The Vanishing Turk

Where is Murat?

Here he is:
www.bisikletcimurat.blogspot.com

I see he went with the yellow uni. Good call.

O Dinis

Last night Liz took me out for my birthday. We went to O Dinis. We are there every week and have been regulars for years. It is a neighborhood Portuguese restaurant. Very homey and they take good care of us.

On Monday nights after 8 they have a buffet for about $15.00 (including wine). At 9 they close the doors and the music starts. In all our visits to the place this was our first Monday buffet. The owner Dinis Paiva http://cdbaby.com/cd/dinispaiva is a renowned fado singer and all his cronies show up and play.

Dinis and his daughter Natalia were thrilled to see us show up after many, many invitations. It is open to the public but most weeks the crowd is made up of “regulars”.

Last night there was a party of eight celebrating a birthday. Not sure where they were from but they were Hispanic not Portuguese. They brought their guitars and two of the fellows opened the show in Spanish. Wonderful.

After half a dozen songs the regulars started. A professor from Brown sat in for the first time on guitar and picked right up. Two different guests sang with the trio of guitarists. One was great and sang a couple of fado songs and the other did a fair job of some Christmas carols.

Around 10:45 Dinis held court. He is a bit of a local celebrity and a natural showman. His banter was all in Portuguese so I have no idea what he said but evidently he’s pretty funny too. He does have a fantastic voice.

We had to leave early, and after a glass too many of brandy, but had a great time.

La Prov locals should check the place out.

O Dinis
579 Warren Ave
East Providence, RI 02914
(401) 438-3769

Big River Management Area

People that know il Bruce in the real world know that I am not much of a cyclist any longer but while organizing my once yearly mountain bike ride I was informed that my trail of choice was unavailable.

The Big River area is state designated open space. A water shed area it was taken by eminent domain to be made into a reservoir. RI being RI it ran into political trouble and now contains a soon to be redundant Amgen plant and golf course because both these endeavours use little water and are ecologically friendly.

Evidently now that all of the residential tenants have moved out they closed all the entrances to try to stop illegal dumping. They are also keeping out mountain bikers, hikers and hunters. I contacted RI DEM and they responded that nobody had told them it was chained off and that the RI Sate Water Board managed the and to contact them. I did. Although the responded to my email within a couple of hours nobody was sure what the deal is.

They hope to have an answer for me Friday.

It would be a shame to lose a great area like Big River. I know the NEMBA cult has done a lot to keep the place tidy (cleaning up after hunters it seems).

Lowell stays with Red Sox

Thank God.

The hell with sabermetrics and all that.

He's a good player. Plays the way New Englanders like to see their players play.

Now ditch the Clark Gable 'stach.

iWay

What a colossal fuck up.

They have completely fucked the I95 south exit. No fucking room. Every time ther is amerge they drop a lane. Typical RIDOT and their pointy headed low rent engineers.

Mom?

But she doesn't look like his mother.

A garden gnome yes, but not his mom.

KCCX

The KC crew seems to have a good handle on the cross natz this year.

They managed to have their website up month, not days, before the event. There is event merchandise available. There is a clear and easy way to sign up to volunteer.

They hired "King Dickie" Fries as announcer though... Curious.

www.kccrossnationals.com

http://www.velonews.com/race/cyc/articles/13521.0.html

Alumni Ride Piccie

I Bike

You bike.

He/she/it bikes.

Bike is not a verb.

That is all.

Rhody Ride

On Saturday I traveled down to Kingston for a URI Cycling Team reunion ride.

When I was at URI the only year we had a racing team was 1987. It was anchored by Jim Peters (NBX), Fred Croy and multiple Masters national champion Mike Hutchinson. Jeff “Potsie” Potter Jimmy Aldrich, Eric Bowker (Catamount) and I rounded out the roster. We had some success thanks to the talent of Jim, Mike and Fred and we had a lot of fun thanks to all. The team rumbled on for a few more years after us but died out about 1992. There were a couple of false starts since then and nothing has taken hold on campus.

Eight riders showed up for the ride Saturday. Most still ride regularly and three are still racing. I was amazed at the turnout. The campus paper even showed up to take a few pictures and ask a few questions.

