Death Ride 2015

Guest Post by Death Ride Grandma

A gripping tale about a grueling endurance ride, ascending 5 mountain passes with over 15,000 feet of climbing? You KNOW that's gotta be a guest post.  Because there is no way in hell that Crabby herself would undertake such craziness.

Death Ride Grandma, a beloved commenter here, recently attempted for the third time to finish this brutal ride. I know many of you regulars may be curious about whether she succeeded, and how things went along the way. So please welcome the always-inspirational Death Ride Grandma! --Crabby


Each year I said I would never, ever do it again. This year I had an ironclad excuse. I was to attend a wedding in London in mid-July. Then I double checked, and it was not until August. Then my niece announced her wedding date: July 10, at Lake Tahoe. Lake Tahoe is about 40 miles from the Death Ride, which was on July 11 this year. It almost seemed like fate.

When Life Give You Lemons...

By Crabby McSlacker

Yes, it's time for another petulant post! This one is about an evil product I buy sometimes, one that totally pisses me off.

So why is it an incredibly stupid and annoying product?  And if it is indeed an abomination, why am I such a dumbass that I'd buy it in the first place?

What’s on YOUR Drivers’ License?

Guest post by Jan Bono

Yes, Crabby is still blogslacking. Instead of posting here she's off playing with her imaginary friends. (I.e., futzing around with her novel-in-progress). Anyway, it's a good thing we have Jan Bono to help us out! Remember you can find her book “Back from Obesity: My 252-pound Weight-Loss Journey” in print if you like things old school, or as an ebook on Jan's smashwords page. Enjoy! --Crabby

Today, I weigh 145—exactly what my driver’s license says I do. My license has, in fact, had the same weight listed on it since the day I got it, at age 16. Don’t ask me how that happened. In between 16 and 61 I spent nearly a decade tipping the scale as high as 396, but here in Washington, you can often get your license renewed by mail or online.

But back in June, 2000, I was 46 years old and weighed 272 pounds. I noted this event with some quiet introspection. Thirty years earlier, in my junior year of high school, my participant number at the state track meet had been #272. I still had the placard.

What goes around, comes around, I mused.

A Guided Meditation I Can Live With

By Crabby McSlacker

Anyone else trying to work in some meditation every day?  If you haven't seen this yet, it's perfect for a work break. But: USE HEADPHONES!  Or your work break may be a bit longer than anticipated.

Free Online Workouts and Other Gym Alternatives

Guest Post By Dave Smith

It's true, you don't have to be a gym rat to get in great shape! For gym alternatives that don't cost a penny, please welcome back Dave Smith who has some awesome suggestions. --Crabby

Gym Memberships Are Overrated: How You Can Get In Great Shape Without One

Last week I received an email from a woman who desperately “needed” to lose weight and had only a few weeks to reach her goal. She explained that while she was willing to do whatever it takes, she realized that her situation might be hopeless because she doesn’t have a gym membership.

A gym membership is a prerequisite for getting in shape? Really?

I know this woman is not alone because I’ve heard sentiments like this from many others in the past.

“I’d like to get in shape but I have no time for the gym.”

“If I didn’t hate going to the gym, I’d exercise all the time.”

For some reason going to the gym has become synonymous with fitness. I’d like to offer a few reasons why this notion is far from reality.

Happy July! Celebrations, Ramblings, and Oh Yeah, Goals!

photo via x-ray delta one

By Crabby McSlacker

So as promised, even though I'm in full-on blogslacking mode, I'm going to try to slap together at least one blog post a month. Mainly so I can jump down into the comment section and catch up with all my favorite Cranketeers!

But I guess first I gotta actually write about something.

Hmm, let's see. Something about celebrations? We've got the fourth coming up, plus I have to confess I've been in a pretty celebratory mood. Because it's probably no surprise to anyone familiar with this blog that I was pretty psyched about a recent United States Supreme Court decision.

Pretty cool what they said about the unconstitutionality of the residual clause in the Armed Career Criminal Act, right??!!

OK, maybe not that decision. Being an Armed Career Criminal sounds like it would require a lot of entrepreneurial spirit, and guns scare the crap out of me, so I didn't have a huge stake in that one. No, I'm talking about a different Supreme Court decision.

Need a hint?