tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-55566191117853116812024-03-18T21:06:53.110-07:00yourbikehatesyouA blog about the atrocities people commit upon bikes. Any wrench in the world knows exactly what I meanangry buddhisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14739772704439807583noreply@blogger.comBlogger71125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5556619111785311681.post-90364967234913853372016-04-20T18:50:00.001-07:002016-04-20T18:50:07.171-07:00Death trap. <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<br />angry buddhisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14739772704439807583noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5556619111785311681.post-5781133521094771102016-04-11T07:17:00.001-07:002016-04-11T07:19:23.658-07:00Smurfette has her panties in a wad... or part 2. In our industry, we tend to get our information directly from media sources. I recall the times when a manufacturer's representative would stop by for a quick clinic and introduce new technology, but that simply does not happen any more. If it does, it is a rarity. Technicians are reading about it one day, figuring it out the next, and watching it change during production runs.<br />
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Shops and consumers are reading the same websites, learning the same controlled, dispersed information. Sites like BikeRumor.com have taken off. I myself check out BR daily, just for the comments. BR does a great job of re releasing manufacturer's press releases. I cannot even recall one thing they were not excited about. ( Well maybe that one time when they were testing road disc brakes and they didn't work so well, causing the rider to crash. ) I guess what I am asking here is, can you operate a journalistic entity and be critical of the parties that support you?<br />
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Maurice Tierney knows exactly what is happening behind closed doors. He preaches about it <a href="http://www.churchoftherotatingmass.com/2014/01/07/are-we-not-journalists/">here</a>. Now this is a somewhat slippery slope he has to tread upon. If you have ever met MT you know he isn't exactly sleeping on bags of money. He is seemingly doing what he loves and making enough to keep on keeping on. A bit down the road he inadvertently get an email meant for a competitor. You can read that bit <a href="http://www.churchoftherotatingmass.com/2014/12/02/are-we-not-journalists-part-2/">here</a>.<br />
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As a writer for a cycling publication you are a journalist. You get paid to write about your impressions of a product, flown all over to attend press releases and trade shows. One would assume that a bit of journalistic integrity would follow. You would write your own words, <a href="http://redkiteprayer.com/2014/09/salt-meet-wound/">cough</a>, <a href="http://www.bicycleretailer.com/north-america/2014/09/23/bikerumor-pledges-tighter-editorial-control#.Vwuu_BMrJ-V">using</a> your own impressions and findings, and report back to your readers <a href="https://twitter.com/angryasian/status/352094398013652993">honestly</a>. I am not saying that if a product failed at every aspect you should burn the bridge completely, but maybe you should.<br />
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Velonews published a <a href="http://velonews.competitor.com/2009/01/bikes-and-tech/mavic-announces-r-sys-recall_86435">recall</a> of Mavic R-SYS wheels a few years back. Mavic then hit the reset button and sent out updated versions of the R-SYS. I recall that time in shops, pretty amazing wheels, but I was very skeptical of the over all construction and theory. I am no engineer, I just fix their designs for a living. Six months later, redesigned Mavic R-SYS wheels were back on the market. Velonews writer Ben Delaney seemingly committed career suicide detailing his <a href="http://velonews.competitor.com/2009/06/bikes-and-tech/a-shattering-experience-a-post-recall-r-sys-wheel-failure_93054">experience</a> aboard the R-SYS v.2.<br />
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I recall the waves this article created. I was fluttering about the industry side of things during all this and had some amazing rumor mill festivities over beers at industry events. I knew some journalists, I knew some marketing guys, and I knew some yellow clad Mavic people. It was interesting to watch this play out. Play out it <a href="http://velonews.competitor.com/2009/06/bikes-and-tech/a-shattering-experience-a-post-recall-r-sys-wheel-failure_93054">did</a>. Kudos for Velonews in allowing all sides to have their respective opinions heard.<br />
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Fast forward several years.<br />
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I am going to copy Velonews technical writer Dan Cavallari's article and his Editor's response rather than hyperlink to it, in hopes you read it. None of these words are mine, they are Velonews'.<br />
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From Dan Cavallari of Velonews:<br />
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<span style="font-family: "lucida grande" , "verdana" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">The best is getting better. The next generation of Shimano’s top-tier Dura-Ace group, already our favorite on the electronic and</span><span style="font-family: "lucida grande" , "verdana" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 16px;"> </span><a href="http://velonews.competitor.com/2015/03/news/road/stress-test-shimano-dura-ace-9000-long-term-review_361971" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #666699; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">mechanical</a><span style="font-family: "lucida grande" , "verdana" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 16px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "lucida grande" , "verdana" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">fronts, will include a power meter, road-specific disc brakes and rotors, improved Di2 integration, drag-free hubs, and the same</span><span style="font-family: "lucida grande" , "verdana" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 16px;"> </span><a href="http://velonews.competitor.com/2014/05/bikes-and-tech/lennard-zinns-take-shimano-xtr-di2_330064" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #666699; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">clever shifting firmware</a><span style="font-family: "lucida grande" , "verdana" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 16px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "lucida grande" , "verdana" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">debuted on the XTR Di2 mountain bike group.</span><br />
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We reached out to a Shimano representative, who refused to comment. But weeks of research, including conversations with industry insiders briefed on the group (who all requested anonymity), and analysis of published and unpublished spy photos, indicate that the group is an ambitious update that closes a few important holes in the current group. The most obvious of those is a Dura-Ace level disc system, which is both lighter and better tuned to the specific demands of road discs than the current technology, much of which is borrowed from Shimano’s mountain bike division.</div>
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New Dura-Ace will still be an 11-speed system and will retain the shiny aesthetics of the current generation (somewhat similar to the old XTR 960 finish). But most of the fine details, from hub internals to front derailleur cable routing, have been changed or updated. The Di2 version has been slimmed down, with smaller motors and batteries, and features firmware borrowed from XTR Di2.</div>
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Road-specific disc brakes</h2>
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The addition of a Dura-Ace level hydraulic disc system is the single greatest change. This is the first hydro group from Shimano that appears to be designed from the ground up for road use. (R785, available now, was launched with a rebranded XT mountain bike caliper.) The rotors are road specific, with a new aluminum carrier that presumably cuts down on weight. The steel braking surface of the rotor has fewer holes, which has been shown to reduce brake pad wear.</div>
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Internally, the flat-mount caliper has some sort of internal brace for (we assume) improved stiffness and has more clearance for frame manufacturers. Other internal changes offer slightly more pad clearance, which should reduce rotor rub.</div>
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Power meter</h2>
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The new crankset, which retains the current four-arm design, includes a power meter with strain gauges on the crank arms and a “brain” mounted on the inside of the crank spider. It is Shimano’s first power meter.</div>
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Integrated junction box</h2>
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Perhaps taking a cue from the Trek Madone’s control center — a port in the down tube that hides the Di2 junction box — Shimano has developed a sleek, integrated junction box that secures into the bike’s frame. That means no more hanging the junction box off the stem, and more options for internal routing. It also means frame builders will have to build frames that can accept this new feature.</div>
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But don’t worry if your favorite manufacturer doesn’t offer this nifty new pocket, because it also appears the junction box will fit in a bar end, as well. The box seems to press into the handlebars much like a bar end plug.</div>
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Customizable shifting</h2>
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Updates to the Dura-Ace Di2 firmware also look imminent. It appears that Shimano will bring the Synchro system debuted on XTR Di2 to the road. Synchro is essentially automatic front shifting, requiring the use of only two shift buttons to shift the entire drivetrain. When the derailleur reaches a certain point (which is customizable) on the rear cassette, the front derailleur shifts, while the rear derailleur shifts in the opposite direction. The idea is a rider gets similar gear jumps with each button push. It’s a system that is made possible by Di2’s incredible front shifting. It’s similar but not identical to Campagnolo’s new auto-shifting options made possible through the My Campy app.</div>
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Front derailleur cable routing has been changed for the cable-actuated group, further reducing shift force. The system is apparently much easier to set up now, too.</div>
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Radical new hubs</h2>
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Some of the most exciting advancements are hidden in places you’ll never see. Patent applications for Shimano’s Scylence hub leaked months ago, and now it seems like we’ll see it in action soon. Unlike a typical freehub body that relies on pawls that engage with grooves when the rider pedals, or a star ratchet system that features notched teeth on two rings mounted against each other, Scylence works more like the clutch on your car, but somewhat in reverse, if patent applications are telling the whole tale. An engagement ring is mounted around the axle inboard toward the hub shell, and it’s spring-loaded in such a way that the spring pulls the ring toward the hub shell. A specially designed freehub body with splines essentially pulls that ring toward it, against spring tension, to engage the hub when the rider pedals. When the rider coasts, the engagement ring disengages, creating nearly drag-free coasting.</div>
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It wouldn’t be the first pawl-free design to hit the market — Onyx showed off a sprag clutch hub at Sea Otter 2015 — but if history is any indicator, Shimano has taken the drag-free idea and perfected it.</div>
<span style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: "lucida grande" , "verdana" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><br style="box-sizing: border-box;" />Read more at http://velonews.competitor.com/2016/03/news/confirmed-details-new-dura-ace-discs-power-meter_400229#q0IebwCbQQJRZTR8.99</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "lucida grande" , "verdana" , "arial" , sans-serif;"> </span> So who knew the shit storm that would follow? On the surface it seems like just another article about what many believe is coming down pipe from Shimano. But apparently, Shimano was very unsettled. This from Velonews editor John Bradley :<br />
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<span style="color: #141823; font-family: "georgia" , serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 17px; line-height: 28px; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><span style="font-size: 17px; line-height: 28px; white-space: pre-wrap;">Drawing a line
JOHN BRADLEY·THURSDAY, MARCH 31, 2016
UPDATE: Hey, everyone. Thanks for reading and commenting. This went way bigger than I expected it to. To me, it was just a Facebook post I wrote somewhere over the Atlantic when I couldn’t sleep. Got to my hotel a few hours later and was caught off guard by the response. It’s been refreshing to see so much support for our stance and also interesting to hear from those who disagree. For the most part, everyone has been respectful and engaging, two things the internet tends to struggle with. So thanks. And I want to reiterate that the situation that prompted this note was one of many similar situations that have happened in the past. This isn’t a problem with a single band but, rather, one facing enthusiast media in general. To focus on a single brand is to ignore the much larger issue. So my intent wasn’t to punish any one brand; it was simply to explain the how and why of my stance on this stuff. And now, back to the original post...
Instead of running a story earlier this year based on rumors and spy shots, VeloNews spent the past few weeks digging for details and confirmation. We got the facts, double sourced, and then, before publishing, called the main subject of the story for comment. Their reply: Run this, and we’ll cancel our remaining advertising with you for 2016.
In fact, they threatened to pull their ads not just from VeloNews but also from another title that is owned by the company that owns us. They even reached out to other brands in the cycling industry to try to increase the pressure on us.
We didn’t do anything illegal in our reporting, nor were we under any embargoes or NDAs. (Nor were we the only ones chasing the story.) We got the news the same way journalists always do: By calling sources, doing research, and verifying information to tell a story that is of interest to our readers. Indeed, no one has questioned our accuracy. The only issue is that we gave our readers facts that someone didn’t want them to have.
I love the brand in question. I count many friends amongst their staff and am a huge fan of their products. They'll continue to receive fair coverage in VeloNews, ads or no. They know, as do other brands in the cycling world, that I would never hold coverage hostage for ad buys.
By the same token, we won’t give into coercion or allow brands to hold ads hostage in exchange for editorial influence. I’m all for sponsored content, co-branded events, and other ways that media create new advertising formats. But letting brands use ads to influence editorial coverage crosses a line.
If you think I’m taking myself too seriously, let me ask you this: At what point is an industry small and insular enough that the journalists who cover it no longer have to be ethical?
I would say no such point exists. So I made a decision this week that cost us money we can’t really afford to lose. (If you’re in enthusiast media, you know how tough things can get.) But we were asked to choose between money and integrity.
