Biking Friday: Spinning Edition

Having made a strategic decision to leave my bike in Israel during my mid-September visit, I am bikeless until my return to Israel for the Alyn Ride.

I did this because I didn't see many opportunities for long rides what wth the chaggim being on Sundays. Hence, I am relying solely on spinning.

Yesterday I did a gruelling 2 hour spin session. I cranked up the tension to a point that resembled some of the serious climbs that I will be doing in Israel. The good news is that I felt strong and that my back held out. While I would have loved the opportunity to do a couple more very long outdoor rides, this will have to do.

I'll See You and I'll Raise You

Gil posts that his blog was mentioned in the Wall Street Journal for refusing an innappropriate ad. Well, if my sources are correct, I will be quoted in tomorrow's weekend edition of that very same newspaper, albeit in my non-blogging capacity.

I had a long interview with the reporter on Tuesday that I thought went well but we all know that with reporters you never know.

English Lyrics II

I take back all the bad things I said about English lyrics in Jewish songs.

Well, in one case anyway.

Michael Shapiro.

Michael Shapiro produced some of the deepest and most beautiful Jewish music during the 1980s. I'm sure most of you have never heard of him much less his music. He produced 6 albums, 5 of which I have (one that I don't have and never even heard).

(Michael will sell you his CDs at $12.50 each if you send him an email at misha31.az at netzero.net. If you can't afford all 5, start with The Sparkle of Sunlight and Beyond Twelve Gates).

But we digress. Quite a few of his tunes have English lyrics. Most are quite beautiful. He is the exception to the rule.

(As an aside, if I recover what I spent on my new CD (a big if) I am considering bringing back some of my favorite musicians to produce another CD that would cover 12 of Michael's niggunim. The world will be a better place if we can get his music out there).

Question of the Day

Should the government be able to dictate to restaurants which ingredients are acceptable? Next thing you know, we will have Health Department inspectors at kiddushes telling us that the kishke and chulent are off limits.

CD Update: New ETA

Because of a small glitch with the printer, the CD shipping date was pushed back a week. The new ETA is next Wednesday, October 4th. This is a little frustrating but that's life. The important thing is that everything get done correctly and I'm comfortable that we are on track for that.

What's one week when you've been working on something for 18 months?

Aliyah Update

OOS finally gets hooked up.

Nisyonos

Among my friends, my lack of patience is well known. They all know that I don't tolerate fools and they must all think that I have adult ADHD.

So, the more I think about it, the more I believe that the Aibishter has sent me a series of tests in the form of annoying people (or, more correctly, nice people with annoying traits) who frequent my shul.

For example:

Off-Key Harmony Guy: He sings 'harmonies' at the top of his lungs. Unfortunately, he is on key 10% of the time.

Long Shema Guy: He screams out Shema as if he thinks the One Above is deaf. And, he stretches it for about 30 seconds. I almost always finish the first paragraph of Shema before he is done with "Echad".

Slow Davening From the Amud Guys: We have many. They know I need to make the 8:01 to Manhattan yet they creep along to the point where I have to finish by myself early in order to barely make the train.

Multiple Dipper in The Mikvah Guy: While most men dip four times max, this guy, usually a Sephardi or Breslover, dips like 26 times. Often doesn't shower before dipping.

Klutz Kasha Guy: Again, no shortage of these. This guy asks the dopiest questions during shiur and the Rav is too polite to tell him the question is dopey.

Off-Tempo Clapping Guy: It's bad enough to have someone clapping loudly in my ears. When they are off beat, it can drive me to distraction.

Loud Davening Guy: Similar to Loud Shema Guy but he davens the entire tefilah out loud in an annoying monotone.

It can't be a coincidence that all of these people have found me over the past few years. It must be a test. Or, maybe I'm just becoming a bitter old curmudgeon.

Whose Been Driving MY Car

I have in the past lamented the loss of dominion over my car. It occurred to me that now, with two of our kids driving, I often have to guess which of them drove last. These are the clues:

* If the steering wheel is sticky, OYS drove it last. The wheel is covered with a fine coating of icing from a Dunkin Donuts coffee roll.

* If there is a Torah tape in the cassette player, OOD drove it last.

* If the radio is set to an FM station at an ear-splitting decibel level, OYS drove it last.

* If the car is parked two feet or more from the curb, OOD drove it last.

* If the gas tank is empty, either of them could have driven it. They don’t do gas.

