Fuel needed to bike to work

I dont see why I cannot write off some of my miles that I ride on my bike to outside clients. If I get to write off miles on my car and all the additional items that come with it, why can't I get that same thing on my bike?
Here is a great note about the bike messenger who wanted to deduct his 'fuel costs' from his Canadian tax's:

Drive it like you stole it

I have a huge love for Porsche's having been brought by the love of cars through my father in one way or another and this video is a great example of how a Carrera GT should be driven given the chance. I cant stand to see people who get a Porsche and turn the thing into the Sunday driver or worse. You have to get these cars out there and enjoy them, and this guy sure does that.


Carrera GT - Click here for more blooper videos

What a dog does to a Lightweight Obermayer wheel

Ouch this hurts both to the body and the pocket book...if you were buying the wheels that is. These wheels are about $5K so this one front is a nice chunk of change.

Looking for the Italian climbs

Every summer we head over to Europe to ride on the great passes of the region. Last summer it was Switzerland where we got some real miserable weather, despite it being August. The previous summer it was Italy and this summer we are going back to the Dolomites for some more Italian riding.
Finding the right place to go is always the trick. I like the Northern part of Italy and my German speaking wife enjoys it as she gets to talk the talk. So the hunt is on for the best bike rides in Italy. When you are over in Europe you need to climb, dont worry about the flats, get to the passes. I found this great site Climb By Bike that shows all the major passes in Europe. It is has all the major passes, photos, ratings and of course the gradients.
So this summer, I am heading to the Motirolo, Gavia and the Zoncolan. Those should keep me busy but if you know better passes let me know.

Cipollini get 'Punked'

Have to love seeing the 'Lion King' getting punked on the Italian television show. Someone tells him that his bike has been stolen by some guys in a camper van and he is out to get them as they pass by. This is when being able to sprint well comes in handy...

Does drinking and riding get you in trouble?

Check out this for 'having one too many'. Only over in Europe, OK maybe Alaska as well, would this be an action that is not punishable by a ticket.
BERLIN (AP) - An early-morning German bank customer had a bit of a shock when he found a horse already in line at the automatic teller machine in front of him.

It seems the horse's owner, identified only as Wolfgang H., had a bit too much to drink the night before and decided to sleep it off inside the bank's heated foyer, police said Tuesday.

The 40-year-old machinist told Bild newspaper he had had "a few beers" with a friend in Wiesenburg, southwest of Berlin, and decided to hit the hay in the bank on his way home.

"It was late, it was already dark and cold," he was quoted as saying.

Confronted with the lack of a hitching-post, he brought the 6-year-old horse, named Sammy, in along with him.

When a customer came across the horse and sleeping rider in the bank at 4:15 a.m. Monday, he called police, who then came and woke the owner up and sent him on his way.

No charges were filed, but there might be some cleanup.

You can find the article here.

Cycling vs the Tour de France

In the most recent CyclingNews.com daily entry there is a section about the new idea from the ASO company (they run the Tour de France race) on not letting in any of the riders Operation Puerto' even named in the investigation ride in the Tour. Come on. Most of these riders have had no charges made against them as there is no concrete evidence. You have plenty of really circumstantial evidence but nothing concrete that would tie a rider back to Fuentes as having had doped blood.
I think after all this pushing and pulling from the ASO company about the issue in Spain, they should look forward and let the riders who have been run through the ringer with no official charges made against them, ride the races they are/were paid to ride. I am all for not letting riders that are charged with positive tests ride in races WHILE they are serving their sentance, but once their sentance is completed, they should be allowed to ride. Now telling the teams that riders they have that have not been charged, or in Ivan Basso's case, been relased of all implications, is just wrong. ASO is just trying to prove a point and seems to be getting too big for their shoes. This is just ruining cycling and making it look like a kindergarten sport.
Please weigh in with thoughts. If you would like to check out the comments made by ASO click here.

Clean up...

So every night I have to go through and do the dishes and then put them all away. I am thinking after seeing this video have some work to do with my 'efficiency'. Take a look and let me know:

Unemployed Scientists Prove Dog Likes Beer

Unemployed Scientists Prove Dog Likes Beer

Dust to Dust article

Around dinner last night the article 'Dust to Dust' was brought up and argued over. It was amazing how quickly lines were drawn between the people at the table. The article basically states that a Hummer is more environmentally friendly than a Toyota Prius if you were to compare them through a typical life of 100K miles for the Prius and 300K miles for the Hummer.
Now once the arguments calmed down and people began to listen to one another, the actual learning process began. A lot of the pro-Prius arguer's began to learn what really goes into the construction of the 'green machine' and the effects these cars have on the environment through the construction process.
There wasnt much, 'well I am going to buy a Hummer' discussions but the discussions quickly turned to the other alternatives that are available to consumers when purchasing vehicles and other long term products. The education process at the end of the discussion was what proved to be fruitful as we all learned that without more discussion, the public was going to be fooled dooped on the products they were buying.

