Tuesday, August 16, 2016

This Just In: I'll See Ya When I See Ya!

Before we go any further, let's gather around the conference table and do some scheduling:


Wednesday, August 17th, 2016: I'm out, no post!
Thursday, August 18th, 2016: I'm out, no post!
Friday, August 19th, 2016: I'm out, no post!
Saturday, August 20th, 2016: It's the weekend, get a life!
Sunday, August 21st, 2016: (See Saturday, Augusts 20th)
Monday, August 22nd, 2016: I'm back, post!

So there you have it.

You can also expect me to vanish again sometime before Labo(u)r Day, but we'll bridge that cross when we come to it.

Meeting adjourned.


Moving on, some guy running for Supervisor in San Francisco wants mandatory bicycle licensing, and he's written the world's dumbest editorial to explain why:

(This person has a Subaru and a dumbass hybrid, so he deserves to be taken seriously.)

Bicyclists in San Francisco should have to register their bike, obtain a license and carry a minimum amount of liability insurance — the same requirements for driving a car.

Sure, that makes sense.  Bicycles weigh thousands of pounds and cause tremendous wear and tear on our infrastructure and environment.  They also travel at speeds well in excess of 50mph and are often used to carry multiple passengers, so naturally riders should receive standardized training and carry liability insurance.  And of course bicycle crashes result in over 30,000 deaths every year in the United States alone, not to mention large-scale property damage like this:


Oh, wait, sorry.  I was thinking about cars.  Bikes are the innocuous human-powered machines that are completely benign, right?  It's so easy to get confused.

But it's not really about any of that.  It's about cyclists having to "put some skin in the game:"

We have one set of roads long dominated by automobiles. But as a growing number of bicycle commuters assert political power to get their own lanes, they need to put some skin in the game. If cars and bikes are going to share city roads — which is where the future is headed — the responsibility for safe co-existence should also be shared.

Wow.  Them's fighting words.  I'd say cyclists have plenty of skin in the game--you know, the skin we leave on the street when the morons pictured above hit us, you fucking moron.

But like most bicycle licensing advocates his main concern is that we help make the poor, persecuted motorists feel better, because, you know, it's not fair that they should have to go through all the trouble of getting a driver's license when the cyclists don't have to:

Mandatory registration, license and insurance could ease ongoing resentments between cyclists and motorists. Cyclists will get more protection while motorists will be glad they aren’t alone in being held accountable on the road.

Whoa.  Where's this accountability he's talking about?  Licenses and insurance are pretty much designed to eliminate all motorist accountability, and they've done a great job.  After all, as long as you've got a valid license and some insurance and aren't drunk you can pretty much run over and kill anybody you damn well please.  In fact, here in New York City you don't even need the license most of the time.

And what other completely unnecessary inconveniences should cyclists be forced to deal with just because drivers have to do them?  Should we be legally required to buy a certain amount of gasoline a month?  Do we need to start feeding the meters?  How about smog inspections?

Drivers fly into a rage when they have to slow down for even a moment because there's a cyclist ahead, but I'm sure the knowledge that the cyclist is licensed will restore the drivers' patience and end their maniacal sense of entitlement once and for all.

I'll get a bicycle license to make a driver feel better when that driver has to get a pilot's license and be trained to operate a 747.

By the way, if you're waiting for the "Some of my best friends are _____" part, here it is:

Before protesters on bikes jeer at me for suggesting this idea, they should know I’m pro-bike. I even rode my bike 545 miles from San Francisco to Los Angeles for charity. I share a car with my husband but mostly take public transportation and walk — and we live on the westside, in the “suburban” part of town near Stonestown Mall where cars and parking spaces are still abundant.

Okay, that makes sense: you're automatically not anti-something if you once did something for a charity.  So if I make a donation to Dachshund Rescue of North America does that mean I get to fire a wiener dog out of a cannon, is that how it works?

Good to know.


("Get ready to get airborne, Wilhelm!")

And as for the insurance, he's only looking out for our interests:

Currently, bicyclists experience a lot more risk than well-insured car drivers. Seaman recently hit a car door that had opened into a bike lane he was riding in. His injury required 34 sessions of physical therapy. His bike had substantial damage. Yet his auto and home insurance didn’t cover his bike accident (not all policies do). He was on the hook for thousands of dollars in expenses.

Uh, he didn't "hit a car door."  That's not how it works.  The driver hit him with a car door.  Saying a cyclist "hit a car door" is like saying an assault victim walked into a baseball bat.  It's clearly the driver's fault, and and the driver's insurance should pay.  If it didn't, something's fucked up, and it's not that cyclists aren't carrying their own insurance policies.

Schmuck.

