This is what they call cyclocross, boys and girls!

It's a discipline becoming more and more popular these days. I watched the Illinois Cup Race or something official sounding like that competition at the Montrose Ave. by the lakefront. All in all, it was fun watching for the whole 15 minutes I was there snapping the photos below, but very discouraging in terms of getting motivated to actually partake in one of these races. Snow on the ground, below freezing temperatures and blustery winds coming off the lake is not the type of setting I am used to when bike riding or racing. If I wanted ride my bike in weather like this, I'd do the IDITAROD in Alaska. But maybe I am just not that hardcore yet or perhaps I am still more of a classic road bike type of a guy. Anyway, here are the pictures. See for yourself!

XXX guys are not only fast, they are also smart. Dismount and run seems to be a better strategery.

Well, it's not exactly like equestrian show jumping but it's still impressive.

And down they goooooo..... watch the brakes!!!

Everybody needs a little Wiener's Circle sometimes.

OK. Clearly blogging on a regular basis will not work for me. And you can forget about the lengthy entries as well - they take too much time. So let's keep it brief.
After stopping by at the Guitar Center and getting some cables, I was contemplating where to go for lunch. Being in the hood known for mexican food joints, I still decided to drive a bit further and go the the Wiener's Circle - a well know dog/polish place in Lincoln Park. It's been a while since my last visit. Everyone in Chicago probably knows of this place, even those Iowa and Wisconsin transplants, so I will not bother explaining the "charm" of this place.
Anyway, ordered a char cheddar burger and fries, and sat next to a round shaped dude. I enjoyed my food no doubt, but this fellow was clearly orgasming eating his cheese fries. When someone looks so happy eating fatty food, then let them be and don't judge. It's winter here in Chicago after all, we all need another layer of something something.

Enjoy!

I haven't blogged in quite a while. This past week I was on vacation and did tons of turkey and pumpkin pie stuff, as well as the friends and family in town stuff so I have plenty of material to write a quality post. In a few days time.......


The self-made capp and smokes in this picture are for two special people - one who just had a bday recently and the other who made me laugh my bum off with the jokes e-mail on a friday at 4:30(aka the longest half hour if you're a 9-5 type). A - please stop by for the real thing, and V - this is the best I can do right now about that coffee I owe you.

Oh, I forgot the mineral water. Shoot!

Cigarettes, and carrot juice....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nbN_jhkWlU4

Big Dipper

Cigarettes, and carrot juice
And get yourself a new tattoo
For those sleeveless days of June

I'm sitting on the Cafè Xeno's steps
With a book I haven't started yet,
Watching all the girls walk by...
Could I take you out?
I'll be yours without a doubt
On that Big Dipper

And if the sound of this it frightens you,
We could play it real cool
And act somewhat indifferent

And hey June, why'd you have to come,
Why'd you have to come around, so soon?
I wasn't ready for all this nature
The terrible green green grass
And violent blooms of flowered dresses
And afternoons that make me sleepy

But we could wait awhile
Before we push that dull turnstile
Into the passage

The thousands they have tread
And others sometimes fled
Before the turn came

And we could wait our lives
Before a chance arrives
Before the passage

From the top you can see Monterey
Or think about San Jose
Though I know it`s not that pleasant

hey Jim, Kerouac(The brother of the famous Jack),
Or so he likes to say.
Lucky bastard

He's sitting on the cafe Xeno's steps
With a girl I'm not over yet
Watching all the world go by

"Boy you're looking bad
Did I make you feel that sad?
I'm honestly flattered."

But if she asks me out,
I'll be hers without a doubt
On that Big Dipper

Cigarettes, and carrot juice
And get yourself a new tattoo
For those sleeveless days of June...

I'm sitting on the Cafè Xeno's steps...
I haven't got the courage yet
I haven't got the courage yet
I haven't got the courage yet.

Really looking forward to the Cracker show this Saturday!
Back in the late 90's, when I was still in high school, I saw them play at the Metro. Have been a fan ever since. That same night, our apartment building on Argyle street burned down. I got back home from the show with my sister at about 1:30 am. An hour later we were awakened by the sound of alarms. We all lived to see another day.

I am fixing my tire!!!!!!!

