Wednesday, February 21, 2018

Wish You Were Here

Good morning!

Somehow I've found myself here:


(#whatSPFyourunning)

Given this, I'll be even more aloof than usual this week.  In fact, I've even signed off the Bike Forecast until Monday, since filing daily dispatches about cycling in New York City from the beach just didn't seem ethical...though if I were able to get away with it then maybe I could leave the city permanently and nobody would be the wiser.

Ah, who am I kidding, I'm never leaving.  So far the closest I've ever come is that time back in 2011 when I fake-moved to Portland.  Indeed, I was so relevant in those heady days that The Oregonian even reported on it.  (Though I suppose that could have less to do with how relevant I was and more to do with how little there is to report in Oregon.)  Still, what cyclist doesn't occasionally fantasize about pulling up stakes and moving to a bicycle-themed apartment complex in the Town That Beards Built?


Amazing:


So sold was I that I immediately headed over to their website to put down a security deposit, but they wanted a beard hair sample and letters of recommendation from no fewer than three (3) Oberlin professors and so I didn't even bother browsing the listings.

Finally, before I recede into those azure waters, here's something to think about:


In the wake of the Florida school shooting US bike advocate Aaron Naparstek is calling for a boycott of Giro, Bell, Camelbak, CoPilot and other bike brands owned by Vista Outdoor, America's largest manufacturer of ammunition. This $3bn company is also a corporate supporter of the gun lobby’s mouthpiece, the National Rifle Association, he said.

"The same company that manufactures your CoPilot rear-rack child bicycle safety seat also produces the SavageArms MSR 15 Patrol assault rife," tweeted Naparstek last night.


I've been boycotting helmets anyway so I'm halfway there.

67 comments:

N/A said...

Enjoy the vacay, Wildcat. Careful that you don't get sand in yer chamois!

ClevelandYeah said...

Shout out to Oberlin! Yeah yeah.

ClevelandYeah said...

Although now that I think about it, you got it wrong. Oberlin is known more for its hairy women than hairy men. Not that there's anything wrong will hairy pits and legs.

ID The Vacation Photo said...

Guess 1: Atlantic coast of Florida, way from Miami / Fort Lauderdale.
Guess 2: Bahamas


wishiwasmerckx said...

Wait, I am confused. Isn't Rockaway beach still in NYC?

wishiwasmerckx said...

So I can get behind a boycott of Giro, Blackburn, Bell and Bolle, but I refuse to boycott Cameltoe.

Wait, what? Oh, nevermind...

dancesonpedals said...

Dang. I liked Blackburn stuff. I'll just have to suck it up and buy a Silca Pista.

dancesonpedals said...

N/A-

That reminds me of a joke I heard in freshman German class in 1973:

Warum trinkt die Deutsche Madchen Bier am Strand nicht?

Si mochten kein sand in seine Schlitz!

(Why don't German girls drink beer at the beach? They don't want to get sand in their Schlitz)

cdinvb said...

Let the sun, sand, water nourish your fevered and tortured New York soul. We kinda like it ourseffs.

Chazu said...

Del Boca Vista, Phase II?

recumbent conspiracy theorist said...

Scranus.

Spokey said...

well maybees top 10

Spokey said...

we used to grow beards like that back in the 60s. well everyone else did. i suck as much at growing a beard as i do at general riding, sergeant riding, climbing, and sprinting. i have acquired a decent stopping technique. at least good enough to not fall over these days.

Spokey said...

ah, '73. great times. freed from the shackles of college. not yet in the shackles of parenthood. running around in my mustang convertible and about to plunk down five grand on my first datsun Z. bike-wise, alas it was a sears (10 sp?) 'free spirit' that weighed as much as the mustang. not sure when i got that bell biker healment so i might have been helment-less too.

Dooth said...

Et tu, Giro? Damn, I’ve got a few of their shorts, a wind jacket and shirt...need to rationalize keeping them...guilty legs ain’t got no cadence.

Daniel said...

Stop the bikesploitation.

Grump said...

Who in their right mind carries their bike on the chainring side (in a white shirt)

bad boy of the south said...

Gilgo Beach!That's Gilgo Beach!I recognized those umbrellas anywhere.
Didja rent out a beach cruiser yet?

Wish You Were Here said...

...no you don't.

I go a million of them said...

Weather is here,
wish you were great.

PISS POOR said...

