tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-198452492024-03-07T12:20:52.020-08:00Too TallBarry Wickshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05703303571760260232noreply@blogger.comBlogger199125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19845249.post-86742520164553598952015-03-11T11:46:00.004-07:002015-03-11T11:46:42.710-07:00Dirt Rag Article<a href="http://dirtragmag.com/barry-wicks-searching-through-stage-racing/">http://dirtragmag.com/barry-wicks-searching-through-stage-racing/</a>Barry Wickshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05703303571760260232noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19845249.post-92194634906087295622013-04-09T18:42:00.004-07:002013-04-09T18:42:33.369-07:00On Second Thought..Hey USAC, go fuck yourselves<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/usa-cycling-suggests-dissatisfied-riders-contact-uci-about-rules">http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/usa-cycling-suggests-dissatisfied-riders-contact-uci-about-rules</a>Barry Wickshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05703303571760260232noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19845249.post-14741452492459233472013-04-08T11:57:00.002-07:002013-04-08T12:11:54.959-07:00Why we need USAC<br />
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You might find the following surprising. I doubt it.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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We need USAC. They are the National Governing Body in the
US, and as such, hold the cards in terms of our International Cycling future.
They are responsible for National Team projects, World Championships, National
Championships, Olympics, etc for the United States. No one else can do what
they do. Not to mention that they saved the Cyclocross World Champs this year
when nothing else could. USAC does good work.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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They also fuck up. But really, everyone does. One of the
major issues in the past decade is the slow loss of their understanding of what
their true currency is. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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USAC seems to have had a culture shift recently, in that the
underlying driving force in its practices and policy’s has been to only look at
the bottom line, in the sense of $. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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This is the mistake, albeit an easy one to make, especially
when you look the situation from a traditional business perspective. But USAC should really be in the business of serving its membership.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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I would like to argue that USAC needs to refocus on its <i>true </i>currency, which is a total
membership numbers and total race days. This is their real job.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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It seems apparent that USAC wants to get more races under
its umbrella. Recent rule enforcement announcements indicate this. They seem to
have focused on their ability to make $, rather than their ability to server
their membership and this has caused the route taken to be the incorrect one.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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If we can refocus the goal of USAC away from $, and onto
increased membership numbers and race days, an easy solution emerges.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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Race promoters want to put on events. They also need to have
insurance to do so in a responsible manner. USAC provides insurance. But, so do
other people.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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If USAC wants to be the product of choice for a race
promoter, they need to make a product that race promoters want.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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I do not know what that product looks like, as I am not a race
promoter. However, it seems fairly obvious to me that USAC is not currently
providing that product; hence race promoters are going elsewhere to get it.<o:p></o:p></div>
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All USAC has to do, is provide that product. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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We need to tell USAC what the product is, and USAC needs to
listen.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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If USAC becomes the simple, inexpensive, go to choice for a
race promoter when they go out and shop for this product, then all the
consequential problems that arise from USAC not being utilized go away.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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So, if you are a race promoter, tell USAC what you look for
in a competitive product. They already know they messed up, so maybe skip that
step. No one likes to be reminded of why they are jerks. Just tell them what they can do to bring you
back. If they actually listen, we may
all be able to go back to riding in circles and having a rad time with our
friends, and leave all this bullshit behind. That’s what we really all want to do anyways.<o:p></o:p></div>
