Your daily gelotherapy

Life can sometimes be too serious and boring. We all know this.

Then something like this comes along.



And this.



And this.



Short but sweet.



And finally this (R-rated, mind ye kiddies!).

An ode to Heavy Pettin', the best 80s pop-metal band you've never heard of

If I may ask you one thing, gentle reader, it's that you please overlook the Spinal Tap-ness of that name for the duration of this essay. It really is their name.

Thanks.

Yes, Heavy Pettin' was a good band, one of the few to actually get better with each album. Some have called them Scotland's answer to Def Leppard, and their singer sometimes does something similar to that David Lee Roth yeeeooowwww thing. But anyone who has discovered them knows that they have their own unique virtues, foremost among them the ability to rokk out with extreme prejudice.

I mean, their lead guitarist is named Punky Mendoza for Pete's sake.

Lettin' Loose, 1983: "Love on the Run" has a killer intro and wicked ricochet guitar effects that threaten to make your ears bleed and your head explode. "In and Out of Love" is just killer. Featured lyric: "I met a girl about five foot two / long blonde hair, eyes of blue / I wanted her to be mine all mine / she said 'another place and another time.'"

Rock Ain't Dead, 1985: And these guys prove it. The cover has them in soft focus, striving valiantly into the distance, holding high the red and yellow banner of all that is metal. For those about to rock, indeed. If the title track saves rock and roll, the #2 track, "Sole Survivor," propels it back into the stratosphere. Plus your girlfriend loves "Dream Time." Trust me on that one.

Big Bang, 1989: The legendary "unreleased" final album. The band had competed unsuccessfully in the 1987 Eurovision Song Contest with "Romeo", and this album has the feel of a more pop-oriented direction. Which isn't a bad thing. This is smooth, cool 80s power balladry at its finest. From the crunchy "Born to Burn" to the soaring "Heaven Scent" and the smoky synths-and-sax outro in the aforementioned "Romeo", it's all good. Dang good. Heavy Pettin' good, folks. Listen to this album on a cool summer night, with the windows down.

They don't make 'em like this anymore.

Love On The Run - Heavy Pettin

In And Out Of Love - Heavy Pettin

9/19/07 Today's Ride -- Power Up

Route: 28.48 miles, short Woodbine loop.

Weather: Sunny, 84 degrees, 4 mph wind.

Performance: average speed 16.6 mph, time 1:42:52. Average HR 149 bpm. Average power 166 watts, maximum power 771 watts. Work 1028 kJ.

Motionbased.com link: http://trail.motionbased.com/trail/activity/4001647

Comment: Dropout problems with my PowerTap hub fixed, I headed out with long-distance aspirations. My legs suggested otherwise. Not bad for my first ride in almost two weeks, though. Ambling around in downtown Corbin on the way back no doubt dropped my average speed significantly. Highway 6 in Woodbine is an excellent place for long, straight flats. There is also this place on the right by a junkyward where somebody has thrown a pair of shoes and a large piece of fabric into the phone wires.

Tour de Nothin'

My streak is over. The Tour de London was today and I was, you guessed it, working. So my (un)stated (but thought of a couple of times) goal of competing in every TdL in recorded history ends just as it was getting started.

It's not that this was a surprise...when I first decided that I was ready to test my tender knee it was already late May and I knew then that I would have to work hard to get into race shape in just 3 months. So by the time I got my big yellow "remember to register" pamphlet in the mail last month and still hadn't gone out to the course since last year's race I started to think ahead to next year.

On the bright side, my new power meter is an excellent training tool and has already (statistically at least) driven me to where I'm knocking on the door of Category 5 racing status. Give me a year with it and I should improve immensely. I've also been checking out those indoor trainers that you can hook up to your tv and ride simulated Tour de France stages. Do Alp D'Huez all winter and those Kentucky hills will feel like bumps in the road.