Anyway, now that you have your bicycling license, are you bewildered by all the different styles of bicycle available to the 21st century consumer?  Are you unsure as to whether you need a cargo bike, or a fat bike, or a folding bike, or an e-bike?  Well, no, of course you're not.  Nevertheless, you no longer have to grapple with this nonexistent dilemma, because you can now buy a bike that is all of those things--and more!  Yes, meet the RadMini electric folding fat bike:


As far as I can tell, the target market for this bicycle is yachting enthusiasts in hilly cities who own small dogs:



So if this describes you then you'll want to give this bicycle a serious look.

This could also be the ideal bicycle for the Olympic Games mountain bike course, which appears to have caught fire:


"The UCI is aware that there was a fire this afternoon in the vicinity of the Rio 2016 mountain bike course," it said in a statement. "It is understood the fire is now under control. Assessment of any potential impact on the mountain bike course will be made [on Tuesday]."

Why is this even a problem?  Why not make it a course feature?  It seems to me this is just the sort of excitement the Olympic mountain bike race needs:



I know I'd watch.

And with that, I'm gone.  I'll see you back here on Monday, August 22nd, and in the meantime I'm sure we'll all be working on your bicycle licensing test.


--Wildcat Rock Machine


139 comments:

Unknown said...

163. Suppose the system survives the crisis of the next several decades. By that time it will have to have solved, or at least brought under control, the principal problems that confront it, in particular that of “socializing” human beings; that is, making people sufficiently docile so that heir behavior no longer threatens the system. That being accomplished, it does not appear that there would be any further obstacle to the development of technology, and it would presumably advance toward its logical conclusion, which is complete control over everything on Earth, including human beings and all other important organisms. The system may become a unitary, monolithic organization, or it may be more or less fragmented and consist of a number of organizations coexisting in a relationship that includes elements of both cooperation and competition, just as today the government, the corporations and other large organizations both cooperate and compete with one another. Human freedom mostly will have vanished, because individuals and small groups will be impotent vis-a-vis large organizations armed with supertechnology and an arsenal of advanced psychological and biological tools for manipulating human beings, besides instruments of surveillance and physical coercion. Only a small number of people will have any real power, and even these probably will have only very limited freedom, because their behavior too will be regulated; just as today our politicians and corporation executives can retain their positions of power only as long as their behavior remains within certain fairly narrow limits.

Freddy Murcks said...

Fuck you, Ted K. Real first!

Freddy Murcks said...

Hello? Anybody there?

Dorothy Rabinowitz said...

podio?

Freddy Murcks said...

[chirp, chirp]

Dorothy Rabinowitz said...

Shit. Anyway, I know you'd watch.

Bronze said...

Really 3rd as Ted and 2X Dottie don't count.

Anonymous said...

Seaman hit a car door indeed

janinedm said...

Ugh. This reminds me of the time I got doored and the officer purposely omitted the guy's insurance number so that I and the hospital couldn't get to him. He also made a big deal in the report about my riding outside of the bike lane but omitted that there was a car in the bike lane. See, it happened in front of a bunch of lawyers and they convinced me to go to the hospital and file a report. I felt fine (relatively) and wanted to quietly wait for the guy to leave so i could key his car and then take my taco'ed wheel to the nearest shop. My plan would have been cheaper. I got a $1000 Advil. Man, I'm still mad.

Anonymous said...

Things seem really slow. . . Is everyone on vacation? Are we in France? Anyway, top ten

Lieutenant Oblivious said...

11th, damned lunchtime postings, SCRANUS! Have a great Hiatus Snob!

dnk said...

janinedm -- ouch, that sucks

N/A said...

Hey... I am yachting enthusiast in hilly city who owns small dogs! Son of a scranus, there it is!

N/A said...

Janine, that's some BS right there.

Anonymous said...

First, Second and Third. The podium is all my as I declare the first dozen don't count.

leroy said...

Finally, a bike for yachting enthusiasts with small dogs!

Someone totally gets me.

I mean if I were a yachting enthusiast.

And if my dog didn't get pissed off by being called small.

And if I didn't always lose the coin toss to see who rides in the travel crate.

And now that I think about it, it's probably not a great idea to let him flip the coin to determine which of us gets shot out of cannon at upcoming Labor Day festivities.

Even if he says I can borrow Wilhelm's helmet.

I may need to rethink some stuff. In the meantime, ride safe all!

janinedm said...

Enh. It's fine. $1000 isn't an expense I'd want to incur, but it's still less than a year of subway riding. And I have cheap tastes in components, favoring value over luxury so the wheel didn't put me out much. I just really, really wish I'd keyed his car.

Lieutenant Oblivious said...

"So if I make a donation to Dachshund Rescue of North America does that mean I get to fire a wiener dog out of a cannon, is that how it works?" Gold, pure gold!

Are there places where you can do this? You know like those old farms out in New Jersey and upstate New York that are now used for paintball wars? I'd be up for that! (Just kidding, I wouldn't hurt a dog.)

