BSNYC Friday "Cat 6" Throwdown!

Thanks to both the Internet and the fact that the "bike culture" is more intent on documenting itself than any other group of people in the history of the world, including the Nazis, there is now a stupendous number of cycling-themed videos available for viewing. While by now everybody's aware of certain cycling video genres, such as the fixed-gear freestyle "edit," the artfully-filmed Rapha "epic," or the pointless track bike trip to nowhere, other genres are all too often overlooked. One of these unjustly neglected forms is the offroad recumbent video, which in terms of using bicycles ill-suited to their purpose makes fixed-gear freestyling look positively graceful in comparison. I happen to be a huge fan of the offroad recumbent genre, and this is one of my favorites:



The best part of this video is the captions, which provide perspective and insight for the non-recumbent rider. Sure, you may think that section of trail is more or less straight, but it's not when you're riding a 'bent:

And what happens when there actually is a turn that's discernible to the naked eye, such as this gentle, sweeping left-hander?

Well, that's what's known as a "recumbent hairpin."

Combine that with an ever-so-slight incline and it can be a recumbent rider's undoing:

On the other hand, fixed-gear video "curators" have simply gotten complacent and lazy, since the latest craze seems to be videos where nothing happens at all, like this one I saw at the "Trackosarusrex" blog:

BIKE CHECK 212 | 03 ROMEO REX from cycleangelo on Vimeo.

As far as I can tell, the entire plot of this video is "I have a Cannondale," as though that's some sort of feat that's worthy of attention. Apparently this excites a lot of people, too, since this has been posted on various blogs, and has also presumably inspired comments on Internet forums such as, "Did you see that video where the guy has a Cannondale? Sick! I love it when they show the cog." I guess the subtext of the video is that simply owning a certain type of bicycle is in itself an accomplishment, though I'm not sure why, unless your goal is to show off your "mad eBay skillz." I would totally watch videos of people gleefully showing off their offroad recumbents though, for the same reason I enjoy watching Pee-Wee Herman showing off his breakfast machine.

Og með að ég er ánægður með að kynna þér quiz. Eins og alltaf kanna lið, hugsa og smella á svar þitt. Ef þú ert rétt að þú munt vita, og ef þú ert að rangt þú sérð reiðhjól kapp.

Thanks very much for reading, ride safe, and whether you ride horizontally, vertically, or at some angle in between, ride happy.

--BSNYC/RTMS

1) Team Sky's approach to racing in 2010 was:

--"Isolated and robotic"

--"Profoundly underwhelming"

--"Meh-riffic"

--"A failure of almost Radio Shack proportions"

(The Recumbent History Channel logo)

2) In recumbent circles (or, more accurately, horizontal ovals) April 1st, 1934 is known as:

--"Recumbency's Death Knell"

--"Recumbents' Darkest Day"

--"Recumbents' Dorkiest Day"
--"Fascism's Birthday"

3) Recumbents are great for offroad riding:

--True

--False

(Unicycles, recumbents...if only someone would invent a riding machine that married the practical upright seating position of the unicycle with the more stable two-wheeled design of the recumbent. Oh well, I guess it will never happen.)

4) A unicyclist is suing the NYPD for:

--Engaging him in a high-speed chase

--Arresting him for public juggling without a permit
--Ticketing him for riding on the sidewalk
--Berating him with clown slurs and throwing a pie in his face (or "police slapstick brutality")

5) This is not a purse. [Ahem.] It is a:

--"Micro messenger bag"

--"Hipster toiletry kit"

--"Misplaced fanny pack"

--"Regular-sized messenger bag that has gone through the wash"

("We're here! We're self-involved and inordinately trendy people with expensive liberal arts educations! Get used to it!")

6) In a shocking instance of anti-hipster discrimination, a Los Angeles "food stylist" was recently pulled off a commercial flight for having a set of knuckle tattoos reading "ATOM BOMB."

--True

--False

("I don't care how hungry I am, if it's poorly styled I ain't eating it.")

7) In a shocking example of irony, in the United States of America, you can apparently make a good living as a "food stylist."

--True

--False

***Special "Oh, Portland..."-Themed Bonus Question***

Fill in the blanks: "Will __________ for ______."

--Wheelie [for] donuts

--Trackstand [for] coffee

--Barspin [for] beer

--Sprint [for] tattoos