Wednesday, July 30, 2008

Highbrow vs. Lowbrow: Lost in the Intellectual Spectrum of Cycling

In response to yesterday’s post, one commenter said:

Get over yourself. It was an unprovoked assault by a policeman in uniform. Real funny. Must be 'cause everyone except you is stupid.

In all honesty I’d hate to think I gave anyone the impression that I side with officer Pogan. Rest assured that I think he’s a disgrace to Patrick Pogan, Sr., he’s a disgrace to Massapequa Park from whence he hails (as well as to neighboring Massapequa), he’s a disgrace to Nassau Community College where he probably majored in homophobia with a minor in snacking, and he’s probably going to be a disgrace to the strip club where he will ultimately wind up working as a bouncer because his only asset in life is his oafishness. More importantly, I’d really hate to think I gave anyone the impression that I think I’m smart. Please know that I’m as stupid as I come, which is what allows me to recognize stupidity when I see it. Trust me, the only reason I know the people on the iPhone lines are idiots is that my first impulse is to stand in that same line for 45 minutes until it finally occurs to me to ask the person in front of me, “Hey, do you know what this line is for?” I’m only human after all. I’m sort of like the “Dexter” of idiots, in that I criticize stupid people not because I’m better than them, but because I’m one myself. All I’ve got going for me is that I’ve come to learn over the years that if I want to do something, there’s a good chance it’s stupid, so I should probably think for awhile before I do it.

But there is a bright side to being stupid. As I said yesterday, stupidity loves crowds, and when you’re stupid you’re never lonely. And if you ever want to see a crowd of people operating in a bovine fashion that’s exquisite in its stupidity, come to New York City and watch pedestrians in Midtown. Here you can watch herds of people walk out into the middle of the busiest streets in North America despite the fact that they don’t have the light, and then express surprise when they’re subsequently flattened by wheeled traffic. All it takes is for one idiot to start walking, and then the rest follow. They’re like cattle who don’t realize they’re in danger until the bolt actually shatters their skulls. If you’ve ever seen the way sharks trick schools of fish into swimming themselves into one giant fish ball, and then simply take bites out of that ball like it’s an apple or something, you have some idea of what I’m talking about. And the stupidest thing about them is that they don’t even realize why it’s happening to them, as you can see in this (ahem) hard-hitting article from the New York Post. “Ever try to cross Sixth Avenue at lunchtime?,” the writer, Andrea Peyser, asks. “It's like human pinball. You get more warning before a lightning strike.” Actually, Andrea, you do get a warning—you get a red light and a giant electric sign that says “Don’t Walk.” I think it’s safe to say Andrea Peyser is a fellow stupid person.

Speaking of stupid, that creepy guy Rod Stewart who looks kind of like Barbara Walters once sang either “Every picture tells a story, don’t it?” or “Every picture’s of assorted donuts.” Because I’m stupid, I'm not sure which. But assuming it’s the former, I’m inclined to agree:







Both of these pictures tell the story of one of my favorite phenomenona in cycling, which is the bike with one part on it that costs more than the rest of the bike put together. In the first example, submitted by a reader, the carbon fiber Zipp wheel is the obvious standout. It fails to tie the rest of the bike together much in the way that the hardware store chain does. (A diligent thief could cut through that chain with a pair of toenail clippers.) In the second example, submitted by me, the Brooks saddle is so dear compared with the rest of the bike that the owner has elected to lock it instead of the front wheel. (The bike also sports a pie plate larger than the charger upon which John the Baptist's head was served to Herodias.)

However, when you're stupid, cycling isn't always easy to appreciate. For example, I recently received the following request from a reader:

I know we are a fringe element and hardly worthy of mention, but you seem to be holding back with respect to the randonneuring community. I feel slighted. I mean think of the opportunities. Generators. Fenders. Berthoud bags (not to mention the arcane world of decalaurs.) Where else do you find silly people riding through the night, in storms, on fixed gears, in the mountains for fun? So the Cascade 1200 isn’t hard enough? Go ride that 2000K in British Columbia.