Karduner

Yosef Karduner will be coming to the US between October 18th and October 29th. He will be playing at the Young Israel of Lawrence Cedarhurst on motsai Shabbos, October 21st, and in Great Neck the next day.

Anyone interested in booking him should drop me an email.

If you've never seen (or heard) him, you should not miss this opportunity.

Random Post Rosh Hashanah Thoughts

* One of the hardest things for a shul to do is get past its origins. Hamayvin yavin.

* Eitan Katz led the shachris davening on the second day of Yom Tov. This is his third year at the shul, and he seems to have matured in a profound way. It was the sweetest, most inspirational davening that I have ever heard. I was blown away.

* The WQ is my shul during the Rosh Hashanah seems to have been way down. This suggests that some of the stranger people that frequent our shul are guests or non-members. (This is not to suggest that the WQ was not high, just that it wasn't off the charts as it often is on Friday nights and during the third meal).

* While I have never been known for my patience, I must be getting old and even more ornery than usual. Although our ba'al musaf is a talmid chacham whom I dearly love and respect and who has a beautiful voice and davens with amazing kavanah, he is also, how shall I say it....slow. It used to not bother me at all. This year, however, I found myself having a hard time holding kup for the last half hour.

* I don't like fast days.

MoC Gets Results

Just days after reading MoC's rant about silly airport rules, the Department of Homeland Security relented and changed their policy.

Does me no good but I am glad that I have been able to help mankind.

A Succah PSA

Hat Tip: RenReb

The Orthodox Union advises not to buy a succah from succah.com. The proprietor thereof is a lowlife (my term, not theirs) who has withheld a get from his wife for more than two years.

Bloggers and others, please pass the word.

And Another Thing...

Why can't you make a phone call from the customs or baggage area after an international flight? Another dopey rule that does not seem to be based in reality.

I've Had All I Can Stands...

...And I can't stands no more.

One of the (few) benefits of travelling to London as frequently as I do is that, because of the excellent duty free stores at Heathrow, I am able to build up my single malt scotch collection at a fraction of what it would otherwise cost.

So, much to my horror, I was told this morning that, since I was travelling into the U.S., I would not be permitted to purchase any scotch because, as is well known, scotch is liquid and liquids are verbotten on flights from London to New York. This was particularly sad because they are running a very good sale on scotch, two (excellent) bottles for £45.

We all know that the airport security regime is ridiculous (other than El Al). They continue to search for things rather than people and that is pretty much a waste of time and money. But can anyone explain to why I can't buy a bottle of scotch (or two) AFTER I've already been checked through security? The scotch itself has also been cleared through security.

I'm a team player and I'm generally happy to put up with the usual airport security silliness but this is ridiculous. Can't anyone exercise common sense anymore?

English Lyrics

When I was putting together the songs for the CD, I had very few rules. I trusted the various musicians to pick niggunim that would work in the context of what we were trying to do. About the only rule I had was no English lyrics. With very few exceptions, I detest Jewish music with English lyrics.

Very few Jewish musicians can pull it off. Chaim Dovid has a few songs that work (Seven Shephards, L'ma'an Sh'mo) and a few of his earlier works). Avraham Rosenblum has some good lyrics. Shlomo Katz has one song on his new CD, Gibor, a tribute to his friend who was killed in battle, that works. Don't even get me started about Shiny Shoe (TR) songs that have English lyrics. Is there a term that is the opposite of "guilding the lily"? Feh!

The reason, I suspect, is that very few Jewish musicians are poets, in English or Hebrew. When you think about it, most of their lyrics come from Tehillim or other text-based sources. They are generally not called upon to write poetry. And, when most of them try, the results are mediocre or worse. (Aron Razel is an exception. He has written spectacular poetry that he has put to music (Chagigah and Mincha) and beautiful stand-alone poetry that he has published).

So, the question is, do English lyrics stink because they inherently don't shtim with Jewish music or do they stink because the authors would be better off sticking to musical arrangements rather than writing lyrics? I think it's the latter.

Hat tip to A Simple Jew who suggested this topic.

Biking Friday on Tuesday

Due to underwhelming demand, having missed posting last Friday, I hereby offer Biking Friday on Tuesday.

I shlepped my new bike and OOS's bike with me to Israel last Wednesday. When I arrived, the customs people in Israel stopped me and made me open both boxes. My bike was in a hard plastic container and OOS's in a cardboard box.

I explained in my best Hebrew (ani iparon) that the Trek was 3 years old and that I would be taking the Litespeed back to the states. After some skeptical looks and a huddle by the two customs agents, they let me go.

