This is a shameless attempt to save the the most advanced civilization in
history from imminent self destruction by eliminating carbon emission,
dependence on foreign sources of fuel,obesity, hypertension and diabetes.
Cycling accomplishes all those things at once and helps us develop a better
understanding of ourselves, each other and our relationship to the cosmos.

Oh, horse puckey!
I like to ride bikes, have been doing it all my life.
The rest of that crap is just a fringe benefit,
and the blogosphere gives me a chance to share my interior
monologue with virtual rather than imaginary friends.

Monday, August 1, 2011

Bikes as bling, a new social trend.

   As I  was commenting the other day,  we've become a society which places more value on what we have than what we do.  The cycling world is no different and I am certainly not immune.  Whether we do a weekly ride on a carbon crotch rocket,

a trendy fixie,

or revel in polishing a rare mint condition vintage Rene' Hearse in the garage, we use our bikes for social value.  Just as people do with cars, we tend to identify ourselves with the type of bike we have.  When I went to meet several people from the over 50's bike forums,  we found a lot of lugged steel and leather saddles.
   My bikes always raise a conversation and I am always pleased to get the attention. Sometimes it's a simple question about an accessory, or a comment about the build itself.  I enjoy it more than I would owning a BMW or Mercedes because I have a lot of thought and personal handwork in each of my bikes.
    Recently on a tour, my Hunq

drew a man into a 30 minute conversation reminiscing about his cross country trip, his old Raleigh and how much he missed it.
     Another example of somebody giving me the "high road" came after a recent chamber concert.  I walked out to find several of the more fashionable people in town admiring and discussing Byron outside the restaurant.

One gentleman asked about the Nuvinci rear hub and how many gears it had.  I gave him the 10 second explanation of the Nuvinci technology.  He was suitably impressed and to put things into a perspective he said, "I'm looking at a Ferrari then?"  I said, "No, this is not a speedy crotch rocket, if you put it in car terms this would be like a Bentley Roadster."  He was satisfied with that, it was a value to whichhe could relate.  As much as he liked the bike, he had to convert it to the carcentric values he understood.
    Gee, think how cool I could feel if I was driving around with this on top of my car.

They say it's made from stuff beamed down by the Mars probe and as yet is undiscovered by man.
Now that's beemer bling.

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