Barry Wickshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05703303571760260232noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19845249.post-40248186493082841942010-05-11T08:34:00.001-07:002010-05-11T08:34:23.511-07:00Xterra<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; "><div style="margin-top: 6px; margin-right: 6px; margin-bottom: 6px; margin-left: 6px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 10pt; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); color: rgb(0, 0, 0); min-height: 1100px; counter-reset: __goog_page__ 0; line-height: normal; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#444444;">Today marked my first foray into the world of off road triathlon at the Xterra Del Valle outside Livermore California. The idea of doing an Xterra began forming in my head during the cold winter months in Chicago as I ran and swam my way into some form of fitness while the blizzards raged outside. I have limited experiance in triathlons, competing in a few road sprint triathlons in high school, and also a decsent swimming background as I was the district champion in the 200 meter freestyle race my senior year. Even with this I had no idea of what to really expect going into this event. Dusty had dialed in my Hei Hei 29 during Seaotter so I pulled it out of the quiver and headed for California. Doing a race solo without support reminded me of the early days of my mtb career but nostalgia aside I definatly appreciate having someone around at events to help out.<br /><br />I arrived mid day on Friday and set about assembling my bike and getting things ready for a preride. I did a nice loop on the multilap mtb course and after a quick snack headed out on the bike to check out the run course. It was totally fucked up! I had been doing some cross training leading up to the event and was confidant in my swim, but not so much for the run. After seeing what was in store for me during this final leg of the race I really began to worry. I'm not sure if you know this or not, but Illinois is totally flat. Flat like the only hill is in a parking garage or highway overpass. This run was not flat. I was worried after the first km, but then things got really nasty. We made a right hand turn off a trail next to a river a basically ran straight up the side if a mountain. Not sweet. I decided that instead of doing a short run to get my legs moving I needed to go straight to the hotel and go to bed.<br /><br />I awoke early the next morning to the fog lifting off the surrounding hillsides, revealing massive wind farm projects on the hill sides all around me. I arrived early to the race, got all my gear positioned in the transition zone, took 3 shits, about 15 piss stops and then struggled into my wet-suit.<br /><br />Xterras are mast start, and I suggest looking one up on youtube so you can witness for yourself the mad chaos involved with 150 crazed triathlete all gunning for the same bouy floating 250 yards away. Luckily I had checked those videos out beforehand, so I lined up at the front and prepared to pinned it. I kept with the front runners for the first third of the race, but then backed it off a tiny bit so my head wouldn't explode. I came out if the water in 7th position, with the first few guys exiting the transition area as I entered it. I strapped on my helmet, shoes and gloves and was off like a prom dress.<br /><br />My race plan was to get as much of a lead as possible on the bike, so that when the run came I could struggle through and have a nice cushion for a massive failure. I quickly brought back the guys who had been better fish than me and proceeded to put my head down and go for it. At the end of lap one I was 8 min clear of second place. I kept it rolling, but at a critical junture a combination of bad planning on my part and bad marshalling and the marshals part send me out on a 7 mile detour that I didn't have to do. I did not realize that I had made an error until I was in the transition zone and saw a couple of other guys in there as well. Shit! I soldered on though, having no idea where I was in placings but determined to at least put in a solid run effort. My legs felt surprisingly good, and I quickly pulled away from the guys I had started the run with. I even managed to get up the retardedly steep hill without passing out, but made the error of trying to free-wheel the ensuing massive descent in order to make up some time, but my right hamstring was having none of it and cramped badly about half way down. I pulled over to stretch it and two or three guys got past me while took a piss and tried to get rolling again. Luckily I did and was able to regain one of those lost spots and had the others in sight by the finish.<br /><br />I ended up placing 6th overall just over 4 minutes off the winning time. After riding 7 miles further than the winner and still be so lose I am fairly certain had I not gone wrong on the race course my margin if victory would have been substantial.<br /><br />So, a successful and fun go at Xterra racing,and definatly some thing to think about for the future. The Xterra World Championships are in October in Hawaii, and the winner gets $25,000... I might have to think about that pretty hard!<br /><br />Until next time, thanks to everyone who supports me in these endevors and next up, a MTB race at Lance's ranch. Hope he shows up so we can show how real mountain bikes do it!</span></span><br /><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#444444;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#444444;">Nasty</span></span></div></div></span>Barry Wickshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05703303571760260232noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19845249.post-39199366573945589132010-04-27T10:48:00.001-07:002010-04-27T10:48:56.204-07:00Shes a long one...