Monday, June 27, 2016

Titles Schmitles, Let's Just Do This!

Well, it's almost that time of year again:

Which means it's time for The Official Bike Snob NYC Tour de France Preview!


Just kidding!


I mean seriously, I can't even.

You've seen three or four of these things and you've seen them all, and any journalist who manages to cover this French slog year in and year out deserves either an award or a few rounds of electroshock therapy.

Speaking of beating your head against the wall, I've been blogging about bikes for nine (9) years now, which means I get to do glamorous stuff like conduct Facebook Live interviews on Manhattan rooftops:


That was merely a preface to a more "formal" interview we did in front of a green screen, which presumably you'll be able to watch (or, more likely, avoid) in the not-too-distant future:

I generally tend to spare you my own likeness on this blog, but I fell this particular still warrants further attention because it's particularly unflattering:


I have no idea what I was talking about at that moment, but it looks like I was doing any one of the following:

--Mending a hole in a pair of underwear with a needle and thread
--Eating a giant invisible corn on the cob
--Pulling the cover off the Afikoman
--Playing matador with a rat and a dinner napkin

Anyway, it should be interesting to see what they project onto that green screen behind me, and when it's ready I'll let you know:


Meanwhile, I've been coming to terms with being back home by engaging in recreational bicycle riding, and with my legs positively bursting with West Coast fitness it was good to get back onto my artisanal singlespeed all-terrain bicycle the other day:


Interestingly, at no point during my highly enjoyable ride did I think to myself, "Boy, this would be even better if my saddle went up and down."  I'm sure the Mountain Freds will say it's because I don't shred radly enough or something, but this recent "Bicycling" story entitled "12 Ways to Use a Dropper Post" does nothing to allay my skepticism regarding this increasingly popular technology:


(Warning: I clicked on this and I got an auto-play ad featuring a narrator with an Australian accent.)

I was disappointed that "Cracking Walnuts" and "Prostate Stimulation" were not included in the list, but other purported uses include improved climbing:

Climbing: It might seem counterintuitive to lower your seat to climb, but try it in rough terrain. Often you're standing anyway, and you'll find you can absorb bumps better with the seat lowered, which can help improve traction. 

Riding over fallen logs:

Fallen Logs: A lowered seat won't jolt you forward when your back wheel comes up and over the log, minimizing your chance of an endo. 

And, oddly, flat-footing your bicycle:

Stopping: Simply lower your seat and you can sit with both feet comfortably on the ground! 

Therefore, after reading the complete list, I can only conclude that these Mountain Freds have been setting their saddles too high in the first place for whatever the hell it is they're doing out there.

I mean sure, get a dropper post if you want, I'm sure they're fun and all, but if you want to save some money you could also just lower your saddle a tad (which will have a negligible effect on your "performance" or "power transfer") and then work on sucking less at riding.

Speaking of being too high, you've no doubt heard by now that Floyd Landis is launching a weed store:


Founded by former professional cyclist Floyd Landis, his new company enters the recreational cannabis industry specializing in pesticide free cannabis oil sourced from high altitude growers using an industry leading, pharmacy grade CO 2 extraction process. Uniquely formulated vape and edible products are crafted for an enhanced consumer experience and are carefully prepared by licensed pharmacists to maximize the many health benefits of recreational cannabis.

An affinity for THC certainly explains the whole "Grey Manrod" thing, but apparently he also found that cannabis was good for his hip pain:

“The therapeutic uses for cannabis can’t be ignored. For years I relied on opioid pain relievers to treat my hip pain. With cannabis, I find that I can manage my pain and have a better quality of life. We need to give people a safer alternative.”

And you've got to wonder if he was sampling his own goods when he composed this, which could go down as the best cycling-related tweet of the year:
I don't see anybody outdoing that one anytime soon.

Meanwhile, not to be outdone in the "businesses for burnouts" department, Landis's legal adversary Lance Armstrong has started a podcast:
I didn't have an hour to listen to the full bro-down, but I did skip around a bit, and they talked about bees.

When he invites me on you'll know he's really desperate--though they don't make them more desperate than Boston Globe columnist and chinless shitbag Jeff Jacoby:


Who you may recall penned the deeply idiotic "Urban roads aren't meant for bicycles" last year, and who responded to a recent cyclist death by firing up his Twitter and voiding his bowels yet again:


Yes, so profoundly fuck-witted is this guy that he thinks the key to safer streets is allowing only cars and then removing all external stimuli for the people who are clearly too stupid to operate them, himself included:


Though I suppose in a way it's progress that people in the media are finally admitting most of us are not capable of operating a motor vehicle--unlike the NYPD, for example:

The driver of an SUV struck and killed a former White House-appointed watchdog while he was crossing the street yesterday, police said. Gerald Walpin, 84, was crossing 79th Street at Lexington Avenue at about 11:00 a.m. when a 52-year-old driver made a left turn at the intersection and struck him, according to the investigation. Emergency responders found Walpin lying in the intersection with head trauma, and he was transported to New York Presbyterian hospital, where he succumbed to his injuries.