I faded about an hour into the ride and Dr. Matt and I headed back to campus and met up with the rest at Fred’s house later in the afternoon. It was quite a nice day of catching up with old friends.

Hands off my toaster

Hadda wasted youth try to break into my car last night.

About 3:30 I heard something in my driveway. I looked out the window to see a white do rag bobbing up and down.

My Azorean homie was trying to get the my car door open. I yelled out the window. No response.

I went down stairs as Mrs. M called 911 and went into the back yard. Manny (his real name) just kept banging on the door of the car. He stayed three until the police came and grabbed him.

Manny was looking for a girl named Ariel who, I guess, he thought was in my car.

I am a technology moran.

The internet police here a Deathnic have cracked down again and taken away our ability to stream audio and video. Don't care about the video but I can't stand my office being so quiet. I sit in the center of the building. No windows, and a lot of electrical interference. Over the air radio is useless.

I brought in a couple fairly good radios a Grundig 300 mini radio and a Realistic DX-390 both were unable to receive anything but the local frequency abusers. Undeterred I decided that I'd try satellite radio and iPod to keep the music and news flowing.

Friday afternoon I went to Circuit City to pick up a Sirius radio, Nano and a dock that worked with both. Circuit City was staffed by idiots and didn't have the receiver and had no idea what the iPods cost. I went down the road to Best Buy and picked up everything I wanted (at the same price CC offered after mail-in rebates).

Once home I decided to play with the iPod first. No go. Our G5 cannot handle the awesome technology of the base model new Nano. Tonight I will be buying a new operating system for Mrs. M. I'm a bit pissed that the 'puter will not handle the latest iTunes and iPod.

The radio works great in the office though. I had a few signal losses but found a better place for the antenna and am having fun with the radio.

The Big E

Me and Mrs. M are off to the Eastern States Exposition Saturday.

Not sure why I want to go. Might be fun. Last time I went Otter Creek was set up in the VT building. I enjoyed that.

http://www.thebige.com/

Okie Pics

Oklahoma is OK

We had a great time on Oklahoma.

Dad picked us up at the airport in Tulsa and had a whole greeting committee with him. Friends of his from their neighborhood in Florida came out to OK for his birthday party. The snowbirds weren’t in FL yet so Jan and Joe motored down from London, Ontario and Bev cam in from Peoria. Quite a minivan full.

From the airport we went to Okmulgee to see the Creek Tribal House. Dad dropped us off and went to the Creek government center to register his car but his insurance info wasn’t up to date. He eventually got it sorted out and picked us back up after lunch. It was then back to the government center so Dad and I could get new tribal ID cards. Very need. The new ones are photo ID.

We went to Bristow, Dad’s hometown, for a tour and a vanilla malted. Out of town we followed a good bit of old US Rt. 66 to Sapulpa.

Dad showed us thing and told stories that were new to my stepmother and me. Having an audience brought out a lot of information.

The party on Saturday was a bit of a family reunion. Some of the Bruce family, who my cousin met by chance on a Mexican cruise, came in from Arkansas. Most of my first cousins were there. All of my father’s surviving siblings were there. Dad was thrilled. He says he’s embarrassed by the attention but he still loved seeing so much of the family together.

It was pretty emotional for me. My cousin remodeled the family homestead and did a great job. Not too Okie tacky. I honestly didn’t think I’d ever make it out to OK ever again. I spent a couple of weeks at my grandparents’ every summer as a kid but have only been back twice in the last 21 years.

The food was fantastic. I ate things I haven’t had in 20 or more years. Gramma’s strawberry pie, chicken and noodles, fried okra…

Mrs. M even had a good time. My family loved her and she adapted well to the clan. She even enjoyed going to my cousin’s peewee football game. She’s even amenable to going out again for a longer stay.

Heading West

The missus and me are taking off for Oklahoma tomorrow.

My dad turned 80 yesterday and the party is Saturday in Bristow, OK, his hometown.
http://www.visitbristowok.com/

My cousin Donny just remodeled his house, once my grandparent’s house, and the party is a both a housewarming and birthday party.