My point is this: If you stick with your principles only when it is easy to do so, and abandon them as soon as they become inconvenient, you have no principles at all. So know that, while VeloNews’s ad content may change from month to month, our editorial integrity will not. We respect this sport, its brands, and our readers too much not to be honest with them. </span></span><br />
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Bicycle Retailer followed up with a commentary that seemed to favor both Dan and John. <a href="http://www.bicycleretailer.com/industry-news/2016/04/04/staff-opinion-velonews-shimano-tangle-over-media-control#.VwO7bRMrJ-U">Read</a> that here. Cycling Industry news' Chris Garrison took to pointing out that part of the issue is publications should not place themselves into relying on advertising dollars to support them. Read that <a href="http://www.cyclingindustry.news/comment-truth-in-advertising-how-brands-and-publications-mislead-consumers/">here</a>. Rather, generating revenue from circulation should be enough to support the budget. This is a sticky situation for journalists and their employers.<br />
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In today's online world how many of you pay to read the local paper? How many of you pay to read Velonews online? How many of you pay to find and read any information online? Most of you answered with a scoff. The internet has created a platform that changed not only the way a brick and mortar does business but also the way media supports itself. I would dare say most retail that has any chance at all of surviving, has to find a way to gain presence in the online market. At the very least savvy retailers are becoming familiar with utilizing some form of Search Engine Optimization.<br />
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Back to media. Media publications online rely on advertising dollars. Those banner ads, the pop ups, the sidebar, and most annoyingly the autoplay videos with sound. That is what supports your favorite source of information. I have proven that any jackhole can create a free venue to voice ones opinion, and not make a dime. I can say whatever I want. One would sincerely hope that the journalist writing a review could as well. They have already been vetted by the publication. They have already been scrutinized by their peers and been tasked to create an honest review that must appeal to a broad spectrum of readers. Keen readers will begin to discern whether or not they mesh with a certain reviewer's riding style or capability.<br />
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I for one always found it odd that publications with a ton of advertisements for Brand B, would eventually name Brand B bike, component, or gear of the year. I worked for a retailer who had deep ties to a certain brand. This brand could be counted on heavily to support the shop team. This particular team had a few national champions on board and was well recognized for its role in the community. When the brand had several issues and consumers would ask my opinion as a suitable replacement for that brand I was told to toe the line. Even though I felt strongly otherwise. I knew this issue would present itself, and I was right. I was told in no uncertain terms that I had to fall in line. That Brand B was the reason I could collect a paycheck.<br />
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At this time a co worker wrote reviews for an online publication. His reviews were edited to suit the advertising. He reviewed a fork for this site. He called the manufacturer several times to get input on tuning the fork to his riding style. He conversed with them on what he felt the shortcomings were, and if there was a manner in which he could adjust the fork to remedy the issue. His review was sent in, and the published review went from a 2 to a 4 out of five. The website was plastered with banner ads and pop up ads for the product in question. His editor bowed before the advertising dollar.<br />
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So I ask you. Do you feel there is any integrity left in reviews of product? Are you convinced that Brand B simply buys the review in one form or another? Or do you simply go to BikeRumor for the comments like I do knowing it is smoke and mirrors? Hilarious smoke and mirrors by the way.<br />
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angry buddhisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14739772704439807583noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5556619111785311681.post-9350920491398413452016-04-07T13:45:00.000-07:002016-04-09T06:28:44.422-07:00Shimano. The giant, angry, blue smurf that's dismantling the cycling industry....part 1<br />
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In case you have been living with your head in the clouds, Shimano is making headline after headline these days, and it has nothing at all to do with the fact they still make a front derailleur. I will first begin by saying I feel that Shimano does make some, if not the very best, in cycling components. I used to be a full SRAM guy. As I progressed in my career, I made the move to Shimano. You can blame Juicy's, and every front derailleur, and every Hydro recall.<br />
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Not that it is anything new, but many throngs of retailers are bemoaning Shimano's pricing structure as it pertains to IBD's vs. internet sales. It has become common knowledge that Shimano components are priced at or below dealer cost online. Consumers know it, and retailers are demanding change. Shimano has no plans to change, and is pretty honest about it when facing dealer complaints.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirit6A7M4JIoDhow-vfv9nLYp_pmJQfjGjmSk4t38PxMrrhXYHkkdvbZXLflelaYoPfUatxvBl7MryYCUDmyMXEZBwng_JFT0p_ftE8qBounyWiFOKBGgGDklV-4UDFTSZZPV0FK13xgk/s1600/imgres.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirit6A7M4JIoDhow-vfv9nLYp_pmJQfjGjmSk4t38PxMrrhXYHkkdvbZXLflelaYoPfUatxvBl7MryYCUDmyMXEZBwng_JFT0p_ftE8qBounyWiFOKBGgGDklV-4UDFTSZZPV0FK13xgk/s320/imgres.jpg" width="320" /></a><br />
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Shimano dropped its pricing structure earlier this year. Not, as you would think, to help support IBD's in their competition against online shoppers. It came without a notice or heads up to many IBD's. Again, the IBD was left a little angry and pained, blue balls if you will. It just takes a quick glance at Bicycle Retailer's comment section to see this ager is widespread, with many dealer's throwing the rep out under the bus in the process.<br />
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<a href="http://www.bicycleretailer.com/north-america/2016/02/10/shimano-slashes-component-pricing#.VwO-URMrJ-U">low cost smurf's</a> head down to the comments to get a Tapas of dealer frustration. Pay attention to article publishing date.<br />
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Now, I work for an IBD. I have friends, many of them actually, who own, run, and buy for IBD's. Many of my colleagues have called for a ban on buying Shimano product. That will get them to listen they say. Sadly, I feel these friends have no worldly idea of what they are talking about. In fact, many of them are running an antiquated business model that has been around for decades. Decades without change. Decades without forward thinking. Decades without a single ounce of prediction, only head in the sand reactionary bellowing from the same internets people are using to shop online. Meet your competition, it is the world, and you are staring at it right now. Perhaps you didn't notice the grimy handshake. Meet the internet, here since <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet">1990ish</a>. Crazily enough the whole selling online thing started decades earlier, and the first item sold was something anyone could grow themselves, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/E-commerce">weed</a>. So this is Shimano's fault right?<br />
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Shimano is not around to subsidize the local IBD. They are a business. A fairly healthy and well run business that is multifaceted. You know they don't only sell cycling right? I mean they are healthy in that they have a diverse business profile that branches out to gain other sources of income. But most IBD's only sell cycling. As if every IBD is immune to winter. I mean, it's spring now, and sales are healthy. You do remember January and February right? That was about the time you were wise enough to save a few dollars and lay off your second technician. ( Oh don't fret dear reader, there is another piece coming on that bullshit.) How's that working out for you now?<br />
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Shimano. Well, Shimano not only cut it's price structure. It also announced it was up <a href="http://www.bicycleretailer.com/international/2016/02/10/shimano-sales-14-last-year#.VwO-VRMrJ-U">14%</a> . Is your business up? Notice the date stamped on that article. Yup same day as the price cut. How many times do you as a dealer, cut prices without losing margin, while you are up? Not many. Instead you wait for the big brothers to allow you to cut margin, mostly your margin by the way. SPRING SALES ON 2016 product??????????? Uh, that seems super healthy. What are you looking forward to when your terms are due and you still have floored 2016 product that was already on sale before spring?<br />
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Maybe this is your fault. Yup. Read that again. It is your fault IBD. I have been working in very healthy retail stores that have shelves of black and blue boxes on hand. The same boxes that are cheaper online. A lot cheaper. I have sold XT brakes all day long as replacements for Elixirs and Juicy's. Why? Not because they are cheaper, but because I have them on hand and have technicians who can install externally routed brakes properly in under an hour, on top of their regular work load. I work in healthy IBD's who can make that sale happen. What about your shop?<br />
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" I can order it for you"<br />
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" It'll be four days before we can get those installed"<br />
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" I have so many excuses for not making this sale happen its stupid. BUY LOCAL"<br />
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" There was a delay in shipping, not sure when they will arrive "<br />
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I'm pretty sure the customer has heard all that, and THAT is why they buy online. It's not them, its YOU. It's not Shimano. It's YOU. YOU the IBD. Your outdated, antiquated, surly business model is turning away clients. How may of you are welcoming of clients who bring their online purchases for you to install and don't complain about the cost of labor ? Very, very, very, few. That is pure profit. You didn't waste time ordering. You didn't shelf the product and have no carrying costs. Shops tend to charge $20-$40 per line to install disc brakes. If you maybe didn't lay off one of your technicians and get caught out when the season snuck up on you, you'd be glad to bank that $40-$80. If you are not happy to bank that, then you WILL go out of business. If you give that client the stink eye, you WILL go out of business.<br />
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Quite frankly, you should.<br />
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<br />angry buddhisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14739772704439807583noreply@blogger.com21tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5556619111785311681.post-82774236723486438122014-06-14T07:20:00.000-07:002016-04-15T19:41:55.770-07:00Tri Ahtle tez.I fucking hate Tri season.<br />
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There I said it. I have been wrenching for years and still cannot comprehend the level of shit that Tri geeks lay down year after year after fucking holy hell year.<br />
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If you fucktards could only hear what every wrench in every shop says about you.<br />
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You spend six fucking months training for an event. Which means surely you have ridden your pile of parts a few miles. So then you obviously planned for the event, right? I mean you knew the date of the race. A few weeks ago you started your damn taper. You probably bought a damn plane ticket some time after your registration was complete. My guess is you are not sleeping in the woods. So maybe a hotel reservation? </div>
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So why in the holy fucking hell are you in my shop the day before your plane leaves asking me to box your pile of piss and electrolyte crust? You forget to plan that part douche tard? I mean surely this date just snuck right up on you. Ninja. Oh I am sorry you have a race and need it now? Oh fuck you are doing a triathlon? You must be a badass. </div>
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Oh so now wait....You don't want to pay a rush fee? I mean, sorry you must be right. Certainly you are waaaaaay more important than the people who actually planned their bike repair/boxing out weeks in advance. Hell some of them are your fellow triathletards. Your are doing a FULL Ironman? Oh well right to the head of the line, future Navy Seal...</div>
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OK. So now you have arrived at your destination for your "event". You were smart enough to show up a full two days early. Almost like you planned something. Buuuuuuttt you didn't. You come huffing and pufffing into my shop. On a Friday, and of course you need your bike built. LIKE. NOW. You have to spin out your legs from the flight. Sure. </div>
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You ever for one damn minute think that on a sunny 80 degree day that maybe we might be busy as hell? That maybe the Tri geeks that live here might have made an appointment to have their place reserved for work? That just maybe the people who live in our community and support us the other 360 days a year, and are patiently waiting AHEAD of you might just maybe deserve my time as well? </div>
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Another question...How in the fuck did you ride your bike three times a week or more training for this event and not notice your stem was cracked? That your housing was exploded. That your derailleur cable was stabbing you in the leg. Or that you haven't been able to shift into the big ring? I get it. maybe TSA fubared your bike. I accept that and would like to help, assuming you are not a prick and understand I cannot DO IT NOW, but will get it done TODAY. But nope. You are doing a Tri, so you need it now. </div>
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Coaches. I fucking hate you too. You make money training these fools. Maybe you want to start teaching them the proper way to treat service people. I am not asking for beer here ( I mean I am and will take it ), I am not asking for tip money ( I mean I am and will take that too ), but I am really just asking for you to teach your clients that bike maintenance and just a weeee bit of planning will really make their whole experience better. No pre event stress, no running around like an idiot. Just relaxing and enjoying the area before their "event". Most importantly teach them that I am a human. Let me say that again. MOST IMPORTANTLY TEACH THEM THAT I AM A HUMAN. A person who, as much as I disdain Triathletes for the above reasons, actually does want to help. It's just that other people planned. Other people are nicer. Other people see how damn busy the whole shop is busting their asses to help people. People just like you. </div>
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We don't sit there and figure out ways to screw you over. You have done a fine enough job of that already. Truly we want to help. We want to save your "event" for you. I want to dial your bike in so you have your personal best, the time of your life, and just basically crush the bike portion. I do. Really. and so does everyone else in my shop.</div>
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All we ask is for you not to be such a compete shit head about it. Stop and think about someone other than yourself in this moment. This high level of stress you are projecting on the wrench or salesperson is not good for you or the person helping you. You are completing the stereotype. You are the reason this is being written.</div>
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Fuckihatetriseason.</div>
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Oh and another thing....What the fuck is the deal with those socks and shit? </div>
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<br />angry buddhisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14739772704439807583noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5556619111785311681.post-15554676448382467902014-04-18T06:33:00.001-07:002014-04-18T06:33:45.756-07:00Stanley passes the pipe. #sramroaddiaries #Sram #buyourshitlemmings #standay<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Minute mark 1:40. You issued a statement on a Friday afternoon. No doubt trying to buy time to figure out what the fuck you were going to do. No one can call in on a huge weekend of cross racing a few weeks before Nationals to figure out how to take care of the customer in front of my face.<br />
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Never worked in a bike shop have you Mr. Day?<br />
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2:14 19,000 bikes. 5,000 in the hands of the consumer. Meaning the rest are on my sales floor or at Specialized/Trek/....<br />