Huh. Savage Arms is in Massatucky. Must have passed by on the Pike as it sounds familiar. Same town as Columbia Bicycles were made. Yes, they made military bikes.
Good thing I have pretty much all the bike crap I'll need for a while.
I have bought some of those brands in the past.
On the other hand, I don't have ANY guns yet, maybe I should apply for my F.I.D card.
Don't worry, I'll just fire those tire-perforating sabots into mass shootings of tires at the local mall parking lot.



Bryan said...

Get on balloon tire beach cruiser, wherever you are!
Meh, I own those brands in cycling stuff, and I've shot both federal and blazer ammunition. Reading the article, you would think it is a revelation to find out that a company that owns firearm/ammunition/range equipment companies would support an organization that would help it profit and benefit it.
Looks like they also hold some golf brands too, amongst other things.Honestly, I'm sure there are plenty of other holding companies that own peoples favorite brands along with brands/products they find less than savory

Anonymous said...

I'm always at a loss when some passerby cyclist tells me to get a helmet on, usually in front of my kid. While I'd like to stop and explain the whole public health and urban planning debate behind their dubious assertion, this Vista Outdoor connection gives me a much quicker and pointed retort. It also explains the noticeable uptick in hunting themed mtb advertising the last couple of years.

While considering a boycott, consider that Blackburn partnered with www.backcountryhunters.org/ on a bunch of access to public land issues last year, something that is precious common ground to both gun hunters and other environmentalist and recreational users like cyclists/hikers. Perhaps folks have seen Blackburn's bike-to-fishing movies advocating clean water and access. Certainly not to excuse Savage Arms, a foul business name by any measure.

Spokey said...

grump @ 1:25

i figure it's an old bike with no grease. note the quill stem and 'safety' break leverages.

i'd do the same thing if i had hare like that. in fact, i'd do the same thing if i had any hair.

Pist Off said...

Cadence bro’s curated suspenders take his whole ensemble into hat-on-a-hat territory. I wonder if he has a bespoke leather messenger bag for his typewriter.

JLRB said...

Apply sunscreen liberally.

Drink liberally.

WETT SHRT

I hope not said...

So is Wildcat moderating these comments from the beach, Mai Thai in one hand, smarting phone in the other, as he yells at his 17 children to stop throwing sand?

Late Stroke Bob said...

Hipster Man should trade some of his hair gel for a roll of handlebar tape

dan said...

Many more pictures of no-bar-tape-guy here:

https://www.123rf.com/photo_44203140_time-to-hit-the-road-handsome-young-bearded-man-looking-at-camera-while-sitting-on-his-bicycle-outdo.html

He also shows up an awful lot on web pages about "how to be handsome with a beard" and sites selling beard oil. I think BSNYC may be the only bike-based page where he appears, though.

wishiwasmerckx said...

Damn, Savage Arms, 41 brands is a lot to keep track of...

Bill said...

Guns and bikes have a long intertwined history. My dream biathlon is on two wheels.

Bill said...

Preferably on track bikes with a service rifle (5.56 or7.62) rather than a prohibitively expensive Anshutz .22lr. that I can't afford in my wildest dreams. Crabon fibre stock, anyone?

Anonymous said...

Savage Arms is named after a person, Arthur Savage, who founded the company. This does not excuse the fact that in 2018 at least some of their guns still come with a Native American head in headdress logo sticker.

It is pretty weird that they're owned by the same company as Giro, Bell, and Blackburn.

Anonymous said...

Ted Kennedy the fat drunk senator from Taxachusetts killed more people with an Oldsmobile than I have killed with all my military-issue rifles in all m y 66 years. They quit making Oldsmobiles so I can't boycott them. Guess I'll just have to boycott brain-dead hypocrite liberals.

Oh, and Planned Barrenhood kills more kids in a day than all the mass school shootings that ever were or ever will be.

Anonymous said...

So, uhm...don't automobiles kill a WHOLE LOT MORE PEOPLE than guns do every year? Why is no one boycotting the auto mfrs too? I mean, aren't they (the auto mfrs) responsible for how people use their product just like the gun mfrs apparently are? And on that note, don't knives and clubs (blunt instruments in general) kill a whole lot more people than guns every year too? Just sayin...cuz I know my Sig P220 and Ruger Mini 14 haven't once slipped out of my gun safe undetected and killed anybody (and I've been watching them pretty close, those sneaky weapons!) I've noticed that all by themselves they just don't shoot very good at all. Much like a car, it takes a human to make it do things, good or bad.

