but oh so right.  cars in general, not so great.  but really, really, really fast cars?  so great.  soooooo great.  as i often say, it's like staring directly into a rainbow.  for those familiar with the modern history between cart and irl, the recent news is, well, better than what was before.  at least, as this link shows, they are trying to make it interesting.  for formula 1, that might work, but for other stuff, there's great beauty in the chaos of the start.

reminds me of when we ran cyclocross races over in bowie.  every race began with people putting their bikes down on a 50m marked line.  then backing up 50m more and, at the horn, running to their bikes and trying to get going.  so great.  soooooo great.  getting the holeshot required a supreme exertion.  we would never do anything like that anymore.  cross is all serious now, with points and ranking and callups.  it used to be that a well placed (and well made) six-pack was more than good for a callup.  no more.  the tyranny of the serious reigns supreme.

we need another bike race in this area with a le mans start.  it needs to be a 3 mile circuit race, which is somehow engineered so that you are constantly climbing, all three miles, with 2 half-mile deep gravel and mud sections.  and there should be a le mans start.  i think i need to make that bike race happen.  and the awards cermony would be in a hot tub on the back of a flatbed with some great band jamming.  yessir.  now that's a bike race.

-sg

update: before you freak out and get all up in my area, read this link.  and then, if you still think it's not cool, then, and only then, will we talk.  until that point, i will take no more mail on this topic.  i'm busy.

http://www.usacycling.org/forms/TerrWarRelease.pdf

the new boilerplate.  impressive. 

"we have to race them over there so we don't have to race them here."

that's not bad but I'm sure you can do better.  bring your best caption in the comments.

-sg

today is the birthday of cesar chavez.  i will not include a link to his history and palmares as i suspect the majority of our readers have some idea who he is.  for those that do not, a quick spin through wikipedia or other online archives detailing the achievements of those who strive for justice should be elucidating.  for those who fail to understand the distinction between the social concept of justice and the man's concept of justice, here's a primer for h. rap brown...

cesar chavez, like many in this tradition, was a dignified person who understood what needed to happen and worked tirelessly to achieve it.  in states like california, cesar chavez day is an official state holiday.  it's not a day off, it's a day on: a chance to celebrate the life of one who left things better than he found it.  this is a very active period as the birthday of francis perkins falls on April 10th so this is a time when many of us are making a big push to have people open their eyes and think about the courageous individuals who have made such tremendous sacrifices to get us where we are.  it's regrettable that the phrase standing on the shoulders of giants has so little meaning now.  our collective attention span is measures in picoseconds, about the lifespan of some physics particles of interest.

it's good that you all browse the real news at the people's portal because the MSM ain't getting the job done.  with two such titanic figures in the movement to better people's lives, what does the post choose to cover?  how best to help the indigent?  more mind control.  this article is a smack in the face.  my favorite line, admittedly taken out of context, but still funny enough to make me shoot coffee out my nose:

Those with satellite and cable subscriptions, as well as those with newer digital TV sets, should not have to do anything to keep watching TV.

yes, that would be a good outcome for them wouldn't it?  another gem can be found on the second page where a general discussion about the lack of awareness about the impending end fo analog signals yields this hysterical bit of hyperbole:

People are going to start to get super-alarmed and panicked.

that would be funny, if it wasn't so utterly devoid of self-awareness.  televsion, and the "journalists" who appear on it, have as a whole not really been all that good at mobilizing people.  the last time i can seriously remember people being shocked awake was when anderson cooper lost it on tv while reporting on the aftermath of katrina.  and you can see what sort of true mobilization that yielded.  in these times, education about social justice must be done in spite of the media, not because of it.  take a few moments each days this week and do just a bit of digging and learn some new things about someone who really made a difference in people's live. drop me a line and tell me who you were reading about.  we'll summarize it as the week goes on....

so i'm riding down at hains point earlier this week and i have this particualrly nasty encounter with someone on the lunchtime group ride.  so unpleasant in fact tha I opted to just drop off the back of the group rather than ride another second around him.  it wasn't the profanity or the incredibly hostile tone.  it was the condescending attittude.  i don't know the cyclist's name, never sought to find it out, so don't bother asking.  it did, however, focus me on what it's like at hains point during cherry blossom season.  i normally regard the pedestrians and motorists and the most serious and dangerous deterrants to enjoyable cycling.  but of late, i'm finding that my fellow cyclists are more than up to the task of assuming that mantle, thank you very much.  happened at the prior weeks tuesday night ride out in reston as well.  i got called otu for something but it became personal really quickly.  after the ride, the person came up to me and extended a hand and said "peace" and indicatde that we could be friends.  i shook hands only to be told i was stupid as the rider rode away. 

