Always the Joker, hey?
Well, it can’t be politics 24/7 around here, even after a rare November blizzard of good news that nevertheless was not quite good enough to exorcise Beelzebozo from the body politic.
Denied the explosive hemorrhagic stroke of our dreams — well, mine, anyway, especially if it takes place on live TV — the Republic remains possessed. I’m surprised he’s not trying to grab the Beaver Moon with his stubby little fingers. We’re gonna need a bigger priest.
Happily, the weather has been spectacular for the distracting bikey ridey, with highs in the 70s and hardly any wind, which is unheard of in New Mexico. Shucks, it’s already just two degrees short of 60 at 9 in the a.m.
While we wait for winter to set in, if it ever does, I’ve been dialing back the weekly mileage and airing out some dusty machinery. Getting the callup in the past couple weeks: Rivendell’s Sam Hillborne, both Steelman Eurocrosses (it is cyclocross season), the Jones, DBR Axis TT, and New Albion Privateer.
Today may see the Voodoo Wazoo getting a little dirt on its knobs. Or p’raps the Bianchi Zurigo Disc, which as the only alloy-framed, carbon-forked, SRAM-controlled steed in the shed is definitely the odd man out, especially when it’s sporting 32mm Conti slicks, as it is at the moment.
Whenever I wander off into these seasonal inspection tours, in the back of my mind I’m thinking idly about thinning the velo-herd. But I notice that despite my best intentions there remains nary a hook unburdened in the garage with a few more two-wheelers parked on the deck.
N+1, baby; n+1.
Mad Blog Media 
N+1 also used to work for guitars, but no longer. I have a Rainsong, Gibson, and Taylor that I love. I’m in lust with the Martin, but I am almost sure I’ll put a ring on her. I think that’s enough. We won’t mention the Mexican Made Telecaster that magically appeared here kinda like that Bianchi. I thought for sure that one would be returned after your testing.
We are fortunate boys to have so many toys, yeah? I haven’t had to pawn the hand cannon for quite a spell.
As regards the Bianchi, it’s definitely from the Island of Misfit Toys as far as the rest of The Fleet is concerned. I liked that it was at least cyclocross-adjacent, would accept fattish tires (I had lightly knobbed 42mm Contis on it until just recently), and could tackle a variety of chores, from credit-card touring to commuting to fast group road rides, even some not-too-technical trails.
Plus it had the SRAM Apex drivetrain I’d heard about, but had never played with; it’s kinda nice to be able to brake and shift with the same levers from time to time, as a change from old-school bar-cons and brake levers.
I don’t ride it a ton, but it’s still a good choice for scooting around the Foothills. And being a 55cm — not too short, not too tall — it makes a great loaner for visitors.
As a purveyor of various wheeled goods along the lines of your smarter half, I’m periodically stumbling across beasts which I consider keeping, at least for a lengthy time. I had a Beloved Half Full (aka: Chris King) Ride that was quite nice but the pull of the dollar, or because it was shipped to Ėire, the pull of the Euro caused me to allow it to depart. I still have the fancy carbon frame, Hed wheeled Fat Bike that I keep around until some good snow falls down. Eventually though, like a dog and cat foster home, I will need to let the furry (fat tired) beast go to a new home. But, Hey ! The old van I had blew a gasket and part of the garage has opened up for bike storage. n+NE
(never enough)
and POB that definitely goes for fine musical instruments, including the stringed plywood boxes that just sound good.
Like a Taylor GS Mini or an Art & Lutherie Roadhouse? Those two punch way above their price tags.
Those are two nice and nicely affordable git-fiddles, very kind to a poser-picker like Your Humble Narrator. My Seagull Entourage Mini Jumbo is a beaut’, too, but a little on the Jumbo side of Mini for my smallish paws.
When did Seagull beauty sneak into Casa Perro Loco? Cedar tops have a mellow tone.
