As I mentioned, I had no plans at all to be on the radio until this past Thursday, when the station said, "Do you want a radio show?" and I said, "Yes." Anyway, if you missed it you can listen now thanks to the miracle of streaming technology; just go to the archives and choose "Bike Snob" from the pull-down menu. And if you don't have an hour to waste listening to me bloviate, just skip to 11:47, which is when I take a call from an "avid cyclist:"Was feeling insecure about how I did on the radio this AM until I read this, now I know I did just fine. pic.twitter.com/l9clLzCX0Y— Bike Snob NYC (@bikesnobnyc) June 3, 2019
Of course, the real reason I agreed to do a radio show was that it provides me with a ready-made excuse to take a long ride on a Monday morning, even if that ride is through the heart of the city at rush hour. If you'd like to see some of the highlights, I shared them on this morning's Bike Forecast:
Not only that, but this morning I ended up cutting a swath through Manhattan yet again, for I headed out early to take a bucolic ride on so-called "River Road" in New Jersey, only to find it closed:
River Road is often "closed" and I usually ignore the signs, though I figured I might as well take the "pesticide spraying" warning seriously--even though I suspect it was a ploy like in "Close Encounters of the Third Kind" when the government says there's toxic nerve gas in the area in order to deter people from the alien landing sight. In fact, I highly suspect there was an alien landing this morning on the New Jersey Palisades, and I'm going to start riding with a handlebar-mounted canary so that I can test the veracity of these so-called "pesticide sprayings" in the future.How seriously do I take this? pic.twitter.com/rQnN0382u7— Bike Snob NYC (@bikesnobnyc) June 4, 2019
This time however I just said "fuck it," hopped back on the Greenway, and did a little slingshot around Central Park and back home.
Finally, you may recall that I got a sweet new fixie:
Well, the reason I got it was because Bicycling asked me to write about it in the context of cycling subcultures:
(Photo: Grant Petersen)
Otherwise, I stand by it.
Radio is a tender medium indeed...especially after your mom beats it.
ReplyDeleteI thought the show really came into it's own around the 47 min mark.
I'm stunned no one else prank called.
everyone does hate bikes!!!
ReplyDeletegood show!
Weed.
ReplyDeletethis is a good radio show - it does take determination to ride every day - but once I'm rolling - wheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee - also, fk the haters
ReplyDeleteGlad to see you and Bicycling kissed and made up after the NYC is #1 rift ...
ReplyDeleteDo you ride the Core-Line fixed or single-speed?
Looking forward to listening to your radio show after I pretend to do pretend work
"Avid cyclist." Radio gold, Snob!
ReplyDeleteListened from Sicilia where you are ironic pre drive-time 4pm slot. Good choice sir! I salute with too much beers.
ReplyDeleteI liked the comment on the radio show about cycling being the closest thing to flying. True dat!
ReplyDeleteSpeaking of fixies, this bike made me think of the olden days of fixies with handlebars narrower than the riders's shoulders -- though it may not be 100% deliberate in this case:
ReplyDeletehttps://imgur.com/a/RSw8InI
Also, the lock the Bicycling article used in their lead photo is not very secure if the thief has, say, some tin snips:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D15QH72xfPA
Perfect. Avid guy apparently is a statistical outlier- a true magnet for bicycle-bicycle collisions, yet he’s still alive and bitter about it. He wouldn’t be saying “most cars follow laws” if he actually, you know, rode a bike in traffic, much less in NYC.
ReplyDeleteYou can’t use All Things Considered referring to your new radio wave show, Maybe - Small Things Considered?
ReplyDeleteCongrats on the show! The Damned FTW!
ReplyDeleteNice shoutout to our forebears in the bicycling text.
ReplyDeleteSheldon Brown. That guy made great use of the internet, he was the bike wiki before there was a wiki. Since then all we do is complain AND I haven't built one bike from parts.
I'll have to stream that radio show tomorrow at work...
Caught the first half hour, nice work! Yah, that first caller came in loaded, within 10 seconds or so it was obvious he was going to show his hand and start yammering like those cranks who profess their love of cycling out the window of the car after squeeze playing you to the curb, in their interest of sharing the rules of the road with you. You know, because they're an avid cyclist too.
ReplyDeleteGood music.
ReplyDeleteDid you get to choose the playlist?
Well, that was great. Hearing you voice after more than a decade of reading your ramblings made them all new.
ReplyDeleteAlso, the captcha for this comment made me identify bicycles.
Fine, fine work on the radio show, Mr Snob. I look forward to the next installment. We here in Australia seem to be getting blocked from downloading or streaming the show from WBAI archive site though. While I was able to beat a path through the undergrowth and get what I came for anyway, others may not be inclined to be so persistent which would be a shame because we need all the help we can get over here when it comes to biking in cities. Anyway, if you have some friends in high places at WBAI who could turn some knobs and and pull some levers to allow us to listen easily that would be great.
ReplyDeleteAll the best and congrats.
"Americans have an awkward relationship with practicality."
ReplyDeleteYes we do.
The last time that pesticide sign appeared at River Rd. I just went for it. It doesn't make sense to me that they would even need to spray pesticide. The road doesn't exactly turn into a dense thicket during the warm months.
ReplyDeletesomehow i clicked on "Black Seinfeld.. Hosted By: Giovanni Anglin and Sebashtin Louizare
ReplyDeleteTopics: ..."
harsh!
it doesn;t seem to be there today , snob.radio..
ReplyDelete"ebben"?
ReplyDeletei thought it was ""ee-ben""
wle,
ReplyDeleteWHY??? WHY WOULD IT BE "EEE-BEN???"
--Tan Tenovo
"ee-ben" because one "B" usually means long vowel before
ReplyDeleteand i'm from alabama, i never hearda no eebens ner ebbens afore now, anywho
wle
funny - (to the whiner) "..yes yes, the carnage.. .. ok you're right, we have another call" -- wle
ReplyDeletealien landing _site_ not sight...
ReplyDeleteBOOOOORRRRINGGGG... get some midget strippers on the program, or some callers with learning disabilities or SOMETHING
ReplyDeleteIf I had not heard you speak your name before (via some electronic medium) I would have embarrassed myself by calling you “eeben” if we ever met. Why? Why do you not? Respect muh culture. Lol. Shout out to wle.
ReplyDeleteFinally had a chance to listen to the radio show (laughing to myself on the train). Well done. Your responses to the callers showed considerable patience. Even beyond the "Avid" predictable screed types.
ReplyDeleteTrivial? Having an hour radio slot somehow requires to become Ghandi/ feed the hungry/ house the homeless/shoe the children, with no shoes on their feet?
Your response did a great job of bringing it back to the inefficiency of car centric infrastructure.
(And now I learned about Alabama-speak)
Didn't you fuckers ever watch a "christmas carol"? Eben is short for Ebenezer.
ReplyDeleteHi there, long time ee-bener, first time ebener.
ReplyDelete
ReplyDeleteIf you don't behave - we might start calling in to your "New York City" radio hootenanny, from Alabama and Georgia.
Don't make us come over there!
wle
Is Eben a short form of Ebenezer and is it in the Old testa-thing?
ReplyDeleteA:
They're both proper Hebrew names, but I don't think that Eben is a shortened form of Ebenezer. The opposite actually. Ebenezer is probably a lengthened form of Eben. In Hebrew, Eben means stone, and Ebenezer means "stone of help". I don't know if those names appear in the Old Testament.