Friday, June 22, 2018

It's Summer! It's Friday! It's a New Outside Column! That's Three Things To Be Wildly Excited About!!!

This is what passes for culture nowadays, seriously?



And does this illustrator have it in for me or what?


Hey, I'm not gonna lie, I've been known to palp flip-flops when the temperature starts tickling the undercarriage of the triple digits, but I don't run the sweater/shorts/sandals combo.  

Not that I have anything agains those who do, it's just not what I'm about. 

(I don't actually know what I'm about, I just know what I'm not about.)

I'm surprised he didn't put me in socks to really drive it home:


Speaking of kids on bikes, the Junior Fred Sled continues to work out well:


And I'm looking forward to some outings once school is finished.

Maybe I'll even let my son get a turn on it.

35 comments:

JEMColorado said...

Podium?

JEMColorado said...

Podium?

HDEB said...

Wish I felt it was safe allowing my children to ride bicycles in the street near where we live

dancesonpedals said...

Kenda Tires: The official Rubber of Bicycles that come to you by mail in a box.

Microcord said...

Sandals specially curated for gravel by Eric the chamferer - sweet!

Simon said...

Hi ho, podio

bad boy of the south said...

Man,he even gave you a murse.

Serial Retrogrouch said...

...I think he was kind to you... he didn't stick a foam hat on your head.

Anonymous said...

The Junior Fred deserves a junior Renovo; a chip off the old block.

Serial Retrogrouch said...

...All this time I thought you were hesitant to encourage kids to race, especially your progeny. Was there a change of heart after the kiddie fred sled arrived?

Chazu said...

Yes, there is a BMX track nearby, and I didn't know about it until now. Not only that, there is a BMX association which promotes the sport, AND they organize "balance bike races." My current balance bike rider was so eager to get out the door and on his bike this morning; he took his breakfast with him. "Daddy I'm going to eat this while riding my bike!"

Careful son, you don't want to inhale chunks of that peanut butter/jelly/tortilla roll-up when you're doing intervals in the threshold HR zone.

Anonymous said...

Bad boy of the South with that name I would assume you would know that is not a Murse. As anyone who has ever been to a Mississippi State football game would know, that is a cowbell.

The only sound maker that is worse are the hand held boat horns and even those eventually run out of air.

But, I guess since WCRM (Tan Trveno) did not mention it, he is planning to use one at his son's next race.

Winky said...

Sports-ball has taught our children that there is always someone else to blame. Team-mates, coaches, referees and the other team are all responsible in some way or another for their failure.

janinedm said...

@Serial Retrogrouch FYI, I answered your question about the time commitment to fight tickets in yesterday's post (I like to keep convos tidy!) I think, not to put words into Snob's mouth, that it's one thing to encourage kids to race bikes and another thing to encourage them to professionally race bikes with the attendant drug use... um, I mean, late-onset asthma. (For real, with the number of hidden illnesses revealed whenever a test comes back dirty, you'd think cycling was a sport for invalids.)

Olle Nilsson said...

There's something wrong with shorts/sweatshirt combo? Good to know. This is why I keep coming back. So much more than bikecycling.

Drock said...

Nice

Chazu said...

I texted the link for the local BMX racing schedule to my wife, along with this photo on Instagram showing three Strider bike racers on the track. Instagram Link

Her response: "He would love this! And he'd be good at it!"

Next step: take our four year old to the BMX track to watch a race. Hopefully, he'll tell us he wants to try it. Even better, his older brother will say the same thing.

leroy said...

It's Take Your Dog To Work Day.

Imagine my surprise.

Ride safe all!

JLRB said...

For whom the bell tolls

Anonymous said...

No one is going to make a Christopher Walken or SNL reference? Really?

Crosspalms said...

Apparently the illustrator thinks you need more cowbell.

Spokey said...


@janinedm @12:47 PM

For real, with the number of hidden illnesses revealed whenever a test comes back dirty, you'd think cycling was a sport for invalids.

you know, you could have told me that a whole bunch of bikes ago. woulda saved a tidy sum. guess i'll just go back to sleeping bag triathlons



Serial Retrogrouch said...

@janinedm... thanks for the tip. I will keep that in mind next time.

...i never thought of the distinction of pro-racer and racing fred. The doping line has been blurred... but i would still prefer my kid take the racing path than, say, whiling the hours away on social media.

bad boy of the south said...

Anonymous@1232pm
I appreciate the correction.i haven't been in the South for too long.
transplanted yankee,you see.
What we need is more cowbell(looking at you will ferrell) less murse.not that anything's wrong with that.

bad boy of the south said...

And anon@1232p...y'all made me check youtube for Mississippi State cowbells.

Chazu said...

Between yesterday's comments and today's comments, it is apparent that we need BSNYC/Tan Tenovo discussion forums. They'd be the best damn bike cycling forums on the inter tubes.

1904 Cadardi said...

(unlike the esteemed commenter janinedm, I'm not so much into tidy, so here's a repeat from yesterday that I posted today because reading comprehension, meh))

Nice article in Outside Mr. Tenovo,

But regarding your closing line "I mean hey, baseball’s great and all, but besides showing off at the dunking booth now and again, what do you do with it?" Two words: college scholarships. When I entered college the first collegiate cycling league was only in it's second year, so maybe there are cycling scholarships now. If I was raising a micro-human (thankfully for me, them and society I'm not) interested in bikecycle racing I would certainly encourage that, but I would also encourage them to run a bit and carry that cycling fitness onto the Cross Country team and turn it into tuition.

Anonymous said...

" ...but I don't run the sweater/shorts/sandals combo. "

I'm guessing the long sleeves stems from the inability or unwillingness to draw tattoos.

JLRB said...

Just noticed - the kids in the race drawing are on stridabike or likeabike or whateveryoucallthems. I imagine that is a thing. Hopefully the parents of young bicycle racers aren't as intense about reliving their childhoods as are the typical little league parentals.

Hee Haw the barista said...

Team sports teach kids how to function as a member of a team.

Anonymous said...

Uncle Rico disagrees with your assessment of ball sports.

Anonymous said...

Fun fact: the illustrator, Taj Mihelic, is a former badass BMX pro.

Chazu said...

Took the family to the local BMX track yesterday. The goal was to observe the races and gauge the reaction of our boys, ages 4 and 9.

They loved it from the moment we arrived. From the Strider riders to the adult men and women, they were captivated and explicitly stated an interest in riding the track.

They only downside is the necessity of driving there.

Oh, and the 9 year old has a friend whose parents have tried to get him involved with several ball sports, including soccer and baseball. He explicitly tells his friends and parents "If it involves a ball, I'm pretty much not interested." That's his nature, not a result of his environment.

Unknown said...

As well, take a look at what NICA (National Interscholastic Cycling Association) has done bringing Mountain Biking to middle and high schools. Thanks to NICA we now have middle school and high school mountain biking in Pennsylvania. There are many states that have brought in MTB racing to their schools but still many more to go. Our team grew from 20 kids the first season, to 43 the second season and now we have 68 registered. To add icing to the cake, parents take an active role, volunteering as coaches, doing everything from mechanic work to riding with the students.

Eben, if you ever feel like a road trip, come and check out our team (Owen J Roberts Mountain Bike, http://www.ojrmtb.com/), join us during a practice (Tues, Thurs or Sat) and see for yourself. So many of us dads only wished we had this when we were in high school.

Chazu said...

Unkown - thanks for the info. I see good things happening nearby!