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You know the cross season hit in all reality sometime in August. When dealers had to have them on the floor or lose sales. Another side of this is the pressure Specy and Trek place on dealers to take their orders and increase their orders every season. Yet another side is the massive marketing campaign you put out insisting hydros were a necessity in 2013/14. ( every mechanic I know cringed, knowing your shit would suck. who was right? )<br />
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Then this:<br />
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Seriously.<br />
:15 seconds in you are lying to us.<br />
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:37 seconds in you are telling us how they failed. UHHHHH no shit. Pretty much sounds like every Juicy. UHHHH no shit sounds like every Elixir. UHHHHHH no shit sounds exactly like half of every Trail brake. Dude. Where is your head all the time?<br />
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Oh yea. Laughing all the way to the bank. 'Cause your rich as fuck.<br />
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At 2:01 you basically admit you saw Shimano's normal looking hoods and realized your skyscraper hoods were ugly as fuck.<br />
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2:37 translation...we walked down to the corner liquor store and borrowed their freezer and coolers for lunch "testing".<br />
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3:00 in is the highlight reel. He no sooner says everyone wants to get back on hydros when he has to look away from the camera. That my friends is what we call a tell in Poker. Just sayin....<br />
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Hey there Stanley, thanks so much for reading what your payed riders were paid to say about your product. I know for a fact I was pretty much given a gag order to prevent me from speaking my mind about your brakes to customers...because you know....SRAM does so much for racers.<br />
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4:06 wait...whut you say? Second half of April I can get new brakes? I can has stop?<br />
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Well kids its the second half of April. Your taxes done?<br />
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:40 second mark<br />
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Stanley mentions his promise. Remember the second half of April?<br />
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<a href="http://youtu.be/cybqViHgrFY?t=11s">http://youtu.be/cybqViHgrFY?t=11s</a><br />
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UHHHHH oh you mean your going to production on 2015 product to remedy 2013 product failure...at about the exact same time you'd go into production for 2015 product anyway........mmmmmmmm? Say like in April. To get product to market for 2015...which is really 2014?<br />
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Now Stanley. I realize you and your board are laughing your asses off. I mean bro, look at your tan. You just stepped off the yacht, and the boys are unloading the Martini's. You know by now you can just sell us anything. It doesn't even have to work. Why?<br />
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Brother you have the best marketing team on earth. I mean you are trying to slide the Guido brakes under our noses tongue in cheek. I mean really. Half baked, half tanked marketing dudes were like<br />
" if we use this font it looks like it says Guide" hahaha<br />
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" oh. it is supposed to say Guide, NOT Guido?"<br />
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Shit.<br />
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Can't wait to try that.....<br />
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yourbikehatesyouangry buddhisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14739772704439807583noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5556619111785311681.post-38653696297591987982014-03-27T06:49:00.000-07:002014-03-27T06:49:37.256-07:00#SRAM still trying to make you stop...Recently the interwebs have been hilarious. Sram recently announced their new brake system. While many claim that I am just a Sram hater the comment sections of these releases provided non stop hilarity.<br />
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From bikerumor.com :<br />
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Which has the funniest way of putting tongue in cheek with this headline:<br />
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SRAM LEADS THE WAY TO BETTER BRAKING WITH NEW GUIDE TRAIL BRAKES</h3>
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Tad Dickman - 03/25/14 - 12:09pm</div>
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I keep reading that name on the lever as the SRAM Guido</div>
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Mirwin - 03/25/14 - 12:11pm</div>
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“…combined with a piggyback reservoir instead of the Taperbore…”</div>
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Oh look, re-badged Juicy’s.</div>
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David - 03/25/14 - 12:23pm</div>
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I don’t know why they want to eliminate the gobble, that’s a “feature” at this point. “You can hear the quality!”</div>
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Skeptic mechanic - 03/25/14 - 12:25pm</div>
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Hopefully the release of these brakes wont mean doubling the amount of avid brakes i have to call in for warranty…</div>
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Nelson Muntz - 03/25/14 - 2:33pm</div>
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I can understand the name change to SRAM.<br />After the great success of their road discs….SRAM is the first name I think of when it comes to disc brakes.<br />And recalls.<br />And re-recalls.</div>
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Miles - 03/25/14 - 2:33pm</div>
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So if these are hitting the market June 2014, that should put the recall replacements in customer’s hands in the “second half” of February 2015?</div>
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captain derp - 03/25/14 - 2:38pm</div>
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because one full brake recall wasn’t enough</div>
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Nelson Muntz - 03/25/14 - 3:00pm</div>
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These SRAMs will actually be lighter than Shimano….because they won’t be on your bike after the recall.<br />But they will send you some BB5s as replacements so you can party like it’s 1999</div>
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<a class="url" href="http://rentedshoes@gmail.com/" rel="external nofollow" style="color: #0a50ff; text-decoration: none;">rentedshoes</a> - 03/26/14 - 10:38am</div>
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Holy crap, even the brand manager can’t look us in the eye when he tells us that these brakes are going to provide “noise-free operation.”</div>
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brandon kline - 03/25/14 - 6:24pm</div>
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just do us all a favor and give up on brakes already…</div>
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I wonder if anyone at #SRAM reads these comments. Most likely. I know it provided fodder for bench talk at our shop for a day or two. The "Guido" comment was hilarious as a co worker took a quick glance at the press release and immediately wondered why Avid ( oops now SRAM ) would name a brake Guido. Everyone knows SRAVID can market the crap out of shit, but perhaps they need to re examine their font. </div>
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I am also amused at the name change. Facing the biggest flop in recent years, you drop the Avid name and go with SRAM? Avid was your bailout plan. You sent hundreds of Avid BB5's and BB7's out to rectify the debacle debut of SRAM HYDRO....and follow it up with the Guido, I mean Guide presented by SRAM. Let's all hope you guys rented a freezer for testing this time.</div>
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Oh wait there's more. From VitalMTB:</div>
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<a class="" href="http://www.vitalmtb.com/community/dirty-booger,10102/all" rel="nofollow" style="background-color: transparent; background-image: none; border: none; color: forestgreen; font-weight: 700; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;" title="View dirty booger's Vital MTB profile">dirty booger</a></div>
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No matter what color you make a turd, it still stinks!<br /><br />"Avid brakes, those were garbage! But these new SRAM brakes are awesome!"<br /><br />Hahahaha!<br /><br />And I am sure this new design has been thoroughly tested, just like the road bike disk brakes that were recently recalled.</div>
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<a class="" href="http://www.vitalmtb.com/community/beerguzlinfool,20980/all" rel="nofollow" style="background-color: transparent; background-image: none; border: none; color: forestgreen; font-weight: 700; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;" title="View beerguzlinfool's Vital MTB profile">beerguzlinfool</a></div>
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Maybe they got it right this time.. Ha.. Who am I kidding, this is SRAM we are talking about.</div>
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We heard this song and dance before for years.<br />Please don't spend your hard earned money on this crap !</div>
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I am no engineer, I just fix their shit, or replace entire systems depending on the case. But the people at SRAVID have made a mockery of engineers everywhere. Poor system design after poor system design. Any wrench in the world knows what I mean when I say " I just got SRAMMED." Yup folks that's right I just won a free chain for our shop troubles....</div>
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Call in with a Reverb issue you get a warranty and a free chain. WTF are they smoking? I'd be better off with some Reverb fluid, you know the consumable good I just used. How in the hell does a chain have anything to do with a Reverb? Send me at least a consumable good I can use for the product that failed. I know for a fact I will bleed some poor bastards Juicy's at least twice before they replace a chain. SRAM here's a hint...your chains last longer than anything else you make.</div>
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To the FANBOYS. I don't care. Sure your SRAVID's work fine once their bled right. Sure you gotta know how to work on them. Sure hydraulic systems need maintenance. You see I know all this. The fact you are overlooking is I don't even know where my Tektro bleed kit is. EVEN TEKTRO BRAKES WORK BETTER.</div>
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Don't tell me about power. Don't even feign modulation to me. The fact that they are OEM spec on more bikes has nothing to do with how awesome they are. It has to do with how cheap they are and how many SRAVID can crank out of a production line to slap on TREKALIZED bikes as fast as possible. </div>
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Go ahead and tell me I just can't bleed them right. You sir are staring at your colon. If you can't bleed a SRAVID system you ain't a wrench. You are a grom. </div>
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As a company they really should quit hitting themselves in the nuts and forgo a new brake design every three years. But hey man, but THIS ones gonna work....for real. We promise.</div>
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Call me a hater. But the facts speak volumes in this case.</div>
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In case you give any fucks at all. The new Pike is the shit, blows 2013 and 2014 Fox outta the water. The trail brakes are surprisingly OK. Not nearly good enough to stop my desire to buy XT...yea pun intended.</div>
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The funniest thing I have come to learn is XO 11 speed kicks the shit outta XX1. The fact that their second tier line destroys the flagship premier line is proof of the shit show SRAVID is selling us. </div>
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I seriously cannot wait for SRAM to debut their electronic road group. What could possibly go wrong there???</div>
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But realistically, we are a society that begs for crap to be shoved down our throats. Companies have figured out that we will take it upon ourselves to drown our buyers remorse with excuses and justifications. We no longer give any real fucks about quality. We just want to be cool. Don't believe me?</div>
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How fucking far do you have to walk to get a Starbucks?</div>
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Game.</div>
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angry buddhisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14739772704439807583noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5556619111785311681.post-70746420250110572392013-12-14T06:51:00.000-08:002013-12-14T06:51:13.586-08:00Kickin the can part one....Well I am sure as shit going to say I told you so....<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.bikeradar.com/road/news/article/sram-road-hydraulic-brake-recall-stop-use-immediately-39316/">http://www.bikeradar.com/road/news/article/sram-road-hydraulic-brake-recall-stop-use-immediately-39316/</a><br />
<a href="http://www.blogger.com/goog_1085888973"><br /></a>
<a href="http://www.bikerumor.com/2013/12/13/sram-announces-complete-recall-of-all-road-hydraulic-rim-and-disc-brakes-stop-use-immediately/">http://www.bikerumor.com/2013/12/13/sram-announces-complete-recall-of-all-road-hydraulic-rim-and-disc-brakes-stop-use-immediately/</a><br />
<br />
<a href="http://velonews.competitor.com/2013/12/bikes-and-tech/sram-recalls-all-hydraulic-road-disc-and-rim-brakes_311170">http://velonews.competitor.com/2013/12/bikes-and-tech/sram-recalls-all-hydraulic-road-disc-and-rim-brakes_311170</a><br />
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<br />
So remember my last post...and when the whole world wide interweb got their panties wadded up at Mike Sinyard?<br />
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I guess I will never ever understand why we always let SRAM and AVID off the hook. They have been fucking more people and more shop owners over for years. Make no mistake about it, the big sue happy S is also to blame. They are the bastards that spec that shit lock stock and barrel. ( I know nothing of what Trek specs because their bikes are all piss poor copies of someone else's work anyway.)<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiudYVpjvc-ECsnOW1BDnaDBjYrbiFb7XEWWlBbv06C-3EATg-MoMXOLXHh5Osmvt9IU3JoIthKQMUaq7Sy6XX-GHTSvJbL1jlF_iOq3VT6TSmkYF6vXcCbeB1txwBGDTaQhJfRE8PrjEs/s1600/252154_10150279679063926_2275880_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiudYVpjvc-ECsnOW1BDnaDBjYrbiFb7XEWWlBbv06C-3EATg-MoMXOLXHh5Osmvt9IU3JoIthKQMUaq7Sy6XX-GHTSvJbL1jlF_iOq3VT6TSmkYF6vXcCbeB1txwBGDTaQhJfRE8PrjEs/s400/252154_10150279679063926_2275880_n.jpg" width="300" /></a></div>
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<br />
Here's a bit of my personal history with the SRAM/AVID crap.<br />
<br />
Waaaaay back in the day I was a huge Avid fan boy. Sram also. First modern bike was Gripshift and Avid V brake equipped. My bikes prior to this were re fabs. I was a retro grouch due to my socio economic state. I ran what I fixed up from the piles. But when I threw down real money I got a Specialized. Even back in the day them bastards were conspiring against us. But back then, SrAvid had something to prove. Their shit actually worked and was reliable. ( unless you gorilla fisted the cable replacement and broke a bunch of plastic shit.) They were playing to win and knock Shimano off the block.<br />
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2000/2001. XO. Sram was launching their first big silo at Shimano. I was first in line. I got that big ass Tin full of my XO rear mech. I got me a ticket to win at the NORBA Nationals. Free "VIP" schwag handed out by none other than <a href="http://spokemagazine.com/2012/06/21/frankly-thursday-greg-herbold/">Mr. Cut the Course in '90</a>. All them bitches were jealous....I really was fully into that Sram twisty shit. Every single wrench and person I knew made fun of me. But hey it worked and I was really damn close to a fully non Shimano bike. Which was my goal, to have zero Shimano on my ride.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6JKByH42sNmlNf6OVkYmpmzdXHUXnDDrbFryZKYzbR2LohKmRygCcLvjc5EzsAGZgQYAkliaTc0kYycm8NQh7iOvkKdQ0zmkRz-reQJQM9kP_7zehgIiYOKCHGA83WB7Wbu0UoCHmnDM/s1600/268495_10150244374103926_4873356_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6JKByH42sNmlNf6OVkYmpmzdXHUXnDDrbFryZKYzbR2LohKmRygCcLvjc5EzsAGZgQYAkliaTc0kYycm8NQh7iOvkKdQ0zmkRz-reQJQM9kP_7zehgIiYOKCHGA83WB7Wbu0UoCHmnDM/s400/268495_10150244374103926_4873356_n.jpg" width="300" /></a></div>
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As time went on I moved my thought patterns to what I was paid to sell. I was paid to sell whatever corporate partnership product we spec'd on our bikes. If our trailer had Kenda on it, then by god those were the best rubbers you could ride. Fox forks...pure squishy gold. Anything we partnered up with was the company line and therefore my line. Oddly, it was always Shimano. I rode it. I liked it. I was being won over.<br />