I've been driving with a slow leaking (left) rear tire for almost 6 months now.
I bought a brand new car when I graduated from college in 2004, and even though I told myself and my dad I would baby it, I really dont pay all that much attention to it. I managed to travel 24000 miles in these 3 years which is well below the average I'd say. Having a new car under warranty helps if you hate going to the mechanic and dealing with the BS quotes and hustling that goes along with it. So far I only needed to change oil and do regular 20000 mile service. But then this tire thing keeps bothering me. Every weekend I abandon my plan to fix it and rather go for a bike ride, and by the time I am back home, you can forget about getting in and out within an hour. So I postpone........over and over again.
I had to borrow a compressor from my boss, use my bicycle pump, drive for blocks with little air until the next gas station only to find out that the air machine is not working or that I don't have enough quarters to get it going. All in all, it's inconvenience but I manage. Until today!
I had to visit a vendor in Elk Grove Village who does teflon coating for the project I am working on. Since I was low on air, I stopped by a gas station looking to air up. Ahead of me in the line for air was this older man with long gray hair and a long gray beard, who seemed very clumsy. His tires were, in my opinion, sufficiently inflated but he decided to check the pressure in all of his tires with the little 2.99 gage and inflate them to the "suggested" kbar-age. I am rather a patient man and despite wanting to get out of there in 2 mins, I found his dropping of the hat every time he bent over, his inability to figure out how to read the gage, running out of air time and having a hard time putting a quarter into the machine very comical. After the 4th quarter a line had formed behind me and I kept laughing, now out loud. When he sat down on the pavement to get a better reach, I knew it was time to move along and look for a different station. I made it to Elk Grove in time but I promised myself that I will fix the damn tire.....this weekend for sure.

Lance Armstrong dating one of the Olsen Twins? WTF???

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/sfgate/detail?blogid=7&entry_id=21563

Just when you think cycling doesn't need more bad publicity.....he pulls this off.
Damn, I wish it was finally proven that he doped all those years, rather than this.

Read the comments!!!!!!!!



What is he thinking???

A new cable network??? Yes...no

In my last 2 posts I kinda made fun of the grad students, but to prove that I love making fun of my own kind - the cycling nation, here is a post from a cult blog Bike Snob NYC. If you don't get all the puns or "lampoons" as some like to call them, you just need to have more fixie riding hipster friends.

http://bikesnobnyc.blogspot.com/2007/10/bsnyc-tv-putting-bikes-on-air.html

Latin Music = Great Party

So I went to a Halloween party in Pilsen on Saturday.

I was supposed to be Barrett- the graduate student, however Barrett instead decided to stay at home grading papers, after having a busy afternoon going to an anti-war demonstration dowtown and stuffing his stomach full of veggie samosas and biryani on Devon Ave - where he may or may not have picked up a bit of food poisoning. His tummy hurt like hell and despite his wish to eat in one of those authentic IndoPak joints (where all the cabbies go to eat), he realized that he just wasn't cut out for that much curry and spice.

It was time for plan B.

I put on my cycling kit, sprinkled some mud on myself and in just a minute I looked like a 2002 Paris-Roubaix Winner Johan Museeuw (pictured below).

I went with two girls, and since they showed up a bit late and already dressed up (as Frida and a pirate), it was too late to ask them to change into the podium girl outfits to compliment my look.
I am sure that the idea would not have gone down smoothly anyway :(.

The party was great. What made it so good was the DJ, who played mostly Latin music with few hip-hop and 80s tunes mixed in. I danced pretty much the whole time, and even though I didn't know the steps for some of the dances, I did well. All the people there were also very cool and laid back, which made me very glad I went. I ended up talking and dancing with a super cute girl scout for about 3o-40 minutes. I was craving some cookies but she didn't bring any with her that night. She also forgot to bring her boyfriend which I realized at the end of our 40 minute "nice talking and dancing with you" moment. Apparently, her other 2 friends were SINGLE and looking but I never caught on to that. All I could think of were the coooookies.

The other memorable costumes : two graduate students (yeah - the couple) dressed as the red tape whatever that means, not one but two priests, the Brawny man, and the Flavor Flav.

Heading home, we decided to take Damen and check out the scene in Wicker Park, and it was happening big time. These people go all out. One of my cycling teammates played the show at the Double Door, where a bunch of local bands dress up as some other band and do covers. His band was Culture Club. Read his blog! Good times.......good times.

My Halloween Costume - Meet Barrett!

I am writing this after texting back and forth with my friend, who invited me to a huge party in Pilsen on the ocassion of birthdays and Halloween. As she asked me if I had any ideas for a costume, I finally remebered what I wanted to be myself. I played around with the idea of showing up in one of my cycling or soccer outfits-taking the easy way out. And as I was in the middle of pressing number 9 key for the third time, the lightbulbs lit up in my head like crazy: "I AM GOING TO BE A GRAD STUDENT FOR HALLOWEEN!!!!!"