Conserving with a Prius?

What is the deal with all the Prius owners who haul ass all over town like they have an endless supply of gasoline. If you speed all over the place and from one stop light to another, it isnt saving much gas. Some of the Prius owners seem to think that because they bought a hybrid they are allowed to waste the smaller amount of gas by flooring it from every light and then driving 90 mph on the highway. What a joke.

Reflection

What can you say when you read the news that occurred today at Virginia Tech. Sad, angry, disturbed and confused. This event caused a lot of speculation this evening at home on how things are potentially going to change at Universities. After much debate the only thing agreed upon was that there needed to be change within the security of the schools and in all likelihood, there will be. How universities are able to make the kids and faculty at the school safer is a daunting task but something that must be addressed.

Schools and universities are not places where the occupants should be worrying about their safety. The administrations in all universities are going to be in the fire of this and rightfully so. There appears to have been a huge lack of emergency response put in place over this senseless act. I am sure there will be plenty of initiatives brought forward that are going to attempt to 'lock down' the universities but how they are going to do so without turning the university system into a prison like environment I don't know.

All thoughts and prayers should go out to the families that are now going to have to deal with the emotional tragedy that should never have been.

Observation

The need for outside observer often times show how messed up a system or implemented process really is. I have found that so often when you are embedded in a technology or process oriented organization, you miss out on the most obvious problems. without stepping 'away from the console' the company and its members miss the best ideas and ways to clean up and move forward.

Being in a new company and looking within the glass room allows you to get a real outsider look into what you are going to have to handle without having to trust others on their embedded opinions. I took this week to just watch what was happening before trying to come to sense of conclusion on what changes are needed to move the processes forward. Needless to say, the list is long.

OK, onto some more screwed up news. I know the whole Imus thing was blown out of proportion and all the advertisers got some great free ads in there before they took their money and ran, but this seems to be an end to having real people on television speak their mind. Now I am not saying that what Imus said was the right way to speak his mind but it does bring up the issue with free speech on a public forum. CBS to me took the easy way out of the issue and said they have 'rid the network' of those sort of small minded people. I doubt that. Just the ones that are on the air and can be recorded. I have a hard time believing that in the board room there hasn't been the odd slang word out of a higher up. So watch what you say when you are around the public I guess.

So watch...listen...formulate...react. My moto from the past week.

The end and the beginning

Whenever you leave a company to go to a new one, there is often some pondering on what you went through with the company and all the things that have changed since you started. A lot can happen in a short amount of time and when you start talking about years at a company, A LOT happens. Hopefully there was learning to be had on both sides of the fence.
I am going to a new company next week to start in a new role that has a healthy amount of responsibility and opportunity. The move should be both challenging and exciting. Setting some goals for the near term will allow me to get a better handle on where the position is going and what I can look back on after I have been there a short while.
Full-circle everything goes...

Moving forward

"If you follow you can never win". Those are the words I remember from when I was a younger. When I used to race motocross one of the pro riders I rode with, always told me that if you follow someone you will never win, at best you got second. With that always in the back of my mind, I decided I needed to venture out and try and make my own way in a new company. Changing companies is never an easy decision when you feel comfortable where you are, but sometime change is good and is the motivator for change. I am going to move onto the new company in the next couple of weeks and the transition is something I am looking forward to as it is going to be a new step in my career path. So it off the 'cush wagon' and onto the speed train of learning. I will post more as the awaking of the new position takes hold of me.

And now back to the more important world of road racing! The Spring Classics have begun, which means that the strong men of the sport have started to show their form. Boonen has been winning since February and Cancellara showed he is right there for the Paris-Roubaix and the Tour of Flanders. So who is gonna take the lead in the Classics? I am going to put my money on Cancellara. First I think he has the power that Boonen, amazingly enough, doesnt have and second I am CSC fan.

Boonen seems to have the sprint part wrapped up but I think he has found a pretty fair match in Cancellara when it comes down to straight power. That was evident in last years Roubaix race. So put me down for $10 on Cancellara in the Roubaix and Flanders.

Tragedy in the climbing world

This past week I was sad to hear a good friend of mine had fallen to his death in Yosemite. Although I had only climbed with Todd on a handful of occassions, everytime was a great experience and I learned a lot from him. Todd was always full of fun and conversation that keep everyone in the group laughing for the whole day. I knew Todd when I lived and climbed up in Montana and would see him when he would come through Missoula, usually on his way back to Lander, Wyoming. We would go out to one of the canyons and spend the day climbing as many routes as possible and all of us would be eager to hear what his latest stories were. And he had a ton of them. It never seemed like there was an end to the 85% turth's he would tell.

I was very sad to hear about the accident in Yosemite and of course that he has left behind his wife and 3 little kids. That is never something you want to hear about. The funeral took place this past weekend up in Lander and there was a large amount of climbers and friends who made the journey up to Lander from Boulder and other various places. Todd was honored by many fellow climbers and will always be remembered for his great heart and soul that he put into all his endeavors, whether they were climbing related or not. My thoughts go out to his family during this rough time.

