N I C E W I C K

When I started this blog, I thought I had lots to vent about. I expected to rail about all manner of things that tick me off, from TV to people to politics. I thought I would be critical. As it turns out, however, most of my posts are annoyingly good-natured. I'm still crusty about all kinds of stuff, but it doesn't seem to manifest itself here for some reason. Overall, I'm fine with that. But the name I chose is RANTWICK. What am I supposed to do? I have come to identify myself with this name, but it doesn't describe what I'm doing.

I must regain at least some of my negative focus. C'mon... C'mon man. Surely there's something...

Woo hoo! You know who drives me nuts? That guy who sells oxy something and some sort of super putty and who knows what else who YELLS THE WHOLE TIME. Can you imagine going out for dinner or something with this guy?

I'LL HAVE THE PRIME RIB! Potatoes or rice? MASHED POTATOES PLEASE. Soup or salad? HMMM! WHAT'S THE SOUP TODAY?... You would have to punch him. There's another infomercial guy who may also have a problem with this dude too, the Sham Wow! guy.

Now this guy doesn't bug me. He looks like an experienced demonstrator / salesman guy, complete with some of what I will call "Carnie Edge". Now that I'm writing about these guys, I seem to recall the YELLING MAN selling what looked suspiciously like Sham Wow! towels lately. I wonder what Sham Wow! guy thinks of that? What if these two ever met up in a dark alley? I just know that the YELLING MAN would be putting up his dukes like a big chucklehead while a knife would slip effortlessly into Sham Wow! guy's hand, and the rest would be history.

WAIT A MINUTE...

Dawning realization: bikes just make me feel all blissed out. I'm nice when I write about bike stuff because even the stuff I think is silly is only mildly silly, and bike stuff, to my mind, is all inherently good. So there you have it! You can expect fairly good-natured posts on cycling stuff and the odd rant like the one found above for moniker retention purposes. I sure am glad that is sorted out. I know you must be relieved too, because I know you care. See? I thought about bike stuff for a moment and NICEWICK returned!

Keep your crank on,

R A N T W I C K

Am I Sick? Thoughts On An Awful Image

Many of you will have already seen this picture of a horrific crash in which a car ploughs into the peloton of a bike race in Mexico almost a year ago. Miraculously, only one cyclist was killed. I am not posting it as news, but rather to collect popular opinion (yes, I've gone temporarily poll-crazy) on my internal reaction to it.

When I first saw the picture below, I immediately cringed, and my first thought was "Oh My God, that's awful...". That thought, however, was followed very quickly by this one: "What A Great Photograph!" Please look at the picture, and answer the question below it if you're so inclined.

Depending on the results, I may or may or not see you next time, since I may be in extended therapy. Wish me luck,

R A N T W I C K