New Blog!

Yes. New blog, apropos of very little and/or nothing. It'll unfocus on the mediocre, mundane, and utterly anti-thematic, and it would probably be best if it was never read by anyone at any time. In fact, it will most likely be the buffer for all that late night drunken blogging I feel the need to do.

Meh...

Whatever...

It's here Micellaneous Haberdashery.

You want to know why?

People sometimes remark to me that they're a bit taken aback by the violent reaction from the cycling community, or any one individual on a bike, when there is any sort of altercation between a bike and a car.

http://www.kansascity.com/news/breaking_news/story/894806.html

Really!?!?

News Flash

The American auto industry is extremely flat footed! Frankly, I'm pretty amused that part of the dead weight pulling GM down is Hummer. I mean, if you can't sell Hummers, that's a problem. Remember the early Nineties when people were looking askance at 'rice burning cars'? All of this American Hubris is a fascinating thing to watch.

I'm sure this bodes nothing well for our distraught American economy, but every house of cards comes down eventually.

I noticed that gas is $2.19 a gallon on my ride to work today, so you can't buy a Hummer, but you can fill one with gas again. All those people hopin' an prayin' for gas to come down from 4 bucks got what they asked for, it just came on the heels of what may yet turn into GDII. My ride to work cost me about $1e-10, so I still feel pretty good about the cost ratio of riding my bike vs driving a Hummer. Maybe GM and Ford can melt down all those huge trucks to supply the bike industry with raw materials so Surly doesn't have to raise their still quite reasonable prices just because the cost of steel is rising.

Perfect

There are a few brief windows between seasons where you get an absolutely perfect temperature for a morning ride. Today was such a day. Soon it'll be cold, and icy, and after that wet, and slushy, then raining constantly, and ultimately summer will reappear and getting to work will entail a lot of sweating. I've got all sorts of special little gear bits and clothes to deal with all those varied environmental fluctuations, and I enjoy aspects of all those types of conditions and the challenges and special skills they present and require.

But today is clear, cool, beautiful. Today's ride was perfect.

Why?

Why do this? Why tackle physically demanding sections? Why do a seven hour ride? Why do a 60 mile fixed gear race in a hail storm and laugh through most of it? Why switch to riding a single speed mountain bike, and spend 90% of your rides so far beyond your anaerobic threshold that you end every ride so weak you nearly pass out? Why put yourself through physically torturing situations on a daily or weekly business?

It's not just that it feels good to be done with a long ride, it's more than that. We actually enjoy suffering in the moment we're pushing ourselves at the limits of our endurance. We like that feeling that we're about to explode and then reaching down to push a little harder. Not all addicts are cyclists, but clearly all cyclists are addicts of one sort or another. What the hell is wrong with us?

I'm not saying I like it when I'm hurting, but I seem to continue to throw myself into situations that I know are going to be physically and emotionally demanding and midway through I'm gonna wonder why I did it in the first place...but I keep riding, and when I'm the most exhausted is when I feel the need to push myself the hardest, and then it's over, and I can't wait to do it again. Do we REALLY like something about pain? Does that make any sense?

I know there are a lot of other things to a ride than pain and suffering, but that's a big part, and I kind of doubt we'd like it so much were it not for that fact.

I wouldn't call myself a masochist, but I seem to seek out things I know are going to hurt.

Whatever...

Perspective

The weather turned to crap today. It makes a harmonious backdrop for my mood.

Race of the Dead.

The cats over at The Fix have another race in the works for this weekend. This one is gonna go down in the dark so bring yer lights. Be at Bogert park at five thirty on Saturday 10/25. Oh, and wear a costume people...

See you there!

Update: There's going to be a "Critical Mass" centering around Bogert about the same time. Be sure and bring your withering looks.