Some places the walls have ears. Here the trails have teefers.
Yesterday I was out shooting snippets of video for my Adventure Cyclist review of the Specialized Sequoia when I decided it would be edifying to snap a still of some of the rocks I throw at these machines during our rides together.
Doesn’t quite give you the shark’s-tooth view I get from the saddle, does it? I need to go back and try again.
Meanwhile, I ordinarily read a bit of poetry before nodding off at night, but lately I’ve been browsing The Paris Review‘s interviews with authors and artists. If you need a break from the full-auto barrage of political news, check it out.
Tags: Adventure Cyclist, Poetry Foundation, Specialized Sequoia, The Paris Review
February 3, 2017 at 9:39 am |
Sorry to interrupt with tragic news, but let us all take a moment to honor and commemorate the innocent victims of the Bowling Green Massacre. May they rest in peace.
“2/2/17: Never Surrender/Always Remember”
Dale in Missouri (which touches, just barely, Kentucky)
February 3, 2017 at 9:59 am |
Never forget! They used Christians’ heads for balls and infants for pins! Has the whole world gone crazy? Am I the only one around here who gives a shit about the rules?
February 4, 2017 at 3:07 pm |
Although I do, as Dale E Brigham reminds us, mourn the deaths that did not happen, in the massacre that did not happen; I do mourn the the death of a cottontail rabbit killed by a cat that a neighbor refuses to keep inside her home (except for meals).
We should rejoice in the fact that we are about to instigate at least one more war, whether it be with Iran, China, or Australia.
February 5, 2017 at 6:54 am |
Australia. Jeebus. We better hope it’s not Beer Wars. You ever drink with an Aussie? I made that mistake in Tucson once, when I was a young and frisky pup, and it took 10 years off my life.
February 3, 2017 at 10:17 am |
+1 for The Paris Review. Thanks for the reminder, I keep forgetting to up my culture from Bicycling Magazine.
February 4, 2017 at 7:39 am |
Hah. Onliest bike mags I read anymore are the ones I work for.
February 3, 2017 at 11:38 am |
I usually read a chapter of the Tao te Ching before going to sleep. For the current situation, chapters 17 and 53 summarize it well.
https://u.osu.edu/dialecticseastandwest/files/2016/02/taoteching-Stephen-Mitchell-translation-v9deoq.pdf
February 4, 2017 at 7:40 am |
Hard to take a wrong step along the Way with Steve’s translation.
February 5, 2017 at 7:06 am |
I have been reading a translation by Derek Lin for the last two years. He seems to be convinced that a literal translation, as much as the ancient Chinese ideograms will allow, is the way to go. He also takes a thinly veiled shot at Mitchell’s translation/interpretation in his note on the translation at the beginning of the book. Mitchell clearly states in his translation that he tried to make the language applicable to the modern reader, and that is was not a literal translation. Lin’s version is interesting, but doesn’t sing to me like Mitchell’s version. Lin’s criticism of Mitchell’s work seemed like a cheap shot to me and affected my view of his book from the start. But in some chapters I can see why trying to preserve the original language improves my understanding of it. Chapter 46 is an example. Anywho, I am ready to try another translation or interpretation. I think Lin’s version is going to be donated to the Friend’s of The Library book store.
February 5, 2017 at 7:25 am |
Translation is a bitch. I’ve often wondered how much I might like some of the books I’ve idolized if I had been able to read them in their original language.
I still chuckle every time I think of Charles Pelkey’s machine-translation “poem,” assembled from a snippet of race coverage, “We Were Fought By Men Very Fast.”
February 3, 2017 at 2:59 pm |
You need to get the camera down low to make the rocks look big and nasty. Stupid and nasty are the guys running the country at present.
February 3, 2017 at 3:04 pm |
Seeing a skinny tire going over rocks like that is just wrong. They make mountain bikes with front suspension for a reason. To keep my old ass comfy.
February 3, 2017 at 3:30 pm |
Righto, Larry. I was using the iPhone and not really trying hard. Today I did road with the neighbor, but tomorrow I may go back to the rocks and take an actual camera.
