crazy_cyclist's Xanga

Dec. 12, 2007: Time to reactivate?

Wed, 12 Dec 2007 05:43:09 GMT

Hmm, should I reactivate and get blogging again?

Personally, whatever happens from here on, I had my doubts, I had my questions, but after tonight, I know for sure. No doubts, no regreats about what is going to happen.

Sept 5, 2007: What to do???

Thu, 06 Sep 2007 03:28:41 GMT

My preliminary class schedule is pretty sweet, except for the fact that they are all 9:30 classes... Mon, Wed, Frid, plus French every other Wed at lunch... tues and thurs are free, and since I'm only marking, I have a lot more flexibility in doing what I want when I want...

the only thing with this type of schedule is the sheer amount of free time that I have... I can only be on the saddle for so much time a day... lots of potential for gaming too, but I do wanna manage my time wisely...

in a way, this schedule is a blessing and a curse... a blessing in so much free time, a curse in trying to do stuff during that free time...

and history grad studies at Western are kinda weird... I don't start classes until the middle of September... again, more free time and what to do with that free time...

August 25, 2007: Lambton, London, and Lois... 7 more weeks till the Ride...

Mon, 27 Aug 2007 02:53:48 GMT

Updates on the 3 L's...

Lambton: Wow, this place is pretty dirty... the summer subletters were probally too busy bonking one another that they didn't bother cleaning up the place... lots of bugs, esspecially fruit flies in the kitchen area... eck man, the place really needs to be cleaned up... disgusting man... really disgusting... the place is pretty deserted too, course I moved in three weeks before school starts... my roomie hasn't moved in yet, so I have the whole apartment to myself... getting used to leaving the seat down... also, being so close to the hospital is not that good... lots of sirens at all hours, like 3 AM... but that is the price to be payed for instant medical care when I slice open my finger cooking... all in all though, not a bad place to live for a year... I could do much worse...

London: hmm... small city actually... from a cycling prespective, lot more potholes and bumps then Toronto... gotta be much more careful then in Toronto about avoiding potholes... however, 10 mins north of here, it's basically rolling farmland... so pretty nice scenary... also, I've mapped out a 18 km loop that serves pretty well for training purposes... rolling terrain is good for hoping in and out of the saddle... but there are no major climbs to really test and train on... the city itself is not bad, but truth be told, haven't done much exploring... like I knew going in, London / Western will be a big change from living at home beside York...

Lois: so I've formally decided on naming my new Cervelo Soloist, "Lois"... it was that or Solouisa, and Lois sounded better in a Canadian name... damn Lois is nice... fast, stiff, more comfortable because of the carbon seatpost and fork, plus the optional bar gel... the RH550s are surprising durable for this crazy clydestale cyclist... however, the Vittora Pro Lites are rubish... basically, they have no tread nor protection, and you can guess what that equals too... lots of flats... one flat on the second ride, went to get some Conti Ultra Gatorskins... probally the nicest touch about it was the Disco pedals that Endurosport through in the price... major props to them too, excellent service and answering my questions, will definetly recommend them to people looking for a bike... only problem was getting fitted... so I guess I really do have a long torso for my height and extremly short stubby legs... all in all, Lois is everything I've expected in my dreams, and for 3 grand, it should be that way... only downside is that Bianca is getting lonley and jealous... however, in light of the road conditions here in London, I'm taking Bianca out more then I've expected... just something about the reassurance of the heavy metal tank feel about her that I like, esspecially with the roads that are around here... plus, I would wager Bianca is maybe a good 5 pounds heavier then Lois so switching from Bianca and Lois gives me no excuses about why I am riding so slowly...

August 11, 2007: The day the Disco Dream died...

Sat, 11 Aug 2007 03:47:19 GMT

Even though I've got my new Cervelo today, the happiness of having a new baby has been tempered by the annoucement that Motorola / USPS / Disco is disbanding and that the team that has won the tour 8 times in the past 9 years is no more... USPS / Disco was the reason I followed cycling, why I got up early, stayed up late following the tour on OLN / Verses / online cycling sites...

I can understand why, with all of the crap regarding doping, but it doesn't make it any easier to accept...

on the positive side??? today I've got Solouisa, or at least put down the down payment / deposit on it... I have to admit that Endurosport had a positive buying experience... I will post more about my new baby, but I have a leaden heart following the disco announcment...

July 19, 2007: Had enough of this Bull Shit...

Thu, 19 Jul 2007 13:58:55 GMT

um, yeah, things not have been that rosy here in HK lately... lot of family stress from not being able to do what I want, being dragged to things that I don't want to do, and just general different outlooks, priorities, and prespectives on life here... just really want to get out of here and back to reality... things are getting so bad that I'm on the verge of breaking of communication and acknowledgement of some key family members due to various greievences and not being adequetly heard regarding them... I've really had enough of all of this being lied to, misled, and not being heard... as the family's "great hope" I'm being constantly compared, and I hate that... so what if I didn't get into MIT??? so what if my family couldn't afford to send me to boarding school like the other "great hope"??? I'm sick and tired of it all, I'm happy with who I am, what I do, and where I am... I don't need degrees, or other frivilous bull shit to define who I am... I can only pity those who base their lives around such trivial and fake nonsense to define them, when these things don't matter one bit in the end... I'm asked, why do you volunteer at your aunt's church teaching english when you can make $500 Hong Kong Dollars an hour tutoring english??? well, I respond it is rewarding helping people and teaching them English when they can't afford the classes... then the look at me like I'm an idiot for not working for money, for toilling away in an hot class room without air conditioning, teaching kids simple english...

