Monday, January 23, 2017

Wait, is it Monday already?

In this crazy, topsy-turvy, turvy-topsy world, you can only count on three (3) things: death, taxes (current president excluded), and people losing their goddamn minds when you tell them they don't have to wear a plastic hat in order to ride a bicycle.  That last fact would explain why even in the midst of all the inaugural mishegas last week's Gothamist op-ed by Jørs Trüli rode high among the "popular posts" going into the weekend:


Sure, you may have had it up to here [indicates top of helmet] with my incessant screeds on the subject, but I intend to chip away at this country's pathetic bike helmet obsession until it collapses like a bloated world power, and one day when we're finally free you people are gonna thank me for it.

Though of course some people should probably wear them regardless:


Anyway, besides the Inauguration and all the concomitant drama, last week also saw the birthday of melancholy weirdo Edgar Allan Poe:


Which I observed by visiting the High Bridge, one of his most favorite places to pace and sulk:


“In the last melancholy years of his life—’the lonesome latter years’—Poe was accustomed to walk there at all times of the day and night; often pacing the then solitary pathways for hours without meeting a human being,” continued Whitman.

Just think of how much better Poe's life would have been if only he'd had access to Netflix.

Anyway, on an appropriately overcast day I made my way over the Broadway Bridge and into Inwood, where I picked up the Harlem River Greenway at Swindler Cove:


I then continued downtown:


Making sure as always to duck when I reached this treacherous point of reduced vertical clearance:


Whew!  That was a close one:


Had I been wearing a helmet I'd no doubt have clipped my noggin due to the extra centimeter of polystyrene.

This water tower marks the Manhattan side of the High Bridge:


And on the Bronx side a number of the original stone archways remain:


Though I kept going under the bridge to the end of the Greenway, where I scoffed at this sign and continued to ride:


It's a quirk of New York City's bike routes that they expect you to get off and walk from time to time.  Here's a typical example:


I think it's only fair that drivers should have to get out of their cars and push them occasionally as well.  Curb cuts seem like a perfect place to require this.  It's kind of crazy you can drive across a busy sidewalk to access a garage or parking lot.  Why not require all motorists to push their cars when crossing a pedestrian thoroughfare?

Anyway, the ramp delivers you right into the middle of an entrance ramp to the Harlem River Drive, and if you manage to survive that you have time to collect your wits again in this protected bike lane:


Which ends at W. 155th Street:


Drivers will do their best to kill you here, because it's basically a six-way intersection.  Also, W. 155th Street takes you over the Macombs Dam Bridge, and New York City drivers are at their worst (which is saying a lot) in the vicinity of a free bridge crossing.

Here's Hooper Fountain, which was built in 1894 and which is an ideal spot to water your horse:


Here's a building I'm guessing is of a more recent vintage:


And here's the view from Edgecombe Avenue out to the Macombs Dam Bridge and Yankee Stadium beyond:


I think it's where the Mets play or something, I'm really not a baseball fan.

Heading north along Edgecombe Avenue you begin a "climb" by Manhattan standards:


On your right is the lower end of Highbridge Park:


On your left are noteworthy residences such as the Morris-Jumel Mansion, which is the oldest house in Manhattan:


As well as 555 Edgecombe Avenue, which has been home to such personages as Paul Robeson and Count Basie:


Shortly after these abodes a sumptuous two-way bike lane materializes:


But it was at this juncture that I detoured onto the Highbridge Access Trail:


Which begins thusly:


And which, in short order, feels very far away from Manhattan:


Though if you need to charge your phone you're in luck:


Just don't forget your tinfoil hat, because you're being watched:


Once I passed the phone recharger I found myself on the High Bridge:


Here's the view from the span looking towards Manhattan:


Here's the view looking downriver:


Here's Poe as he would have looked while crossing it:


And here's what he'd see from that vantage point today:


Were it not for the safety netting he'd definitely jump.

Anyway, soon I alighted in the Bronx:



Where a sign helpfully points you to the local landmarks:


But where, if you follow the sign, you'll be salmoning, because the two-way bike lane that was once there seems to have disappeared:


Though you can see a hint of green paint remaining under the parked cars:

I was sorry to see this, because last time I was here they were just putting the lane in:


I don't know what happened, but if I had to guess I'd say people freaked out over the loss of parking so the DOT deleted it.