<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 13px; ">Three weeks on the road may not sound like a lot, but for those left at home it came become an eternity. My latest journey started out with an early morning flight out to Santa Barbara, California. This was a special trip because Sarah and Eva got to travel with me. Eva does a pretty good job of hanging out under the seat in front of me a sleeping the whole trip, which is more than can be said for a lot of the babies that I usually share flights with.<br /><br /><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; ">In Santa Barbara we spent time on the beach, ate awesome food, visited friends, and I rode my bike up and down some gigantic hills in the sunshine. That was pretty nice. Sarah and Eva had to head back to Chicago early Monday, so I met up with Ryan for a few more days of training and then we loaded up the truck and headed for Sea Otter.</div><br /><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; ">Sea Otter used to be one of the first big races of the year, and I have always had a bit of a love hate relationship with the race. Early on in my racing career making the journey down to Monterey from Oregon was the first sunshine we had seen in months, and it was a pleasure just be to be there, riding in the sun and enjoying the circus like atmosphere. After a few years of missing the race while pursuing the World Cup circuit, I was excited to return this year and ride the epic XC race I remembered and feared from the past.</div><br /><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; ">Unfortunatly the UCI had other plans. Now, I can understand wanting to create a spectator friendly format for big MTB races, but there in lies the problem. It is supposed to be a <i>Mountain Bike</i> race first and formost, but this was lost somewhere in the translation this year at Sea Otter. Our XC circuit resembled more of a road circuit race than a MTB course, with over 3 km of pavement in a 7 km circuit, some of it even downhill. That is just totally unfortunate. When the rigid structure of UCI sanctioning completely obliterates the entire purpose of the event, what is left? Well, we found out at this race. We rode around in packs on the pavement and there was a sprint finish. Granted, we were on MTB bikes and racing, so technically this was a MTB race, but I think you would be hard pressed to find anyone in the race that thought what we did was a good idea, especially the amature-elite level racers who spent a bunch of their own money to travel all the way down to Sea Otter and were presented with the above format. In Europe the sport may be spectator driven, but in my experiance, the US MTB race circuit is completely racer driven, and if we continue to race events that are no fun, expensive and uninspiring, the racers are not going to show up.</div><br /><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; ">I'm not saying that UCI santioned events and spectators do not play a massive role in the growth of MTB events, but I would propose that everyone involved would be better off if, instead of imposing arbitrary guidleines as to what form a race course may take, we leave it up to the promoter of each individual event to determine what will bring the best mix of spectator acess, racer success and actual MTB racing to the event. The Promoter knows the area, knows the tralis and it is in their and everyones best interest to put on an event that both racers and spectators will enjoy. Limiting things by setting out finitly defined race course specifications, in my opinion, ruins it for everyone.</div><br />Anyways, enough of that rant. On to things that are more fun!<br /><br /><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; ">After Sea Otter I headed up to Oregon to do some community projects in Portland that Erik Tonkin was involved in. We visited a middle school during career day and talked to the kids about what being professional athletes was like and the paths we took to get to where we were today. We also went to the launch party of the North West Trail Alliance, a group dedicated to creating easily accessible, legal, fun trails in and around the Portland metro area and finally headed out in to The Dalles to do some road bike racing.</div><br /><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; ">The Cherry Blossom Cycling Classic is in its second year and is quickly becoming the early season stage race Northwest rides target. Good weather, great organization and killer race courses make this event a real treat. It all started friday with a rolling 75 mile circuit race to get the legs warmed up. Saturday brought on the decisive stage of the weekend, with a super tough hilly and windy circuit that included a 3km dirt climb each lap. There was no hiding on this course, and each lap the pack was cut in half on the big climb until a select group of ten entered the final lap and battled it out for victory. I was one of the lucky few to make this last group, but my battle for victory was not as good as the others. The final day of this event consisted of an 8km TT and a Criterium in down town The Dalles.