OOS and I rode 20 K on Friday; 10K down and 10K up. He has newfound respect for his old man. He crushed me but almost bonked because he went out so strong.

On Monday morning I rode from Nes Harim to the base of Ramat Bet Shemesh and back. It's only about 3.5 miles down and up but the downhill is harrowing (especially because there were strong crosswinds) and the uphill was brutally hard.

The good news is that my bike rocks. The 34/12-27 gave me all the gears I need. The bad news is that my lower back is shot and I will probably ride in pain for five days next month at the Alyn ride. I don't know what to do about it with only a month to go.

More good news is that I left my bike in Israel, all set up and ready to go. I also left my equipment and biking clothes so I won't have much to shlep in October. It also means that my training will be limited to spinning for the next six weeks.

Sadly for my numerous biking enthusiasts, this will probably be my last biking post until after the ride. How much can one write about spinning?

MoC: The King of Fantasyland

Despite having two roster spots open and leaving myself one defensive end short, I won my NFL Fantasy league game this week against the venearble Joe Schick. Not only that, but I would have beaten anyone in the league this week with 159 points. I was way too busy to do anything with my roster before I left to Israel last Wednesday and, unexpectedly, didn't have access to the internet until now.

I guess it's better to be lucky than good. Having LaDamlian Tomlinson doesn't hurt either.

The Nassau Community College of Cities

In one of his most inspired moments, DovBear referred to my shul as the Nassau Community College of shuls, meaning, of course, that we let anyone in. (I'm too lazy to find the link).

Having just spent a weekend in Jerusalem, it occurred to me that Jerusalem is the Nassau Community College of cities. This occured to me intially as I was davening in the shul in Yemin Moshe. What a sketchy place. There is barely a minyan at the start of the 8:15 on Shabbos, barely two minyanim my Barchu but the place is full by the end. There are a few Dati Leumis, a number of Chassidim (they must have made a left instead of a right on their way to the Koisel), lots of Anglo olim, and a bunch of Americans (who almost invariably go native when they come to Israel, wearing khaki pants Izod shirts instead of a suit or at least a white shirt and slacks). Lot's of strange looking people across all sectors.

My ha'arah was clinched when I spent a couple of days in Nachlaot, the Kodesh Kedoshim of sketchiness. Don't get me wrong, I love the place. But let's all admit that it is way up there in the WQ. Maybe that's why I felt so at home.

Quick Update

I'm at Ben Gurion airport waiting for my flight to London and I have about 5 minutes to post.

Had a wonderful dinner with Mr. and Mrs. Treppenwitz and Mr. and Mrs. Ben Chorin. The Trepster knows how to grill a steak. And make honey. Both were really delicious.

Had a lovely weekend with OOS, OHDIL and the kids. Their lift came on Sunday and I took care of the kids for a good part of the day. It was at least two million degrees. The poor movers had to shlep all the stuff from across Betzalel Street into the small alleyways of Nachlaot. We went through about three six packs of 2 liter water bottles. The kids are VERY happy to have finally been reunited with their stuff after 2 and a half months. But El Al has still not found the bag they lost on their flight.

Rode my bike twice, once with OOS, once alone. Both times around Nes Harim but the second time was the climb from Bet Shemesh, a truly gruelling ride. My new bike was purring like a cat and I had no trouble climbing on my compact double. But, and it's a big but, my lower back is totally shot. I don't know how it will hold out for five days of nastiness next month.

Gotta go. More tomorrow.

On the Road Yet Again

Going to the Land of Our Fathers and then the UK. Don't know if I'll be able to blog until Tuesday. See you on the flip flop.

Revised CD Cover

Here.

ETA: Tuesday, September 26, 2006.

Decisions

My job requires me to make important decisions every single day. In fact, some of the decisions I make significantly impact the market in which I am involved. While I often consult with people, I have to make a lot of these decisions on the wire and on my own.

On Sunday I did some shopping at the local supermarket. I called MHW at least three times. Once to find out how many packages of dill and parsley to buy, once to find out whether to buy 6 or 10 once containers of yogurt drink, and a third to find out whether she wanted chicken or turkey necks for the soup.

Why is it that I can make decisions that move markets but not about 4 ounces of yogurt drink?

Back at the Bear:

Right and Wrong

Adi Ran Unplugged

Sorry, I still don't get the joke.