Janinedm, sorry about your mishap, the cops have a way of doing stuff like that to let people get off. The only way a driver doesn't get off scot free for dooring someone is if he doors an oncoming car. My brother did that - lost his car door and his insurance had to pay to fix the other guy's car. Bikes unfortunately are fair game for dooring!

Matt said...

Yeah, a drivers license will help a lot. I mean, they don't just give those out to anybody.

ken e. said...

"fire the wiener dog cannon!" someone just saved my day, thanks wildcat circus sideshow machine!

bad boy of the north said...

Wow,janine.that's some bitter pill.

bad boy of the north said...

Snob,enjoy your non-posting days.hope they're not labo(u)r intensive.well,back to the salt mines.....

wle said...

ooh, snoober, SARCASTIC, i like it!!

wle

Unknown said...

vsk said ...

Since it's te "political season" I'll align with Transportation Libertarian. Get your big fucking bullshit .gov out of my pedalismo.

JanineDM, I am sofa king sorry to hear about that shit. Gotta figure out an easy way to have the optimal length of rebar and big ball bearings at the ready. The ice pick is too deep inside my non-artisanal tool roll, and of limited reach.

I think the front rack or Wald Baskets are good for the door openers. Like big bumpers.

If I get bike insurance, I wonder if I can torch it for the $$$ ? Or sell it to a midnight bike chop shop.

vsk

Anonymous said...

Fuck you, TedK is king. You loser

Anonymous said...

You should be required to get a bicycle liscense to drive a car. Not to ride a bike.

Dorothy Rabinowitz said...

I declare myself tomorrows presumptive podium winner.

JLRB said...

Enjoy the offing of floffing

Sax Huret said...

I don't already have skin in the game? Am I supposed to forget the auto industry nationalizations that took place ca. 2008? The federal highway grants I fund as a taxpayer who reside in a state that pays more federal tax than it receives in federal spending? The dreadful domestic energy policies that enable the top 2 selling cars to be low MPG trucks (to say nothing of the associated foreign policy)?

Sure thing, chief.

Dooth said...

"Mandatory bike registration, license and insurance could prevent accidents by generating the revenue needed to design and build safer roads." Joel Engardio should have his artistic license revoked.

Anonymous said...

Did you know Bill Brasky has the market cornered on electric fat folding bikes?

Freddy Murcks said...

I'd bet my favorite jugum penis that the folding electric fat bike weighs about as much as a compact car. Maybe owners of the folding electric fat bike do need to be licensed and carry insurance.

recumbent conspiracy theorist said...

I know this is a biek blog and all but Please, please, please post a video when you shoot the Dachshund out of a cannon. That'll be awesome!

Anonymous said...

You know, you are really taking the "semi-professional" part of your job as a blogger a little too seriously. I don't pay to read this blog just so you can take a bunch of long vacations*!

*the last vacation also included me seeing you speak, which I also didn't pay for. Actually, thanks for the beers, which I also didn't pay for.

Anonymous said...

Weird, cuz my weiner *is* a cannon, licensed and helmeted I might add.

Dorothy R said...

Get your foreskin in the game

crosspalms said...

Mr. Engardio (does he moonlight creating spell names in Harry Potter?) must have better eyesight than me, because I can't tell which drivers have licenses and insurance just by looking at them. How does he expect them to recognize me as licensed and bonded on sight -- armbands? Maybe a state-issued "three feet please" jersey? Nothing wins a motorist's respect like words on a shirt. Cyclists deserve respect because we're fellow human beings trying to get from A to B in one piece, just like everyone else.

Anonymous said...

How did the roof accident happen? It's like they found Grandpa's '86 Ford Taurus in the attic and accidentally slipped it into gear.

Fred K said...

What is the minimum age for a cycling license?
How many beginner's will say "fuck it" when the guy at the bike shop tells them they need a license and insurance?
Will you have to license every bike you own to ride on the road?

Hee Haw the Barista's mom said...

Is flaming bmx dude nekkid?!?!?!?

Pathetic Old Cyclist said...

Great post. Simultaneously hysterical and infuriating.

brooksby1971 said...

Hang on: I ride a hybrid. I didn't realise that meant that I wasn't a *real* cyclist...

dancesonpedals said...

Don't let any Cowboys hear you talk about launching Weiner dogs..they love to sing about them round the campfire, "get a long, little doggie"

Mr Lobstermash said...

Now that the world's most bike unfriendly state of the world's most bike unfriendly country has won the war against bicycles, New South Wales' next target is mobility scooters: http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-08-17/nationals-senator-push-for-tougher-regulation-mobility-scooters/7749600

Because it's so hard to the Senator's wife to look left and right before exiting the office, this safety gear has become compulsory: http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2013/07/03/article-2354543-1AA31D34000005DC-118_634x430.jpg

Expiation notices will be $2000 on the spot fines.

clyde said...