</div><br /><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; ">Luckily for a guy like me, there was a concurrent Oregon MTB race happening on Sunday, and rather than try and ride fast in a stright line, followed by trying to ride fast in a square, I bolted for the flanks of Mt Hood and jumped into the frey at the Bear Spring Trap MTB event. This race is notoriously tough and totally awesome. I did the first iteration of it back when I was 17, and on that day, after coming through the start/finish at the end of lap one 2 hrs into the race, we knew we were in for a long day. I was only a few seconds out of the lead at that point, so I charged right through onto lap two in hot pursuit. I eventually bonked super hard, but as everyone else was in the same boat as me, and I somehow managed to crawl in for second overall after four and a half hours on the bike.</div><br /><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; ">With this experience in mind, and two days of hard road racing in my legs, I made sure to pack extra food and water as I dialed my Hei Hei 29 in before the race. The gun went off and the next two hours were spent ripping rediculously awesome motorcycle and MTB trails with all my Oregon pals and having the time of my life. What a difference from Sea otter a week ago! In the end I was able to pull victory from the claws of defeat with a perfectly timed attack in the closing minutes of the race to beat out local super hero Sean Babcock of the famed Team S+M Young Guns crew after chasing him around all day.</div><br /><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; ">After that super solid block of training, I am back in Chicago, getting my inner geek on as I prepare to race the Xterra Del Valle in Livermore in a few weeks. I figured I should try and put all the swimming and running I have been doing all winter to use at some sort of event, so, Xterra, here I come! Wish me luck, and I promise not to turn into a triathlete... Unless of course I win!</div><br /><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; ">Nasty</div></span>Barry Wickshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05703303571760260232noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19845249.post-63627513007566007282010-04-14T08:51:00.001-07:002010-04-14T08:59:23.463-07:00Santa Barbara California<div>We have been hanging out in Santa Barbara with our friends Rich and Claudia this week, getting in some beach time, acquiring nice sun burns and letting Eva and Axel, Rich and Claudias kid, entertain each other. It is pretty much a match made in heaven. Eva think so anyways... </div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijI_OgclNQ2neX-Ro8RrHSYg1KLVyi5fZdkBKgQomxz_048z1qtESU7PV7Dpeih9Avf9xxGFja45UWeJ4yDrZWdvrEDPGTzUmBs31zGXXyg2L0I3N-EkSmntvbcXhY2F-i_d8y/s1600/eva+thug.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 150px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijI_OgclNQ2neX-Ro8RrHSYg1KLVyi5fZdkBKgQomxz_048z1qtESU7PV7Dpeih9Avf9xxGFja45UWeJ4yDrZWdvrEDPGTzUmBs31zGXXyg2L0I3N-EkSmntvbcXhY2F-i_d8y/s200/eva+thug.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5460021539616074562" /></a>The weather was pretty good for the first few days, then it started raining quite a bit, predictably, on the days when I was scheduled to do big bike rides. I did get to ride up some gigantic hills, which was nice, but it was so socked in above 4000 ft and windy that I could hardly tell I was up in the mountains. It was still awesome though, and now that I am throwing a wicked taper in it has become nice and sunny.<div><br /></div><div>Ryan is down here as well, so we have been riding together and letting our dogs wrestle all day and tire each other out.</div><div><br /></div><div>Headed up to Sea Otter Thursday, I hope it stays nice!</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>Nasty</div><div><br /></div>Barry Wickshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05703303571760260232noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19845249.post-23012296414674957682010-04-07T08:01:00.000-07:002010-04-07T08:15:10.254-07:00Life in Chicago<div>We have been having a bit of this going on around here recently. Sarah caught some hail the other night that was about 30mm across. Thats Big!</div><div><br /></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhanqLKYm93MTAdyT3e_eB6NvXr_eOBFNnLKuhJLAp3KrUXFysZwX09NLsoevyO1j6_GxtGF4deqcVE8eM7M4DKOD7LGmlq8H_d4b3YKdQrIHDZY2JIJwhC_rCbFZim0dpepq-v/s1600/2125520964_ae21372e53.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 132px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhanqLKYm93MTAdyT3e_eB6NvXr_eOBFNnLKuhJLAp3KrUXFysZwX09NLsoevyO1j6_GxtGF4deqcVE8eM7M4DKOD7LGmlq8H_d4b3YKdQrIHDZY2JIJwhC_rCbFZim0dpepq-v/s200/2125520964_ae21372e53.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5457412584236183794" /></a>Here is a link to a <a href="http://vicerecords.com/download/pineapplesprings.mp3">mix tape</a> of have been enjoying recently via <a href="http://www.viceland.com/">VICE Magazine</a>.<div><br /></div><div>All sorts of entertaining inglorious content over there to waste time with.</div><div><br /></div><div>Headed to Santa Barbara next week to Hang with some friends and do some riding in the mountains before Sea Otter, then headed up to Oregon to see my family, ride with the old school crew, and do a little local MTB racing on the side.</div><div><br /></div><div>I hope it doesn't hail today while I am about riding.