And next up we have photographic evidence of what two individuals can accomplish with a rivet gun, some beer and and a whole lot of free time;

Tanner, who was one of the folks behind this fit of madness writes;

"My brother and I made some PBR fenders over the weekend. We used some Planet Bike 700c full cover fenders, lots of PBR cans, rivets and some Leinies Fireside Nut Brown to help keep us creative."

They say necessity is the mother of invention, right? Necessity and Fireside Nut brown I guess.

And speaking of which, Keith C-E sent this clip in, and judging by the horse cackle in the background, not only was necessity partially responsible for this little slice of horror, but I suspect several packs of Pall Mall straights were somehow involved as well;

He then sent this link for The Beez that if I dont miss my guess, has Lance Mountain, Neil Blender, Simon Woodstock and John Lucero sitting somewhere, smiling.

Heres another clip that a few folks have sent on, that I suspect somehow or another we all can relate to;

I think it's safe to assume that Bob most definitely can;

"Yo Stevil,

Faced with the "in between season", the night before thanksgiving (biggest party night of the year), and a sixtel of tasty beer, my friends and I put together a relay of sorts.

check out the page here (bunch of dudes on bikes drinking beers and racing bikes) --> Two of the guys I ride (i.e. drink) with are veterinarians. they actually went back to the office and stitched up the one guys knee.

there's also a short blog entry here.

and of course our run in with the PO-leece.

that should be enough to work your word-smith magic. feel free to cut and paste how you see fit.

rock on

-bob"

Word-smith magic, huh? I gotta say that I think you kinda pulled the rug from beneath me on that one.
You supplied all of the wordsmithmagishery that was needed.

That is except for "wordsmithmagishery". I'll take credit for that one.

Jim from The Unholy Rouleur got ahold of us with a whole bunch of his own particular brand of magishery;

I really don't know what to attach as a modifier to Thanksgiving. Christmas is "Merry" or "Joyous," Easter is "Happy," and July 4th is "Call 9/11, Daddy just passed out on the grill*"
So you're getting my Beneficent Thanksgiving wishes, and you'll like it.

Important news: a new cocktail featuring... wait for it...

NO! NOT BACON!

But bacon grease, which we all know is the distilled soul of bacon, kind of like how a pound of crystal meth is the distilled soul of the Hell's Angels.

It sounds tasty, but on the advice of medical, legal, and voodoo counsel, I'm going to skip it. Seriously. The pants are tight enough and if you combined bacon with bourbon, two of my favorite pastimes, I'd wind up a fat, out of control drunk with clotted arteries.

Hey wait a minute...

Not only does that cocktail involve bacon, but it has ties to Portland, so it's got at least two of your favorite things, and when you take into account the wildness you'll get up to after about six of them, it really includes at least three of them.

Double bonus link - Mud and Cowbell's vid of the Golden, CO 45+ cross race. Comments from a good buddy on my club who is a rising masters racer (probably moving to the elites next year): 1) They don't appear to use tape; 2) They are moving really
slow; 3) The course doesn't look at all technical.

But don't knock it - that's how they roll in Boulder! (FWIW, our local cross scene is very hotly contested and pretty well attended).

Seriously tho Stevil, have a very merry National Man Day. You've provided me with a lot of laughs and bummer life avoidance, and for that I'm truly grateful.

That, and the recipe for a salad / egg / cereal / change bowl made of bacon.

Jim"

Firstly I'll mention that Hurl and I have shared a similar concoction at Las Vegas's Double Down bar, and as much as I enjoy sharing some cocktails and a bit of bromance with Hurl, if I never drink a drink with bacon grease in it again, it might very well be too soon. Secondly, and certainly with no disrespect to Jim's buddy, if the epic crowds in that video are any indication of how seriously they really do take cyclocross on the front range, then I'd say that that I have sorely underestimated this fact, and will yet again have to realign my understanding of the profundity of said seriousness..

Now to mix things up a bit, here's a flyer for our homegirl's birthday who lends us a helping hand over at GWCTOH;

Because she gets busy doing what she does, and she's such a peach and all, we sent her a smattering of gifts to share with all who come out and play this weekend.
As a matter of fact, I spoke with Julie on the phone last weekend and she'd mentioned a certain small and cylindrical gift that I'd included in the package as well.
"I'll bet it's a can of beer" she said she'd told her boyfriend.
I'm afraid Julie knows me like the back of her hand.

Either that or I'm just getting too predictable in my old age.

Here is another flyer for an event that's going down up in Seattle not for a birthday, but to feed some folks who need a little bit of an extra helping hand;

They had me at "plenty of beer at the finish".

Now just to prove that The Bummer Life still can't quite maintain any specific direction, I'll now take the opportunity to display this photo depicting just how The Empire rolls these days;

Never let it be said that I can still maintain a thought for more than a few seconds at a time, but then again, I guess thats why I get paid the big bucks.

Now there are just a couple more items of attention. The first being a reminder for any of you all in the Bay Area who wanna get all rad and stuff, there is the continuation of the North Bay series;

and secondly, based on a recent email communication with a couple of my bigger friends, I was inspired to take a moment to pay tribute to some of these folks who remind us all that you don't have to be a 140 pound nimrod to race bicycles;

In Loudass's case, you only have to be a 300 pound nimrod to race bicycles, as proven by this shot taken by CX Magazine's ace photog Andrew Yee. More of his eye's fruit can be found on their Flickr page.

And Loudass's new BFF, Jim, shot by Bruce Buckley;

Any listing of big folks with big hearts that can ride the hell out of some bikes when they want to wouldn't be complete without mentioning Dennis;

...Dennis, who happens to also be a shining star up in the Pacific Northwest as well;

Of course there is Skotty Pawz, who actually is responsible for a good many of these photos;

And our big man, Steve P;

Of course, being 'big' doesn't just mean on the rotund side, but we've got a good many friends that are carrying around extra weight just due to their altitude.
Like Sasha the giant drunk Russian, for example;

Or Curtis;

Or Dean (It should be noted the man behind Dean is six feet tall, which makes Dean somewhere in the neighborhood of twelve feet high and rising.)

And last but not least, the light of our life, our own 6'7";

This is by no means to be considered a complete list of the biggies who get down on two wheels, but for now, it is just a list of a few of our favorites.

So here's to you all, who drag around the extra height, or width, or in some cases both.
You guys make me feel like a one of those 140 pound nimrods, and at this stage in the game, I'll take as much of that as I can get.

Like I always say, It's Wednesday today. You know what to do.