June Rides With Attidude

June is winding down but my Summer Ride with Attitude is still in high gear.  Now that I've discovered the ledge, I try to get up there and practice hills every ride.  The ride I took last Thursday was a good one.  I felt like my climb was very smooth.  The ride back to my apartment was harder because of a head wind but it was a good 25+ mile ride.  After the ride I also found a great new tool on my Garmin Connect.  They have a player that plays out your ride, showing where on the map you were in correlation to your elevation and speed.  That way, you can see where you where on the map when you were climbing.

The ride I took yesterday was a good one.  Once again it was up the Ledge on

Golf Corse Road

.  It felt like a tougher climb because there was a head wind and a hill.  I did my best to keep a consistent pace up the almost two mile climb.  The rest of the ride was really fast.  Down hill and with the wind to my back made it really easy but I still tried to push it.

I've been training and riding really hard this month to get ready for a few tours or races later this summer and I continue to see improvement in my rides.  I've also lost about 10 pounds this month too, which is very hard for me since I'm not big to begin with.  Make sure you keep following the blog and submit your guesses to how many miles I've ridden in June.  You could win a light set valued at $49.99 from Attitude Sports.

The Best Wing Man - A Dog

Lots of chicks dig our four legged friends.   I've never been a dog guy but in the past I have thought of asking my brother to borrow his dog to meet girls (I never actually borrowed the dog though.) Having a dog shows that you are responsible, caring, and even sensitive.  But the breed of dog can also say a lot about a guy and, from what I've been told, help attract women too.

I actually have no idea or not if it's true that dogs help you meet girls but here's what Kloof.com says.  They did a survey and asked what each type of dog says about a guy.  Here's what they found.

Apparently the best dogs to attract women are Golden Retrievers, Lab Retrievers, Huskies, and German Shepherds.

Guys who have Golden Retrievers are looked at as good boyfriend material.  It is a very loyal but still very active dog and that reflects on the man as well.

Labs owners are seen as great dads.  Once again, with how active and outdoorsy those dogs are, the guys need to keep a close eye on them.  Lots of times those dogs are used for hunting too, which means the guy has to do some training.  That can take lots of patience, just like teaching a kid to ride a bike.

Guys who have Huskies are looked at as very manly.  They remind people of the great outdoors, dog sledding, flannel jackets, big beards, chopping down trees and other manly stuff.

German Shepherds are used by the police.  They are big strong dogs and that also reflects on the man.  The dogs and the men who keep them company are looked at as powerful and authority figures.

So guys, if you're having trouble with the ladies look to our four legged friends.  Unlike our normal wing men, these fluffy fellas won't run off with the girl, unless they have a treat.

Tuesday Ride with Attitude

Some people may have been scared off by the high temps and strong winds for yesterday's open ride but Dave from Attitude Sports and myself had a nice 20 plus mile ride.  But before the ride, the other guys from Attitude gave my bike a quick once over and taught me about lubricating my chain because my was pretty dry from my ride in the rain over the weekend.  I thought you could just use DW-40 but they told me that that's sticky and can pick up dirt and debris while riding.

Dave once again took me up the ledge to work on some hills.  It was hard even though I'm getting better at going up hills.  I had to focus really hard to keep a consistent cadence with my peddling.  We took a different route than last Tuesday.  It had a few shorter steeper hills.  The ride home was actually the hardest part because of the wind.  I have to thank Dave again because was the lead bike in the draft and made it much easier on me, (even though it was still really hard.)  Hopefully we have some more people for next weeks open ride, and hopefully you've been keeping track of my miles in June.  If you have the cloest guess at k107.com on the contest page to how many miles I biked in June, you'll win a bike light set from Attitude Sports valued at $49.99.

Summer Ride with Attitude Back Home

Before the guys from Attitude Sports hooked me up with a new Specialized Secteur road bike and before I moved to Fond du Lac, I still did my fair share of riding in Kimberly/Appleton.  The only thing is, I was using either my dad's road bike, which is older than me, or my mountain bike.  I was excited to see how much different the route I took about two times a week would be on a new road bike.

