Monday, November 7, 2016

BSNYC Field Trip: Philly Bike Expo

As I mentioned last week, this past Saturday I spoke at the Philly Bike Expo, which is a bike expo in Philly.  I also proctored a live quiz, and here I am arriving with the grand prize over my shoulder:


It is not, as one person on Twitter commented, an artisanal crabon axe.  It is a Specialized S-Works something or other frame and fork that may or may not be cracked:


This frame has seen many a Cat 3 race under my chamois, which means it has slid off the back like a toddler trying to stand on Mario Cipollini's unctuous back more times than I can count.  So given its questionable structural integrity I gave it away "for display purposes only."

Anyway, as for how I got down there, after considering various multimodal options (Amtrak and Brompton, commuter rail and Brompton, hitch hiking and Brompton) I eventually decided that the most cost-efficient and time-efficient manner of travel was to say "screw it" and drive THE CAR THAT THE BANK OWNS UNTIL I FINISH PAYING THEM BACK.

Hey, don't blame me, blame America for incentivizing intercity travel by private automobile.

I'm just a victim of the system, man.

Speaking of Bromptons, it turns out that if you rode one to the Expo on Saturday you got in free, as the owner of the bike on the left told me:


I took the above photo this past spring at my Brompton-Optional Bike Expo New York ride.  It is customized specimen complete with disc brakes and Rohloff hub, and its owner very well be the most enthusiastic Brompton enthusiast in this hemisphere.  I was pleased to see him again this past Saturday at my seminar, though I suppose it was probably just a pretense to ride his Brompton.

By the way, not only did I drive, but as a seasoned New York City driver I refused to pay for the space I took up with my vehicle and instead glommed some free street parking about a mile from the convention center and walked the rest of the way.

I maintain that qualifies as "multimodal."

Anyway, I arrived at the conference room with about 10 minutes to spare, and remember I told everyone to print and sign a release?  Well, only one person did:


In retrospect I should have given him a prize just for doing that, but sadly it didn't occur to me, so thank you and please accept my apologies Satan of Fredonia--which I first read as Freedonia:


It's funny because his giant quill pen is longer than a regular pen and it wiggles in a humorous fashion when he writes.

As for for my seminar, I gave a quiz and lots of people won hats and books and stuff, as well as the aforementioned frame which I signed and bedazzled with stickers for the winner.  The winner was also videotaping the event, so perhaps it will one day be available on line your your delectation and my humiliation.

After my seminar I sauntered over to the show itself, availing myself of this handsome crabon coat rack:


Speaking of racks, I got into a 20-minute argument with the proprietors of this booth when I insisted they must honor my Scalian interpretation of their sign and sell me the actual rack at 50% off:


A sign hastily written with a Sharpie is not a living and breathing document and should be read exactly the way the framers intended.

Sadly they were unmoved, so I moved on to this virtual trainer:


The best things about virtual trainers is you can virtually visit anywhere on the planet and do identical boring-ass road rides:


(Yawn.)

Then I went to what was clearly the cool booth, where people with knit hats and Slayer shirts were hanging out:


But I didn't linger because I knew I wasn't cool enough, as you can see in this photograph:


Which is probably why I got chased off the photo thingy:


("Hey, cool people only, man!")

So I went and perused some art instead:



I'm sure there's a story here, but I don't particularly need to know what it is:


Nevertheless, it's hanging in my living room now and nobody else in the household is particularly happy about it.

Of course, as a semi-professional bike blogger it's recumbent on me to seek out the latest trends, and whether you like it or not this whole e-bike thing is really catching on:


Finally, we've reached the point where nothing on a bike will work if it's not charged.