Lexington Avenue is a one-way street, so if the driver was making a left onto 79th and hit someone in the crosswalk then that's an obvious violation of the new Right Of Way Law, which allows officers to arrest motorists at the scene.  And certainly given the importance of the victim that's exactly what happened, right?

Yeah, right:

The driver who struck Walpin remained at the scene, and there haven't been any arrests, police said. The investigation is ongoing.

"Vision Zero" my ass.

And via Streetsblog, here's how the NYPD treats hit-and-run when the victim manages to get the license plate:


I was thrown down, rolled five to 10 feet across the street into the gutter, and had the wind knocked out of me.

When I looked up, the driver had momentarily stopped. By some miracle, even though it was dark out, I was able to see and remember the license plate “NYLUXURY” because the SUV had illuminated vanity plates.


Although the driver stopped long enough for me to memorize his plates, he decided to take off and leave the scene of the accident despite knowing he had struck a pedestrian.

So what happened?

The NYPD was able to trace the license plate to a Chevy Suburban operated by “New York’s Finest Luxury Car & Limousine Service,” based out of Yonkers, NY, and were even able to obtain a VIN number for the car.

My hope was that the NYPD detective who was assigned to my case would obtain the records from the car service showing who was driving at the time so that somebody could be held responsible. Depending on the circumstance, leaving the scene of a motor vehicle accident can be a felony.

The detective made a single phone call, during which the owner of the car service claimed his “system was down,” and he couldn’t provide the name of the driver at the time of the accident.


I was told by the detective that there was nothing more he could do. He encouraged me to file a civil suit.

Hmmm, a car service called "New York Finest," with these displayed on its website?  Wonder what happened there:


Alas, we may never know.


52 comments:

dop said...

scranus

wishiwasmerckx said...

Podium again!

Paul Bowen said...

Back on the podium!

Lieutenant Oblivious said...

Missed it by that much! Scranus!

Unknown said...

145. Imagine a society that subjects people to conditions that make them terribly unhappy, then gives them drugs to take away their unhappiness. Science fiction? It is already happening to some extent in our own society. It is well known that the rate of clinical depression has been greatly increasing in recent decades. We believe that this is due to disruption of the power process, as explained in paragraphs 59-76. But even if we are wrong, the increasing rate of depression is certainly the result of SOME conditions that exist in today’s society. Instead of removing the conditions that make people depressed, modern society gives them antidepressant drugs. In effect, antidepressants are a means of modifying an individual’s internal state in such a way as to enable him to tolerate social conditions that he would otherwise find intolerable. (Yes, we know that depression is often of purely genetic origin. We are referring here to those cases in which environment plays the predominant role.)

Kraig said...

Need a hug again today, snob.

Damn bad news.

Also, #whatratioyourunning on your artisanal rocky ground, up-and-down going bicycle?

Please let #thewrongratio be the answer.

N/A said...

Good morning, peeps.

BikeSnobNYC said...

Kraig,

I believe I've got it at 32/20 or 21 currently, should probably check.

--Wildcat Rock Machine

opie_the_opioid said...

The therapeutic uses for cannabis can’t be ignored. For years I relied on opioid pain relievers to treat my hip pain

So true. Those prescription opioids are a definite pathway to addiction.

Hoghopper said...

You'd think that if someone took the time to enact laws making certain traffic related conduct criminal then we might as well use them.

But on the other hand, the detective is probably right: a person's recourse is a civil lawsuit.

BamaPhred said...

You're in rare form today Snob, good job!

Anonymous said...

i went to my LBS yesterday to help a female Fred wanna be get laced up with an entry level road bike . remembered the existence of this blog and bicycles and stuff . might take my daughters stuffed animals out of my messenger bag and go walk around the neighborhood.

we will never forget!

bad boy of the north said...

vision nothing strikes again.....what a sham,ahem,shame.

Anonymous said...

RIP Bill Cunningham. NYC bicyclist for ~50 years.

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/06/26/style/bill-cunningham-legendary-times-fashion-photographer-dies-at-87.html

crosspalms said...

Shred Radly should be a cyclist superhero who tracks down hit-and-run drivers and brings them to justice.

Serial Retrogrouch said...

...and how about this gem:

"After being struck in an allegedly intentional hit-and-run accident, seven-time UFC veteran Ryan Jimmo is dead at 34-years-old."

balls™ said...

I have a dropper post on my desk chair at the office, but I rarely use it. The thing is pretty dialed in where it is.

Anonymous said...

Lol self-deprecating humor. The finest brand of humor. You is a whiz.

cdinvb said...

Chromakey art work ready to use! Damn man. Thanks!

Unknown said...

vsk said ...

God it's Monday already !!

vsk

dancesonpedals said...

"That would be my Orwellian Name"

OK...and in Klingon?

