One year ago today...

I'll be offline for a little while, probably until late on Sunday or possibly Monday morning. We are headed to a wedding in Conshohocken in a bit (just outside of Philly - "Conshie" to locals), we have friends coming in tonight, and tomorrow we are headed to the Philadelphia bike race (we call it the Manayunk bike race). We will be headed to The Wall in Manayunk, one tough hill for bikers to climb. Many quit before they reach the top. We reward them with beer if they do, to wild cheers from the crowd. A few pics from last year's race...

I offered a Red Bull to anyone needing a boost to get up the hill. There were no takers, so I happily drank the Bull myself.

A little bit more Stanley Cup melancholy - last year at this time, the Oilers were in the Stanley Cup Finals against the Carolina Hurricanes. I had just gotten back from Game 2 (hence, the T-Shirt), and I was stoked for the game later that night (which the Oilers won, by the way). I proceeded to carry an inflatable Stanley Cup with me wherever I went, to the puzzlement of many. I loved it that most in Philly didn't even know who the Oilers were. (I guess most along the bike route didn't recall or didn't care [probably both] that the Oilers battled the Flyers to seven games in 1987 before Edmonton won the Cup.)

Anyway, one of my defining moments as a Philadelphian was getting about 30 of my friends to chat "Here we go Oilers, here we go!" for about 2 minutes straight, right in the middle of Flyer country. Sweet. Nothing like being Cup Crazy in Philly when the Flyers aren't in it. (Insert snarky, sarcastic laugh here.)

Even the cops got in on the act, sort of. Anyway, I'm sure I'll have some great pictures to share from this year's bike race early next week.

And go Oilers. Next year. :*(