"Thinkin' about a revolution......"

...of the pedals, that is. Actually - what I've been thinkin' about is the "Fixxie Thing". My Main Man Maynard wrote a piece on what he called the "fixxie cult phenomenon" on his blog a few days ago (what's that? you don't read his blog!?!?!??! Go to www.maynardnet.blogspot.com right away! I'll wait.) and I was moved to respond. I got an e-mail back from him basically pattin' me on the back for backing him up and there we were.......2 olde fartes bitchin' about "kids these days".

Yuck.

Here's the thing.....I DO sorta think that the whole "messenger" thing is just another fad that's gonna go away and I DO kinda feel like all these dudes w/ the knickers and the trucker wallets and the tats and the artfully-destressed Chrome or Timbuk 2 bag and the Chucks and the brand-new-but-looks-like-I've-had-it-forever lugged track frame are m-a-y-b-e missing the point a bit. And I DO doubt that many of 'em will be riding 2 years from now, even after bein' a rider no longer is a sure path to hipness and street cred. And I DO like to think that I could still dust 'em if I had to!

But...................they ARE riding. A lot. For transportation. For sport. For fun. Do I wish that they'd be a little better about traffic laws? I do.

Still................they're out there riding and there was a time-not all that long ago- when that would've been more than enough for me.

I sort of get the same feeling that I've always gotten from the "Free Ride" crowd.....w/ their ugly bikes and ugly clothing and "Extreme" everything, riding around w/ their saddles way too low and their shinguards. I worry that their version of our sport isn't sustainable...that they'll either run out of areas that they can carve jumps and drops out of or hafta quit 'cuz they're all to beat up to ride. I tell myself that's the reason that I don't dig it but there's an element of jealousy that I hafta own up to 'cuz those dudes can do AMAZING shit on a bike! Still....are they gonna be riding when their 40? 50? 60? We'll hafta wait and see.

I like what BikeSnob NYC said recently: "The technicolor skinsuit of cycling is truely a busy one and we all occupy a different part of it. (Although we all try to stay as far a possible from the chamois") [What's that you say? Not familiar w/ his work!?!?!?! Man, why are you reading THIS blog when you could be reading THAT one!? www.bikesnobnyc.blogspot.com!] What he means (I think) is that there's a lot to dig about life on 2 wheels and you oughta avail yourself of a nice fat chunk of it.

So.....I'm gonna ride my bikes and not worry about what everyone else is up to. Hope that's good w/ you.

Speaking of good................lots' o' good stuff goin' on here @ the shop. Got a coupla new Velo Citizens that we're excited about...Greg is a soon-to-be Hope grad and Tri-guy and Matt is a teacher (not another one!) from Holland that's gonna be helpin' Ted, Aaron and Berger out in the workshop. More about them later. April is almost here and hopefully that means that this ass-like weather is about over. The Fisk Knob TT is this weekend, then I make a run out to Midland to meet a buncha new JDRF teammates. Our team is 60 riders strong and Team Rides commence in just over a week. I made some progress on the aHolland Hundred - it's gonna start and finish @ Smallenburg Park so it'll be closer to Downtown and I think that's gonna rock. Our new website is close........sometime in Apriol for sure and it's gonna be a great season.

So let's get to it, shall we?

Here's a quote from Desmond Tutu. I know it'll annoy fans of fishing and thayt's not my intent. I find it irresitable just 'cause the source is so random! So w/ apologies to fishing cyclers everywhere..........

"Give a man a fish and feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and feed him for a lifetime. Teach a man to cycle and he wil lrealize that fishin gis stupid and boring."

(Feel free to address all your pro-fishing rants to jeff@velo-citycycles.com, he handles all my correspondence)

Later, MC