Open Thread

What did you do today? I may not have gotten in a proper ride in this morning, but I did ride each one of these beauties around the block. Some of them even twice around the block. Good times.

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From left to right; Specialized, Moser, Ciocc, Surly, Voodoo, Fondriest, Lemond.

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What’s in your quiver?

In other recent news, I’m not ready to launch my own two free range kids yet. Probably because my daughter is all of three years old. Don’t worry, she’ll be driving dad home from the bar soon enough.

Find folks like Hugh Hewitt and Rush Limbaugh actually think a failure of General Motors, or in the common parlance “Government Motors”, is a good thing. I drive American. Currently it’s an Oldsmobile. Previous domestic buckets of bolts included a Cadillac, a Buick and a full size GMC van. All glorious tributes to the American Worker. And now all boycotted by Legions of Ditto Heads across this great land. So now what? Drive that BMW, Mercedes or Lexis you always wanted, but previously felt guilty about buying because a few years ago we were supposed to buy American made? Or was it because GM made too good of a car?

If GM tanks it’s going to end up costing us all more money. Good times.

Sarah Palin is shooting for the moon, and why shouldn’t she? Just because she hasn’t got a snowball’s chance in hell never stopped her before. So she irritates a few people here and there… Ok, she’s friggin’ intolerable. I cannot wait for her to disappear below the waves forever. And, hey, Howard Stern is still funny. Or at least I think he is. But what do I know, I’ve got this big gay chip on my shoulder.

Link Dump:
You can see it from space. From space! news.bbc.co.uk
Texas is doomed. blogs.discovermagazine.com
Weird. And yet I laughed: highlife.110mb.com/ipron
Completely insane. And I want one. gizmodo.com/gadgets/gun…
Here’s to aimless drifting. autoblog.com
Oh dear lord god in heaven. awkwardfamilyphotos.com
Former interrogator rebukes Cheney for torture speech. huffingtonpost.com

Have a good day.

About big jonny

The man, the legend. The guy who started it all back in the Year of Our Lord Beer, 2000, with a couple of pages worth of idiotic ranting hardcoded on some random porn site that would host anything you uploaded, a book called HTML for Dummies (which was completely appropriate), a bad attitude (which hasn’t much changed), and a Dell desktop running Win95 with 64 mgs of ram and a six gig hard drive. Those were the days. Then he went to law school. Go figure. Flagstaff, Arizona, USA

32 Replies to “Open Thread”

  1. Hey Jonny, I’ll say this about Palin, the longer she hangs around, the better for the democrats.
    Also, nice quiver. I don’t have that many drop bars in mine. Impressive, reminds me of my friend Chris’s garage. His lineup is Pegoretti, Pinerello, Pinerello, Merckx, (he used to work @ Gita), Spooky, Surly, Harley, Giant, Kona, Giant.

  2. Scott, LeMond, Specialized, Giant. The Scott is the best bicycle I’ve ever ridden. The wife runs Trek and Kona.

  3. Nishiki-Xtracycle townie
    2001 Trek 5200
    Titus Hard Core Racer
    Voodoo Dambala Tourer
    Yamaha WR 450

    Oh yea, someday, I too will have a garage full of bikes. Nice collection Senior!

  4. My Garage:
    Specialized Epic
    Spot ss
    Serotta CDA
    Surly Pacer
    Specialized ss road
    Soma Groove (GF’s)

    and the only non “S” bike:
    60’s Gitane track bike. It only counts because it is complete, not because it’s rideable.

    I really didn’t try to have all the bikes be “S” companies…

    And yes, Texas is doomed. When Kansas has better public schools, something is seriously wrong… Three more years, then I’m outta this state.

  5. I’ll have to trot out the mountain bikes and townies tomorrow for a group photo.

    I should have mentioned the gearing, left to right again: ten, ten, eight, fixed, single, fixed and eight.

    No nine speed road bikes anymore. Weird. My wife has one – just so the garage isn’t totally unbalanced. Think garage feng shui.