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Then I pulled a few years back wrenching in retail. Oh Holy Hell how times changed. The Sram stuff I once loved acted like the girl who just caught you banging her sister. It was a hot mess. It howled, actually gobbled like a turkey popping a cherry. It vibrated better than any <a href="http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Steely%20Dan">Steely Dan</a> on the market, you really could not control it once it started. And then it stopped stopping. It also stopped shifting just about the same time it wanted you to Make the Leap.<br />
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Leap? Hell it couldn't even nudge. The first years of Sram Red front derailleurs alone should have brought that company down in a hell storm of customer complaints. But like most sheep we kept following. It seriously performed so bad we thought it was the new normal. Then myself or some three hundred other mechanics decided that even a Sora would work better. And that became the best way to fix Red front shifting. XX1...shit any wrench can tell you they came up with 1X11 so they wouldn't have to TRY and make another front derailleur.<br />
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Sheeple. Sram counts on it. And most of you thick skulled minions keep walking right off the cliff. Don't even get me started on Rock Shox. They were only better than Manitou. After stuffing stanchions with foam who the fuck thought plastic cartridges were a good idea? I had a Judy DH that leaked like it was a full time job. It was. Rock Shox just finally sent me four cartridges so I could have them in steady rotation and save them shipping charges. Oh and Fuck Reba. Shut up, you brought her home so you get to bang her.<br />
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( Rock Shox is making some decent shit now, really. <a href="http://www.sram.com/rockshox/family/pike">Pike</a> ) but<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/u0-oinyjsk0" width="420"></iframe><br />
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You pretty much feel that way every time you buy, fix, or ride that shit nowadays. Maybe just maybe your batch is the good one. Maybe. But its all your dollars and all your loss when your ride is in my shop getting bled for the 90th time before a recall...<br />
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Shop owners. WOW are you getting fucked. No lube. No reach around. Just a pile of shitty free chains (waiting to be recalled...), free cassettes ( also awaiting their recall), and a few free bottles of DOT. You pay me how much? And your margin was? so factor that into the free man hours you are giving away and you just got raped. But no outrage at all....just sheeple along.<br />
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Fanboys and girls are the greatest.<br />
<br />
"<span style="background-color: #edeff4; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11.111111640930176px; line-height: 15.555556297302246px;">Ever ridden a Shimano brake at 0 degs , they don't work either ...."</span><br />
<span style="background-color: #edeff4; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11.111111640930176px; line-height: 15.555556297302246px;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: #edeff4; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11.111111640930176px; line-height: 15.555556297302246px;">"</span><span style="background-color: #edeff4; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11.111111640930176px; line-height: 15.555556297302246px;"> </span><span style="background-color: #edeff4; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11.111111640930176px; line-height: 15.555556297302246px;">have Sram brakes on all of my bike ( bunch) , I've found if I flush the brakes and be fairly anal when setting up , they work perfect....</span><span style="background-color: #edeff4; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11.111111640930176px; line-height: 15.555556297302246px;"> "</span><br />
<span style="background-color: #edeff4; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11.111111640930176px; line-height: 15.555556297302246px;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: #edeff4; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11.111111640930176px; line-height: 15.555556297302246px;">"</span><span style="background-color: #edeff4; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11.111111640930176px; line-height: 15.555556297302246px;">because Shimano has never had a recall... Um, yeah... SRAM/Avid breaks have gone downhill, but I know plenty of people who had Elixirs and never had an issue, myself included.</span><span style="background-color: #edeff4; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11.111111640930176px; line-height: 15.555556297302246px;"> "</span><br />
<span style="background-color: #edeff4; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11.111111640930176px; line-height: 15.555556297302246px;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: #edeff4; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11.111111640930176px; line-height: 15.555556297302246px;">"</span><span style="background-color: #edeff4; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11.111111640930176px; line-height: 15.555556297302246px;">SRAM drivetrain components work great."</span><br />
<span style="background-color: #edeff4; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11.111111640930176px; line-height: 15.555556297302246px;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: #edeff4; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11.111111640930176px; line-height: 15.555556297302246px;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: lucida grande, tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 11px; line-height: 15.546875px;"><b><u>from my favorite ass clown:</u></b></span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: #edeff4; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11.111111640930176px; line-height: 15.555556297302246px;">"</span><span style="background-color: #edeff4; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11.111111640930176px; line-height: 15.555556297302246px;">poor baby...u have to work...wtf r u always complaining....they credit ur service hours anyway...stop hating on everything u have trouble working on...send them to my shop and ill do them...god forbid u have to bleed some brakes...."</span><br />
<span style="background-color: #edeff4; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11.111111640930176px; line-height: 15.555556297302246px;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: #edeff4; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11.111111640930176px; line-height: 15.555556297302246px;">"</span><span style="background-color: #edeff4; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11.111111640930176px; line-height: 15.555556297302246px;">Actually, I like my elixers. It helps to know how to bleed them and have a little patience adjusting the calipers."</span><br />
<span style="background-color: #edeff4; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11.111111640930176px; line-height: 15.555556297302246px;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: lucida grande, tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 11px; line-height: 15.546875px;"><b><u>more from my favorite ass clown:</u></b></span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: #edeff4; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11.111111640930176px; line-height: 15.555556297302246px;">"</span><span data-reactid=".r[6i3v].[1][3][1]{comment585997038110150_6205711}.[0].{right}.[0].{left}.[0].[0].[0][2]" style="background-color: #edeff4; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11.111111640930176px; line-height: 15.555556297302246px;"> </span><span data-ft="{"tn":"K"}" data-reactid=".r[6i3v].[1][3][1]{comment585997038110150_6205711}.[0].{right}.[0].{left}.[0].[0].[0][3]" style="background-color: #edeff4; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11.111111640930176px; line-height: 15.555556297302246px;"><span data-reactid=".r[6i3v].[1][3][1]{comment585997038110150_6205711}.[0].{right}.[0].{left}.[0].[0].[0][3].[0]"><span data-reactid=".r[6i3v].[1][3][1]{comment585997038110150_6205711}.[0].{right}.[0].{left}.[0].[0].[0][3].[0].[0]">I dont get it...?....bleed them right away when open em folks....bleed them right...they all work fine...iv done thousands....u know when they fill them it comes from a giant drum thats absorbed water...?...maybe try stu class....not rocket science"</span></span></span><br />
<span data-ft="{"tn":"K"}" data-reactid=".r[6i3v].[1][3][1]{comment585997038110150_6205711}.[0].{right}.[0].{left}.[0].[0].[0][3]" style="background-color: #edeff4; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11.111111640930176px; line-height: 15.555556297302246px;"><span data-reactid=".r[6i3v].[1][3][1]{comment585997038110150_6205711}.[0].{right}.[0].{left}.[0].[0].[0][3].[0]"><span data-reactid=".r[6i3v].[1][3][1]{comment585997038110150_6205711}.[0].{right}.[0].{left}.[0].[0].[0][3].[0].[0]"><br /></span></span></span>
<span data-ft="{"tn":"K"}" data-reactid=".r[6i3v].[1][3][1]{comment585997038110150_6205711}.[0].{right}.[0].{left}.[0].[0].[0][3]" style="background-color: #edeff4; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11.111111640930176px; line-height: 15.555556297302246px;"><span data-reactid=".r[6i3v].[1][3][1]{comment585997038110150_6205711}.[0].{right}.[0].{left}.[0].[0].[0][3].[0]"><span data-reactid=".r[6i3v].[1][3][1]{comment585997038110150_6205711}.[0].{right}.[0].{left}.[0].[0].[0][3].[0].[0]"><br /></span></span></span>
One thing that they all have in common, they all really know how to bleed brakes. BECAUSE they have to do it all the damn time. My favorite is the clown who can't even use english. He was so adamant about Sram crediting you for labor. Brooooooo, a damn chain ain't cutting it in my shop. We do real work and get paid a fair wage for our professional work. Son. I cost money. My owners value me and my co workers. So yea, a chain isn't really covering it.<br />
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<span style="background-color: red;">Dear Sram,</span><br />
<span style="background-color: red;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: red;"> Test your shit. Like in a lab or something. We the consumer and end user actually have to PAY to use your crap. Assuming its actually going to work. Please stop using me as a lab rat AND taking my money. If you want me to test your product for you....PAY ME or give it to me for free. </span><br />
<span style="background-color: red;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: red;">Yours truly,</span><br />
<span style="background-color: red;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: red;">Every consumer since 2002.</span><br />
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yourbikehatesyou<br />
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<span style="background-color: #edeff4; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11.111111640930176px; line-height: 15.555556297302246px;"><br /></span>
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<span style="background-color: #edeff4; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11.111111640930176px; line-height: 15.555556297302246px;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: #edeff4; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11.111111640930176px; line-height: 15.555556297302246px;"><br /></span>angry buddhisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14739772704439807583noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5556619111785311681.post-9127252121387313482013-12-09T15:52:00.000-08:002013-12-09T15:54:15.186-08:00Everybody else is doing it so I'll pile on too... Well unless you are pretty dead and hate the internet you know all about the big red S and some poor Canadian bastard who is freezing his ass off trying to pay some bills and live a happy life. But how about the rest of the shittards in the mix. Who? Well me for one. I have to work in a shop that is tied to the sue happy brand. I have to sell all kinds of little packages with the S ue happy label. So I am pissed for a whole different reason.<br />
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You see my shop sells a lot of very expensive bikes. Quite nice bikes actually, and yes some have the S emblazoned on the head tube. This sweet little shop is also run by two dudes trying to make it the best in the business. They pay very well and take great care of the employees with some sweet benefits and a whole lot of understanding. But the fact is any shop now carrying the S ue happy label has to bear the brunt of its shear stupidity.<br />
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It is the middle of winter. Well for all intents and purposes it is, I mean it's cold as balls out right? So most of us are cleaning, finding projects we never really could take down with 95 repairs due five minutes ago. Que the lawyers to fuck us all again. In the court of public opinion Specialized has lost its marbles. One trip over to the Facebook land will allow you to see the powers of social media in full force. Really, I'd hate to be their marketing department for a few days. And FUUUCK the public relations team just in their face...they are so screwed. How do you really come back from this? A full blown shit storm. Deservedly so I may add.<br />
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I mean a few posts down and they have the balls to state :</div>
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Tell it to the guy you are suing now. Go Ahead and tell him how much you support his dream, his paycheck, his livelihood, and more importantly tell us all about how the name Cafe Roubaix confuses us. </div>
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Now about that saddle picture. any one remember this?</div>
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<a href="http://bikeportland.org/2006/01/31/specialized-mountain-cycle-disagree-on-stumptown-864">http://bikeportland.org/2006/01/31/specialized-mountain-cycle-disagree-on-stumptown-864</a></div>
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So exactly how stupid does S think we are? Short minded? I mean Specialized does know the internet is like forever right? I wonder how that sits with Portland? pun fully intended.<br />
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But I digress. A few hundred of us have to go to work and try to sell these bikes, tires, and tubes. All while reveling in the fact that the big S is looking out for us, the small business owner and it's employees. I mean they absolutely have to protect their trademark ferociously or you might just not remember the difference between a Madone or a Roubaix. Hell you may even think the only place you can get a Roubaix is at the Cafe Roubaix in Calgary. HELL you mean Roubaix is in Europe? I am so confused.<br />
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I just really do not get what the fuck they are thinking. In this day and age you want to go all corporate and screw the little guy? I mean that is basically what you do everyday, but this time you want to do it out in the open so everyone can see how mashed your thought process is. It is one thing if a guy chooses to dance with devil and take his chances buying your wares and trying to meet your unrealistic sales projections. But now just tell me how is this going to help the dealers out? I mean now we are front line punching bags for your lame ass lawyers epic ( can I say that?) brain fart. Which brings about another question.<br />
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He is so fired right? I mean his actions just caused the internets to take an unholy crap all over you. But he was surely doing as demanded. Damned if you do and damned if you don't. They eat their young. Lawyers and sharks and Sin yards.<br />
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<a href="http://www.forbes.com/forbes/2011/0523/opinions-rich-karlgaard-innovation-rules-hippie-capitalist.html">http://www.forbes.com/forbes/2011/0523/opinions-rich-karlgaard-innovation-rules-hippie-capitalist.html</a><br />
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From above link: "The Japanese way starts with honor and integrity" -- Mike Sinyard<br />
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Oh how you have forgotten your roots.<br />
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yourbikehatesyou<br />
<br />angry buddhisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14739772704439807583noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5556619111785311681.post-73749299481728067012013-10-31T06:57:00.000-07:002013-10-31T06:57:10.448-07:00Grey is the new Black Well it happened. The internet created a whole new wheel size and dealt a death blow to 26 inch wheels. Most if not all manufacturers are dropping the 26 and going with the tweener size. I blame MTBR. Here you have a bunch of computards who in effect type more than they ride. Sheldon Brown wanna be's lauding praise because they said so ( uh, yea I see the irony duh.) The internet has no fact checks built in, they are not typing a research paper. Hell, we the reader are just as guilty because we drink it up like free beers at a work party.<br />
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Like road disc brakes, the industry jumped on board tweener wheels. Not because of pure market demand but because no one wanted to be Yeti. Remember? Yeti was the manufacturer to call 29er's clown shoes. Yeti missed the boat and lost a crap load of market share. Finally coming out with a bandaid bike that was rather unimpressive and did nothing but save face and fill a major void in their line up to keep dealers placated. Not happy, just placated. Big mistake, they know it now, and might just admit it if you have enough single malt. No one wants to do that with 27.5/650B. ( shit that wheel size is so damn awesome it has two names).<br />
