Jefferson Cup-A perfect day!

Yeah Mike! Keep your hands on the bars dude; it's no time to play around! Is that a smile?

Bill-always attacking.

D-Bo! Love the new wheels!

On my cloud.


A well deserved meal after a great day. Chipotle: the best place ever! Take a close look at the light. How cool is that?

And check this out...I was just at the race to have fun, see some friends, and support, however, I still get my photo taken. I was on my bike racing against Jess in her car(I did beat her once) and apparently I had my photo taken. That's how I train...I race cars. Try it, it works! Here's the picture. Splendid! Take pictures of the racers, not me!

Grand Prix de Santa Ana

In order to check out the progress of the Grand Prix de Santa Ana, I had to dig up some Español skills that I haven't used in forever. What are you looking for? STT(Schick Target Training)! Root for them! Their clothing is made by Champion Systems; same people we're getting our clothing from-awesome stuff. Good ol' Charlie does not recommend the white shorts-what a bummer! I think my rump would look spectacular in white cycling shorts Charlie! A bit late in the game, but i'll have to design something else. The cyclocross skinsuits...they're gonna be on fire! Check out all the links!

Finally, Manimal action.

Here are some pictures from the race! It's about time I start racing! I'm kinda like Matt Damon in the movie Good Will Hunting; he's a math genius but doesn't apply himself-I was the same way with riding and racing. Not any more!

We have a kick-ass team! We all had a great performance. My director sportif and coach, Rob, decided to join the race and was involved in a crash. I dedicate my win to Rob! Also, I dont have to hear Andy yell at me anymore. Everytime I see him, the first thing he says is "you better win!"(EVERYONE tells me that; it's a lot of pressure guys! ok, not really.) I swear, I heard that so much from him, I'm surprided that I haven't seen a billboard on the road saying "you better win!" with Andy's face beside it. Or on TV- "pardon the interruption, but Andy wants to tell Steven that 'he better win!' Ok, now back to the program..." Jess was in town and had to leave before the race, but she decided to delay her departure so she could be my #1 motivator, supporter, podium girl....etc. Her mom and pops even joined her to come support me. Awesome!



For the win!
Podium girls: Jess and Susan!

Oh baby, oh baby

So today i decided to go to Afton, Va and do more hill riding. It took me 2 hours to get out of Chesapeake because of traffic(cars suck!). I didn't know what was holding traffic up and I didn't want to find out-I just found an alternate way to get off my island. Check out the wierd truck I saw. It looks like a small truck in the bed of a larger truck? I've never seen a truck like it before-kinda wierd I think. I'm not always the smartest guy, but i had to take a picture of that. It's a bit difficult trying to take a picture of the car in front while using the zoom feature! Yeah...the zoom really screws up your perception when you're looking at the camera display and driving. It's like driving with binoculars-it seems like the car is 5 feet away but it's really half a mile up the road. Freaky! Oh right, I finally started my ride at 12:30. whew! After my long day of driving and riding, I found out that my new TT helmet came in. It's sick! It even matches "the shark!" Even though it may look like it, i'm not wearing it around my house-it's back in the box. Come to think of it, I don't know why women like men who are cyclist; we're always trying to get a faster time. Sorry, random thoughts popping out. Later!

Is that crazy looking or what? Or do I just have mental problems?

You see, thats the damn zoom! Try to picture going 70mph and looking at that through a screen and the car is actually way up the road.

Even I'd have to say thats pretty gay.

More blogity blog bike stuff

Any ideas on what this is?

Almost there...The new shop is kicks-ass! I know someone who has hand towels in her bathroom with the same colors. Wierd coincidence when i saw that.

Gucci build of the day. Roi bicycles-first time i've seen/heard of these guys. Just another carbon bike really.

This is a don't! That applies to Rob's stylish fashon and posing like that next to another guy. Not a good image.

I don't know about other people, but cutting up a carbon bike ALWAYS makes my day better.

Where's my parachute?

I'm out riding the shark! (Should have used the carbon wheels, they would have helped out) That was actually in the parking lot of a Food Lion(start of the DDTT) that just so happens to be the explanation for the Food Lion nickname of "Ghetto Cat." Yeah...we were potiential targets for robbery-driving around with bikes on the roof and wearing spandex. later on, After my hard day of riding, I almost busted my chin open for a 4th, 5th and 6th time trying to walk up stairs. Yeah, I fell 3 times going up and down stairs. My legs were noodles. My time trial needs imporvements, so it's time to start the "ride til you puke" program.

Some things bother me

There isn't much to say about this one because it's oh, so obvious! I dont know what anyone else thinks about this, but I like to think that i'm normal, and seeing "industrial strength" on a can on pasta sauce raises some questions in my mind; questions that i'm not too comfortable with. Whatever it is that crazy, old Newman is up to, it's definitely in the wrong direction.