1904 Cadardi said...

Assume the portaging guy either:
A)dismounted on the drive side so he can more easily scale an leftward traversing off camber run up in a bespoke urban cyclocross race
B)is the victim of a reversed image because an art director wanted him facing the left
C)is a model and doesn't know anything beyond artisinal beard grooming products

(helpful hint, those are listed in order of increasing likelihood)

Anonymous said...

Mass shootings are the new two minutes of hate... see everyone foaming at the mouth outraged by it all and know The Man has them right where he wants them... perfect way to demonize gun ownership to such a degree that soon even the thought of owning a gun will get the thought police on you

mike said...

Bleary help seems like you Mericans either yin or yang,heaven or he'll.Just utilise the noggin,eh?

BikeSnobNYC said...

Anonymous 6:08pm,

Um, plenty of people boycott cars by not owning them. The rest of your comment doesn't warrant addressing.

Do you also keep your brain in the gun safe?

--Wildcat Rock Machine

BikeSnobNYC said...

Anonymous 5:45pm,

Please start your boycott by not visiting anymore.

--Wildcat Etc.

BikeSnobNYC said...

Anonymous 7:40pm,

Yes, let's think of the poor, persecuted gun owners.

--Wildcat Etc.

HDEB said...

Enjoy the beach time : )

dancesonpedals said...

When a commentator says auto mfrs, does he mean m_ther f___ers?

1904 Cadardi said...

Anon at 6:08,

"don't knives and clubs (blunt instruments in general) kill a whole lot more people than guns every year too?"

Nope, not even close. Per the CDC, in 2016:
11004 Deaths by firearm
1604 Deaths by knives of cutting instruments
1128 Deaths by hand, feet or blunt instrument

So you're wrong. Very very wrong. Almost a full order of magnitude wrong.

bad boy of the south said...

Must've been a kumquater(pres.kumquat supporter)

ken e. said...

jon oliver has a (hilarious) bit with a nra clown about australia's (very sucsessful) ban on assault rifles... talks also to the aussie prime minister who implemented it. lol's abound, for such a dead horse topic. looking at you, anon. maybe a more appropriate dead animal metaphor would be an albatross....

Numbers are something smart people use said...

As stated correctly by 1904 Cadardi there are more then 10,000 murders a year in this county. A small fraction are committed during mass shooting (although "experts" disagree on what counts as a mass shooting) and an even smaller fraction occur at schools. If all "mass" and "school" shooting were eliminated, we would still have over 90% of the murders we have now. If we want to reduce murder, we need to look at the majority of these crimes, not the rare occurs that get sensationalized every few months.

Second, as high as the murder rate is now, it was much higher in the past. New York Times DEC. 27, 2017: "...in 1990, ...there were 2,245 killings in New York City, but as of Wednesday there have been just 286 in the city this year — the lowest since reliable records have been kept."

So someone has been doing something right over the last few decades. How we figure out what that is an do more of it?

McFly said...

Destin/Ft. Walton?

Chazu said...

Looks like some gun bois were 'triggered' by this blogular entry.

Anonymous said...

Truth is, the left had the White House and a congressional majority from 2009 to 2011. They did nothing of any substance to promote gun safety. Truth is, they need a certain amount of bloodshed to advance their agenda.

Winky said...

Anon at 6:08

"So, uhm...don't automobiles kill a WHOLE LOT MORE PEOPLE than guns do every year?"

Not really. Cars and guns kill about the same number of people every year in the US. Guns in the low-to-mid 30,000s - cars in the mid-to-high 30,000s.

JLRB said...

While I try not to argue with Russian BOTs trying to unravel our most awesomest society, and don't care about NRA single minded types, I have to say that if the coward who shot 17 kids in FLA tried to do the same attack with Kennedy's Oldsmobile (always the Kennedy's crimes brought up by the BOTs),or with a knife, club, or even a gun with a magazine limited to the needs of a sportsman, the little fucker would have got his woosie ass kicked after taking out maybe a few, but nowhere near 17 kids.

And yes I own almost as many guns as bikes.

Anonymous said...

"..the needs of a sportsman..."
lmfao. It's not the bill of "needs". It's the bill of RIGHTS! Specifically the right of the common man to defend against an overreaching government, thus preserving his status and that of his fellow Americans, not as a serf, a subject or a peon, but as a sovereign citizen.

"When the people fear the government it is tyranny. When the government fears the people it is liberty." If ever a choice was a no-brainer.

I'm an old man in some folks' light. Born in 1951. But my memory is fine and I recall no school shootings when I was coming up. No why in this day and age, other than to provide crises that the left can use to its advantage, are they allowed to happen?

Numbers are something smart people manipulate said said...

