Viva el Meatball!!

Over the last couple of weeks, I've been explaining a couple of the, ahem, finer points of English cycling slang. So far, he's learned (and I hope he's been able to use) snot rocket, hork loogies, and do a Fred Flinstone. I know a fair amount of slang, but I bow down to the comic madness of Mike "Meatball" Friedman, who rides for Slipstream-Chipotle. Dave Zabriskie used to be the quip of the pelotón, but he's had to cede that title to Meatball, who has rightfully earned his nickname. This guy is nuts. And not only is he nuts, he's pretty damn funny, too. The word of the day today was to "quack" someone, which, to quote Meatball, is when:

Quack or qwacking is the term Tommy D (Tom Danielson)likes to use when his 130-pound dainty little arse makes an abrupt move on a guy next to him in a treacherous situation. It’s you or him out there and nobody is nice. Well, unless it’s your teammate. So I quack in Tom’s honor!

Lord knows my hinie is not dainty, but I love the expression. And it's a good thing, too, because I know that, for the next twelve months, every time I make a move on someone, I will not be able to silence my inner duck. Smoke Pilar and/or The Oik on a climb...quack quack, quack. Attack a group of guys from SanSe....quack, quack, quack....

It's not enough to love Slipstream because they're the cleanest team in cycling. They are the only group of cyclists who you could even remotely dream of playing beer pong with. They're the only ones who have cyclists who have anything resembling sense of humour. They are the only professional cycling team who aren't afraid to let it all hang out, which is brilliant for some of us who are trying hard to get a handle on this cycling lark.

¡Viva el Argyle! ¡Viva el Meatball!

http://www.slipstreamsports.com/

PS: Mike, if you ever read this....and you decide that you're not particularly fond of the moniker "Meatball".... sorry, dude. I think you've earned it so well that you're stuck with it whether you like it or not. ;)