If I seem to be holding back, it's not because randonneurs are a "fringe element." It's because the whole thing goes way over my head. I followed one of the links included in the email and the first thing I saw was a "call for poets." Frankly, I avoid poetry and anything that inspires poetry. I don't want to smell wet wool, nor do I want to read poetry about the smell of wet wool, and I have a feeling the randonneuring community's capacity for pretention may be as capacious as their saddlebags. Also, I love long rides, but I have no interest in excessively long rides, or in rides that involve sleeping in a bed other than your own. I avoid touring and 24-hour mountain bike races for the same reason. I don't believe in doing anything for more than five hours at a time, whether it's cycling, or working, or reading, or even watching TV. (I do however consider riding for five hours and then watching TV for five hours a day well spent.) I also avoid sleeping in strange places because when you do and you wake up from nightmares involving geese it can take awhile to re-orient yourself and figure out where the bathroom is.

Another thing that goes over my head is philosophy. Sure, I suppose I can be philosophical myself, but sometimes I have trouble discerning where philosophy leaves off and marketing begins. Take "Rapha Continental:"

The Continental is about participation, exalting any and all who endeavor to ride with passion and heart. Central to the project is our desire to discover the places and people that do and have done the style of riding that we’ve only just begun to call – Continental.

I'm going to be completely honest here--I spent a decent amount of time studying this site (though naturally less than five hours, in accordance with my rule) and I still don't know if this is a line of clothing or a team or a philosophy or what. Every time I think it's something I click on another link that tells me it's not what I thought it was. For example, for awhile I thought it was a team, but then I read this:

The Rapha Continental riders are not a team. At least not in the typical sense, or the racing sense. We are a group of individuals united in effort and focus, and we do cooperate.

Eventually I gave up. I feel like something tremendously important may be going on here, but I also feel too dumb to understand it. I get confused by things that say they aren't what they appear to be. It's like looking at a Magritte painting--which, I might add, I also don't understand.

Fortunately, there are people out there dumbing it down for us stupid folk. Sure, sometimes this can be dangerous, like the King Kog Crass t-shirt (sadly no longer available), which may appear to be easy to understand, but is actually quite insidious in that the design was stolen and wearing it can actually make you look dumber than you actually are. But there's also more straightforward stuff you can purchase in order to appear countercultural, like the Pentabike, which has a similar fixter appeal but also has a tidy backstory and doesn't appear to have been stolen from anybody except the Wiccans. (Perhaps someday soon we will see products being sold as "Certified Pop Culture Plunder-Free.")

But what if your sensibility lies somewhere between metal and Magritte? What if you're just looking to inject a little pop art and whimsy into your ride? Well, if this is you, soon you'll be able to lock your bike to a David Byrne bike rack:





Ah, yes. Clever and ironic, but not intellectually challenging. It's the perfect lukewarm pool for the masses. Sure, David Byrne may have gotten all flustered while trying to explain the process of powdercoating, and sure, it may have taken the reporter and him a full hour to make the six-mile journey to Brooklyn. But until Rod Stewart designs an "assorted donut" bike rack, or until Letle Viride weighs in, I can safely say that these giant tie pins are some of the best bike racks ever designed by a pop musician.

119 comments:

Anonymous said...

first!!!

Anonymous said...

oh what the hell, i'll take second too..

Anonymous said...

and rounding out the podium, me again... the breakaway wins.

Anonymous said...

late : /

Mark said...

Close to the podium, does that still make me a whore?

Double Deed said...

piss off podiumsters!

Double Deed said...

piss off podiumsters!

Double Deed said...

piss off podiumsters!

Steve Hampsten said...

still waiting for my drugs to kick in...

Karl Rover said...

I'm still trying to figure out who Rapha is marketing to. Is the the Assos crowd, the Swobo crowd, or somewhere new and more Euro?

Anonymous said...

That was the most lucid explanation of powder-coating I've ever heard.
"it's a kinda industrial process with powder like filing cabinets..uhhhhh..." That pretty much works for everything.

Dorky bike, doesn't know powder coating from a bike rack, doesn't know that thin-walled steel tubing is a stupid idea for a bike rack, but he's still cool.

But alas, I can heard the unlucky bike theft victim a year from now, quietly singing,
"And you may ask yourself
How do I work this?
And you may ask yourself
Where is my bike?
And you may tell yourself
This is not my beautiful lock!
And you may tell yourself
This is not my beautiful bike!

