Mmmm... gumbo

So, I'm sitting here eating a big hot bowl of Chicken & Sausage Gumbo, still waiting for the first customer of the day.

Seriously, if anybody gets off work early and wants to come play darts or something that'd be great. I'm bored. Bring beer.

Cold, but not THAT cold

Sure, it dropped 50 degrees in 12 hours... but this is Texas. That's how it works here. As usual, the local media has completely overblown the severity of the first cold/wet front.

The roads are fine. If you're scared to drive, ride your bike to work. It's safe, and fun too.

Holiday Hours

All you loyal PCB blog readers take note:

The shop will be closed Thursday AND Friday for Thanksgiving. We'll be open Saturday if you need anything.

Texas is the Reason

Now that Fort Worth has bicycle messengers, we've got to go represent at messenger races around the state. So I went to do D.O.O.M.'s (Dallas Order Of Messengers) "Texas is the Reason" race, a JFK-assasination-themed alleycat today, and it turned out to be quite an adventure (and I don't mean just the event itself).


I just barely caught my train to Dallas; I was running late and just barely got there in time after racing to the station. About halfway to Dallas, the tracks pass some illegal dirt trails near highway 360 often used by Motocrossers, ATVers, and the occasional mountain biker.

Suddenly I heard the air brakes of the train activate, HARD. The conductor started laying on the horn for an unusually long time. Just as I realized the train was trying to stop to avoid something on the track (it takes a half mile to stop a train), we heard a crash and felt something go under our feet and be dragged along by the train.

When the train finally came to a stop, the conductor and engineer came hauling ass through the cars to get off the train. I heard on the radio, "Did you hit him, did you hit him." And the answer was, "I don't know, I didn't see him get out of the way"

Turns out some knucklehead dad was riding his dirt bike across the track. His son followed but his bike got stuck. Dad and son were trying to pull the bike off the track as the train approached, but couldn't get it. They bailed just before the train hit the bike and dragged it all the way across the railroad bridge that crosses 360. After they pulled their bike from under the train's wheels, and the conductors did a safety check, especially of the brakes which had just been used pretty dramatically, we were rolling again. Here's a picturce of the MotoKnuckleHeads that I took out of the front window of the train:

The conductors did quick stops after that, and despite a 20 minute delay, by the time we got to Dallas they had made up all but 4 of those minutes. Four minutes isn't even enough for the TRE to consider it a "late train" according to a conductor I talked to.

I learned lots of cool Kennedy trivia I didn't know previously. I also thought it was interesting that the old Parkland hospital where JFK was taken after he was shot, is now abandoned and vacant. This is a place where a U.S. President was declared dead after an assassination, and it's boarded up with nary a historical marker. Now, I realize that this is a dubious distinction, but it just seems like there should be a little more respect for that piece of history.

Here's a couple of shots at the finish. Fittingly, since I had already drank many a Fat Tire, the photos are blurry. This is a pretty accurate depiction of what I saw at the finish:



Me on the train coming home, where I chatted with the conductor about that mornings motorcycle incident:


Then, getting from the T&P Station and home, after not having any incidents of my own all day on the mean streets of Dallas (though I did see a couple of nasty crashes in the race), I was cutting through the Paris Coffee Shop parking lot to avoid a light, got my front wheel caught in a crack that was way deeper than it looked in the dark, and ended up eating asphalt. Less than a mile from home! CRAP!:

YouTube gold

I stole this video from somebody who stole it from the Blue Squirrel, who found it on YouTube. I post it here because I have a man crush on Jan Ullrich, crusher of weak souls.

Cranksgiving final tally

Thanks to all of you who participated in Cranksgiving, we took over 220 pounds of food to the Tarrant Area Food bank!

Just found this great new blog...

called the "Cowtown Chronicles," complete with real LOCAL goings-on and even podcasts! Check it out.

Cranksgiving Photos:

A big thank you to Ric Ceron who came out and took fantastic pictures of the event. There are many more photos than just the ones I have posted here... check them out at the link Michael posted in the comments on the Podium thread.



Handing out manifests and maps





Handing out the spokecards





Spokecard closeup





The eventual winners planning their route





What's up, wicker?





Quite possibly the worlds first tandem alleycat team





Gathering at the start





Rolling out





The Loose clan headed for the second grocery stop





Getting ready to enter the store





Grocery employees all over Fort Worth were wondering what the hell was going on





Locking one's bike can be challenging at some places.





I hope we didn't cause this accident...





Headed downtown





This is cool; you never see so many bikes parked at a store!





Solo, with noodles





Hey, I didn't put Bass Ale on the shopping list!





The view from the halfway point





Checking in at the finish





The victor and his spoils... great ride Chris!





The runner up, trying to catch his breath. He was so tired, he couldn't lift that Kryptonite Lock he won for a victory pose.





Third finisher Atticus Broadbent, with his Kryptonite prize.





Ron Hacker, representing the Lockheed Martin Bicycle Club well with a fourth place finish





Ken Loose, fifth place finisher and proud owner of some new espresso glasses from Masi Bicycles





Jason works the bar





Shannon's wife made us some incredible pies, which worked out well since it's safe to say everybody was pretty hungry






Shannon was victorious in the Trackstand competition, though Atticus gave him a pretty good run for his money. They both were up for a while with no hands before Atticus finally dabbed






A huge thanks to Rahr & Sons Brewing for co-hosting and providing a perfect finish venue





The sign says it all, ladies and gents. Support your local independent brewery... they support you!

Cranksgiving podium

From left to right: Chris Hasty, who won the race with an impressive display of accurate routing and perseverance, Michael Popovici, who took second with deftly played stategy of following the guy who won, and Atticus Broadbent, who took third and displayed a toughness most kids his age don't have.

Also deserving of a big pat on the back were Ron Hacker, who took fourth in his first ever alleycat, and Ken Loose, who finished fifth. These top five riders were the only ones (out of nearly 30 starters) that finished the race.

Admittedly, we made it a little hard. A 40 mile alleycat with shopping stops is probably a bit long. We overreacted to the fact that somebody finished our last race in an hour, so we more than doubled the distance. Next time, we'll find the happy medium, we promise.