The Third Annual Rantwick Autumn Tree Smackdown!

Last years winner from JAT in Seattle

Attention, foliage fans, the Third Annual Rantwick Autumn Tree Smackdown, North America's premier fall-foliage-posted-on-an-obscure-website competition, is looking for your best tree pictures once more. Keep your eyes peeled and send your pics to my email address (rantwick at gmail dawt com) with the subject line "TARATS". Oh, and use the Like and Tweet links or that Google +1 thing on the left to tell your friends! I want to break last year's record of 18 trees in the smackdown. As always, I will enter the King of Autumn but can not win the contest.

 

For those of you who have no idea what I am talking about, you may wish to review the many posts from the first and second years of my contest, or just read the following rules:

 

 

1) Your entry should should feature 1 or if necessary just a few trees featuring an obvious star-power tree. This is a Tree Smackdown, not a "forest face-off" or "copse competition".

 

2) Since I hope to continue to run this competition annually, your picture should be of a tree from this 2012 Autumn season.

3) Your picture should be one you took yourself. Including some information about where the tree is from in your submission would be appreciated.

4) Your tree can be from anywhere you like. PaddyAnne from Vancouver won with a tree from New York. If you snap it, you can send it.

5) Submissions are due by midnight, Dec 15, 2012 EST. I wait so long because many of my readers seem to come from the Southern (United) States.

 

I think I'm going to offer a new prize this year. Maple syrup is great, but I'm kind of tired of writing about it. Also, I am told a change is as good as a rest. As usual I am also undecided about how a winner will be selected at this time... I might just decide it all by myself. What do you think? Was the voting thing fun last year? Should I try to collect video votes again? Should I open voting up to the online masses and hope nobody finds a way to mess with the results? Any other bright ideas?

 

Yer Pal,

R A N T W I C K

Yep, That'll Happen.

Hi all. I sincerely hope others have been enjoying some excellent riding weather like I have since I last touched base. Not much time to think of the blog or write anything lately, again.

 

Snapped a drive-by picture that should tell a story for me, though. A cautionary tale, if you will:

 

 

 

Yep, that'll happen.

R A N T W I C K

Sunglasses Again

I sure seem to write about sunglasses a lot. I'm really getting kind of angry now... I am on my fourth pair of the summer. Which is why I don't buy good sunglasses. I lose 'em or break 'em. Of course, one could argue that perhaps I would take better care of my sunglasses if they were more valuable. What if I went ahead and spent a bunch of money and that isn't true though? What if I'm really just a naturally destructive force when it comes to sunglasses? Then I will have wasted money that could have been spent on my kids or starving kids or beer or beer for my kids (wait, no) instead of on proving something to myself that I already suspected! Gah!

 

Is there anyone out there who rides a bicycle often (or far) who does not think that sunglasses (or clear glasses) or goggles or something shielding your eyes is an absolute necessity? I couldn't have cared less when I was a kid, but I HATE riding without some sort of glasses now. 

 

The pair I'm currently wearing were purchased at a lost and found sale. They are those "Solar Shield" types. Some people like 'em because some styles will fit over top of eyeglasses. Others like having as much UV blocked as possible. I don't wear glasses though and I'm OK with a little UV action on the side (nudge nudge, wink wink). I thought they might keep wind and airborne crap out a little better, which they do.

 

I have two problems with these. Firstly, I knew peripheral vision would suffer a little, but I didn't count on my shoulder checks being WAY more difficult. I need to either lose these shades or grow a more flexible neck.

 

Secondly, especially when combined with my bike helmet and camera, I can't shake the feeling that I bring to mind Dr. Nefario from Despicable Me.

 

 

I'm still wearing them for now despite my misgivings. Another cheap pair will come my way, I am sure.

 

Yer Pal,

R A N T W I C K