Letting the days go by/let the water hold me down
Letting the days go by/water flowing underground
Into the blue again/after the bike is gone
Once in a lifetime/water flowing underground.

Same as it ever was...same as it ever was..."

Anonymous said...

Rapha is marketing the coveted euro-twat crowd.

Gliderbison said...

Wow....I wish I were stupid like the Bike Snob. He makes being stupid look so cool! I hear stupidity is the new fixed-gear. Or wait -- is fixed-gear the new stupidity? Dang it.

Anonymous said...

That commenter is, no doubt, jealous of your many commenters and his complete lack of commenters on his blog about things dealing with Ruby...which I found quite pretentious - I almost made a comment for him to "get over himself."

Anonymous said...

the first stupid bike pictured appears to be more stupid than originally thought upon closer inspection:

platform pedals, sans clips & straps.

Anonymous said...

DEEP MAN... REAL DEEP.

Anonymous said...

they look like nice bike racks, where's the pentagram sock and danzig skull collabo racks?

Brendan said...

"He is stupid, but he knows that he is stupid, and that almost makes him smart" - 3rd Bass yo...

Anonymous said...

I love you man!

Mark said...

All I can say is Nice Rack! Oh and by the way, where is tities now? We need him(possible), her (could be), them (like to think that body appendages such as these do have a mind of their own, take for instance my ...) the most right now to comment!

Robert H said...

FINALLY. Seattle called out.
I knew we were gunna hit it big one of these days.

Anonymous said...

Though they may look cool in the slick ad photos, the overpriced Rapha knee warmers are one of the most poorly designed pieces of cycling clothing that I have been duped into buying. Put simply, they do not stay in place. This has been corroborated with other unfortunates who have had the misfortune of using them as well
I too am stupid as charged.
Also note that Rapha does not make any women's clothing, and their rides are referred to as "gentleman's" rides.

Anonymous said...

You'd think that they'd at least show how to properly lock your bike instead of u-locking only the front wheel to the rack.

Georges Rouan said...

Where is Ants1? not even top 10...at least mary poppins did make top 3. I was starting to wonder about performance enhancing drugs because of the frequency of top 3 finishes...

When I used to work in a bike shop on 6th ave, David Bryne would come in on a very regular basis. having been a super fan, I was excited to talk to the guy who fronted the Talking heads...he turned out to be such a jerk when it came to answering a kids questions about the band, that it almost killed my interest in the talking heads. If this guy was half a human being he would have said a few words to an obvious fan rather than brushing a kid aside. I would not use one of his stupid designs if you paid me.

Long live snob and thank you for clarifying your position on the cops, stupid people and iphones.

MINGUStheMECHANIC said...

Snob you tend to shy away from conflict or temper less equipped readers who challenge you with gentle self deprecating humor, stop being sweet and stand by your sentiments.

Would you really lock your bike up to a guitar rack? mta threatens another hike and I gotta watch a clip on wasteful endeavors like guitar racks.

Anonymous said...

That is not a pipe.

Nor is Rapha making clothstuffs I feel I'll be able to buy because it'll probably just tell me it can't be owned (and that kind of confrontation makes me want to tackle a CMer).

Mongo Pusher said...

Nobody rocked a walking stick better than Prime Minister Pete Nice.

Anonymous said...

"The bike also sports a pie plate larger than the charger upon which John the Baptist's head was served to Herodias."

Nice.

Anonymous said...

First!

DadRyan said...

Incredibly creative putting a Dollar sign on Wall Street.
One hour to ride six miles?
You'd think they're riding unicycles.

Luck E. 7 said...

Ceci n'est pas une blog.


A

Anonymous said...

And you may ask yourself, how did I get here.

Or why did it take nearly an hour.

Letting the days go by.

Indeed.

But I have to admit that a dog shaped bike rack for dogs to pee on seems kind of funny.

jza said...

I think randoneering is just code for guys who go out and get lost. You usually, find out about this rand(how are we supposed to spell this?)nearing hobby 2/3rds of the way through a group ride. You're lost, everyone's out of food and guess what, now the fun's really starting!!!

Can't wait to get home and blog this one.

Anonymous said...

frenchy, je m'excuse pour mon retard, j'avais autres choses a faire, malheureusement.