</div><div><br /></div><div>Nasty</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div>Barry Wickshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05703303571760260232noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19845249.post-10075469194658453812010-03-31T08:30:00.000-07:002010-03-31T08:32:43.602-07:00Here is a video of my dog playing in the sand box<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dzTIv7QfmlOCay_uXYGizMrnrEUo81nX2eRpAraG7y_Wq2njPPhTtr8EqcUdOVicY76Iz3DyxIwPCo' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe><div><br /></div><div>Thats what I'm talking about</div>Barry Wickshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05703303571760260232noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19845249.post-4208390600332709142010-03-31T08:07:00.000-07:002010-03-31T08:13:59.223-07:00RacingHad a pretty good time down in Fontana. I have a hard time believing we have raced there 5 times now, but I guess we have. I guess its true when what they say about time flying when you are having fun.<div><br /></div><div>Another impressive stat down in Fontana was the number of Canadians in attendance. there were like three rows of them lined up at the front of the race, then the rest of us. I guess it pays to have all your races be UCI ranked, because those guys sure had a lot of points. </div><div><br /></div><div>I am back in Illinois for the next few weeks preparing for Sea otter, then am planning on heading up to Oregon to do a little local MTB action and some other exciting stuff.</div><div><br /></div><div>for all your cycle race coverage needs, check out <a href="http://www.cyclingdirt.org/">cyclingdirt</a>. Colt does a good job,a nd even lets us play with the cameras some times if we are lucky.</div><div><br /></div><div>Thats all i got right now. Time to go ride in the sunshine. I hope it doesn't snow tomorrow.</div><div><br /></div><div>Nasty</div>Barry Wickshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05703303571760260232noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19845249.post-46822700288906803662010-03-24T12:10:00.000-07:002010-03-24T21:09:02.827-07:00Hmmmm....<div>Getting ready to head back to California for the next MTB race of the season. It seems like the races are always a long way off, then suddenly there are upon me and passed before I realize it. Thats actually pretty nice.<div><br /></div><div>The puppy got a hair cut yesterday. Now she looks like <a href="http://gamesnet.vo.llnwd.net/o1/gamestar/objects/227409_main.jpg">Falcor</a> from "The Never Ending Story"</div><div><br /></div><div>Ok, maybe not exactly, but pretty close.</div></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgl6jRzRfxGufT9uG1g_ZaPmz95u4Eq4LEBx26vfC7TwabVUJS226FY54yBLwMc5o32XaEBpSCKOxiM7Dg5qA0c3bmwt0WMQVlEkYNzh_PR4LWglqCVwuvZ_W-6KgI62MdWc_13/s1600/1111.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 150px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgl6jRzRfxGufT9uG1g_ZaPmz95u4Eq4LEBx26vfC7TwabVUJS226FY54yBLwMc5o32XaEBpSCKOxiM7Dg5qA0c3bmwt0WMQVlEkYNzh_PR4LWglqCVwuvZ_W-6KgI62MdWc_13/s200/1111.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5452281384559806514" /></a>I can harldy wait to escape the on again, off again snow storms of Illinois and go play in the Inland Empire with Mr. Labarr, Sneddon and Trebon.<div><br /></div><div>Nap time!</div><div><br /></div><div>Nasty<br /><div><br /></div><div><br /><br /></div></div>Barry Wickshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05703303571760260232noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19845249.post-38288069249460038592010-03-19T13:18:00.000-07:002010-03-19T13:26:24.968-07:00I had a dreamRyan was like, hey dude, you want some ice cream? and I was like, heck yes! and he was all, what kind do you want, and I was like vanilla or chocolate, and he was like, yeah chocolate! and then he looked in the freezer and was like, uhh, dude we don't have any ice cream, and I was all, Crap! but then he was like, I think maybe there are some cookies in the pantry, and I was like, thats sounds OK, what kind is in there?, and he was like, well I think there are some of those sandwichy peanut butter type ones and maybe some thin mint girl scout ones, and I was like, yes! i love those ones (but really I like the samoa ones better because of the coconut) and then he was like, oh yeah, I just remembered I ate all the cookies yesterday after I got back from riding and I was like, Crap! again but really I just wanted some ice cream anyways.Barry Wickshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05703303571760260232noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19845249.post-84644800091337995092010-03-13T10:48:00.000-08:002010-03-13T10:49:52.565-08:00I'm on TwitterCheck me out on <a href="http://twitter.com/wicknastyb">Twitter</a> now for whats up on the race circuit.Barry Wickshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05703303571760260232noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19845249.post-6614175244869053392010-03-09T21:03:00.001-08:002010-03-09T21:04:49.751-08:00CaliforniaCheck out my <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/35852712@N08/">Flickr</a> for photographic updates from my current trip to California. Twitter has nothing on Flickr!Barry Wickshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05703303571760260232noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19845249.post-67968437011726835372010-02-23T14:44:00.000-08:002010-02-23T15:11:20.901-08:00Snow has started snowing once again<div style="text-align: left;">The weather here in Illinois is kind of unpredictable. Unpredictable in the sense that whatever one predicts the weather will be, it is mostly likely going to be something totally different. That is why I have established my own weather prediction software for Illinois and so far it has been fool proof. The weather for the next two weeks will be a temperature range between 15 and 34 degrees f, some sunshine, some clouds and some snow. There will definatly be days when riding is a good idea, and other days when it is not, and other days when the amount of time it takes to bundle up to cross the street and go to the gym takes as much planning as the actual workout.