Good Save

Today was Mom's birthday and I almost forgot about it-i'm getting old. Since she was born on the leap year, I could save myself the trouble of remembering every year and just celebrate her birthday every 4 years, but since i'm so nice, I cut her some slack and celebrate it on the 28th. As a last minute thing, I snagged her a chintzy cake from ghetto cat, took their entire stock of birthday candles, and I was on my way. First thing she said, "I figured you forgot about my birthday."
"well damn, if it's like that, i'll take the cake back MOM!"
"you should, all those candles make me feel old-those candles will cremate me if i light them all."
I made her day though, even if all those candles erupted into a massive inferno and almost burnt down her house. Nice!

Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da

Another day in the life of steven...

The day started off with the sight of a great billboard-props to the sleep center of Chesapeake General Hospital. I rolled up to the shop in my whip and decided to block Rob's car in(by the end of the day when Mr. B showed up, i was the one blocked in. Karma i tell you; it gets me everytime). Shortly after, i recieved news of a customer who likes to make himself at home around the shop just a bit too much. Before i arrived at the shop, this customer took my bike down and went to take my saddle off (OFF!) so he could buy it! People, we're talking about going to the back(employees only), getting an allen wrench, and taking my saddle off. WAAAAH!! Good thing Rob was there to stop this criminal behavior-i'll be good and keep this section PG, so i'll leave it at that. The saddle incident greatly disturbed Rob and I. A song by the Beatles came on, Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da, and cheered me up; however, Rob was still spastically shaking. We were given the permission from another customer to toss out their bike because there was no hope in repairing it. What did we do? Bike toss! We destroyed that bike by just throwing it and smashing it into whatever. It's custom now...aerodynamic smashed-in top tube, extra bend in the handlebar, multiple cracks in rear wheel. I found out that i had a lot of built up anger because i was doing most of the destruction. Everyone claims that i'm upset because i haven't heard from a friend in a few days, but i think i was just having a fun time. Life was great at the end of the day-heard a great song, tossed a around a bike, did some rare and unexpected modeling, talked to a girl who wants to wear a white skinsuit for me. Rob was better for one of the following reasons: he saw my mankini modeling picture, me modeling his new vintage wool jersey, the bike toss, cool cycling coffee, or the beer and his babe at the end of the day. I sure hope it was the last one.

Retarded

Hey, it's custom!

The wrath of Troy continues

Another disturbing bumper sticker made by Troy. It takes a sick mind to have this kind of creativity, but it's great entertainment. Somebody please give that man some better med's.

Don't know who, but someone is a big fan around the shop. #1 is good, but like i say, if you set yourself to a certain limit, you mentally block yourself to grow past that limit. And there is always room for growth; even if you're #1.

Homemade bumper stickers from Glamour Magazine

Good ol' Troy-always up-to-date on the coolest bumper sticker trends. Victim: Rob's sweet Volvo 240.

Rob has a request for new stuff

Alright Rob, how's this for new stuff? I pitched in my donations for the shop beer account and Susan brought me back some delicious Stella that just happened to contain a Gentleman's guide to Romantic Perfection(for you). As for me, she got me a succulent York Peppermint Patty and we shared a delightful Almondjoy candy bar together! She knows how you dont like coconut, so she came to me so fulfill her needs. ok, all of that was just a bunch of b/s, but hey...beers are in the fridge(dont mess with the ribollita), and you have a See's Candy lollypop next to the computer waiting for you-a gift from Mandy, to me, to you. Enjoy!

Bad luck strikes again

Damn the Sidi's, damn them! I've only had the shoes for 3 months and thay've failed me-cracked! This is gonna be the blog that everyone reads so they don't feel so bad about their life. well hey, shit happens. On a better note, the weather was great today, i had an awesome ride, and thanks to Rob, my new name is Mandymal-life couldn't be better. With a name like that, i am bound to be slower. Ouch, that's gonna hurt later, i know it.

Manimal kryptonite

It's about the little things in life. On a day where everything goes wrong-such as today-only two things were able to make it better, and this coconut was one of those things. Strange, i know.
-Swaping pedals and cutting your hand on a chain ring is NEVER fun.
-Playing "catch-up" because you're late for a ride: sucks.
-It's 35 degrees and windy. Because you're late, you decide to skip out on some necessary clothing and freeze-to-death: misserable. (Thawing-out process: 1 hour)
-Bonking on a ride: soul-crushing!

My buddy mitch stayed with me and made a pit-stop for a few succulent candy bars which resulted in a full recovery. This rare event gave everyone a boost of confidence because they finally saw me crack-the guy that rips off their legs and leaves their extremities scattered in the street. Dont get too excited guys; i'll be back. It was only a hiccup; a bad day in the mountains for Marco Pantani. When it comes down to it, there isn't a single day that i don't have fun on my bike. Today was just a good experience. Experience is one thing you can't get for nothing.