With this event, it makes me think about how simple activities can sometimes lead to such tragic endings. I do not believe you should go through life trying to always avoid all activities that are dangerous and still feel like you are living a fulfilled life. All you can do is try and limit the danger in the activitiy and keep a clear head when performing the activity. What happened to Todd was bad luck in the end but something that should have been avoded. It is sad to have to deal with things like this but then Todd led his life the way he wanted and thankfully was doing the activity he loved most when he died.

choices, choices, choices

This week has been another of direction, or lack of it seems. Sometimes having too many choices on the table causes you to loose direction and you find yourself standing still. This has been my week. I have found that sometimes having limited choices makes you truly commit to one idea and work on it 100%. You have to make the idea work no matter the bumps you encounter along the way. It is easier just to drop what you are working on and go the other direction even when you know you need to stick it out with the original idea.Too many choices = no commitment.

Now I am not saying you shouldnt sometimes count your loses and move on but when you have lots of new opportunites going on, you sometimes miss out on the right choice as you are too cluttered with a host of different choices. Decision = commit.

Time to make a choice and go with it. Life is short, if you spend too much time thinking without taking action, it is going to pass you by. Easy to say, hard to do.

Cyclings woes

The sport of cycling is going through a lot of changes these days, not all of them good or presented to the public in the right manner. I read through most of the cycling new sites early in the morning just to keep track of what is going on. Every time I read through them I realize more and more how connected we are to the rest of the worlds obscure news if you have access to the internet. Those without connectivity are pretty limited to reading one source for their news and then forming an opinion. This is the part that is causing a lot of grief to both cycling and other sports.

Cycling has been in the news as of late over the continual doping 'scandals' that have hit the winner of the Tour de France and many other large cycling figures. Without proper news and facts presentation to the public, the public is left to form their opinions on the national news circuit. Which, always seems to have a formed opinion in their own articles.

When the winner of the Tour de France, Floyd Landis, was show to have an excess of testosterone in his blood stream the news was immediately leaked to the nation news circuit. This was out of the procedure standard that both the lab and the UCI had put in place. Did either one of these organizations quickly put out a message stating that this news was an improper leak or that the rider should be given his due rights to wait for his second sample to be tested before any news was released? No. The organizations quickly had their own opinions despite the lack of facts and not having the seconds sample tested. Let the wolves run in.

What I learned from reading all of this is that no matter who writes the article, expert or not, each reader needs to question the facts and try and read as many counter point articles before quickly jumping to an assumption. There is always two sides to a story and unless you know both you are going to come away as lacking the relevant information to openly state your opinion to others.

With technology there is always a rush into new applications and ideas, often before all the relevant information has been researched. Anything new needs time to grow and throwing in un-informed opinions into the mix might only stifle the growth of the new idea or business. Sit back, read as much as possible and then state a solidly back case as to why the new idea/business is a valid one or not. Anything less is not worth your time.

More ideas

Been a long time since I put something up here but I am going to take another shot at it. I have been working on a new idea that has to do with some new technology that has just gone through the FCC and been approved. Now it is a rush to get all the bits of technology working together. Trying to get a finished product is one thing, getting the applications written that will go on the hardware is another.
I have been reading and reading more on the current technology and trying to find out if there has been any other companies or people who are doing the same things. Seems like there is a good start of people trying ideas that all skim the outlying circle but none have bentured into the large idea. I think with this idea, once you have written the initial applicaiton, you are going to see all the other possiblities that are available or needed in the communities.
I have always been more involved and interested in the software and internet companies as it seems like a more attainable idea path and something I have been involved with since I started working in technology, so this new idea that is more product and hardware based is taking a little time to get a handle one. So it is RFP's and product bios for me this month.
Off to the book store for more reading.

First posting and impressions

WIth this being my first post I thought I would write about some of the local Boulder, CO blogs that I have been reading. I have been a regualr reader of Brad Felds blog for some time now. I really enjoy his business start-up posts and what he sees changing in the Boulder VC area. He has a wealth of knowledge on the VC front and what is important when trying to look into potential VC funding.
My friend John Winsor has a lot of insight into the marketing word and what makes the potential buyer stay loyal to their brand. This is of particular interest as anyone wanting to start a product company needs to create that brand loyalty to keep the current customer happy and always coming back. Johns latest book, Beyond the Brand touches on what is keeping customers buying products. Brand name is no longer the driver in this area. Read it, learn it, and go out and do it.
I have had a handful of meetings with Jim Lejeal about the company that we are forming and he has had some great insight into what to expect and how to get over those hurdles as they present themselves. Jim has started more companies than I type right now so he should know. It is great to have someone like Jim to be able to converse with on different business topics and try and get his gut impression on the problem or opportunity.
Thats it for the first post.