</div><div><br /></div>Luckily for me, the Wright Brother developed a means by which to transport ones self through space and time to another place, most likely California.<div><br /></div><div>Having spent a large amount of my time in Illinois riding up and down elevators, I am formulating a new type of elevator that will not only transport you between differing layers of a building, but to far away and exotic locals as well. As soon as I have the elevator at my disposal, I will use it all the time and keep it to myself so as to not have its massive power corrupted by others.</div><div><br /></div><div>I have recently acquired a new camera, and although many who would lay eyes on it would dub it ordinary or not possessing much coolness, I see it in a different light totally, and hope to make use of it to capture secret things and later reveal them to anyone who wishes to see them. All for free!</div><div><br /></div><div>Here is the first secret:</div><div><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGKzNghWjMK_TafGJuC-IiOyZyJvcDXLP2FKFRSZdQSHvSAgUHOlF_OcxroUh7ZlL7gMBebDWeuQbh2a4NEyLsq0he9Sem9_U7RWfcbffbHlTTXuKrImlbPOyfWHozqis7uaUz/s200/Super+Frog.JPG" /></div><div><br /></div><div>Actually it is just a poorly framed, blurry photo of my dog, her frog shaped squeaky chew toy and her food bowls.</div><div><br /></div><div>Another new development for me is that I have taken to drinking water out of wine bottles. They hold pretty much the perfect amount of water to quench my nearly unquenchable thirst, and are reusable.</div><div><br /></div><div>Here is a video of Ben Popper riding on a snow covered bike path.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dyGrO4OopEHwuoU4-p8VI_BT0Y0CtaGRh4NLh4w3sdi2oYByhj4eqezq6UfG2a97QPI_LQn-rFk3Uk' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe><div><br /></div><div>It was pretty funny.</div><div><br /></div><div>California awaits. Are you ready?</div>Barry Wickshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05703303571760260232noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19845249.post-36573730768314948112010-02-13T19:41:00.001-08:002010-02-13T19:46:50.583-08:00waiting for summer<div style="text-align: left; padding: 3px;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/35852712@N08/4355411434/" title="waiting for summer by afrodisiwicks, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4041/4355411434_46651acbfa_m.jpg" width="240" height="162" alt="waiting for summer" /></a><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium; "><br /></span></div><p></p>Barry Wickshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05703303571760260232noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19845249.post-48296248933874264902010-02-13T19:14:00.001-08:002010-02-13T19:18:04.095-08:00A little bit of this, a lot of that<div>This</div><div><br /></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlN6x45Ykfe7lMoKFhmjlRzLTg0KXXlUi8-KVqbf9ywtU8pfq65aZNTMrPsicewP_PK6zSrU5JmIEzlYfN7dUryL3qCTSlaW8uZaki4VTDZ6cHZ1ifjo04-ha6fkrkGKR4PCBB/s1600-h/snow+path.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 150px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlN6x45Ykfe7lMoKFhmjlRzLTg0KXXlUi8-KVqbf9ywtU8pfq65aZNTMrPsicewP_PK6zSrU5JmIEzlYfN7dUryL3qCTSlaW8uZaki4VTDZ6cHZ1ifjo04-ha6fkrkGKR4PCBB/s200/snow+path.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5437932374171686370" /></a>is hard to get into, after 5 days of this:<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMNJ345H9N5KYXRnICh1IZPNSRPj0rbPVWLlbA12tqkjNET9w4WcZzwcHTU3D0dpN6bn9E6ut2SXGipSULpzIZ9jtH-r2omF16LlOD4o7QeXHTojoQQiQvIaYYvzS_LDCXDWxK/s1600-h/bartels.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMNJ345H9N5KYXRnICh1IZPNSRPj0rbPVWLlbA12tqkjNET9w4WcZzwcHTU3D0dpN6bn9E6ut2SXGipSULpzIZ9jtH-r2omF16LlOD4o7QeXHTojoQQiQvIaYYvzS_LDCXDWxK/s200/bartels.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5437932367816824210" /></a>But such is life. Headed back to the sunshine in another few weeks, but for now the XC skis, cross bike and charging the snow are the order of the day.<div><br /></div><div><br /></div>Barry Wickshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05703303571760260232noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19845249.post-21065622609603381542010-02-03T10:56:00.000-08:002010-02-03T10:58:26.572-08:00Sunshine burns off the clouds by 11am as cleats click into pedals and begin to turn magical circles. I love my bikeBarry Wickshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05703303571760260232noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19845249.post-6641156469439762262010-01-31T15:22:00.001-08:002010-01-31T15:49:47.400-08:00JRASo I thought I found this sweet new bike path to ride on today, but then this happened:<div><br /></div><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dxzdS5Z2jveIVVNYump1LA6UxserWDRQERY5repzekUl7tdsTpyIrUUICAMCMbjsBcmoa2652XLCAg' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe><div><br /></div><div>That one stung a little bit but I will survive.</div><div><div><br /></div><div>Off to California tomorrow for 5 days of 60 degree rain.</div><div><br /></div><div>I cant wait.</div><div><br /></div><div>Nasty</div></div>Barry Wickshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05703303571760260232noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19845249.post-37453680099758571852010-01-27T12:06:00.000-08:002010-01-28T07:09:18.204-08:00Training in Hawaii....