MTB wedding rings, no respect from the prez, safety is sexy, sock wars, and rolling up my sleeves blue collar style

Been doing a lot of riding and working lately. More like working and riding. Still, there has been some riding mixed in there, which is nice. Anyway, here's a few crazy/wild/interesting stories since last we talked:

How about a ring shaped like a mountain bike tire? With two different tread patterns to choose from. The silver version starts at $75 but the gold and platinum versions go up to a few hundred dollars. Shit, if you marry a honey you meet on the trail, you may even get away with making this your wedding band. Ha. (via Dethroner)

Looks like Go Clipless carries no weight with POTUS (President of the United States). Does anyone? I'm just asking. Freewheeling Spirit tried to call his attention toward National Bike Month and get him to encourage bike commuting. Still waiting for an answer...

Gwadzilla reminds us that safety is sexy. Oh yeah, then why do so few naked chicks on bikes wear helmets??? (Warning - last two links are NSFW).

And...in the ongoing saga known as the cycling sock wars... I sense DeFeet is starting to pick up some momentum. Bicycle Retailer and Industry News is reporting that they hired a sales rep from SockGuy. A game changing event to be sure.

Finally, I've always been curious about the new Internet Bike Dealers (IBDs) made possible through low cost overseas manufacturing. Are they really a better deal than comparable bikes bought at your local bike shop? I've begun testing a full-suspension rig from one such IBD, Woodstock Bikes. Through a partnership with the Crooked Cog I will be reviewing the Woodstock 707 for Blue Collar Mountain Biking and recording my thoughts a long the way. So far the experience is positive and I've posted up my first impressions already. I'll also be exploring other aspects of the process of buying a bike online. So check it out...