Happy birthday, Edgar!

111 comments:

Anonymous said...

huh?

Anonymous said...

PODIO

N/A said...

Welcome back, Wildcat. Hope the break was good.

Spokey said...

damn just missed podi

Spokey said...

is there a postit yet?

N/A said...

Anonys don't count for podio positions. State law.

Drock said...

Your photo journaling of rides is sweet, drivers pushing their cars may have an impact on our health related crisis. Lowering my pressure to meet public fears of current events.

Anonymous said...

TOP TEN YASSSs

Anonymous said...

top ten after an epic scroll.

Pathetic Old Cyclist said...

I'm just a poe boy, I need no sympathy,
Because I'm easy come, easy go,
Little high, little low,
Any way the wind blows doesn't really matter to me, to me.

top tetnus

grog said...

Ooo pixtures.
Top Twelve.
No helment.

Anonymous said...

I enjoy the travelogue too, nice work. I'm a bit curious. How many miles did this journey entail?

N/A said...

My nitwittedness aside, and being cereal for a moment: Wildcat, I appreciate your talent for expressing not-stupid thoughts and facts on the subject of bike-related laws/not-laws and relentlessly working to cut through the crap that non-cyclists mistake as "facts".

the2002saga said...

For some reason I really enjoy these historyful bike-cycling related posts. They lack a little snark, but I guess we're all getting old and soft.
Is this related to your secret side project that's taking you from the blog?

BikeSnobNYC said...

Anonymous 1:37pm,

10-ish maybe?

--Wildcat Rock Machine

JLRB said...

Quote that stupid black bird that won't shut the fuck up while I am trying to sleep

bad boy of the north said...

nice trip there.one day soon,i have to ride that bridge(the highbridge).perhaps in a fondon't.hmmmm...

Joe said...

For anyone curious about the building of newish vintage, you can read all about it at www.bhc.org. The building contains a new children's museum, a preschool and affordable housing.

Spokey said...


oh the irony. everyone noes that 'edgy' poe wore a helment whilst strolling the bilge.

N/A said...

E.A. Poe liked to get rip-shit blind on bath salts and trip balls on his walks.

wishiwasmerckx said...

These pretzels are making me thirsty.

Unknown said...

vsk said ...

Holy Crap we're still here? How about them political posts.

Oh wait, someone's knocking at the chamber door...


vsk

Anonymous said...

Wait, a raw cookie dough shop opened last week?

leroy said...

Oh you think you got grief for your helmet post?

Man, you should have seen them kicking Edgar Allan Poe.

Goo goo goo joob.

Olle Nilsson said...

Seriously? Helmets beat out raw cookie dough? Where are your priorities New Yorkers?

Another nice photo essay. What, Brooks can't afford you anymore?

dancesonpedals said...

Those of us, of a delicate sensibility call that structure, "Macomb's Darn Bridge"

janinedm said...

The next time you're in my nabe, there's a newish taco spot you have to try. It's not in Yelp or anything. Just a tiny kitchen on the north side of 181st by the Urgent Care and the fire station. Like, only one table but a large variety of Jarritos. I'm on a diet right now (because hills), but everything I've tried on the menu has been amazing and cheap.

dancesonpedals said...

Leroy for cod..

Once upon an Inauguration Dreary said...

"...you can only count on three (3) things: death, taxes (current president excluded)..."

Good one, really good one.

Swindler Cove, must be the neighborhood Donald grew up in.

Location, Location, Location said...

Janine - Conveniently located between an Urgent Care and a Fire Station. So if gastrointestinal distress occurs, take a left out the door, if it's to spicy, take a right.

Unknown said...

vsk said ...

JanineDM,

If you like your Jarritos, you can keep your Jarritos ... just use a triple chainring crankset !!


vsk

Wrench Monkey said...

Janine - that's funny. It doesn't look newish.

White House Maintenance Staff said...

Dagnabit, Trump Brand Epoxy is as worthless as a cow pie. Hell, a cow pie would make a better adhesive. Three whole days is all it held the mirror up. Thank the Lobster on High that Ivana, Marla, Melania and Donald weren't in bed when it came crashing down.