<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dxEwTXJmCnERDfsqpDK51Vgpx2Lay1zToDxMMvV9-t57PTD1hQvgaFS4oZTMHZhKdjAWHmpxLy05kc' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe><br /><br />is for "<a href="http://www.bikesnobnyc.blogspot.com/">woosies</a>"Barry Wickshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05703303571760260232noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19845249.post-29330584976177013062010-01-25T09:02:00.000-08:002010-01-25T09:25:33.801-08:00Riding AgainSo I rode my bike a couple of times in the last few days. It feels nice to pedal, even if it is 30 degrees outside. I get bonky pretty fast since my body is not used to riding very much anymore, but it has been good fun. I am getting pretty tough. It is amazing how fast I went from "shit, it is flippin freezing here!" to "well, its pretty nice out today since it is 35 and not snowing". I guess it is all relative. At least it isn't raining on me right now like it is in Santa Cruz.<br /><br />Saturday Sarah proposed a ride up to the Illinois State Beach park. It looked pretty straight forward on the map so I hopped on the bike and headed out. It was smooth sailing until I got to North Chicago, where the nice plowed bike path I had been rolling along ended abruptly in a 20 foot high ice/snow bank. Apparently that was as far as they decided to plow. I took to the side roads, got chased by a pit bull, road on 4 lane divided highways, tried multiple detours and finally made it to the park. Sarah was already there walking Eva around in the ice so I did a quick clothing change and we headed back south to grab some Deep Dish Pizza.<br /><br />Everyone says that in Chicago deep dish is the way to go, and we weren't disappointed. The thing weighed about 7 lbs and smelled awesome. We hightailed it home and dug in. About 20 minutes later I was in a massive food coma on the couch where I remained until Sunday afternoon when we joined all the young families at Ikea looking for functional home furnishings at reasonable prices.<br /><br />Finding none of these, we went back home, made an apple pie and played with the puppy.<br /><br />I am going to spend one more week here in Evanston, then i am taking a quick training trip to Santa Rosa to try and whip my self into some shape.<br /><br />I hope it doesn't rain on me to much.<br /><br />Big time:<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioBd2ws10yG6qymJXXHnyvcW1qwl5H3UvkOEyTA_ArJnWzshtTcf__JwKZu346I685iTss84Y4gACfONMIlBaR-8lViHnlKjwIo4Qi8C1TEiDwlZAnmjUru20pPq1pxFWLy8t8/s1600-h/pizza.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 150px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioBd2ws10yG6qymJXXHnyvcW1qwl5H3UvkOEyTA_ArJnWzshtTcf__JwKZu346I685iTss84Y4gACfONMIlBaR-8lViHnlKjwIo4Qi8C1TEiDwlZAnmjUru20pPq1pxFWLy8t8/s200/pizza.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5430728833515645938" border="0" /></a><br />Gratuitous shot of the ladies:<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNbIPgZ-KNjL15C-_Y02-uSGuZAtawIEuHmu4krskFZOY3LllOjLnbWLG0egSNVXGHp5UpmXntS3fg9SuGZHnCnB_d_Wq9nKgEQSSVgn9z0QnNGcpY9YBsXHDaAuP_PzXzseL-/s1600-h/sarah+and+eva.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 150px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNbIPgZ-KNjL15C-_Y02-uSGuZAtawIEuHmu4krskFZOY3LllOjLnbWLG0egSNVXGHp5UpmXntS3fg9SuGZHnCnB_d_Wq9nKgEQSSVgn9z0QnNGcpY9YBsXHDaAuP_PzXzseL-/s200/sarah+and+eva.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5430728834530619778" border="0" /></a><br />Over and Out.<br /><br /><br />NastyBarry Wickshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05703303571760260232noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19845249.post-15493086656547032762010-01-20T07:20:00.000-08:002010-01-20T09:34:15.584-08:00MancationSo my buddy John is about to have a kid, and we decided to take one last big Mancation with him before diapers and 2am wake up calls became the order of the day. Johns friend Dale lives in Minturn so we packed up the bags, hopped a plane and headed up to 10,000ft for bottomless powder and blue skies.<br /><br />We got the blue skies, but due to a combination of factors, mostly related to atmospheric conditions and global warming, there was no bottomless powder. In fact, there was barely any snow at all, and if Vail didn't maintain golf course like standards on their runs during the summer months we could not have even skied. Luckily they do, so we were able to burn close to 35 runs over the weekend on high speed groomers. Fun times.<br /><br />Copious amounts of bacon, beer, pizza and fire were involved, and in the end we all made it out alive.<br /><br />Here are some photos from the trip.<br /><br />Here John and Jesse hang out in the snow cat after we hiked to a place we weren't supposed to be.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggaNrz76RJnvLhnwWlaCUQmglBy8y75sVzvoPNJGmrKNfgzwmqiyw8y-7O7z3pYVvz-c9CerLxvpWsBswur19ycg8PTalypI0SdqjJup7KNUjtJdgAPBNY7BtuGiVxWEZW8J_g/s1600-h/John+and+Jesse.jpeg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 150px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggaNrz76RJnvLhnwWlaCUQmglBy8y75sVzvoPNJGmrKNfgzwmqiyw8y-7O7z3pYVvz-c9CerLxvpWsBswur19ycg8PTalypI0SdqjJup7KNUjtJdgAPBNY7BtuGiVxWEZW8J_g/s200/John+and+Jesse.jpeg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5428843571531373314" border="0" /></a><br />This is the best way to start a day on the slopes, I think.