wow.  you know, when i meet new cyclists, recreational cyclists and commuters, they have a pretty universally poor opinion of bicycle racers.  i like to tell people that i like bicycle racing but not bicycle racers.  and my last few experiences are providing me with increasing reason to emphasize this.

my basic take here is that most people who are mean on the bike are just taking themselves too seriously.  the game face might be fine for the district road race but what is it getting you when you show it to total strangers on a bike path.  they don't know who the hell you are or what team you ride for.  if you ever get gapped on a training ride and find yourself saying something really hurtful, you've crossed some sort of line in terms of common sense civility.  cycling is a hobby.  you neglect this observation at your peril.  you may shrug, you may ignore it, you may disagree.  but i urge you to carefully consider this.

there is a very nice old story that i don't think is told much anymore.  back when nima was riding with snow valley, their elite team was doing some race in southern virginia or north carolina.  coming into the final corners, someone chopped him and he took a tumble near a corner with a bunch of spectators gathered.  my recollection is that nima got up, dusted himself off, and used the occasion to talk with the kids that were there about how important helmets are.  that is what it means to be an ambassador.  he could have gone looking for the guy with a 2x4 like gaggioli or a just brawled it out.  but instead, he took it all in stride.  the local newspaper had a reported there who write a really ncie piece about it and arch mckown showed me some letters from some parents who were there.

so listen twice.  you can be like gaggioli or you can show class and panache and join the rest of society in seeking to not act like a dick at the slightest provocation.  in case you're still not clear, this is not really about cycling.  this is about counducting yourself as you'd like others to treat you.

from the person who is currently my favorite blogger:

http://thepoorman.net/2008/03/21/marx/

it's not representative of his oeuvre.  for that, try this...

http://thepoorman.net/

if only everyone blogged this way....

pundits come in all sizes, shapes and colors.  smoe go for that elder statesperson, above the fray, wise beyond their years gravitas.  some go for the gutter realpolitik and behind the scenes drama.  some go for the detached objectivity which allows them to gaze down their nose at the problems others have.  and then, there are people who are, i guess, paid to say provocative things.  check it:

The government itself has calculated that around 2000 people a year are killed because of those CAFÉ standards and our cheerful government has just voted to increase them, to make cars lighter, smaller. And more people will die. I mean 2,000 people a year die because the environmentalists think that you should be in a smaller car because it offends their sensitivities that you’re using gasoline.

wow, that there is some asshattery.  i guess i could write a blog post about how cycling is killing off species after species or how solar energy is causing the collapse of ice shelves.  but that would be treating him as though he had some credibility.  this is not about an attack on alternative energy or conservation, both of which are actually subtopics under "cycling, reasons for..."  this is more of an attack on common sense, and a rational world view.  boldly stating untruths is not a symptom of the impending fall of civilization, it's a cause of the impending fall of civilization. 

the revolution took an unexpected pause this morning.  you may have noticed, but not noticed.  actions produce subsequent reactions.  these may by physical phenomenon, such as sound or heat or light, or may be less tangible.  events like this are like that sometimes.  you just have a feeling.  an appropriate popular culture reference might be a "disturbance in the force".  it can be like deja vu, though in this instance, jamais vu is the more likely sensation. 

like a small pebble thrown into a pond, these ethereal ripples flow outward, in concentric circles of ever-increasing diameter.  transparent, and unable to be captured, like radio waves, they nonetheless convey their message to all who are attuned.  i assume that all cyclists in northern virginia felt this eerie, ineffable, uncategorizable sensation this morning.  this sense of loss, not profound, but solid, inescapable, unsettling, must have echoed out from it's origin.  please, don't continue to worry or feel any sort of anxiety.  the feeling resulted from two riders, abandoned by their commuting partner.  in the same way that philosophers ponder whether a falling tree makes a sound if there is no one to hear it, up to this point i had wondered if a ride was held and no one showed up, what sort of consequences might follow.  we now know.  this person who opted for the comforter, rather than the chainring.  these things happen, but we move past them with more ease if we can understand them. 