The answer is easier.  Even though I had a strong head wind most the ride and it down poured for about 20 minutes of the ride, I was still about 10 minutes faster.  Also, after looking at my Garmin Edge 200 that keeps track of my mph, elevation, distance, and maps out my route, I know why hills are so hard.  Last summer when I only biked that route, I thought there were some pretty big hills.  Wrong!  Every ride I took in Fond du Lac I had more of a climb.  Looks like I'll be heading back up the ledge for some more hill practice.

Remember, today is Tuesday.  That means open ride with Attitude Sports.  Meet in there parking lot at 6pm and Dave and the guys from Attitude Sports will go on a ride and give helpful hints for the road. 

The Decade of Tech

Technology is always evolving and getting better.  When I was born, VHS and microwaves were new and exciting technologies.  Now, VHS players are almost useless and everyone I know has a microwave, hardly making it exciting.  So that begs the question.  What decade was the best for new technologies?

The 80's pretty much started it all.  It was the start of video games, portable music, and the VHS players.  The 90's enhanced all of those and more, Super Nintendo, DVD's, CD Walkmans, and satellite navigations.  Then we can go to the 2000's.  We basically just unplugged all of those inventions or enhanced them.  iPods, wireless internet, Blu Ray, and PS3. 

The thing is, when you think about it, the 90's and 2000's had a lot of stupid pieces of technology that were really popular.  According to a poll these are the top tech items from every decade.

TOP GADGETS OF THE 1980S

Walkman

VHS Video Recorder

Electric Toothbrush

Pacman

Cassette Recorder

Etch-A-Sketch

Casio Digital Watch

Speak & Spell

TOP GADGETS OF THE 1990S

DVD

Gameboy

Playstation

Sat Nav

Super Nintendo

Tamagotchi

Furby

Nokia 3210

TOP GADGETS OF THE 2000S

iPhone

Wireless Home Router

Playstation 3

iPod

E-reader

Blu-Ray

Blackberry

Macbook

Going back to the 90's, Tomagotchis and Furby.  Gross, I don't know if there has ever been a more useless tech item than a Furby.  Yes, the Gameboy and Super Nintendo were BIG parts of my life.  I still rock my Super NES today.  The technology in the 2000's is all great but it's nothing really new.  Just better, better picture, better graphics, more connected, or less killed trees (see e-books). 

According to the poll, the 80's were voted as the best decade for new technologies with the Sony Walkman getting the top vote for best tech invention.  I agree, the 80's set the stage for everything up to now.  Walkman's are still great too.  You can't listen to the Brewers or K107.1 (unless you're streaming) on your iPod/Phone thing.  So once again, thank you 80's inventors, you guys are, like, totally, radical and tubular.

Forest Boy is a Hoax

Many of you may not remember me talking about this.  It was my second or third week working here and the Weird News From Across the Pond was about a boy who claimed he was living in the German forest with his dad for 5 years and ended up wondering into Berlin.  He claimed he had no idea who he was or where he came from.  Here is my original blog post from Sept.  In that post I said I hoped this wasn't a hoax.  Too many people were involved and spent too much time on who this boy is and where he came from. 

Now, nine months later, after most of us forgot about this "forest boy," we have our answer and it's very disappointing.  The boy, who called himself Ray, is actually a 20 year old from the Netherlands named Robin van Helsum.  His stepmother and friends positively identified him from the pictures German police put out to international missing persons links.  The German Police are very disappointed with the situation.  A spokes person said, "This is no joke anymore, He made right fools of us."  The boy could have to pay up for his prank and cover the cost of living at the social services for the past nine months and the extensive investigation to find out who he really is.

ABC's Good Morning America had more on the story.

I'm always up for a good prank but not when it involves people who could be spending their time helping people in real need.  Once the police, fire department, or other public offices get involved it's time to come clean and let those people get back to work that matters.  If this were a younger boy, maybe 12 or 13, I'd be more understanding but this "forest boy" is a 20 year old and a young man.  He should know what's too far.  He should be punished and have to cover the costs of his inconvenience.  But if things in Europe are anything like they are in the US, "Forest Boy" will be on the next "Road Rules" or "Survive."

Tuesday's Open Ride with Attitude Sports

I've had my new Specialized Secteur for a little over a month now and finally got to ride with some other riders.  Every Tuesday night at 6pm you can come ride with me and Attitude Sports.  They'll work with riders and give helpful hints on how to go up hills, ride in a group, and change tires on the road.

