“I’m ready for my closeup, Mr. DeO’Grady.”
Jesus. Everybody wants to be in pictures. Even Field Marshal Turkish von Turkenstein (commander, 1st Feline Home Defense Regiment), who really is old enough to know better.
I mean, look at him. He thinks he’s still a leading man at an age when he ought to be settling in as a character actor.
And at any rate, these Adventure Cyclist videos are light on parts for blue-eyed white guys who ain’t me. This cat can’t even ride a bike, much less review one.
Of course, they say the same thing about me. But I’m the cat with the camera.
Tags: Adventure Cyclist, Field Marshal Turkish von Turkenstein, Masi Speciale Randonneur
Mad Blog Media 
August 31, 2019 at 5:16 pm |
Maybe the Turk is thinking AdCyc could do a spin-off of David Letterman’s monkey-cam? Slip a go-pro on his noggin, tuck him into a pannier, and hit the road.
August 31, 2019 at 5:28 pm |
Speaking of one-off Adventure Cyclist content … if you ever need 16” and 20” bike reviews, got two roving reporters with six seasons of short track racing under their belts. I know, you’re worried about their recent doping allegations, after testing positive for excessive amounts of pixie stick dust and powdered nacho cheese. But they are sticking to the Simoni defense: those snacks were provided by their grandmother and they were not aware of their ingredients.
September 1, 2019 at 6:42 am |
Will they work for pixie sticks and nacho cheese? We’re on a budget.
August 31, 2019 at 8:05 pm |
The Turk is loaded with charisma. Don’t tell him any different!
September 1, 2019 at 6:43 am |
He certainly thinks so, Libby. And therefore we must, too, by executive fiat.
August 31, 2019 at 8:13 pm |
That is a big handlebar bag! And the Turk has you well trained.
September 1, 2019 at 6:44 am |
Yeah, I rarely break that one out, Paddy me lad. But since I was using Arkel panniers, I thought I’d accessorize with that giant Arkel bar bag. You could hide a body in that thing.
September 1, 2019 at 8:10 am |
I had one of those on my first Trek 520. It had the aluminum handlebar mounts for the bag. The bag and mounts weighed about a pound, if I remember correctly, and combined with a load were just too much weight for me. I think I sold it to Ken over at the Bisbee Bicycle Brothel. It was typical Arkel high quality gear but just a little heavy.
September 1, 2019 at 8:29 am |
I have a smaller Ortlieb that uses a cable mount. A little on the arcane side to install but less bulky.
I think a front mini-rack with a smallish dry bag makes more sense, frankly. I use one of those with the Sam Hillborne.
September 1, 2019 at 10:06 am |
That’s so nice! Smaller and the weight is down lower and off the bars.
September 1, 2019 at 3:14 pm |
Yes! That front rack and pack is the ticket. Especially since Rivendell is smart enough to put some nice fittings for such into their frames. Bet you can’t even feel it’s there.
September 1, 2019 at 3:17 pm
Is that a Brooks Nut Beater I spy on the Sam?
September 1, 2019 at 3:28 pm
It is indeed. I tried my best to love the Nut Beater, but it was not to be. The Sam now wears a Selle Italia Turbo 1980.
September 1, 2019 at 3:45 pm
I tried to like one too. Didn’t work. I think all that “you must break it in” talk is, well, toro poo poo. Went back to the Liberator, and now a Ti Fly, and everything in the nether world is smiling. When Terry moved Liberator production from Italy to Taiwan the comfort and fit went downhill. And, you only get vinyl covers. So, I switched to the Italian made Ti Fly.
September 2, 2019 at 12:56 am |
PO’B – interesting comments about the saddle’s country-of-origin in a world where it’s too often “we source our product from the places that produce the best quality, regardless of where that might be..” and you know they left off the part about “places that pay low wages and specialize in cheap mass production” which seems much more important.
I had a guy tell me flat out that his business model made it impossible to make any money with products produced in “high wage countries”. Sometimes I think these captains-of-industry should LIVE in those low wage countries if they’re going to source their products there!
September 1, 2019 at 2:16 am |
Maybe it’s just me, but that bike looks like as much fun as a giant motorhome on a twisty mountain road – whether you are driving it or trying to get around it.
September 1, 2019 at 6:46 am |
Larry, this setup is what we in the touring-journalism game call “Are you nuts?” The Masi guys recommend a light rando-style load for this bike, so naturally I thought I’d provide an example of what not to do, since that’s my area of specialty.
September 1, 2019 at 6:28 am |
Well it looks to me like Herself is finally bouncing your ass and you are hitting the road with all your worldly possessions. So much for the van down by the river. And the look on Turk’s face is the classic “I told you so”. I suggest you begin heading El Norte and test your legs on Going to the Sun highway in Glacier National Park. With that load in the picture…I give you 50/50 odds.
September 1, 2019 at 6:56 am |
Back in the Day®, when I was still all about the racing bikes, I recall seeing a couple guys loaded down about like this, grunting their way up Hardscrabble Cañon between Wetmore and Mackenzie Junction.
Their velocity was measured in miles per annum and I’m guessing they hewed closely to the Schubert Dictum, which mandates “a gear between 20 and 25 inches for that moment on tour when the hill is two miles long and you’re already tired.”
That hill is more like 10 miles long and I get tired just thinking about it.
September 1, 2019 at 8:29 am |
My tandem buddies rode the “Going To The Sun” road last month on a supported tour. They made it.