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Road bikes. Shit. These damn things are coming with Hydros? Flat land mechanics rejoice. You have struck gold in service revenue. Bleeding these is easy peasy. But we all know road bikers are far more fearful of maintenance than their dirty counter parts. ( I mean mtn bikers fools.) So rejoice in this. Us mountain state mechanics are sighing a collective " OH FUCK". Why? Well, let me tell you.<br />
Flat out, people don't know shit. On a daily basis we are bombarded with," my brakes make noise." Yeah, we know they do. They are Avids, and you probably thought you could drag them all the way down the hill from Snowbowl. You can't, don't care what brake it is. The problem lies elsewhere. People are not taught the right way to ride bikes anymore. Don't believe me? When was the last time you jumped in a group ride? The finer points of riding in a group have been lost. Technique has gone the way of the 26" wheel. Johnny come lately will sit up mid pack to check his watts, never mind he just air braked the whole pack behind him. Freddy will over cook a corner, missing the apex, and brake hard while turning too late. Skill has been lost and no one wants to teach it anymore.<br />
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I was getting into the road scene a few years back. I started by joining the shop group rides after work. I had zero skill, negative technique, and was completely oblivious as to my general rolling disaster. I thank my fellow workers for bringing me the knowledge needed to not be a total hack. Taught me how to corner, how to brake, and more importantly the finer points of etiquette in group riding. Best lesson was to sit back and learn. It's painfully obvious that most people are no longer provided this education. It's just get in go fast and to hell with whatever.<br />
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Same mentality happens in mountain bikes. Strava tards blowing you up on their descent as you wrongly assume they are going to follow the rules of the trail. Rules? You mean the sign? That is for "other" people. Plug in, tune out, and rip it. No etiquette. No skill. No fucks given. Poor braking skills are evident here as well. Hydros have great ability to save a noobs ass, which in turn causes more of them to think they have actually acquired skill. In fact, they have acquired nothing but can cost us sooooo much.<br />
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All this rambling does lead to a point.<br />
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Who's job is it to educate? The shop? The sales person in a shop? Or the wrench? As a sales person you are trying to sell product. Bottom line is that is what you are there to do. Sure, a GOOD sales person will make many friends and educate many people on product simply by answering the questions asked. No one asks how to ride anymore. No One.<br />
As a wrench we tend to see the end result of poor skills and education. Sooo many times we have seen cooked pads, glazed pads, and completely gone pads. Those people are missing something and eventually it could cost them harm. I mean physical harm not wallet harm. Try stopping when you have no pads left at all. Try stopping when you have a mirror finish on your pads. Hell every one of us has had the loud squealing, honking, brake syndrome. I know for a fact most of us are embarrassed and tend to stop using the brakes to avoid the noise. I did.<br />
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Skill. Education. Two things disappearing from our sport at a rapid pace because the industry is changing technology at a better rate than its education practices. I for one am guilty. But in all honesty I am trying. I DO explain the correct way to brake to a customer who has glazed their pads. I DO explain the finer points of looking over your bike to see if the pads need replacing. I try very hard to remove the mystery of wrenching. It really is easy and hard at the same time. But how in the world are we ever going to get anywhere when people won't even lube their chain and go out for a ride with a thousand angry birds chasing them?<br />
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You guys have the new Red 22 in stock?<br />
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Yourbikehatesyou.angry buddhisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14739772704439807583noreply@blogger.com17tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5556619111785311681.post-80158596530826333662013-09-08T17:57:00.004-07:002013-09-08T18:05:05.621-07:00The hits just keep on coming Best thing about this job is the never ending stream of eye popping things you see. A good portion of it is owner induced trauma ( or hate ). Which is how this blog and FB thing started over a few beers. I kept seeing crazy mindblowing crap. Friends wouldn't really believe me, and so the smart phone helped tell a lot of stories.<br />
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I do enjoy my work. But I ride bikes to get away from the computard. A lot of my clients really make shittons of money using the computer. They stare at and tap away at it all day. Hell, I order parts and enter work orders on one. I ride to get away from that shit. Some of you plug your pods into your earbuds and ride. EFFF that. I just ride. No computer, no earbuds. Just singletrack and a tasty beverage for my pause. <br />
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Then you get this guy...<br />
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Now I got some big hands. This guy has his damn laptop strapped onboard. </div>
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Computard rider also has 90 spacers and an adjustable stem. Full upright, full windsail. Fullyfuckoff.</div>
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I just cannot get it. I bring a camera, hell I like what I see. The only digital record of my ride I need to remind me of is the escape, the sights I see, and memories to recall when I am strapped to the computard alldamnday. I sure as shit ain't stopping to take a call, answer an email, or text.</div>
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Then you get the internet China guy.The one that is smarter than you. He found some Zipp 303's " online for like $1000." </div>
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UHHHHH ok guy. Happy as shit for you. So what brings you in? Warranty? huh, that's weird. Can't warranty those <i>Zipp 303's </i>online? huh Weird again.</div>
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Exhibit A.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJwRgWIcwZCpRg_dK9lvvzH79VgExPbN76-IJCI8XRhD9C3TncqUufPU7WnZASAWZRG-P6xMHElPnrhDJTNG65Z8QUGlM22ayjhKGu7RoccRLPOmz7D8RJYYrJ_-NtKd_dTplynkPRcuM/s1600/IMG_2091.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJwRgWIcwZCpRg_dK9lvvzH79VgExPbN76-IJCI8XRhD9C3TncqUufPU7WnZASAWZRG-P6xMHElPnrhDJTNG65Z8QUGlM22ayjhKGu7RoccRLPOmz7D8RJYYrJ_-NtKd_dTplynkPRcuM/s640/IMG_2091.JPG" width="480" /></a></div>
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Now that is oneweirdasshitlooking <i>Zipp 303.</i> I mean, it does have the world champion stripes so I think it must be legit...</div>
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Exhibit B.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhME46yC1wiZkzO38v-wwndXPN3AOqKQ_ES2oUYDIiah2WiqV7Vdt91U647aTpo8tivhCpQli1OGmiQMJ506Kt9M8wZKlZ2lnBXBgBB9wjV7ocXWhRBXjmXLq9_RRGa8Z4ReY-d2B3VPXE/s1600/IMG_2094.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhME46yC1wiZkzO38v-wwndXPN3AOqKQ_ES2oUYDIiah2WiqV7Vdt91U647aTpo8tivhCpQli1OGmiQMJ506Kt9M8wZKlZ2lnBXBgBB9wjV7ocXWhRBXjmXLq9_RRGa8Z4ReY-d2B3VPXE/s640/IMG_2094.JPG" width="480" /></a></div>
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Ok. Now I am starting to have some kind of doubt. I mean Shimano and Sram play nice all the time right? So Shimano probably lent them some rim strips when Sram ran low. THAT makes sense...</div>
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Exhibit C. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXr-KBZvmP9N9Ex1Pxyio7yVn1zkCq4eS3b44y7L2Pw6IEd2X0XECjnL5p4g2Mfzu_VXchmA6yDQkTAborhUHqCde7XWxP6jli3rPVyLFLbF0iTA5GQJGWdz0znnjVZPJJq6olaaT3yRc/s1600/IMG_2095.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXr-KBZvmP9N9Ex1Pxyio7yVn1zkCq4eS3b44y7L2Pw6IEd2X0XECjnL5p4g2Mfzu_VXchmA6yDQkTAborhUHqCde7XWxP6jli3rPVyLFLbF0iTA5GQJGWdz0znnjVZPJJq6olaaT3yRc/s640/IMG_2095.JPG" width="480" /></a></div>
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Zipp is gaining in popularity. So they probably made the wrong profile 303's due to saving carbon to make more wheels. The Shimano rim strip was just a share amongst industry friends. But this? This SHIT. Now I mean, Novatec is some straight baller ass shit. Every pro in the peleton just stickers their hubs over....they ALL run Novatec. SO internet guy you really won the lottery. I'll be sure to send this in to SRAM for full warranty evaluation. I'll call you when SRAM gets back to us. Nofuckingproblem.</div>
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Everyshopguysfavoritehomie rushes in on Thursday before close. He really needs his rig ready to rock the sport class hero ( Cat 5 if your a roadie) (( yeah I do know <i>they </i>changed that system. Fuck them.)) race. " I have really been pounding the miles so I "didn't have time to drop it off earlier". </div>
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HMMMMM.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzeb-wDRtaxBD3ZLSx-2KVRlCyN4jxigN21xVc3EB9xcNawAURxg5E_naH2tpannkFSL5W__KiI0LTA5CAkKGqQw4KUgLZdoLtvQqdIMWkN2uW-XGYU2hXNRlqsVsBLTsNjr6VKokEYSg/s1600/IMG_2100.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzeb-wDRtaxBD3ZLSx-2KVRlCyN4jxigN21xVc3EB9xcNawAURxg5E_naH2tpannkFSL5W__KiI0LTA5CAkKGqQw4KUgLZdoLtvQqdIMWkN2uW-XGYU2hXNRlqsVsBLTsNjr6VKokEYSg/s640/IMG_2100.JPG" width="480" /></a></div>
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Ok...</div>
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That guy must know "I do my own maintenance" guy. The one that tells you everything that is NOT wrong with the bike. Thanks for the help champ. " The creak is from my BB not my headset. I just overhauled it last week."</div>
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So then this?????</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjO3olCYrgdb7WzEZtXBIIGMkUZkVLhW8EbPFR2MxL-toifPTH2s-iTwpGNHuilwKg7lvTsC3B1yiBreQmFBKiY71WK4Lu8m6IJgSrAHTB2YaiBVscJIQwFNdcMAjBgwSQrBvsk6dj7JZY/s1600/IMG_2123.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjO3olCYrgdb7WzEZtXBIIGMkUZkVLhW8EbPFR2MxL-toifPTH2s-iTwpGNHuilwKg7lvTsC3B1yiBreQmFBKiY71WK4Lu8m6IJgSrAHTB2YaiBVscJIQwFNdcMAjBgwSQrBvsk6dj7JZY/s640/IMG_2123.JPG" width="480" /></a></div>
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Heeeeeyyyyyyy bro. Chocolate pudding cups are not headset lube. neverevernever. </div>
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Like I said it truly is a good way to work through life. The 100 other people you see a week who really truly know what you do and appreciate it make it all cakes and roses. </div>
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I will just never understand the trying to pull the wool over your wrenches eyes. We are there to help. We are not ashamed of what we do. Wefuckinglovethisshit. </div>
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Be real. Ride for fun. Don't be a dick.</div>
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yourbikehatesyou.</div>
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<br />angry buddhisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14739772704439807583noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5556619111785311681.post-27580127242730460382013-07-19T04:59:00.000-07:002013-07-19T18:42:34.054-07:00Shit mechanics deal with part 2<div style="text-align: center;">
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Generally speaking people seek way to entertain themselves</div>
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while at work.</div>
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Mechanics are no different really,</div>
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we just seemingly have a non stop parade of opportunity.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUGhRouqXpkdo-W0ailukVr4Rz3SIxGhx1h1aG8ypPlIPSf61tY1o2q5gNIHRNUJud6wZcT9GSyvO-VZCBVOmUJPfQFnBwZQaR2agEJV0sYN-I_XGNEHku-MTRSGr2ZXkY46S9xY_pCiU/s1600/IMG_2012.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUGhRouqXpkdo-W0ailukVr4Rz3SIxGhx1h1aG8ypPlIPSf61tY1o2q5gNIHRNUJud6wZcT9GSyvO-VZCBVOmUJPfQFnBwZQaR2agEJV0sYN-I_XGNEHku-MTRSGr2ZXkY46S9xY_pCiU/s400/IMG_2012.JPG" width="300" /></a></div>
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Like this gem provided to us by Cannondale.</div>
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Ser.i.ously?</div>
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WTF was being passed around in the board room that day?</div>
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Yeah, the bike is old but not old enough to escape the DUH factor</div>
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of using EPO as a marketing splash on a bike.</div>
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Everybody wants a stiff road bike.</div>
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Everybody.</div>
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Well, lets make a carbon road frame so strong...</div>
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you can get hit by a car and the frame won't budge.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqUhgar7J0pyDlRYwPUwk2KMsVVe49PqKzIHbGwOLd1XYB6vm5B73OVoT71kDEeUKt8Vy6HSrIWD4QJXyoT1lREvTblH2LAlGtJwClhMCPKdnTpTthHUQ8hTHkZKdQziotA_1NPrT-MSs/s1600/IMG_2026.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqUhgar7J0pyDlRYwPUwk2KMsVVe49PqKzIHbGwOLd1XYB6vm5B73OVoT71kDEeUKt8Vy6HSrIWD4QJXyoT1lREvTblH2LAlGtJwClhMCPKdnTpTthHUQ8hTHkZKdQziotA_1NPrT-MSs/s400/IMG_2026.JPG" width="300" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgh3TTPAuDp3_i4F8MvIRHEHZ5V56_LzObjUAh3fHPbubbWgvkB_CRlKy8dtfL8PzgbTbwEo7D5jclb6yL5fjCj9muXwGLTVYY4wRl5REjSzh831P579wkOqtZwT1JuqJzx1dwcLtM3XIE/s1600/IMG_2027.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgh3TTPAuDp3_i4F8MvIRHEHZ5V56_LzObjUAh3fHPbubbWgvkB_CRlKy8dtfL8PzgbTbwEo7D5jclb6yL5fjCj9muXwGLTVYY4wRl5REjSzh831P579wkOqtZwT1JuqJzx1dwcLtM3XIE/s400/IMG_2027.JPG" width="300" /></a></div>
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Scott wins, Shimano fails.</div>
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That there is a Ultegra crank bent from contact with a moving car.</div>
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Frame says fuck you I ain't moving.</div>
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WOW is all I could think. Carbon that didn't snap. Go figure.</div>
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Days go by, you plod through the usual bike ailments. </div>
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Then a little gem pops in and you either </div>
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Hope you get the bike in your stand</div>
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OR</div>
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Hope your timing is just right so you screw your co worker.</div>
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I chose the latter on this puppy.</div>
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Not because it is a POS ( every body loves their bike right?)</div>
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<br /></div>
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But as an old man I didn't think I could lift it.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYPpNbD5mFsZwc5PQhq-nT26QbwNeQ9QrDWyCTa1r95NoF_nPofEFKxF5JHCawgD6rzNggf3ogbStonm0Q6iYxP7fx5leZJO0vU0qpJ8mKa7Vd6vqFw6baZgj4_Q2-SpBHOIy5EJ3ST7Y/s1600/IMG_2004.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYPpNbD5mFsZwc5PQhq-nT26QbwNeQ9QrDWyCTa1r95NoF_nPofEFKxF5JHCawgD6rzNggf3ogbStonm0Q6iYxP7fx5leZJO0vU0qpJ8mKa7Vd6vqFw6baZgj4_Q2-SpBHOIy5EJ3ST7Y/s400/IMG_2004.JPG" width="300" /></a></div>
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<br /></div>
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Ever have someone ask you for the valve nuts?</div>
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<br /></div>
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Ever wonder why?</div>
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<br /></div>
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now you know.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxXVYk-rabcb05kYu3W780LhnCCYxMrObG2t7rgBMuLQ_sxmsfTzOupYBD1rOaZR91YLww0CvFW-Le2itEMkYh24aygYQ_2b2mcVzGtkPLUo2FwG6kghdZBWzP43U7fV7i5tp_bDABwoE/s1600/IMG_2007.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxXVYk-rabcb05kYu3W780LhnCCYxMrObG2t7rgBMuLQ_sxmsfTzOupYBD1rOaZR91YLww0CvFW-Le2itEMkYh24aygYQ_2b2mcVzGtkPLUo2FwG6kghdZBWzP43U7fV7i5tp_bDABwoE/s400/IMG_2007.JPG" width="300" /></a></div>
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Just ease back and let the awesome soak in.</div>
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Judy if you care.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwlKSSyx85aLCkvYcJpOaeze7gilcGIFzQ-JwUMZWFjWfdMiKGNjyfwJoBF9MrdgfWvFIfNaw7Rp5FjkSSA5tNRVly2dLlWFgsYI1tJYXtWMK5gb1puV87jokpX1L9R-7welbRtTXwyPU/s1600/IMG_2008.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwlKSSyx85aLCkvYcJpOaeze7gilcGIFzQ-JwUMZWFjWfdMiKGNjyfwJoBF9MrdgfWvFIfNaw7Rp5FjkSSA5tNRVly2dLlWFgsYI1tJYXtWMK5gb1puV87jokpX1L9R-7welbRtTXwyPU/s400/IMG_2008.JPG" width="300" /></a></div>
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not soaked in yet?</div>
