After much ado...

Now, I won't lie. I didn't know exactly what to expect for pictures from the Ray's trip by the guys. I knew that the battery died pretty quickly into the trip but I still had hopes that a few good shots would make it.

Well, they never claimed to be artists only riders; only around 6 pictures made it and honestly I'm ok with that because the last thing you want to do at Ray's is carry around a camera while you're riding let alone stop and take pictures.

Brian over at Alger Cycle was kind enough the lend out their van to get everyone to Cleveland. There ended up being around 13 guys making the trip, 8 in van [one picked up in Detroit] and another 5 who met up at Ray's. As Brad mentioned this was the maiden voyage for the blue van and what better way to stretch the legs than a 5 hour drive from GR to Cleveland; fortunately, no issues. Ryan and Jacobi spearheaded the trip guaranteeing anyone who went to improve at least 20% and I think it's safe to say, everyone had a blast and improved in some regard. Here are a few pictures that made it back...

Waiting to take off...

View from the back of the van...

Matt fresh off the 'Sport' or Intermediate section

Sure, more pictures would have been nice but then again they went there to ride and that's what we do... we ride our bikes.

A video that has been making it's way around Velocity this morning definitely shows the versatility of the bicycle... not only as an instrument of recreation and exercise but also an instrument of the beat down.

It appears that the proper form to use when delivering a beat down with a bike is strikingly similar to that of a cyclocross dismount and transition over a barrier. Don't be afraid when preparing to use your bike as an instrument of carnage to line up to your target, making sure that not only both wheels hit the desired object/person but also the frame. This video was a classic example of a 2-for-1 deal and proving that a bicycle beats anything with a motor on it.

Now for the answer you've all been waiting for to yesterdays 'Who's Cousins' edition of the Wheel Department Trivia... That question being 'At a recent Christmas gathering, one Velocity employee became aware of being distant cousins to what other Velocity employee... Name those two... ' Was it A. J-Bolt B. Rach C. Ryan or D. M.D.?

The answer is best told in pseudo-story form. The one and only J-Bolt or Boltman or his newest name/title for himself being that of Shipmas-Christ [yeah, we know] was celebrating Christmas Eve with his family. Seeing that J-Bolt is such the family man, conversation was aplenty. Since bikes and our work are never far from our mind or the conversations we seem to get into, J-Bolt was talking with a cousin. Through the normal family banter a fellow Velocity employees name was brought up and then realized that there was a strange connection. As the day went on, it began to become clear that there were family ties... distant cousins going some thing like this:

J-Bolt has a cousin, who is married to a guy, who has a brother, who is married to girl, who dated a guy, who's best friend roomed with a few guys and one of their sisters mothers had a grandfather who was the parent of twins who were separated at birth, who then met later in life through a cousin who was married to woman who ended up knowing another lady who married a cousin of Ryan.

If you haven't put it together yet, the two Velocity employee's who are distant cousins by law are J-Bolt and Ryan. It's an extremely distant bond but regardless the world may never quite be the same after this realization.

Of course, a quickly photoshoped picture was in order for such an occasion.