Top Ten for 2007

(Image from McManusBooks.com)

Yes, I know, we get inundated with lists of the best and the worst at this time of year. Who am I to pass up a cheesy bit of easy writing?

But before we get into that, I have to tell you that I just started reading Patrick McManus' "The Deer on a Bicycle: Excursions into the Writing of Humor". If you haven't read any of his stuff, stop right now, go find one of his books, and read it. I'll wait.

There now, doesn't that feel better? If I could be half as funny as McManus, I'd be one happy guy.

(Image from Amazon.com)

The other book I've started is "A Matter of Honor" by William C. Hammond. This one is a Revolutionary War sea story much in the manner of C.S. Forester's Hornblower tales, but of course, in this book the Brits are the bad guys. Forester is one of my favorites, too.

As an aside, are there any British books that portray the Revolutionary era Americans as the bad guys?

OK, now that's done so let's go on to the top 10 list.

Number 10. The Tour de France - because it's a spectacle year after year. By the way, who won? I know it wasn't a Frenchman and I suspect the winners will be systematically disqualified until a Frenchman stands atop the podium.

Number 9. Brooks saddles. I love Brooks saddles, or more specifically, my butt does.

Number 8. My kid's Toshiba laptops. They haven't managed to break them yet. They don't crash. They don't pop up the blue screen of death. They're solid, dependable machines, exactly unlike this Compaq I use.

(This is really boring, so let's skip a couple.)

Number 3. Dave Moulton's Bike Blog for being informative and entertaining. I've learned much from reading Dave's blog. His insight into bicycling history and technology is priceless.

Number 2. Fritz and Cycle-licious. Fritz is a pal. He's inquisitive and reads widely in order to provide content. If I have questions, he and Dave are the go-to guys.

Number 1. The Tulsa area LAB bicycling instructors and advocacy group. These are the people who try to make this city a better place for all cyclists, and they take a lot of criticism for standing up in public for their principles.

Finally, as 2007 comes to a close, I want to thank all of you who read CycleDog. I try to provoke a few laughs, just as Patrick McManus has done, and I try to inject some serious content as well. Balance is a critical issue for any cyclist, just as it's a critical issue here on CycleDog. It's been a wonderful year of ups and downs, good moments and bad. Thanks for coming along on the ride!

Ed