Anonymous said...

Was David byrne wearing a white G-Shock Watch in the WSJ video ? Is he allowed to do that ? Didn't one of your commentators several weeks/months ago have a hissy fit about G-Shock watches being stupid? Maybe he could tell Mr. Byrne not to wear it. Oh wait ... maybe everyone is stupid in their own way. hmmm. I must go ponder now ... but only for five hours or less.

Nicely done post !

Anonymous said...

rapha: talking loud, saying nothing.

Anonymous said...

By the way dudes and dudettes, I'm continuing my email war of words with Andrea Peyser, of "arrogant cyclists a deadly hell on wheels" fame (although she doesn't actually write the headlines, some other douchebag at the Post has that honor). She's even dumber than her article would suggest. I think her fixter douchebag of a boyfriend must have dumped her after getting a reply to his missed connections post, so now she's pissed at cyclists.

Anonymous said...

Didn't realize I used douchebag twice in that last comment. Please replace one with ass hat. Your call on which.

Anonymous said...

"They own the city - at least they think they own the city," griped Larry, 70, who walked carefully on the bike path. "Even in the parks. We're always in the way!"

Anonymous said...

I guess its the powder coating Byrne's nose that that makes him talk in that staccato way.

Anonymous said...

I had Andrea Peyser last night - then I ran her over with my fixie.

-Cinelli Vigorelli all over ya belly.

Anonymous said...

I also really like the comment on manhattan's streets "where bicycles rule". All I know about riding bikes in NYC I learned from BSNYC, but it seems, and he has photographic evidence to back his point, that cars may actually be in control, rather than bikes, as that dumb ped suggests.

Anonymous said...

Watch it.

Anonymous said...

curious about your exchanges with andrea peyser...

Anonymous said...

Go Reed, I'm seeing you everywhere these days! Another smart race by Adler.

Corey said...

For being stupid you sure do use lots of big words and small difficult words.

Anonymous said...

I always thought it was "everybody eat a jelly donut"

Anonymous said...

Totalchaud - here it is.
All- Sorry for the length.

To: Andrea.Peyser
Subject: your horrible cyclists/pedestrian article
Andrea,

Way to poison the discussion. Lawless bikers? I don’t live in NY, but when I’ve visited, I saw more than one “lawless” pedestrian, and at least a couple “lawless” cars. If you’re going to report/express an opinion on something, at least try to look at it form the point of view of all the stakeholders involved, or admit that you are biased and couldn’t care less about reality. How many cyclists are killed by cars? Pedestrians? How often are cars, bikes or the pedestrians at fault? Your usage of statistics is a textbook example of their misuse. What is really arrogant here is the columnist, and while your column may not be deadly, it sure won’t help pedestrians, cars, and bikes get along any better.

Thanks for worsening the problem,

antoine rollin
Atlanta, GA

To: Rollin, Antoine
Subject: RE: your horrible cyclists/pedestrian article

wow. I've never seen such hatred of plain facts. bikers killed by pedestrians? zero.

To: Andrea.Peyser
Subject: RE: your horrible cyclists/pedestrian article
It’s not the plainness of the facts, it’s ignorance of all the others. How many pedestrians killed by cars? How many of the pedestrians killed were jay-walking? The “hatred” is mostly directed at the writer anyway. Look at the language, especially in the title, it’s plain ridiculous. A deadly hell? Come on. How many people are killed each year by falling cranes? Do you characterize that as a hell? Are you, or do you think people should be, afraid to walk outside for fear of being hit by a crane, or killed an exploding steam pipe? Where’s the outrage at drunk drivers? Should we ban cars since so many drivers are lawless? If you can’t see how you’ve taken a select few facts and used them to vilify cyclists, while ignoring any good they may do and any wrongs by the other parties involved, then you may want to go back to school and learn a thing or two about journalism and propaganda, and hopefully do more of the first, and less of the latter.

And bikers killed by pedestrians, zero, where did that statistic come from, your wishful imagination?

To: Rollin, Antoine
Subject: RE: your horrible cyclists/pedestrian article

I don't write the headlines and the fact is the number of pedestrian fatalities is never talked about. cars are.