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<br /></div>
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<br /></div>
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<br /></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBlxUzF_uD9cv03H-a3zIVVJI1LKiR_7VvCFt5JF8kulD5lJ-wxLOV7lhh75egYlc7WKTMn1cYgVXwV593wxIqu8-4dyoylXKpCbf4P_9_KpbKNtj_Fj01YtkDnj_DFjZjbdqDlj18ZJ4/s1600/IMG_2005.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBlxUzF_uD9cv03H-a3zIVVJI1LKiR_7VvCFt5JF8kulD5lJ-wxLOV7lhh75egYlc7WKTMn1cYgVXwV593wxIqu8-4dyoylXKpCbf4P_9_KpbKNtj_Fj01YtkDnj_DFjZjbdqDlj18ZJ4/s400/IMG_2005.JPG" width="300" /></a></div>
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<br /></div>
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So how much wrong is going on here?</div>
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<br /></div>
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I for one am certain this guy never ever participates in <a href="http://drunkcyclist.com/">Drunkcyclist</a>.</div>
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<br /></div>
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How could you?</div>
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one stumble and you are well on your way to bleeding out or the ER due to the parting of the Red Sea that used to be your lower leg.</div>
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<br /></div>
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O-ring clamps can cut a bitch.</div>
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</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKHKVdAe_qUiGCWQh3XMWZFITaWznAqvnAbrq3Xb32aUXCoERjg_sxlD4KZpCmyPtJEYwuuL3YWb1lzOZbYHkzrx7NzmelF-oTOJhLaILYI7-zEejLnQGuS5K66V6uqcRQYjXbwd41Na4/s1600/IMG_2006.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKHKVdAe_qUiGCWQh3XMWZFITaWznAqvnAbrq3Xb32aUXCoERjg_sxlD4KZpCmyPtJEYwuuL3YWb1lzOZbYHkzrx7NzmelF-oTOJhLaILYI7-zEejLnQGuS5K66V6uqcRQYjXbwd41Na4/s400/IMG_2006.JPG" width="300" /></a></div>
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Now I for one don't mind wrenching.</div>
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<br /></div>
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If you look back a few I used to be pretty damn sour. </div>
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Then I learned that I should not just take a job anywhere, but choose where I want to spin wrenches.</div>
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So I did.</div>
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I am pretty happy at work.</div>
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Unless you are a dick.</div>
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<br /></div>
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No body likes a dick.</div>
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<br /></div>
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I do however dislike certain things that a wrench must deal with.</div>
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<br /></div>
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This is near the top of the list.</div>
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On this day Itwasthewholedamnlist</div>
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<br /></div>
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Just </div>
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<br /></div>
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Why?</div>
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<br /></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrkTa21tmvfyhA3oGGQF2QuPZEWNkz6brWxUQxf5jzVvk99NM06EHkfUaAe7rHNM7fjYsRjkIsrut2WsfQr831VglDsR-r0GwgYKreOGANrJb9tbBz1Qs0910RcEomz_1QoPoWFItlruc/s1600/IMG_2052.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrkTa21tmvfyhA3oGGQF2QuPZEWNkz6brWxUQxf5jzVvk99NM06EHkfUaAe7rHNM7fjYsRjkIsrut2WsfQr831VglDsR-r0GwgYKreOGANrJb9tbBz1Qs0910RcEomz_1QoPoWFItlruc/s400/IMG_2052.JPG" width="300" /></a></div>
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<br /></div>
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Seriously this is like a big Fuck YOU</div>
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to the guy playing catcher in this game.</div>
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<br /></div>
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there is probably a part three coming.</div>
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<br /></div>
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Yourbikehatesyou</div>
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<br /></div>
</div>
angry buddhisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14739772704439807583noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5556619111785311681.post-1910592944579388512013-07-16T06:49:00.000-07:002013-07-16T06:49:00.810-07:00only the road bikers can save us<div style="text-align: center;">
Just look at the amazing things that could happen if road bike manufacturers </div>
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would only take the time to help us poor mountain bikers out</div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
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<br /></div>
<iframe width="560" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/PZ9_4rcenEA" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>angry buddhisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14739772704439807583noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5556619111785311681.post-34281177802778069442013-07-14T14:56:00.000-07:002013-07-14T14:56:55.133-07:00Shit mechanics deal with part one...<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
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People see shit everyday.</div>
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So what's the big deal?</div>
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<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7PJmcBJLQlUNNxOocBkbfL6lSn0Yo7ulEuetEvmDo9VP3ykD6wZe-OYFfIoqXkE5M5nSljsd1e96BllBeep5AV7gZNptFGPYqv32t4i-biyBABfnM11sb5maO36VbuSnospLMSdRCd4o/s1600/IMG_2045.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7PJmcBJLQlUNNxOocBkbfL6lSn0Yo7ulEuetEvmDo9VP3ykD6wZe-OYFfIoqXkE5M5nSljsd1e96BllBeep5AV7gZNptFGPYqv32t4i-biyBABfnM11sb5maO36VbuSnospLMSdRCd4o/s400/IMG_2045.JPG" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sweet stack height...oh and mount.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
The big deal is that when you deal with a toy for a living</div>
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people do really weird shit.</div>
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Which can piss you off if you let it,</div>
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or as I have begun to learn,</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
can really allow you to make fun of people</div>
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to feel better about yourself.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
These toys are not just average.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
They are what most people I know use to free themselves from </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
the daily grind.</div>
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Escape from the boring bullshit people do for money.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
It is their drug.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
It is my drug.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Itiswhatitrulylivefortheultimateescape.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
People can really fuck this experience up.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
I decided I really enjoy one aspect of wrenching in particular.</div>
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<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHmS1BDai7dX4w-zNbQjV01Jdh2qyczXoPyYgrlK66yt3J4UOyFmR7voAVEUL_HS_hAVAMAh8F6aChCA_12PWIK3h0rSTzafSzATbmIkTuvCaGjNKdelBZ8m-ogRnf7VUuYKHdL5LJRuA/s1600/IMG_2033.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHmS1BDai7dX4w-zNbQjV01Jdh2qyczXoPyYgrlK66yt3J4UOyFmR7voAVEUL_HS_hAVAMAh8F6aChCA_12PWIK3h0rSTzafSzATbmIkTuvCaGjNKdelBZ8m-ogRnf7VUuYKHdL5LJRuA/s320/IMG_2033.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bring me these, I love, love, love scraping 20 years of crusty lube and trail off pulleys. Seriously.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
( OK two if you count writing this blog and making light of douche bags)</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
For me I like teaching people about their whip.</div>
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This is a dangerous slope.</div>
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As a wrench it can be difficult at times for your work to seem valid.</div>
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Asshats tend to think you are just a kid or loser fixing bikes.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Not exactly a technician.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
but factor in the rising cost of a bike....</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Do you really want some loser kid fixing your $5,000 bike?</div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Hell, you want some loser kid dialing in your $500 bike?</div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Not if you are forking over money.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
But I really dig it when people are NOT asshats and treat you like a human.</div>
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People as a rule tend to not do this too often.</div>
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When people have their shit go awry they forget themselves.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
They are really just frustrated,</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
they have to admit they know </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
jack about fixing it.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Don't believe me?</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Next time your car craps out and you get bent on the bill,</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
are you really mad at the $$$</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
or that you couldn't do it yourself?</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Computer issues? </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
In todays world that one can really FUBAR your day.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
It tends to make you all sideways. </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
And chances are you can't fix it.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Pissed, right?</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmmgEGFGuVpvnEMU4WjOqwLyjPlsqPZ0kQLBNkZfKmDaD_qpWw_G90XnBcT8hEKri15Ocgc233WlaytDgMOciO5pPT8p9DFuJOG6jWnb7UBFMrQ5X4m8NBv10JwpwLOSFThOCFE1biqYo/s1600/IMG_2031.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmmgEGFGuVpvnEMU4WjOqwLyjPlsqPZ0kQLBNkZfKmDaD_qpWw_G90XnBcT8hEKri15Ocgc233WlaytDgMOciO5pPT8p9DFuJOG6jWnb7UBFMrQ5X4m8NBv10JwpwLOSFThOCFE1biqYo/s320/IMG_2031.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This is gonna be fun.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1qq5NY7m1x7VDo8nnol3p19nA0CwjLPligTYdi3dw-WtPkvdGJdo5ejhtrCLjXVaRV6q-rLX0nWngXIrJtC6OfWpJ1E4fKlbpBsPiys3wGkp2Ci3A01suG8sG-7TGXw_v_XqgPJ4uoVY/s1600/IMG_2030.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1qq5NY7m1x7VDo8nnol3p19nA0CwjLPligTYdi3dw-WtPkvdGJdo5ejhtrCLjXVaRV6q-rLX0nWngXIrJtC6OfWpJ1E4fKlbpBsPiys3wGkp2Ci3A01suG8sG-7TGXw_v_XqgPJ4uoVY/s320/IMG_2030.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">So that's not good<br />
<br />
<br /></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhP1bI8XEHaA6VIN47hMB3nW7f_Djz07deI2ZYoiVSUMJNLQwb2MBVGdWqqcJourdZS3bDsWP82YXWKvnUajpoGIJ67sgdBQWbMAXDZt4EiEBtwxHNWTlO-VPqvCbmN5tvaiDk6uKXZguc/s1600/IMG_2032.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhP1bI8XEHaA6VIN47hMB3nW7f_Djz07deI2ZYoiVSUMJNLQwb2MBVGdWqqcJourdZS3bDsWP82YXWKvnUajpoGIJ67sgdBQWbMAXDZt4EiEBtwxHNWTlO-VPqvCbmN5tvaiDk6uKXZguc/s320/IMG_2032.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Which explains a whole lotta this.<br />
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angry buddhisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14739772704439807583noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5556619111785311681.post-35348487111998857912013-06-20T07:29:00.001-07:002013-06-20T07:29:54.917-07:00Welcome back to the pit<div style="text-align: center;">
Well that was interesting.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Took a wee bit off to try my hand at the backside of the industry for a while.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Fuck that,</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
it's an incest ridden clan I can not seem to find my way amongst.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Do things that make you happy they say.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
So I am back wrenching, a lot less pissed and a lot smarter.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
You can teach an old dog new tricks if they want to learn.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
I must want to learn because I am also hitting the books full time as well.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Fifty hour a week job and then some learning off the clock.</div>
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<br /></div>
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Let's get to the smarter.</div>
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I chose where I wanted to work like I would chose where I would want my bike wrenched upon.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Step one.</div>
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<br /></div>
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Would you shit in there?</div>
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Would you let your lady friend sit down on the seat?</div>
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There is a long time myth of really disgusting bathrooms making a shop hardcore.</div>
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Really?</div>
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If they can't be bothered to clean up their own shit you feel good paying them to </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
fix your bike?</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
It's all about attention to detail, personally that is one big detail.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Step two.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
I really have no need for anyone to fix my bike. I can do it just fine.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Now say I was out of town, without tools, and we all know about borrowing tools.<br />
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://yourbikehatesyou.blogspot.com/2011/12/so-you-wanna-sleep-with-another-mans.html">Click</a><br />
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
So where would I bring my bike?</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Probably not to the guy whose shop looks like hell.</div>
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That whole mystique thing is shit.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Probably a good wrench but not with all the carbon, hydro, squish, and computer shit</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
that permeates our industry nowadays.<br />
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
I want to be seen and trusted as a technician -- hell I want to be paid like one as well.<br />
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
So the dirtbagwithattitudeholeinthewall is out.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
I want to serve people who take pride in their bike and want to see me do the same.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Step three.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Interview the shop. </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
wait, what?</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Yeah man. If I am going to spend 9-10 hours a day there I guess I should </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
WANT TO.</div>
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Fuck going to a place I hate everyday, that's why I left the other deal.</div>
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What are the owners about?, the people they hire?, do they have the same goals as I do?</div>
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I don't want to get a check and go, feeding some other guys dream.</div>
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Hell man I want to get some of mine as well.</div>
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Are they in it for the same reasons I am?<br />
<br /></div>
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I prefer to not shlep at a mom and pop. </div>
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Nothing wrong with them but I know where I fit best,</div>
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I want what I want.<br />
<br /></div>
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So I guess I should choose a shop that gets down like I want to get down.</div>
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It's only fair</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
then the people paying me are happy</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
because I am happy.<br />
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Happy is good.<br />
<br />
yourbikehatesyou</div>