check out this little gem.  pretty choice huh?  there goes my weekly trip with ben to the indian buffet and reston kabob.  those asshats don't know when to quit.  i could package up a vial of ben's tears at his disappointment and post it off to them and they wouldn't bat an eye.  i am this close to demanding that all cyclists be armed at all times.  forget helmets.  too passive, too defensive.  if they are gonna play like this, so am i.  let's become asshats ourselves.  that car beginning to move over on you?  take out your piece and rap a few times on the windshield with the barrel to let 'em know what you're all about.  and since handguns should be legal in the district any hour now (thanks democratic senate judiciary committee cloture voters!!11!!!) it be best to stock up now.  so go and do what has to be done.

updated below

The Racing Union deems it necessary to respond to certain recent
baseless allegations of stupidity in the use of speed bars during the
Tuesday night Reston ride.  Let us be absolutely clear: The People's
two-wheeled representatives categorically deny the stupidity of speed
bars and are deeply offended by this accusation against all
aerodynamically-minded cyclists everywhere.  We reject and denounce
the use of the public MABRA list to further the egregious claims made
by a "member" of the cycling community and can only hope that
aggressive and remedial re-education for all such misguided
individuals can lead to a more enlightened understanding of physics.
To this end, all confused individuals are hereby required to attend
"training" this Thursday at 12:05 p.m. at Hains Point for a hands-on
appreciation of the forces of fluid dynamics on moving objects.

The People

update (by scott): i offer my profound thanks to the people for their contributions to two-wheeled civility.  i would like to further point out that, a scant three days before the incident being referenced, I made it all the way through the cold toes a race, predominantly on my speedbars, without anyone getting upset or even saying anything.  I rode straight, I cornered; all seemed ducky in speedbarracingland.  until that fateful day.  i am now officially very annoyed.  i will endeavor to emulate the people and act with civility, even when pointedly snubbed.

i have been doing a lot more thinking about the transition in cuba, and finding some parallels between the state of their revolution and the state of our revolution.  infrastructure is a major limiter in both cases.  now i'll be the first to admit that cuba, being on an island and all, and facing a crushing embargo from the greatest hegemon of the last 400 years, probably has it worse than i do.  not by much, mind you.  i'm just trying to set some perspective here.  revolutionaries operate on shoe string budgets.  observe.

up until recently, i had two pairs of cycling shoes.  i noticed that i was having a lot of trouble getting out of my speedplays in both pairs.  so i did something that all cyclists talk about doing, but rarely actually do.  I took a good, long, hard look at my equipment.  now i started with lowered expectations, being a revolutionary and all.  but this was too much. 

complete detachment of the sole.  you won't believe this but I tried putting gorilla glue between the sole and the upper to see if the shoe could be saved.  no dice.  then i tried some sort of mcgyver by wrapping duct tape around the upper and sole.  ripped apart after just spinning around on a connector trail in my neighborhood.  these things were absolutely shot.  so i'm thinking to myself that it's a good thing i've got this other pair of shoes...

wow.  check out the speedplay cleats on my sidis.  now i think if you look very, very carefully, you'll be able to diagnose the problem here.  remember, the symptom is that my shoes are not clipping out of my pedals.  look again.  carefully now.  give up?  yes, the cleats appear to have worn right through.  did you see that?  when you try to unclip, those steel plates just sort of bend away from the shoe.  you just have to really, really twist your ankle to get it out of there.  plus, the velco sort of stopped sticking on these shoes, making it very difficult for your foot to stay in there when you pull up on the pedals.  i had never had that happen before.  i tried to clean out the velcro but to no avail.  so my stuff is looking pretty weak huh?  i figure at this point, that i have bottomed out but i'll check the rest of my gear.  and....oh hell...

that's a pretty solid piece of work right there.  no duct tape will help this.  no mcgyver, no way, no how.  not even a joke about a little jb weld to put you back out on the street.  nope, it's toast.  oh, and by the way, that was my race wheel.  oh, and by the way some more, it wasn't the only one, only the most photogenic.

so it looks like the tyranny of the status quo had really caught up with my cycling infrastructure.  i'm on an island and i'll have to make do.  but like our comrades who struggle with limitations, we will prevail by being resourceful: re-using, recycling and reducing.  along these lines, i'll get up a post soon on how to build a bombproof winter or foul weather wheel where the inner tube is replaced with an old tubular. 

that way you can run older tires without fear of burning through the casing.  also no fears about flatting when the weather is miserable, making your comrade brothers curse your stupid ultra-lite tube that you ran on a training ride.  plus your legs will thank you for adding rotational weight and making your body and spirit strong. 

support the wheels of your brothers and sisters
support the work of your brothers and sisters
support the cause of your brothers and sisters. 
-sg