I'm doing a little bit of business travel right now sitting in the Holiday Inn in McKinney, Texas, just north of Dallas. I have to say, the rooms in this hotel are simply marvelous; it's one of the nicest places I've ever stayed, and believe me, I've stayed in some damn fine hotels around the U.S. and elsewhere in the world. Simple rooms, sublime mattresses on the beds, a Japanese/Prairie style decor... Lovely. Awesome food here too, with a good sushi restaurant just around the corner, and yes, steakhouses galore. I like Texas...
It's tough on riders though. I thought of renting a bike but the roadies I've seen don't look happy. The weather has been in the low 100s here, and guys who look like they should be total hammerheads, in team jerseys, pedal along like cockroaches that have been dosed with Raid... slowly, uncomfortably, with great effort, like some june bugs ate the last of the cornbread crums and there's nothing left but some coumadin. It's also flatter than a North Dakota accent around here.
So I hit the hotel gym. It's minimalist with three or four cardio machines and a few Universal machines. And a huge freakin' big screen. So I did about an hour on the elliptical trainer. A thousand calories later, I was out of there. I hadn't done that in several years - hanging out there in epic mundane fashion reminded me why I love riding. 20 years of life as a gym rat - either running or pumping iron to get fit for rugby - burned me out on hanging in gyms. And while ESPN Sportcenter was lovely, the 'running' got monotonous pretty quick. Still, with all the foot issues I've had lately I was exceedingly grateful to be able to use the elliptical at all with only moderate foot pain. Gotta be grateful for what I can get.
Tomorrow I'm heading toward Austin. I hope to check out Mellow Johnnies at some point, maybe see if I can score some T-shirts or something. Maybe I'll run into Lance himself. If so, I'll have to ask: "If you were forced to choose and could hit only one of the Olson twins... "
6 comments:
I lived in Houston for a short time. This time of year, even your saddle will sweat. Ishhhh.
I don't think you'll run into Lance in Austin, he's hanging out in Aspen doing altitude training. And Anna Hansen. I'd be there, too, If that were my choice.
Have a great time and maybe a big porterhouse for me if you have the chance.
Remember what they say about Texas, ain't nothin' there steers & .... Well. I think Revco did a song along them lines.
Wow. A coumadin joke. Too soon, my friend, too soon. Although Eisenhower was the first famous patient to use it therapeutically, there's a credible hypothesis that Khrushchev and company poisoned Stalin with it. It is, after all, a rodenticide. Heyoooo!
I lived in TX for five years in the 70's. Yeah. I had the huge belt buckles, the bell bottoms, and the pearl snap shirts. About five years ago, my Dad and I were driving to the family gathering on Christmas Eve. We stopped at a Walmart in Sherman, TX (start in McKinney, point the Suburban north, drive until you hit another town) to address an embarrassingly negligent lack of gifts for others.
As I looked around at the big belt buckles, bell bottoms, and pearl snap shirts, I realized, "It wasn't the 70's, man, it was Texas!
I know the TX you're in is probably extrememly Tysons-like, but you're close to the real thing. Maybe too close.
Today's captcha - "cationi." Wasn't he a domestique for Coppi?
Oh yeah - when you get to Austin, get in a car, drive south, and get some smoked meats from the Germans. Brisket, sausage ... did I say brisket?
Will the TSA let you carry a few pounds of BBQ on the plane? If you're selling, I'm buying.
ditto on the lived in Houston thing. its been hot as balls there the last month so if you are not acclimated to it, limit your efforts outside--your sweat rate can and will far exceed your ability to take on replacement fluids. and remember that heat index is measured in the shade of which there is dang little of in texas.
Austin is great--check out the Copper Tank brew pub if it is still there. corner of 5th and Trinity.
Show of hands: who's rooting for the whalers on Whale Wars?
You said it, brother. It doesn't matter how you feel about whaling. To watch such incompetent seamanship in the Southern Ocean is just painful. I pronounce them guilty of hostility to quality.
They'd all be a lot safer if they left that first mate back on the dock. "I don't have any need for fancy radars, or radios, or GPS systems. I really hate checklists. If you aren't willing to die, you shouldn't be here." Sheesh.
I watch just on the chance that I'll see the total goat rope of those dummies launching a dinghy. Wow.
Back on topic. Er, Texas.
Boz - thanks.
Womble - Yeah, I actually like Texas a lot. Spent a bunch of time here in the 90's. Learned to two-step. Man, that kind of close dancing will tighten your jeans if they aren't tight already - it's the Texas Tango. Turing word: Frote. Wow, that's spot on...
Jon - hit up Chuy's for dinner. Nice Tex Mex. Not as nice as what you get in El Paso just about anywhere, but nice.
Womble again - that's my point. Incompetent jackasses. The first mate is the best illustration of why I hate those f***ers. There's nothing wrong with wanting to be a martyr if that's what floats your boat. But that doesn't give you the right to get other people killed. It's like seeing 1100 metric tons of jackassery in a 500 metric ton capacity freighter. What a bunch of boobs. If they are the best hope the whales have, the whales oughtta call Dr. Kervorkian right now and save everybody the trouble.
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