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angry buddhisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14739772704439807583noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5556619111785311681.post-87838795355213548772013-01-19T10:24:00.001-08:002013-01-19T10:24:45.217-08:00How to get the shit kicked outta you this weekend...<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>Step one:</b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Enter your local bike shop and saunter up to the wrench.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Wait until he/she is just about to spin a wrench and ask any of the following:</div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
" did you watch it"</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Uh, WTF are you talking about?</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
The porn link my buddy sent me?</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
A1?</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
or this:</div>
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<br /></div>
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<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/z0oV04xAUaI?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
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<br /></div>
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"what do you think about Lance?"</div>
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I'll go with the Drunkcyclist.com on this one</div>
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<b>Step two:</b></div>
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<b><br /></b></div>
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Proceed to ignore being ignored and continue to try to show the </div>
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crew you are in the know, and begin to bedazzle them with your personal insights into</div>
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wecouldgiveafucklesstoday.</div>
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<b>Step three:</b></div>
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<b><br /></b></div>
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This one is simple.</div>
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yougetyourwankerassbeaten</div>
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with this:</div>
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<br /></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitKanW4SZ65t1Usfdd3Je-HObkGbfKBkJvB042_Rg7uWex4X5_XvRzJXS5CqAejQM4PqD_TOw0y_eOa_Znm9g_VOBES6omoZIDqXZ1aQk6oQv9qdZjEzjVum8Lmj6Z_syjS4oyclvmYo4/s1600/LiveJuiced-Deck-mockup2-1.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitKanW4SZ65t1Usfdd3Je-HObkGbfKBkJvB042_Rg7uWex4X5_XvRzJXS5CqAejQM4PqD_TOw0y_eOa_Znm9g_VOBES6omoZIDqXZ1aQk6oQv9qdZjEzjVum8Lmj6Z_syjS4oyclvmYo4/s320/LiveJuiced-Deck-mockup2-1.jpeg" width="81" /></a></div>
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It's nice as hell outside today,</div>
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go ride.</div>
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And keep you mouth shut about Doprah.</div>
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Some of us a nursing a two day bender...</div>
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<a href="http://drunkcyclist.com/2013/01/16/the-oprah-winfrey-lance-armstrong-interview-drinking-game/">death game</a></div>
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angry buddhisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14739772704439807583noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5556619111785311681.post-19550489235167023032013-01-08T17:16:00.001-08:002013-01-08T17:16:36.471-08:00judgement day<div style="text-align: center;">
How do you define your success'?</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Is it having the right worldly possessions, being in full tune with trending technical </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
who ha's ? </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Is it critical for you to be on top of the latest look, cutting edge fashions that are here for a blink?</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
A movement so flighty it changes direction more than butterflies in the wind. </div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Most people I surround myself with are unlike</div>
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the rest of the followers.</div>
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No beat.</div>
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No drum.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Just a wanderlust built into their very soul.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
A passion for doing,</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
hearing the whisper, the faint murmur,</div>
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the thing deep inside that says </div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Hell why not?</div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
A good friend always tells me:</div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
" all you gotta do is do it"</div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Bam.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Think about that for more than a second.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
" all you gotta do is do it".</div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
You have, more than once, become your own worst enemy.</div>
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Chances are that if you are here reading this you are one of the few people</div>
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smart enough</div>
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and strong enough to </div>
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wake the fuck up, and do.</div>
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As a angst ridden punk rock skate rat</div>
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"the trick" would haunt me, taunt me, and on occasion break me.</div>
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No matter how many times I slammed</div>
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something drove me to get up and do it again.</div>
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Deny the pain its place in the body, however briefly. </div>
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It would have to wait,</div>
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because I was going to get it,</div>
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that trick was an obstacle in my path.</div>
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In my world, I conquered, I could out sweat, out slam</div>
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and sure as hell out bleed</div>
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ANY obstacle that was denying me my victory.</div>
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<br /></div>
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<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/lyCcpGdVS0A?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
It's easy to sit there and say it's all too hard.</div>
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Right now you are hopefully drinking a cup of Joe, tea, or whatever lights your daily fire,</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
planning your victories.</div>
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<br /></div>
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Or as the same friend says:</div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
" good bad ideas"</div>
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If you are reading this because you have been behind the monitor for too damn long.</div>
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Get the fuck out and do.</div>
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Plan your next good bad idea by opening the door, grabbing whatever propels you through life,</div>
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and go smash it.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Today's goal was to learn kick flips again and maybe some variations.</div>
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(I learned the opposite of this ^)</div>
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I learned that skating, is like losing a fight every minute.</div>
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There are glimpses of victory. </div>
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Brief respites from gravity's pull.</div>
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But if you are doing it right, most likely you are losing most of the time.</div>
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( insert me there )</div>
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And I'll be damned if that doesn't feel great.</div>
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The other option is quitting.</div>
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In cycling it's the climb.</div>
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Road or mountain.</div>
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It's all the same pain.</div>
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Sure you make it to the top,</div>
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but it wasn't fast enough.</div>
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<br /></div>
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( Straight up, if you Strava that climb, see that Johnny beat you, and then you get shitty, go fuck completely off. YOU should drive yourself to beat YOU. Johnny doesn't even know who the fuck you are.)</div>
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<br /></div>
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So you ride more. </div>
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Push a bigger gear. </div>
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Just smash over the obstacle in your way, floating over it, not letting the earth dictate your pathway upon it. </div>
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You win.</div>
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One more gear.</div>
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Soon your mouth tastes like your own blood. </div>
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Your heart is residing in your ears and pounding out other worldly rhythms.</div>
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The lungs that fuel you are thimbles, more air escapes than can ever hope to enter.</div>
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The top?</div>
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There is never a top. Just a place you quit.</div>
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"all you gotta do is do it."</div>
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<br /></div>
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You judge your accomplishments by the pain you feel in your body the next day.</div>
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That's how you know you are doing it.</div>
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<br /></div>
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yourbikehatesyou<br />
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<br />
teach it some respect.</div>
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angry buddhisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14739772704439807583noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5556619111785311681.post-91026498158028212422013-01-06T09:13:00.005-08:002013-01-06T09:53:16.549-08:00Dirt.Soul.<div style="text-align: center;">
It's the weird time of year for most of us.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Weather tempts us to ride with rays of sun peeking through clouds, but the bitter cold air drives you inward, home bound.</div>
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<br /></div>
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For some it is the best time of year, the desert heat retreats to bring all day long adventure and moderate climate. The rain turns every corner into a slice of pie, freshly cooled and waiting to be sliced.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
I miss that sweet desert smell.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Unless you have experienced it there is no </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
way to describe the way the desert floor smells when the ground can finally drink water.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
I am not talking about the flora.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
I mean the actual dirt, sand, and rock.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Any mountain biker worth their cuts knows what the dirt they ride on smells like.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
It's simply inescapable. </div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
In my youth, earning my scars in Michigan, the earth smelled of death and life itself.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Earth wormy topsoil gave way to leaves rotting on the beach. That is the smell I grew up riding.</div>
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A very unique blend of rich leafy decay hiding sand. </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Your tires cracking open the topsoil gave subtle whiffs of the beach. </div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Spring time brought about the smell of babies.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
How else can you describe the complete onslaught that is Spring in Michigan?</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Rainy, humid days giving way to cotton ball clouds swimming in a sea of perfect blue.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Life erupts from the ground, and from every pore in every cyclist.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
I moved from the world of grey and greenhouse to the Sonoran Desert.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Twice.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
People imagine images of wastelands when you mention the desert. </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Keep thinking that lemmings.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
There is no greater misconception that I know of, and that I welcomed.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
I was fortunate enough to live in the desert during two La Nina/ El Nino phases.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
The desert Flora opens up in ways that are both mystical and unimaginable. </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
The dirt.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Sage, mesquite, and floral bouquets that mingle with your soul as you carve your way</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
further and further away from the well worn path.</div>
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The Sonoran Desert creates a drug that drives you,</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
invites you to push it further,</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
explore that area,</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
drive deeper into yourself and </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
go.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Just go.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
There is no greater spectacle I have experienced on two wheels than</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
the three months of riding created by nature during the La Nina/El Nino phases.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
It is something every rider should be graced with.</div>
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It will fill your soul,</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
encapsulate your body, </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
destroy every preconceived notion you ever had about the desert.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
I am resurrecting myself from the pits of a three week hell. The flu and a sinus infection tag teamed me.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Sub 20 degree winter weather joined in the party for a menage a trois of epic doom and gloom.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
As I am getting older, I realize the body hurts more when not used.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
The bike becomes a temptress dressed as a dungeon, its chain shackling me to the bed, and smothering me in mucous and full body molecular pain.</div>
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<br /></div>
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Yesterdays ride on the front range was as pathetically delicious as one would imagine. </div>
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A terrible performance driven by the joys of sun, warmer temps, and thawing high desert floor.</div>
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I am in a mix of geographic regions. Trees share fields with grass and cacti. </div>
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Dirt is a mix of decaying leaves and granite heaved from the earth.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
My nasal passages hide the beauty of smells from me.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Still plagued with the aftermath of the sinus infection, my body is driving me forward </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
to explore the dirt.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
The smell will come. Its sweetness pangs at my soul.</div>