How could I have overlooked this hardworking yet underappreciated (not to mention underpaid) segment of our population, when selecting my Halloween persona? I say persona because it is more about showcasing one's acting skills rather than just wearing a costume. After all, most of my friends are grad students and I should be able to pull it off easily. This is my tribute to them, with all their genius and tiny imperfections.

In order to look most recognizable I will wear a pair of Camel infused Levi's jeans (5XX), a gray 50/50 blend stretched out turtleneck (Old Navy), brown cord double breasted jacket with elbow patches (vintage), my black plastic frame glasses, big maroon acrylic scarf (my mom's back to knitting project gone wrong) tied into a loose knot, an optional wool hat or a fedora, all bottomed out with some black Converse All Star shoes. But enough about the clothes.

I will arrive to the party 90 minutes late blaming the CTA, and bring an opened 12 pack Old Style carton (containing 5 Old Styles, 3 PBRs, and two random Goose Island brews - let's say Honker's and 312). I can totally see the chain of events to follow.
I will politely blow off the first 2 people I see on the account of their wearing the high school cheerleader and football player costumes respectively. I didn't hang out with this type of crowd back in the 11th grade, why the fuck would I want to shmooze with them now? They probably didn't even make the squad or the varsity team if they dressed up as such for Halloween. Plus, they will probably ask me what my costume was, and if they can't read through my elbow patches, they're still reading at the high school level. I will proceed to the kitchen where I will store away my beers and survey the scene. I will then be impolitely blown off by 2 ladies dressed as nurses on the account of my scarf and looking nothing like the Dr. McDreamy they're after. The nurses don't like my sense of humor anyway, just read my At the Doctor's post. After an akward 5 minute period of standing by myself enjoying someone else's Belgian beer (perhaps another grad student's who'd spent his study abroad days in Brussells or has now gotten a first teaching job at the junior college and can afford to share with all his awesome taste in beer - acquired at the many post academic conference drinking outings at the Hopleaf), I will spot a cute hipster chick in skinny jeans and a classic blue Sonic Youth t-shirt. We will get into a conversation and I will try to impress her with my knowledge of random indie bands, all of whom I had seen listed on my neighborhood record shop's display board and listened to on myspace. My sporadic and uninvited glances at her overflowing washing machine will piss her off and I will get nowhere. After swiping another smooth Belgian, I will go onto the porch and encounter a couple smoking. "They have to be grad students!" I'll say to myself. And they will be. We will immediately bond over the fact that we've all been turned down for Fulbright's 3 times, that we can live on lentil soup and falafel sandwiches for a whole semester, and that it's so fucking hard to get any grants for the type of enlightening studies we are doing. Our conversation will last some good 45 minutes, in which time I will explain to him (a poli sci major) origins of the conflict in the Balkans, that Milosevic is not spelled Milosowicz, and listen to her ramblings about the time spent in Morocco's Atlas mountains studying Berber tribal culture. The exchange will end when I get invited to a Socialist conference, as I draw the line at the Kucinich type of leftism.

The rest of the night, I will get into a several boring conversations with already drunk people, all of which I will end with the favorite excuse that always works like a charm: " Oh yeah, I have to go home and grade some midterms, I am so behind with everything."

And there you have it. An uneventful fictional Halloween in a pretty uneventful life of a fictional grad student. I guess I'll have to give him a name. Let's call him Ga...Barrett.

Casual Fridays.

Today is Friday!
I never thought I would be one of those people who would be tired at the end of a 5 day work week, working a regular 9-5 job. I had worked odd schedule jobs until this - my first real job out of college- and I always thought that the happy hour was stupid. I feel differently now.
What I considered even more stupid is the idea of a casual friday, when all the people try to look casual wearing their out of style jeans. In my line of work (engineering) I get to wear jeans almost every day, and casual for me has a different meaning. Well today, my coworkers all showed up in jeans and white walking gym shoes. I don't remember when I saw so many pleated jeans in my life. I forgot that these existed.

How to talk to non-cyclists.

http://www.bikeradar.com/road/news/article/humour-how-to-talk-to-non-cyclists-12730

Just so we have an understanding.

Chain Letters!

I just received one of them chain e-mails from a colleague at work (yessssss). It had to do with some picture of what he called "God's eye" taken by the Hubble telescope out there in the vastness of our universe. It is supposed to change my day around (for better I hope) and eventually make an impact on my life so I shouldn't keep this e-mail and need to pass it onto 7 more people. Great, if you're reading this blog you have one chain letter coming your way.
Now, in some respectable companies this kind of e-mail would not be allowed, but neither would blogging so I'll take the chain letter.
What I am getting at is that for me chain letters lost their credibility and intrigue once the copiers and especially e-mails started being utilized for their distribution. In the old days, you had to hand write the letter, put it in the 7 or 107 envelopes, lick them envelopes and put the proper stampage on there. That shows real belief and desire to have your life improved or risk doom by not passing the letter on. Copy and Paste just seems too convenient.