If bikes had started out this way then the advent of one that worked entirely mechanically would be considered an incredible innovation:


As it happens, I actually had that exact same bike:


I bought it used, and I think I found it in the Pennysaver if you can believe people used to exchange goods that way.  From what I could tell the owner had never ridden the bike.  It had original everything (including the Biopace rings and the gel saddle) and there was absolutely no wear on the grey anodized rims.  It also had a Vetta computer on it the size of one of those old Coleco portable football games.  I bought it as an auxiliary/second/training/city/whatever road bike, and believe me when I tell you that having not one but TWO road bikes hanging on my wall (a Cannondale and a Trek no less) made me feel like I'd truly arrived a total Fred.  I even tried to convert it into a fixie at one point with disastrous consequences.  (This was well before the fixie trend.  Fixies were not yet cool  I was a newly-minted bike racer and the common wisdom at the time was you were supposed to train on a fixed-gear bike.)  Alas, I eventually sold it on the street in a moving sale and kind of wish I didn't, because I entered a period of Specialized ownership during which virtually all of them failed in one way or another.

But I digest.

Moving on, also still trendy?  Bamboo:


I didn't actually listen to their conversation but I'm going to guess the guy on the left is explaining the advantages of bamboo as a frame material for the 426th time that day and the guy on the right will be the 426th person to say, "Wow, interesting!" and then walk away.

Surly also has a new go-anywhere bike with huge tires called the "Wednesday," which brings their total number of fat bike models up to like 50:


I'm a big Surly fan, but their lineup is totally bewildering, and the dude-to-dude copy on their website never helps.  "The Portly combines the long wheelbase of the Tubby with the 36" tire clearance of the Porky and the 72 braze-ons of the Torpid.  All share the the same 'Whatevs Bro' dropouts that are marginally compatible with every drivetrain spacing, axle size, and shifting system on earth, and are perfect for people who hang out around bonfires, wear flannel shirts, and drink beer out of cans.  Just figure out exactly what kind of dirtbag you are and go to town!"

I was hoping this particular model name was an homage to me given my well-known "Wednesday" references, but apparently it's merely an Addams Family reference like the Pugsley.

Oh well.

I also wondered the same thing about Lone Wolf's name:


Remember that guy?


You can be sure both Surly and Lone Wolf Cycling will be hearing from my lawyers.

It's nothing bad, they just wanna say hi.

Then there was bamboo's stodgier cousin, wood:


Including the flammable belt drive crotch-crutch of your dreams:


I also got to see some of those famous show bikes you see all over the Internet after NAHBS.  You may remember this ass-branding saddle, for example:


(If it doesn't sear your buttocks when you hop on after the latte stop then you're bound to get your "pants yabbies" caught in that two-pronged nose.)

Well, it turns out it's attached to this bike:


And it has an equally untenable cockpit:


That appears to be based around the Silver Surfer's schvantz:


Unfortunately the bottom has completely fallen out of the exotic customs market due to the fact that Robin Williams is dead and Lance Armstrong is still alive but can no longer afford them:


He paid $15,000 for that thing.  If he hadn't attempted a comeback he'd still be jetting around buying the cheesiest bike at every bike show on earth.

Meanwhile, on the other end of the show bike spectrum is this horrid thing:


(Ground Up?  It should be.)

I don't know what's going on with that rear triangle:


Nor do I wanna know:


But I do like those crankarms.

And of course to get the bike's full performance potential be sure to ride it in this:


On the other hand I was genuinely impressed by these bikes which were built by students in the University of Iowa's bicycle building class:


(Studying framebuilding in college: when philosophy is too practical.)

Hey, they're still in school and they're already running circles around Ol' Man Budnitz:


Good for them.

And naturally as an Engin owner myself I checked in there to discuss my next bike, which I'll be ready to order in about 30 years when I'm finally an empty-nester (though by then I hope he's building walkers because I'll be like 106):


See those bolts holding the dropout onto the frame?


They're also internally threaded for mounting fenders.

Neat.

There was also a kids' test track:


Which unfortunately I was too tall to ride:


I limboed under it but they just said, "Nice try, putz."

And of course this being Philly there were not one:


But two home improvement booths:


I'm hoping next year Kohler is showing:


If so, it's only a matter of time until Calfee starts making crabon commodes.

