First Post/Intro As a bit of background, my friend Benson is a member of SWAB (Spock With A Beard). I feel like an embecile every time I look at that site. Consequently, I generally avoid it. I feel stupid because the conversations reflect so much more mental energy about philosophical matters than I am willing to devote. When Ben suggested I join SWAB, I indicated to him that my thoughts cycle through topics that are much shallower. A typical thought cycle might include - What bike am I going to get next? How am I going to pay for it and/or justify it? What am I going to do for a ride today? What about Saturday? When am I going to have my next barbeque/dinner party? Who should I invite? I wonder what the wife and kids are up to? I wonder how - insert the name of the friend that popped into my head for whatever reason - is doing? What is my training schedule for tonight? What bike am I going to get next . . . . and so it continues. These posts are an unsolicited view into some of the subject matter currently in the loop. Currently non-work related time is devoted to making sure I spend at least an hour with my children before they go to bed and trying to train for the Honu Half Ironman in Kona on June 3. I haven't dedicated the time or effort to lose weight so any gains from my time in the gym seem to be offset nicely by the weight gain. On the cycling front, professional road cycling has taken over first place in the perseveration category. The spring classic season has been great, with several of the races on OLN. I've followed every silly little stage race that has been covered this year on VeloNews.com. Attention will likely focus drastically once the Grand Tours begin. Just a couple of weeks until the Giro. I recently purchased a 'crit bike'. Ben questioned the depth of my addiction: "What does it say about your bike addiction when you start buying bikes to crash?" I don't know how to answer that. In any case, I picked up a LeMond Chambery. I agonized over the color. Not only am I a Cougar, but blue matches nicely with my Racer's Cycle Service kits. LeMond makes the Alpe D'Huez in blue, but supply wasn't such that I could get one. Thus, the Chambery. I was consoled by a recent photo on VeloNews.com in which Floyd Landis was riding a red and black BMC pro-machine while wearing his green and yellow Phonak kit. If he doesn't have to match, I guess I can live with not matching as well. The Chambery provides a nice starting point for additional joy and fulfillment found in finding just the right parts to complete the bike. With the point being to get a light bike that is still crash worthy, the question becomes where to spend and where not to spend to try and achieve both goals. Are Zipp Rims on Kings really the best choice for that bike? Are super cool and trick light Zero Gravity brakes worth putting on a crit bike? What if it doubled as a climbing bike. You can see how the component selection would provide hours of part selection enjoyment. Food thoughts are directed to steaks, and to dry aging again.

Test, Test, Test