Welcome to Minneapolis
Land of 10,000 (Refreshing) Lakes

It's summer.

It's the best place in the world to be.  The City of Lakes, Bikes and Beer are in active form and the fleshy, shirtless Minnesotans remind us of this.

As long as my wireless covers the back porch, I'll keep you in the loop of this wonderment.



Thursday, March 26, 2009

Smokin' Busy


I wanted to share this with you because it makes me happy. Stepping back to the days when cigarettes made you better at everything.

Cyclists, and the broader public, used to see cigarettes as miracle sticks.

Look younger!

Be cool!

Lose weight!

Messages and beliefs, I can only assume, created and reinforced by ancestors of my industry - advertising.

In the case above, cyclists believed smoking opened up their lungs. Which would result in more oxygen intake. Which would result in more energy to your muscles. Which would result in a faster, stronger rider.

It actually resulted in polluted lungs. Which resulted in killing blood vessels. Which resluted in hightened cases of emphysema. Which resulted in heightened number of deaths.

Eh. C'est la vie.

Sunday, March 22, 2009

Headless Lips



By the end of the weekend, The Lips lost his head.



Thursday, March 19, 2009

A Portland Fix

Fixed gears on the streets of Portland are required to equip thier bike with either a hand brake (hell no) or a, wait for it, stick (hell yes).

Check out the bike-folk having a stick-stopping competition:


Tuesday, March 17, 2009

A Bike Tale: Intermission Part Deux


A ride with Team Motts, in still.

Click here to enjoy some fresh apple juice.



A ride with Team Motts, in motion.

Click the, well, the sideways triangle thing:





Portland, you are a beautiful thing.







Friday, March 13, 2009

A Bike Tale: Intermission

Catch up to the story here and then here.


Le Tour de Portland (The Tour of Portland)

Entracte (Intermission)


Courtesy of The Lips, photos.


Courtesy of The Voice of Reason, Team Mott's next four trips.


Courtesy of Team Mott's, the best way to spend a Saturday.


For the sanity of pedal energy:



Wednesday, March 11, 2009

Otis Loves Pork


We, and by we I mean Aly, made some beautiful pork chops for dinner tonight.

After we finished eating, we scraped the bones in the garbage can and continued to gather wine glasses and silverware.

As we were wiping down the table in the dining room, we heard a thud in the kitchen.  On the approach we found Otis standing over a partially dumped garbage can with the dinner scraps and various debris scattered on the floor.

Among the remains, was one pork chop bone.  The only problem, we had two pork chops.

Hearing horror stories of animals eating cooked bones and splintering their insides, we Googled "my dog ate a pork bone, what do I do."

If you cannot tell, we are clueless and would make horrible parents.

We found a forum where someone had a dog that swallowed a pork bone and was getting advice from a dog advocate.  The advocate "very, strongly encouraged" the dog owner to take the dog to the vet.  A follow up post revealed that the vet made the dog vomit to dislodge the bone.

Next, we Googled "how do I make my dog vomit?"

Again, completely clueless.

The solution was EITHER one tablespoon of salt OR two teaspoons of hydrogen peroxide.

Being a concerned pet owner, we went with the non-poison first - the salt.  We dumped, what I would guess was, more than one tablespoon of salt into the Goat's mouth.  He chewed it up like Pop Rocks.  You could actually hear his teeth grinding.

We moved onto peroxide and changed venues to the backyard.  Aly dumped no less than two teaspoons of hydrogen peroxide down the Goat's throat.

Anticipating fireworks, we unleashed him.  He looked at us both and started hot laps around the yard.

This dog is not of this earth.

We watched him for a few minutes, when due to cold, migrated inside.  Just as we were opening the back door we noticed Otis had stopped running.

Perched on the neighbor's back door step he arched his back and vomited.  All over the back steps.

Our neighbor was sitting at her counter in her kitchen, working on her computer.  Looking up, it would appear her neighbor, in below 20 degree weather, was shoveling her back porch.