Police evict rebellious ex-nuns from Polish convent

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20071010/ap_on_re_eu/poland_rebel_ex_nuns

Now, what is a "former" Franciscan monk doing rebelling against Vatican with 65 ex-nuns?

Sting - The worst lyricist of all! WTF????

According to Blender

http://www.citynews.ca/news/news_15548.aspx

I don't know about this Blender publication since I never read a single issue, but I smell a rat.
Any publication that preoccupies itself with the best and the worst lists is stupid to me.

"....be yourself no matter what they say!"

Sting - "Englishman in New York"

At the Doctor's.

So, apparently one of my chest hairs decided to give me break and not make a showing on the surface, hoping it would make me look a bit less like Tom Selleck and more like the guys in the BOD commercials. In the process, it created a whole lot of mess underneath the skin and a minor surgery needed to be performed. On thursday, I went too see my doctor and a small incission was made which hurt as hell. I was told to come back on Saturday after taking some strong ass anti bio's which were to reduce the inflammation.
My appointment was for 10:00 am, and I showed up half an hour late, which translated into a 2 hour waiting room experience. Making eye contact for a second with the strange looking dude across from me and then looking away pretending I wasn't looking at him was my only amusement left after reading through a stack of WebMD magazines. At 12:32, my name was called out and I entered the doctor's office. They took my blood pressure, pulse and weighed me again.
I was whole 4 pounds lighter since Thursday. A perfect occasion to say something funny!
Nurse: " You are 209, that's 4 pounds less than thursday night!"
Me: " Yeah, I hooked up with Jenny Craig last night. Four pounds in one night, I really like her program!"
Me (Silent) :" I am sooooooo funny, hahahahahaha."
Nurse : " Yeah.....please have a seat. I'll be right back."
She came back carrying a toolbox of scalpels, needles and various poking instruments. I guess I am done with comedy. When you get this kind of feedback, you're pretty much out.
Half an hour later, I walked out bandaged up and in pain, but y'all don't worry! I'm gonna be OK.

The best birthday ever and the real Scotsman.

My birthday on Friday was indeed the best ever.

I had the pleasure of hanging out with some of the most talented actresses, models, animal right activists (slash immigrantgay hater - BB). We all had a great time surrounded by hundreds if not thousands of some of my favorite people - Critical Massers. Dita told me that I looked much better in my spandex outfit than Marilyn Manson ever will in latex, and the rest of the ladies agreed. I am not sure if this was post divorce angry talk and an attempt to score on a rebound, but it sure did feel good and it cancelled out all the hostility I've been getting with the :"Get off the road you f@$%# !" comments while dressed in my cycling outfit.
As the ride was passing through Logan Square, I decided to say my goodbyes, split off, and head towards my apartment in Lincoln Sq. On the way, I encountered a bunch of drunk Cubs fans marauding onto the streets from their "$12 Bud Light buckets and 10 cent wings" corner bar, singing the Go Cubs Go anthem - off tune. The Cubs had clinched the division! All we need to do now is keep our hands away from foul balls, and they might actually go all the way. Nah!

I got home, showered, and changed into my party clothes. A friend was throwing a party in her glamorous 1 bedroom apt. in a trendy WickerS Park neighborhood. Or was it BuckStown? Not really sure, but it is trendy. At the party, I had the honor of meeting a real Scotsman. Living in Chicago you run into a lot of Irishmen and Englishmen, but Scots are a hard find. At first I didn't know what to say, he was surrounded by a crowd of people trying to talk to him about stuff. All I kept repeating in my head was: " Please don't be the first person to bring up Braveheart or quilts!". Let me tell you, if guys are fans of the women with the french accent (I've heard that Russian is also in but my being of Slavic roots, it doesn't do much for me), women at the party were all "one finger playing with the hair and one leg up" over this guy's talk. You could be balding and 100 punds overweight, as soon as you opened your mouth you'd become freakin' Sean Connery. As someone who prides himself on being able to immitate various accents (my Apu and Arnold are superb), it was discouraging to realize that my Scottish is way off. I will never again do my Groundskeeper Willie or the "Choose Life..." monologue from Trainspotting. Eventually, we talked about soccer and the fact that I knew about Motherwell kinda impressed him. Unfortunately I forgot to bring up "The Flying Scotsman" - a movie about a famous Scottish track cyclist. Maybe next time.