Olle Nilsson said...

By word association, I now want a horchata.

janinedm said...

vsk, losing a few lbs will certainly be easier than swapping components. I ride 16 miles a day as a work commute gimme. I just gotta stop eating more than 2,000 cals a day.

Wrench Monkey, it's newish to me. I think of any dining establishment under 2 years old as new. "specially uptown.

JLRB said...

That sooba thing looks like a kickstarter wetdream - I wonder how much some smug designer got paid to curate it

Freddy Murcks said...

I just pooped in for minute to tell you that I pooped. Jealous much?

Fish Stick's Cousin said...

WHAT IN THE FUCK IS A BIKE BOX? PLEASE ADDRESS

Seattle lone wolf said...

You ship a bike in it, I think.

JLRB said...

"this was the largest audience to ever witness a Gothamist post -- period -- both in person and around the globe," citing audiences who read the post online and through streaming services, all without wearing helments

JLRB said...

Bike Box? You should see them wrestle. Ba Dum

Actual Bike Box Explained

JLRB said...

In other words, it is green paint that makes it easy to shoal

bbotn said...

steaming services?oh,you mean golden streaming services...yep,i went there.

bad boy of the north said...

oops,,streaming services.my bad.

Fish Stick's Other Cousin said...

No, CYCLISTS MUST USE BIKE BOX is a sign in a photo above and I demand explanation.
I almost canceled my subscription to this blog in fury upon realizing the sign went unmentioned in the post!
WHAT IS A BIKE BOX? I live here and I don't know what it is and need an expert to explain NOW.

Anonymous said...

Anyone seen Ted? I think some should go check on him.

JLRB said...

You are by far the angriest fish-stick ever - since you don't seem to like the clicky things here you go (NOW I KNOW WHAT IT FELT LIKE WHEN SNOB PUMPED UP THAT IDIOTS TIRE)

"A bike box is a designated area at the head of a traffic lane at a signalized intersection that provides bicyclists with a safe and visible way to get ahead of queuing traffic during the red signal phase."


Souperfly said...

If you are missing the Ted talk of the day. Allow me; Industrialization and the blah, blah, blah... Something',somethin', civilization,, waka, waka, waka....

Olle Nilsson said...

Although they only meant it to shoal cars it's great for sprinting in front of anyone and then slowing down when the lane narrows.

Old Timer said...

That was a very nice bike tour! And, having taken it, I'm rewarding myself now, with a cold Coke and cup cakes. Thanks, SNOB.

Enlightened Fishstick said...

thank you JLRB

Spokey said...

vsk @1535

i was going to remark that i always run triples. that i haven't had a double since before most of youse all was borned. then i thought about "well except for dop. oh, and leroy. and . . . " i realized "what a bunch of old fuck-o(e)s the commentariat be". 'cept for babs of course who is forever young.

jlrb @1627

speaks for yourself. i strapped on my helment and my nashbar gloves as soon as i saw the headline.

& @1657

are you sure? i'm pretty sure bike boxes are put in to provide poorer drives with targeting practice.

Mr Lobstermash said...

Snob, you're testing your readership again with your Brooks-blog-esque annotated Google-car street view extravaganza. Looks like you need another week off to recover from using all your creativity manna to trump Trump's inauguration stories...

Lieutenant Oblivious said...

Just remember, you can't spell "America First" without "Me First", "Me" being DJT his own self, our first American!

Anonymous said...

on the real, the look at where I rode my bike posts are boring as hell.

Snob, the have a formula that works: post stupid bike, make fun of it, throw in some Cipo references, a couple of good yiddish words, and a recumbabe for good measure, post submit, laugh all the way to the bank.

Appalled from Sydney said...

Previously I had occasion to correspond with this here blogger from my antipodean abode on the subject of the high number NYC cyclists, (evidenced by photographs posted by the author), who seemingly voluntarily wore helmets and the deleterious effect this would have regarding potential mandatory helmet legislation — it would ease the path for a populist politician to introduce such a law, I argued.

Snobby was quick to assure me the preponderance of helmets in that particular photo-journalistic endeavour was atypical and that New Yorkers are an independently minded mob who do not readily acquiesce to the diktat of the state. (It should be noted however, Trump was not president of the US at that time).

