N I C E W I C K

When I started this blog, I thought I had lots to vent about. I expected to rail about all manner of things that tick me off, from TV to people to politics. I thought I would be critical. As it turns out, however, most of my posts are annoyingly good-natured. I'm still crusty about all kinds of stuff, but it doesn't seem to manifest itself here for some reason. Overall, I'm fine with that. But the name I chose is RANTWICK. What am I supposed to do? I have come to identify myself with this name, but it doesn't describe what I'm doing.

I must regain at least some of my negative focus. C'mon... C'mon man. Surely there's something...

Woo hoo! You know who drives me nuts? That guy who sells oxy something and some sort of super putty and who knows what else who YELLS THE WHOLE TIME. Can you imagine going out for dinner or something with this guy?

I'LL HAVE THE PRIME RIB! Potatoes or rice? MASHED POTATOES PLEASE. Soup or salad? HMMM! WHAT'S THE SOUP TODAY?... You would have to punch him. There's another infomercial guy who may also have a problem with this dude too, the Sham Wow! guy.

Now this guy doesn't bug me. He looks like an experienced demonstrator / salesman guy, complete with some of what I will call "Carnie Edge". Now that I'm writing about these guys, I seem to recall the YELLING MAN selling what looked suspiciously like Sham Wow! towels lately. I wonder what Sham Wow! guy thinks of that? What if these two ever met up in a dark alley? I just know that the YELLING MAN would be putting up his dukes like a big chucklehead while a knife would slip effortlessly into Sham Wow! guy's hand, and the rest would be history.

WAIT A MINUTE...

Dawning realization: bikes just make me feel all blissed out. I'm nice when I write about bike stuff because even the stuff I think is silly is only mildly silly, and bike stuff, to my mind, is all inherently good. So there you have it! You can expect fairly good-natured posts on cycling stuff and the odd rant like the one found above for moniker retention purposes. I sure am glad that is sorted out. I know you must be relieved too, because I know you care. See? I thought about bike stuff for a moment and NICEWICK returned!

Keep your crank on,

R A N T W I C K

Am I Sick? Thoughts On An Awful Image

Many of you will have already seen this picture of a horrific crash in which a car ploughs into the peloton of a bike race in Mexico almost a year ago. Miraculously, only one cyclist was killed. I am not posting it as news, but rather to collect popular opinion (yes, I've gone temporarily poll-crazy) on my internal reaction to it.

When I first saw the picture below, I immediately cringed, and my first thought was "Oh My God, that's awful...". That thought, however, was followed very quickly by this one: "What A Great Photograph!" Please look at the picture, and answer the question below it if you're so inclined.

Depending on the results, I may or may or not see you next time, since I may be in extended therapy. Wish me luck,

R A N T W I C K

Wind

I am feeling very conflicted about wind. I used to windsurf quite a lot, and in those days I loved every and any kind of wind, because I knew I could use it one way or another. These days, however, I find myself both blessing and cursing the wind as it helps me or hurts me while riding my bike. Here in London Ontario (where windsurfing won't be happening, by the way) the prevailing winds are West or Northwest, it seems to me, with some nice variations in Spring and Fall. As such, as I ride eastward to work in the morning I most often enjoy a tailwind, and on my way home I can usually count on lower speeds and more work as I battle a headwind. Wind is the primary reason that I have drop bars on my bike... I spend most of my time with my hands on the brake hoods, but it is good to be able to really hunker down when riding into the wind.

In thinking about wind I have come up with a hypothetical that I would like to conduct a poll on. Here it is:

In Cycling Heaven, The Wind is...

After creating the first poll, I realized that there was a "that depends" element needing to be addressed. So, keeping in mind your first answer...

In Cycling Heaven, the Wind is...

I am hoping that the results will be nicely varied, just as people are. If you answered c) and e), respectively, please get treatment. You are a certifiable masochist, in my professional opinion as a velopseudopsychiologist. Please come in to my office, and we will use the over-worked vent holes near the front of your bicycle helmet to access your skull, drill some nice holes and let those demons out, just like I have to do twice a year for my most regular patient...

I'm winded. See you next time...

R A N T W I C K

P.S. I now realize the second poll is flawed, since the first offers "dead calm". Those of you who answered a) on the first poll are kind of stuck on the second; sorry about that.