The Seagull was the first guitar I bought, Hoss. Got ’er used from Guitar Center here, before the outfit filed for bankruptcy. And yes indeedy, it has a larger, mellower tone than the Roadhouse. But it’s a little harder for me to play.
“Play.” Ho ho, etc. “Flail” would be more like it. I should stick to the flute. Whaddaya suppose a new Pearl costs with the tariffs in place? Probably have to sell that Steelman time-trial bike. …
N+1 is the universal solution for bikes, guitars, guns, or whatever tickles one’s fancy. But then one gets into what we call the space-charge effect in mass spectrometry, when you try to put too many things in an enclosed space and stuff starts to bang into each other.
I put a shorter stem on the Physical Therapy bike today in anticipation of starting to ride again next week while not having to stretch out so much. Hopefully my hopes for riding will not be dashed.
Fingers crossed, Hoss. I have faith in yis. Just don’t pull an O’Grady and overdo straight out of the gate.
Have you thought about doing a few stationary-trainer rides for a bit to see how that feels? After popping a collarbone the Cateye CS-1000 trainer was always my little buddy for a while.
Yeah Khal…eeease on into cycling until you are sure your connective parts throughout the body are limber. Walking maybe the better testing grounds for a bit. I learned that being in a “fixed” position was not a good idea so if you do the bike trainer, make sure you move around on the bike like you’ve got cayenne peppers in your shorts. Get on and off several times and take a lap around the castle.
And POG….c’mon…you can part with that time trial bike yes? Although the resale market might be like selling an IBM typewriter vinyl dust cover. If only the Greg LeMond Challenge time trial series had succeeded over here. I might still be riding drops on Sundays. Is time trialing still alive in the British Isles? Used to be surprisingly strong.
Another thought: Consider going to a swept-back handlebar like the ones the Rivendell crowd favors. MTB brake levers and bar-cons, thumbshifters, or twist shifters. I tried that setup for a while on the Soma Double Cross before going back to the classic cyclocross setup. Sure does get you more upright.
I think I developed a lifetime aversion to stationary trainers when I popped my own collarbone back in the day. I used to call it the daily Tour de Nowhere.
I had a nice set of rollers back in graduate school (winters in the Northeast require work-arounds for bicycling) which several of us shared. We set it up in the Geology Department’s basement rock storage room, where no one would give a hoot but we all had keys. But the idea of possibly falling off rollers post surgery makes me shit my drawers just thinking about it. Still, wish I had never sold them.
It will be two weeks since the knife fight on this coming Monday. I’ll see how I feel about getting on the bikey. The docs want me to walk for a while, but that gets old. Then again, so does re-injuring the back.
Walking is fine. I just took an hourlong stroll through the foothills. It’s a nice change of pace from cycling, as cycling is from driving. Slow down, see more, etc.
I still run a bit, but this winter I might do more hikes. Easier on the delaminating temple of the soul.
I think the Japanese call that forest bathing. A closer translation would immersing yourself in nature. My buddy Raul called it dirt time. No matter, it’s all good for the soul. I love walking or light hiking and always feel better for it. Leave the electronics at home.
Khal, I was going to make a joking comment earlier today about using rollers for recovery. Especially the authentic non-parabolic models. The nice thing about rollers is that because they require attention to use, you don’t have to ride them too long to get a good workout. I bought a new belt for my set in the not-so-distant past may have to fold them out in the garage and ride a little while.
I’ve never tried rollers. I can fall down in the real world just fine; toppling over in the garage or living room would be too much for my fragile psyche to bear.
Anyway, I’m stubborn. For me, cycling is about the great outdoors, freedom from the Mac and the drudgery contained within. So unless I’m recovering from injury and/or the weather is truly abominable, out the door I roll. If it’s beyond abominable I’ll run.
Back in the Day® I used to have a designated filth bike. I need to get me another one of those. The Voodoo Wazoo would do, with its scarred tubes, flat bar, fat tires, and odd collection of ancient components, but I have to use hose clamps to mount fenders.