There are certainly disparate numbers out there for firearm deaths per year. It appears that the number used depends largely on the agenda one is trying to advance.

So far as I can tell, the "real" number is about 38,000,* which is more than automobile fatalities. Out of those 38,000, it appears that approx 40% are murders, and approx 60% are suicides, and that gun advocates want to back out the suicide numbers from the statistics to make it seem like "gun violence" is far less of a problem than it actually is.

P.S. To whom do I send my bill for my research time?

* Among other sources citing this number is Time Magazine, so it is therefore presumably reliably fact-checked.

Wait, BSNYC comments now have footnotes? What the actual fuck?

leroy said...

Dear Anons of 2/21 @5:45, @6:08, and 7:40 pm and of 2/22 @2:45 -

My has asked me to inform you that he has a special streaming media message thanking you for your contribution to Mr. BSNYC's comment section.

Frankly, I'm a bit confused because we agreed we're not buying @VistaOutdoorInc owned companies' products until they stop pandering to your wet dream of turning our country into a shooting gallery.

But I've learned that my dog usually has his reasons.

BikeSnobNYC said...

OK, no more comments from gun nuts/Russian bots as of now. (As much as I enjoy laughing at people who think owning a gun somehow preserves their liberty...)

Numbers are something smart people manipulate said: said...

Anon 6:46, despite our host's plea to drop it, I will not let your observations go unchallenged.

The US Constitution,* which you so obviously hold inviolate, indeed provides for gun rights. It also provides that a Black person counts as 3/5ths of a human. Surely you defend that clause as vehemently as the Second Amendment, right? Or is it that you pick and choose dependent on your personal preferences?

Or is it possible that the beloved Founding Fathers could not envision a world with rocket ships, self-driving cars and the internet, and admit that maybe we need to rethink and stop solving 2018 problems with solutions that were cutting edge in 1789?

* Actually, the Bill of Rights, but Constitutional scholars recognize the first 10 amendments as properly part of the original

Fuck me, another footnote? What is this, a term paper? Sheesh...

leroy said...

Ok, no more gun nut comments.

But my dog insists I correct the error in my previous comment.

I left out "dog" in the first paragraph after "My."

I told him to chill.

It's not like folks aren't going to know who I'm talking about.

Tan safely all!

Teddy Roosevelt said...

Snob said nothing about knife comments. There's nothing like the warm and fuzzy feeling I got when I stabbed that cougar.

BamaPhred said...

The picture reminds me that I need to get myself down to Fort Morgan. With my luck, it’ll rain and be cold. Or what the snowbirds call a nice day outside!

Pist Off said...

Bots everywhere, Russian or just mainstream-media-addled humans. Yes, Fox, NewsMax, Breitbart, even Infowars are mainstream media. Fuck it, dude. Let’s go ride bikes.

1904 Cadardi said...

How about bike nut comments! I sold some bike crap on ebay so that means I get to buy some bike crap on ebay, right?

JLRB said...

Commie BOT @6:46
Your Russian puppetmaster is surprisingly weak on logic.

1. You say its rights not needs, then go on to say Our Second Amendment is about the need to fight back against the tyranny of powerful centralized government. You can’t have it both ways.

2. Following your logic to its illogical conclusion, everyone should have atomic weapons ‘cause the US military has them. Our Second Amendment was written when there wasn’t much ambiguity about what a gun was. Our Supreme Court desn't want to touch a Second Amendment case so we may never find out if it will be applied as though all guns are flintlocks or if reality will be taken into account.

3. Saying school shootings didn’t happen back in your glory day so their existence must be a liberal plot is laughably illogical. Classic Commie BOT material – blame libtards to divide the Americans when you've got no original thought.

4. You still have not answered my premise – would school shootings be as deadly without large magazine weapons of war?

5. If you are not a Commie BOT you must be a big fan of Archie Bunker “Boy, the way Glenn Miller played! Songs that made the Hit Parade. Guys like us, we had it made. Those were the days!”

Hey get off of my lawn!

bad boy of the south said...

Wow! on vacay,and still publish an article in "outside",while outside.
the article was spot on.let's hope that there are those in education who'll read it.

ClevelandYeah said...

I predict a new Outside column will drop today.

Unknown said...

What I think probably doesn't amount to a hill of beans (Australia has it right) I am concerned about my cycling rights. We have no safe passage law here in Michigan, are trying to get a 5' passage law enacted, with great resistance. There is lacking space to be fredly here.

Unknown said...

Why do you remind me of Senator Savage Mr Snob?