Omek Hadavar; the MoC Guarantee

I don't know enough about music to be able to write a coherent music review. Basically, I just know whether or not I like something. So, if you are familiar with my tastes in music and you trust me, go out and buy this CD. Really nice. I guarantee it.

(If you don't like it in spite of my guarantee, you can send it to me and I will give it to someone whom I guarantee will like it.

Props to OOS who recommended it to me.

Paying Attention

I purchased two CDs this afternoon, one, Omek Hadavar, at the request of OOS whom I will be visiting on Thursday, and the other, Adi Ran Unplugged, at the suggestion of a friend who really recommended it (despite my own doubts; I am no fan of Adi Ran).

As I was checking out the proprietor asked me whether I wanted to purchase the brand new Avraham Fried CD (that apparently came out today).

I looked at him and said: "You're joking, right?"

He said, "No, why?"

I said, "Why would you think someone who bought Adi Ran and Omek Hadavar would be interested in Avraham Fried?"

He said, "It doesn't hurt to try."

My 9/11

Normally I would have taken the 8:01 train to Penn Station and the subway to the World Trade Center.

But it was Tuesday, and on most Tuesday mornings I had a meeting with the contractors who were building my shul. I was the president of the shul at that time and I would meet with a couple of our people, the general contractor and representatives of the trades that were working on the building at that time.

So, after shachris I walked into the contractor's trailer only to discover that there was no meeting scheduled for that week. Nevertheless, I took the opportunity to shmooze with Doug, the project manager and tour the project itself. I had started out knowing less than nothing about construction but now found myself discussing the intracacies of the project with Doug. I liked what I saw.

I decided to take a later train; something around 8:30 if my memory serves. I walked to the station, only a block away from the shul. As the train was pulling in, I realized that I had forgotten my overnight bag in my car. I was scheduled to fly to Atlanta that night. Angry at myself, I went back to the car and decided to wait for the next train, the 9:06.

A few minutes before nine I walked back to the train, overnight bag in tow. As I got to the track, I overheard someone talking about a plane crashing into the World Trade Center. Very peculiar. I had time so I ran back to my car and turned on the radio. When I heard what happened I realized I wasn't getting on any train that morning. My office was across the street from the WTC so I was sure they would be shutting down the area. Just as I was about to turn the car on and head back home, the radio announcer said that a second plane had just crashed into the other tower.

I sat in utter disbelief for a few minutes. The reports were sketchy and I didn't really know what was going on. The only thing I knew was that everything had changed.

I drove home and frantically tried to call MHW on her cell. For all she knew, I was downtown. No cell service. I called the kids' schools and asked them to tell my kids that I was ok.

MHW finally walked into the house at about 11:30. She, too, had been trying to reach my cell to no avail but had no idea that I was at home, safe. I also tried to reach work. No answer. I tried emailing everyone on my new blackberry but the email wasn't working either. I assumed that everyone had been evacuated and hoped that everyone was safe.

Like so many others, I spent the day following the news. I remember the sinking feeling I had when the Towers went down. The absolute shock. I worried about the many people I knew who worked downtown. I also thought about how fortunate I was not to have followed my regular schedule. I wondered what this all meant. I still do.

CD Update: We're Done

Mastering was completed in Jerusalem this morning. The artwork was also finalized. I am getting the master tomorrow and the printer will have it on Tuesday. I hope to have everything in the stores just after Rosh Hashanah, IYH.

All of the musicians were amazingly helpful but Chaim Dovid and Shlomo Katz put countless hours into this project, all for free. There are no words.

UPDATE: The current Sameach music podcast features one of the songs from the CD which can be found at 17:00.

MoC Does the Bear

I finally took up Dovbear's offer and guest-posted a couple of times. DovBear will never be the same.

The Toddler: Why Us?

MHW and I have long wondered how it was that the Toddler formerly known as the Baby made her way to us on that fateful day in July 2005.

Yesterday, we found out.

Once ACS calls OHEL with a placement request for a Jewish child, OHEL has 24 hours to get it done; if they can't place the child in a Jewish home, he or she goes back into the general foster population.

In our case, in accordance with their normal policy, the people in charge of placement got together with some of the senior foster care people and went down the list of available foster homes. They ranked the homes by who would be appropriate as well as who might be likely to take the baby. Then they start dialing.

It turns out we were third on the list.

The first call was to a childless couple. They were unable to take the baby because they were in the country and were caring for another child with special needs. The second couple was interested but the prospective mother had to check some things out (presumably with her husband). MHW got the third call and in an entirely uncharacteristic manner decided on the spot to take the baby. (She then called me to tell me of her decision and to get my blessing).