Whoa, whoa, whoa - do not even make jokes about emissions testing - 'cuz I am pretty sure the engine on my bike ain't gonna pass!

Anonymous said...

"I share a car with my husband but..."
HIS!?!?! HUSBAND!?!?!?!
I KNEW "WE" SHOULDA NEVER "LET" "THEM" GET MURRIED!!!!!!!
Typical. Let em get licenses once, and they'll wanna get licenses for errything.
Where does it stop?!?

Cur Mudgeon said...

There should be a law about the mandatory wearing of helmets for dogs being transported on bikes!

Spokey said...

Sax Huret at 3:02 PM

forget about that stuff. Even if you don't own a car or ride a bus you got skin in the game. Haven't look at the numbers for a couple years, but you can go to the fed DOT or High Admin or whatever it's called to see how our roads are paid for. By feds and by state.

National average has motorists paying about 30% via gas tax.

Add in all user fees as in licenses, registrations, tolls, etc. You can get up to around 1/2. Some years more, some less.

So that means that in some years you're paying more than 1/2 the cost of roads for the pleasure of driver abuse.

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

Do we need to start feeding the meters? How about smog inspections?

uuuhhhh

could someone give me a few days, maybe a week warning before that smog thing goes in to effect? i'll need to change my eating habits.

Hugh Janus, Expert Motorist said...

How you like that, shit-sippers? Even the left coast weenie-brigade is tired of your bicycling crapola. Licenses, registrations, insurance, inspections, this fee, that fee....I say bring it all down on you no-good, pedal-pumping ass-clowns. Your "free ride" on my highway is over dick-smokers! From now on, yer gonna have to pay for the privilege of being mowed down by the likes of me.

jonathan said...

Seaman recently hit a car door that had opened into a bike lane he was riding in.

I think the passive voice just jumped the shark.

Andy in Germany said...

Have another look at the article. He seemsto have backed down on some points:

https://medium.com/@joelengardio/reactions-and-response-to-my-bike-column-6dc3845cd3b6#.rbre5rw68

Anonymous said...

Kenny Powers?

Anonymous said...

If your shit don't stink you probably have a cold

McFly said...

You can get much more distance with a tea cup yorkie. The hair sort of acts as wadding and increases muzzle velocity.

Muzzle Velocity......double entendre.

leroy said...

Dear Mr. McFly --

Someone I know, I'm not saying who, wishes to point out that when it comes to identifying candidates for amateur aeronautics, one should look no further than the guy with "fly" in his name.

I think your muzzle observation set him off.... double entendre redux.

dancesonpedals said...

I tried to be mature and take the high road, but it's not my idiom. The guy who almost ran me down and I had a conversation while standing at the stoplight.

"You've got to turn that light on. I couldn't see you just now."

I skipped over, 'if you can't see me, you aren't paying attention.' (I'm wearing a bright blue backpack)

I skipped over, 'why should I turn on the flashing light not required by law that I bought to be seen after dark, when it's only an hour after sun rise?

I went straight to his behavior. "Why were you in such a hurry to pass me when this light was already red?" (I omitted speeding & swerving unnecessarily across a double yellow to pass me)

Gnashing of teeth. Explanation that he's riding "thousands of pounds of steel" (he must read this blog).

It annoyed me that this guy considered his own careless behavior to be somehow my fault. He couldn't say I wasn't wearing a helmet, so it was my fault the helmet wasn't lit.

"I really don't need your free advice". I intended to leave it at that.

"You're on a bike. You should act like it".

So I did. I told him to go fuck himself, before riding through the red light.

( I didn't think he'd beat me up...we were in front of the Sleepy Hollow Police Station)

N/A said...

"I'm a human, you should act like it."
Then tell him to go fuck himself and ride through the red light.

JLRB said...

As I lie here on a hammock reading words on paper, two flies doing the nasty landed on the paper - I told them to get the fuck off my paper - the only time I have used that term literally.

derek and clive said...

This bloke came up to me...

1904 Cadardi said...

Leroy and McFly,

Putting aside the boundary layer aspects of canine hairodynamics for the moment, which breed will wiggle less while in flight? My yorkie is a bit of a spaz, so the wiener variety might be a better choice, but I need an expert opinion here.

McFly said...

I believe any breed of a pointer is the obvious choice.

P. Bateman said...

i haven't been able to tune in to the BSNYC blog channel very regularly the past few weeks, but am glad i popped in for this post.

Good old angry Snob. well done sir.

Wilhelm looks like a fine beast. Leroy, you should set up a play date with him and your dog.

Unfair and Unbalanced said...

Janine, that sucks more wang than Dottie R ever has. Humm, no wait, using 1,000 as a benchmark she's way past a grand by now. Especial working in Rupert M World where apprentently women are fair game.

