So a few cases in point-
Our pal Kevin who helps us out over on Guys Who Cut Their Own Hair, (that is when hes not publishing Cog Magazine, and being a daddy-to-be) works eight hours a day for Breakaway Bicycle Couriers out in Milwaukee and was recently featured on a news segment that warmed even the coldest and most darkened corners of my heart.

And yes, in light of Wayne's recent head injury, I already read Kevin the riot act about Eric not wearing a helmet, which he assured me has since been rectified.

Then I get one from Jon, full of complements, and reminders that no matter how I try, I'll never be as cool as The Hoff;

"Looks David Hasselhoff can pull off, but you can't.
Hoff in a Speedo and leather jacket is a little obvious, my fav is The Hoff "monkeying" around on the rope swing. By the way, I didn't post regarding your evaluation but suffice to say that your work is witty without pretentiousness, usually makes me laugh out loud, and also goes deeper to shine a light onto the fact that these are just bikes. Family, friends, bicycles, and booze brother. Keep on keepin' on.
Jon"

Truth be told, I'm reasonable certain that I can rock the 70's drug kingpin better than he can.
And youre right.
They are only bicycles...
Unless you live in Boulder.

Then there is this one from Mark.
-And I gotta tell you, this might be my very most favorite thing that I've seen on the internet since my last favorite thing I saw on the internet;

"This is a link to a pretty funny story about a broke man and his beloved drawings. It is an email between him and an electric company regarding his bill.

- Mark"

I want that exchange to be the epitaph on my headstone.

Bill also wrote in with a heads up on some night time cross action that they've been getting into;

"Mr. Stevil,

Never thanked you for the portrait (self?) you drew on my envelope. Please accept this depiction of a PBR Pinata at our local back-yard night-time cross race (around 2:30 in) as my apology and tribute.

Bill"

A night time cross race... That's good.
If one could harness the fits of inspiration that are sent to me here week after week, I swear you could power a big town.
Or a small city...
Or a huge factory that makes girl pants.

Heres one you might like to know about- Some peeps out in Ann Arbor are fixing to get their alleycat on again this year for a good cause;

All the news thats fit to print on this freak out can be found right here.

Heyho, when our boy Ken out in New York isn't busy donning Mexican wrestling masks and taking the suckers to task on the polo court, hes helping to feed the less fortunate as well;

And another in Kansas City with a mind on the same cause;

Then, even though no foods gonna be raised, heres a race coming up this weekend in my old stomping grounds of Oakland, California thats just for the ladies;

Do you like apples?
Well then, how do you like them apples?

This here is a shot of my old friend Toby on a tiny bike next to a tiny truck.

Years ago at an alleycat race, one of the checkpoints included getting a doughnut, and those doughnuts were so delicious that Toby needed to get two. As he descended, one of his two tasty treats began to disintegrate in his hand, spinning him into a well deserved panic. In a last ditch attempt to save his snack, he crashed and broke his jaw.
Hes a trooper, that Toby is.

Well over a month ago, Evan sent an email to me, which I'm just now digging out of my inbox;

"I hope all is well in the world of Stevil these days.

This past weekend was an amazing celebration of the bike, with its culmination in the Night Ride, a critical mass-style ride through the streets of Jacksonville. There were about 300-400 folks, no accidents, a few pissed off drivers and smiles all around. Good times indeed!!

Big ups to Matt from Bike Jax for organizing and putting everything together, he did a fantastic job...

peace and handlebars
evan"

Great work you guys, and I'm sorry to have lagged so badly on getting this posted. As I just emailed another individual, I'm seeming to be a tremendous flake as of late, but I understand theres a cream for that, so I should be in good shape in no time.

Here's a shot that Matt Messenger from up in Seattle sent me that I've been sitting on, waiting for just the right moment.
I think 'just the right moment' is now.

Its like a whimsical world of Unicorns and Blade Runner, and I wanna live there..

Do you all remember this handsome fellow?

It's Matt, and he is wearing a custom 'beernet' helmet made by the skilled hands of Cory, from Dank messenger bags fame.
Well Matt hooked me up with Cory, and to make a long story short, my own beernet helmet showed up to the warehouse on Thursday. It truly is a thing of beauty and I'm sure that the two of us will have a long and blurry future together. A full honeymoon ride report will be forthcoming.
Plus, you can tell how awesome it is by the distant gaze of jealous longing on the face of the cat in the background.

Apparently inspired by the photos I pulled from the musty boxes that my parents sent, Josh dug deep and found a couple of his own to send;

"A couple photos of my brother and me avoiding the bummer life in Albany NY (I live in Boulder now, and take my cycling much more seriously than I did back then), circa 1984, must have been Christmas time, because we were fired up to endure the crap weather with our new rides.

That’s me busting the fat endo on my bro’s bike. He’s popping the wheelie on my purple gt pro performer. Good times..."

Good times indeed. Eddie Fiola would be proud.
Ok, I was gonna try to keep it short, and obviously I haven't done that, so I'll just go ahead and pull the plug now.

By the way, I finally heard back from (name omitted) and she said she had to run Wednesday's post by one of her friends that she works with to make sure that it didn't seem creepy.
I'm gonna totally go find her this weekend and make her buy me cocktails and prove to her that I really am that creepy.

And like a dirty shirt, I'm in a pile on the floor.