Speaking of stuff you can get at Home Depot, someone had to come around with a wet-dry vac every 15-20 minutes because of all the people drooling over Richard Sachs:


("We need another cleanup here ATMO.")

Anyway, as much as I would have liked to linger the ol' New Jersey Turnpike was a-callin', so I headed back towards my car and narrowly avoided getting plowed over by some Segway Freds:


I also passed this rock club:


I subsequently looked up "Need To Breathe" and learned they're a Christian band, which would explain why nobody wanted to buy any of the hard drugs I was offering.  Also, I was glad to be skipping town before the Bret Michaels gig on the 25th.

In all, it was an enjoyable trip, and so by way of an epilogue I took a ride on my Engin the next day:


See you there next year, and if you need me I'll be drooling over the lugged toilets.

80 comments:

Name said...

WOW. No comments.

Unknown said...

188. On a second level, the ideology should be propagated in a simplified form that will enable the unthinking majority to see the conflict of technology vs. nature in unambiguous terms. But even on this second level the ideology should not be expressed in language that is so cheap, intemperate or irrational that it alienates people of the thoughtful and rational type. Cheap, intemperate propaganda sometimes achieves impressive short-term gains, but it will be more advantageous in the long run to keep the loyalty of a small number of intelligently committed people than to arouse the passions of an unthinking, fickle mob who will change their attitude as soon as someone comes along with a better propaganda gimmick. However, propaganda of the rabble-rousing type may be necessary when the system is nearing the point of collapse and there is a final struggle between rival ideologies to determine which will become dominant when the old world-view goes under.

Anonymous said...

Schvantz!

PISKan said...

Noice

BamaPhred said...

Read it and still top ten!

N/A said...

Great, now ebay is going to flooded with knock-off Specialized biek frames that were "owned by BSNYC!"

Unknown said...

Top Ten?

P. Bateman said...

Ground Up? It should be.


NICE ONE. I nearly pissed myself.

Though that had little to do with the hilarious joke and more to do with my fetish for watersports.

Spokey said...

just top 10 time

cyclejerk said...

Missed it by that much...,

JLRB said...

First, I hope the grand prize winner appropriately smashed the frame, posted it on facebook/twitter/words-with-friends and jump-started his/her modeling career

Second, ride the pony

Third, I enjoyed the virtual tour of PilthyExpo - I feel like I was there and did not need to pay the admission fee, even though I do not Bromptonize

Last, Ted K's ramblings could be talking about a certain Presidential candidate

Spokey said...

Speaking of Bromptons, it turns out that if you rode one to the Expo on Saturday you got in free, as the owner of the bike on the left told me:

clowns always get the free-bees

Anonymous said...

Funny post. U of I kids were rocking Brooks saddles (2 of 3), you missed a chance to plug Eric and Co.
Snob, you're missing a huge opportunity. You should be YouTubing your adventures on your own channel, you'll clean up financially...look at Survival Lily ferJebus's sake. Sure, she's much better looking than you but we understand that. A little video editing to establish your brand (any of your 17 children can show you how to do that) and post away, bra!

Drock said...

Disc brakes, you mean dick I think, god I hate stopping fast. Hard drugs I was offering that's funny.

Anonymous said...

The Orange bike with the Felix Bykes logo behind is not electric. It just has a Pinion transmission. Kind of a Rohloff, but in the bottom bracket instead of the hub

NHcycler said...

Just a couple of unrelated observations:

Looks like you had a great time.

That photo of the Lone Wolf may be the only one where the wheels of his bike are not in perfect alignment. I recall a candid of him shouldering his bike up a flight of stairs. Even then, the USA on each wheel was perfectly upright.

I got into bicycling too late to realize that Richard Sachs was perfecting his craft a block or two from my summer job in Deep River, CT. All the money I wasted on all the stupid stuff a teenager wastes his money on could have been used to buy one of his masterpieces. But I probably would have scoffed at the wait time even in that Carter/Reagan time frame.