Silence in the a Great North? said...

65 Posts and not one from Canada! Oh Canada!!!

Curb Your Dog said...

The Donald and Family Values Wife #3 have a herd of Dachshunds. Does any red blooded American really want to see a pack of little yip er's running around the White House lawn?

Spokey said...

well i'm willing to bet $50 that spousy's fucking cat will fly faster and further than wilhelm, leroy's dog, mcfly's, or any other pooch on the list you want to put up for the contest.

and i hereby waive any claims for liability in the case of the cat's dismemberment and/or death.

in fact, i'm so confident that i'll shoot the fucking cat out of the cannon and you can decide whether it won or not without firing off your dog.

Fear and Loathing in Vancouver said...

P.Bateman. The podcast version is available on the McFly Network under the title "Stark Buck Naked on Wreck Beach".

bad boy of the north said...

Dances,he wasn't the headless horseless man again,was he?

They Shoot Horses Don't They said...

CYD 600. The Donald is going to make dog food great again.

CSI Where Are You said...

Years ago I got doored AND it was doored and run. It was twilight and I was pedaling to our local Indie art house theater to see the the film adaptation of Jane Austin's Sharknado. It was a giant old caddy with a little old lady driving what one could safely assume was her late husband's car. As she drove away I screamed two words that I'm confident have never appeared in a Jane Austin novel, but was used in Snakes on a Plane. Bruised here and there, but nothing broken or cut, one front wheel wrecked. "Police" (said the way Omar would have) took a report, never heard another word. Investigation must be still on going.

Purple Rivius said...

Hmm. Why did they even bother putting pedals on the RadMini electric folding fat *moped*?

McFly said...

I suppose if one were to use ammunition of the felineway then you could mount a red dot laser for more pinpoint accuracy. Say you wanted to drive a wedge into someone else's marriage....locate that address and fire away.

FlyoverRube said...

The 'Pockylypse is upon us. I have seen two "Rambo's" at local hunting fred stores. A blacked out electric fat bike. Didn't stop to check it out, cause don't care. I did see a kid riding an e bike on the gravel road! The damn things are quiet, compared to the usual fume spewing noise blasters they usually ride. One must note, the e function was NOT being used as an assist, but more like the prime motive force. E motorcycle.

SgtSpeccy said...

Tee Hee, he said Seaman!!!

bad boy of the north said...

When will it all end?oh,the humanity!

Benjamin Franklin said...

Women age from the neck down.

I Love the Smell of Maple Syrup in the Morning said...

78 comments with four days until Monday. Can we get to 100, can we, I think we can, I think we can. Trump to campaigning in Michigan, a state that borders on Canada, sounds very ominous for Canada, Ut Oh Canada. Could Michigan be the state from which The Donald launches his invasion? If The Donald thinks any Mexicans have crossed the border to escape his dragnet, then it's curtains for the land of Maple Syrup. Invasion might be repelled if General Rob Ford was still around to command the Canadian forces.

babble on said...

Heh, so here's something straight from Canada for those of you with an appetite for apropos.

An esteemed Canadian food artist has curated the Trump sandwich: Satisfy your discriminating tastes with huge slabs of white bread stuffed full of balogna (that's baloney in Kanuckian.) That's not all, either. It comes with a side of Russian dressing and a tiny pickle, and it's surrounded by a wall of Mexican chips.

Yep, dig in, peeps.

The whole fiasco you call an election campaign down there in Canada's knickers has left me without an appetite, so I'm skippig lunch, packing a liquid picnic and heading down to Wreck to shed my worries and woes and spend the afternoon frolicking in the sun. :) xo xo

Wrench Monkey said...

Hey Babs, Easy on insulting the Donald, please. He may be a flaming a-hole, but he's OUR flaming a-hole.

Spokey said...

now that i think of it, cannuck still does it better.

granted ducky provides similar entertainment as did robs fords, but i was far more eager to read about robs exploits.


dis claimer -

i spose the fact that robs was some far away ferriner vs ducky maybe being my next prez might influence my evaluation.

Unknown said...

vsk said ...

Yay I'm right under Ms. Babble!! As I type anyway. Someone else will knck me away!

So there I was, leaving the office early (7pm) and wondering about what undiscovered country lies north of the Queensboro/59th St/Ed Koch Brothers Bridge.

Triboro? Hmmm, such a long sprawling span must not have bike access ?
Looking at the trusty 2016 Bike Map it shows a "Bike Trail" on the RFK/Triboro/many legged bridge.

