Douglas E. Berry

EDIT: kshandra here. Doug had to point this out in the original Great Sale in 2010, and it apparently needs to be re-stated. The whole idea here is you tell us how much you want to pay. I don't recall him saying no to a single offer the first time we did this. Flat-rate shipping in the US starts around $5; if you're outside the US and willing to pay actual cost to have something shipped to you, we'll pack it up and send it on its merry way.

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Once again, I'm looking to clear out my gaming shelf of things that I have had for years and have no real use for. I'm taking this opportunity to raise a little money to purchase a bicycle and the related equipment for same; I'd like to start getting back in shape.

Here's how it works. Below, you will find a list of items that I have up for sale. Contact kshandra at purplekoosh(at)gmail(dot)com (I'm still mostly offline at this point, unfortunately) with a list of what you want and how much you want to pay; she'll get back to you with an estimated shipping cost. I will not reject ANY reasonable offer, and will accept unreasonable offers if I like them. Acceptable payment methods in order of preference are PayPal, money order, check, or well-wrapped cash if you're feeling particularly lucky. (If you choose to pay by personal check, shipments will be held until the deposit has posted.)

Please note: I AM NOT LOOKING FOR TRADE. This is solely to declutter the apartment and get me a good bike.

Unless otherwise noted, all items are in good condition, and all items are sold AS-IS.

( Without further ado, The List )

Tour rider Beltran in custody after doping

Veteran Spanish rider Manuel Beltran was kicked off the scandal-ridden Tour and was in police custody Friday after testing positive for EPO.

Liquigas cycling team spokesman Paolo Barbieri said Beltran was suspended from the team and that police were searching other Liquigas riders' rooms. If a second backup sample is also positive, Beltran will be fired, Barbieri said.

"When are these idiots going to learn that it's over?" Pat McQuaid, chief of the International Cycling Union, told The Associated Press by telephone. "They continue to think that they can beat the system. They're wrong. The system is catching up all the time.

"It is very damaging to the sport. Once more, the sport suffers."

Beltran tested positive on July 5 after the first stage.

"There are not just traces of EPO, there is EPO," Pierre Bordry, leader of the French anti-doping agency, told the AP. "Whether there is a lot or a little, EPO is forbidden."

Beltran is one of the dirtiest riders in tour riding. Picture somebody with Barry Bonds' rep. Glad to see he's finally been nicked.

Went over to my mom's tonight for dinner. She made this great chicken dish, hard to describe but it was baked with a sort of garlic and cheddar cheese covering. Very, very good with Rice-A-Roni and a nice white zinfandel.

After that, we watched Night At The Museum. I normally don't like Ben Stiller, but this movie was fantastic. It moved along nicely, didn't dwell on the father/son story or the romantic subplots, and gave us a nice plot surrounded by what we came to see - The Museum of Natural History coming alive. Owen Wilson, who's role was supposed to be a cameo (but was expanded after he tested well) and is not credited, steals the movie as the miniature cowboy Jedediah.

A good evening all around, and i got a bike ride in on the deal.

Distance: 2.707 miles
Maximum Speed: 14.7 mph
Average Speed: 11.1 mph
Time: 14 minutes, 40 seconds
Calories Burned: 79.5
Fat Burned: 8.2 grams

Had a wicked headwind on the way up, and it was still over 90. Coming back was much nicer except for the asshole. Since I ride in the street, and have all the expected lights and reflectors, I follow the same rules as any other vehicle. So, when a lane I'm riding in turns into a right-turn only lane, and I need to continue own, I move over and ride as far to the right in the lane I need to be in. In this case, my wheels were on the white line that separated turning cars from the rest of us. The asshole decided he was utterly offended by my doing the correct thing, or was just a jerk, but he laid on his horn as he passed me. We weren't within three feet of each other, so I don't know what his problem was.

We've been lucky this summer. It's been very mild. Not anymore. Very hot.

Thank Ghu for air-conditioned trucks.

But I had to ride home. Bleah. Riding stats.

Distance: 4.242 miles
Maximum Speed: 17.7 mph
Average Speed: 11.1 mph
Time: 23 minutes, 00 seconds
Calories Burned: 127.5
Fat Burned: 14.1 grams

Says right here on the label, see?