I haven’t been out of the northeast in over 2 years and haven’t been to Oklahoma for about 10 years. When I was a kid we’d spend at least two weeks every summer at my grandparent’s farm. It wasn’t much of a farm. My grandfather was retired and they only had a few dozen head of cattle at any time but is sure was country. The house was actually about 15 miles from Bristow but that was the nearest town of any size. The only shopping you did was on Saturday when everybody “went to town” to shop, gossip, shoot pool and drink beer. (We’d sneak Grandpa over to the pool hall praying the Grandma didn’t find us.)

Bristow, like many western small towns, has been killed by Wal-Mart. That and cable television. It is almost a suburban town now or at least it was last time I was there. I am interested to see what it’s like now.

We will be staying with the mayor of Kellyville Saturday night. Kellyville is a town of about 1000 people, very poor, very rural. The mayor is my cousin Randy, Donny’s oldest brother.

I haven’t seen some of my cousins since 1986. I went out to visit before taking off to England to study. I was 21, skinny (bike racer skinny), with a Flock of Seagulls blond ‘do. My cousins for the most part had all had kids, divorces, addictions, heartbreaks and lives. I was a punk college kid but still accepted like I was when we were kids. The cousin from back east. They always took an interest in me and made me welcome. Despite growing up in New England and going to prep school and college (a different world from my family’s) I always felt at home in Oklahoma.

Randy visited my dad in Massachusetts last year and we had he and his wife over for a cookout. It was an interesting group, me & Mrs. M., my dad and stepmother, my Lancashire born and raised in laws, my best mate Gary and his wife and Randy and his wife Gleneva (her twin sister is Geneva). What a great night we had. I am really looking forward to seeing the family and introducing Mrs. M.

To look at us (me) you wouldn’t guess it but we are Muscogee. No really. I have a tribal roll number, am eligible for tribal health care, elections, housing assistance, welfare the whole lot. My grandmother was 50% Muscogee (Creek) and went to Indian school as a girl.

My first cousins and I are the last generation of our family to qualify for full tribal benefits. Most of my cousins live in or have lived in tribe subsidized housing and go to the Indian clinic for medical services. I never really identified as a Muscogee it was not a part of growing up in Rhode Island but being an Indian, even a “white Indian” is a real part of most my family members lives. My dad wants Mrs. M to see what it’s about so we are going here Friday afternoon: http://www.fivetribes.org/

It should be an interesting trip.

1/4 Mile Match Sprint

So, I flipped onto ESPN2 this morning just in time to see local guido and drag racer Bob Tasker da terd stage with the eighth placed driver Marty Nothstein. Yep, THAT Marty Nothstein.

Tasca is second in the NHRA T/A Funnycar standing and Marty is eighth. Who knew?

Touchy Phreds

OK. I am a bad guy for commenting, after yet another serious crash on a club ride, that some of us could use to work on NOT FALLING OFF.

Why do these middle aged phreds think they are good riders just because they can occasionally get through a 30 mile ride without ending up under a pickup.

I see all these people, death grip on the bars, elbows locked, wobbling down the road and veering into traffic. When I say something I am accused of slandering people. I am accused of not knowing what I am talking about. These people have been riding less than 5 years!

At the risk of riling Solobuddy, what ever happend to the the good old days when people would pay attetion to their riding not just dump money on it?

Effin A. As a kid I'd ride with Ted (smart like tractor) Lewendowski, Mike Rounds, Dave Kellogg, Ted Furtado, Doug Poole, Dixon Wilde, on a Sunday and I'd pay attention to what they told me. Now when you tell a person that you are passing you are "showing them up" on their Personal Journey.

I'm gonna put the bike away for a while and go play with my guns.

PawSox Win!

Went to the Pawtucket Red Sox game last night with the splinter sect bike club. We had a lot of fun. What an entertainment bargain. $10.00 reserved seats. Pints of Smiddick's $5.50. $2.75 for a huge order of fries.

Wednesday night we went to Uncle Joe's Open Wheel Wednesday at Seekonk Speedway. Another cheap night out (for me & the missus). Comped tix and buffet.

We even had a couple of predominant NE cyclobloggers, who prefer to remain anonymous, in attendance.

