(Happy Valentard's Day!)
Wow, what an action-packed weekend! Not only is today Valentude's Day, but it's also the 10th anniversary of Marco Pantani's fun-filled death, and it's Presidents Day, which means in honor of AMERICA! I won't be posting on Monday, February 17th, but will be back on Tuesday, February 18th with regular updates:
(Wow, they really fucked up that mountain, what a shame.)
Sure, I could post anyway, but they're having some sweet sales on Hyundais and I need to take advantage.
Meanwhile, yesterday I wrote about Thomas F. Barraga, the Suffolk County legislator who doesn't think anyone should ride bikes (motorized or human-powered), and I was pleased to learn that someone has updated his Wikipedia page accordingly:
I guess the current entry has been "corrected," but at least this version still exists in some sort of Wikipedia limbo. Here's an excerpt:
Barraga's intense bicycle hatred stems from an incident that occurred as a child. At the age of 9, when his father was teaching him to ride a bicycle, Barraga's low-hanging balls got caught in the spokes of his bicycle. He has despised all forms of unmotorized transport ever since. He has thereafter made it his personal mission in life to see to it that 90% of all bicyclists are involved in on-road accidents. Barraga explained, "I loved my balls. I would play with them often, five, six times a day. I resolved to destroy that which destroys balls."
Sounds plausible to me.
In the meantime, spring has never seemed more remote, and this image sums up the current state of affairs here rather succinctly:
That bike should be accessible some time in August.
And now, I'm pleased to present you with a quiz. As always, study the item, think, and click on your answer. If you're right then go high-five yourself, and if you're wrong you'll see some fancy ridin', after which you'll point out that's not a "fixie," though that doesn't make the ridin' any less fancy.
Thanks very much for reading, ride safe (or else snowshoe safe depending on where you live), and don't go to work on Monday, even if you're not American.
--Wildcat Rock Machine
(I wonder if it's physically painful to be that stupid.)
0) Thomas F. Barraga thinks nobody should ride bicycles in Suffolk County because:
--"90 percent of those people eventually were hit by an automobile"
--"Suffolk County is a suburban automobile community"
--"I loved my balls. I would play with them often, five, six times a day. I resolved to destroy that which destroys balls."
--All of the above
(I'm thinking that yes, it probably is physically painful to be that stupid.)
1) Thomas F. Barraga voted in favor of the Suffolk County "Complete Streets" resolution.
--True
--False
(I know, right? A lot of these mechanics are white!!!)
2) The Global Development Manager at Specialized is outraged by low wages for bicycle mechanics because:
--Bicycle mechanics are more worthy than gardeners, janitors, and shoe repairmen for some reason
--Bicycle mechanics are not able to live in $3,500-a-month apartments
--Slideshows in support of bicycle mechanics is better PR for Specialized than suing people to defend trademarks they don't own
--All of the above
3) The cool new way to harass cyclists in Portland is with a:
--Laser pointer
--BB gun
--Smokescreen
--Oil slick
(Via a reader, from whence I know not.)
4) SRAM have run afoul of PETA with their new "SRAM Green" prototype component group.
--True
--False
(Who needs a home when you have this?)
5) The inventor of the homeless recumbent is seeking $10,000. So far, he has raised:
--$1,000
--$10,000
--$16,500
--$165
(Tempted to buy a BikesDirect fat bike because as soon as I do it will never snow again.)
6) Fat bikes have "arrived" now that they're:
--Available in crabon
--Available in Walmart
--The subject of local news stories in Cleveland
--All of the above
***Special Competitive Bicycling-Themed Bonus Video***