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOXJ-MuYVgioSKpH5xDv4qX_AhSy8JE17wsTwpalOzQtx5z2oSekY71FFOxDQ0EbUOkPrNv16qAJgurHeyOui6O_cQrTTA8XhXnUElfdCf-6WFEcwobGuzbL2eTCSmnXMJcMm6/s1600-h/Bacon.jpeg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 163px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOXJ-MuYVgioSKpH5xDv4qX_AhSy8JE17wsTwpalOzQtx5z2oSekY71FFOxDQ0EbUOkPrNv16qAJgurHeyOui6O_cQrTTA8XhXnUElfdCf-6WFEcwobGuzbL2eTCSmnXMJcMm6/s200/Bacon.jpeg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5428843565145639234" border="0" /></a><br /><br />And this is the best way to end one.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXgErVn-gy0x2Wk48WX2jG_g3kMM3rlH-fUPZfTtOK_GShRkjqdTbD1THVAfd69OpX15wQf5FmiE-oU-IEryYG8jyqeHVs63586ofETUOjyNcaFH_46ZMqpknXkxC4IiGry26r/s1600-h/Pizza.jpeg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXgErVn-gy0x2Wk48WX2jG_g3kMM3rlH-fUPZfTtOK_GShRkjqdTbD1THVAfd69OpX15wQf5FmiE-oU-IEryYG8jyqeHVs63586ofETUOjyNcaFH_46ZMqpknXkxC4IiGry26r/s200/Pizza.jpeg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5428843697286404306" border="0" /></a><br />And then we lit a fire. This is only the beginning...<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDnUyHK2jC3E_0YU476IvpZ3SPcFyxvU1Kv68eSit86fA2GGxidWAqZnC7ooIfVKLET6rNjJH9XsKJ3EWFnueCxVUppbI4_bmGgw5ACL-jjdk9lrCxCoxLYjwdnWTtMT8KRtmk/s1600-h/fire.jpeg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 150px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDnUyHK2jC3E_0YU476IvpZ3SPcFyxvU1Kv68eSit86fA2GGxidWAqZnC7ooIfVKLET6rNjJH9XsKJ3EWFnueCxVUppbI4_bmGgw5ACL-jjdk9lrCxCoxLYjwdnWTtMT8KRtmk/s200/fire.jpeg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5428846573102760834" border="0" /></a><br /><br />This is the view from the top of Vail. Not too shabby<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiW82xQTGOZRG28DQfFfJotrDZRs03SrC95kb5NTiI0Eb3koxorV6C95DF6Lqbx9E96gjW4Qp2kImSPaT9wpKsnYLpLSUg2ZAFFNKA41k67O-vpBO3mvRwrRB5RnUyGe4MlkTN4/s1600-h/On+top.jpeg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiW82xQTGOZRG28DQfFfJotrDZRs03SrC95kb5NTiI0Eb3koxorV6C95DF6Lqbx9E96gjW4Qp2kImSPaT9wpKsnYLpLSUg2ZAFFNKA41k67O-vpBO3mvRwrRB5RnUyGe4MlkTN4/s200/On+top.jpeg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5428843582809070914" border="0" /></a><br /><br />Aussie red-head Dale and I get Rad with our Giro gear.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibZZ1hZ3xZ1iJ5ZSGfh86JekTU-Dxqw7Tn5iT73GSalPb3xHtDlmBC9O2YUGj3xjnOE2j4z1YrrqbY2a35bqlzPsg2P6BGJ3V5cFWKPAq7Ts2ddwJZCFHK_ZypzBuoiy-7FG3e/s1600-h/Lift.jpeg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 163px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibZZ1hZ3xZ1iJ5ZSGfh86JekTU-Dxqw7Tn5iT73GSalPb3xHtDlmBC9O2YUGj3xjnOE2j4z1YrrqbY2a35bqlzPsg2P6BGJ3V5cFWKPAq7Ts2ddwJZCFHK_ZypzBuoiy-7FG3e/s200/Lift.jpeg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5428843578690263586" border="0" /></a>Not a lot of snow out there.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTHCsP06ARNQlUIJ6vcQN3QbcUAwj-i4w5YjRy2cd4uRMDltm_O1UmYD4z_bZgD8nc-QcIAVw8FBE_YiWQzuRoJFEOodDEXDoBpPV3U7RbAGsA0J2T3XpOBcSwhymJe0AyoAuf/s1600-h/Gondola.jpeg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 150px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTHCsP06ARNQlUIJ6vcQN3QbcUAwj-i4w5YjRy2cd4uRMDltm_O1UmYD4z_bZgD8nc-QcIAVw8FBE_YiWQzuRoJFEOodDEXDoBpPV3U7RbAGsA0J2T3XpOBcSwhymJe0AyoAuf/s200/Gondola.jpeg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5428843568363009218" border="0" /></a><br />I went for a bike ride the other day in Evanston, I think I should have been rolling the CX bike.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVIzB4AZstHKfu5BVxEQo4DjaF7TZoFNwE69zkoFz-E_Sih9TtZI82JYVQdPqLdm_66qaqQYdfePpQ5Itfel783_YSFA50ctSLw6wr-27SdqVsPvmTWOSeNbeNq4C0tPa4C-Zy/s1600-h/Snow+Road.jpeg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 150px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVIzB4AZstHKfu5BVxEQo4DjaF7TZoFNwE69zkoFz-E_Sih9TtZI82JYVQdPqLdm_66qaqQYdfePpQ5Itfel783_YSFA50ctSLw6wr-27SdqVsPvmTWOSeNbeNq4C0tPa4C-Zy/s200/Snow+Road.jpeg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5428843704012957714" border="0" /></a><br />Now that the interweb is up and running in my apartment, I will attempt to keep up with the blogging. The Puppy Eva is doing well, and basically runs around the house following me everywhere, peeing on everything.<br /><br />I am an excellent clean up technician.<br /><br />NastyBarry Wickshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05703303571760260232noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19845249.post-82516700138704485782010-01-13T13:21:00.000-08:002010-01-13T13:32:01.952-08:00Thanks: http://m.flickr.com/photos/35852712@N08/4271892547/Barry Wickshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05703303571760260232noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19845249.post-21171972825798306582010-01-11T19:17:00.001-08:002010-01-11T19:22:27.710-08:00Eva can be seen here http://m.flickr.com/photos/35852712@N08/4267296273/sizes/m/Barry Wickshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05703303571760260232noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19845249.post-60300989237070591002010-01-11T08:40:00.000-08:002010-01-11T08:42:09.875-08:00Tiny white shaggy dog is napping near my foot, does she think I am a giant?Barry Wickshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05703303571760260232noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19845249.post-91795602020327456732010-01-08T20:47:00.000-08:002010-01-08T20:50:58.430-08:00There is a dog in my near future. Outside my window is the emergency alert siren for the whole town. It sucksBarry Wickshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05703303571760260232noreply@blogger.com0