Omaha Mayor Mike Fahey Saw Me Riding into Work This Morning

Late last night, I sent Bryan a note about meeting at Crane Coffee for a commute into to work. Bryan was a no show, but that's OK, because Mayor Mike Fahey saw me instead.

It's true: Omaha Mayor Mike Fahey Saw Me Riding into Work This Morning.

He waited patiently in line right behind me. I think that he ordered a tall coffee. Black. He's a no nonsense kind of guy. You know, straight to business and skip all that foofy-foofy stuff.

Since I could tell that he was waiting to ask, I told him that I appreciated the efforts he was making for the Omaha cyclists.

He then paused long enough to make me wonder if he thought that I had actually said "psycho-ists".

Crap! Why did I have to mumble at such a grand moment?!

Finally, his mouth formed the words, "Thanks, I enjoy it."

Whew! The Mayor saved the day once again. You see, ambiguity is what makes politics great. He was happy. I was happy. And nothing was accomplished. Fantastic!

And with that, he exited the coffee shop and got into a black SUV that his driver, errrr carpool, had idling outside.

Thanks Mr. Mayor, I enjoyed it, too.

Grim Reaper Saw Me Riding Home from Work Today

While cruising Old Yeller down that big hill on Farnam just before Saddlecreek, this car suddenly makes an aggressive U-Turn about 20 yards in front of me and proceeds to cut across my lane. The driver didn't see me.

I yell, "AHHHHHHHHHHHH!" like really loud because I didn't have time to think of anything more witty to scream.

That's when I saw the Grim Reaper. He was standing at the entrance to Don And Millie's parking lot, which was where the car was about to run me over.

I'm still yelling, "AHHHHHHHHHHHH" as I quickly turn and bunny hop the half-curb driveway entrance at about 30 mph. Brakes were not even an option.

The car screeches to a stop only inches from me. I could feel the heat of the radiator on my legs and as I whizzed by the Grim Reaper. I think that I heard him snap his fingers and say, "shucks."

Other than the embellishments about the radiator heat and the Grim Reaper stuff, it was all frighteningly true: I was almost a goner!

When I came to a stop, I verified that the car hooked around a concrete median and crossed a solid double yellow line. It was bad enough that I had nearly been in a serious accident, but the thought of my life ending over such stupidity, and for what -- a Millie burger and a cheese frenchie? Getting mad. Madder....

**BOOM!!**

With adrenaline surging through my veins, I turned Old Yeller back around and confronted the driver getting out of her car. Well, it was more like a rabid dog's barking than a verbal assault. I believe I conveyed the point that she almost killed me while making an illegal turn for fast food, but it's hard to say. After giving her a good verbal tongue thrashing, I heard her say, "I already said I was sorry".

Thankfully, it was only my anger that she had to be sorry about.

Fred Didn't See Me Riding To Work Today

This morning I dropped off the car at Heavy T's Automotive in Bellevue, down by the infamous toll bridge that charges cyclists 50 cents to cross. I unloaded Old Yeller from the car and wished for a long ride into Glenwood, IA. But responsibility called and I turned northwards.

Along the way, Fred didn't see me while he commuted by bike to his new job not at the UP. Having Fredcube work elsewhere bums me out because the therapeutic United Way campaign haiku sessions won't be the same anymore. Bummer #2 is missing Fredcube fending off the attacks by Reed and Wes over lunch rides.

Such is life.

But I know that Fred didn't see me while riding to work today because I didn't hear him curse and swear at me as I rode by. He also mentioned it that he didn't see me on his blog.

I'd like to imagine what if Fredcube saw me while he rode to not-UP today. Long before he could recognize that it was Old Yeller approaching, venom would have been flowing. In his mind's voice, he'd be critical about the way I was riding, or the clothes I was wearing. Maybe even the bike I was riding. But as I approached, Old Yeller would have struck fear in his heart. In his weakened state, would he let it out, or bottle it up only to go critical-mass on some helpless chap down the path?

Anyway, driving the car 19 miles in the opposite direction from work to only then ride by bicycle back was a good way to start the day. But it came with a twinge of guilt. I mean, I'm riding to work and enjoying the exercise just after dropping off old smokey to be fixed. Indeed, it is not unlike smoking without inhaling?

I wonder if I inhaled the exhaust my car had just created when Fred didn't see me riding to work today.

Steve Lemans

With every day that passes, I get more sucked into the cycling subculture.

Take the Giro d'Italia. Last year, a Giro was just another Greek food; now it's a Greek food (like a balaclava) that also has a cycling connotation. Fantastic! And this year, I've learned the names of a few more riders. I watched as David Millar took an agonizing groin shot to the top tube when his chain snapped 1K from the finish. I've also have been cheering on that little Italian climbing phenomenon and veteran Leonardo Piepoli.

I've come to realize that cycling has more retina staying power than non-mainstream sports. Must be because of the cycling gear: the brightly colored uniforms and cycles. Let's face it, outside of Ringling Brothers, you don't see this much vivid spandex. If only the Italians would follow their circus cousins and grow mustaches to look like their mothers.