After a slow summer we seem to be cramming all our outings into the last few weeks of the season.

Almost time for Hockey Night.

Cross Post

This is a pic of my mother in law standing next to Trebon's bike.

I wanted her to ask him if she could take it for a test ride.

Wierd Stuff Happening ar Reed's House

From the BloJo:

Bird deaths in Barrington draw a $1,000 reward
BARRINGTON -- Defenders of Animals today said it would pay $1,000 to anyone with information leading to the arrest and conviction of the people responsible for the bizarre deaths of at least 15 birds at a birdhouse on Humphreys Road.

Some type of spray adhesive was apparently used in the case, said Dennis Tabella, the organization's director. "After traces of residue were found around the birdhouse, there is no doubt that this was a deliberate and sick act by an individual (or individuals) that need to be identified," he said.

The remains of the birds were discovered Aug. 4 on the ground near the large cedar birdhouse, which can hold eight nests and resembles a UFO with spikes.

Owner Reed Caster said the clear substance, which never seems to dry, was apparently sprayed up into the roof of the birdhouse. It continues to coat the inside of the roof and the foliage beneath it. He said he hopes the Department of Environmental Management, which is investigating the case, can identify the substance.

"Apparently something was sprayed and some wings stuck together," said Tabella. "I know there are sprays to glue things down at photo and copying places, but this sounds like something really strange."

"It's terrific someone would put up a reward. That's great," Caster said. "It was such a stupid act."
-- Journal staff writer C. Eugene Emery Jr.

Murat has Yahoo Envy

The twirling Turk has organized a Yahoo Group for skinny bike racer types. It's a method of getting word out quickly re: racing issues and hub of info for New England cyclists.

Join before he cries;
http://sports.groups.yahoo.com/group/Packfodder/

Mapei Returns to Racing

How Dr. Squinzi is spending his advertising Euros.

Nextel Cup driver, hot head Robby Gordon, rotates a number of sponsors. This week it was Mapei's turn to be on th ehood. Robby got a lot of press this weekend. Not much of it good.

http://www.sportingnews.com/yourturn/viewtopic.php?t=251260

In the News!

R.I. exec guilty of sabotage
01:00 AM EDT on Thursday, August 2, 2007

By Bob Van VorisBloomberg News

An executive of Cranston-based chemical company Technic Inc. pleaded guilty yesterday to sabotaging a test of a formula developed by competitor Rohm & Haas Co. for electroplating Intel Corp. microchips.

Robert Schetty III, vice president in charge of developing and marketing electroplating products for Technic, pleaded guilty in federal court in Central Islip, N.Y., to destroying a Rohm & Haas solution called ST380 that was being tested for Intel.

“This is a very, very stupid caper in his life and he’s doing his best to put it behind him,” Ron Russo, Schetty’s lawyer, said in an interview.

Schetty faces as much as 10 years in prison, three years probation and a $250,000 fine, prosecutors said. He agreed to pay $15,536 restitution to Rohm & Haas.

Schetty worked in Plainview, N.Y., for the Advanced Technology Division of closely held Technic, prosecutors said in a court document filed under seal July 17 and released yesterday. He schemed to ruin the tests because he feared Rohm & Haas would take Technic’s Intel account, according to the documents.

Bob Sheeran, a Technic spokesman, didn’t return a call seeking comment.

Electroplating is an industrial process that uses an electrical current to coat microchips with a thin layer of metal.

From 2002 to 2005, Technic sold a lead-free electroplating solution to Amkor Technology Inc., an Intel subcontractor, prosecutors said. About 2004, Philadelphia-based Rohm & Haas, a special-materials maker and the world’s biggest producer of acrylic-paint ingredients, developed ST380, a lead-free electroplating solution the company claimed was superior to Technic’s product, prosecutors said.

In September 2004, Schetty learned that Amkor would be testing the Rohm & Haas product at Amkor’s plant in the Philippines, prosecutors said. Schetty, along with unnamed Technic and Amkor employees in that country, sabotaged the test by secretly adding hydrogen peroxide and another chemical to the ST380 that was being tested, prosecutors said.

