HumanPoweredTransport

Momentum Monday

The thing about data storage and bike computers is, ya gotta remember to turn the thing on when you start the ride. Newly repaved section of the road above the helipad is now 14% grade. Ouch. Fixing things over the weekend included an upgrade to the Gunnar with new bars, tape, stem and fork. (had to go from 1" threaded to threadless) Raised the seat a bit and swapped out the Spinergys for the Neuvations from the DirtRag test last year. What a difference. Taped new carbon drops with clear gelly ribbon - looks like I wrapped the bars in ScotchTape. Weird. Rides faster, I swear. Meanwhile in Europe the pro's continue to roll; bye bye for real? Oh really? Talking the talk. Other dope. Dope folder, with a cult. Other talk on safety. Stats. Sad. Concerned. Do bees like cheese? Celebrating design that works. Onward.

Fixing Things

In underground scenes, alternate subcultures and other nefarious acts of boredom-fighting (see skateboarding, tow-in surfing and punk rock), to be touched by Main Stream Media is a death knell. Witness the death of the track bike cult. The NYT stays a step ahead of even Cycling News, who apparently just found out about the fix fad when they got a Schwinn Madison to test. Sell your NJS collection before it depreciates. Vintage BMX and coaster brakes- next big thing. Claimin' it here first and you're welcome - go get some. Elsewhere, SF's Critical Mass experiences it's own media heat. Apparently London is bike thief central, and they've got a thing or two to say about fascism. Growing in awareness, if not strength: a move to impeach. There is a good reason you should activate some awareness about the plight of net radio and what it means for free speech. Some folks think it's way overused so why not just ban Comic Sans? Pedal Practically while contemplating these guys as Disco's takeover title backer. Onward.

Ain’t Goin’ Down Like That

Men Without A Country: A Rebuttal In Eulogy

Two favored sons of the sword-pen taken now. One by his own hand, one by the luck of time. Traveling to the beyond. Men who wrote truths as they saw them; raw missives on our society’s struggling to be humane. Both gone missing from the pantheon having regrettably not seen the end game they so eloquently sought. Kurt and Hunter. Valiant railers against complacency, aghast at what writhed before them. Leaving us with the remorse of final chapters, resonantly ringing. Softly resolute in mock defeat, fist still raised darkly. Strengthened ever by your words, informing our separate paths, all of us who picked up on the books along the way. We salute you forward to the next horizon hoping you know that when Vonnegut said “...there is not a chance in hell of America becoming humane and reasonable”; we said not without a fight.

Oh Brother...

First thing we read this morning was this. And then trolling the Wire Donkey site, found this. Sometimes it doesn't have to make sense to be a perfect circle. Viva.

Liar Liar Pants On Fire

How hot is that ballsack patch now Floydster? Bye bye; don't let the barn door hit your Menonite ass on the way out and don't bother with the 'French conspiracy' bullshit either. There's a reason bull riding and cycling are on the same TV network; they share the same doctors. There's a reason the bees are dying too. Have an Earth Day moment, a few days too late. Watch out on that corner! Team Rwanda keeps rolling strong. Progress requires pedaling. Another one (of us) bites the dust. Hey, Kool-aid. Parcour hits the MSM; banned on a campus near you? Badass custom carbon from Burbank. Screw fixed gears, vintage BMX is gonna be the next trend, so get on it early! We leave you with Trek's televangelist, John Burke.

Hustle

Monday night we were tipping back cocktails at our favorite bistro when the Wolfpack rolled by, moving fast as usual. A mixed bag of fixers, roadies and a lone mountain biker at the end of the whip. Those guys hustle, pulling 3-4 hour night rides every Monday. Ouch if you've gotta work Tuesday morning - but it felt good knowing we'd pulled off the Momentum ride that dawn. On other fronts; embrace the police state, or not. Ghost bikes in Boston. Another rider down, this time they were targeted. Yet another sign that the bike industry is embracing commuters, even while they're being killed. Recycle a bike, help kids like these. We're not big fans of recumbent cycles, but they do move humanely and damn fast. Soiled Chamois, 'nuf said. An informative piece on lighting, for commuters - warning, NSFW about halfway through. Someone stole David Byrne's bike. Mavericks, explained.
Viva.

Andiamo!

Up first, more news of Totally Secure Airports. And more news about the dangers of commuting. Cycling News has video too. One of our favorite beverages has a ride. Up for review, more beverages. Just go left. Get off the list. No tomatoes for Mickey. Pro portraits. You go girl. Giving the world some relief. More bike 'television'. Dicey. Vontz with some insight on le dope. Art helps. Possibly the most absurd, or purposeful bike devices yet, this thing helps on those steep cols. Go ride.

Momentum Mondays

Vontz created a new and bracing start to the work week with the 6:30AM call up and easy 1 hr spin. Aussie Aussie Oi Oi Oi! O'Grady obliterates the field at Roubaix - what an outstandingly dusty ride. Commuting, it's not just for breakfast anymore. Commuting is dangerous. Gotham gets a pump track. LA gets a Dark Century. The FBI gets a cyclist. Ride Of Silence - not in your area? Midnight Ridazz had The Safety 2 ride on the 13th. Meanwhile, in fantasy land, they're still betting against Unibet. We leave you with some Street Life from the land of the rising sun.

Good Bye Blue Monday

In 2005 I gave Man Without A Country to my dad to read. "I don't like fiction, rah rah rah..." he whinged. "Vonnegut's two years older than you - read it - you might learn something." He finished it in a day, told me it changed his perspective on things and started writing himself. RIP Kurt, we look to the galaxies and laugh.

Hey, Hey DNA!

Oh Jan, how far you have fallen. Now that they've broken the code (Rudy's Son = Jan Ullrich) maybe they'll figure out that Ivan The Untouchable, Lil' Tyler Marbleballs and the rest of 'em were getting juiced by the good doctor too. As my man Vontz said to me this morning - c'mon Ivan, spit in the cup and get it over with. Of course repeated, systematic lying does have it's merits if you want to keep getting away with something- just ask the Attorney General. Or O.J.