"Albeit random at 9 p.m., what a neighborly thing to do - shovel my back porch," she was probably thinking.

Only three people, well two people and one dog, know better.

I've stopped telling people at work these stories.


A Bike Tale: Part II

Le Tour de Portland (The Tour of Portland)

Mars 5 (March 5)

Une jours (Day 1)


The Grand Depart Minneapolis

The Dreamer, The Lover and The Voice of Reason began their journey in the majestic Humphrey Terminal.

At O'Kelley's. With Guinness's. And grins.

An elated bar tab carried positively onto an delayed airline flight. So much so, in fact, the boys' social commentary earned a round of beers from the Nestle salesman seated in the row ahead.

The stewardess doted upon team the team with the curiosity of a brood hen hatching another species.

Mott's was established as team sponsor mid-flight after The Dreamer declared to the fuselage, "I got the Mott's" and a round was distributed.

Henceforth, team MVP is awarded the iconic room temperature apple juice.  Like Gatorade on the football coach or chugging milk at the racetrack.

Only less appetizing.

Arrive Portland, OR (Arrive Portland, OR)

How do you fit Team Motts, six bags and one snowboard into a wagon?

Head to the gas station and buy the following:

  1. 6 6-packs of local beer

  2. Lolly-pops

  3. Cigarettes

  4. A framed poster of Al Pacino, Scarface incognito

What went to the airport as an A4, returned home as an A6.

CJ Dirt (formally Colin J. Lebens), The Smoker, accompanied the team to home base, in NW Portland city where bags were unfurled and toasts were had.

The night progressed to Gypsy Restaurant and Velvet Lounge.

It had karaoke.

Zim, The Lover, sang this:





Except, he sounded like this:



..and looked similar.


Our first meal of Day 2, Friday, took place at 3:00 in the morning at an all night diner called Roxy.

Five of us ordered a delicacy called the "Heart Attack Platter."  Issac's pancakes were made fun, but The Voice of Reason has the last laugh in the morning.

All six ordered, not a mug of coffee, but a carafe.  A piece.

The theme of the weekend was established that night as "overkill."


Stage winner:  Issac, The Voice of Reason.

Stage loser:  Passengers on flight 596












Tuesday, March 10, 2009

A Bike Tale: Part I


As it is, looking back as it was, the best 72 hours of our lives...

Introducing the peloton:


Team Motts

CJ Dirt: The Smoker (Captain)


Andrew: The Lips (Lieutenant)


Freddy: The Drinker (Domestique)



Zim: The Lover (Time Trialist)


Issac: The Voice of Reason (Climbing Specialist)


John: The Dreamer (Sprinter)



Standings will be updated daily.



















Thursday, March 5, 2009

B. Ike, P. Town


Ten hour countdown until the two-wheeled ponies are cut loose in Portland.


I'm back Sunday, in time for Funday Monday - which includes images, videos and storytelling.
-Dreamer


Wednesday, March 4, 2009

Action Figure

I've had my struggle with the bus.

Today, neither good nor bad, the strangest event occurred.

I boarded Bus 4 downtown behind two other city-ites.

As I stepped up to pay, I noticed the bus driver was hunched over.  Like when you sleep sitting up - only I could tell he wasn't asleep.  His neck was tucked down and was staring intently at his hands.

In one hand was tucked a miniature action figure.  In the other was a very small paint brush.

The driver was using intermittent bus stops, 20 second intervals at a time, to tint his army.




Sunday, March 1, 2009

Michael Franti and Spearhead

I cannot get enough of Michael Franti and Spearhead.

I first heard him on The Current a few months ago and they have slowly been playing more and more off his latest album, All Rebel Rockers.

His music reminds me of sun, friends and cheap beer.



The Current now had just introduced a new segment titled Theft of the Dial.  Michael was the inaugural host.

Check out the stream of his play list.

He solidified his place in my iPod by spinning my favorite song of all-time - Train in Vain by the Clash.




Both are in the party queue for the wedding reception.