A few days ago, I mentioned that my bike computer seemed to be on the fritz. I rode into work today with the thing still mounted for no real reason other than laziness. After a fairly ordinary day of driving, I was back at base talking to Marvin prior to leaving. We were chatting bikes (he rides also) and I mentioned the computer being out. He'd never seen a bike computer, o I was showing him how it worked. That's when I saw it.

The magnet was properly positioned, and pointed at the sensor, but too far away. It was on the outer spoke ring instead of the inner ring, relative to the sensor. The only thing I can figure is that when they worked on my bike at The Off Ramp the wheel got flipped 180°. For some reason, the worker there simply twisted the magnet around.

Whip out my Leatherman, find the Phillips screwdriver, and remount the magnet. Works fine now. So, riding stats for my ride home.

Distance: 1.44 miles
Maximum Speed: 16.0 mph
Average Speed: 10.1 mph
Time: 8 minutes, 36 seconds
Calories Burned: 42.7
Fat Burned: 3.6 grams

Doubling this for the daily total won't work. I can take a spur train coming home that cuts almost a mile off my ride that I can't take in the morning.

Last winter, as the temps dropped and the rainy season began, I put my faithful bike Traveller aside, intending to get her ready for riding in spring and go back to riding to work.

Well, to quote John Fogerty, "things got bad, and things got worse, looks like my plans fell through." Money and time never came together, Kirsten gave me rides in, and Traveller sat on the porch.

But Kirsten leaves for that Thing In The Desert on Friday. Since she sort of needs the car, I need to get around and to work myself. So today we went out and had the tubes replaces and the works given a once-over. The Off Ramp is a really neat store, and we probably spent too much money getting new lights for both our bikes (Traveller and the bike Kiri takes to the desert) along with a bunch of other goodies. I resisted the urge to blow a c-note on a great new helmet and a visibility yellow windbreaker. We ran a few other errands before heading over to Avant Sound - again - to get the damn stereo fixed.

Ladles and other cooking implements, my wife is not confrontational. She is more likely to back down, negotiate, and accept things than I am.

Today, I was worried that I might be forced to restrain her. she spotted the owner as we walked in, and ripped him a new asshole over the constant problems we have encountered since winning this system. She was loud, forceful, and the owner kept glancing at the other customers in the shop in fear.

I have never been so proud.

They fixed the problems, and we're still working on getting a refund (full or partial) on the installation. When I mentioned this (as Kiri was bringing the car around) the owner protested that he had given us multiple discounts. We were quoted $295 for installation. We paid a bit over $400.

This guy is slimy.

Anyway, we came home after one more stop; and I get to work on Traveller. Rust-removal compound, WD-40, 3-in-1 oil on the chain and gears, install the new headlight (a Blackburn Quadrant that came bundled with a Mars 3.0 taillight). I looked at installing the tail light, but the way my cargo rack is set up, carrying anything would block the light. So I'll wear the tail light on my belt or on my backpack. Which reminds me, I need a Camelbak.

One more trip out for some food shopping (not possible with my bike in the car) and no I'm enjoying the Giants game after a nice dinner of chicken and biscuts.

Leader Rasmussen Out of Tour De France

Tour de France leader Michael Rasmussen was removed from the race by his team after winning Wednesday's stage, the biggest blow yet in cycling's doping-tainted premier event.

"Michael Rasmussen has been sent home for violating (the team's) internal rules," Rabobank team spokesman Jacob Bergsma told The Associated Press by phone.

The expulsion, which Bergsma said was ordered by the Dutch team sponsor, was linked to "incorrect" information that Rasmussen gave to the team's sports director over his whereabouts last month. Rasmussen missed random drug tests May 8 and June 28.

The 33-year-old rider, who won Wednesday's stage, had looked set to win the race, which ends Sunday in Paris. But Tour officials had questioned why he was allowed to take the start on July 7 in London, England.

"We cannot say that Rasmussen cheated, but his flippancy and his lies on his whereabouts had become unbearable," Tour director Christian Prudhomme told the AP.

For those of you keeping score at home, that's three riders/teams dropping out or being pulled in three days. All of them big names in the cycling world.