And so to today's travelogue and the revelation that Snobby's helmet opinion piece outranks discussions about Trump's ascension and the concomitant apocalypse bound to ensue, and a photograph featuring the bespoke-hipster-design bicycle rider stencils on the road which clearly show the cyclist wearing a helmet!

Even here in the world's premier cycling dystopia we don't have such sinister subliminal brainwashing agitprop adorning our streets.

Youse are totally fucked.

Cleveland Steamer LLC. said...

Consider us for all your steaming service needs!

Anonymous said...

Donald Trump only has two moods.

pissed off and pissed on :P


You gotta know those russian hookers were hot af

babble on said...

Bike boxes are for all of those pricks who mutter "Fuckin' cyclists," as we speed by whilst they sit in traffic.

Nope, old as the hillz, but thanks, Mr K. In case you didn't notice, the markets were at record highs when the qualified CiC left, and started to fall as soon as the orange ego monster took office. And as for the rest of us, with Exon (the company charged with the worst crimes against the environment) as SoS, we'll all be crying out for help before too long. Oh wait, I forgot that you don't actually believe that humans are causing this, the sixth mass extinction event, that that disaster in the gulf, which actually changed the oxygenation, the acidity and the compostion of the Atlantic Ocean, destroying much of the foundation of the food chain for the western Atlantic and triggering a hideous chain of events was "a drop in the ocean," so to speak. Right? Um, and never mind the felonies he'd have been charged with ages ago if the FBI didn't have an interest in the Republican party taking office, but what about treason, hmmm? Does a president convicted of treason still receive the death sentence??

Fucking hell. He wanted a bloody military parade! He hasn't ever served anyone but his own best interests, and he cheated his way out of his call to duty, and he thinks himself worthy of the honour of a military parade. One day, Mr K, you will regret having shared all of that nonsense fake news BS, and having publicly followed such a fucktard. Well, I guess he is good at one thing, and that's hoodwinking those who so desperately want to believe in his lies. Didn't you notice how he campaigned against all of the influence Goldman Sachs had with his rivals, and immediately turned around and hired 5 of them to be his closest advisors? Oh, sorry. I forgot that you inhabit an alternate reality, where you can believe any kind of alternate fact your great misogynist, racist, tratorious leader in chief feeds you.

That you think it acceptable to support such a monster, and that you are willing to publicly admit it... I just can't fathom what goes on in that head of yours. Nor would I ever want to. His crimes are serious. His sanity is non-existant. And that 60 million of you can condone his hatred, and vote for a man who cares nothing for the future of life on this planet, nothing for human rights, nothing for anything, frankly, other than his junk, (OMG EWWWWW and sticking it to his own daughter!!!) is sick.

Welcome to the Twilight Zone.

Yeah, nice. Just another Monday in world affairs.

Oh! And now that you've gone and fucked yourself royally (unless you happen to be one of the billionaires about to benefit from his presidency) I have a great business idea for you. You should make a slew of red, six foot long "Hide Yer Itty Bitty Willie ties!" Why do you suppose he wore a six foot tie? Was it to hide the itty bitty boner he had all day long, as the center of everyone's attention?

Or was it to remind us that this is the end of an era? Gone is the American way: apple pie, baseball, sunshine and a nation governed by the people and for the people. Kiss your nation goodbye, and welcome to the New World Order. We're all one big bike box now, with an evil ego monster at the wheel of a baldly Autocratic Corporate America, ready and waiting to strip us of our rights, steal our children's future, and fuck us into oblivion.

Thanks for nothing, Vic.

babble on said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
babble on said...

K. Now I'm going to tell you what I really think! :)

I'm sorry, Mr VSK, it's just that I pity you for your blindness, and resent you for your dumbass vote, and your willingness to be led along by the nose to beieve so many stooooopid lies. Did you REALLY think that the pope endorsed him, for example? It wasn't the bullies on your timeline that bothered me, it was that you kept posting so much bullshit. And I can't follow your twitter account for the same reason. Do some fact checking ferfucksake.

Heh. Sorry 'bout year luck, snobberdoodums. Yer on top of that madman. And you guys can't call your northern neighbour America's toupee any more. You've got your own.