To: Andrea.Peyser
Subject: RE: your horrible cyclists/pedestrian article

I guess if you don’t write the headlines only half of the sensationalism can be attributed to you. The reason the number of pedestrian fatalities at the hand of cyclist is never talked about is because it is statistically insignificant, as was mentioned in your article. You were quick to ignore that fact in your single minded quest to vilify the cyclists, which I will attribute to your ignorance of the concept of statistical significance. If you made a list of all the ways people in NYC died each year, getting hit by a cyclist would be far lower than getting struck by lightning, falling down an elevator shaft, slipping on ice, being impaled by a pigeon, having a crane fall on top of you, electrocuting oneself with a hair dryer, chocking on a fortune cookie, or being hit in the head by falling construction materials. Where are those columns? Where is the outrage? Don’t you think people deserve to be told that “some of you will die” at the hands of an evil, anti-pedestrian, malfunctioning escalator? Just the thought of all those people stepping out of their apartments completely unaware that death is waiting for them at every corner makes me feel sad. Where is the press on these issues? These poor New Yorkers aren’t going to irrationally scare themselves into agoraphobia. Thank god we have people like you around.

Anonymous said...

ant1st,

Dude.

Arguing with a writer from the New York post is like talking about dinosaurs with a Christian.

WOFT.

Anonymous said...

Snob, yesterday you pose as Reagan, today Socrates. The Stupid Man/Man of Wisdom schtick is right out of the Apology. Are you Keith Gessen?

Anonymous said...

I'm waiting for her next reply.

Anonymous said...

Peyser eats worms.

Anonymous said...

Commie - Yeah, I realized that as soon as she replied, but for some reason, bitching at someone I see as part of the problem makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside, even if it's all in vain. Plus there's not enough material/comments on this blog to take up my whole work day. Gotta keep myself busy somehow.

Anonymous said...

For your post tomorrow, will you explain today's post?

Thanks,

Botched

Anonymous said...

Peyser's got a website:
www.andreapeyser.com

Anonymous said...

within which she states: "Growing up in Queens in the 1970s was a little like death, except less interesting,"

ba dum...

Anonymous said...

And Ms. Peyser is also the author of "Mother Love, Deadly Love: The Susan Smith Murders"

A dead(ly) theme develops...

Anonymous said...

"The Continental is about participation, exalting any and all who endeavor to ride with passion and heart. Central to the project is our desire to discover the places and people that do and have done the style of riding that we’ve only just begun to call – Continental."

rafffffa are having an invite only race/notrace/kinda pirate race/kinda can't wait to post the picutes on rafa.com here in portland, for people they decide who's passionate enough. riders/races need to take picutres as part of the race/ride.
first rule of rafa: do not talk about rafa...

ice cube said...

WAIT A SECOND HERE!

What's a dinosaur?

Anonymous said...

So the message is that riding bicycles in NYC is stupid, this blog is stupid, we are all the more stupid(er) for not only reading said stupid blog but posting stupid comments to the stupid blog?

Anonymous said...

dopepedaler - you got it. Stupid is the new cool.

AH said...

I made the mistake of going to andreapeyser.com. Those were the best photos she could come up with? Ouch.

Brendan said...

If being stupid is cool then I'm Miles Davis.

(sorry about the Sandler reference but hey, there's some more stupid for you).

Anonymous said...

"I also avoid sleeping in strange places because when you do and you wake up from nightmares involving geese it can take awhile to re-orient yourself and figure out where the bathroom is."
So true! Funny, funny post. All of it.

Anonymous said...

If stupid is the new cool then Dubya is the new George Clooney.

Anonymous said...

Raph, the Anti-Nashbar

Shakespere said...

Hi. I enjoyed your blog. It seems to be very interesting.

Anonymous said...

if i had a choice between my front wheel and my brooks, id lock the brooks too. you can get a new wheel, but you cant get leather with your butt bone imprints.

ps. i got platforms too. nothing wrong with them, just ask grant at rivendell.

ice cube said...

"Growing up in Queens in the 1970s was a little like death, except less interesting," Andrea Peyser wrote in a 2004 column lamenting the untimely demise of Johnny Ramone, one of Andrea's local heroes while growing up.

Untimely? Hardly. I'm surprised he made it that far.

I KNOW THE TRUE IDENTITY OF BSNYC!
He is Anthony Bourdain's brother, Chris.