    Seems I left the Merckx (5 spd) on the peg too. Whoops. I’ll get ya next time, baby. I’ll get ya next time.

    Dude. I have too many bikes. And I just gave Jackass one!

  6. In the basement…

    Moots YBB
    Steel Yeti Pro FRO (the “uglyyeti”)
    Trek XO1
    Steel Stumpy w/Xtracycle kit

    Wife’s FSR XC w/custom Spectrum powder coat
    Wife’s Slingshot road bike (she’s on the trainer now!)
    Wife’s Nevil hardtail
    Wife’s Schwinn Panther child seat cruiser

    12″ Specialized Vegas
    16″ Specialized HotRock
    20″ Specialized HotRock 6 speed

  7. Trek 2300 (gotta have a road bike to train on)
    Dean Colonel
    Titus Racer X
    Kona Kilauea (set up as full rigid 42 x 18 ss – WITH Spinergy wheels)
    ProCraft ss (853 steel…custom built by a local dude)
    Gary Fisher Sugar (wife’s mtb)
    Giant FCR (wife’s roadie)
    Schwinn Stingray

    Gotta say…I listen to Rush almost every day (it’s on at work)…and this is, like most attacks on him, taken out of context. No way I will (or could) defend the good Mr. Limbaugh against this crowd (and not that I’d want to – I certainly don’t agree with all he has to say), but it’s just like the “I want Obama to fail” thing…people just hear that, and get all up-in-arms without listening to the reasoning behind it. Of course, Rush knows EXACTLY what will get him attention, good or bad.

  8. In various places:
    Giant TCR Composite
    Schwinn Paramount
    GT LTS DH Frame floatin around somewhere
    Giant Reign
    Schwinn Homegrown Factory c. 1996
    Schwinn Homegrown c. 2000
    Giant Bowery
    Schwinn XS 1
    Schwinn High Sierra c. 1988
    Specialized Allez c. 1993

    uglyyeti, a nevil? NICE!
    oh yeah, & Giant Stilletto
    There may be a few more that I’ve forgotten

  9. …serotta road – ti & carbon…campagnolo…custom pour moi…hardcore w/ comfort…amazing ride…
    …bianchi cross – scandium & carbon…campagnolo…sweet n’ stable dirt ride…
    …bianchi townie – ’85 cro-moly race bike set up as a single w/ straight bar…campagnolo & modolo…fun ride…
    …fisher prometheus – titanium…yep, believe it or not, campagnolo…never ridden anymore…
    …colnago road – early ’70’s cro-moly…campagnolo…project bike to be restored as original…

    …got a fixie/freewheel, kinda english-y drop bar bike in mind… fenders, brooks saddle w/ small racks, bags n’ whatnot…might as well get the basics & start putting it together ‘cuz i seem to spend serious time composing/picturing the damn thing in my mind…

  10. sommers:

    plz don’t pollute this fine site with mention of he who cannot be named. tune out, brother. hush the r*sh… and find a new place of employment with better tunage…

    really, just sayin.

  11. Damn, I’m down on bikes it appears.
    Klein Attitude Comp ridgid/single conv
    Yeti 575
    Surly LHT
    Surly Instigator
    Gunnar Sport
    Salsa Casseroll Single (my new commuter, and is so much more fun to ride than the LHT)
    I wonder what I won’t be able to live without next….

  12. I ride a Crosscheck. Fixed, one canti up front, flatbar, rack and fenders.

    And I just got my nice old vintage steel HooKoo back together. 7speed. Drops and barcons, yet. Hey, whatever works. But I could see it with risers and Paul’s Thumbies.

    And there’s a nice old Raleigh with Reynolds 531 and a steel Fuji kicking around, both unbuilt, plus my old Monocog. But it’s always the Crosscheck that I reach for. Damn I love that bike.

  13. Love the Mercks, Jonny. If you ever get tired of it it looks about my size. But nmever mind; now I’m Jonesing to build that old Raleigh. Might start this weekend if the Mrs. don’t crack the whip on the Honey-do list.

