Not like it was hard... all you have to do is spend the money. I'm now entered in the Las Vegas Half Marathon which other than the Jingle Bell Run (that I did a couple of times with a friend ages ago) will be my only other running race ever.

The hard part - at least so I hear - will be to run enough so that I can actually finish this running and not walking. Here's hoping. :) Check out my training diary to see my progress if you want. Or not.

ASIDE - now that I'll be doing a real running event I of course had to get an accessory. No, not an Elvis wig (although that seems to be popular at this event), I got a Road ID bracelet. Not bad, I can wear this cycling too. Running,at least to a n00b like me, is so devoid of gear! What's a gear hound like me going to do?

up pops some nut job like this.

I guess some background is appropriate here. I work at the UW and they recently launched an emergency notification system that you can subscribe to via email or SMS text messages. Today at 1:44 PM we got this message.

SUBJECT

UW Alert Seattle

BODY

Dear Martin Criminale,

Incident in Red Square. Male set self on fire, taken to hospital. No other persons injured. Area is secure. Ck. Web for updates.

Nice... and it's not even finals yet. This guy actually set himself on fire. On FIRE. The image that immediately came to mind was the Buddhist monk that burned himself to death in protest during the Vietnam war. Jesus H.

While partaking of my daily bread yesterday morning I read that yet another cyclist tested non-negative for CERA from this year's Tour de France.

From my limited research it appears that CERA is a form of EPO that lasts longer than the traditional strains so you can take it less often. This also obviously means you don't have to continue to take it during a stage race as the effects will continue for days. And, prior to this new test that just came out, it was also not detectible.

The problem (for cheaters anyway) is that now blood and urine samples can be stored for a long time, so labs can go back in time and examine samples from athletes after new tests are released.

"What's that you say...? Anti-doping people are trying to catch up? D'oh...!"

That's right Mr. Kohl. And Mr. Ricco. And Mr. [insert name of your favorite athlete that just performed an unbelievable feat here].

What a f'n shame that now EVERY time someone bounces back from a lousy day and has a terrific day or someone strings together more than one outstanding performance that it's more than likely they have cheated.

Well what do you know... :)

And it's about time, right? The San Francisco Chronicle just reported that the $700 billion bailout of the US economy will give bicycle commuters a $20/month tax-free reimbursement starting in January of 2009. As long as your bike is your primary mode of transportation of course; fair is fair.

And speaking of fair, you just know what this will bring...  It will be the start of all kinds of creative lies to try and prove that your bike really is your primary mode of transportation. I wonder how one will be required to substantiate this? Show the federal government your road rash? Fax them a copy of your bike locker key? I see a lot of creative stories on the horizon. :(

I just hope they don't make it too hard, like for the person that drives to a park & ride and then takes the bus most of the way and rides the rest, they should get this subsidy too in my opinion. The bigger picture is getting more cars off the road,right? I sure hope so.

You hear that Tim Eyman? This is supposed to do good so don't f it up.

Sweet Jesus... sometimes I have no idea what people are thinking! I'm a regular reader of cyclingnews.com and today they covered the world's most expensive bicycle.

What's so great about this bike? Uh... exactly nothing.

It looks for all the world like some ancient track bike that has been restored, plated in gold and then crusted in diamonds. What's that adage? You can polish a turd but no matter how much you polish it, it's still gonna stink. I mean c'mon, the saddle is made from really hard, uncomfortable leather (and they couldn't even level it out for the photo!), the bar wrap is hand sewn (and why don't we use leather on the bars anymore?) and what's with the pedals?! It looks like they put some regular old, department store platform pedals on a single speed. Nice. What about those super cool new Speedplay nanogram pedals? Or at least a classy, Campagnolo quill pedal with a fancy Binda strap? Heck, plate the strap buckle why not! But no.

This thing doesn't even look good hanging on the wall.

How can you make an expensive bike that is also cool? Sure, there just isn't as much technology involved as say, with a car or a sailboat but you can still do it justice. What about using some kind of unobtanium material for the frame? Or what about sticking some kind of uber-researched disc wheels on the front and rear? Or how about this; we all know you can only make a bike so light and make it affordable, what about if price was not object?

Gluing diamonds on a steel frame just does not get me hot. I can totally see some lower-income kid out there trying to bling out his ride with a can of gold spray paint and some fake stones. Looks the same to me...

Brilliant. Well, damn funny anyway.

Seeing as Sarah Palin has established a well-deserved reputation for repeating herself, someone decided to leverage that fact and came up with Palin Bingo.

Just print the card of your choice, tune in to the VP debate tonight and make sure you don't run out of booze cuz this is gonna be a sad one.