Amkor chief financial officer Ken Joyce declined to comment on the case.

Schetty and the unnamed Technic employee, called “Jane Doe” in the criminal-charging document, exchanged e-mails to coordinate the scheme, prosecutors said.

“Thank you, you are doing exactly as a good salesperson should do to save this account,” prosecutors claim Schetty told Jane Doe in a Sept. 17, 2004, e-mail. “We have no choice but to make sure the ST380 evaluation fails.”

Open Wheel Wednesday

Any of you boys in? Solo? Willi?

My Uncle is the title sponsor for this and we're getting a couple of tix.



Seekonk’s Open Wheel Wednesday Rescheduled For August 29
Todd Baptista

Seekonk Speedway assistant manager David Alburn announced today that the 1/3-mile Bay State oval’s Open Wheel Wednesday program which fell victim to rain on July 18, has been rescheduled in its entirety for Wednesday evening, August 29, at 7 PM.

“We’ve heard from people from all over the Northeast, fans and competitors alike, in the week since the event was rained out,” Alburn explains. “The overwhelming consensus was that they wanted the show to go on exactly the way it had been planned on a future Wednesday night.” After meeting with officials from the True Value Modified Racing Series, Northeastern Midget Association, and Pro Four Modified Series, a deal was finalized late Wednesday.

The fastest and fiercest competitors in northeastern Modified racing circles are expected to converge upon the Route 6 facility for the third annual Open Wheel Wednesday program, featuring the Viveiros Insurance-sponsored 100 green flag lap Modified Madness event, an open competition race paying $10,000 to the winner. Last July, forty-two competitors from nine states attempted to qualify for the 26-car race, which carries a purse in excess of $31,000.

Among the drivers who have pre-registered for this year’s Modified Madness show are former NASCAR weekly series national champion Ted Christopher, veteran front-runner Jerry Marquis, third generation ace Bobby Santos III, Mike Stefanik, Matt Hirschman, Tommy Cravenho, Vinnie Annarummo, and Dick Houlihan. Others who have pre-registered include Eric Beers, Richard Savary, former Seekonk winners Louie Mechalides and Andy Seuss, Chris and Carl Pasteryak, Jimmy Kuhn, Jr., and defending race winner Kirk Alexander of West Swanzey, NH. Qualifying heats and a B-main will set the lineup for the 100 lap affair.

The Northeastern Midget Association and Pro Four Modified Racing Series will also compete in qualifying heats and 25-lap features. The pit area will open at 1 PM on race day with Modified inspections beginning at 1:30 and practice for all divisions running from 2 to 6 PM. Qualifying begins at 7 PM. Grandstand admission is $18 for adults, $5 for juniors ages 13 through 15, and free for children 12 and under. Pit admission is $30. The speedway campgrounds will be open for overnight campers beginning on Tuesday evening, August 28. For more information, contact the speedway office at (508)-336-9959 or visit online at www.seekonkspeedway.com.

Dr. Franke

So is this dude straight up or a nutter yodeling in the dark?

Fromt teh Daily Herald in Oz:

LEADING German expert in the fight against doping yesterday claimed to have evidence indicating that Tour de France winner Alberto Contador had used drugs.

Twenty-four hours after the Spaniard donned the winner's yellow jersey on the Champs Elysees, expert Werner Franke described the 24-year-old's victory as "the greatest swindle in sporting history".

Franke bases his claim on documents he says are in his possession from the Spanish police's Operation Puerto inquiry into Eufemiano Fuentes, the doctor said to have masterminded doping programs for athletes.

"The name of this Mr Contador appears on several occasions on the court and police documents," Franke told German television station ZDF.

"All of this has been simply concealed and hidden under the carpet whilst the name Contador was erased from the list of supicious riders."

Franke claims to have a detailed list of banned products used by Contador, which appear in sworn statements following the raid on Fuentes' medical practice.

"He took insulin, HMG-Lepori, a hormone to stimulate the secretion of testosterone and also a product for asthma called TGN - in brief I have before my eyes a protocol for doping," he told ZDF.
"All of this has been covered up, at least in Spain."
Contador, who inherited the lead in the Tour de France last week after Michael Rasmussen's expulsion in a row over missed random drug tests, denied he'd had any links with Fuentes' drugs program.

