Happy New Year!

Happy new year to all you pervs!

Love Rubber Canuck

Rubbery 2010

Photo by Fotoxy.

I'll be spending NYE at the hospital with my man. He's doing much better but is still in a lot of pain and not eating solids yet. He will probably be in for another week or two depending on how he responds to his treatments. Last night when I went into the hospital I found 2 dozen roses waiting for me for my birthday. What a man!

I hope that 2010 will bring everyone a lot more health and happiness. Look after yourselves and the ones you love (and love to play with).

-Reid

SPORTS PROFILE: Men's Bobsleigh

Both men and women compete in the sport of bobsleigh, a sport that combines speed, power and agility. There are two person races for men and women. Men also have a four-man event. Bobsleigh is one of the original sports in the Olympic Winter Games.

Bobsleigh teams include a brakeman and a pilot in the two-man event, while two crewmen/pushers are added for the four-man race. From a standing start, the crew pushes the sled in unison for up to 50 meters. This distance is typically covered in less than six seconds and speeds of over 40 km/h are reached before the crew loads into the sled.

Although the difference in start times among the top crews is measured in tenths or even hundredths of a second, a fast start is critical. As a rule of thumb, a 1/10th of a second lead at the start translates into a 3/10ths of a second advantage by the bottom of the course. During a typical 60-second run, speeds of more than 135 km/h are reached and crews are subjected to over four times the force of gravity.


World Cup Circuit

World Cup competitions are awarded by the FIBT to member countries through a bidding process. Competitions may be awarded either to a country or to a
specific track within a country. Each country is allowed to race one sled per event. Additional sleds must qualify.

In World Cup competition, two heats are held over one day in each event. At the Olympics and World Championships, four heats are held over two days in both the two-man and four-man events. The crew with the lowest combined time is the winner.

Starting Order

The FIBT World Ranking, initiated in 2007, is used to determine start positions for all major events, including the Olympic Winter Games, FIBT World Championships and FIBTWorld Cup events. Since the ice becomes rougher as the competition progresses, it is an advantage to be among the first on the track. The World Ranking system rewards the top crews (based on previous results) with the best start positions. At the first World Cup competition of each season, the World Ranking from the previous season is applied. A draw is conducted for the top-10 ranked athletes. The rest of the field starts based on the World Ranking order. The rankings also determine nation quotas, and the starting order for the Olympic Winter Games and the World Championships.


Ranking

In World Cup competition, medals are awarded to the top three rankings, and
recognition awards for placing fourth through sixth. In addition, points are awarded to the top-30 finishers in each World Cup race, which leads to the awarding of World Cup Titles in each of the disciplines, won by those accumulating the most points over the full season.

The sled is an aerodynamic machine made of fiberglass and steel, mounted on four highly polished steel runners. The two front runners have approximately three inches of lateral movement and are attached to ropes held by the driver, who steers the sled. The brake handles are located on either side of the brakeman in the four-man sled and in front of the brakeman in the two-man sled. The temperature of the steel runners is taken electronically immediately prior to each race. Heating the runners is illegal. At the finish line, the sled and crew are weighed to ensure they are below the maximum weight. All sleds are standardized according to specifications set by the Fédération Internationale de Bobsleigh et de Tobogganing (FIBT).

Although a few natural ice tracks are still in use today, most competitions take
place on concrete-based tracks with artificial ice surfaces. Although the standard
length is 1,500 meters, every course has unique characteristics and varying
degrees of difficulty. All courses drop a minimum specified vertical distance and feature numerous banked curves from top to bottom.

Bobsledders wear helmets and skintight racing uniforms made from a stretchy material. Racing shoes have small spikes on the soles for traction on the ice. Drivers must wear goggles. Most drivers wear gloves, although some prefer bare hands to feel the steering ropes better. Some riders wear elbow and shoulder pads over their racing suits.

Work It

Do you remember watching (and admiring) this shit in the 80s? Holy crap, I'm old. But I sure do miss those heady 80s 'spandex days'....

Whatever happened to Crystal Lite?

Rubberstud of the Week #87

Seasons Greetings, Black Style

Rubbout 2010 Promo

Seasons Greetings

Have as good a rubbery holiday season as this guy is having!

SPORT PROFILE: Men's Skeleton

Skeleton made its Olympic return in 2002 after a 54-year absence. Like luge, the sport involves racing a sled down an icy track. Unlike luge, skeleton sleds are ridden face first.

The sport got its name after its first participant crashed horribly and all that was recovered was his skeleton. Just kidding! Here's the real story: the sport was named when someone commented that a new metal sled, first used in 1892, resembled a skeleton.

The sport's first organized competition took place in the late 1800s in the Swiss village of St. Moritz. Riders raced down the frozen road from St. Moritz to Celerina on simple sleds, and the winner received a bottle of champagne.

It was at the 1928 St. Moritz Winter Games that skeleton made its Olympic debut. But the sport would not reappear until the 1948 Winter Games, which were also held in St. Moritz. Then — just as suddenly — skeleton went back in the closet again until its 2002 reemergence.

Previously a male-only endeavor at the Olympics, women's skeleton appeared for the first time in 2002 at Salt Lake City.

The format for Olympic skeleton involves two timed runs. The top men and women from the first run compete in the second run, which is held later that same day. The combined time of the two runs determines the final standings.

The sled can only be ridden in the prone position (face first, on the stomach), and although the rider can leave the sled to push or move it, he or she must cross the finish line on the sled in order for the run to be considered valid.

Warming the sled's metal runners or using any substance that improves sliding is prohibited. At the start of the race, the temperature of the runners must be within 4°C of the reference runner, which is exposed to the open air for one hour before the start of the competition.

Skeleton athletes experience forces up to, but not exceeding, 5Gs, a stipulation enforced by the FIBT. Given the speeds attained by sliders (up to 130 km/h (80 mph)), they are not allowed any steering or braking mechanisms. Rather, steering is managed by slight shifts of the athlete on the sled and by dragging the feet.

The sport is also promoted by skeleton officials as a gateway sport to, “train young, aspiring athletes…for their future career in bobsleigh.”

The major competitions of non-Olympic seasons include the World Championships and World Cups, held annually. The rankings and results from these competitions determine the starting positions for future races. The track becomes less smooth after each successive run; thus, the negative effect on run times makes earlier starts in the lineup more desirable. Based on the overall performance of a country, the FIBT determines which countries may participate in the Olympic games. For the male competition, the best 12 nations based on World Cup rankings may participate, whereas for ladies, the best 8 may do so.

Woof!

I see the German leatherdaddies gyrating already. This is by Unit-911. The remix CDM/WEB download contains, like, 14 remixes!