  14. Great thread idea. BGW that orange ride is a beauty.

    Mine, somewhat archaic, simple, but…

    Late 80s or early 90s Rockhopper for commuting and dirt touring. Nitto mustaches, drop bar brakes, bar end shifters, racks, Bontrager wheels, big fat tires, etc. Tight rig. Good steel.

    Late 80s Univega one speed, way slack angles (great winter rig in snow and ice, not twitchy), stout, riser bars, newer wheels and brakes, fat tire beast. Good steel.

    Early 70s Motobecane fixie for cocktails and traffic tickets on Flagstaff summer evenings — honjo fenders, dove bars, Nitto stem, vintage Mafacs, etc. Real beauty. Good steel.

    Next bike will be a Fargo or custom iteration thereof that can take fatter tires.

    No car drivin’ here — I live on bikes, very happily and year round.

    SFB, as you listen to the Rash, remember that he hates hippies riding bikes *you, me, us* every bit as much as he hates “Barack the Magic Negro,” college, laws regulating hydrocodone and the fact that he can keep his tall boy beers warm in his fat ass bellybutton.

  15. Hey kids…just a thought, but regarding Rush…I ENJOY listening to him in much the same way that I enjoy reading things like the anti-Right Wing manifesto that was linked to here the other day. Ya see…listening to both sides really helps form educated opinions, which I believe helps in making better decisions.

    And I’ve got two Chevy’s, a Ford, and a Jeep in the garage. Buy ‘Merican. I know where my bread is buttered.

  16. Steel: Grandis, Pegoretti, Masi Pista, Colnago, Richard Sachs, Kelly road, Kelly x-cross, Masi Gran Crit.

    Aluminum: Cannondale.

  17. I love to see the bikes. Looking forward to the MTB collection.

    Here’s what I gots:

    Cannondale 29er geared
    Cannondale 29er 1 x 9, sometimes SS
    1990s Shogun road SS / Fixie
    Gary Fisher Rig SS
    2 Ritchey Breakaway cyclocross bikes fer tour-travlin’
    2 Cannondale Tandems (1 road, 1 mountain)
    Cannondale Scalpel (wife’s)
    Cannondale Synapse (wife’s)
    2009 Trek Madone 5.2 (I know it’s not the hippest, whatever)
    1994ish De Rosa Primato
    Cannondale Cyclocross bike
    3 vintage cruisers fer ridin to the bar!

  18. 8 road bikes and not a tourer in the lot?

    Blasphemy.

    I bought a 1985 Trek 720 off an old lady last year and since then my other bikes have been collecting dust.

    Im planning on quitting my job next spring and doing the TransAmerica on it from Yorktown, Va. to Astoria, Or.

    Can’t wait.

  19. Me: SC Blur, CSK road and cross, Redline cross set up as tourer, Sweet steel frame converted to SS by Vulture Wade, Pake fixie, Chrome mongoose with XtraCycle, Kona A’ha cruiser, Rusted out Bianchi errand bike, Ventana Hardtail, Mondonico El-Os, Schwinn Stingray, Powerlite 20″, Free Agent 24″, Dyno Freestyle, Couple more cx and mtb frames kicking around.

    Wife: Orbea road, IF mtb, C-Dale track (old and badass), 2 Rock Lobster cx bikes, random ti fixie.

    We don’t even have a garage, they’re all piled up in the yard. In the rain. Must build garage.

  20. 1955 Western flyer (full chrome)
    1972 Motobecane Le Champion
    1978 Eisentraut road bike
    1980 Gitane racing tandem
    1984 Rossin track bike
    1986 Peugeot Beach Cruiser
    1992 Serotta Davis Phinney
    1995 Bianchi Denali RC
    2008 Guru Geneo

  21. I am down to one bike. I stopped collecting. I sold all bikes in garage not meant for serious riding. I am all about the new stuff now. One top of the peloton type carbon with 2 wheelsets and all the power shit etc.