Speaking after Saturday's penultimate time-trial in Angouleme about why his name had been linked to Fuentes he said: "I was in the wrong team at the wrong time and somehow my name got among the documents, but the UCI corrected the mistake and now I've got no link to Puerto."

Among the cyclists associated with Fuentes was Jan Ullrich, the former Tour de France winner.
Meanwhile, disgraced rider Alexander Vinokourov has been sacked by his Astana team following his positive test for blood doping on the Tour de France, the team announced yesterday.
"Astana Cycling Team received confirmation that Alexander Vinokourov's B sample was 'non negative'," the Swiss team said.

"Consequently, the Kazakh rider has been sacked by Astana cycling team with immediate effect."

Vinokourov tested positive for blood doping following his victory in a time trial in Albi on July 21.
He left the race last Tuesday and as a result of the positive test, the Astana team were invited by Tour organisers Amaury Sport Organisation to pull out.
Vinokourov, winner of last year's Tour of Spain, denies doping. If found guilty he faces a two-year ban and according to the International Cycling Union's anti-doping charter will have to pay a fine equal to a year's salary.

Dady, read me a story

This one's for Willi.

Forget the little weirdo and his purple crayon and those annoying ducklings. Really, who says goodnight to everything in the room? Freak.

Mike and May Anne. That's a good read.

Cat Hearding

I just can't leave well enough alone. I got tired of trying to keep the short leash on the la Prov Blvd. ride and quit going, opting instead for the NBW SoCo Tuesday Night Ride. It is usually a smallish group but still gets ragged.

I wanted a nice even ride so I offered to set the pace all night last night. 1.75 hours just rolling along. No attacks or spastic riding allowed. JT and I were in the small rings all night the rest were in the big meat all night.

It turned out very well. I had to no no wrangling. All behaved and had a good time. I just don't know how you can spend a couple of hours in the big ring never going more than 18mph...

No Free Lunch

A handwritten sign appeared on the bulletin board here at Deathnic this morning. This sign announces that at 12:15 the company will provide lunch for all employees.

We used to get fed on Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve. We also used to get bonuses and raises...

Why lunch now? Speculation is rampant. Is it good news? Is it bad news? Is it just lunch?

Exciting.

Let's make the water turn black

So, I haven’t slept too well lately and this usually leads to very strange and vivid dreams. Yesterday I awoke mid-dream, just before coming to the dream featured a cirque du soleil style performance set to Frank Zappa’s “Let’s Make the Water Turn Black”. For over 50 hours now that song has been playing in my head. All during last night’s ride gems like, “Ronnie saves his numies on a window in his room, (A marvel to be seen: dysentery green)” were buzzing around in there.

For those who are curious, here are the rest of the lyrics:

"Now believe me when I tell you that my song is really true
I want everyone to listen and believe
It's about some little people from a long time ago
And all the things the neighbors didn't know
Early in the morning
Daddy Dinky went to work
Selling lamps & chairs to San Ber'dino squares
And I still remember Mama with her apron & her pad
Feeding all the boys at Ed's Cafe!

Whizzing & pasting & pooting through the day
(Ronnie helping Kenny helping burn his poots away!)
And all the while on a shelf in the shed:
KENNY'S LITTLE CREATURES ON DISPLAY!

Ronnie saves his numies on a window in his room
(A marvel to be seen: dysentery green)
While Kenny & his buddies had a game out in the back:
LET'S MAKE THE WATER TURN BLACK

We see them after school in a world of their own
To some it might seem creepy what they do...)
The neighbors on the right sat & watched them every night
(I bet you'd do the same if they was you)

Whizzing & pasting & pooting through the day
(Ronnie helping Kenny helping burn his poots away!)
And all the while on a shelf in the shed:
KENNY'S LITTLE CREATURES ON DISPLAY!

Ronnie's in the Army now & Kenny's taking pills
Oh! How they yearn to see a bomber burn!
Color flashing, thunder crashing, dynamite machine!
(Wait till the fire turns green...wait till the fire turns green)
WAIT TILL THE FIRE TURNS GREEN"

I need a nap.



