1SkinnyBlog

Ghcaa Ghcaa Ghcaa Ghcaa!!!! (ian & christoph)

2008-09-14T10:30:00.003-04:00

Since Christoph is back in town as a cripple, we have been taking trips together on the scooter.

Crutches make good machine guns!

Happy Rickshaw is really maturing this semester. We have about 25 active drivers and plenty of demand. We were recently featured in the C-Ville:

http://www.c-ville.com/index.php?cat=121304062461064&ShowArticle_ID=11800809083693575

Lata.

New Ian project: www.theEsociety.org

Benin Bound (christoph)

2008-06-25T14:20:00.010-04:00

Hello friends,

As most of you know, I'm headed out of town for a little while. I'm leaving July 1st for 27 months of Peace Corps Service in Benin.

In where? Benin is young republic in West Africa. It's located between Togo and Nigeria, and it covers an area about the size of Virginia. Beninese culture revolves around sustenance farming, with predominating animist religion (Voodoo) and strong tribal traditions. I'm sure these blurry images will be supplanted by the visceral realities of my particular community, friends and experiences. Benin has sustained a peaceful democracy since a brief brush with Marxism in the 1980's. It's a beautiful place, with a mangrove coast and thick forest in the highlands.

And 12 species of monkeys. Boy do I love monkeys.

I'll be working as a natural resources adviser: helping to adopt sustainable harvesting practices where clear-cutting has devastated forests, improving the productivity of local food systems, and teaching HIV/AIDS awareness on the side. I have no delusions of spreading enlightenment and saving the world, but hopefully I'll be able to collaborate with some folks, mix ideas together, and facilitate small steps towards healthier people and ecosystems. There's no doubt I'll learn much and get dirt between my toes.

The last few months have been a giddy whirlwind of travels with friends and family.

I'm going to step aside from 2skinnypros and let it rest as an archive of several incredible years. I would however like to introduce you to the newest iteration of my online personality:

www.wanderlustimagery.com

This journal will present mostly photographs with sparse text, and I'll keep it updated sporadically whenever I cross paths with the internet.

cheers folks, and thanks for reading.

Christoph

Studio Update

2008-05-20T23:57:00.005-04:00

Sorry it's been awhile, we've been putting a lot of work into the new album.

We laid down the final track tonite... and though we haven't inked the record deal, we'll give you a little sample.

LISTEN TO OUR MASTERPIECE, CLICK HERE

racing again?

2008-03-02T01:44:00.001-05:00

paparazzi have submitted the following images. herby is suspected of engaging in racing type activities.

Boulder Mountain Tour (christoph)

2008-02-13T22:27:00.006-05:00

The BMT is a big nordic race that starts here at Galena Lodge. 800 skinny white people in bright spandex. Anaerobic threshold. Oh the good old days...

idaphoto (christoph)

2008-01-30T13:58:00.000-05:00

sure is fun taking pictures around here.

standing deadwood

moonrise, Galena Peak

surface of the moon?

weathered wood

Saturn fades at dawn, Mushroom Ridge

the Galena bandit, caught and released

full moon over Galena

BFF

snowslamaroo ('stoph)

2008-01-06T00:09:00.001-05:00

big storm. mother nature gave us the business.
the snow is up to my nipples.

today's jump session and glamour shoot:

Randall does the nasty.

Flip fo' real.

Andrew.

like a dream.

Christoph.

does this void the warranty on my cross country skis?

christmas eve/day (christoph)

2008-01-02T17:48:00.001-05:00

what an awesome christmas. i missed the family, but good friends and deep pow-pow kept spirits high.

serving dinner at the lodge, christmas eve.

the sun rises christmas morning

and the moon sets

a glorious bluebird day

Sheffield climbs the Cross

Sanderford rides in the back seat

ski number 2 on christmas day: climbing to the Funnel

it's a turkey.

happy 2008 everyone. hugs n' kisses.

yurtin' (christoph)

2007-12-14T18:12:00.000-05:00

after the first biggie snow.

cozytown.

shoveling the lodge roof.

in the ski shop. storage system jerry-rigged from an old couch frame.

backcountry (christoph)

2007-12-07T13:34:00.000-05:00

"The Cross"
Sawtooth Mountains.

travel vid (christoph)

2007-11-28T20:24:00.001-05:00

got this video uploaded... keeping myself company on the long road west.

journeywest (christoph)

2007-11-15T01:23:00.000-05:00

The VW and I made it safely to Idaho together. We had quite a trip. The photos tell our story:

along route 36, Missouri

route 36, Kansas

more Kansas

living simply

southern Wyoming

pit stop

Craters of the Moon National Monument, central Idaho

big rig

Teton County, Idaho

almost there

my new home: Galena, Idaho

Huffdrea!