  22. I sold all

    96 Bianchi Reparto Course chrome with pearl celest TSx Ultra
    GT Steel Cross Shimano 600
    LEmond Malliot Juane flipflop eno rear w/campy fix/ss w Reynolds carbon Uzo
    Miyata 710 complete from 85 catalog
    82 Specialized Allez made by 3Ren; Record
    Turner 5 Spot
    Kona 2-9

    Now all I have is a Look 595 Ultra, DA, Fulcrum R-0 R-1

    I regret selling the Allez 3Rensho but I never rode it and probably wouldn’t still

  23. Butthead, I almost forgot about 3Rensho’s. I rode one as a last year junior and 1st year senior back in 1984-85. It was probably the quickest road bike that I ever owned. Those Ishiwata tubes were definitely stiffer than any Reynolds, Columbus or Vitus of the same era.

  24. I thought there was to be no more porn on this here thingy…I guess Ill contribute
    Many, Many Bikes have passed thru my mitts, Two or three that BJ still has.
    My Current Personal Bikes, Not ones for sale are:
    97 Bontrager Road Light w/ 8 spd ergo Record
    96 Bontrager Race w/ XT and…
    87 Mercian Track
    71 Colnago Pista, Full Campy Pista
    54 Flying Scot Path Racer
    Ventana El Ray
    For Sale:
    15 others…..

  25. one can never too many bikes…

    86′ 3rensho track bike
    92′ Serotta nhx
    94′ Paramount(waterford)
    03′ Holland

  26. sfb, When Rush (or Bill-O, or Hannity, or Glen Beck, or etc…) can stick to facts, he might be worth a listen. Even when taken in context, he promotes thoroughly discredited talking points. His show is 90% fact free. If you believe in god, he gave us brains so that they could be used, yet Rush’s fans call them selves dittoheads, because thinking for yourselfe hurts too much. Just because someone is shooting their mouth off doesn’t mean they are saying anything rational or that they deserve equal time and consideration of their opinion. It’s a logical fallacy that most of the major news outlets have latched on to. Flat-earther’s don’t deserve to be taken seriously. Young-earth creationists and bloviating drug-addled talking heads should be similarly run out of town. They are free to have those views and speak their mind, but they don’t deserve a pulpit.

  27. Santa Cruz Blur LT
    Salsa AlaCarte
    Cannondale 1FG SS
    98 Spooky Metalhead DS/DJ
    Geekhouse dirt jumper/ park
    Raleigh rush hour SS road
    Cannondale 6/13
    Cannondale Optimo 9 cross
    Terrible 1 BMX
    Honda CRF250r
    Ducati 848
    Santa Cruz Blur xc (wife’s)
    Klein Road (wife’s)
    Klein HT MTB(wife’s)
    Trek tricycle (baby’s)

    There are alot of wheels in our house.

  28. Didn’t you also have a Kona, Johnny?

    Me:
    1986 Miyata 512
    1989 Kona Explosif
    1999 Specialized FSR XC S-works
    2001 Colnago C40
    2007 On One Inbred 29er SS
    1995 Leader grocery getter (wife’s old bike) with the huge Wald basket I put on it is worth more than the bike! And yes I have rode home with a 30pack of Tacate and 2 bags of chips in that basket.
    Wife:
    1998 Specialized Rockhopper
    2002 Bianchi Veloce

  29. Well, since you asked…
    Bruce Gordon BLT ( Japaneeeeeese)
    Cervelo Prodigy ( steel is real, real heavy)
    Paramount PDG DA 8 spd. Full fenders
    09 stumpy fsr
    franken bike cross ( started with a 20 dollar diamond back frame) also DA 8, really what more do you need?
    old peugot turned fixie. funny paint job that a picture could explain
    and not to be forgotten a 59 schwinn 2 sp speedster, had it since i was 14 (yikes thats almost 30 years) got drunk and crashed my schwinn sportabout into a parked car then later traded with dad for the speedster, probably the best deal i ever made. And that baby weighs a tonne. possibly a double stuffed metric tonne.