Get a Tattoo

Ol' Curly can cross off one of his 2011 "to-do" items...

You can't very well travel almost 8000km to ride 160km on a road made of beaten up bocce balls and not do something to commorate it. And you can't ride one of the world's most famous bicycle classics so near to Belgium without sporting a tattoo to endear the locals.

And of course, it wouldn't be original to just slap a tattoo of the Lion of Flanders somewhere on your person without customizing it just a tad... So after much thought, the only tattoo that fit the bill was this...

I'd like to talk a bit about the process... if you'll allow me...

Ol' Curly likes to think of himself as a bit of a tough guy... and for good reason. But I have to say that after over 3 and a half hours of laying face-down on the table with a James Hetfield fan dragging an electrified needle across the back of my calf... it felt a little raw... like fresh road rash to be exact.

All the while, thinking of that fresh new ink and all of the Flemish cycling fans who will be ooh'ing and ahh'ing over it, helped to keep Ol' Curly from crying... on the outside... I've seen many tattoos and all over the various parts of the body and with that in mind I'd like to think that the calf is a pretty "low-pain" place to get your ink done...

I'm crossing my fingers that the cobbles will hurt my skin (i.e. taint) half as bad...

Bonne Année

Happy New Year!

After many years of being in hiding, Coach Curly has decided to come out and grace your cycling presence with his quips and witicisms about cycling and the like. Yes-sir-ree, Coach Curly will focus 2011 being a kinder, gentler human being...

2011 is a milestone year for Ol' Curly... Curly is turning 40.

Now I could wax on philosophically about how 40 is forcing Curly to take a look at his life, assess where he's at and what he's accomplished... but I won't be... 40 just means I need to get moving on some things that have gone undone.

• Get a tattoo
• Ride the Paris Roubaix course
• Consume real Belgian Frites
• Consume real Liege Waffles
• Sample the diversity of beer than Brussels has to offer
• Witness the awesome power of "The Hour Record" bike
• Visit Ol' Eddy's Bicycle Factory
• Refer to kilometers when discussing cycling distances...

One of those has been on Ol' Curly's bucket list since he was 17... and during the first week of April in 2011... he'll be crossing it off...

note: If you're confused by a constant jumping around from 1st person to 3rd person and sometimes 2nd person in Ol' Curly's writing style... don't worry... you'll get used to it...