SUNDAY

1. Getting ready to watch the NASCAR race at the Brickyard. Rooting for Kyle Busch. It takes courage to be a Busch fan.

2. The honeymoon for Obama is definitely over. He will get some kind of healthcare bill signed, and it will be utter tomfuckery. The question--Will there be a public option?

3. Generally speaking, I am on the side of Skip Gates even if he showed his ass a bit. I deal with the public everyday, and I don't get to arrest the people who piss me off. As for Obama, he should stay out of local matters.

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Minuteman Bikeway

The Co-Habitant and I finally took Marianne and Miles to the Minuteman Bikeway. The Minuteman Bikeway is an 11 mile paved bike trail that runs from the edge of Cambridge, Mass., through Arlington and Lexington, ending in Bedford.

The trail was built along the old Boston-Maine railroad line, which you can see a glimpse of in Bedford. This train car has been converted into a cafe serving hot dogs and ice cream to hungry cyclists.

What I loved most about the Minuteman Bikeway is the abundance of shade! I am one of those persons who burns horribly and gets instant heatstroke at the mere whisper of direct sunlight in temperatures over 75F. A bike trail that runs almost entirely under overarching trees is a rare blessing. I can come here at any time of day and do a 22-mile loop without falling into a heat-induced delirium!

What I did not love so much, is that the trail interrupts for road intersections. The cars were courteous, but still I dream of an endless bike trail without interruptions -- Is there an American version of the Danube Cycling Path?

I was warned that going on the Minuteman on weekends was not a good idea, as it gets congested with slow-moving families and joggers. But we went mid-day on a Saturday, and didn't find it too bad. Certainly less crowded than the Charles River Trail.

Conveniently, there are several cafes and grocery shops, and two bike shops along the trail. Pictured above is the Bike Stop, selling lots of nice used bikes in addition to new ones, as well as cold drinks and snacks.

And at the end of the trail is the Bikeway Source, selling new bicycles, athletic bike clothing and many accessories, including some neat grocery panniers made of bamboo. We were told by the employees that after the Bikeway ends in Bedford, there is an unpaved dirt trail that continues all the way to Concord. It is accessible by mountain bike, but only during dry weather conditions, turning swamplike when it rains.

The Minuteman Bikeway is a scenic 22-mile round trip trail that is useful for pros and accessible to beginners. Riding Marianne was great fun and the longish ride made me a lot more comfortable with handling her. The most difficult part was cycling to the start of the trail from our house, in busy traffic through Somerville. Those who live around Boston know that this area is not ideal if you are not 100% steady on your bike! As I've mentioned earlier, I am not comfortable riding a road bike in traffic yet, so this was a challenge. The Co-Habitant gallantly made it easier by riding and signaling in a way that made us both visible. I probably could not do it alone at this point. One step at a time!

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Pony Rides

Amy has been asking ALL week to ride - She spent Friday and Saturday with her Grandparents but was home early this afternoon and, the first thing she asked, 'Can I ride my pony Mummy?'. It seems the confidence and enthusiasm is back with a vengeance so off we trotted to bring Maxi in for a spin. She is back to thinking she is six foot tall and bullet proof however so I had to remind her that she really needs to practice the basics before she can go galloping off across the country. Thankfully Maxi has no desire to go galloping off across the country with her either and she had her first ride off the lead in the 'arena'. Maxi was a little confused and could not really understand why he was not allowed to follow me but was soon obliging and trudging around with Amy trying to get the steering sorted. He's such a good pony.

Amy wanted to trot but I reminded her that trots were only allowed on the lunge and so it was. She even rode him back to the yards by herself - I am really happy to see her so enthusiastic as I was beginning to worry that perhaps she might never get her confidence back.

On their own

Going for a wander

Concentration

Hold on!

coz Maxi says 'Yehar!'

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Blog Neglect and Other Shit

I have been neglecting my blog lately. Posting has been minimal, and very little of it has been original content. Most of my original content has been on the SC Liberty Blog and the Godless Columbia blog. I need to correct this and get back to my roots here at the CBlog.

In the news, Godless Columbia wants to change its name to something less offensive. I think this idea is stupid, but I'm not going to defect from the group if it happens. I don't give a fuck what other people think, and if anyone doesn't like the fact that I am not a deluded religious fucktard like they are, they can suck my dirty dick.

I am told that "godless" offends Wiccans and Christians in our group. This is like vegetarians getting offended because they found animal flesh at Outback Steakhouse. Meanwhile, certain venues wouldn't host our meetings because of our name. I don't have a problem with this because it is their right to do as they like with their property. They also have the right to kiss my ass.

What offends people is the fact that you don't believe in their delusion. Atheists are a reminder that there is no God. Freethinkers are an affront to ignorance. I do not find this surprising or alarming. Changing the name won't change these facts.

