Mellow Johnny's, Austin.

Thanks to frequent flier miles, I was able to sneak down to Austin and visit one of the most talked about bike shops opened in recent history (of course, only bike nerds talked about it, but still). For the non-bike nerds that visit here, Mellow Johnny's is the bike shop owned by Lance Armstrong. You remember, the guy that won 7 Tours de France... the big bike race... in France... every summer... ok, fine, the guy that started those yellow bracelets (yeah, buy some) - That guy!


His shop's name has a bit of history in cycling circles, but simply put - the leader's jersey in the Tour is known as the "Maillot Jaune", which means "Yellow Jersey". A nickname, or for kids who can't pronounce it, is "Mellow Johnny". This also became synonymous with Lance owed to the fact that during many of this Tour wins he was pretty even-keel. Teammates and family began to call him "Mellow Johnny" (or Johnny Mellow or Johnathon Mellow) for all of the above reasons. So, his shop now bears the very American name with the very French reference.


Don't think I'd ever seen an entire Brooks display case before. The Brits do know their leathers.


Kinda hard to tell from this pic, but this bike cost about $15,000. A handmade one of a kind.


"Plata Negra" in the flesh.

Motorola's team issue Caloi, circa '93-ish (I wish the pic was better).


Some of you probably saw this at EuroBike over the weekend, but I got to hold it in Austin. The whole Campy Super Record 11 group is in stock and ready for sale at about $3200.

I was excited to be going to the shop, but not super impressed upon seeing it. That is not to say it's poorly done not a cool shop to visit. Rather, I wondered to myself how a relatively small store (there are bigger shops in and around Austin) can continue to do well with so many employees (~10+) and, what looked to be slow sales.

I was not offered a look at the books, so I can't say for sure. But, I do know what a busy, humming, bikeshop is like on a Saturday afternoon - This didn't remind me of it. To me though, it's not about the bikes, but more about seeing some history and cool new stuff, which Mellow Johnny's has in spades (in the record books and in his store).

My feeling is that bikes can be art inherently, but they even had some official bike art.

Discuss, Poll #34, NFL.

So, if you like sports or are lovingly attached to someone who does, you probably know that this past week was the start of the NFL regular season. Thank God. I can't think of too many other things that signal the end of summer and the beginning of fall more than the torn up turf, the sound of crunching plastic helmets and pads, and the cries of drunken fans.

Someone has GOT to have a good stadium story!

Results, Poll #33, Roommates.

As some of you may know, this topic is near and dear to my heart right now, but I thought many in the r.c readership could relate. And it seems that it's true, here's what we all said:

> 11 people (68%) chose "yes, free is free" - I guess money's a big concern anytime you're not earning any, huh? It is a nice comforting feeling that you can always sleep on the couch, or sibling's bed. Aaahhh.
> 2 people (12%) chose "yeah, but i did what i could to make it the shortest stay ever" - Ooh, this is a good plan if you can swing it. Nothing like saving a touch of cash and then getting out. Wise.
> 3 people (18%) chose "no, i made sure i avoided that (college or moving back)" - So, a couple folks lucked out and were either able to earn a living without college OR had a good offer once done with college and could move right into and apartment (or maybe with some of your fraternity brothers) in the big city.

So, no one picked "still in school"- I hope that doesn't mean I missed a vote from someone I know is still in school (wink wink). Maybe people get busy some weeks and don't have time to vote, possibly.

New poll up now.

Who doesn't like a little pop culture? Part I

I've had a problem with trendy pop music since Peter Cetera and Peter Gabriel... but I guess it's not really a problem since I love it. Chris Brown is doing a good job in today's world of pop (IMO). He has also taken a decidedly marketing oriented twist with crossover of his new single (search "Forever") into a commercial for DoubleMint. In the song's real video, he opens a piece of gum right at the beginning and above is an actual commercial for the gum (and new "slim pack"... so bold Wrigleys). Who doesn't like fresh breath too?

Discuss, Poll #33, Roommates.

C'mon, somebody's got to have a juicy story about themselves or "a friend".

Dish.

Results, Poll #32, Motorcycles.

The rumbling sounds and feelings that have overtaken Milwaukee this past week, thanks to H-D's 105th Anniversary extraveganza, should now be subsiding, just in time for the results of my motorcycle poll. Here's what everyone said:

> 10 people (62%) chose "yes, i love the rumble b/w my legs" - you guys are gross. Oh wait, I chose this as well. It must have been the best answer.

> 5 people (31%) chose "no way, they're death traps" - Hmmm, I guess this is where I'd normally quote some statistics on motorcycle vs. automobile accidents and prove to t.c readers that operating motorcycles isn't more dangerous than operating cars... though the injuries often are for obvious reasons. However, I performed no such search, so I guess you can either believe me or look it up and prove me wrong. Having witnessed (literally) thousands of Harley riders in MKE this past weekend, I would say that just about all of them are at risk for skin cancer - pick up some sunscreen!

>1 person (6%) chose "not yet, but someday" - yeah, take your time, don't rush into anything.

That also means that no one chose either "kind of, i own a scooter now" or "no, i only wear leather chaps in the boudoir" - this was a shame for me as I did spend some time looking up the proper spelling of the word 'boudoir'. I'd never had reason to spell it before, just speak it, often for comedic effect.

I'm gonna end there. New poll up now!

Lambeau You DI-INT !!!

I thought I'd give what is quite possibly *the most* Wisconsin attraction a try before getting out from behind the Cheese Curtain - Lambeau Field, home of the NFL's Green Bay Packers. I found a biased friend that would go with, negotiated some really cheap tickets on Craig's List for the last preseason game, put on something green (not really Packer green), and drove the 100 miles to [cue the NFL music] - Green Bay, WI. Having now seen the seriousness of their football firsthand, I can attest to the fact that they don't mess around (and really love Miller Lite). For the final preseason game, which everyone knows is a dog, they had near 70,000 people in attendance, all dressed in green and gold, cheering through the final play. Which wasn't hard, b/c the end of the game was actually very entertaining, esp for a preseason game.

One of the highlights for me (a lifelong Bears fan) was seeing the not-to-frequent Favre NY Jets jerseys in the crowd - a slight wag of the finger to Packer management and the debacle that was the trading of Brett. The only lowlight from this football mecca are the names of the food stands in the concourse - with names like "Meat Packing Company", "Munch Zone", and "Goin' Deep Pizza", you'd think we were in the food court on the set of an adult film, but no. The food was good (not great), and they even had a veggie friendly brat (though if people wonder what's in real brats, what could possibly be in a fake one?).

This concludes my Wisconsin immersion course, you'll have to wait and see where the Transplanted Chicagoan winds up next. Keep checking back for new posts, polls, and the randomness I can't do without.


Anyone else love the cammo hat AND pony tail? (I didn't even know he was in the shot)