Last night Dave from Attitude Sports took me up the ledge to work on hills and drafting.  When I normally ride, I try to avoid hills.  By looking at my reports I could really tell how much I avoided them.  My elevation gain is at most 180ft. but yesterday we climbed over 600ft.  Dave said he uses that hill all the time for training.  I used to stand when I was going up hills, but Dave told me it burns out your legs.  If you just sit and keep a good rhythm while climbing you won't be dead after the hill. 

We did two loops up and around the ledge for a total of about 33 miles my longest ride this summer so far.  I can't even explain how much easier it was riding with someone else.  Going into the wind was much less difficult. I only needed to work at about 80%.  and actually going faster than I would be by myself going 100%.  If you ride we hope you join us Tuesday nights at Attitude Sports near the corner of Main and Johnson St in Fond du Lac.

Summer Ride with Attitude Week 1 of June

Keep track of the miles I ride in June because if you have the closest guess, you'll win a bike light set valued at $49.99 from Attitude Sports.  I've gone on two rides this week both on the Prairie view trail.  Both days it was sort of windy but that'll be good practice for when I do some longer rides.  I can tell that I'm getting better because my speeds keep getting faster.  I'm also ready to start looking for some other places to ride. 

My first ride I took the Prairie view trail and then doubled back which was fun because I didn't have to worry about traffic at all.  I also biked to work that day so add another 2.3 miles to what you can gather from my report.

For my second ride, I biked a little more through town on the Brooke St. Trail.  There were a lot of people out on the trail, both biking and walking.  I also stopped by Attitude to check out some of the fliers for tours that are going on this summer.  I know I'm going to Race the Lake in August but I also think I'm going to head back home in July and do the Tour de Paperfest in Kimberly which I've done once before.  However, this time I'll be on a road bike rather than a mountain bike.  I'm guessing it's going to be much easier. 

I probably won't get out for another ride this week because I'll be at Walleye Weekend! Hope to see you there.  Have fun and be safe!

May's Summer Ride With Attitude

Thank you for everyone who followed me in May with my Summer Ride with Attitude. The Specialized Secteur Sport from Attitude has been piling up the miles in May.  We had some very close guesses on how many miles I road in May.  One person was 3.8 miles off my total but that wasn't close enough because Cindy Polster was only 1.3 miles off.  She guessed 167.5 miles.  The actual number of miles I road in may was....drum roll please...166.2 miles.  By following my blogs throughout May and guessing the closest Cindy has won a Specialized Computer from Attitude Sports. 

Keep following my ride in June because you could win more prizes from Attitude Sports.  In June they are giving away a bike light set, with head and tail lights valued at $49.99.

It's been a lot of fun biking and I can tell I'm getting better because my distances and speeds have gone up.  I'm excited for Tuesdays as well this summer because Attitude Sports has their open rides.  Meet in their parking lot on the corner of Johnson and Main in Fond du Lac at 6pm and join them.  They'll give helpful hints for any biker and then go for rides and apply what you've learned. 

May's Biking with Attitude

May is over and I've added up the miles I biked this month.  I did get two more rides I haven't mentioned yet.  One was a really rough 21 mile ride to Rosendale and back.  The reason it was tough was because I didn't know my bike had a break lock.  I must have bumped it.  It was a hard workout being that I biked 21 miles with my breaks on.  The guys at Attitude Sports helped me locate the problem and the next ride I had was my fastest yet.  I took the Prairie View Trail again so you can figure about the same as my other rides on that trail as well as the report I get from my Garmin Edge 200.

On this past Tuesday Attitude Sports started their open ride classes.  I was bummed out when I wasn't able to make it because of high school sports.  They have open rides every Tuesday the rest of the summer at 6pm.  They are free; you just have to meet in their parking lot on Johnson and Main in Fond du Lac.  They will take you out for a ride and teach you some of the skills you might need to know on the road like hill riding, changing a flat, and riding in a group. 

Make sure to take a look at my biking blogs this month.  When you've come up with your guess for how many miles I road, head to K107.com and go to the contest page to submit your guess.  You could win a Specialize Computer for you bike that lets you know your speed, miles, and time. We'll be giving the prize away on Tuesday so get in your guess before then.  Also make sure to keep track of my miles in June because Attitude Sports will be giving away another great prize.