Again in February I shared this video about foam sport-themed bicycling hats:
Yesterday, I acquired an thrilling provide from a maker of biking headgear:
To be clear, I’m grateful for the provide, and it isn’t my intention to ridicule both the one who despatched this to me or the corporate as an entire. On the identical time, how may I not be delighted by the irony? Additionally, how may I not be irritated that I’m additionally equally flippant about costly crabon bicycles, but no one emails me and provides to ship me a $14,500 Aethos?
Paradoxically in 2022 the one technique to get a easy street bike with roundish tubes and minimal branding is to crack the $10,000 barrier.
Anyway, I assume I shold make a video about why I don’t journey plastic bikes, after which I’ll have my decide of the litter a number of months later.
Within the meantime, I proceed to pursue my newfound ardour for Dirtbag Street driving, and swimming throughout rides, which is after all the DR equal of the standard roadie café cease. (And please resist the urge to conflate the Dirtbag Street swim with the swim leg of a triathlon. The previous is merely a nice cooling-off, whereas the newest is a kind of mania, and the 2 actions are as unrelated as your stroll into the woods to take a leak is to the working leg of a triathlon.) Not like my final swim, which was unsanctioned and in contemporary water, this one passed off in a salt water physique the place swimming is allowed:
You already know it’s a very good day for swimming when it’s sizzling sufficient to soften chewing gum:
At first I felt responsible for the weekday seashore time on prime of the weekday saddle time:
However then I spotted that the seaside interlude would take up basically the identical period of time as incorporating a number of climbs into the journey, so I stated “Fuck it” and opened a beer:
Determine each foot of vertical ascent you chop out of your journey equals a further 5 seconds of towel time:
Which means by chopping out this climb alone I used to be in a position to swim and sit there lengthy sufficient for my go well with to dry:
See that? Strava is sweet for one thing.
Shifting on to issues of coverage, Austin, TX pays individuals who report bike lane blockers a reduce of the wonderful:
As a result of in the event you’re going to make an earnest try and get motorists out of the bike lane, it is sensible to emulate the town that has utterly and famously did not get motorists out of the bike lane:
In fact, New York Metropolis doesn’t pay you to rat out bike lane blockers; it pays you to rat out idling truck drivers. Admittedly, this has been a windfall for at the least three folks, at the least two of whom most likely don’t want the cash:
Although I’ll exit on a limb and say it hasn’t made the slightest distinction in the case of idling.
What Austin might or might not perceive is that in New York Metropolis these fines don’t exist to alter habits; relatively, they’re mainly a tax on habits they know individuals are going to interact in anyway and don’t have any actual curiosity in stopping. For instance, the town is aware of folks make deliveries by truck, they usually know the folks making deliveries are going to be compelled to dam the bike lane in an effort to do it. So that they merely work out a deal for what’s basically a de-facto bike lane-blocking allow by way of the town’s “Stipulated Parking Superb Program:”
Equally, the town is aware of these vans will idle, they usually know they will money in on the sheer ubiquity of the apply (it’s a positive wager, like fining folks for respiratory), in order that they’re keen to chop you in in order that they will internet much more cash and fake they’re doing one thing to “combat local weather change” on the identical time.
Actually, it’s fairly elegant if you consider it–the town is mainly growing the scale of its paperwork whereas concurrently offloading extra accountability onto you, the citizen. And naturally in the case of reporting non-public motorists (versus the supply drivers who couldn’t give a fuck whether or not or not they get tickets because it’s all been pre-negotiated anyway) there’s the additional benefit that considered one of them would possibly resolve to kick the shit out of you:
Good luck, Austin! You’ve hitched your wagon to a fading star.