I'm beginning to see how really fake some of my relatives are... for example, one family member keeps on bringing up the fact that all of his children have gotten into MIT, look at them, I'm so great for getting them into MIT, etc... he then basically makes fun of the fact that I'm going to an Canadian school, not so good, la de la... well, Mr. I'm too good for a Canadian school, wasn't the reason you went to McMaster was because you couldn't get into MIT your self you stupid idiot... I was brought up and taught that words are cheap, try not to brag about your accomplishments, do things quietly and let you actions speak for themselves, and an strong belief that everyone was created equal in God's image... unfortunietly, I'm really beginning to see that some people do not share the same philosophy as I do...

and another thing that irks me, my uncle, known as uncle scar (Watch the Lion King), deliberartly raises up my funding question in front of my relatives today, including my granduncle and grandaunt who are graciously supporting me through grad school... he was asked by my grandparents not to bring the subject up in front of my relatives and what does the stupid idiot do??? then he drones on and on about how his daughter is doing this, that, this, and that essentially showing off to them... my uncle goes in front of our english congregation to "share" about his experiences which are nothing more then rants about how holy he is, how he gives so much money to the church, etc... even though I know I shouldn't judge people harshly, he reminds me of some certain phariases that Jesus warned about... I had enough of all of this fakeness and showing off...

if there's one thing that I'm going to take back from this quagmire that has become this trip, was an better understanding of who I am, what is important to me, and where I stand in the world...

5 more days, 5 more days of this crap then I can come home, to reality, and to real people who acknowledge and care about who you are rather then what you have and don't have...

July 18, 2007: Stage 9: DISCO rampage...

Wed, 18 Jul 2007 01:51:13 GMT

wow, all I can say is that Disco was on a rampage on Stage 9... good move by Contador to attack like that... smart riding by Leipheimer not wasting his energy by staying with the other GC contenders...

however, this one image of the race...

http://www.cyclingnews.com/photos/2007/tour07/index.php?id=/photos/2007/tour07/tour079/LCTM-TDF07S9-011

really talks to me... I like Vino, actually, I love watching him... he is a psychopathic attacker and really brings exciment to the stage... seeing his GC tour hopes evapoerate like that and seeing the emotions at the end of the stage like that, that is what the tour is about...

on a side note, going to be home soon... can't wait...

July 13, 2007: Was that the key moment???

Fri, 13 Jul 2007 02:40:46 GMT

Has the Tour hit it's key moment in stage 5??? crashes to Astana with Klodin, who is doubtful for stage 6, and Vino, who lost 90 seconds in GC, means that Astana has to be on the offensive... also, how stupid was the Noval crash??? some idiot is playing up to the TV crew and slams the brakes on his car, not realizing that Noval was behind him and he goes right through the rear glass of the wagon... remember folks, a car always wins vs. a bike...

people ask why didn't the other teams wait for Vino??? he is a Vuelta champion, but that means little... besides, the other teams were trying to close down the gap to the breakaway, meaning the speed was high already making it almost impossible for the catch... one must remember stage 4 of the 2004 tour when Iban Mayo crashed, and lost 4 minutes with a hard charging peleton pulling to the line at maximum speed...

while cruel, that's the Tour...

July 11, 2007: Honouring the Yellow Jersey

Wed, 11 Jul 2007 05:06:15 GMT

so far this tour has been pretty exciting... stage one, McEwen bounces back with the help of his teammates from a crash and wins the stage... then this stage, stage three, Cancellara honours the Yellow Jersey by beating out the sprinters... for a guy known as a superb TTer he is able to bang out the big victories, e.g. Paris - Roubaix last year, then this stage... he is having a wonderful season and is showing his ability to be more then a one trick TT pony... while he will never be CSC's GC man in that his size and power aren't meant for climbing, me think that he can be contention for the Green Jersey at the end of the Tour in Paris, esspecially if Sastre fades...

Late Addition...

Wed, 11 Jul 2007 04:56:25 GMT

in the pic of the link, Benny the 16th does not strike a flattering pose... Amen to CNN for that...

July 11, 2007: Them be Fighting Words

Wed, 11 Jul 2007 04:54:03 GMT

so it seems Benny the 16th has issued a statement to the effect that we Protestants are not true "Churches"...

http://www.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/europe/07/10/pope.churches.reut/index.html

them be fighting words I say... the idea of being eucemnical and unity between the three branches of Christianity can benefit little from such words, esspecially now that they have become official Catholic doctrine due to the questionable concept of "Papal Infaliability"... furthermore it serves to illustrate the fact that Benny 16th wishes to have all Christians recognize him and his authority which is totally unacceptable to my personal Christian doctrines...

I do not recognize or accept the authority of the Pope and with these ill considered words, I understand why... them be fighting words I say...