Laundry...

As I see it, there are two ways to do laundry, the proper way, and the male college student way.

Proper way: Sort, wash in different machines, dry

Male college student way: Throw everything that doesn't smell too bad in one washing machine, 1 heaping scoop of soap, wash and rinse on cold. pray that it works.

This reminds me so much of the Ragbrai Bike Shop Repair Methodology, A.K.A. spray and pray.

Anyway, I never thought that I would be discussing the finer points of laundry on here, much less expecting people to read about them. However, the Laundry room is a great place to study, nap, do laundry, socialize, simply for the fact that there are always new people going in and out, it is warm and smells good, and it is cleaned constantly by the really nice cleaning people.

Other than that life is uneventful, statistics was interesting this morning, and I am looking forward to getting to go to the rest of my classes.

College Post

Well, let's see.

I promised to keep you guys posted on how I was doing living here in Cowtown.

Classes start tomorro, and unfortunately for me, I am taking essentially all 8AM classes. I start with Kinesiology, then Statistics, then Psychology.

The gym here is amazing, There is a 1/8mi Indoor track, Free Weights, Weight machines, and a bunch of other crap, not to mention the Olympic Pool.

My free time is going to be pretty limited, but I am going to mostly spend it in the gym, and studying.

New post...

I am in the process of moving all of my crap from here, Des Moines, to there, Fort Worth...this thing will be updated regularly, I promise..


For those that care, I got a new bike yesterday, a Cervelo Soloist, built up with Campagnolo Record components, so I am pretty psyched...


Updates later

Motorists

Dear Lord (not meant as an invitation to prayer, but a vent of frustration)

Today on my ride from the mile long bridge back to my house I encountered

(To the tune of 12 Days of Christmas)
12) Tailgaters
11) Soccer Moms on cell phones
10) Horses in a field
9) Pick-up trucks, surprisingly few for the rural-ity of my route
8) Dogs, none man enough to give me a chase
7) Stop signs with bullet holes, you know you are an Iowa farm kid when.....
6) Little hills
5) Hoosier love, and if you are a true Iowan, you will know what this is.
4) Soccer moms on cell phones that honked at me for being on the road (a record i do believe)
3) Idiot pricks on crotch rockets who thought it funny to buzz me
2) Friendly waves from cyclists and motorists.
1) Asshole who thought it was ok to yell at me for running a stop light, when no one was going the other way.

This asshole asked me what would have happened if he had hit me. I replied "we were going the same direction, you would have hit me from the rear, therefore, since you would have been at fault, I would own everything you own, everything you will make for awhile, and you would buy me a new bike, and pay for my medical expenses." He then told me I needed to be on a bike path, to which i replied " Does the interstate take you everywhere you want to go, because if not, you see why I am riding on the street." He went into a plethora of cursing about how cyclists didn't deserve to be on the road and a bunch of other negative things. This is when i remembered the greatest Basso line ever. "It's not my fault you are fat..." and then I was on my way, running the red light in front of him and smiling to myself.

Other than that my ride was uneventful, but fun.

Why?

I sit here, in El Paso, wondering what really made me decide on TCU. Tonight, I had dinner with a good friend's father, who happens to be a UT grad. He was asking me questions like what really made you decide on TCU, other than the education, and he meant that how did I expect to change the world using the process of thinking I have developed over the years, put on top of the education I will get from TCU to change the world. I was dumbfounded, because I had never really thought of it that way. How will I, an inexperienced, in the eyes of the world, pimply youth, make the world a better place. I don't know, and only time will show how I will make the world a better place. But this reflects a philosophy and value I try to find in people, not just friends or acquaintances, but everyone. Not everyone will change the world greatly, but for every massive change, there are many, many small ones, but those make the world a better place.......


So the reasons I realy am going to TCU
1. The education
2. The experience
3. The people
4. The opportunity
5. No snow!!!

Who knew I could read???

I saw this book on the shelf at Barnes and Noble the other day and instantly thought to myself that it would be a good read.......

Floyd Landis, love him or hate him, is an influential character, simply by being a character. The book is well written, and really quite easy to read. The book points out many flaws in the system, while maintaining its relatively neutral feel. Floyd obviously throws a few punches aimed squarely at USADA, the UCI, and Dick Pound. The book's arguments are well thought out and are very well documented. It does not, however, read like a term paper. Even if you hate cycling or hate Floyd Landis, you should read it simply because it is a great insight into a world few of us will ever see, that of professional cycling, and that of the Mennonite faith.

Time for a Change

r the literally two of you that read my old blog, you know how it was time for a change. Here this goes, a way to keep in touch with cycling buddies, as I go off to college, and give my new readers a point of view they probably did not expect.