New Rapha/Paul Smith collection!

The article (from Bike.com) is interesting enough. The comments are better.

Has anyone ever seen any of this stuff? Raise hands....

Get convicted of DUI in NY State - lease one of these....

Anti-booze interlocks made mandatory in NY State for first-time convicted drunk drivers. Seems so simple. Why just NY? Why do we punish some offenders so harshly....and hardly bother with others?

When you read this David Brooks piece....

Here's David Brooks on the most recent Mel Gibson scandal, but don't focus on Mel, charming man that he seems to be. Think about the Self-Esteem Inflation that Brooks is writing about, the percentages of Americans who behave as if they have S-EI, and think especially about drivers....

Here's a paragraph from the column:

"In their book, “The Narcissism Epidemic,” Jean M. Twenge and W. Keith Campbell cite data to suggest that at least since the 1970s, we have suffered from national self-esteem inflation. They cite my favorite piece of sociological data: In 1950, thousands of teenagers were asked if they considered themselves an “important person.” Twelve percent said yes. In the late 1980s, another few thousand were asked. This time, 80 percent of girls and 77 percent of boys said yes."

Ladies-who-lunch...and ride cargo bikes

From the NY Times. Check it out.

On-board gyroscopic camera....amazing.

Here, thanks to friend Corey, is a video of just-returned-to-action-after-breaking-his-tibia Valentino Rossi riding his Yamaha MotoGP bike, the two-wheeled equivalent to a Formula One car.

The camera keeps the horizon level so you can experience the lean angles of Rossi's bike. I'd never seen anything even close to this for gasp-effect. I'll bet you haven't either. Watch as they set up the equipment and then hold your breath for the ride!

Have you ever heard of anything like this?

Order a new Corvette from GM and get yourself to Wixom, Michigan, and GM will supervise while you BUILD YOUR OWN ENGINE, then warranty it just as if you'd let them do it. Would Colnago watch you build your own frame...or Harley-Davidson look over your shoulder as you assembled your own Big Twin?

Is this cool or what....

The State of the State (Colorado)

From the Boulder Daily Camera, here's a look at how Colorado is faring in the battle for the streets.

I just rode up Left Hand Canyon (out of Boulder) yesterday, long steady climb, longest climb I've ridden in years, I think. I had trouble with me, but zero trouble with cars. There were hundreds of cyclists on that road, and thousands elsewhere around the area and state.

Frankly, knowing what I know and we all know about the mental health of motorists, it's a blessing there isn't more trouble than there is.

Too cool for words!

Be sure to look at the slide show. Here's the link. The piece is about a period-faithful Model T Ford "special" just hand-built in the last few years, handed down from father to son. I tried and failed to post an image from that slide show. Perhaps they're protected somehow. No harm done; you can enjoy it nonetheless.

David Brooks on Reading Books

From the NY Times.... Every word rings true.

My latest motorcycle piece

This piece ran in CityBike, Motorcycle Sport and Leisure, and the Southeast Arizona Touring Riders newsletter; SEAT is my old motorcycle club in Tucson. It's about great big bloated motorcycles.

And my latest Bicycle Paper piece

Here's my most recent piece for the Pacific NW's Bicycle Paper. As you'll read, it's a back-and-forth between my buddy Corey in San Antonio and me...with a little input from my old friend Phil in Oakland. I enjoy doing collaborative articles, especially with friends who may not always agree - with me or with one another.

This piece is about club rides - here in Denver, in San Antonio...and perhaps where you live.

A different world, part one

As I've mentioned, I have just returned from my HS reunion - class of 1960 at Shortridge High School in Indianapolis. At the time I went to Shortridge and for decades previously, Shortridge was a fine school dedicated to preparing students for college and for lives of the mind.

You could take courses in Home Economics and Shop but you could also take eight semesters of Latin and six of Greek, plus a pioneering, vocabulary-building course in Latin and Greek Derivatives.

While we '60 grads were in Indy, we were offered copies of The Shortridge Blue Book, "a handbook for students of SHS," last edition, published in 1953, the school's 100th anniversary. I plan to post a few excerpts from that Blue Book, found evidence of a lost world that flourished in Central Indiana only half a century ago.

Note: I have left spelling alone. So "street car" is two words and "busses" has three esses. Notice the use of "as" and "for" instead of "because."

Transportation to and from Shortridge is a safety problem, for pupils come from all directions on foot, on bicycles, in automobiles, and in street cars and busses. This adds greatly to the congestion on the streets surrounding Shortridge. Students can help immeasurably in dealing with this problem by following a few simple rules.

I. As a pedestrian
A. Follow all traffic rules applying to pedestrians.
B. Cross streets only at intersections or cross walks.
C. Observe the law which forbids thumbing or soliciting rides.
D. Keep to the right on sidewalks.
E. Do not crowd other pedestrians off the sidewalk.

II. As a cyclist
A. Follow the Indianapolis Traffic Code, for under that code a bicycle is classed as a vehicle.
B. Do not ride on the sidewalk.
C. Ride single file about three feet from the curb or as close to the curb as parked vehicles will permit.
D. Provide a basket for books and keep both hands on the handlebars.
E. Ride alone on your bicycle unless you have a "bicycle built for two."
F. Dismount at the curb and walk with your bicycle to the parking racks.
G. Lock your bicycle to the rack as the school cannot assume responsibility for loss of property.

Why I haven't been posting

I'm sorry I've been neglecting my blog page, but I've been otherwise preoccupied. My high school reunion trip to Indianapolis was a whirl of experiences, both at the event and on the journey. I traveled the old roads, as I mentioned, not the interstates, so I met folks in cafes and gas stations and while hiding out from torrential thunderstorms in MO and IL - eastbound and westbound.

I suspect that the ease of meeting and chatting with the people at the reunion and on the road had something to do with life in the Midwest. Certainly there was an easy familiarity with my schoolmates, in my case many of them grade school classmates also.

As the days pass and I can process all those experiences, I'll post a story or two to this page.

Designer of original Range Rover dies in bicycle crash

Charles S. King, the leader of the team that designed the original, iconic Range Rover, was hit by a van as he rode his bicycle and died. According to the NY Times obituary writer, King had grown disgusted with what had happened to his all-terrain baby, a symbol worldwide these days of smug, faux Abercrombie and Fitchity.

Seems like a fine guy, huh?