2007-11-05T02:24:00.000-05:00

Congratulations Peter and Andrea. What a beautiful day in so many ways.

November 3, 2007
Crozet, VA

Herby goes West (christoph)

2007-10-18T18:17:00.001-04:00

Okay people. Anybody still read this thing? Give me a shout, old enemies and friend-o-me's.

My dad tells a story of riding the subway in NYC. Amidst the uncomfortable silence and blank stares, a grizzly old man steps into the car and proclaims: "ain't it good to be alive and goin' somewhere!"

Amen brotha.

I'm moving to Ketchum, Idaho in 2 weeks.

I've wrangled some employment at Gelena Lodge, a backcountry ski center 23 miles north of Ketchum. No lifts or groomers in sight. This place is for the free-healers. I'll be waxing skis, shoveling snow, and delivering supplies via snowshoe to the yurts. In my free time I will wrestle the Yeti.

This is most likely the end of my tenure in Charlottesville. I'll be moving off the North American continent in mid-2008. Details TBA.

Ian and I have been working towards a more self-sustaining Happy Rickshaw. We've had an awesome fall, and we want to keep this puppy running. We're promoting some drivers to management positions and nailing down long-term relationships with UVA and the C'ville community. It's super exciting. I feel like I've raised a baby wolf and it's time to set him loose in the wild.

Ian will be in the 'ville for another couple years with Darden, tracking the wolf with a radio collar and setting some kibbles on his porch once in awhile.

We intend to keep this blog rolling. This is NO LONGER A BIKE RACING BLOG. But it is our little corner of the web, where we'll tell stories, marvel at the world, and perpetuate self-deprecating humor.

If you've got this site bookmarked in your "cycling" folder, move that shit. If you've stumbled on this site looking for cycling stories, check out our archives, or click that little arrow in the top left corner of your screen.

We ain't racing pro these days, but we both love bikes as much as ever. It's a different kind of love, one might say.

Exhibit 1: I'm in Switzerland right now, visiting family. This afternoon I pedaled from my
dad's doorstep to the top of the Col de La Givrine. Then I stashed the bike and climbed up the summit of La Dole, overlooking Lake Geneva. Lovin' it.

Next week I'm headed home to pack up and turn some wrenches on the 1971 VW Beetle that I'll be driving to Idaho.

Thanks for reading. Don't be a stranger.

Party 2007 in the bag (christoph)

2007-10-07T15:26:00.000-04:00

Wowzy.

Party night started off strong with a guest appearance from Jose's Taco Truck.

Then we flipped on the fog machine and lasers for a killer set from Straight Punch to the Crotch.

Later the warehouse morphed into a rowdy dance party with a side of rickshaw wranglin'.

Thank you all who came out and shook those lovely groove thangs.

(and thanks to Ross McDermott/www.surfacebelow.com for the photos)

Rickshaw Gitdown!

2007-09-25T18:45:00.000-04:00

Happy Rickshaw:

3,480 passengers
24 drivers
4 rickshaws
1 full year of peace, love, and pedal power

Please join us Wednesday October 3rd to celebrate Happy Rickshaw's first anniversary.

We'll have live electropop music from Swift Punch to the Crotch. Odds are good that you'll find some beer and a good lookin' dance partner.

Bring your friends. Forward this email to your favorite people.

Wednesday October 3rd
8pm
Frank IX Warehouse, Downtown

find more details at www.happyrickshaw.com/party

Small cash donation encouraged/appreciated.

Jugglin', Scooter Tippin', Learnin' (ian)

2007-09-16T00:32:00.000-04:00

I rediscovered why I love cycling today. It has been a supe-challenging last three weeks at biz school- lots of stizzy. Tons of balls are getting tossed my way to juggle. This sum(mer) I was jugg'n about 3 balls, and Darden has added about 2 balls per week for the last 4 weeks. That's a total of 11 balls. Do you anyone who can jug 11 balls? Yea, me neith(er). What if I told you that those balls were actually broken glass shards and flaming bird bones. Well they're not- they're just balls.