So off I go down 40th St to 1st and up to 102nd St. Make a right and go to the FDR Drive and find the accessway to the Randall's Island pedestrian bridge over the mighty East River(like) waterway (a tidal straight but I'm not really a waterway labeling nazi).
Used the little granny ring up because fuckall!
The quick descent into Randall's Isl was nice. Seemed cooler, lushy green with people frolicking about. There was a sign with directions and I followed the directions for Hoyt Avenue Queens. (you go left). A half a mile through the island and you see a Queens -> with a person icon and a bike icon.
Follow the road a tiny bit and mount the sidewalk which consists of 4 - 7mm sized gravelle !!
Holy slate pebbles Batman! Will my 23 mm xsection tyres stay between me and the road ?!
Yes! Manufacturer's propaganda be damNED (be sure pronounce the NED, it's good atrisanal wordcraft spondee).
So there you enter a star wars looking fence/tunnel for a while for the climb, which is wierd because you're barely off the ground and you're coccooned in steel [more on fencing later...]
At the end of the twisting tunnel, you are greeted with some stairs, with the iron wheel trench. No big deal. But not strava friendly! Maybe there's a stairs segment.
You do a little dipsy doo around structure then there is the main span with the main towers, and high fencing.. I am trying to take all these pictures through the tight chain link. Then low and behold, the fence disappears and all that's there is the low rails on both sides.
What the double U Tea Eff? Irony or galvanized steely ... you're barely off the ground and into a fortress. Now you're up at prime suicide height and an uncareful lean could send you over!
In addition, I went when there was light traffic so people are going a decent speed on the roadway. The bridge is noisy. It vibrates and undulates. You're also hoping that the pathbed is not rotting as it was probably thing gauge steel to begin with painted with some friction mix. As a deluxe sized person I was nervous and the few souls I passed or passed me acknowledged the precariousness of it all.

Having gotten that out of the way, the views are some of the best. Manhattan through the bridge cables and the grogeous Hell's Gate brick shithouse railroad bridge across the empty chasm below. I also had a full moon to add to the fun and frustration with the little point + shoot Canon 610. The bridge is probably not that high but there is not much around it to block your views toward Nassau County.
It is a thrilling little ride for the first timer that's for sure.

Cool descent, could easily hit woo hoo hoo speed but it will be the last thing you do as there are unmarked stairs on the Queens side. The impact would melt any helemento.
You eventually exit at 27th Street and Hoyt Ave. I took Cresecent St to Astoria Blvd which merges into Vernon toward the water. Riding along the East River there were amazing views and little inviting areas to stop and hang. One in particular was Socrates Sculpture Park. There was a movie going on on a big inflatable screen. Some foreign indy thing. Headed south and saw some good moon and building picture opportunities then cloud stuff, it was a great night. Then met up with my Queensboro bridge route. It was 22 miles to Bay Ridge and not bad. The timing is not worth measuring as I was taking so many pictures (1 hr 47 min).

I would definitely recommend a ride to Randall's Island or going across the Triboro. Live and learn ...

vsk

babble on said...

VSK - Would do, if only it wouldn't take me a month to spin my way over. But I'm sure looking forward to your photo journal. :)

Re the Trump Toupe v Robba the Fords? Yes. Definitely cut from the same cloth: two spoiled rotten rich white boys lacking in any understanding of the real world. Both with inflated delusions of Godliness, and both trailing behind them a terrifying cult of disenfranchised bigots and racists looking to blame anyone else for their sad, sorry lives. Only difference is that the Fords was stripped of office when he inadvertently showed his true colours, he wasn't elected for it.

Unknown said...

vsk said ...

Ms. Babble, you are able to see !

Wish I were able to see the sight at the Wreck!!!


vsk

janinedm said...

Chek out this amazing quote from the National Highway Safety Administration:

“Shielded from the hostile outside environment by tinted windows and a microclimate that defies the seasons, a driver can develop a sense of anonymity and detachment, as if an observer of the surroundings, rather than a participant.

“The anonymity provided by this insulation can erode the inhibitions to antisocial behavior that normally shape interpersonal relations. That is, some people feel less constrained in their behavior when they cannot be seen by others and/or when it is unlikely that they will ever again see the witnesses to their behavior.

“When emboldened by the seemingly invincible power of a motor vehicle, a driver’s feeling of anonymity can result in extreme rudeness and even transform an otherwise nice person into a dangerous, raging individual.”


You don't say? Anyway, it was from an article about a guy who got killed in a road rage incident while on parole for killing a guy during a road rage incident. https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2016/08/12/he-once-killed-a-man-in-a-road-rage-incident-now-he-has-died-in-one/

Lieutenant Oblivious said...

Janinedm, when we get in our cars we generally become first graders in a line in the schoolyard again, looking to cut ahead and getting pissedat anyone who cuts the line ahead of us. VSK, you can ride the Triboro RFK whatever bridge en Fred Masse if you do the 5 Boro Century in September, I did that a few times in my younger years, Gran Fondon't is more my speed now.

bad boy of the north said...

Lt.O,when in september?and did they have a tour de bronx this year? i can't seem to find any info.

Mike Hunt said...

