Today’s post has only tangential ties to cycling and is a bit all over the place, so be forewarned. Sure I went out and rode my training rides over the weekend and early this week, although I’d be hard press to tell you a single detail about any ride since last week. Hence the mid-week Bell Lap.
Nostradamus?
I’m not saying last week’s Bell Lap had anything to do with it, but it seems I was only a day or two off. It’s not a done deal yet, so I haven’t exactly popped the cork on the prosecco, but my job search appears to be coming to an end. That’s a good thing, although starting a religion would have a kick.
It’s also a good thing because both my training and caloric intake where getting whammed in the last couple of weeks as this played out – neither in a positive way. A while back I mentioned how much my training was suffering from the lack of a routine that accompanies being unemployed. Now the question will be how big a hit is my training going to take? The commute is too far to ride; far enough that I’ll need to get a car. I’ll have to come up with some training solution but is a 4:30am training ride meeting time out of the question? Seriously, once you’re getting up at 4:20am, what’s the big deal if you take away another 20 minutes of sleep? I’m sure I won’t be the only one in the park on a bike at that hour. Ok, I’m not so sure about that, but I’m pretty sure I can convince one or two others to join me . . . eventually.
I guess I should focus on closing the deal before I worry about how my riding is going to be affected. It’d be nice to get that two-ton weight of my back.
You’ve Just Won A Stage Of The Tour
This video was floating around twitterland. Thanks to David Gardiner where I first heard about it. I reposted it to Facebook but it’s too funny to share with such a limited group (such as my facebook fan group is.)
Burgers and Fries, Oh My
Speaking of two-ton weights, yesterday I had a burger and fries at the Frites ‘n Meats truck, parked at Chambers and Greenwich St. The food’s not dead weight, it just sure isn’t going to help me drop any pounds. Now, I don’t eat a lot of burgers (not with the training diet and all), and I sure as heck don’t do street food (not counting the NYC Pretzel which isn’t so much street food as an institution), but the scuttlebutt on this was too good not to give it a go, especially on the last day of nice weather for six months. So I hopped on my commuter and next thing I knew I’m chowing down on a burger and fries (actually, not exactly the next thing – there was a sizable line which meant the food had to be good. The line moved quickly because there are about ten guys in the truck.)
The truck is the first thing you notice because it’s not so much street food as it is a mobile restaurant, and a good one at that. The line moves so quickly because it’s run professionally – one guy takes your order, two guys are cooking the food and one guy is packing the order. They even have the little order holder thingamajig that restaurants have in the kitchen so the chef knows what’s up next.

Hard To Miss Truck
Anyway, I didn’t ride down there to see the truck (which you can’t miss from 3 miles away). I’m not sure which was better. The burger was quite simply awesome and cheap (where else can you get a quality burger for under $6 these days). Plus they add the condiments for you so it’s a no fuss burger. The burger is ordinarily where I’d stop. After all, fries are fries. But these fries coupled with the spicy mayonnaise were so good it reminded me of my last trip to Belgian (I should clarify, I don’t eat Gotham street food; European street food is a whole other thing).
Now the problem is fitting Frites ‘n Meat into the training diet? What are the chances Merckx, Museeuw and Boonen ate/eat this stuff? Maybe that’s the Belgian secret. It’s conveniently located on the way to the races (I cut across Chambers to get to the Brooklyn Bridge) so if I can convince them to open up a little earlier (like 5:45am) it could become my race-morning first and second breakfasts. Based on yesterday’s lunch, I’m more than willing to give it a go.
That’s today’s view from the back (or bottom of a cone of double fried belgian frites.)
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An article on paganism got me thinking that perhaps the whole concept a job search is silly. Why not just start a religion? I can’t imagine it’s that hard to do given how many others have done it and with great success.
Somewhere between the end of the 1st lap and the start of the 2nd lap in Central Park today, I started thinking of being home. More accurately desperately wishing it were 7:20am, and I was in the elevator on the way up to my apartment. This was a lot better than most days. Ride 300 laps a year (give or take), and see how quickly your thoughts turn to anything that might helps stave off the monotony. Which is why I’m dumbfounded that some guy would walk around his block in Brooklyn 75 times (which was 26.4 miles). Actually the guy was Andy Newman, a writer for the New York Times and of course it was for an
I put it at 18”; my wife said it was wider. Let’s split the difference and call it 20”. The bottom line is that a NYC bus seat is pretty wide. 
