I HAVE MOVED. FOR REALS.

The new address for this website is:

www.youaretheengine.com

I’ll leave this up to redirect, but this will be the last week I post here.  New posts at the new home.

Thanks!

Friday: It’s here, and Urban Velo is awesome.

Drool.

Friday is finally here.  This week has been a busy one, but it’s almost over.  I’ll be back Monday and will do my best to find more interesting things to write about.  In the meantime, however, the good people at Urban Velo have got what you need.  If you, like me, are not able to attend the NAHBS, keep your eye on Urban Velo because they always post fantastic pictures.  Judging from the first batch, this will be a drool-filled weekend.

Thanks for reading, and enjoy the weekend.

This Just In: Lance Armstrong is a Typical Roadie

"Hey guys, team selfie!"

When Lance Armstrong isn’t tweeting or scoffing at public decency laws, he acts like a typical roadie.   When Edmonton Journal columnist Nick Lees was riding in Hawaii, he encountered Armstrong and suffered the same fate of anyone who has ever passed someone “training” for “bicycle races.”

Last month he shot by me in an iota of a second when I was cycling on Hawaii’s Big Island. Unlike most cyclists, he didn’t even give a nod.

Maybe Nick doesn’t ride that much, or perhaps roadies in Edmonton are particularly friendly, but being snubbed by someone wearing full team kit is as common as being blinded by a fixed gear.

Though, if anyone has an excuse for failing to acknowledge a fellow cyclists, it is the professional.  Cabbies don’t stop and wave at every John Q. Public out for a Sunday drive, and I doubt house painters have much to say to first-year art students sketching trees in the park.

The good news, if you live in Edmonton, is that this summer you can ride alongside Lance in all his roadie glory.  At least it’s for a good cause.

Tomorrow is Friday.  Be awesome.

Groundhogs are Unreliable: Or, Sure Signs Spring is Coming

Le sigh.

I suppose beggars can be choosers.

Local Trade School Reinvents Wheel

FIXED FOR LIFE.

Yale University has gone off the rails.  First, they issue perhaps the campiest recruitment video in the entire world.  And now, they have literally reinvented the wheel.  This time, no spokes.

Want to ride my bottle opener?

Amazingly, the spokeless rear wheel is only half of the wonder this bike provides.  Personally, I’m more concerned about what Paul Bunyan is going to do when he realizes that the derailleur hanger is missing from his gigantic Diamondback.

Giant proto-hipster?

In conclusion, I’d suggest that the people of Yale continually look over their shoulders for a fast-approaching mythical giant riding a recently-converted Diamondback fixed gear.  I bet Harvard students don’t have that problem. Of course, as you will notice, they follow cycling conventions to the letter: both wheels are perfectly spoked.

Harvard education = don't bend the rules.

Although, I’d hazard a guess that this guy has something up his sleeve:

Don't trust him.

In (a second) conclusion, heed Mulder’s warnings and trust no one.  Wow.  This post is an incoherent rambling mess.  Is it Friday yet?

Charity Rides: Make them Cool.

Is it only Tuesday? Seriously?  In my quest not to fail in life, I’ll make this short. I thought I’d share some more images, this time from my personal collection.  For the past couple of years I’ve done the same charity ride each summer.  Two days on the bike for a great cause.  We’re always organized in teams, and it’s always our goal to win best team name.  Fortunately, charity ride participants tend to gravitate towards names like “the old cranks,” or “team pedal power.”  So, we kill it.  Our t-shirts are always the best, too.

The Richard Gears. Ya dig?

Two years ago we were the Richard Gears.  We won.  Obviously.  I can’t find a picture of the tshirt, but you get the idea.

"Are you tellin' me that this sucker is nuclear?"

Last year we were “Cycle J. Fox in Bike to the Future.”  Serious points for incorporating the best trilogy ever, and I had a lot of fun putting the logo together.  However, I think we should have been docked a few points for using “bike” as a verb.

Red shirt.

Aside from generally looking awesome, our team also managed to be the sole participants to visit the LCBO upon arrival and wander through a small town drinking from inconspicuous brown bags.

The “Wheelin’ Wonders” never stood a chance.

What the What? Montreal in the Blogs

Google "bicycle Montreal," and you get this.

I should be working.  I should be working.  I should be working.

BUT, I felt justified tearing myself away from endless editing to bring to your attention that both the venerable (though not yet beatified or sainted) Mr Snob and Cycling Inquisition refer to Montreal today.  In a related note, neither of them mention that other Canadian city.

Carry on.