I should have gone riding tonight

CadelGay De France Interview on Versus - How annoying was that to watch? It's worse than riding by the porches dealership everyday. The have some sort of moots comooter in the window that, I guess, comes free with every Porsche you buy. Not getting into it. This on the other hand is pure class and just goes to show how self righteous black people are. Don't be some flunky drop out rapper or a ambivalent pro golfer when you can be the president of the area between Canada and Corona land. Sure Michael Jordan may have shown kids the road to the devil but at least he, in my estimation, thought a stand alone Cadillac was worth something. These guys, however, don't. I guess a caddy ain't ish if it doesn't have dayton rims. I sure hope Tiger Woods doesn't make his Caddies carry 20 inch (50.8 cm CDN) rims while he is lugging his ultra lightweight nike golf bag around.

winter comes to hogtown

bad play on the title of an even worse movie - the point is, last week, the temperature was at -9, there was a blizzard thet i had to ride home in, and snow is still on the ground. it has warmed up considerably, and this week temps are supposed to hover around 3, mainly rainy. while we're definitely not in the grips of winter yet, it has shown it's face, and so have the bad drivers, who seem to forget how to drive in wet, snowy, icy conditions EVERY year. i now realize why - when you are in a car, the environment is always the same - the car feels the same, until you hit black ice and you're spinning out of control and have no idea what to do. however, on a bike, you are part of the environment, and any difference in rtoad conditions immediately affects the course of your ride. wet roads cause wet feet and, if you don't have fenders, a big dirty strip up your ass. snowy, icy roads immediately cause a cyclist to slow down, otherwise, you're going to go down.....hard. your bike responds immediately and often harshly to the weather conditions, and you as a PART of your bike, must react accordingly. and a good cyclist will anticipate rather than react. to make a long post even longer, i wanted to share this comic strip that was going through my head the whole ride home in the blizzard. i saw many drivers faces twisted and squinting, and a disturbingly larger amount completely complacent and blank, as if nothing outside had changed. and i noticed that the whole ride home i was smiling.
taken from Rick Smith's awesome daily strip yehuda moon & the kickstand cyclery. i highly recommend it, and there's almost a year's worth of archives to read on the cold days ahead. one of the first things i check every morning with my tea...

Gone Fishin

I think that this may have been posted before but nevertheless here it is. This video is fun because, no matter what kind of bike you ride, this makes you want to go and ride. We might only have a handful of days left before the weather isn't as pleasant as it has been but riding through the winter always makes Spring better. I would rather ride in the cold and rain than take months off only to return to the saddle bloated and lifeless. I had some time so I checked other blogs that might have something to do with cycling and I came across this I took my bike out for a spin for the first time in 08. It was a nice little boot. Got some errands done and ran into an ol’ buddy of mine which got me thinking which is a quote from a March 31st post. I guess livng in Canada can be tough and biking through the winter may be one of the slushier hardships that we have to deal with BUT staying off your bike until April! It sounds as though someone didn't wanna get their girl jeans all gross and salty. But I live in Tokyo and winter here is a prolonged Indian summer so I guess I don't have much to say.

Get the FXXK away from my bike!

In spirit of protecting our bikes I think that we need to come together and set aside our differences once and for all. If we all realize that there is only one common enemy in the fight against bike theft and work to rid ourselves of him, and her, forever. Yes, that enemy is the the GTFAFMB hippy. Setting: Streets of the city that you live in. Scenario: Whilst leaving a convenience store, where you were purchased some juiced to offer the gods of re hydration, you happen upon a hippy and his overweight companion pouring over your bike as some unshaven college intern fumbles with the manual focus on a Canon GL1 that has seen better days. You question the hippy as to his motives and he explains how he is making a video of how easy it would be to steal your bike. Naturally the GTFAFMB lump rises in your throat, as you have had several bike parts stolen to date, and you to the hippy to kindly fuck off and go film women walking home at night. A dim black light bulb appears above the hippy's head as realizes there are several other video he can make and all would have the "blame the victim" thread in common. He saunters off leaving the intern, who will later become the fat girls sustenance because she lent her last $10 to the hippy, and you unlock your bike but not before looking over your shoulder several times. I actually thought that GTFAFMB should be GTFAFMBYFH but the "you fxxking hippy" seems a little redundant. Besides getting away from some body's bike shouldn't be limited to hippys. To date the same hippy has made seven other short movies all with a different intern. They are as follows:
Children that would be easy to kidnap
Stores that are easy to rob
Old people that are a cinch to push down
Sofas that are easy to crash on
Gullible teenagers who buy shake
Interns who think filming me will lead to a job( still in production)
Cars that are easy to steal