As for tire size, sheesh, Pat, them dudes was 42mm. That’s plenty big for an old ‘crosser who used to rock the 28s. Just don’t hit the rocks too hard. …
February 3, 2017 at 7:50 pm |
42mm??? Well, if and when I come up, if we should ride that trail together, I will be on the Niner. 2.1 inches of rubber is what, and a Rockshok Judy to back them up!
February 4, 2017 at 5:47 am |
Make that a Reba, not a Judy. Have you ridden your trusty D’Back on that trail?
February 4, 2017 at 7:38 am |
I have, Pat, and I nearly stuffed it in a tight corner because I wasn’t used to riding with a suspension fork. Have I mentioned that I’ve never ridden a dual-suspension bike?
The Jones is a pretty good bike for these trails, with its 2.4 rubber. The H-bars are a little broad for some cactus-lined sections and our absurdly narrow trailhead gates, though.
February 4, 2017 at 8:14 am |
That Jones might come close to the all purpose bike, I think? I remember when Salsa came out with the Fargo. I was tempted to see if I could live with one bike. I quickly got that idea out of my head. After all, what is a garage for?
February 4, 2017 at 8:37 am |
The Jones covers the waterfront, for sure. I got mine in a road configuration with “narrow” 29×2.35 Schwalbe Big Apples, fenders and racks front and rear. But I pulled all that off and hung 29×2.4 Maxxis Ardents on it and use it primarily as a mountain bike.
I’ve been thinking about going back to its original setup just for the hell of it, but I like riding it on trails so much I haven’t pulled the trigger yet.
February 4, 2017 at 12:00 pm |
This in the Daily Fail today. Thirteen thousand Americans applied to purchase homes near Hurben in New Zealand in the week following the election. Seventeen times the usual number. The “home” invasion/land grab of billionaires leads off the article. One billionaire was granted immediate citizenship. Ordinarily 3 years of residence is required. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4190322/Tech-billionaires-building-boltholes-New-Zealand.html
February 4, 2017 at 12:33 pm |
The government of NZ should be swatting these tech-bazillionaires with some serious taxes on their doomsday retreats. I wanna get out of the USA because it’s being taken over by morons, but I don’t have any fantasy about a safe place if the Tangerine Trash Can Fire decides to ignite WWIII. We’re all doomed if that happens.
February 4, 2017 at 5:00 pm |
Follow the money!!
February 4, 2017 at 6:00 pm |
Locals are not happy with the way Mr Thiel appears to have been given special treatment & questions are being asked.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/good-reads/89098077/oscar-kightley-why-thiels-nz-citizenship-is-a-bit-rich
Many more articles but I like Oscar’s one.
(by the way, he plays the bumbling cop in ‘Hunt for the Wilderpeople’ which is so chock full of Kiwiana that it’s a classic).
I arrived here February 1987 & took citizenship immediately after the then compulsory 3 years, (now 5) had elapsed.
It was the best decision of my life to accept a job here even though it estranged me from parts of my family.
February 5, 2017 at 10:39 am |
What other favors may be granted and what influence(s) will emerge due to these billionaires? Public policy and elections are greatly shaped by billionaires in the US.
February 5, 2017 at 3:08 pm |
I don’t believe that they will have much influence.
We follow the Westminster model of government & there is a high degree of transparency.
Kiwis tend to hold their elected officials to account & we certainly have a free press.
There are reasons why we’re recognised as one of the least corrupt countries in the world.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/business/88770772/New-Zealand-and-Denmark-deemed-the-least-corrupt-countries-in-the-world
February 6, 2017 at 9:01 am |
Very interesting. Thanks!
February 4, 2017 at 7:57 pm |
Money talks and bullshit walks. Seems ironic that the money folks are blowing all the bullshit. Especially the orange monkey. They have no idea how much good they could do. How they would be remembered. They seem hell bent on being vilified and forgotten. I just don’t get it.
February 5, 2017 at 6:56 am |
Frodo glances around Hobbiton and mumbles, “There goes the neighborhood. Another tankard of ale, Sam?”