Anonymous said...

Snob, I have to thank you for dumbing it down for us.

A little lower...


A little lower..

..ahh, that's it.

I nominate Andrea Peyser as poster child for the new Seal of disapproval.

Anonymous said...

Commie - I second that motion.

Anonymous said...

and she does kinda look like a seal, albeit on that got its face smashed in.

Anonymous said...

Are you now or have you ever been a member of the Communist Party?

Anonymous said...

Seconded...Motion carried...Snob, check your email.

Anonymous said...

I endeavor to ride with disinterest and my bowels.

Is there a rapha ride for that?

Anonymous said...

By the way Commie, what part of canuckia are you from?

Anonymous said...

Frenchy:

How would you, in turn, respond to the starry eyed bike geeks who come into shops and babble on and on to the mechanics about bikes?

If you are like 90% of the bike shop people I know, you hurried them out the door, correct? And with good reason, if you gave every bike geek the time he (I would guess 90+% of bike geeks are male) wants, there would be no time for anything else.

Same with Byrne. He has done countless interviews, written books, and made films on the Talking Heads. He has other things to do with his life than answer every rock geek's questions about his days with the Talking Heads.

Anonymous said...

Interesting factoid regarding the randonneur dude. I googled "decalaurs" which the commenter mentioned, and the only hit google found was the BSNYC post. Does anyone know what dude was talking about?

Anonymous said...

Rapha's Continental riders are easier to understand if you understand their inspiration. They're united in a pursuit to channel Christopher Walken's classic SNL personality.

veloben said...

If stupid is the new cool then Dubya is the new George Clooney.

That is probably the best argument for one 6 year term I have ever heard.

Anonymous said...

If it weren't for Rapha it'd be an ugly world of 'Parrots of the Caribbean' and Pink Floyd jerseys.

Anonymous said...

ant1st:

Well done with the e-mail battle. Well thought out responses and it's pretty obvious she doesn't have much to come back with. Thanks for posting it.

Robert H said...

Decaleurs = handlebar bag mounts
http://www.velo-orange.com/dehbagmo.html
Yeah... I'm a randonneur.

Anonymous said...

re: anon 4:39 PM:

I would rather ride with disinterested bowels; the sprint to the can over the Williamsburg bridge is no fun.

Anonymous said...

the dollar sign bike rack's capacity, as they say: res ipsa loquitor.

Walter said...

Is it high brown or low brow to think that John the Baptist's head was served to Salome and not Herodias?

BikeSnobNYC said...

Walter,

Are you telling me I was wrong?!? Dammit. If you're right it's neither highbrow or lowbrow. Correct knows no brow.

--RTMS

AnnaZed said...

"They own the city - at least they think they own the city," griped Larry, 70, who walked carefully on the bike path. "Even in the parks. We're always in the way!"

Wait, he's WALKING ON THE BIKE PATH and complaining if a bike comes by and maybe has to swerve to avoid hitting him? Somehow Andrea failed to see the disconnect there?

Georges Rouan said...

Ants1: A la prochaine fois peut etre.

Response to Joel:
Actually I was one of those bike shop guys who was as starry eyed as any fan could be. Started at L&J's here in NYC in 1986 when they could care less that I was under age and paid me under the table....if they decided to pay me at all that week. F'ers.

I was a huge fan of bikes and when somebody walked in who was into the same religion I was into, then I would be right there with them and not because I was paid to be that way but because I lived it, and breathed...Ultimately that might be why I burnt out with working at shops...or the fact that I never got to ride my bike anymore because I worked so much.

maybe that was byrnes problem: he was/is burned out. While I was living in nor cal I met Jerry Harrison bc his studio was next to the car repair place I spent too much money and time at. His words for Bryne were not as kind as mine.

In the end bryne does not owe his fans anything, and thus he did not feel the need to give back inthe smallest of ways by at least acknowledging somebody who bought and listened intently...He is the anti Joe Strummer. And for that reason alone, that might be why he does not have many fans left.

Anonymous said...

Frenchy:

Yup. It happens. Get too starry eyed then at some point it all seems to be for naught.

It could well have happened to Byrne.

Wouldn't put too much stock in what one performer says about another. Creative types can be like a bunch of school girls about each other.