You all make great substitute teachers

janinedm said...

The Tour de Bronx is in October. http://www.ilovethebronx.com/index.php/happenings/tour-de-bronx I'm looking forward to it. It's my favorite ride of the year.

janinedm said...

...and the NY Century is 9/10. If the number of emails I'm getting from Transportation Alternatives is any indication, there are plenty of slots left. https://secure.transalt.org/site/TRR/CY2016/General/1661673200?pg=ptype&fr_id=1320

N/A said...

VSK, thanks for the travelogue! Nice fill-in for Snobs.

Lieutenant Oblivious said...

Bad Boy of the North, I was talking about this, https://www.biketheboros.org/nyccentury, there is a sidebar ad on Snobbie's blog that gets you $5.00 the registration fee, use code 2016BIKESNOB!

bad boy of the north said...

Thanks janine and lt.o.mucho appreciato!

Jimmy said...

When I was back there in seminary school ...

Unknown said...

vsk said ...

The Indignity of Commuting by Bicycle-

Screwed up and went through an open section of yellow tape and rode on the newly painted bike lane heading to the Manahatta Bridge from Jay Street.
My tiyres became a proper Bianchi shade of Celeste Green and I had that auto body shop smell of fresh lacquer paint for a while. The little green bits on the bike and the shorts kind or wreak still. Lot of striping going on. The separated lane presents its own set of challenges to navigation.
Park Ave South was a standstill this morning ... lesson to never leave late.


As far as the group rides. Frikkin scheduling is always a pain. Too many competing interests and too many grown up shittin things get in the way. Not to mention I hate to be a burden on the group. Hopefully that will change as I shed poundage.
Commuting is the life for me right now! hahaha

Happy Motoring... uh ...


vsk

Unknown said...

vsk said ...

Wow

Unknown said...

If I

Unknown said...

Keep Posting ...

Unknown said...

CIENTO !!


vsk

1904 Cadardi said...

Missed it by THAT much!

Knüt Fredriksson said...

Journal Entry: Friday, August 19th, 2016

It's been three days and over a hundred comments since Wwildcat left us to rot in this Lob forsaken blog. I'm going to have to start rationing my chamois butt'r and beer if I want to survive until he returns. I've been trying to resist the urge to make a list of the pros and cons of electric folding fat bikes, but I won't be able to hold out much longer...

Spokey said...


vsk

unlike 1904, who seems a bit jealous, i throw a cruise ship of kudos on a fine century. ben hurry could not have done it better.

boys on the hoods said...

Spokey @ 6:06. You can't fire a cat out of a cannon like a dog. The only suitable means of propulsion is a Catapult.

Spokey said...


is it okay to amend my bet offer then?

i still wager $50. Now it is to cat-a-puke the fucking cat further than leroy et. al. can cat-a-puke their dog. but should they insist on the cannon, i'll still cat-a-puke the fucking cat further.

and note my confidence rides high despite being in the dog days of summer.

1904 Cadardi said...

Spokey,

I'm just riding along when vsk comes blowing by me. I didn't even realize we were sprinting. That'll teach me to ride without a computer/GPS/Strava.

And kudos, although not a norovirus filled cruise ship full, to vsk.

Jack straw from witchita said...

We can share the chamois butter, we can share the beeeeerr!

You'll are clever said...

Canon for canine

Catapult for cats

Anonymous said...

Bikesnob, please read this article about a woman who killed my friend Matthew Brenner:

https://www.dnainfo.com/new-york/20160818/brooklyn-heights/actress-banned-from-driving-new-york-2-years-after-fatal-accident-state

Hugh Janus, Expert Motorist said...

Ayy...shit-birds. It's the weekend. So, stay off my highway! If I wanna drive 105mph to the Wal Mart while jerking off to a streaming vid and sucking down a latte then that is my gawd-given right as an American Motorist to do so! And, I ain't gonna tolerate a bunch of twats on pedal-toys interfering with my rights. So stay inside and watch teevee or, better yet, steal a car and drive it around aimlessly for a few hours. This, ass-pimples, is the way gawd intended Americans to spend their weekends. See? I'm just trying to save you from eternal damnation. Yer welcome...now Piss Off.

Radar Love said...

Hugh Janus 916 Donald Trump is going to make jerking off while driving great again.

The Twlight Zone said...

Babble, The choices down south of the border are tummy churning. The Donald (no details needed) or Wall Street Hill of the Uber High End Carpet Bagging due of Bill & Hill (not to mention an incredible sense of entitlement). Grim, very grim. Maybe I'll vote for Carlos Danger via write-in, at least with him you see what you're going to get in the end.

Anonymous said...

Hugh Janus - your schtik was mildly amusing the first time - now jog on

Spokey said...

