We’ve enjoyed a couple days of rain here in Bibleburg. It’s a nice change from precip’ you have to shovel, but it makes the trails awful gooey, especially in Palmer Park, where most of the nifty single-track has a clay base that holds onto tire tracks the way a bog-trotter does grudges.
No matter. I haven’t had a chance to get out anyway. Too busy serving up news nuggets out of the old velo-barrel. I don’t work much or very hard, not compared to most folks, but the chores do tend to bunch up every other week, making Sunday through Wednesday feel like Bizarro Santa’s workshop on Dec. 24, with platoons of red-eyed elves scurrying around like roaches and the fat man barking orders. Fill the bag, bitches, time’s a-wastin’. Places to go, people to see.
Some light work for VeloNews.com drifted over from Monday into this morning. That done, it’s time to crank up the laugh factory for Bicycle Retailer and Industry News, which requires a distinct shifting of mental gears. Grinding and clashing noises ensue.
During my 11 years as a newspaper copy editor I rarely wrote anything under my own byline. Something about banging away on other people’s stories dulls the desire to tell any of your own; for me, at least. Writing comes mores easily now that I’m not a full-time rim rat, but occasionally it still feels like trying to start the White Tornado on a winter morning. Floor it three or four times, twist the key, hear her crank, c’mon you sonofabitch … errr rrr rrr … stomp stomp … errr rrr rrr … stomp stomp stomp … errr rrr rrr. …
Mad Blog Media 
hey, why don’tcha just do what every other mentally constipated journalist in america is doing this morning: localize the swine flu story! who cares if only 50 people have the stuff — it’s easier to spread fear than it is influenza. how about something along the lines of: swine flu and cycling — threat or menace, pig’s eye or sow’s ear???
…and speaking of journalism: props go out to Velonews.com for resisting the urge to name the doper, at least so far. Seems an Italian cyclist has belatedly rung the dope-o-meter at last year’s Olympics. Now we all aren’t suppose to know the name of the accused until after the results of the B sample are announced, but that hasn’t stopped the Italian news agency ANSA from spilling the beans. And a major thumbs down to the AP for simply echoing the news from ANSA.
Way to show some ethics, Velonews! This almost makes up for turning the Prologue into the Daily Spam-a-lot.
What??? You mean there is other news than Lance being back in the Gila???
went from 83 at noon today to 48 at 4pm here in northern NYS. almost like front range weather!