No handlebars

This was one of things we watched while drinking the other night and, while slandering it, I swore I would even remember it becuase it was lame. I guess I just don't think that anyone is really going to do anything positive through hip hop or grafitti, I said it. Sure people, like me, will hear it but how many will take time out the daily grind to care. Besides, rage against the machine was 15 years ago and they didn't have an impact so why would this band?

not bike related

but a clarification:

I felt wrong

for skipping out on the Friday night ride. Not because I felt obligated or that I didn't want to ride, because it's always an epic time, but because Julien was so much fun. He was the funniuest thing I've since the blues brothers. The Dr. is in surgery and the lurker( see previously attempted post) came over so we searched bike stuff and got beer. I shot a polaroid and he scrammed. I guess it would be wierd to head over to your friends house and watch Rasmussen videos while the silently prepped a polaroid camera and lighting. Kayo insists the gee made the suspiria t-shirt and didn't buy it.

Another year and 200% up in the friend factor

which is a msileading title to a post because, by most people's reasoning, I should have a boat load of friends and like minded thinkers waiting in the wings. To break it down real clear and slow for ya I am gonna fight through the haze between the keyboard and me i.e. beer. The only thing I have to get off my chest a.s.a.p. is that I hate cyclists coming the wrong way in the lane whelst checking/writing a text message.

Now on to the Veloween, Haloween or make up wearing gay night with a BORG that encouraged the race to pace to hasten by insisiting that we use his bike with cat speedometer meow mix. Last year A2C and I rode on Haloween and only he had done the zombie make up thing. This year it was four people, two of us with zombie make up and a mind for the exorcising. Push pedal go!!!!!!!!!!!!! We met up and the smoking lurker seemed a little less than happy that I had, despit making ads and posting them on the interweb, only come up with two other riders. I need to re check this post tomorrow because I just went to the store and bought more beer. The lurker, himself, just showed up and this post is getting harder and harder to finish. To give the reader a timeline this post started at the end of world war two and I am typing this line when microwaves were invented. In the interest of holding interest, interested yet? I am going to post random pictures from the ride and hope that I get the captions right. A2C and his friend that he hasn't seen in two years. some crimes. why haven't you called or hung or hung out with me? MJS crew did wheelies and let me ride their bikes, which was fun because mine is sooooo high performance it's tiring. You can find these guys on

new gear/halloween recap

well, it's raining here and my day off, and i realize this post is a little light in the loafer, but i feel like a schlub for not really contributing anything on here. life goes on here, as expected - biking everyday, adding a layer of clothing as the weeks fall off the calendar, and a few small purchases to upgrade the bikikle.

MKS touring pedals, i'm in love:

a new rear rim (after the old one was unceremoniously warped by a completely clueless ancient yp driver in a minivan who believes that you don't have to look at oncoming traffic while making a left hand turn through an intersection. tarded):
$100 was demanded and recieved, as i was certain i was going to have to purchase a whole new wheel. but polly, my bike guy and the one who i bought the original wheel from, offered to rebuild the wheel using the same hub and spokes and putting a new rim on, for just the cost of the rim (no labour) - $20. so i made $80 on that one. last time an asian struck me, i was travelling by a different mode, but i made $60, so by that logic, the next time, i should make out with a clean $100.

well, that's it, except for a few leftover shots from halloween:

my jack menacing byn'sme, on the 1st annual dusk till dawn horror-thon party evening.

same nite.

saaaaaame niiiiite....unnnnnhhhhh.

walking to the halloween party. me on the right. dead presidents? what!

at the party, with amy.

Sorry

I guess it's that time of year when we all decide that it is far too cold to do anything outside of the house and all the leaves have been raked up, son. I have been riding my bike. That's pretty much all I have to report on because everything else is in the news. Company is going down, possible job cuts, Obama is president, we have watched Twin peaks from open till close and Julien shows no signs of stopping. I have been riding and I alone am, more than a little, disconcerted at how much I have changed. I haven't though no matter how many times I watch this I always think I could facking kill him on the dead frame bike with a backpack on. Pinch cycle is back!