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Today makes five days in a row riding to work this week. And on five different bikes no less. I might be starting a trend.
Either that or the weather is finally nice.
Whatever.
Happy Friday, everyone.
It’s the first week of April, and that only means one thing: The shit hits the collective fan this coming weekend. Check out this Graham Watson gallery of the Tour of Flanders if you require any further motivation.
Two-time Tour of Flanders winner Tom Boonen wants to make it a hat trick this weekend on home roads.
This year, Boonen has taken a quieter route to the northern classics and he’s hoping it will pay off with a strong ride Sunday.
“At De Panne, I didn’t want to overdo it in the stage finals because I didn’t want to take any risks leading up to Sunday’s race,” Boonen told journalists Thursday at a press conference. “I’m coming into the Ronde Van Vlaanderen in better condition than I was in last year.” Read it here: velonews.com
And the question is asked:
Do we really understand the scope of the administration’s warrantless wiretapping program?
No. We probably don’t. Read the rest here: tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com
Good times with John Yoo over at Esquire. When asked about his infamous choice of words to discribe what was legal and was was torture, organ failure or death, he now claims:
…This is unpleasant. Don’t interpret what I’m saying as oh I was happy to do this or eager, or I felt some satisfaction. Mainly because I had read what the British and the Israelis had gone through — they had their own struggle with this issue and they had their own judicial decisions — and I had read all kinds of articles and books about this issue. I mean, it’s a difficult issue. You have to draw the line. What the government is doing is unpleasant. It’s the use of violence. I don’t disagree with that. But I also think that part of the job unfortunately of being a lawyer sometimes is you have to draw those lines.
You’re damn right it’s unpleasant. Its completly repugnant. Thanks for putting a black eye in the gang, John. Appreciate it.
Today’s musical offerings:
Ghostface Killah – Mighty Healthy
First time I heard this one, my head exploded. That was years back when I used to roll around Tempe, Arizona in a Chevy pickup.
The more things change, the more they stay the same. Or so they tell me.
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WORD! Up.. hehe
Guys–
Can you imagine training to peak in the first week of April? Weird.
Question: is a singlespeed mountain bike a freewheel? Where the hell would you find a fixed MTB wheel?
Yesterday a couple of racer types dragged my ass fifty miles around the north end of Lake Washington… north from the U of W we were paced by a fixie hipster with no brakes or helmet… we would drop him when he spun out, then he would catch back on by flashing through the intersections at full gallop… dude’s gonna die young and piss people off in the meantime. Idiot.
Mikey
I see death around the corner.. Tupac
Mikey: Check mattchester (dot) com for plenty of stuff on fixed gear off-roading and info on ordering one of his fine titanium frames. Phil Wood makes dandy 135mm mtb-sized fixedgear hubs. Re: singlespeed freewheels: yes, there is such a thing. See White Industries of Eno hub fame. Even comes in a two-speed, manual shift, “dinglespeed” version.
You can always build a wheel from the axle out. pick a hub, pick a rim. most shops should be able to set you up. but do it before it gets busy.. that way you don’t have to wait too long
Fuck Yoo and everyone that agrees with his misguided notions!
Glad your fat ass is back in the saddle BJ. I’m trying to get out of mine. 40+ hours a week for work then road racing then bike polo. Fuck if you see me ona training ride on the weekend. I’ll be seeking warm pussy and nursing a cold beverage…
Corey the Courier
PS to Mikey: Get a flip flop hub just so you can either have a fixed/freewheel or a fix/fix. Small chainring/big cog on trails then big chainring/little cog for the ride to and from the park.
Guys-
Perhaps I was unclear… I should have said WHY the hell would you find a fixed-gear MTB wheel? :)
I can see the allure of SS or even fixed, but not off-road. It would be fun to try some track racing (the Marymoor velodrome is five miles from my house and they rent bikes for $5). And maybe for some mild trail riding SS would be nice ’cause there’s no shiny bits hardly to break… but fixed? NO THX.
Mikey
…speaking of nice weather & jonny’s cycling to work , the predicted cold, rainy, windy weather for sunday’s ronde van vlaanderen will make a day of hard work for the hard men of the peleton…
…gonna be interesting…
I love riding SS on trails. Makes it nice and easy, and saves a lot of weight. Though sometimes it would be nice to be able to actually maximize my power in a situation, but then again my shit never breaks so.. it’s a trade off. I think fixed gear off road is for masochists, but hey, if they like it they like it.