It's up to me to keep Belgian dreams alive.

Sometimes when I reflect back on all the beer I drink I feel ashamed. Then I look into the glass and think about the workers in the brewery and all of their hopes and dreams. If I didn't drink this beer, they might be out of work and their dreams would be shattered. Then I say to myself, "It is better that I drink this beer and let their dreams come true than be selfish and worry about my liver."

--Jack Handy

The benefits and repercussions of weight gain.

Last year at this time my weight was at 157 lbs. By society standards that’s very good. But according to the laws of cycling I still could’ve lost a few pounds to be more competitive. Now fast-forwarding to today on the scales of truth. My weight was 167, which is 2 pounds less than a month ago from when I started keeping track in 2007. At my height of 5’ 10 5/8”, 167 lbs is a lot of weight for me or any other cyclist. To put this into perspective, on July 23, 2001 I was 142 lbs with a body fat percentage of 6.2.

Now I’m not going to make excuses for the weight gain. I got fat… It’s time to move on. Still there have been some interesting discoveries I’ve uncovered while spending time with my soft, warm friends.

Pros:
1. Not once during the winter did I get sick. On average once or twice during the winter season I’ll be fighting a nasty cold that has me suffering for 1 to 3 weeks. Since tomorrow is officially the first day of spring (and I’m felling good) it’s safe to say that the 10 lbs must be keeping me just a little bit healthier.

2. I’m less likely to be hurt in a bar fight. There’s more padding to absorb the blows. Plus guys are less likely to start a fight with big, fat dudes.

3. I wasn’t as cold this past winter. My wife can testify that there have been many past winters where I’ll be freezing to the point that my teeth will start chattering and I can’t control my body from shaking. Not only did this not happen but I didn’t have to wear as many clothes to be comfortable inside or out.

Cons:
1. My clothes don’t fit anymore, especially the dress pants. Sad but true… I can’t button up any of my pants and have only one pair of jeans that I can button up.


2. By mid-afternoon my chest starts hurting. It’s the same feeling that I had in college when I was carrying a few extra pounds. Though the pain could be stress related too. One thing’s for certain, I don’t have any pain when the pounds aren’t on my body.

3. The first rides and races of the year are going to be flat out painful especially when the road starts to turn upward.

Well… It’s time to do what my bro, John (EPO) Ehrlinger has prescribed for rapid weight loss. “Don, just get on your bike and ride!”

Eddie Van Halen

Where have all the good times gone? My rock and roll gods are crumbling to dust in the wind. For example, at the pace Eddie Van Halen is aging he's going to end up looking like Eddie from Iron Maiden.

It not Euro-trash...

Still I'd follow whoever is wearing it.