Anonymous said...

So the first thing Donald Trump did as president was make it illegal to make fun of his hairdo.

If you insult the presidential comb over, there will be hell toupee

babble on said...

Janine, google Eat Fat Get Thin.

Unless you're doing a hardcore ride (think a century for a girl with your great legs) you'll want to avoid anything that provokes an insulin reaction, which slows the metabolism, makes you hungry and stores calories as fat. Which inlcludes sugars and starches like white flour and white rice. Eat slow burning carbs, lots of protien and plenty of fat (which keeps you satiated, boosts your metabolism, and burns calories instead of storig them) and you can consume far more calories than when your body has to make insulin to absorb too much sugar, etc. It really works!!

blunchbelly said...

Well said Ms. Babble.

Anonymous said...

Will you please visit the cookie dough shop after it opens and provide us a review?

Very Slim Pickens said...

I VOTE FOR MS. BABBLE! You go babe, on a bicycle I mean.

JuanOffhue said...

Babble, Janine — Also see Eat Bacon, Don’t Jog by Grant Petersen. Pretty much the same message as Eat Fat Get Thin, engagingly presented by the Rivendell guy. Worked for me.

Manifesto my Asso said...

No more Ted K, has been nominated by Trump for the Supreme Court after Charles Manson dropped out.

Babble Babble, she's our Babe, if She can't do it... said...

The Babble Radio Hour will be right back with important information following this break.....

Well done Ms. Babble.

babble on said...

Thank you, Mr Blunchbelly! Very kind of you. The gist is there, but soooo many typos. They say a writer is never finished any work, and that's especailly true of those of us with small brains, addled by ADD and damaged by far too many knocks to the noggin. If I could scrape together even half a modicum (is there such a thing?) of patience, I'd fersureferfuckingsure proofread.

babble on said...

Wowza! Cheers, peeples! Geez, thank you ever so kindly! I'm blushing rose red, right down to those ....

Hey!! it's a bit nipply in here. I'd always wanted to grow my hair long enough to cover those nipnips, y'know, like you used to see in Playboy magazine back in the day when it had nekkid init, but it just can't seem to catch up.
:-/

Olle Nilsson said...

Manifesto @ 7:00 - so Trump made this comment section great again? Oh wait, it wasn't great to start.

Patrick Swayze said...

Nobody puts bike in a box

Doc Sarvis said...

Doesn't that Canadian woman have her own blog ffs?

janinedm said...

I've got my game plan. I naturally favor meat over carbs. Just practicing portion control and I'd never bother eating fewer than 3 tacos if I'm going to eat a single taco so I'm skipping tacos.

babble on said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
babble on said...

Mmmmm tacos.... mmmmm. Good on ya, my girl. And it does make it easier to climb hills when you shed a few. It's also easier on your joints. (Not the Weednesday kind!) 5lbs of extra weight adds 30 lb of extra stress to your knwws, for example. Or so they say. And my knees tend to agree.

Oooh, lucky you! I wish I were a savoury kinda gal. As the little guy said when he was three "All of my teeth like sweets!"

Spokey said...


i didn't even see where victor sed he voted for ducky. another post? if not me thinks the blistering salvo was a bit much.

as i claimed for the last year, we're going to have the worst president the country has ever known. but now i do know the gender.

as for the market, well yeppers, it has dropped a wee bit in the last couple days. but, it's gone up enough since the election to off the increase for about a year. that ain't too bad.

Spokey said...

make that

but, it's gone up enough since the election to live off the increase for about a year.

babble on said...

It always spikes after the election because a market hates uncertainty, spokey. Like me, you've been around long enough to know that. And your former president cleaned up the mess left by the Bush administration, (remember that? the bubble and the debt he inherited and turned around while handcuffed??) and brought the markets to the point where the post election spike brought the DOW to record highs. THAT is about to change, and in a big, ugly way. Or are you trying to tell me the low unemployement and stable markets, you know, the economy which led to the first interest rate hike since somebody (hint: the man rest of the world sees as a remarkable politician yet your propagandists have named the worst president ever #whothefuckbuysthatshit) cleaned up the mess Bush left you (and the rest of the world by extension!).... are you trying to give that madman credit for that, too?