At some point in your life, you have to decide where you stand and take a stand and let the chips fall where they may. If this means losing friends and family, then fuck them. I'm quite content to let people do as they please so long as it doesn't hurt me, and they will extend me the same courtesy or suffer the consequences. At the end of the day, I don't want to rule over others, and they aren't going to rule over me.

In my affiliation with Godless, I have learned that most atheists are leftards and cowards. If you're thinking the nerd herd from high school, you would be correct. And like the nerd herd, these folks desperately want to be liked, and they can't understand why people don't like them. I think it is because it is hard to respect someone who licks your ass. Dropping the "Godless" name is definitely a tongue-to-brown eye move.

Am I militant? I don't think so. I reserve that term for people who use force. I'm not into that. I am simply outspoken. I believe in what I believe in, and I treat people the same way they treat me. I don't care if someone believes in religion. That is their right. But they aren't going to make me believe in it or make me feel bad because of it. And when some atheist proposes forcing something on a Christian through the "democratic" process, I am on the side of the Christian. I make a distinction between my preferences and my principles, and my principles always win out even when I don't like it.

I think atheists should have the courage to take a stand, respect the rights of others, and never use force unless force is used on them. You teach other people how you want to be treated. If you act like a coward, you will be treated that way. The wolves always go after the sheep, so don't be a sheep.

At some point, I will be tossed out of this group. There would definitely be some comedy in that. But there would be honor, too. Cowardice despises courage and will smash the mirror held up to it. Godless Columbia should consider changing its name to Chickenshit Atheists. The Wiccans might like that.

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33/37 is ok, but I hope the happy days when I hoovered around 40 will come back :-).
Hands still a bit raw.

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Fail

Justin Vaughan you have failed. You have failed as a CEO. You have failed to do the best for New Zealand Cricket. You have failed to admit this is a disaster. You have failed in your job. There is only one thing for you to do and that is to resign your position as head of NewZealand cricket.

For yourself to come out and declare victory in signing top New Zealand players to play Australia and that they had integrity for putting country before dollars was a lie.

You see, those players were already going to play for NewZealand because the start of the season doesn't clash with the IPL season. Now the truth has come out and it's awful for the crcket lovers of out country.

You have agreed to drop a test against Australia, so the likes of Mill's and Oram wont miss a match for their IPL team, that means only two tests against them this summer.

That is not a test series, its an adbomination, they arent hereo's for choosing country over the dollar, infact its the opposite, they would of gone in screaming into the negoitations, that you better not have a third test or else they wont play at all.

You caved in, instead of telling them where to go and tearing up their contract, you caved in and worse of all you tried to declare victory and say it's a good thing.

Well its not Mr Vaughan, you have destroyed this summer and that is unforgiveable, do the honorable thing and resign.

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Bike and Cat Gallery!

We have two cats, and they both love to sniff and investigate our bicycles. After a reader sent me a photo of his own cat examining his vintage Raleigh, I decided to start a gallery. If you would like to share a photo of your cat with your bike, please send it to the address at the bottom of this post. I will keep expanding the gallery.

One of my own two kitties, photographed during a moody moment through the spokes of my Pashley Princess.

My other kitty, looking longingly at the Co-Habitant's Pashley Roadster.

This gray kitty belongs to reader J.E.P., photographed with his newly acquired 1979 Raleigh Sprite.

Trisha's new kitten Wally, on her Peugeot mixte. From Let's Go Ride a Bike.

Dottie's beautiful kitty sniffing her Rivendell Betty Foy. From Let's Go Ride a Bike.

The white kitty in this spectacular shot belongs to KT of Velo Vogue. This is one of my all-time favourite bicycle photos, and notice the Motobecane mixte!

Shelly's kitty Lazlo, from Riding Pretty!

C_C_Rider's Guest Kitty, from Ride your Bike. No doubt the guest was attracted by the Surly in the background.


Submitted by coldfeet via bikeforums: "I know he hates riding in cars, must try him out in the cat box strapped to the rack." (Um... yes, let me know how that goes!)

The intriguing Smudgie belongs to Maschka at bikeforums. He is performing the same acrobatic maneuver with two different bicycles. Maybe it is his bicycle dance?

Machka's Sabre (RIP), photographed with her Maruishi touring bike.

This photo of little Willow was submitted by terraskye from Edmonton, via bikeforums. "My cat loves my bike... Anytime I bring it out of the storage room she has to come over and take a look.. This time she was just watching the ice melt in the water bottle."

JanMM's Spooky inspecting his Rans V-rex. Submitted via bikeforums.

This basket-cat belongs to Beth Terry from Fake Plastic Fish.

This feline camper is from the website of David Naylor.

And this sweet kitty is asleep in one of David Hembrow's bicycle baskets.

Submit your bike and cat photos to:

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