(6/16/06, submitted by Schultzenheimer) - Too long since I'd been on le Tour, and too long since the last photo gallery. Yes, it's true! We have new photos for your viewing pleasure. The bad news is the Sandbar is closed. . . apparently fifty sub shops aren't enough. If it's a sub shop that serves beer they'll have a nice edge I suppose, but otherwise it just seems idiotic. There's also been much discussion of the demise of le Tour and the expiry of your's truly. Word at one point was that I had ostracized myself from the group. Look, if you have a bike and like to ride, just show up at the Corral around 9 PM on Thursday. If you don't have a bike do us all a favor and out yourself. The average American spends more on a pair of shoes than a working bike can be had for, get with it.

(6/15/06, submitted by Schultzentale) - As the story goes, Uncle Coli has been working in a neighborhood where this hot young female is always walking and jogging around. Well, he catches wind of the World Naked Bike Ride and decides that when he sees her out and about that he'll run into the garage, rip all his clothes off grab the bike and start riding. I know what you're thinking, "yup, and next thing you know old Unlce Coli got maced." Huh ah, folks. Next think you know old Uncle Coli is stickin it to her like this squirrel is stickin it to this tree branch:

UPDATE: An article on the infamous millipede I mentioned below.

(6/13/06, submitted by Schultzenhead) - Some entomologists recently found a rare type of millipede with a record number of legs, and that number? You guessed it, 666!.

(5/16/06, submitted by SchultzenMarshall) - U.S. Says Microsoft Browser Is No Threat to Competition, an article published by the New York times stating how the U.S. Dept. of Justice has decided that Internet Explorer (IE) is in no way a threat to competition. I completely disagree with the DOJ.

I recently started working on bensuchy.com. I developed Ben's site on my Macintosh and made sure it worked with every browser out there, including IE. I wanted it to look the same for everyone and match Ben's idea for how it should look.

What, you may ask, makes this case an example of a threat to competition? It is expense. Microsoft creates their own version of how they think an Internet standard is interpreted. They do not follow the majority, let alone the author's intentions.

I have two examples: The Portable Network Graphics (PNG) file type was created so that everyone could see an image as an author intended, but IE has never correctly supported it, and as far as I know is still not fully in compliance. Secondly, Microsoft has not followed the Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) specification. You go through all the IE workarounds to get CSS to work right, and in the end you find that IE on Windows does not correctly display the PNG files you used. These two factors make it so much more expensive to pay for web development, that many are forced to create their website specifically for IE.

I developed bensuchy.com using the latest standards, programs and methods. I did not go out on a limb and use some small new company's latest little gadget plug-in to create the special effects. I started with the idea that the site would work as long as you were not browsing the web on a machine from the previous millennium. I ended having to do what everyone else does and that is to only work with Microsoft and forget the rest.

P.S. Gross e-mailed me about a friend of his that got killed while she was riding her bike on Century Ave. nearly 20 years ago. Dana Buffington was a young woman who's budding life was destroyed at the hands of an unsafe motorist. Join the Ride of Silence, not just to honor the dead but to help raise awareness of bicycles. Here are some disturbing statistics for you:

• Between 1986 and 1995, a total of 8,040 bicyclists were killed by cars, averaging 840 per year. About half of those fatalities involved kids under the age of 18, some 77 percent of whom are killed while riding on streets in their neighborhoods. Another 75,000 bicyclists are injured by motor vehicles each year--more than 200 per day.
• Between 1986 and 1995, an average of 840 bicyclists annually were struck and killed by motor vehicles. And for every bicyclist killed by a car, another 88 suffer injuries--for a total of 75,000 bicyclists injured by cars each year.
• More than two thirds (68 percent) of all bicyclists killed by cars are killed in their neighborhoods, on local roads, collectors streets, and minor arterials.
• Each day (on average) a child on a bicycle is killed by an automobile. Almost half--47 percent--of all bicycle fatalities involved children under the age of 18--an average of 399 fatalities a year.
• Many children are also injured; for every child on a bicycle who is killed by a car another 100 are injured, for a total of 38,500 children injured by cars while bicycling each year.
• Between 1986 and 1995, an average of 840 bicyclists annually were struck and killed by motor vehicles. And for every bicyclist killed by a car, another 88 suffer injuries--for a total of 75,000 bicyclists injured by cars each year.
• On average, a child on a bicycle is killed by an automobile every day in the United States. Almost half--47 percent--of all bicycle fatalities involved children under 18--an average of 399 fatalities a year.
• Many children are also injured; for every child on a bike who is killed by a car another 100 are injured, for a total of 38,500 children injured by cars while bicycling each year.
• More than two thirds of all bicycle fatalities (68 percent) occur on neighborhood streets (defined as local roads, collectors, and minor arterials). An even higher percentage of children--77 percent--are killed while bicycling on neighborhood streets.

(5/13/06, submitted by Schultzensaw) - I was out riding with Chaddy and Suchy when some old hag almost took out the gypsyhoof. All the more reason to do the ride of silence. . . we will not be silent!

Check out Dick Larson's post over on helplorenheal.com for a great take on the bad old days of BMX here in the Bis. Then, take a look at the old Benz camper bus. The ultimate besenlastwagen.

(5/11/06, submitted by Schultzenham) - You've waited your entire life, now's your chance to take shots at Loren while he's down. Check out helplorenheal.com and let it rip. Of course you may opt for being more subtle in which case you will want to mention something to arouse his spirit in a more gentle manner.

(5/5/06, submitted by Schultzenham) - An article has been published by the Tribune on Loren's condition and what happened. I'm sure he'll be fine sooner than people think.

(5/4/06, submitted by Schultzenfahrzeug) - At 7 PM on May 17th, 2006 at the Capital Mall, cyclists will meet for the third annual Ride of Silence. And if you just can't avoid driving, order yourself up a Unimog and say fuck you to those hummer drivers.

(3/24/06, submitted by Schultzenpounder) - The saddle sore four: Westafarian, Eastonovich, Mickey Mouder and I. The bears slowly awakening from hibernation, the tour is on so get off your lassy and ride! We need more folks on the Ride of Silence this year and don't forget to mark your calendars for the Race to Sunset.

ride bike from bar to bar in bismarck-mandan. . .
join our thursday night crawl starting at an undetermined time at an undeterminded place

"I know indeed what evil I intend to do,
but stronger than all my afterthoughts is my fury,
fury that brings upon mortals the greatest evils."
Euripides