Friday, September 1, 2017

Hiatus Interruptus #4

Okay, so come Tuesday I'll finally be firing up this whole bike-blogging media machine again, at which point the whole rickety contraption will start sputtering to life in a cloud of putrid black smoke.  In the meantime, however, here's my latest column for Outside, which is all about why short rides are awesome:



Yes, in case you didn't know, long rides are totally déclassé should be consigned to the recycling bin along with 23mm tires and that hideous Kelme cycling jersey that somehow infiltrated your wardrobe, though I predict they'll mysteriously come back into style just as soon as my children are grown up and out of the house.

Funny how that works.

Oh, and speaking of my Outside column, you'll be pleased to know the trendy gravel tire I purchased in my last one performed admirably on some actual Vermont gravel:

 

And don't worry, at a tasteful 30-ish miles this particular excursion still qualified as fashionably short.

OK, that's it for me.  I'm off to nurse the last few sips of my vacation, and I'll see you all back here on Tuesday, September 5th, assuming I don't decide to retire between now and then.

Ride safe,


--Wildcat Rock Machine




54 comments:

dancesonpedals said...

Scar us!

The King of Park Slope said...

Everyone lot interest?

dancesonpedals said...

Damn you, autocorrect

BamaPhred said...

3rd loser!

Bill said...

Retire!

Olle Nilsson said...

Mmm, Kit Kat.

recumbent conspiracy theorist said...

Scranus.

recumbent conspiracy theorist said...

Good take on the short ride.

See ya next Tuesday.

Unknown said...

9rd!

Anonymous said...

You don't have to provide a link to an image of the Kelme jersey. It's seared into all of our memories even though no one's seen it in a decade.

Spokey said...

Not only am i seeing high-ate-us foreskin the day it's posted,

i am in the top 10 commentariat.

what a way to kick off my laborious daze weak-endo

Spokey said...

can't believe i let meself be kicked out of top 10 by typing too much crapola

N/A said...

I like my rides like I likes my womens: short, with bits of finely packed gravel!

bad boy of the south said...

Good point piece.i do enjoy the short ride.all rides can be made enjoyable if you want to make them so.even the "bread and milk" rides(apologies to vic d.).
Well,enjoy the rest of your hiatal.
Everyone,have a safe and relatively dry labor day.watch out for harvey and irma.

Spokey said...


my mother's name was irma. if she comes a knockin, she'd better have cookies in hand

bad boy of the south said...

Spokey,if and when she comes, hopefully she'll have enough for all.'til then...

dancesonpedals said...

Eddie Borysewicz said much the same thing about long rides. After describibg the importance of long distance endurance rides, he observed the if you're over 30, you probably have a job, a family, maybe even a career. He said to skip endurance training, and concentrate on the fun parts, speed and power,

OK, not exactly what snob said, but shorter rides that are fun.

"Are you experienced" said Hendrix said...

Wow! It is like you speak of LSD trips from experience. Personally I can only speak of shroom trips from experience, though from numerous experiments. It is kind of hard to ride bikes for example, it is too fast, even walking needs to be slowed down for me.

"In this sense, going for a big ride is pretty much the same as dropping LSD: at its best it’s a relevatory experience, but it’s an all-day affair, and for 24 hours afterwards you’re completely and utterly useless to everybody in your life."

Anonymous said...

Welcome back again!

Steve Barner said...

Looks like you are close by, Snob. Drop me an email if you want company for a ride before you leave Vermont. Sbarner at gmail.

A. Einstein said...

Snobby, your Outside essays: echoes of Grant Petersen and the Rivendell ethos. Right on! Good for you! Cycling sanity.

mikesimagination said...

I thought of you... I expect you'll be first in the queue... http://road.cc/content/tech-news/228636-hutchinson-tyre-sensor-and-smartphone-app-could-change-way-you-monitor-tyre

Grin and Bare It said...

If I feel like having a short ride, I just don't wear long pants.

Dooth said...

Wildcat knows what's up...short rides! Fast 30 mile rides with a steep climb or two. LSD? Why am I smiling...

Dear Chris Harne said...

Please leave your comments on your Facebook account where someone like one of your Fake friends might care. Cuz we don't.

JLRB said...

Short rides
Long breaks

Anonymous said...