Filth Bike? How’s about Weather Warrior? That’s what my Linus 3 speed is. Although I really wish it had a few more gears. This all-steel mount is the go-to when streets are wet or rain and mud/sand is likely. Chubby 700 x 44 tires and easy adjust side pulls. Cleaning? Nah…just ride him hard and put away wet after maybe a little hose work. Whatever lube is handy for the chain now and then. If I went with skinnier tires I could get fenders on but the front bag and the rear rack bag take most of the beating. Not having derailleurs is liberating I tells ya. But I sure wouldn’t want to have to carry the Warrior up any flights of stairs. It’s all I can do to lift him onto the hitch rack! Had over to do again I would be patient and wait and wait for someone to be desparate and sell a Rohloff equipped bike with gears galore. Priced built rear wheels with Alfine or Nexus hubs but got woozy and had to lie down.
Rollers are really good training aids. They force you (straight rollers, not the parabolic ones) to relax and pay attention. I’ve been able to ride them with no hands and to perform the really difficult maneuver of getting out of the saddle on them. The weight transfer from front to back has a tendency to cause you to twist the steering a little which can make staying on rollers really tricky.
I really liked my rollers. Actually the first set belonged to my grad school friend Chuck Herzig, who rode an Eisentraut, by the way, and who introduced me to rollers and also to riding at 110%. Then I bought my own set.
We tried to ride through Long Island winters on actual pavement but occasionally that got interesting, like the time I slid my bicycle down the road on black ice or the time I slid into a pothole and did an Ass-Over-Handlebars, spraining my neck in the landing. So we would bring the Sony Walkmans down to the Rock Room and do the musical Tour de Nowhere.
Good times.
My first bike with no front derailleur was a BikeE NX recumbent with a Schlumpf Mountain Drive in front and 7 speed SRAM derailleur in back. That Mountain Drive was trouble free for 4 years with a few drops of light oil twice a year the only maintenance. I still think a Schlumpf Drive in front with a Shimano Nexus 8 speed hub in the rear would be a dandy drive train.
Changing subjects for a minute, I‘ll beg for forgiveness later, if you are a user of social media this should really concern you.
https://www.npr.org/2025/11/08/nx-s1-5585691/ice-facial-recognition-immigration-tracking-spyware
Maybe a trend will start where people will “glitter” their faces to throw off the camera sensors, or somebody will work out a pair of glasses with quick micro-flashing strobes. At least at the minimum, squirt guns with grape juice or a similar sticky more-opaque liquid.
If you’ll allow me: F xxx U xxx C xxx K facial recognition.
We really have intercoursed the penguin on personal privacy with our relentless, always-online self-promotion. All the State has to do is connect the dots, and we supply the dots — where we are, what we look like, what we’re doing, and what we’ve done.
Funny thing is, for the Average Joe/Jane, a simple online search for pretty much anything has become completely and utterly useless, with the Algorithim returning what it wants us to know rather than what we want to know.
Makes that old Total Information Awareness program look amateurish.
Ayuh. Remember the good old days when people would shrug and say, “Oh, sure, they’re collecting all this information, but there’s no way in hell they’ll ever be able to sort through that epic pile of data to make any use of it.”
Suddenly A.I. says, “Hold my digital beer and watch this. …”
Those folks in the good old days were naive at best or stupid at worst. Any data analyst would tell you that data was selectively sorted, packaged, and sold by sites like facebut and amazon long before AI was a thing. AI just made it cheaper, more effective, and easier for them to do. And, they are doing a booming business. Now, these same folks give up their data saying it’s too late to do anything about it. My response is quit giving it up dip shit. A prime example is location data.
Mirror sunglasses.
Meanwhile, here’s a reason to keep driving the 2005 Subie until the wheels fall off:
The humble bicycle keeps looking better and better.
The majority of our dots were stolen without our notification or permission.
We gave the dots away without a thought….