring to is the private and non-official swearing in ceremony that some members stage as nothing more than a photo op.

America is interested in only one book? Four U.S. Presidents have taken their oath of office without using the Bible. Some states require than an oath be taken on the Koran if the individual taking the oath is Muslim. The Christian Bible must not be so important.

Local talk show radio host Jason Lewis got into the act last night claiming that Ellison taking his oath on the Koran does nothing but promote multi-cultural divisiveness.

In reality this issue does nothing but show the Anti-Muslim bigotry of people like Prager and Lewis.

Posted by Smithers at 11:39 am in Politics | Permalink | No Comments »

Your Best Race Entry

Gilby:

If there is one thing that I’ve learned about what motivates me, it’s that I have no pure, singular desire to win. In fact, my greatest successes have come when I was resigned to simply finish a race that I had no hopes of winning. Aside from that, the prospect of beer at the finish line helps.

In all honesty, I never would have done the time trial if it hadn’t been part of the five race MWCMR series; a series which, in my first year of racing, was all that I was willing to commit to. Of all the events, the time trial was the one I was least looking forward to. What fun could riding 20K by yourself possibly be?

On that cold and dreary May day, we arrived at the bar where registration was taking place much later than we had planned. After my teammate pinned the “117″ to my skinsuit, I began my frantic search for the start line. My “warm up” was an involuntary elevated heart rate upon hearing “115 to the start line!” I looked around, finally spotted the start line, sped over to it, and had just enough time to get clipped into my pedals before it was time for me to go.

I had a set of clip-on aero bars that I hadn’t actually used before, so I spent the first mile or so trying to weigh the likelihood of falling over while in that position. I also noticed that my computer wasn’t registering. With nothing to focus on other than how much pain I could sustain for 20K, I was primarily thinking about how the race results were to be posted at a bar and about how I could have beer there.

I passed a couple people and didn’t want to look back to see how close my chaser was to catching me, so I didn’t. I couldn’t see anyone in from of me, either. I wondered if I had accidentally taken a wrong turn. But I remembered the beer, and hummed some comforting tunes to pass the time. A bunch of cyclists on hybrid bicycles wearing rain gear passed me going the opposite direction. A few cars honked at me for being on the road. A few drivers pulled past me, then onto the shoulder of the road before jumping out to snap photos. Whenever this happened, I noticed that a lot of snot had accumulated on my face. I wasn’t sure if it was better to a) leave the snot on my face in hopes that it wouldn’t show up on camera or to b) quickly wipe it off with my glove and hope the camera wouldn’t capture that moment. I had chances to try both, so I did, and then I hoped for the best. Eventually, I turned what seemed like enough corners to be relatively close to the finish, then passed a group of official-looking people who called out my number. I thought that was the end. I was casually coasting along when Nate yelled something to the effect of, “Finish strong!” I thought he was joking around. Then I looked up and saw something in the distance that said “FINISH”. I half-heartedly pedaled towards it.

Once all my teammates had finished, we headed back to the bar to change into warm clothes, drink beer, and wait for the results. As my teammates and I were standing in the parking lot, Paula approached with a grim look on her face. She reported that Karla was still the series leader. Then, with her straight face cracking into a sly smile, she informed us that I had won. By three seconds. I began to laugh. My first first-place finish in a race, and it was in a time trial?! A time trial I didn’t really want to do in the first place! The 1st place prize was a set of Dura Ace wheels from NOW Sports. This, my friends, is what a reluctant attitude and a thirst for beer can do for you.

I arrived home to find that my picture was on the front page of the Skinny Ski website. There was no visible snot on my face.

Final entry to be posted later today. Your voting begins on Monday, stay tuned!

Posted by Smithers at 10:06 am in Local Cycling | Permalink | No Comments »

Your Best Race Entry

Mikey:

2006 Madison State Chumpionship.

Night included: German National Team jerseys; Big Ben remembering to sprint on the bell laps; beating Brain Crosby in every sprint he contested; final standing coming down to the very last sprint; the first time the Crosby/Winger duo had been defeated all season; a nice shiny medal and top place on the podium, and the very best moment of all…

Bob called Ben and I his heroes.  

I was considering retiring after that.

Next entry will be posted tomorrow, stay tuned!

Posted by Smithers at 2:35 am in Uncategorized | Permalink | 15 Comments »