Pre "season" experimenting: Part Two

First off I would like to mention something that happened at my physical last week. Since I was seeing a new doctor for the first time we had to go through the initial "get to know me" Q&A session before we could move onto the testicle palpation and digital sodomy part of the program. I was being asked the typical questions regarding lifestyle choices; drugs, alcohol, diet, and sex. The doctor asked me a question that threw me off balance, and I had to ask her to repeat herself.

"What do you mean by that?" I asked.

"Pardon?" she replied.

"What did you just ask me?" I asked in an attempt to clarify before I offered up an answer.

"Are you currently sexually active?" she asked again.

"Oh, I thought you asked me if I was chronically sexually active to which I wasn't entirely sure how to answer" I said as I realized that my new doctor probably thinks I'm quite a simpleton.

Does this look like a guy who's "chronically sexually active"?

And now onto the meat of the matter...

I had to give the Ergon GX 1 Leichtbau grips another chance...

well at least one of them.

Back when I gave the Ergon grips a whirl in the early winter months (Nov/Dec) of 2008 I was already having issues with my wrists and even some issues with pain in the back of my hands. These issues went deeper than grip choice, and without addressing those issues the grips did nothing for me in regards to solving my problems. I finally got rid of the pain with other remedies which I will not re-hash here as I already did it here, but suffice it to say other than some occasional discomfort I'm a pretty happy semi-young man.

Since I still had the grips I had to wonder if I wasn't missing out on something. So many other endurance riders swear by these things, and not just the ones that are sponsored by Ergon. The idea of greater surface contact makes so much sense I just can't ignore it anymore. I figured the only sure way to give these grips a fair head to head comparison was to run just one Ergon grip VS my current grip du jour.

I've only been on one ride so far, and that was @ 19 or so miles at Sherman Branch. Let's just say that the grip is still on there, and I feel that there might be something to it. It did not save me from going over the bars and landing on seven different parts of my body, but then again neither did my standard grip, so as far as overall safety testing goes they both get a D-.

And one last thing...

This bit of smack talk showed up in my mail box yesterday:

Subject: TransDicky
From: Mike.Cushionbury@Rodale.com
To: teamdicky@hotmail.com

I noted from your little blog that you and all your single-speeding shenanigans will be attending the Transylvania Epic Stage Race. Bring your A-game when you come to my town but don’t get that filthy mustache anywhere near me.

This sort of aggression will not stand, man. I replied:

My filthy mustache and I (notice I give my mustache first billing not to be grammatically correct but to emphasize how truly awesome it is) will be bringing so much game I'll be shitting Uno cards and pissing Yahtzee dice...

So register for the Tran-Sylvania Epic Stage Race* so you can watch me kick Mike's pasty white PA ass all over his hometown woods first hand.

Word on the Facebook street is that Harlan Price will be single speeding the Trans-Sylvania Epic. I wonder if maybe he got fat over the winter. I hope so. He certainly looks fat and slow. Well maybe not, but his mustache certainly is weak.

* Register soon since the entry fee goes up $100 on Monday, and contact me ASAP at teamdicky at hotmail dot com to save another $50.