While Kenny & his buddies had a game out in the back:LET'S MAKE THE WATER TURN BLACK

Seekonk Speedway

The missus and me made a trip down Rt. 6 to see the races Saturday night.

Mrs. B had resisted going to the ‘konk. She thought it would be cheesy and grubby. It was and she loved it.

The crowd was as entertaining as the racing. Quite a show.

Mrs. B even found herself enjoying the races and picking favorites to cheer for.

http://www.seekonkspeedway.com/raceresults/results.php

Next time maybe we can get some skinny bike racers to come along.

Vacation TIme

Well I'm off for vacation.

I was going to stick it out here at Deathnic until 1pm but it seems that the building is filling up with nitric acid fumes (again). So I'm off.

Mrs. B and I will be going to Prtland, ME Tues-Fri. Send ideas for amusements.

il B

Sox & NASCAR

From projo.com

BOSTON (AP) — Carl Edwards has got a new paint job for his No. 99 car at this weekend’s NASCAR race in New Hampshire.
Edwards will be driving a baseball-themed car in honor of his visit to New England. The Ford will sport several Boston Red Sox team logos and red stitches like a baseball.
The promotion is the first for Roush Fenway Racing since the owners of the Red Sox invested in NASCAR.
The car was on dispaly at Fenway Park on Thursday morning.
“It’s our intention to be the Northeast’s NASCAR team,” owner Jack Roush said. “There’s some pressure to perform in front of the home crowd. Everybody will be at their very best.”

Old stuff for the old guy.


Before you cranky bastards give me hell, I know my blogger skills are teh suxxors.

Piccies below:

Hey Foley, look familiar?

Rhode Island beauties.

Weekend Update

On Saturday I hung around with some folks even nerdier than wheelspeople. Radio Hams!

The local radio club set up at Hunt's Mills in EP for field day. All geeked up to cq as many other radio nerdz as were to be had. http://www.w1aq.com/home

Nice folks but not too impressed with an SWL.

I rode the Surly over to their encampment while they were setting up Saturday morning. I was surprised to see how automated Hams had become. A lot of computer tuners and a signal finder dealie that kept casting out cqs to a minimum. I was pleased to see so many folks still interested in cw or Morse code operation. As a kid I could never get the hang of it, so couldn’t pass my radio license test.

Saturday afternoon I caught up with AVH my best friend from prepdom. Still digesting the experience.

My wrist hurt from actually doing physical work on Saturday so I didn’t ride Sunday. I cannot hold onto the bars without significant pain.

Sunday was the Cox race. Nice afternoon out. Saw Hutch, an old URI mate, and Willi as well as Jimmy.

Prov World Cup on Ice.

Francine called it right.

From cyclingnews.com:

"We have a great venue, political support, solid staff, and fantastic sponsors in place," said Richard Fries, marketing and communications director. "What we truly need, however, is time to create an event that provides a solid return on the investment being made by our sponsors. We’re not just planning a wedding; we’re planning a marriage between our organization and a Fortune 500 sponsor. We expect to build a lasting, world-class event in Providence with plans of hosting the World Championships at Roger Williams Park."

Nostalgia.

OK Foley, you asked for it.

I graduated from high school 25 years ago this month. I was always thankful that my mother sent me to prep school. I was a bully magnet in public schools and the torture abated a good bit once I went to private school.

Something my classmate, a golf prodigy, said to me once has stayed with me. He noted that he and I were the school’s token Portagies. He was there because he could play golf, I was there because I was the neighborhood kid with a highest entrance exam score. Not the prototypical New England prep school boys.

I was never a good fit at school but it allowed me a lot more freedom, and safety than the urban/suburban East Providence school system.

Last month my phone rang and a heavily Middle Eastern accented voice asked for me. I almost hung up, expecting it to be another outsourced worker offering large savings on my mortgage. But I waited. “This is Mohammed,” he said.

“Mohammed F____i?” I asked.

“Yes”.

Wow. Mo was an exchange student my senior year. A Muslim from Tunisia he was placed with a prominent Jewish family from the school. They did a great job and were very supportive but it was not the easiest year.