As for the tirade I unleashed upon Mr VSK, he has made it abundantly clear whom he voted for on this blog and the words I had for him are nothing next to the blistering responses he received from his friends over and over and over again as he continually chose to re-post beautifully curated nonsense from your favourite Russians.

I am simply sick and fucking tired of hearing people tell us that we're supposed to give that criminal fucking madman a chance. A chance to what, exactly? He hates any sort of work, doesn't want to be briefed, and refuses to read the documents necessary to do even a half assed job of Commander in Chief. So he is going to delegate the running of the most powerful country in the world to a group of sycophant billionaires and evil Alt whateverthefuckthatis Right assholes. I've yet to see one sign that this will turn out well. If you can think of one, please. Do. Tell.

babble on said...

Ha! I did wonder who would be the first to mention that old blog. Mighty brave of you, hiding behind your anonymoniker, Doc. What'samatter? Don't like the naked truth as viewed from outside the propagandaized, manipulate the masses, feed em dirty little lies, (lowest unemployment figures in 48 years, but you'd better vote in a lunatic to make it great AGAIN???) and fuck em till they don't know up from down or right from wrong Corporate States of AhhhhMonster and Sons?

But fair enough... THERE's a REASON the avitar it called BABBLE ON, y'know. And SINCE YOU ASKED!! THE blogulation in question? I did't want people to think that the only reason I hang around here is to promote spokeNscene, so I stopped publishing my scribblings.

And yet. Even tho I've not made anything public for coming on a year and a half now, the little FB share thingy keeps racking up the # and it's up to 2.9 million!! UNfuckingBELIEVABLE!! 48,000,000 more and who knows? Maybe I could even be the pope one day. You can only see it if you're on the web version. but there's nowhere near that many people who drop by. I also thought it might be fun to post a limited time offer nekkid as the day photo to see how many o'youz are actually paying attention...

And since you're so very well informed, Doc, can you please answer me this?? Cause it's something I've been wondering for a while now. Since that man was voted in, there's a lot of white people telling brown and yellow and black and anythingotherthanwhite people to "go back to where you came from!" which is, quite frankly, hideous. And we won't go into how your new first lady worked before she had proper docs, and thus will have to leave, along with everyone else who doesn't "belong." But the NAKED truth is that your country, like mine was founded on genocide. Genocide and the blatant destruction of the resources the indigenous people took great care of for some 10,000 years. Genocide. Kind of like what your former president Bush's family made a killing off of in the second world war. Can't blame little GW for following in his great grandpappy's footsteps, can you? BUT. Unlike the indigenous people, whose philosophy is that everyone who lives on their territory is a member of the nations (Some people are better at it than others!!) ... yeah, unlike those noble people, who took care of their resources with future generations in mind, your new CiC is of the notion that foreigners have gotta go. And so perhaps someone could please book Mr Drumpf a return ticket to Germany, hopefully on a time machine, back to the middle of the last century, where he will feel right at home. Racist fuck. So between the genocide that forms the foundation of your great nation, and the racism which morphed from plantations to fucking prisons, I'd like to know, please and thank you, what the fuck was ever so great about it that he is trying to get you back to?

Lowest unemployment, highest markets, finally a little progress in terms of, oh hello, the little matter of human rights... you still have ridiculous income inequality, but there was movement. Real progress to stop the wholesale slaughter of blacks by your police, reversing the criminalization of poverty, limiting the unfuckingbelievably ignorant constrictions of those fundamentalist Christians in power, and, and, and you and 60,000,000 fellow Americans want to go back. Back.

Back. To. What the actual fuck??? Please. Do tell.

Ooooooh, I can almost feel the rage, the hatred from here. Go on, then. Giver. Let's see what you'e got.

Anonymous said...


There are three things certain in life:

Death.
Taxes.
The fact that you can always find old people to cut in front of in traffic.

Lieutenant Oblivious said...

Babs the people fooled by Mein Drumpf will figure out his shtick sinks by the mid-term elections and turn on him. His doom and gloom inauguration speech and bitching about the media's reporting of sparse crowds at the inauguration, including at the CIA memorial service were a good start to that. Assuming we don't raise the earth's average temperature by too many degrees, start world war 3 or a civil war before then, we will survive. I'd like to think this will be a wake-up call for the Democrats and the Republicans and we start working together to fix shit instead of them just blaming each other. In the meantime please keep sharing your observations from North of the border!