My girlfrined had a thing to go to in West Philly. I rode out there (making a stop to turn off the alarm at work, which was actually kind of a scary big deal – ADT was calling). Drink, drink, drink.

I headed home, but had to stop by to see a friend at work. I told her the alarm situation was under control, and I’d have a whiskey please. Drink… drink… uh oh… getting pretty drunk.
CHRIS H

Well Grounded said...

Hey there Grin and Bare it.
On my short rides, I'll stop for a coffee, de-calf of course.

Hugh Janus, Expert Motorist said...

He's right. Short rides are the bee's knees. In fact, I encourage all of you turds to take this axiom to it's extreme by riding exactly 0.0 miles from now on. Stay off my highway, chamois sniffers.

bad boy of the south said...

Stay away Irma.

Grump said...

What's wrong with 23mm tires???? (at least in front?) Like you, I rarely ride at 45kph.

Anonymous said...

No offense,CH,but,for the love of lob, please open a blog space of your own.
Perhaps someone here can steer you in the right direction.

BikeSnobNYC said...

Grump,

It's just a joke about how they've gone out of style.

--Wildcat Etc.

Anonymous said...

Welcome back again, again!

Anonymous said...

hi itsssss me .

Chris said...

Hey Matt...The beauty of bicycles is they will carry you through anything, fitness be damned. I am half dead and did a fairly painless 24 miles Sunday, including a pretty stiff headwind for about ten miles of it. have always wanted a BOB. I followed a couple named Gray (CGOAB) who both pulled BOBs across the country more than once. Also Brian Becker, who rode over five thousand miles in one outing (including the Divide) with a BOB. Have you posted about your BOB rides? Let us know.

tj said...

this blog has been fading out for a while, and i guess it's time to admit it's all 'pau' (hawaiian for 'over', 'done', 'complete').

Anonymous said...

whaaaaaaaaat..........?

Chris said...

Rivendell, overpriced status symbols.

Anonymous said...

thank you, that really means a lot coming from you. THANK YOU .

bad boy of the south said...

What about Bob?

BikeSnobNYC said...

You've left the same comment three times now and it's still not clever, you may want to look into getting a life.

--Wildcat Rock Machine

Anonymous said...

thank you sooooo much. I needed that.

Cat 404 e-Racer said...

Re: Latest outside missive

"Diving into a pristine body of water can make you feel reborn almost instantly"

I took your advice and shit if I wasn't sure you wrote "Driving"!

janinedm said...

She's rebuilt and a beaut! https://www.instagram.com/p/BYmEk4hnOSb/ I have to admit that 53 teeth may have been...aggressive but it's hard to say since I only realized last night before bed that my saddle was 1.5-2" too low. That could also explain why my quads were not exactly straining, but making themselves noticeable this weekend.

Anonymous said...

do your knees hurt ?

Anonymous said...

not clever but true

janinedm said...

Nope. Knees feel fine. During and after. Quads always activate ("hurt' would be overstating the sensation) when my saddle is too low, that's how I can tell that my saddle has slipped too much... eventually. My first assumption is always that I suck. I know that knee pain is usually the side effect of saddle position, but that's never been the case for me. When it's too far back, my lower back hurts. When it's too far forward my wrists/hands get numb and my triceps get sore. Cycling has never caused me knee pain, even when I was dumber and in worse shape than I'm in now. Dunno why.

Anonymous said...

And yet here you are

BikeSnobNYC said...

Anonymous 11:47am,

Go read a better cycling blog. Oh wait, you can't. Because I AM THE GREATEST LIVING CYCLING WRITER ALIVE!

Put that in your pipe and suck it.

--Wildcat Rock Machine.

Anonymous said...

once you get you saddle height adjusted properly, scribe the seat post so you can periodically check if it has slipped.

janinedm said...

It's already marked, but I got better things to do than check my seat post height unless I think something's up. When I notice it, look and then I raise it. Now I have to see if it was saddle position or if I chose too many teeth for my crank and my legs are working too hard. If it's the latter, I'll just keep riding until I'm stronger and gasp, using the smaller ring. I've made no calls for advice; I'm just sharing where I'm at on my project.

BikeSnobNYC said...

BikeSnobNYCSeptember 5, 2017 at 3:32 PM
My blog is nothing more than COPY & PASTE ARTICLES

Steely Danzig said...

2" too low. just noticed it. hmmnnnn. ride much ?