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

Here's the real video for the song from the Doublemint commercial. Watch right around second 00:12, the gum gets flashed. Still good pop music.

Armstrong Making Comeback?

This story must be breaking now to conincide with my Mellow Johnny post. It seems as though some (even ESPN) are reporting that Armstrong will be reuniting with his former Director Sportif and racing in 5 events next year for the Astana Professional Cycling Team (still sponsored by Trek, Lance's Tour winning bike supplier... and also the namesake city in Kazakhstan... "very nice!").

Nothing is confirmed and it brings up a lot more questions in my mind, namely:
> Who will sponsor Lance's shoes and clothing? Nike was his last official sponsor for both (even naming their corporate campus gym "The Lance"). But now, Trek is no longer a partner with Nike and is making their own shoes and clothing. In fact, Nike has basically pulled out of the sport of cycling altogether.
> Seeing that he's not interested in the prize money - who gets it if he wins? Maybe just split it b/w teammates.
> Knowing that Astana currently has the 1st place and 3rd place Tour riders from '07 (Contador & Leipheimer) - How does this team sort out with the addition of Lance? Lance prefers that all teammates riding in the Tour ride for him. Could be very interesting.

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

I was looking for a different LL Cool J commercial to show yet more crossover b/w pop culture and corporate America, but this will do - for now.

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?