Sad thing is Rasmussen was riding a nearly perfect technical race. He had this thing won, barring a crash or a truly spectacular flameout in the final stages. But because he couldn't follow his own team's rules, he is going to be recorded along with all the others who did not complete the tour. He'll get credit for the stage he won, and that's it. Wearing the yellow jersey for most of the tour doesn't matter.. it's wearing it as you ride down the Champs-Élysées with a glass of champagne in your hand.

The UCI needs to bring hellfire and brimstone down on the teams. It's pathetic. Blood doping has become an accepted part of the sport. Teams almost flaunt their ability to hide elevated blood counts, and court doctors who will provide the enhancements needed. We have just over a month until the Vuelta a España kicks off. Test everyone prior to the event. If there is any questionable activity by a team, ban them for a full year from UCI events. Let's not have another Grand Tour event more noted for who gets eliminated than for who wins.

Which, right now, looks to be a Spanish rider with Team Discovery. The irony is killing me.

Yes, the Tour is on again, without last year's winner who is still embedded in cycling's biggest soap opera in decades.

I've been following the tour, but haven't commented on it until today. Why?

The first six stages were all in level terrain. Fans of cycling know that the Tour de France doesn't really begin until you hit the climbs, especially in the Alps. Fabian Cancellara of Switzerland, who held the yellow jersey for the first six stages, freely admitted that he was out of the race once they hit the mountains. At the end of Stage 6, he led by 33 seconds. After Stage 7 (the first climb) he was 22 minutes behind the overall leader.

American riders have traditionally done well in climbs. The next few stages should be interesting.

It wouldn't be a Tour without doping. The big story here is that four Spanish riders have withdrawn or disqualified for not starting a stage at the assigned time. With Spaniards in second and third overall, People are starting to wonder if the notoriously loose with the rules Spanish cyclists are up to something. Of course, we've yet to have SWAT teams raiding a team's hotel rooms, or the mysterious suicide of a team "doctor" (who turned out to be a Mafia thug), but the event is young!

International Tour Cycling. Come for the spandex shorts, stay for the drama. Shit, this would make a good opera.

..great improvement, actually. This one includes a screen light and other nifty features. I had to enter my age and weight when I set it up since it includes a counter for calories and fat burned.

So, today's commute:

Distance: 5.51 miles
Maximum Speed: 23.4mph
Average Speed: 12.6mph
Time: 26m, 14s
Calories Burned: 353.3
Fat Burned: 40.7g

Work today was freaking odd. I had four boxes to deliver to three stops, and one scheduled pick up. But the pick up was from out supplier up near Concord so i still had to drive a good distance. I clocked in at about 0645, and was on the road by 0710. Got back from that, and was sent out to take three pallets to 280 Metro Center. Yup. Crappy guard shack was still there, and was unlocked. I could have helped myself to all sorts of goodies... Of course, the guard was nowhere in sight.

No, I don't miss that particular career at all.

Tomorrow, I get to go to freaking Stockton. I swear, I'm really hoping nobody at Black Rock City needs anything from us.. the definition of "Livermore Valley" is becoming extremely flexible...

The good new is my uniforms should finally be here tomorrow. The bad news? They probably won't have the L&S patch - they're out. *sigh*

Today's ride home was just weird. Everyone near me was in some sort of alcohol or drug diversion program, and insisted on talking about it. Loudly. The best was the two teenage dudes who were trying to arrange a time to hang out, but kept running into scheduling conflicts due to AA, NA, outpatient group, and the ever popular "Friday's out, man. I got court."

Besides the Attack of the 12-Step Programmers, I finally got my bike working again, and rode to work today.

Distance: 5.312 miles
Maximum Speed: 21.0 mph
Average Speed: 10.9 mph
Time: 29m 22s

My speed was kept down because my tires were low on air. I need to dig up the pump and firm them up a bit before tomorrow.

Today was decent, and I finally got to have my truck washed. It could have been much worse. This accident occurred on a road I use at least twice a week. I know exactly where the accident was, and it is a death trap. Especially if the southbound vehicle is going ten miles an hour over the limit, as was reported by the CHP in a radio interview.

Tomorrow is going to be interesting. I'm going to Modesto again, but then have to head up to the Delta. This means some odd little county routes and State Secondary Highways. Ah, well. Think of it as an advenutre.