Russ said...

Andrea Peyser is one of the worst columnists in the known universe.

Anonymous said...

If the lemmings want to cross against the red, they're fair game !

Anonymous said...

Lemmings are the ultimate low brow followers

While many people believe that lemmings commit mass suicide when they migrate, this is not the case. Driven by strong biological urges, they will migrate in large groups when population density becomes too great. Lemmings can and do swim and may choose to cross a body of water in search of a new habitat. On occasion, and particularly in the case of the Norway lemmings in Scandinavia, large migrating groups will reach a cliff overlooking the ocean. They will stop until the urge to press on causes them to jump off the cliff and start swimming, sometimes to exhaustion and death. Lemmings are also often pushed into the sea as more and more lemmings arrive at the shore.

If only they could pedal little bikes- the utimate tridork

Luck E. 7 said...

Rob H-

What's with all the fancy vocab for you randonneur types? Is it elvish, or just what happens to normal words after you are out on a few of those excruciatingly long rides?


Nice work, Antoine Rollin.



A

Anonymous said...

I thought you should see this


http://bp3.blogger.com/_EF9wBLI080Q/R70sFgnWAkI/AAAAAAAAAng/4BD3dLofA0k/s400/P2200058.JPG


http://images.google.co.uk/imgres?imgurl=http://bp3.blogger.com/_EF9wBLI080Q/R70sFgnWAkI/AAAAAAAAAng/4BD3dLofA0k/s400/P2200058.JPG&imgrefurl=http://andy-bell.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default%3Fstart-index%3D51&h=400&w=300&sz=26&hl=en&start=38&um=1&tbnid=FvRpfvQlBhKMvM:&tbnh=124&tbnw=93&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dbar%2Bspin%26start%3D36%26gbv%3D2%26ndsp%3D18%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26client%3Dfirefox-a%26rls%3Dorg.mozilla:en-GB:official%26sa%3DN


er I know this looks like spam, but it isn't

Anonymous said...

Wow. Good work on blowing a highly paid so called journalist out of her own journalistic bath water. Thankyou for copying that in...
Looking forward to seeing Peyser as the new poster-seal for all things disapproved of!

Anonymous said...

Wow. Good work on blowing a highly paid so called journalist out of her own journalistic bath water. Thankyou for copying that in...
Looking forward to seeing Peyser as the new poster-seal for all things disapproved of!

Georges Rouan said...

Joel-
"Creative types can be like a bunch of school girls about each other."

you are so right...we are such a bunch of school girls.

Pretty funny how people can be so petty and not be big enough to recognize when something is clever and they did not make it.

Cheers!

David 23 said...

What is so scary about geese?

Anonymous said...

prolly, where'd you go?

Robert H said...

A-

It is a cross between elvish and french. I'm pretty sure we make it up as we go along.

Anonymous said...

Snob, thanks for turning pie plates into bike porn. I know I shouldnt look but feel strangely compelled to check them out. I anxiously await the pie plate gallery.


BTW, SF has a court ordered moratorium on installing new bike racks for environmental impact studies.

Anonymous said...

Man, after reading BSYC, now I want to put pie plates on my front wheel.

Philip Williamson said...

It's pretty obvious Rapha are talking about The Continental. I mean... duh. That Ginger wasn't much of a canary, though. Strictly a hoofer.

commiecanuk - "Dinosaurs with Christians!" Excellent.

I thought the last couple blog posts were excellent. I laughed out loud, which is why I come here.

Anonymous said...

Here is Andrea's latest answer to my emails:
you're sick.

I'm still trying to fully understand the meaning of that. It's a little over my head/brow. Stay tuned.

rocketboy said...

i went to that whacked out randonneurs site out of curiosity.

i then took a link to Northwest Crank hoping to find pics of methed out cyclists, but simply found more randonneurs...whatever they are

Luck E. 7 said...

Rob H-

Sorry, I meant ELVIS and French morphed after super long rides. As if "randonneur" started out as "Hey man, pass me a jelly donut - ride on o'er here."

Gotta love the Kang.


A

Robert H said...

Perhaps that is why peanut butter and bananas are so popular with the group. Elvis is aces.

Luck E. 7 said...

