26 or 29
Who cares how many times your wheels go round on the same hills and loops we pedal? I don't; It's all just riding.
Full Bounce or Fully Rigid
Who cares if you bounce from rock to rock in righteous rolling or glide down the trails sprung forward on the latest tech? I don't; It's all just riding.
Geared or SingleSpeed
Who cares if you mash the cranks with vigour or spin up the ascents climbing to the big end of the cassette? I don't; It's all just riding.
Full Jeycore Race Whippet or Downhill Demon
Who cares if you don lycra to hammer the miles or body armour to hammer the hills? I dont; It's all just riding.
Weekend Warrior or Die Hard Pedaller
Who cares if you get your rides in where you can, fitting the joy in around real life or whether you have to get the miles in, all else be damned? I don't; It's all just riding.
Supermarket Special or Carbon Race Ride
Who cares if your steed was a few hundred dolars from Walmart or the latest,lighest,fastest that money can buy? I don't; It's all just riding.
Sand or Mud
Who cares if we're grinding through loose and dry or grinding through loose and wet? I don't; It's all just riding.
tires or tyres?
Clearly, it's tyres.
Guest Blog by Fat Lad (our brother across the pond)
18 comments:
the Great Unifier has arrived. Our Neo. all praise the Lad!
This needed to be said. Sometimes all of you BRC bikers overdo the "burlyness" crap. $2,000 bikes, your stupid lycra "kits", leaving people behind on rides, punishing the weak. It's hard to see the joy. And for a weekend rider like me who just loads up wee Daniel on the back and rides to the park or to the store with the wife, I sometimes don't feel as if the BRC is really speaking to me. Me, I just like going for a easy ride with those I love. Fat Lad, I am glad you put your two cents in. It's all just riding and people who take themselves so seriously can be a real bore.
Dr. Detroit
Excellent thoughts, Dr. D, except for the part about the weak. I mean, they need to be punished, right?
After all, they're the weak, and what most people don't realize is they actually like it. How else will they learn?
The burlyness is a pose. Helps me refrain from punching out the guy in the mirror in disgust over all the little sellouts and compromises. Not to mention the frequent bonking.
That was awfully judgemental regarding the cost of bikes, the clothing preference, and riding style of others, Dr. Detroit. I'm a diehard road bike fanatic who when time permits prefers to put the hammer down until my thighs are jelly and my heart and lungs are sucking so hard my chest is concave. But most of the time I load my toddler on her mountain bike seat and cruise to the park or ice cream parlor. People derive bike joy in different ways and forms and though we may not understand why Juancho prefers to talk smack about his massive thighs or why Squatch likes to crash on the pavement or why Hi-Tops is just such a damned likable character that does not give us license to through down judgement. If the BRC doesn't speak to you- don't read it.
"I have kids."
It's all just whining to me.
"I don't have a $2000.00 bike."
It's all just whining to me
"I'm too fat for lycra."
It's all just whinig to me.
I have been dropped and I have dropped others. Make your mind up what kind of rider you are and live with it. If you don't want to hammer then ride alone or with the offspring.
I think the point of the lads post was to ride, no excuses, no labels, go ride.
w.b.z.n.
Here here! Sing it, brother.
Methinks I struck a nerve. Was it my holier-than-thou attidude? My lack of respect for your equipment/fashion choices? Perhaps it was my general judgemental tone? In any case, I thought the BRC was a forum for the free and easy exchange of ideas loosely based upon all of our love of bike riding. So in this spirit Dogboy, I will continue to keep reading dear Juancho's random musings and commenting when the spirit moves me. Having said that, in the future I will try and approach the comments section with the proper tone and respect it deserves. Also, my comments were in no way an ad hominem attack, rather an overarching treatise on bikers in general. Surely we can all agree that some of the norms among bikers that I touched upon(like most hobbies) might seem a bit weird when viewed from a distance?
You know who's viewing the scene from a distance?
The weak.
That's why they MUST be punished.
I can't hear you way back there, speak up.
Wow, and I thought people would get upset about the tyres/tires thing.
no excuses, no labels, go ride. yep that's pretty much it.
The group I ride with has seen all the fads, all the fashion and all the shiny new bits. Despite the changing kit and styles the same old faces can be counted upon to churn out the miles. Week in, week out, any steed, any time, any season.
A ride, some buddies and a trail. What more can you ask for? What more darewe ask for?
Fat Lad
Ask for rain, fat lad.
To punish the weak.
And pints, to make the weak feel better, while they weaken.
And who rides a P.O.S. $2,000 bike? who makes one that cheap?
I'm out of town and off my bike for 7 days, and that makes one weak!!!
oh, we gotta ride, I smell blood.
Hey, I get dropped all the time....I don't care! I just like riding bikes. I pretty much always ride with people who are fitter than me, so I get dropped alot....so what? Maybe I am "The Weak" or maybe I am merely the representative of "The Weak", I don't know.
To some, I am "The Strong" (but not many).
I don't like riding technical stuff....so I don't ride technical stuff.
My good friend Fat Lad usually manages to make a poignant point. He has struck again. And as usual he did with a certain finesse I seek in vain.
I may go off somewhere and shave my shins as I am becoming more and more interested in road biking.
Is that OK?
I think it is.
I love to devour the souls of the weak while wearing lycra on a $2000 bike.... when the time is appropriate.
I don't ride with my kids cause they're to damn slow. They need to start putting in the hours.
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