Yesterday we discovered that the second woman was calling the OHEL representative at the very same time that she was speaking to MHW. She was calling to tell her that they were willing to take the baby. Had MHW told the OHEL representative that she needed to touch base with me (which is what MHW did on every other placement we had ever done) it is likely that we would not have gotten to care for the baby. Spooky.

Fruit Trees

After a very rocky start, things are calming down for the greater OOS family. They are in their temporary apartment and after one night where Shmuel slept on a matress on the floor were able to borrow a port-o-crib. (El Al has not yet found their missing bag; I suspect someone else took it).

Yesterday, after finally getting some sleep, they walked over to their real apartment in Nachlaot to check it out. (Until then they had only seen pictures and gotten an eyewitness report from one of my buddies).

The great news is that they were delighted by what they saw. It exceeded their expectations and they are very excited about moving in on Monday.

But what totally blew them away was the presence of a lemon tree and a cherry tree right in their courtyard. Fruit bearing trees right outside their apartment. When they saw that, they knew they were home.

Biking Friday: Next Week in Jerusalem

I pretty much took this week off to give my ailing lower back some rest. I rode out to Point Lookout on Monday but that was pretty much the extent of my riding.

The big biking news is that I will be taking my bike and OOS's bike with me to Israel next week. They are already packed and ready to go. We are slated for a Friday morning ride with some of my chaverim from the Alyn Ride.

I'm hoping to ride some very nasty hills on Friday, Sunday and Monday of that week. It will be a big test of two things: (i) My ailing back and (ii) my choice of a compact double rather than a triple crank. I put on a 12-27 on the back of the bike so I am hopeful that I will be able to manage the hills on the equivaqlent of a 30-23 rather than the 30-25 that I am used to. We shall see.

If my back continues to kill me, I will see a doctor upon my return. The ride is hard enough; I don't need to have constant back pain on top of everything else.

How I Met And Married MHW, Part III: It Takes Two To Tango

My current job requires me to figure out what my market needs and then build a consensus among the various constituents to get it done. This is not easy but, BH, I am pretty good at it.

I first employed this skill when I decided to marry MHW. Having established the goal, i.e., marriage, I now needed to build a consensus, a meeting of the minds, between MHW and me.

I can hear my readers commenting how gross and unromantic this sounds. Marriage a goal to be achieved like a business plan? yech.

On the contrary, the seven weeks it took from our initial encounter (and my spontaneous decision to marry MHW, unbeknownst to her) until the time she said yes were very romantic and exciting times.

As it happens, MHW kept a diary so we have a pretty good record of those days. We went out a lot and did a bunch of fun things. Broadway shows, dinners, movies. Nevertheless, what is most remarkable about MHW's account is how far from her mind marrying me was when we started dating. (And, I remember how careful and subtle I tried to be so as not to scare her off). This state of affairs lasted a few weeks.

To be precise, our first date was February 28, 1981. On April 6th, I made my intentions known. About two weeks later, on April 19th, MHW finally came around. (Can you believe it? It took her two full weeks!).

Next: Engagement Day.

CD Podcast

Sameach is featuring one of the songs on the CD I'm producing, Tzeitchem L'shalom by Nochi Krohn and Marc Levine on their most recent podcast. I haven't had a chance to listen so I don't know where in the podcast it is.

Klita Kalah

I will let OOS speak for himself when he finally gets set up in his apartment but for now the highlights (lowlights?) of their trip.

After finding out that their apartment will not be ready until next week, OOS and OHDIL went through the process at JFK, said their l'hitraots to the family, and shlepped their kids and bags to the gate.

Shmuel was not feeling well so they got less than 2 hours of sleep.

Because of the recent war, the Jewish Agency was apparently understaffed and much of the paperwork that usually gets done on the NBN flights had to be done upon their arrival in Israel.

Bad news: They were about the last ones processed. Good news: By the time they got to the luggage carousel all the bags were out. Bad news: The bag carrying their port-o-crib was missing.

They finally got to the apartment they will be using until next week. BH, we have family on both sides that are pitching in to give them help. One family is shopping for them and one is sending some kids to play with Shmuel for a while.

They are looking forward to a good night's sleep (assuming that Shmuel can sleep on a mattress on the floor).

"All beginings are difficult."

Report From the (Aliyah) Front

Just got back from the airport. OOS, OHDIL and the kids are on the plane.

