Then I read this quote that’s over a hundred years old:
I still feel that varable gears are only for people over forty-five.
Isn’t it better to triumph by the strength of your muscles than by the artifice of a derailer?
We are getting soft…As for me, give me a fixed gear!
–Henri Desgrange, L’Équipe article of 1902
When I picked up my bike at Mellow Velo on Saturday, David had replaced a few parts and the bike rode MUCH better. Could it have been the new 44T chainwheel, the Japanese 1/8″ chain, the pedals or this?
I was waiting for a review before I was going to order the DVD. I read and laughed and ordered the movie.
Guys Who Cut Their Own Hair | Blog | Detail | I See saId THe blInd Man As He reacHed For hIs Hammer And Saw Eventually I got sleepy and paused the film so I could continue it later with a fresh eye, but I can say without reservation that anyone who has ever thrown a leg over a track bike, or better yet, knows the dizzying sensation of turning left in a pursuit of triumph should absolutely procure of copy of this themselves to bare witness to the originators of the craft.
As one who enjoys the abuse of substances, I was taken with the stories of performance enhancing supplements such as a blend of Cognack, sugar water and Ether to aid in the participant’s quest for domination. As a matter of fact, just so I could fully enjoy the experience of the film, I mixed up that very concoction for myself, but before long got distracted and found myself in the corner of my living room attempting to gnaw through a garbage can lid.
At any rate, I whole heartedly recommend any and all lovers of the two wheels and the fixed cog to get this movie if for no other reason than to see first hand where they came from.
Copenhagenize.com – The Copenhagen Bike Culture Blog: Copenhagenizing Copenhagen & Denmark While the U.S. Congress debated whether to include less than $1 billion in funding for Amtrak in the stimulus package, the Danish parliament has put all its economic stimulus eggs in one basket: transportation. The small Nordic country of 5.4 million people will spend 94 billion kroner, or about $16 billion, by 2020 to improve transportation. Two-thirds of that money will be used to make public transit even better than it already is.
The government will invest billions in high-speed intercity trains that will cut travel between northern Jutland and Copenhagen by a third, install light rail systems, expand the Copenhagen Metro, and widen and
lengthen city bike lanes.
“We are making public transit a lot more attractive with massive investments to increase capacity, improve on-time performance and lay brand-new railroads. We are also making the biggest push to promote cycling in recent memory,” said Transport Minister Lars Barfoed.
For Copenhagen, already one of the world’s most bicycle-oriented cities, that is a very tall order. The oil shocks of the 1970s inspired Denmark to build a vast network of bike lanes in the hope that Danes would start driving less and biking more. Three decades later, the strategy has borne fruit in Copenhagen, where a third of the inhabitants, or more than 500,000 people, now bike to work every day.
Cycling for Everyone | Momentum – The Magazine For Self Propelled People! In spite of their affluence and high rates of car ownership, countries in northern Europe have achieved a high overall rate of bike shares in their urban travel; ranging from almost ten per cent of trips in Belgium and Germany to about 20 per cent in Denmark, and 30 per cent in the Netherlands. What is equally impressive is Northern European women cycle as often as men, and all age groups make a considerable percentage of their daily trips by bike. That is quite a contrast to Canada and the United States, where only about one per cent of trips are by bike, and most cyclists are young men. Two important aims of cycling policies in North America should be to raise the overall bike share of trips while simultaneously making cycling safe, convenient, and feasible for women as well as men, and for all age groups.
Read the whole story. And then there is this news item. Maybe we can connect the dots. Bikes are healthier than cars. I would think it is in the best interest of health-insurance companies to assist in creating the infrastructure that will make more people want to cycle. One beer company is already promoting bicycles: one and two.
My dad took me to several six day bicycle races in Köln. They were always scheduled at the end of the year when school was on break. I thought it was very exciting. I remember the riders relaxing (because their partners had taken over from them) and talking to one another with one foot in the clip and the other one on the handle bar, steering the bike. Might have to order the DVD – Netflix doesn’t have it.
Groceries √
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That sunset happened on the fifth, the Mariachi Bullitt was photographed minutes ago, when I returned from having breakfast with Jon and grocery shopping.