I was thrown out of a five and dime when I was five or dime years old insisting that I could buy all of the candy marked .02 cents, for less than the quarter in my pocket. The manager was unimpressed.

BeerDrivenCyclist said...

Mmm. Survival Lilly gives me a boner....wait that didn't come out right.

NHcycler said...

JLRB said:

"Last, Ted K's ramblings could be talking about a certain Presidential candidate"

Odds are, one or two of his 912 ramblings will be hit the mark.

Dr. Baz said...

You know you crabon turrlets are already a thing: https://blog.carbonfibergear.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/12/carbon-fiber-toilet.jpg

NHcycler said...

...will hit the mark.

Anonymous said...

Survival Lily pitches my tent every time.

Two Claws said...

Hail Fredonia!

Two claws up
1

Anonymous said...

To Dr. Baz' post, I can only respond: "Holy crap!"

Rated R said...

Hollywood has lots of Ta's Ta's that are for display purposes only too.

Ralph K said...

Calling Dr. Baz at 12:58: As Ed Norton used to say "Flume de Flush".

Baron Haussmann said...

Dr. Baz - I approve of that toilette.

wle said...

""""untenable cockpit!!""""

"That's gold, Jerry! Gold!!""

Trump Voter said...

Lots of pictures, very few words. I like.

leroy said...

The quiz grand prize looked a lot like someone was told to clean the basement. Just sayin'.

Bellevue Hospital PA System said...

Dr. Baz, Dr. Baz, please report to the OR to perform emergency mouth to breast resuscitation.

dancesonpedals said...

Please promise that when Surly starts selling its "Maximal Turgidity in Repose" you'll take it through Sprain Ridge Park and the OCA for a Brooks Blog post.

Elmhurst Hospital PA system said...

"Will the anencephalic interpreter please report to the ER"

BikeSnobNYC said...

None,

Why are you surprised? I am exactly a middle-aged white guy.

--Wildcat Etc.

DB said...

The bike building class was not offered when I went to Iowa.
Considering going back to college.
Thanks for the weekend wrapup.

Spokey said...


i might add that those generally considered 'elderly' are often seen in new balance as well. i think they generally shop at zappos.

N/A said...

I've got to say: I've got a rack like that in my laundry room, and it sure is handy. You should've been more persistent, Wildcat.


JLRB said...

All this talk about racks is bound to head to soft porn

Anonymous said...

I own a Bishop- the greatest bike from the Greatest City in the World.

N/A said...

Someday, I'd like to attend a bikey event with special guest speaker semi-professional blogger Eben Weiss of BSNYC. I don't even care about the bribes.


Is there anything in the greater Cincinnati region that interests you, Wildcat? Perhaps a Fondon't: Mid-Western Edition alongside a river in a small suburban town? If it sweetens the pot, I will offer 1(one) multi-unit container of artisanally-produced beer or beer-like products to be consumed en-route. Not to name-drop, but James Franco visits this town regularly, so there's always the outside chance you could see him. Everybody that can't grow real facial hair is trying to grow child-molester mustaches like his. It's hilarious. Also, prostitution and drug-related crimes are down, mostly. And, this will really seal the deal: I can curate a ride that has black-top, cement, dirt, dirt-with-occasional-gravel, and maybe a little black-top-with-some-sand. The other day, there were some trees being cut down, so there's random twigs and stuff across the trail right now. It'll be a really challenging ride. I'll print out fliers with recommended pressure ranges for each section.

BikeSnobNYC said...

Anonymous 2:12pm,

Bishop is from London???

--Wildcat Etc.

Anonymous said...

Snobby,

Sorry- the Greatest City in AMERICA.

vote Vote VOTE VOTE!!! said...

Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Like Your Life Depends On ItVote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Like Your Life Depends On ItVote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Like Your Life Depends On ItVote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote Like Your Life Depends On It

grog said...

Nice try, scranus.
PUTZ RTMS

BikeSnobNYC said...

Anonymous 2:24pm,

Yonkers???

--Wildcat Etc.

