Tour de Bicycling Blogs 9: Celebrating CycleDog

Ladies, and Gentlemen, Boys and Girls, Cyclists, and non-cyclists!

Welcome to the 9th edition of The Tour de Bicycling Blogs!

( My apologies for going 3 months since the last one! )

Do U Bicycle?

There are a growing number of Bloggers with sites dedicated to the proposition that bike riding is good for you and fun.

In various ways we all provide commentary, and opinion, reports about events, and news, write reviews, stories, and travelogues, share photographs, and spread the word about the wide variety of websites of interest to anyone who rides a bike.

BikeBloggers spread the word, and the word is BICYCLE!

This ongoing series is about bicycling, and bicyclists... Recreational Bicyclists, Bike Commuters, and Activists.

It is about those of us whose blogs are devoted to writing about our bicycling escapades, and about anything else cycling related that catches our attention.

Expect to read my own thoughts about some, or all, of what I bring to your attention.

Let's saddle up, and ride!

Ed, The CycleDog, is an active rider, and cycling instructor, and very involved in cycling in his community.

He has been blogging since December 29th 2004.

There is a reason why I chose to make his work the sole focus of this edition of the Tour.

In his 1st post, 2 things he wrote stand out:

I'm not entirely sure that I'll use this regularly, but I'll make a go of it anyway. My purpose is to promote bicycling as a transportation alternative, realizing that it has some small effect on congestion, pollution, and geo-politics. But the main point is that bicycling is fun! How many people arrive at work after a stress-filled commute in a motor vehicle, spent inching through traffic, complaining about the mutton headed drivers out there on the freeway? Cyclists, on the other hand, have an easier commute despite the popular misconception that riding a bicycle in traffic is an extremely dangerous activity best attempted by near-suicidal daredevils. I'll write more on that, lots more....

I anticipate writing about common cycling subjects like commuting and racing, "how-to" pieces on various subjects, and some of the experiences of riding on the road. I take a slightly twisted view and try to inject some humor.

From not being sure, to celebrating 40,000 visitors on October 14, 2006.

Wow! Forty Thousand hits on CycleDog since I began writing this. As it turns out according to this cheap datalogger that I got second hand from the defunct Psychic Friends network, Mr. 40,000 is a middle-aged white guy with thinning hair, who's slightly overweight. He's sitting in front of his computer reading CycleDog while sipping a beer, and he's wearing just a ratty pair of boxer shorts.

Hey! That's ME!

I really need some new boxers.

A milestone worth celebrating ( The 40,000, not needing new Shorts, you sillies in the Peanut Gallery! ).

I'm going to do my part by recommending a few posts, and thus encouraging him to make a new idea of his a regular feature of his Blog. ;-D

In Sept. Ed began a series he has titled THE SADDLE SORE OF THE MONTH:

Here's a new feature that will likely be a monthly item. It's an award for the most egregious act involving a cyclist in the last month.

The winner, of course, has to receive some sort of prize. I think it's most appropriate to make that a tin of Bag Balm, so each and every winner will receive a brand-new can of the stuff, provided they're willing to pay shipping and handling! Cash only, no checks or credit cards. Bag Balm works really well on saddle sores. Trust me.

All decisions are final, though some may be capricious, arbitrary, and rude. The judge reserves the right to mete out sarcasm and disrespect.

The 3 August winners, and his comments, can be read here.

After missing Sept. he comes back strong for October, ripping Karen Mango of Huntsville AL., a Huntsville Times "community columnist" , a new one for the screed she wrote for the paper.

These pieces, found by Ed, are perfect for reading, and thinking about, as complimentary material to the pair of Cycling Safety  series I'm in the midst of writing.

Scenes like these, among many others, are being played out on streets all across America, and the world, and yes, sometimes the fault even lies with the cyclist.

In a brilliant piece, in August, Ed went off his meds, and reports on what I call the "Bicycling Community's Master Plan for World Conquest".

Sort of like a bunch of Pinky and the Brains on 2 wheels. ;-D

It's common knowledge that all cyclists are scofflaws, intent on flagrantly disobeying every traffic law ever devised. They rip through stop signs and traffic lights. They blaze along sidewalks, scattering pedestrians in their wake. And they piss off each and every decent, law-abiding motorist they encounter. Cyclists are vermin.

Worse yet, they're all tree-hugging greens and liberals, bound by a common thread of far-left ideology. They won't be satisfied until the whole trafic network is brought down to their level and good people everywhere are forced from their cars onto those infernal two-wheeled death machines.

Cyclists enjoy a secret underground communication system that keeps all of them on message, a system that rivals the Republican party's talking points for it's all-encompassing nature. It's uncannily accurate and capable of overwhelming nearly any opposition. Every cyclist in the country is plugged into the network, and they're all true believers in the cause.

Damn!

This spilling of Community Secrets has put the ultimate success of The Plan in serious jeopardy!

We need to flush out the informers!!

The variety of subjects covered on this blog, and opinions expressed, are well worth your time, agree, or disagree.

Here's to the continued success of the CycleDog! ;-D

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