Today was a very stressful day for all involved. OOS was on the phone all morning getting jerked around by his Israeli landlord. For ridiculous reasons, they won't be able to move directly into their apartment so they scrambled to find alternative arrangements for a week. Klita Kalah? Not yet.

We and our machatanim were stressed for obvious reasons.

The scene at the airport was interesting. Very eclectic crowd of olim. All over the lot. A large bunch of chareidim, a handfull of MOs, a number of non-Orthodox, a few older people, a few very young people.

The short Nefesh B'Nefesh program was very flat; quite a surprise. Maybe it'll be better in Israel when they get there (although after travelling with two little ones under the age of 18 months, I doubt that OOS and OHDIL will be much in the mood for speeches). Mercifully, it was short.

(The most fun part of my day was going to the bike store to get OOS's and my bike packed for next week's trip to Israel. Just a little bit more than a week and I'll be on the road with OOS. I'm pumped.)

Saying goodbye was hard, especially for MHW and OHDIL's mom.

I am drained.

Fleeting Moments V

If making aliyah is supposed to be such a happy occasion, why are all the females in my house crying tonight?

Fleeting Moments IV

Last Friday night, our entire family ate the seudah together. That was the first time since Pesach that we were all together for a Shabbos meal and will probably be the last until at least Pesach (if we can work out going to Israel for the chag), if not next summer. This underscores the point I tried to make in an earlier post.

OOS, OHDIL and the grandkids are making aliyah tomorrow. It's hard to believe that the time has already come but it has. MHW has been on her best behavior but I know she is having a very difficult time processing it. I have appeared to be cool about it, but I am also having a hard time (even though I'm going to Israel next week).

Don't get me wrong. We are very happy for them and very proud. And, of course, you can't preach something to your kids for their entire lives and then act surprised when they actually take you seriously.

But being happy and proud doesn't mean it's easy. I think the best way of dealing with this is to try to figure out how to get to Israel as often as possible. In this regard I am very fortunate because my job will likely require me to be in Europe three or four times a year and it is actually cheaper to stop off in Israel on the way rather than going direct round trip (don't ask me why that is; it just is). And, I collect huge frequent flyer miles making other trips that much easier. It is not as easy for MHW and this is exacerbated by the presence of the Toddler. You can't just pick up and go to Israel for a long weekend or a couple of weeks when you have a little one to care for. But we will deal with it.

So, give your kids a hug because they grow up so quickly and before you know it they're gone.

Billy Beane

As of this afternoon, The Oakland A's were 8 games ahead of the Los Angeles Angels in the Western Division of the American League. They won something like 21 of 26 games in August and have posted a winning percentage well above .700 over the past 5 Augusts.

What is truly amazing is that Beane continues to get these results even after the 'secrets' of Sabermetrics have become broadly known and much more accepted than in the past. While he has still not been able to win in the postseason (and the Sabermetricians can explain why "Moneyball" doesn't work as well in the postseason) his overall results have been no less than remarkable.

Anyone who thinks he is just lucky is an idiot.

Biking Friday: Bugout Version

1. I bugged out of last Sunday's century ride. The weather stunk, the ride was flat (and therefore of little value for my ride in Israel) and it was located way east on Long isalnd. I didn't want to sit in traffic for a minimum of 2 hours after riding 100 miles. So sue me. Instead, I rode my spin bike for a solid hour at a frightening pace.

2. This week was very slow at work; my market is pretty much on vacation. So, I took advantage by spending a lot of time on the spin bike. While I recognize that I should be spending more time on my real bike, a man has to take what he can get.

3. I will be going to Israel in two weeks on my way to a business trip in Europe. I am taking both my bike and OOS's bike (my two year old Trek 1500 which I bequeathed to OOS when I bought the Litespeed). I'm hoping to ride at least one morning with OOS and I've already lined up one of my Israeli friends for one morning. We will probably do the incredibly brtual 35 mile circuit around Neis Harim/Ramat Raziel.

4. After looking at the calendar I decided to leave my bike in Israel until the Alyn ride. What with Rosh Hashanah, Erev Yom Kippur and Succos, there are four Sundays when I can't ride. At least this way, when I get to Israel in late October, my bike will already be set up and I might be able to get a couple of rides in on Thursday and Friday before the big ride.

5. Bicycling Magazine has a few articles about, and an interview with, Floyd Landis after his TDF win and disqualification. I got home past midnight last night after a wedding so I didn't have a chance to read it. I will report back next Friday. I'm sure you can't wait.