Anonymous said...

Bunker for President in '72 Chaos in '73

Anonymous said...

Those home improvement booth people were the worst, distracting everyone they could lure in from the bike porn.

On the plus side, I'm super psyched to have started journaling in my new BSNYC #WhatPressureWasIRunning journal. Fun to participate in the quiz in real time.

Anonymous said...

Trump's gonna get an ass whipping' tomorrow.

Unknown said...

vsk said ...

Yay! I almost got a mention as the Artis Anal Axe handle twitterer.

The brand on that rail saddle bike looks like CheekRub which is what you'd need after a few miles. Looks like a Campagnolo GS 3 arm crank. Hmmm interesting choice.

The "vote Vote VOTE VOTE!!!" guy is perpetuating voter fraud. Everybody knows voting is tomorrow.

vsk

Lieutenant Oblivious said...

Wildcat, with 17 of your own already, you don't need to be testing out any more kids at the track.

Is the Wednesday a girl's bike then? I think I'm going to wait until Surly releases either the Gomez, Lurch or Thing, although VW may come after them if they use Thing

Sorry I missed the live quiz, maybe next year or the year after if you are sticking to the biannual appearance schedule.

Lieutenant Oblivious said...

And Lob forbid, if Trump somehow wins tomorrow, any of you singles who want to find a Canadian and head to America's own orange comb-over, the Maple Match App has just been released!

It's the economy stupid said...

Why Republicans Should Hope Trump Loses

1904 Cadardi said...

Yonkers? Good one.

Stop making up cities. Who would name a place something silly like Yonkers?

Captain Confusion said...


Tonkers? Isn't that the east of the hudson euphemism for "Boogers"?

Captain Confusion said...


Confused as always, make that

"Yonkers? Isn't that the east of the Hudson euphemism for "Boogers"?"


JB said...

"I didn't actually listen to their conversation but I'm going to guess the guy on the left is explaining the advantages of bamboo as a frame material for the 426th time that day and the guy on the right will be the 426th person to say, "Wow, interesting!" and then walk away."

Bravo.

nelskyle said...

Ha! Somehow didn't think I would be the only one to have filled out that release. I felt weird. And made a hasty exit back to Fredonia at the end, when people just kind of sat and stared at you. Although I do have to say that it was a decent time!

wishiwasmerckx said...

"...although I do have to say that it was a decent time!"

Wow, talk about condemning with faint praise.

blunchbelly said...

Zertz!!!! That was one inspired grand prize.

bad boy of the north said...

Snob,you may be white....but you ain't no middle aged.it kinda starts in the fifties...(re:do you live in a 55 plus apartment type residence?)hey..I hit double nickels last year...but I don't feel middle aged.,yet.okay...panel....when is middle aged?

bad boy of the north said...

Captain Confusion...that isn't the only euphemism.....just sayin'

Freddy Murcks said...

I am pretty certain that Dick Socks could stop taking orders today and he'd likely be dead before he ever gets through the current waiting list. They're nice bikes, but get a grip people, they're still just roadie fred sleds.

Pathetic Old Cyclist said...

GROUND UP! for all those who see the beauty in grotesque TIG welding.

Old tmer said...

Huh? What?

Freddy Murcks said...

The dude in the blue jacket has his hand in his pocket desperately trying to rearrange his pants so that the lady in the pink sweatshirt (his wife, I presume) won't notice that the Ground Up is giving him a stiffy. Meanwhile, the lady in the pink sweatshirt is mumbling to herself "What is this fucking ugly shit? He'll get hard over this ugly fucking abomination of a bike but he won't get hard for me? Fuck it, I'm leasing a Hyundai and I'm finding myself a girlfriend."

babble on said...

Coupla things: A) if ever I curated a bike, I'd name it in homage to you. After all, you're the undisputed king of the religion come to destroy the automotive industrial complex, for which I still intend to run as pope. Lob willing. Heh, and thank you for making my day. You said proctored. It just sounds dirty, and I like it.