Running, in contrast, has no such appeal. You've got boring singlets and running shorts. Oh, and some flashy shoes. With this drab outlook, there's little sense of team competition. Even in cross country, the colors are often so muted like burnt umber or a dull cyan that it just too depressing to view. And while the 1980s had a fair amount of almost-mainstream runners: Rodgers, Prefontaine, Salazar, Beardsley and Samuelson, I challenge you to name a prominent runner today. Can you?

But cycling has its share of recognizable names. Of course, there's Armstrong. Some may recall Floyd Landis. And then there is Greg Lemond.

With a flame out with Trek bicycling company, Lemond is still vying for attention in the public eye. Regarding his image, it does seem as though he has a hard time of letting go of things. Like Pizza. Yet I got to give him credit, because the public still remembers his greatness in Paris.

Take yesterday, for instance. I was riding home from work on Old Yeller in my Midwest Cycling Community kit. As I approached 15th and Farnam a jaywalker yells, "GO STEVE LEMANS!" Um. Lemans? ... Steve? I could be wrong about this, but I think he meant Greg Lemond. But perhaps he meant Lemaze. Lemond does look like he's about to birth something, so I could see that. But I'm pretty certain he said Lemans. Of course, due diligence followed as I later Googled "Steve Lemans." The Google was also a bit confused and fired back "Did you mean: steve le mans". I clicked the link to discover references to Steve McQueen and the 1971 movie "Le Mans". This really got interesting because of the Steve McQueen - Sheryl Crowe connection, which brought me back to Lance. It's a stretch, but I really doubt that's what he meant.

Regardless of what was actually said, it still made a difference on my ride. A toothy grin erupted on my face while the heart rate and cadence picked up. Indeed, I felt a special new connection to the cycling community in being compared with the greatness of the one and only Greg Steve McQueen Le Mans Lemond.

Like Steve McQueen
All I need's a fast machine ....

31st Annual Lincoln National Guard Half-Marathon

*** For Immediate release ***
Lincoln, NE. We are pleased to announce the following special guest for the 31st Annual Lincoln National Guard Half-Marathon.

FEATURED GUEST: BRADY MURPHY
Come to the Embassy Suites Runners' Expo to:
* Hear Brady's comments about Dean Karnazes comments during Dean's morning and afternoon speaking sessions.
* Witness Dean Karnazes meeting Brady as Dean mingles with runners throughout the day.

In 2006 Dean Karnazes completed an amazing endeavor of running 50 marathons in 50 states in 50 days. The Lincoln Marathon course was his Nebraska stop on the 7th leg of this pursuit. Now he will return to participate in this year's weekend marathon festivities. He's also the dude that completed a nonstop 350-mile run.

But this is not about Dean.

Brady's career accomplishments have included:
* Winning the Sigma Phi Epsilon Run With a Heart 10K
* Winning the citizen's division Omaha Mile in 2007
* Finishing third (of three) in the bike race to the top of Dana College Hill
* Running a marathon
* Calculating how many tacos it would take to complete 350-mile run.

Running 350 miles burns about 45,000 calories, or roughly 265 of Taco Bell's best, which is about the same number of tacos I paid Munson to overhaul Old Yeller.

Fred Saw Me Riding Twice Today

As you may already know, Fredcube saw me this morning commuting into work. Here's the really cool thing: I saw Fred riding too. Way to go, chap! Glad you could finally roll that rim you put on layaway for six months.

Then, Fred saw me a second time on one of the famous lunch rides at the Union Pacific.

Oh, and hold the press...RF saw me too! It's kind of funny, RF was down at the U.P. to have his father see him. That's when RF saw Fred. Or did Fred see RF? Wait - why do I care?

So anyway, Fred must have cued RF about my pending appearance because RF had a pleasant countenance about him when he saw me (instead of the usual mob scene).

We talked about some real important stuff, like a tour in California that some bazillionaire is gonna buy and how RF was going to ride his motorcycle thingy in Red Rocks, which I believe is in Montana somewhere. After like 30 seconds, I got tired of all the heady stuff and cut the chit-chat for a fabulous ride on Old Yeller.

Ho hum. I wonder who's gonna see me next?

Shim Saw Me While Running Home Yesterday

Notice how I say that Shim saw me. Also notice that its ambiguous as to who was running.

To clear any doubt, Shim was on his bike when he saw me running home along Hamilton and Military.

He yelled, "Brady!"

I yelled, "Shim!"

And that's all I have to say about that.

Aaron Poole Rode with Me Today

Omaha, Neb. With the warm weather returning and winter indoor training rides thankfully coming to an end, cyclists are now shifting focus to races in the near future.

This past weekend, Lincoln Industries' Aaron Poole and Mike Munson and Team Kaos' Bryan Redemske and John Fairbanks joined little known 30-something age grouper, triathlete and self-proclaimed cat-6 rider Brady Murphy on one of his early spring group rides.

"Yeah. It was pretty cool," said Murphy. "I like, um, read this blog about a group ride on Sunday and I showed up and all of these people rode with me. I may be wrong, but I think Aaron Poole was impressed simply by the way he was eying Old Yeller." Murphy went on to say that it's not uncommon for people to have Old-Yeller envy. "I see it all the time. They're like, 'What is that thing you're riding?!'. For the record, it's my younger brother's hand down 1999 GT ZR4000 that I did a little number on."

Murphy and company went on to ride 75 miles in overcast skies with temperatures hovering at 30 F.