Oh yea, the rediscovering... so I was pretty grump(y) for the first fort-five mins of my ride, but then I rolled over this small rise with a tailwind. I got up out of my saddle and farted. My whole perspective changed. I got a huge shiez-eatin' grin on my face and rolled into a picturesque green valley drenched in the late afternoon sun. The cows pumped me nods of approval as I Midas'd the land with goodness.

So, I have been slamming it to Darden in a dope scooter I just bought. However, I went out to the parking garage this morning to find that some of my fellow humans had done a little scooter-tippin'.

Initially, this enraged me. However, I was fast to agree with my new roommate, Erriott, that if I were to witness any random scooter-tippin', I prolly would laugh my bum off. So, I can't be too mad. But if I find the clammy meat pouch that did this... I will definitely lock him in his car and proceed to blow up his car.

Happy Rickshaw is off to a friggin' awesome start this fall. We have many returning drivers and several new ones who are juuuuust thuuuuuper. Christoph has been woking his knuckles off to cover for me as I battle to dominate at school. Spanks, Christoph.

Here's tonite's rickshaw crew.

Here's what it's like in a Darden classroom...

...it's different than bike riding, but similar in many ways... like for example. 10 hours in a swivel chair is roughly equal to 4 hours in the sad(dle). Getting cold-called is sorta like a blowout in the turn of a crit. Falling asleep in discussion is sorta like bonking. And, the competition feels the same--- temporary alliances are formed, but are destroyed as students battle for their participation grade.

I am loving school, but sorta miss racing. Without a doubt, going back to school was the best decision. The most challenging thing is trying to stay mentally focused all day. 3 years of riding bikes and having almost full-control over my schedule was not good prep for biz school. But, the immense schedule demands at Darden are just what I need to get this dusty Commodore 64 running at top speed.

Riding with Cell Phone (ian)

2007-09-01T15:39:00.001-04:00

So I was driving rickshaws last nite, and answered a few phone calls while driving.

Who else feels cool when they're talking on a cell phone on a bike?

O yes, B-School has started and life is a bit different now. I went from having near complete freedom with my schedule, to nearly none. It is very difficult to stay focused all day on school- harder than I thought it would be. I am so used to being able to choose when and what I do.

Spoilers - a MUST buy (ian)

2007-08-02T09:22:00.000-04:00

Look. If you ride your bike a lot, then you really need to buy a pair of these things called SPOILERS. There less than $10- and have really increased my pleasure of riding. I use them every ride.

Plus, when I ride with an iPod, less wind noise takes away from the music.

Seriously- just buy a pair for yourself and your friends-- if you are someone who enjoys the finer things in life...

They take some patient time to install correctly- but once they're installed, you won't need to muck with them.

Felt FS (ian)

2007-07-28T13:58:00.000-04:00

Selling last year's rig. Details.

Aid in the salvation of a washed-up domestic pro. Everyone on last year's squad, including me, really liked this bike. I'd keep it but need money. Some very good days were spent on this bike.

Since Christoph and I are getting older and more serious, it is becoming increasingly difficult to produce an entertaining blog. Also, since Christoph backed-off & I've been sickly and have sucked it pretty bad this year, blogging was particularly lame. Sorry. It was easy to write blogs for the first two years.

Anyway, I think we'll attempt to try and produce a closing string of worthwhile/entertaining and/or meaningful blogs. Then, we'll just let this little nook of nonsense drift off into the void of cyberspace.

July, already? (ian)

2007-07-25T10:21:00.001-04:00

My halloween photo is now the 5th hit when you do a Google image search for 'floyd landis.' We all think it's pretty hilarious & great.

I am not racing Toona. Do I wish I was? Sure.

I took some time last week to relax, as suggested by many, and went to the beach for a bit in NJ. Beautiful. Since it's a bit of a reset, I am doing shorter rides and also hitting up the gym to pump legs. Exciting. Who wants to hear more? I don't. Blah blah blah.

Since ain't nuttin' exciting happening with bike racing right now, I am trying to make a list of blog topics to write about. Like: how to be cool in the pro-pel, or how to change a flat tire with one hand. If you, our loyal reader, want anything particular blogged about, just let us know, by all means. I recommend suggesting topics that are embarrassing or insulting. Cool.