The Kang knew how to eat for power and to push the limits of his lactic threshold. Just stay away from the toxic combo of peanut butter and bananas with codeine, morphine, quaaludes, valium, diazepam, placidyl, amytal, nembutal, carbrital, demerol, sinutab, elavil, avental, and valmid and you far-ridin guys will be just fine.



A

Anonymous said...

i wish i would have taken a picture, though i'm sure thousands have seen them, they were new to me - bicycle shaped racks in burbank. idk.. they caught my attention

Anonymous said...

Dear Sir,

I know this email will come to you as a surprise but suffice it to say
that I got your contact from the Nigerian Export Promostion Council who
assured me that one of you are capable and reliable to assist me in this transaction.
Before I go into details, I will first introduce myself to you. I am
Mr. Joseph Abudulkarim Adisa a son to Minister of Works and Housing of the
Federal of Nigeria.

Recently, my father was probed, guilty and sentenced to five (5) years
imprisonment by the Federal Government, President Olusegun Obasanjo for some
misappropriation while he was in office during the last Military regime of
Gen. Abudusalam Abubakar. Before his ordeal I successfully get hold of a sum
money in one of his duplexes. And since then I have being making arrangement
of how to transfer this money which is ($25,500,000.00) Twenty Five, Million
five hundred thousand United States dollars to a foreign account. Now, all
my father's account is now under government claim except this one that I
contacted my friend's uncle who was a Bank Manager to help me lodge the
said amount in a bank account in his bank and fortunately for me he agreed to
help me if only I can give him 10% of the whole amount. I agree with him on
this basis and he has since being making all necessary arrangement to remit
the amount to a foreign account which I will provide for him.

This is the reason I contacted you to please help me by providing an account
where I will deposit this money. I am soliciting you to please help me for
this is the only hope I have since my father have been jailed. I also have
intention of coming to your country to reside with you immediately after the
remittance of the money for my life is uncomfortable here anymore due to what
has happened, because the government go to an extent of throwing us out of our
house and locked up the house. Please help me I promise to give you 30% of
the total amount.

If you are interested in helping me please reach me through the above
Telephone/Fax number with the Bank Information where I will lodge the
money for this is what I urgently need now.

Once I get these details, I shall contact the Bank Manager who will smoothly
transfer this money into your account within 10 bank working days (He has done
the same deal for my cousin once) from the date I receive your reply. Remember
that I shall come over to your country to collect my own share WHICH I WILL INVEST
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Your share for this transaction is 30% total sum, 5% for local and international
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comply and keep this strictly confidential.

Best regards,

Mr. Joseph A. Adisa.

Anonymous said...

The important thing to remember is that 10 years from now we will still have the works of Letle Viride. Let's keep things
in perspective.

Anonymous said...

In regards to the Magritte painting, and maybe relevent to your philisophical quandris... sometimes your immediate impression is the correct one. It's been my experience that it's usually better not to read to much into it.

Anonymous said...

I think you have to pay attention to the subtleties of the honk. For example, if someone honks behind me, I assume they are being assholes [these peeps, when looking from the rear view, get the full upright position, hands off the hanlebars, crotch grab with one hand, and sideward bird with the other]. If they honk after they've passed, I assume they're cool; honking as a way of saying, "way to spin, man." In this case the driver can usually expect a faint "ehhh" head nudge.

I never know how to interpret the honk when the driver is right beside me so I usually just spit on them.

Mr K said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Anonymous said...

It's teams of dolphins that create fish balls not sharks. Sharks just turn up to the party and help themselves.

Apart from that little bit of 'mis-writing' your blog is quite good.

Keep up the good work and an eye on the details.

BTW: I'm looking for images for my blog. So if anyone has any suitable candidates (you know the ones; beard (and that's just the women) japanese denim, retro cycling cap, velocity rims, matching grips, chrome back page (as seen on page 62 of the cool fixie catalogue)), please send them on and let's get this fixed wheel mania put to bed once and for all.

LIVE THE DREAM PEOPLE, BUT MAKE SURE IT"S YOUR OWN.

Unknown said...

Notice the 70 year old resident quoted in the NY times article is said to be "carefully walking in the bike lane" ... says it all right? Walk on a highway get hit by a car, walk in the bike lane get hit by a bike... stay on the sidewalk eh?

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