Special Invitation To......

Tomorrow is September 28th - my birthday. I will be 28 years old. It is the same age my father was when he married my mother. I know this doesn't mean anything to you all, but as of today every time we get into one of our deep conversations about my plans for the future and stuff, I will have: "Son, I was already married by your age" thrown in, at the very moment I am winning the argument for living the carefree bachelor life I am enjoying at the moment.


I have decided to make this birthday the best birthday of my life. After so many lame ass birthdays, I have finally realized what I need to do. In order to have a better time, I need to party with the people who have the same birthday as me....DUH!
And what better day for it than this Friday - the last friday of the month. It's time for the Critical Mass. It happens to be the 10th Anniversary Ride and supposedly Our Beloved Mayor Daley will be attending (which makes me wonder if Critical Massing is on its way to become an Olympic Sport in 2016????). Anyhow, it is sure to be a spanking good time for me and the people who are getting the special invitation to party the night away with me on my and our birthday:

1) Mira Sorvino (born 09/28/1967)

A big fan of yours. Stunnigly beautiful Oscar winning actress. Loved you in Mighty Aphrodite and The Replacement Killers. Not only do we have the same birthday, but our first names are off by ONE letter! To quote you :"There's a side of my personality that goes completely against the East Coast educated person and wants to be a pin-up girl in garages across America...there’s a side that wants to wear the pink angora bikini!" If you bring some of this attitude with you, you don't need to bring me a gift!

2) Naomi Watts (born 09/28/1968)

By far the most lethal combination of beautiful blue eyes and a gorgeous smile out there (just ask King Kong). I still haven't figured out the ending to Mullholand Drive after watching the damn movie so many times. Maybe I am just focusing on the wrong scene in the movie and cannot get the deeper message David Lynch is trying to send. I am sure you can get me some scoop later during the ride.

3) Gwyneth Paltrow (born 09/28/1972)

My favorite British actress! We can talk about how great the British humour is (Monty Python, Black Adder, Only Fools and Horses), Arsenal vs. Chelsea vs. Tottenham vs. West Ham rivalry, and the new Coldplay album.

4) Dita Von Teese (born 09/28/1972)

WOW! A really really big fan! You might not know it, but we go way back. I am still a little mad at you for marrying that douche Marilyn Manson, but there is always going to be a place in my heart and my hard drive for you Dita. If you know any of the Suicide Girls please bring them along with you. There will be plenty of tattooed guys on choppers at the Mass, I don't want them to be jealous of all the attention I'll be getting.

5) Janeane Garofalo (born 09/28/1964)

I know what you think. He invited all these hot women ahead of me, but the truth is that a cute funny girl with black frames will always be number 1 in my book! Besides, where else can you gather more Bushbashing AnnCoulterhating bunch other than at the Critical Mass. You'll be my and their superstar.

6) Hillary Duff (born 09/28/1987)

My niece is a big fan. Now that you are of legal age to..........VOTE, we can share a pitcher of pink lemonade (you're still not legal to drink alcohol), discuss the upcoming Iowa Caucuses and eventually talk smack about Lindsay Lohan.

7) Briggite Bardot (born 09/28/1934)

French Marilyn Monroe! My dad is a big fan. I'd like to say like father like son but you used to be hot and now you're not. I know you'd like to blame immigrants and homosexuals for that but in reality, it's a natural process called AGING that you have a problem with. If you do come, bring two presents, one from you and one on behalf of Mira Sorvino.

So Ladies,......


Let's make MY and our birthday one to remember.


I have ordered one of those $17.99 yellow birthday cakes covered in Team Lampre color frosting, which we can devour after the ride.


Please bring your helmets, and if I am running a little late keep yourselves busy finishing that Happy Birthday banner.


See you at the Daley Plaza!!!!!!!!

Why Blog?

I intended to write a meaningful first post on why I decided to join the ranks of bloggers, but nah - it’s better to get straight down to business. This blog will serve as a way for me to tell you (acquaintances and strangers) those thoughts, experiences, and observations that I cannot bother you with in an 11pm phone call or a long ass email. I will try to focus on the positive and stay away from serious politics, celebrity gossip, talking smack about my bosses, and posting shirtless pictures of myself. I will however talk about my big passions: cycling, soccer, music, film, traveling, friends, family,…….etc.

Brief explanation of the blog’s title. Biciklista means “the cyclist” in my native tongue. I added the “the” in front because biciklista.blogspot.com was already taken by a Hungarian mountain biker. Apparently, paprikash is not the only word we share with the Hungarians. I now like the “the” in front of it. It sounds better.