Anyone want to buy my Colavita Felt from last year? 60cm? Very sexy.

Good Morn G'Ville News (ian)

2007-07-11T12:15:00.000-04:00

I stopped in at Blue Wheel on Monday to pick up tha P-Hen's b-day gift- a Thule roofrack adapter kit. While I was there, I learned that the Rog got 6th at the Master's Nat'l TT. Good on ya, Rog. Also while I was there, Spaisley told me that CBS news would be at the shop early Tues morning to do a LIVE piece about how local fans take to the Tour de France. Scott invited me to show up at 4:30am to get ready for a couple of live segments. I was happy to be invited. I was on the air before the coffee had really soaked in. If you use Microsoft Internet Explorer, you can watch the interview. You need to click the title of the article to see video. (there's no plugin for Firefox)

The interviewer, Audrey Pernik, was a bit of a cycling fan herself. I told her about Happy Rickshaw, and she was interested in hopping on a rickshaw during Good Morning Charlottesville sometime this fall. Now that's cool. Rickshaws on TV. Cool.

But wait, there's more exiting news. Christoph sent me an email this morning instructing me to do a Google image search for "floyd landis." OK. Check out the third row result. It's Happy Halloween all over again.

Thank you everyone for kind comments re: going to grad school, and also supportive comments while I'm struggling to reverse my undeserved slide in fitness.

This particular comment was pretty great:
So this means you suck as a bike rider right? What is "Darden"? It's a Harvard "wannabe". And not a good one. Look at the rankings, "Mr. Pump Yourself Up".Get real.

Completely ignoring the acerbic nature of this loser's comment... I'd like to respond. I think that Darden and Harvard Business School are the only two MBA programs in the top-20 that solely use the Case Method for teaching. There are no lectures at Darden. Everyday, every student must prepare a case in each class for a classroom-led discussion. The professor cleverly orchestrates/steers the discussion, and you learn by being part of the exchange. This is pretty friggin' cool- mostly because I couldn't stay awake in any of my undergrad courses that were lectures. There was no way I was going to pay for an MBA and then sleep through it. Like Harvard, Darden publishes a ton of cases that many other highly-ranked business schools use as part of their curricula. So- check that out... I didn't only Pump Myself Up, I also pumped up Darden.

Pumped-up.

Darden (ian)

2007-07-05T14:02:00.000-04:00

I am super-dupe happy to announce that I'll be a student at the Darden Graduate School of Business this fall!

For the last two years, my hunger for mental stimulation and challenge has steadily grown. The word on the street is that Darden's MBA program is the hardest in the nation. It's an extremely good school, and I am itching to do the equivalent of a VO2 effort every time I walk into the classroom.

Happy Rickshaw (our little pedicab company) has continuously blown my mind with its challenge and unexpected complexity. In the process of researching, planning, and operating Happy Rickshaw, I have learned that there is a LOT LOT LOT to learn about business. Well, DUH. But, as I aspire to move onto business challenges greater than Happy Rickshaw, it is abundantly clear that an MBA is the best next step in my career.

As many have told me- I can't be a bike racer forever. Hell, I can't even seem to be a bike racer this year. My sucking this year has definitely had an impact on my decision to attend Darden this year rather than defer matriculation. I will not continue to fight nature, and will embrace the change of pace this fall. Who knows- maybe it will actually help my racing. There are plenty of guys & gals who are very successful in the pro ranks while attending school.

Suckberg (ian)

2007-07-03T09:09:00.000-04:00

Our Rite Aid squad kicked some arse at Fitchburg. Jake won the overall and Alejandro got 3rd. Mike took 2nd in the points competition. Hard work was done by all. Some contributed more than others... Also, local Albemarle slammer Ben King took the Junior overall. Also, my friend Eric Schildge won the cat 2 circuit race. Well played, gents.

Well heck, I didn't expect to have an outstanding Fitchburg, but I was surprised at how friggin dysfunctional my legs were. They were much deader than the kind of dead that you feel after 4 days of moving all your belongings to a new house. I was lapped TWICE in the circuit race, and was dropped the 2nd time up the hill in the road race. I expected to have difficulty off the front, but I figured I'd at least be able to sit in. Nope. I'm cooked.