And this:

Yesterday morning a driver plowed head on into a group of cyclists who ride for a well known club here in town. One life lost and a couple more irrevocably damaged because of what looks from the outside suspiciously like texting and driving behaviour. Any Fred worth his chamois cream rides that road that time of day as a matter of habit, and this has hit our commuinity hard. It's the second cyclist fatality in Richmond in a week, and the CBC had the gall to include the line "all cyclists appeared to be wearing helmets" as if that somehow absolved the driver from the responsibility of allowing his lethal weapon to drift into the oncoming lane.

FERFUCKSAKE!!! It's illegal to wave a loaded gun around a crowded room and you sure as shit will be charged if it "accidentally" goes off and kills someone whether or not you "intended" to commit murder when you took the fucking thing out of your pocket. Equally so, if you choose to speed, or run a red light or TEXT YOUR FUCKING FRIENDS and kill somebody doing so, then I'm sorry, but you have likewise committed a felony offence and ought to suffer the consequences, whether or not you set out to commit murder.

Um, and sorry, but I'm NOT sorry. The entitled fat assed motorists who drive on the public purse, all the while believing they own the roads are the sorry ones. They, together with those nasty old white men at the top of the oil and gas indsutry, which we subsidize to the tune of a TRILLION dollars yearly, are the only truly ugly, sorry, pitiful excuses for humanity in this picture.

leroy said...

I don't mean to brag, but I wear New Balance sneakers sometimes and my dog assures me I haven't been middle-aged for years.

Now that I think about it, I should ask him if he's calculating in dog years.

Anonymous said...

that sucks

Spokey said...

bad boy & leroy

maybe i'm just a half empty type but i concluded that once i went on medicare, i had to admit to being 'elderly'. so i'd say by double nickels you gots to admit to middle age.

i think i'm on my fourth pair of new balance so that's probably 15 years or so.

Lieutenant Oblivious said...

Pushing 60 I consider myself a tweener - between middle age and senior citizenry. I'm not a senior yet, but I'm not going to live to 120 either! If age is a symmetrical bell curve, middle age would have to begin at 20 for 60 to still be middle aged, right?

Lost Soul said...

I wish I could see something interesting at a bike expo, not just a re-hashed bell or a frame that can accommodate ludicrously large tires. Where has the magic gone? Oh where, where has the magic gone? I weep for the days when something fresh, like 'the mountain bike', came on down and shook up the scene.

bad boy of the north said...

Spokey,i'm sure we're headed for medicare,but what do we do with trumpcare?

bad boy of the north said...

babble...that is sad news....my condolences to the one who passed and hope for a speedy recovery to those that are injured.it sucks for sure.

bad boy of the north said...

I meant condolences for..early morning haziness.

Pick someone and vote said...

Vote vote vote etc

Your Conscience said...

Vote

dop said...

1) Freddy Murcks ( And his Freddy Mercxury?) won the day.

2) Terrible turn of events in Richmond

3) The Pan-Hudson word for booger is Troy.

babble on said...

Bad Boy - Thank you. I'm sure that some see my anger as inappropriate, and yet I can't shake this overwhelming sense of absolute outrage at the general public's mentality that the loss of lives at the hands of careless drivers is somehow ok, or par for the course. All it would take to drastically reduce the death count is a) stop fucking subsidizing the oil and gas industries (one Trillion dollars a year is obscene!); b) make drivers pay their full share of infrastructure costs, including carbon tax; and c) systematically target and penalize bad driving habits. Cameras and GPS are cheap and effective.

Et voila: the world would have a lot more cyclists and far fewer distracted, asshole motorists.

Lost soul: Um, the first time I saw a fat bike it caught my eye... did that bore you, too???

plastic injection molding said...

I like cycling.

Justin said...

Some great pics and experiences for biking enthusiasts. I don't think I've ever seen a wood or bamboo bike before.

Ben said...

Also got to the expo. Comprehensive coverage B.Snob. Should I have splurged on the cheap duds there? Hmm...