Anonymous said...

Babs sure must have eaten (smoked) her Wheaties today.

Spokey said...


actually unemployment is not in a good place. all that is good is the official statistic. if you don't factor in the real employment data including stuff like participation rate, there isn't much point in discussing it because you don't know what you're talking about.

i do agree that ducky is an asshole, but i guess he's our asshole. the last four presidents have been pretty bad and we've survived. my guess is we'll survive this too.

as for the 2008 collapse, i thought that was a housing bubble fueled by bad securitization, liar loans etc. guess i was wrong.

Very Slim Pickens said...

I was going to mention Ms. Babble's (former) Blog, but I figured it might be a touch(y) subject. Miss that blog big time. Great subject matter writing and that young woman had a great eye for photography. An occasional selfie photo from Wreck Beach was a nice touch too.

Al Gore said...

Babble 837 "Not the Weednesday kind!"

What does that mean, I never inhaled.

Dooth said...

I'm grateful Count Basie was into Jazz and not vampirism.

N/A said...

My fellow common-taters, let us please not squabble amoungst ourselves. Instead, may I suggest that we gather all of this impotant rage and aim it at those smug chamois-sniffers at fucking Red Kite Prayer?

babble on said...

Hang on, hang on, we're not squabbling, or at least I'm not.
We're having an open debate. See, the thing about having an open mind is that you can welcome the evidence which is sufficient to CHANGE your OPINION on something, rather than seeking always to reinforce your entrenched belief system.

I am always happy to admit ignorance where it's mine to inform. That's why I asked for a sign or signal that your man would actually be a force for good. A man of the people.

And I am curious: is it that I don't know anything because I am a nasty girl, or is it because I'm a dumb Canadian, without the benefit of a Fox fuelled edumacation? See, cause if it's that I'm just a dumb Canadian, you maybe ought to tell the Brits, cause they hired my school mate (St Francis Xavier, Edmonton) Mark Carney to run their bank after he steered us safely through that last mess your fast and loose government allowed to happen.

My understanding is that banks that are properly regulated can't bundle a metric fucktonne of subprime loans into overvalued mortgage backed securities and then turn around and sell them on a secondary market. It's all well and fine till the interest rates rise and suddenly those variable rate mortgages get to be too expensive for the overextended schmucks who suddenly can't pay for a mortgage which is bigger than the value of the property and the bubble, as they say, bursts.

But then what the fuck do I know, dumbass Canadian nasty girl that I am.

Still waiting on something, anything, to prove me wrong about the shitshow you've got goin on down there. Please peeples. Enlighten me.

Tweeter Twit said...

Ahhhh.... and now it seems those subprimer assholes are cozying up nice 'n' tight to the oval office.
Sad! Unfair!

pontius pilot said...

Oh that darn Jesus! I find no guilt in him. Go on then, I wash my hands. Sad.

Soflo'd said...

I missed you WildC, only 10ish miles? It seems from the photos that it's a longer ride... photo posts are fun!
Go Pats!!! Wat PoePressure u runnin'? Glad you're back.

ItsEasyBeingGreen said...

http://nyc.streetsblog.org/2016/03/17/citing-fdny-concerns-dot-removes-two-block-protected-bike-connection/

Pathetic Old Cyclist said...

Wow, Babs.

N/A said...

Ms. Babs, I'm not sure how much of that was meant for me, but if was any more than the first sentence, then please take a moment to cool your jets lady. It makes no diff to me that you're a woman, Canadian, or where you get your news, I find you delightful just the way you are. I just wanted to make the RKP joke.

JLRB said...

Babs Babs Babs - I'm with you in spirit, but the tone is not quite an open debate - we know we elected a fucking con man - what is your solution?

JLRB said...

And now back to sprinting for the

JLRB said...

100

JLRB said...

and by the way robot tracker - billboards are not street signs

Anonymous said...

VSK is a moron

babble on said...

Jets cooled.

He was duped, along with so many others. Waaay too many others. I honestly hoped someone could give me a reason to have hope, but when I saw that photograph of his cabal of rich old white men smugly supporting him as he signed Reagan's global gag law back into existance, writing off decades of progress for women...

Fuck.

Resistance. Resistance is essential now. You simply must NOT allow his hateful ignorance to become the status quo. And ride yer bike instead of buying into and feeding thier oil and gas fuelled fortune. Essential. Did you hear about the anti abortion act signed into law in Turkey last year? 6 million people protested, and they had to repeal it. Stand up for justice. Don't let them fuck with your kids' future.

And speaking of gags and resistance. Did you guys hear about 20,000,000 muslims marching for peace in the Middle East, in defiance of ISIS? Funny there was no mention of it round these parts.

Fucking corporatocracy.

Leon Carney said...

I have been following your blog for years. I think you are brills. I have met you several times at the NYC Bike Expo to either get a book signed or get a free hat. This is just to underline that I am a fan. Your sense of humor is good. However, I just want to add that it is quite refreshing that today's post was less of a cynical bilge pump about the state of the world and more of a serene guided tour of one of your rides. I found it relaxing and it was a moment of escapism in a media otherwise filled with chaos and cynicism, (yes - thanks Trump).

dnk said...

Hey Babble,

You're completely right about Trump. The U.S.A. elected a small-minded self-obsessed egomaniac. And people are definitely going to get hurt because of him: women (esp. if he appoints a supreme court justice who tips the balance to overturn Roe v. Wade), minorities (Jeff Sessions as attorney general is not going to prosecute civil rights crimes), the environment.

I admit to not reading every comment here, but I can't remember VSK supporting Trump. Plus he seems like a good guy (VSK, not Trump).

Even so (if he is a Trumpie), you're probably not going to change his mind w/a rant.

I do think (or at least fervently hope) that as the lies* pile up, a significant number of people who supported Trump will wake up and see he for who he is. Remember, he did not win the popular vote: he lost by millions. His "edge" came from some 77,000 votes cast in three swing states. Hardly a mandate.

[*And really obviously fucking lies. Like sending out his new press secretary Sean Spicer on Saturday to make the absurd claim that the 2017 inauguration drew the largest crowd in history, easily disproved by anyone looking at side-by-side photos of the two events that were taken at peak crowd times.]

Spokey said...

ok how's this for an edification point?

Re: It always spikes after the election because a market hates uncertainty, spokey. Like me, you've been around long enough to know that.

from the first market day in november until 20-jan (or the last market day before)

S&P trends at the initial election of a US prez for the last 40 years.*

Carter -0.126%
Reagan 2.023%
Bush 2.713%
Clinton 2.512%
Bush -5.536%
Obama -16.670%
Trump 7.197%

I wouldn't consider Trump pushing the frequency over the half way mark as always spikes. If I had wanted to spin it, I guess I could have just done since Bush 2 and then trump would be the only one who spiked in this century.

As I said before I think Trump is an asshole. Didn't vote for him. And in fact registered as a Rep to vote against him in the primaries. But ranting and just putting out misinformation isn't the way to win over anyone.

*source - https://finance.yahoo.com/quote/%5EGSPC/history?p=%5EGSPC

N/A said...

I've invested all my monies in Brooks saddles, Sugino cranksets, and Nitto bars/stems. Take that, suckers!

JLRB said...

Spokey - What? You're going to start using facts and figures? I quit.

(but which Obama inaug is that? If it's 2009, that is kind of one of the biggest anomalies you can find in US market history ...)

Actually one of the (I thought) smarter finance types I know pulled a bunch of money out of the market before the election as a hedge against uncertainty - didn't work out, yet. Although sleeping at night is always a good thing.

JLRB said...

And as far as this Trump shit goes, as I've said before, I've got my bucket of popcorn and am ready for the show, but I really liked Aziz's take - not all Trump supporters suck balls

dnk said...

JLRB -- agreed, that Aziz monologue hit it.

Spokey said...


yep the 2008

figured that based on the idea of uncertainty, the initial election was the important one to use.

Unknown said...

vsk said ...

"Anonymous Anonymous said...
VSK is a moron

January 24, 2017 at 10:30 AM"

Anonymous Anonymous is a cowardly piece of shit. At least Ms. Babble has the decency to be real. Even if wrong.

vsk