Twilight Z

Mr Z

I agree with your general premise but would ask for some clarification.

vote for Carlos Danger via write-in, at least with him you see what you're going to get in the end

Before I push the lever for Carlos, I need to know not only what I'm getting in the end, but which end as well. And I'm very concerned about what that would give us for a first lady. And what her chocolate chip cookie recipe is. Is it better than Bill's or Melania's?

Anonymous said...

Headline of the not-to-distant future that will need careful and deliberate enunciation : "Hugh Janus Bloodied By Pack Of Angry Bicyclists". Of course, the first paragraph will mention that not all of the bicyclist wore hell-mets.

Dooth said...

On my way to the Turtle Cove driving range I was riding on a bike path which leads to a drawbridge. A barge was passing so the drawbridge was up. An impatient motorist decided to pull off the road and onto the bike path. The motorist, a woman, waved at me to ride in front. I'm sure my expression said, "are you fucking kidding me?"

N/A said...

Those of you that follow Snobsie on the tweeters have probably seen this NFL douche blathering on with the hilarious joke about killing cyclists. Just because he might have to wait an extra few seconds to go get his anal prolapse pushed back in. Might be a worthwhile project to tweet @nflnetwork that their representative thinks murder threats are a pretty funny joke.

N/A said...

I like how the chickenshit deleted the original tweet.

Hugh Janus, Expert Motorist said...

When are you chamois-sniffing cockgobblers gonna learn? D-listers like this NFL journeyman-cum-media hack are way, way more important to society than you ever will be. Why, I'll bet as many as a dozen people tune in to his show regularly. Some probably even do so on purpose to hear his titillating analysis of 350 lb pot-smoking jag-offs smashing into each other. You think 100 comments from blithering idiots on a blog like this one are gonna override that kinda media firepower? That's like suggesting that bicyclists should have the same rights and privileges as the Great American Motorist. Everybody knows that's patently absurd. And for the anonymous hemorrhoid-scratcher that wants me to "jog on": Runners need to stay off my high way too. Either get a gym membership or embrace your gawd-given right to be a fat American pantload.

BamaPhred said...

How's that brain damage progressing, Heath.

babble on said...

Yes, that cyclists should have the same rights as motorists is patently absurd. Everyone knows that the more vulnerable the road user is, the more rights they have, and the more lethal the vehicle, the greater the duty of care. Even someone with serious dain bramage knows that. That's why a good cyclist always stops for pedestrians waiting at a cross walk, however few and far between are the ones that actually bother to look up from their phones and wait.

And as for your choices cum November, well.... I don't envy you. Up until that last election I always voted green, and frankly, Jill Stein is a wonderful candidate (IMPO) BUT my green vote up here the election before last is one of the reasons Harper had a majority in parliament, despite winning thirty percent of the vote. When conscientious people vote their conscience, the lobotomized maniac fringe benefits. That's why last time round, we Canadians chose to vote strategically. And I'll take Trudeau over another four years of Harper ANY. DAY. Too bad you poor peeps haven't much of a choice, any which way you look at it. Sucks to be you. Sorry 'bout yer luck, peeples. xo

leroy said...

My dog has agreed to be shot out of a canon to prove that he can outperform any cat.

i'm super excited because he says he'll let me wear his Evel Knievel daredevil suit, cape, and helmet for the test launch.

Lieutenant Oblivious said...

I'm on a road trip and just checked in to a motel for the night, which reminded me of a joke I learned here, and begins with "Is the porn disabled here."

Anonymous said...

So, is spelling it "canon" instead of cannon just like the whole helment/helmet thing?

It can be hard to differentiate between lame attempts at humor and actual semi-literacy.

bad boy in the salt mines said...

Lt.O....do they have color tv and is said tv chained to the floor?

Spokey said...

mr leroy

would you like to hold the cat too?

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dancesonpedals said...

You could go to any wedding and seePachelbel shot out of a cannon

N/A said...

@Cycle Smart Coaching:

It's my personal goal to ride a clown bike along the Southern Alps. What pressure do you recommend running? Also, are there any restrictions on shooting things from cannons whilst visiting NZ?

Thanks in advance.

Unknown said...

vsk said ...

Just sittin here on the refresh button for Monday podiation.
(It's really a foot problem).

Right place and time. Alas the Snob Century is the only way I can do a century rt now. Maybe I can do a bike one again ... just as long as I have good lights to ride well well into the night!

vsk

Lieutenant Oblivious said...

Ban Boy of the Salt Mines it was a Holiday Inn Express and the color tv did not appear to be chained. Highlights of the trip so far were Shartlesville, PA, passing by Butt Hollow Road somewhere in Virginia and the portion of I-85 in South Carolina named the F. Hugh Atkins Memorial Highway, either he or his parents had a good sense of humor!

bad boy in the salt mines said...

wow....one heck of a trip,Lt.O

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Anonymous said...

Wiener dog has a helmet...shoot him as far as you can!