“What time does the Super Bowl start?” Herself asked.
“Beats me,” I replied.
Can you tell we’re not fans? Of the Chiefs, the Eagles, or football in general?
I used to fake an interest, same way I faked an interest in editing newspaper copy for a dozen years. My people followed the various ball sports, and occasionally rented a motel room for The Big Game, because that way someone else would have to tidy up afterward.
But the Big Game was usually more about acting the fool than it was about football. Just ask the motel housekeepers who had to do the tidying up.
These days I don’t even have to pretend I give a shit. I just decide which bike I want to ride and hope all the fans are already glued to the pregame show(s) before I sally forth.
Today it’s my No. 2 Steelman Eurocross. I rode No. 1 the past few days and hate to show favoritism. But I gotta have some knobbies in case I need to flee the mean streets for the trails. Dog only knows the state of the drivers on Game Day, running low on bean dip and strong drink, weaving off at 20 mph over the limit to the grocery store.
Mad Blog Media 
Well spoken!!
( Avoid cheering on the creation of more head injuries …….. & future CTE for the wealthy former players )
Lions vs. the Christians !!
Charlie Versteeg
Us too. As Charles says, it’s not fun watching athletes in their prime sell their brains to the highest bidder. Now a congressional football game with no PPE or referees would interest me. They have already sold their brains to the highest bidder, sometimes any bidder.
The only sport I watch with any regularity is women’s cyclocross. The racing was good this year. Lots of drama. Lots of mud. I’m still confused as to why we have a World Cup series and a World Championship race but whatever. Lucinda Brand looked strong all year. She’s mid 30’s and in fine form. Sanne Cant is also mid 30’s and on her way out.
My man Charles Pelkey always preferred covering women’s racing, and I particularly liked covering elite women’s cyclocross when I got the opportunity.
Watching racers like Lisa Muhich, Alison Dunlap, Katie Compton, Anne Grande, and Georgia Gould duke it out was awesome. And they were so much easier to talk to afterward than most of the dudes.
The 1999 nats at The Presidio in San Francisco was particularly excellent. A very compact course due to issues with land managers and I could run from point to point to see how everyone tackled this, that and the other. Alison and Anne had a fine duel that day.
Maybe we’ll watch the movie “McFarland” today. That’s a sport story I can get into. After that we’ll watch “Dave” and dream about a real president.
Heh. Just got off my own two-wheeler. In this case, the CAAD-5 Frankenbike.
Those Donnelly MSOs look like they would handle about anything, road or off road, short of Pure Gnarly. I am running their 700-40’s on the Salsa LaCruz as all around tires. The ride snappy enough on pavement and have taken them down the Rail Trail all the way to Maddog Road (if you recall….).
My seat for the Stupor Bowl has long been a road bike. Was great in Hawai’i, because the normally packed Sunday roads were practically empty for about four hours. But woe to those who didn’t scurry off by the end of the game, when all the impaired fans got back in their cars.
Damn, O’Grady. You can still push those gears? I’m jealous. My rear cassette is getting to look more and more like a frisbee as time goes on. Combined with the 48-32 subcompact, I am positively a wimp.
Those MSOs are really nice for the local trails. I run 35mm on the Eurocross and 50mm on the Co-Motion Divide Rohloff. Soma’s Cazadero in 42mm is an excellent choice, too; got those on the Double Cross.
This Eurocross remains set up pretty much how it was when I was still racing a couple decades ago, and it’s long past time to reconsider the drivetrain. Its low end of 34x28T is still doable, but only barely. No. 1 Eurocross lets me run a 32T low end, which makes a whole lot of difference.
It helps that I run 175mm cranks instead of 172.5mm on both Eurocrosses. Stomp them big ol’ levers!
That’s a 34 little chainring? Looked bigger to me.
With the road bikes, I’m running a 34-30 low on the Six-Thirteen and a 32-32 on the CAAD-5, with an old XTR derailleur on the back of the CAAD-5, which synchs fine with the old Dura-Ace 9 spd brifters. With that 1:1, I can still even scurry up the mountain without having to call 9-1-1.
Cross bike and gravel bike, running a 30-36 low for off road. My knees love it.
Yup, it’s a 46/34T chainring combo with an 11-28T eight-speed cassette, pre-Ultegra Shimano 600 rear derailleur. Aftermarket STI levers, either Spooky or Empella cantis, Ritchey cranks, Cane Creek wheels, runs 23 pounds, 6 ounces with a saddlebag (one tube, two tire irons, and a Park minitool).
I want to make some serious changes in the setup — new handlebar with less reach and drop, bar-end shifters and Shimano aero brake levers to replace the clunky STI, mebbe a new derailleur or a derailleur-tab extender so I can run at least a 32T cog on the back end. In other words, mimic the setup on Eurocross No. 1. I’ma pop a kneecap off on a steep pitch one of these days otherwise.
I just put a Richey drop bar with flat tops (WCS Streem Bar) on the CAAD-5. I was having a lot of hand pain and the big flat top to rest my ancient palms on seems to help. I’ve got them on several other bikes and they put less pressure on my palms.
I hear you. I have some pretty cushy grips on my flat-bar Voodoo Wazoo, and I use thick Cinelli cork tape on any drop bars.
On these funky Duck!Burg streets (and on the trails too) my practice is to ride with hands on the bar tops whenever possible, with 38mm+ rubber (if I can fit it) at 50psi and lower. Yesterday I was rocking 35mm at 35psi front/40 rear.
Please tell us POG that ya ain’t sporting a carbon death fork. Grant P will have a conniption fit.
Funny you should mention it, Herb y’old carbonater …
Back in the Day® the frame came with a True Temper Alpha Q CX carbon fork that I didn’t like at all. It just felt dead, especially on any course with lumps in it. I liked the frame a whole lot more with a steel fork.
I’ve also pulled the carbon fork off my old DBR Prevail TT road bike and replaced it with a Steelman fork.
Now the onliest carbon fork I have that’s actually on a working bike belongs to the Bianchi Zurigo Disc, which is one of the bikes I just don’t ride all that much. I should probably take it out for a spin to remind myself of why I still have it.
One reason would be the insanely excellent deal I got on it. Dog bless the bike biz! I never got rich, but I have a bunch of cool toys to play with.
Hey, Patrick. Think we can sell jerseys with bullseyes on the back for anyone riding these new bikelanes on Downtown Central?
https://www.abqjournal.com/news/article_2b45c3b0-e710-11ef-aeec-b733e2cf28a0.html#tncms-source=home-featured-7-block
Man, I don’t even like driving on Central. On any part of it. When I’m cycling downtown it’s usually because I’ve just dropped the Subie at Reincarnation off 2nd and Mountain, or am heading back to retrieve it.
Now and again I’ll use Mountain/Edith/Odelia-Indian School as a link from the Paseo del Bosque trail to the North Diversion Channel Trail. But I don’t like a whole lot of that route. Gives me The Fear it does.
I get the fear driving by Rainbow Guitars. They have a Keb Mo J-45 12 fret model in there that makes me weak in the knees.
Are you all shook up?
Mr. Rainbow, I’m gonna make it OK, soon as I get paid.