Mo is a physician now and was in the US for a conference. While here he went by the school to look up old friends. I was the first he found.

He also found Maj. Preston and Fredo. Two Sunday nights ago the Major called. HE is retiring form the military and moving back to Rhode Island. A week or so later Fredo emailed. Mo had started the ball of nostalgia rolling. We were all misfits that managed to flourish in the strict prep school environment. We were not the cool kids, or jocks but were good students allowed to, for the most part, get along fairly happily.

Fredo was my best friend for years. The closest thing to a brother I’ve ever had. I missed Fredo and his family very much. Time got in the way and we lost touch years ago. Fredo has a second wife and a new baby now. I am meeting up with him for the first time in over 10 years on Saturday. I am nervous. What if we just don’t like each other any more?

Bike content, Fredo and I were on the school’s cycling team together. It was a prep school where the whole bike thing started. It was old school. Wool jerseys. Double pacelines. Getting yelled at for screwing up. I loved it. I loved working hard. I loved racing as team, (it was scored like cross country or collegiate racing). I loved being better than awful at a sport. Something new for me.

My experience on the cycling team is what I cherish most form my high school experience. It gave me something I still have. A place.

I credit cycling and the people I have met riding for saving my life on a number of occasions. That is not hyperbole. My bike has saved me from myself for 25 years.

The bike team disappeared in the 90s but driven by this recent pang of nostalgia I have agreed to organize a bike ride for my reunion / homecoming day. The school has hunted down 40 alumna/e that were members of the bike team and there is interest among the new athletics regime for a recreational cycling program. I hope it happens.

See ya on the road,

Il B

Spats

The Mitrelis family has resurrected the Spats brand and opened a new restaurant with the old name.

Where Paragon now stands on Thayer St. once was the home of Spats (and Jake’s coffee shop). The Mitrelises own Paragon and Andrea’s (once the Hungry Sheik) as well as a good slab of Thayer St. I think that the defunct Oliver’s on Brook St. is also a family holding. The new Spats is on Angell St. where Sura used to be, if you are a real RI old timer like il Bruce, where Le Papillion was in the 1980s.

The old Spat’s had two sides. An entrance on Thayer St. opened to an art deco themed bar and dining room whilst the Angell St. door lead to a dark, well worn, barroom. The menu was the same on both sides but the clientele was a bit more working class on the “bar side”, my preferred side.

The best seats in the house were between the two sides. The connecting room held a couple cozy if banged-up tables. Underage drinkers could often be found holed up in there.

The new incarnation is a bit of both sides. There is no real art deco flair but it was cozy and small. The room was darkish with a nice bar. There is none of the threadbare charm (read grimy) of the old place but it is no dishonor to the hallowed Spats

The food was OK, not spectacular but better than what I’ve come to expect from the neighborhood. It will be interesting to see what the crowds are like on a Thursday or Friday night during the spring semester. The small crowd last night was less than collegiate.

Silver for Page!

Oh yeah, flick Bart Wellens.

From cyclingnews.com:

Wellens found it more difficult to deal with the loss. "Even though I had the best legs of the season I couldn't do much more than what I did. The jersey went to the wrong person, he shouldn't have won it even though he's a teammate. He deserves to be on the podium but the other guys don't," Wellens said. He described the crash as inevitable and said how he felt afterwards. "The quad touched that block, and I couldn't get away anymore. Afterwards I had a lot of pain in my neck and couldn't throw my bike," Wellens explained.

Work release

It seems Acqua & Sapone is a sort of halfway house / work release program for pro dopers.

Stefano Garzelli and VBD are the two stars. In fact VDB has been living with team boss Palmiro Masciarelli and his family. I wonder how he feels about VDB’s new kiss and tell?
Not content with two tainted talents the team is reportedly interested in the Teutonic
Titan Jan the Maan Jellyroll.

Acqua & Sapone translates “Soap & Water”. Well soap and water can’t wash away all sins.

Punk: Attitude

We watched this Monday afternoon: http://www.elitestv.com/pub/2005/Jul/EEN42cec8f17e252.html

Quite good.