I realize this is a cycling blog, but you may be interested to learn there was a motorcycle show out in California this past weekend:
I mean I’m definitely not, but maybe you are.
As for me, I’m not happy about this weather:
Yes, it’s ideal for cycling, yes the colors are delightful, yes there are flowers and other crap like that sprouting up everywhere you look. But while the short-sighted and shallow-brained may mistake this for “beauty,” I see only a fleetingly verdant burst of ostentation before the inevitable death:
First it all wilts beneath the scorching sun, then all the leaves dry up and fall off the trees, and before you know it you’re back in a frozen hellscape:
I mean why even bother? What, am I supposed to rejoice in the season of rebirth? How can I when birth is merely the prelude to death? We can’t even count on spring coming again next year since we’re officially 389 days past the date on which the world was supposed to end:
Just kidding!
I mean yeah, I’ve got it in the back of my mind how fleeting it all is, but even so I’m enjoying myself tremendously after the winter we had:
Though one is never free from the specter of death, especially deep in the forests of upstate New York City, which are haunted by the ghosts of Citi Bikes:
See?
Here’s a tableau that suggests the rider attempted to hit that jump, didn’t make it, and then crawled off into the woods, never to be seen or heard from again:
It’s estimated that 30-40 people a year meet their fate in exactly the same way, but Lyft refuse to acknowledge it:
I’ve also been enjoying and reflecting upon the virtues of the 30mm tire size:
As I understand it, this is more or less the standard road bike tire size now, and many people will look at this and say, “What’s the point of putting a road bike tire on a cyclocross bike?”
But keep in mind that a 30mm tire is only slightly narrower than a cyclocross racing tire, and that before gravel was invented would have been considered more than adequate for all-around mixed-terrain cycling. In fact, it still is more than adequate, but you wouldn’t know that if you listened to the bike reviewers:
Yes, high-volume tires are a good thing, and obviously 30mm tires will only take you so far offroad, but if you’re old enough to be cynical about spring you’re also old enough to be really annoyed at how quickly these people went from pushing bikes with no clearance to telling you you’re an idiot if your drop-bar bike can’t at least clear a fat bike tire–oh, sorry, forget about all that, there’s a new wheel size now and the bike you bought last week is now obsolete:
But yes, I so find 30mm tires sufficient for rides that include gravel detours:
Though it’s important to bear in mind that as a contrarian I’m also highly motivated by spite.