Donald’s Daily Draft

As many of you may know, I work in the news business.  So, we get a lot of promotional items sent directly to us.  Organizations, public relations or marketing firms pitch their products and books hoping you’ll give them some coverage.  Well, here’s their coverage: 

Today, I got a FedEx package in the newsroom and was all excited.  But I soon found out what was inside was intended to do exactly that… help people get excited.  The package contained Dr. Ruth Westheimer’s latest book: Sex After 50 “Revving Up the Romance, Passion & Excitement.”  I’m sure most of you know Dr. Ruth is a world-famous sex therapist.

I then looked at the attached letter and it was from the Erectile Dysfunction Institute.  There have been articles in Bicycle Magazine talking about how cyclists, being in the saddle for so long, might experience issues… “down there” issues… if their saddle isn’t the right fit. 
Although the letter was addressed directly to me, I’ll remind you all… as documented in a previous post, my wife and I, are the proud parents of a 19 day old baby boy.  Oh, and I’m 38… and… I have taken careful measures in choosing the right saddle with the best ergonomic fit.

Now that we’ve established that I’m not having any ”issues” and that I’m not yet in the book’s demographic.  I must figure out what to do with this wonderfully informative book.  I am more than happy to make a donation… discreet if you wish.  
Or, I do have a friend turning 50 in January… so it could be a helpful (if needed) gift idea.  What’s your idea? 

I found this in my weekly email from RoadBikeRider.com: 

There’s a flap in England about an ingenious video called “Do the Test.” It was produced for Transport for London as a way to raise awareness of cyclists on the road. Nice idea, but it’s charged that the concept for the video was stolen. According to Carlton Reid at bikebiz.com, the idea was first filmed in 1999 by Prof. Daniel Simons of the University of Illinois and it’s sold as an instructional DVD by Viscog Productions of the U.S. Well, whatever — it’s a short and fun “test.” It seems to have nothing to do with cycling until the point about awareness is driven home. “Do the Test” has been on and off the internet because of the plagiarism accusation, but as this is written you can still watch below:

Buffoonery, clowning, fooling around, high jinks, romping, roughhousing… all terms used to define horseplay. Horseplay can be had in a lot of places but I think we can all agree that road biking, escpecially a group ride, should not be one of them.
We all have a lot of fun on rides and we all joke around. Maybe you have seen someone take it too far… I know I have. Fortunately, I’ve never seen anyone get hurt but my friend, Jeff, emailed this week with a different story:

“Yesterday, I rode with a group ride and crashed hard when one of the guys started goofing off with his friend. He reached off his bars and gave his buddy a “push” up a small incline, lost control himself, swerved out of line and I was right behind him. He took out my front wheel at about 18mph and I hit hard. Then, had a guy crash up over and ride/ flip right over me. Between the two of us, it was blood, ripped clothes and about $1200 damage to our bikes and gear… all because someone was screwing off with his friend.”

My friend, Jeff, makes a good point. It’s a group ride. Riders should be focused, hands on the bars and even if you have the bike handling skills to screw around… maybe others in the group don’t have what it takes to get out of your way.
Has this ever happened to you? Your thoughts?

Watch this video and see what happens to cyclists who screw around:

Last week, we welcomed our second son Macauley.  Baby “Mac” is doing well and so is my hero, Jan, also known as my wife.  Many of you have asked about pictures.  
So, here’s Mac with his big brother Troupe. 

They are both miracles and we are truly blessed.  I’m loving the early days and certainly don’t want to rush the growing up.   

But I am truly looking forward to the day we can all go on a long bike ride together… and the day they kick Dad’s butt on the mountain.

Thanks to all of you for your support and well wishes. 
Now, it’s time to figure out a Family/Sleep/Cycling schedule… any tips?  

There’s a really good reason for me being a bit of a slacker lately on my blog.  I know I’ve been slow on posting as well as visting your sites.
But I have a good excuse.  I’ve mentioned in comments on some of your blogs that we’re going to have a baby soon. 

Well, the baby comes tomorrow!

We are, of course, very excited about his arrival.  So, I’ll not only be away from the blog for a few days but off the bike as well.  Although, my wonderful wife has said I should get out for at least a short ride or a spin class.  We’ll see how I feel.

The hospital rooms where we’l l be are so big and I asked what she thought about me bringing my bike in with the trainer.  She said she didn’t care.  We would just be stuck in there and watching movies while the baby slept. 
I think that would be a first.