Anonymous said...

http://bikeportland.org/2016/06/24/latest-city-186384

P. Bateman said...

the face is a good start...but i think we're all looking forward to the Snob swimsuit issue.

Anonymous said...

Landis is such a douchebag, I hope he ODs.

Very Slim Pickens said...

French Chateau Porn returns with an occasional glimpse of drug addicts trying to pedal away from the law as fast as possible. Let us not forget what France has done for this nation, without France there would be no french fries *.

"I'm happy to finally be involved in a legitimate industry" PURE GOLD! Dark roast was coming out of my nostrils.

Titles Schmitles, how about Tities Schmitles, this blog has been tit less for ages.

What exactly did the "White House Watchdog" do? Take care of the Clinton's dog? Speaking of the Clinton's they'll be back in the WH soon. The British looted the place in 1814, and the Clinton's did too when they moved out in 2001. Took some artwork, furniture and silverware, you know, just some tourist type mementos (wonder if they grabbed some towels too?). Can't wait until they turn the Lincoln Bedroom back into a Motel 8.

* Known here as french fries for most of their existence, except when the GOP growled and bared their fangs renaming them "Freedom Fries" in order to teach those French a thing or two.

Freddy Murcks said...

Aside from the parts where you talked about your green screen experience (is that some sort of euphemism?), stoner Floyd, and mountain bicycling, that was thoroughly depressing. Thanks, Snob.

dancesonpedals said...

Freedom Fries? My late granny (1890-1985) told me that during WWI, sauerkraut was renamed, "Liberty Cabbage."

Now he's dead, and all I have is Google.

leroy said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
leroy said...

My dog once tried to convince me that a few rounds of electroshock therapy is its own reward.

But that effort involved a pick up truck, jumper cables, a snowdrift, and bare feet.

Suffice to say, I got cold feet.

And the cables hurt my ear lobes.

P. Bateman said...

@leroy - the red clamp goes on the testes. the black goes on a bare piece of metal.

proper grounding should alleviate the discomfort you felt.

CommieCanuck said...

From that picture, you are obviously explaining tonight's dinner special with a fake French accent: "Ze peegee-ohn is lightly seasoned wizz a leetle amount of ze leamohn."

Dances, Hamburgers were commonly known has "fuck you Adolf patties" during WWII.

CommieCanuck said...

RIP British Olympian, Bob Hancock.

Knüt Fredriksson said...

The green screen photo was just too tempting...

I am proud to present this freshly minted combination of lame humor and meager photo editing skills: linky

dancesonpedals said...

Commie-

If my granny heard that, she only told my aunts, and maybe the oldest girl cousin.

The Ghost of Bill Cunningham said...

Couldn't you were a nice shirt? I can't believe your wife lets you walk out the door looking like that.

DB said...

Grab your camera, Snob. The NYT needs a fashion photographer.

N/A said...

I'm rockin' it on Hilton Head this week, and two observations thus far: the pedestrians suck and the other bikecycle riders suck. This place blows for riding. This taint no Portland.

N/A said...

On the other hand, getting loaded AF on the beach is primo.

Lieutenant Oblivious said...

Can a granny be a he? Sorry, I have to ask.

And on the topic of Vision Zero - of course you see nothing if your head is up your ass! If the police were too busy to interview Dulcie Canton's alleged perpetrator, surely we can't expect them to pursue New York's Finest limousine company.

uhh Wednesday? said...

Everybody is totally stoned. First Lennard Zinn , then the staff of Bicycling, now Floyd. Time to throw in the towel and watch Pee Wee's Big Adventure (now that's real cycling).

Some guy from upstate said...

So maybe you want to stick with the hidden identity thing ... just sayin' ...

Anonymous said...

You are Thomas Voeckler and I claim my £5.00 (76 cents)

bad boy of the north said...

mornin' peeps.rise and shine on this side of the globe.everyone else,carry on.

Anonymous said...

Riding the Hudson River (West Side) Greenway wearing a time trial helmet (and matching costume) makes you a complete and utter douche. You know who you are.

leroy said...

N/A @ 6:21 PM - in nearby Savannah, go to Perry Rubber Bike Shop for one of their Saturday morning rides. Varying distances and paces, friendly groups. My dog complained they brought me back too soon after a flat fifty miler.

Anonymous said...

not the fluorescent biker shorts.

Candasnobetter said...

Peel police haven’t determined yet whether charges will be laid.

bad boy of the north said...

Leroy,are you able to take a to-go cup along for the ride?

JLRB said...

I think the green screen photo looks like you are getting ready to twist your own nipples, and the roof top picture looks like you are doing a spit-take...

dancesonpedals said...

Lt. Oblivious..

My Granny ain't a he, but she was known to cross dress for a laugh. (long before my mother was born...though she was born, a long long time ago)

If I find the photo I will post.

BikeSnobNYC said...

JLRB,

I was doing a spit take.

--Wildcat Rock Machine

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