In the RR, I went with a dangerous looking move on the run-up to the climb, but was getting dropped from it. So, I radioed "I can't stay with this move, guys!! woot-woot!" To this, DS Wirsing responded with something like "Quit talking in your radio and get up there and suffer." Good advice for those who need positive motivation... but fortunately I had plenty. Well, since I wasn't nearly out of breath, I responded "It's not my lungs, it's my legs-- they won't go!" I was dropped 90 seconds later from the peloton, and was out of the race. I've put too much training and effort into this season to be riding this poorly. I am disappointed and very unmotivated to ride now. At this point, my desire to 'pull the plug' is stronger than my desire to salvage what's left.

I then rode back to Fitchburg, packed my bags, and drove to Vermont to go to my sister's engagement party in Bennington. I played beer-pong with my mom, an met the new in-laws. On the way drive from Vermont, I got a speeding ticket. I wanted to get outta there.

I hope to find myself one of these queen-sized blowup rafts for fat people and plan to park myself in a sunny apartment complex pool and tan away the cycling lines. Cycling Gods please have mercy.

Super Exciting Update (ian)

2007-06-25T10:58:00.000-04:00

I tried starting off this blog with artificial positivity, but hell, this blog is all about the cold hard reality of us skinny kids playing around on our bikes. That is what thee shall get.

Took a week off after Philly. It would have been really fun, but I was down for the count with another sinus infection, and I just didn't want to go on with another course of friggin antibiotics. Then, my Dad visited later that week to have another surgery to address complications from previous surgeries for his iliac artery fibrosis. This followup surgery wasn't major, but after his spinal anaesthesia he suffered the typical paralyzing headache side-effect from the postdural puncture. What this meant for me was that I served as a male nurse for a very cranky Dad for several days. Poor guy can't catch a break. It was a long weekend.

Last week's return to training was a mental battle of epic proportion. I think I had one day when I felt good, all the others it was like pushing glue through my arteries. No go. And, for some reason, my taint is no longer compatible with my saddle. So uncomfortable on the saddle lately. Uncool.

I am getting kicked out of my perfect downtown apartment. The building owner sold it to some business and they're converting my chic pad to offices. It's a travesty, really. I found a new place with a handsome new roommate, but the lease doesn't start till Aug. 15, and so I have found a temporary place for 2 months. I am extremely excited to move TWICE in 2 months. The last several days have been spent breaking my back lugging boxes to the temp pad. Btw, the temp pad is awesome and worthy of a blog- more on it later.

Moving really does kill one's enthusiasm for life. I hope that 150 trips up and down various stairwells will replace the proper training that I should have been doing for the upcoming Fitchburg. Needless to say, suffering will be the theme at Fitchburg. I guess that's usually the theme. Cool.

E11even is presently taking her comps. Talk about a hard test- a week of hell. It's stress-city up in there. I think I am absorbing some secondhand-stress. She's a smart cookie, though. Doing what I can to support her.

I just received a letter that my final insurance appeal for one Dr. I saw during my February 2006 visit to the Santa Cruz ER was rejected. You wouldn't believe the story so I won't even tell it. 16 friggin months later. I don't think anything in my life has infuriated me more than dealing with these medical insurance claims. I can liken the painful process to biting the inside of one's mouth... you get a little chunky nodule of healingness, and then when it's 70% healed, you bite it again because it's sticking out. Has anyone else experienced the repeat-mouth-bite problem? What the f am I talking about.

My calf blew up 2 Thursdays ago again, but Jay Dicharry at the SPEED Clinic put an end to my problems. Dude knows his sheeeite.

I got what I believe was a spider bite at the edge of my armpit about 10 days ago. It was like a giant mosquito bite, but then 2 days later a light pink circle grew out 2" around the red lump. Then, it began to itch intensely. I don't think it was a tick bite because it itched and it didn't look like a bullseye. But, it is over a week later now and it still itches, and what was then a 2.5" diameter circle of redness is now a bunch of tiny specled red dots. It is not consistent with Lyme disease, but it definitely had me scourging the Internet for pictures of my rash. This search turned up some pretty awesome images. I would upload a picture of my awesome rash, but I can't download photos off my phone anymore since I attempted to connect Christoph's phone to my MPT software. Lucky for y'all.

Recent fun events include fishing with Christoph, seeing Knocked Up, and attending the awesome Shentai carnival here in town.

I'm off to take the Outback to get a slow tire leak repaired. Someone train for me please.

Yeaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh. Life. Yeaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhh.