It's all a part of my mission to normalize cycling, or my blithe disregard for bicycle safety, whichever you prefer.
(And in case you missed it you should read my motördoping column too.)
Okay, now time to lube up the ol' blunderbuss and bag me a turkey. See you on Monday (unless there's some more extracurricular prose to share before then), and if you need me in the meantime I'm over at the Bike Forecast.
Warmrest Regrads,
--Wildcat Rock Machine
41 comments:
Podium?!?!?
I prefer to normalize a blithe disregard for bicycle safety, if I'm being honest.
NO REGRADS!
It's ironic (I think, I'm an English major) that the "I'm not a robot" thingy asked to to identify cars on a bike blog.
Gonna save reading the Outside column for tomorrow so there's humor at lunch.
But until then, here's a cartoon that seems apropos:
insert link to comic appropriate for sharing on a beikcycle related blog"
This podium feels like cheating.
The pop-in
Topus tennis?
oh,yeah.nice reference to "altered states" one my favorite movies.it's the first movie I bought for my video home system.boy,do I feel old.
Giving thanks for another Snoutside column.
I came for new comments on last Friday's blog and stayed for the Outside column! Happy Thanksgiving!
I prefer Seasons in the Abyss at top volume, but otherwise on point Snobby.
Lube up the blunderbuss? Think pretty highly of yourself don't you?
I'm all about riding with music. Not on a group ride or race though, you need to hear the person next to you. This should be a no-brainer but I still see guys on the start line with earbuds.
Scranus.
I don't care if you wear headphones....Why should I??..I don't know you, do I??
Milton: I was told that I could listen to the radio at a reasonable volume from nine to eleven, I told bill that if Sandra is going to listen to her headphones while she’s driving then I should be able to listen to the radio while I’m riding so I don’t see why I should have to turn down the radio because I enjoy listening at a reasonable volume from nine to eleven.
Look, a whole weekly feature on #whatpressureyourunning! https://www.bikerumor.com/2017/11/22/tire-tech-whats-the-best-tire-pressure-for-road-gravel-bikes/
Those apple ear-bud things fall out of my ears when I'm just sitting at my desk. I can't fathom how anybody can do anything and have them stay in place. And they sound TERRIBLE. Really, unconscionably, terrifyingly, inexplicably terrible. I don't know how anybody listens with them. But listen they do.
Upcoming topics:
- Riding no-hands? Sure - why not?
- Texting while riding? No big deal.
- Riding in flip-flops? If you don't, you're a Fred!
(-;
Not so sure Snobby - get back to me when you try to pass some dolt who can't hear your bell or yell and swerves over into you just as you pass. Many of these "moving chicanes" aren't even on bikes -they're just waddling along in the middle of the bike trail like they're the only ones in the world.
Anonymous 5:55pm,
I live in New York City, I encounter every type of person you could possibly imagine.
--Wildcat Etc.
Bike Boy,
I endorse every one of those.
--Wildcat Etc.
Of...i meant of.you have to figure it out where of was supposed to go.
Now back to my scheduled program on Netflix.
I think Bike Boy was using the pejorative “Fred” to mean a non-competitive unracer. Whereas actual unracers like myself call the racer wannabes and their impractical type A quirks “Fred”. This fascinates me. It’s a catch-all insult that gets used both ways. I can’t think of a similar term with opposite meanings. I used to be a Fred in my clicky racer slippers, and I’m still a Fred now with my handlebars up high and my fenders and flat pedals.
"I live in New York City, I encounter every type of person you could possibly imagine."
How nice for you - does the crash the clueless dolts cause hurt or cost less in NYC?
Snob, I'm a full-fledged cynic & usually in agreement with your rants, but I have to take the other side of the headphone story. In April a headphoned Fred collided into me while coming around a corner on our local trail. I was ringing my bell as he skidded into me, his carbon levers cutting my ring finger to the bone, and causing some kind of early arthritis thing in the forefinger of my other hand. I said "i was ringing my bell" as he unplugged an earbud. Kind of a wrong place/wrong time thing, but ive heard multiple stories about headphoned accidents too.
Anonymous 11:27am,
No, the crashes caused by drivers are as bad as they are anywhere else,
Anonymous 10:55pm,
Sorry to hear that. I thought I made it pretty clear that I was OK with headphones provided they were at a *reasonable volume* and the rider can hear their surroundings. Too loud is too loud. But that doesn't mean you can't use them responsibly. Not sure why everything with bikes (helmets, headphones, etc.) is always an all-or-nothing proposition.
--Wildcat Etc.
Meeting these scraniuses every workday on NY greenway. Or ugly load music on electric bike or pluged ears on race. They are the Kings of the trail.
What is reasonable? This stuff that they consider music is same laudness as in the car. Fortunately, cars just pass you by, but this guy will draft you for 2 miles.
I've only worn headphones while riding once. And that was back in the days of the Sony walkman. It was the same day that I crashed into a 4wd and broke my bike and ended up in hospital. Perhaps it was a coincidence but I didn't wear them after that. That said I think it would depend where you were riding. On the road I definitely want to be able to hear cars approaching. Off road and away from cars it wouldn't matter so much.
I do enjoy a cocktail of music and cycling. I employ Far End Gear's stereo to mono earbud. http://farendgear.com/xdu/?showprod=ECV1#prodtop I am able to hear the music clearly and everything else including other cyclists, my bike making aberrant sounds and cars (however, I've stuck mostly to off road of late). I can easily have a conversation with another rider whilst the music plays and yes Kerry King's solos do sound like sirens. Thanks and keep up the great work.
>Anonymous 11:27
Everything costs more in NYC from what I've heard
>hellbelly
sometimes I enjoy a few cocktails and cycling, but like headphones it's good to keep it at a reasonable level.
Much of the dissension to earbuds come across as, "I've got a bell now get the hell out of my way." Replace music with kids, dogs, runners, skateboarders, tourists, etc... and I can imagine the same folks raise the same objections. Maybe this is a good omen of sorts, an indication that our paths/lanes are too narrow for the volume and the day nears when the roads belong to light weight vehicles of all ilks while motorists are in the position of scrapping for a patchwork of disconnected narrow car lanes. In the meantime, if you're over 7 years old, stick your bell up your ass and learn how to steer and brake.
"I was riding my sweet local single track which is so sweet I couldn't really be bothered to slow down around a blind turn. But I rang my bell and can you believe it that on the other side of the turn was this friggin' moose who didn't know that my bell carries the same imperative as a frantic, exasperated LaGuardia air traffic controller. And that friggin' heap of ungulate shit cut my hand with his antlers and now I have arthritis... or maybe that was from the Borrelia carrying tick on the moose. But no matter. The tick should have known about the bell and gotten the hell out of the way."
No handed? Flipflops? That's a joke, right?
How about a piece on the 0.08 BAC? Allow, even popularize, drunk cycling and, yeah, a bunch of ED docs and worrywart surgeons will drum-up a few grand rounds and a handful of published case studies about an increase in lacerations, abrasions and even an uptick in concussions among cyclists. But, the days of the star high school quarterback taking out himself, the prom queen, her two girlfriends and the oncoming family of four would be ancient history. Plus the modern temperance movement looses its most relied up argument, the inalienable right to drive.
I used to think you were clever. Now, after you tried to normalize the most egregious of cyclist behavior with this tripe of an essay, I think you’re just a pompous ass. If you’re killed because you were focused on the electronic crap you chose to pipe into your ears at the expense of the noise around you, we are all better off without you among us. Bike Snob? How about Bike Douche? You are so gone from my feed. Adios, ass hat.
Joseph Smith,
Later. Always good to get rid of some dead weight.
--Wildcat Etc.
Anonymous at 11:09 “In the meantime, if you're over 7 years old, stick your bell up your ass and learn how to steer and brake.”
I guess you thought your comment was funny?
It isn’t.
Velominati RULE #43: Don’t be a JACKASS.
Way to go out, loud and proud, Señor Joseph. It’s been a while since someone quit the blog in a blaze of vitriol. My hat’s off to you.
Sir Snob, you must be doing it right to evoke this much passion in your readers.
Joseph Smith, you will be back and you know it
bikers are funny... smelling. where's leroy's dog? my winter gloves are an unpleasant haiku about rain and stink.
BRING
ROCK
EARS
Leotard sounds like a North Korean burn for someone born between July 22 and August 21st
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