Lance was right, it's not about the bike

A few things I've learned this past year on a bike.

• Bugs happen. If you look down and see 20 freeloading bugs on your white shirt, ignore them or face the consequences (first 2010 ride).
• When you come to a stop, any stop, unclip out of BOTH pedals or face the consequences.
• Hills are only as big as you make them. Except that one in Wayne County, you know who you are. You're on my list for next year (see below).
• Exploration of new roads is always rewarded.
• Wayne County roads are incredible.
• It might take a bit of work and planning to ride all the way to the western edge of Medina County.
• Ignore you owner's manual when it tells you not to ride at night. Riding on towpath with only a battery-powered headlamp to see with was one of the more distinctive experiences I've had for some time. Looking forward to taking Jill next year.
  
• The cycling season is too short.

Some 2011 cycling goals (subject to change)

• GOBA (or similar tour).
  
• Get revenge on that hill that beat me last year.
  
• Participate in Pedal to the Point.
• A 70 mile ride.
  
• Explore Wayne County.

Night Ride for Cleveland Beer Week a huge success

From Century Cycles Blog...

Night Ride for Cleveland Beer Week a huge success: Ale? Hailed! Last Saturday's Century Cycles Night Ride for Cleveland Beer Week was a huge success, proving that 'bikes-n-brews' are still a match made in heaven! Nearly 200 cyclists came to the ride, many of whom sported some awesome beer-inspired costumes and all of whom biked on a chilly yet perfect fall evening.

Our hearty congratulations to the 26 lucky folks who won prizes from us and our event partners -- cycling jerseys, gift cards from Winking Lizard and Century Cycles, pint glasses, Cycle-opoly games, and more! And YES, we are already planning to do it again next year!

Our thanks, too, to Cleveland Beer Week (which named us 'Pick of the Day' on Saturday -- a gigantic honor considering the number of CBW events!), the Winking Lizard (which did a great job of accomodating our big post-ride crowd and sourced/tapped some terrific beers), Sierra Nevada Brewing Company (mmm...that Porter in cask was delicious!), and Left Hand Brewing Company (for their super-tasty Twin Sisters Double IPA).

Here are over 100 photos from the 'All Hail the Ale!' Night Ride - see how many 'beers' you can spot!



(Click here if the slide show is not appearing for you. Photos: Mike Petcher)

Image Sprites

I just finished a web page at work that used what I learned from my last web tutorial listed in my previous post. I also taught myself how to code some nifty rollover buttons as shown here and included these as well. W3Schools calls them "image sprites." It took some troubleshooting though in my application that had to do with the absolute positioning. But I'm pleased with the results.

I also used Adobe Fireworks for the first time. Simple PNG files crash my Photoshop CS4 all the time and I had a hunch that Adobe wants you to use Fireworks instead to create and edit graphics for the web and interactive apps. Fireworks is very nice in that it gives you pixel accuracy in ways that Photoshop did not. And, of course, being part of the creative suite it plays nice with all the other apps in the suite.