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For now I will enjoy its feel and sights.</div>
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I will ride until I can experience the hidden treasures of its bouquet. </div>
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I am eagerly awaiting adding another aroma to the palette. </div>
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angry buddhisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14739772704439807583noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5556619111785311681.post-72318233855628237552012-12-31T09:46:00.001-08:002013-01-20T06:36:36.378-08:00Your bike rides should be more fun...<div style="text-align: center;">
By now many of you poor shits are riding in cold. </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Possibly snow.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Oh yea, you got a fat bike.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Sorry 'bout forgetting how badass and ahead of the times you were.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
In case you didn't realize it the Fat Bike craze is...</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Well, Huge as Fuck.</div>
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<br /></div>
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Which makes you a little less cool than you think you are.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Sorry.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
In fact a lot of you think they are for snow only.</div>
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Welcome to the world outside your box.</div>
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<br /></div>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
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Muther truckin pool riding, pedal grinding, and the bastard ain't even fucked with snow yet.</div>
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<br /></div>
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While all that shit is great</div>
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I feel like someone in our high society of bike loving, beer drinking, love making, ass hattery should have thought of this...</div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Like.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
A </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Loooooong time ago.</div>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
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Just get few dumber than your average girls to slut it up and place handle bars on their hips.</div>
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<br /></div>
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Don't worry I am sure they got Fat versions also...</div>
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See?</div>
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( was that mean? )</div>
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angry buddhisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14739772704439807583noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5556619111785311681.post-9293727375946758102012-09-19T20:31:00.002-07:002012-09-19T20:31:22.823-07:00thisbikelovesher<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/N6R-cZB3qwg?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
<br />angry buddhisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14739772704439807583noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5556619111785311681.post-72897256401806178982012-07-01T08:08:00.001-07:002012-07-01T08:08:42.696-07:00Absinthe makes the heart grow fonder....<div style="text-align: center;">
I have switched teams.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPRsJ9O403-2_mc6yBeVmL7OwbbuIqccrGLjl0L_yqBTLrvI3Myr-aVDTGKgmb6y1Cnx_pVbwzu5gQVCapVpDmhiuaTLEQ5gvDqc-VNJHojwKT3L5K8n_y4D_H8qRH46HGm1XUpwqaO0M/s1600/carson-palmer.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPRsJ9O403-2_mc6yBeVmL7OwbbuIqccrGLjl0L_yqBTLrvI3Myr-aVDTGKgmb6y1Cnx_pVbwzu5gQVCapVpDmhiuaTLEQ5gvDqc-VNJHojwKT3L5K8n_y4D_H8qRH46HGm1XUpwqaO0M/s320/carson-palmer.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<br /></div>
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Not in the sense that </div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
that statement now takes form.</div>
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But in another sense.</div>
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<br /></div>
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I have left behind sweltering,</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
pavement contorting,</div>
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face melting </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
heat.</div>
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<br /></div>
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I moved to the mountains.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Out of the frying pan and into the fire,</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
way too literally at this point.</div>
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As most are well aware, this state is one of fire breathing dragons. </div>
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<br /></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhv157Zrpsd34SEy8j0MJljO4csbHiR3g7lqvfN7fd2akxf8RrNKi59cT98ReZ6RhTnAHlz-Frhu-n1fshV4S6ypSjjRvOQLbo1ZKhoQsikihn8HPvDiWpBmm_SW11FAfWX9XJlNuR33NY/s1600/colorado-springs.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="238" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhv157Zrpsd34SEy8j0MJljO4csbHiR3g7lqvfN7fd2akxf8RrNKi59cT98ReZ6RhTnAHlz-Frhu-n1fshV4S6ypSjjRvOQLbo1ZKhoQsikihn8HPvDiWpBmm_SW11FAfWX9XJlNuR33NY/s320/colorado-springs.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Each taking their turn, leaving nothing in their wake.</div>
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These dragons come in many forms,</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
lightening, natures stimulant;</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
an errant car dragging a muffler along;</div>
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my least favorite dragon....</div>
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the two fully engorged douche nozzles</div>
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who decided shooting a full propane tank</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
was what the day called for.</div>
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Igotnothingonstupid.</div>
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<br /></div>
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It was supposed to be my land of dreams.</div>
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Epic rides, leaving behind manicured society,</div>
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and grabbing my bike to bridge the gap between man's control</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
over environment,</div>
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and it's epic dominance of us.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
tuning to the news,</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
both local and national, </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
the stories are of grief</div>
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and flaming.</div>
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<br /></div>
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I learned to ignore, </div>
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grabbed my bike, and head into the hills</div>
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To hide from the false prophet,</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
man.</div>
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<br /></div>
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I turned wheels to trail with an old friend from the waving hand of the north.</div>
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We sought out refuge from the delusion of society.</div>
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We grabbed a few hours worth of escape,</div>
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and realize,</div>
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just pawns in one big chess game. </div>
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<br /></div>
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Which leads me back to switching teams.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
myhandsnolongertoilforthebitch.</div>
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<br /></div>
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I sought refuge from the retail Cussed o mer.</div>
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<br /></div>
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Two jobs ago I lost my soul.</div>
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I started this here writing </div>
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to cleans my mind from the filth I spent my days in.</div>
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That filth was the retail environment I was taking wage from.</div>
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This particular establishment</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
tiptoed around the dollar bill.</div>
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This $$$ was god almighty.</div>
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With it you could do no wrong.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
If you possessed $$$ you ruled the kingdom for as long as you wished.</div>
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You could swear, spit, cuss, and threaten.</div>
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You were always 100% right.</div>
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You had $$$</div>
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<br /></div>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
There was no</div>
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"divorcing the customer"</div>
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" removing the cancer"</div>
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there was only </div>
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$$$.</div>
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Andthatshitruledyourass.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
This was no mom and pop.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
This was </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
corporatefuckinginsuranceandvacationsickdays</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
hell.</div>
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<br /></div>
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Folks I strayed.</div>
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I fell hard for the hook.</div>
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soulwassold.</div>
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<br /></div>
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I lost.</div>
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<br /></div>
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After too long I returned to the flock.</div>
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I found refuge in a mom and pop,</div>
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but there was a catch...</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
another evil????</div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
The beloved Triathelon shop.</div>
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The fall from grace of every wrench...</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
or not.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Brothers and sisters</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
let me tell you it</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
was.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
the.</div>
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best.</div>
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shop.</div>
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I have ever spun a wrench at.</div>
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The Tri geek was extreme here.</div>
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It had much force.</div>
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And it delivered.</div>
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Payed for every recommendation given.</div>
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No arguing over labor charged, if done right,</div>
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and with a mechanics intent</div>
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to make it right</div>
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to make it perform magic.</div>
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This was heaven.</div>
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Evenformyeverlovingmountainbikingass.</div>
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That's right kids,</div>
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I loved a TRI shop.</div>
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And.</div>
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I.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Am.</div>
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Ok.</div>
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<br /></div>
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Then life happened. </div>
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We moved.</div>
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<br /></div>
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And now I work behind the Wizard's curtain.</div>
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<br /></div>
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Industry Job.</div>
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<br /></div>
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yourbikehatesyou</div>
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<br /></div>angry buddhisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14739772704439807583noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5556619111785311681.post-45238432112811495572012-05-25T15:09:00.000-07:002012-05-25T15:09:02.366-07:00Leap Lemmings Leap<br />
<div style="font: 16.0px Times; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; text-align: center;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">We are the circus clowns of the industry.</span></div>
<div style="font: 16.0px Times; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; text-align: center;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">We make no decisions on what people are offered.</span></div>
<div style="font: 16.0px Times; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; text-align: center;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">They flock like sheep to the newest offerings.</span></div>
<div style="font: 16.0px Times; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 19.0px; text-align: center;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span></div>
<div style="font: 16.0px Times; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; text-align: center;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Half of which will never work.</span></div>
<div style="font: 16.0px Times; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; text-align: center;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">(sram front derailleurs).</span></div>
<div style="font: 16.0px Times; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; text-align: center;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">But they are offering it in Black now...</span></div>
<div style="font: 16.0px Times; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 19.0px; text-align: center;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span></div>
<div style="font: 16.0px Times; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 19.0px; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/sram-offer-red-in-black">who is the fool now?</a><br /><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span></div>
<div style="font: 16.0px Times; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 19.0px; text-align: center;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span></div>
<div style="font: 16.0px Times; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; text-align: center;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">The industry works in crazy ways. </span></div>
<div style="font: 16.0px Times; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; text-align: center;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">We think we are different than the rest.</span></div>
<div style="font: 16.0px Times; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; text-align: center;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">We cycle.</span></div>
<div style="font: 16.0px Times; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 19.0px; text-align: center;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span></div>
<div style="font: 16.0px Times; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; text-align: center;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">In fact, we just repackage the same crap in different boxes.</span></div>
<div style="font: 16.0px Times; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; text-align: center;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Anodized bits and pieces anyone?</span></div>
<div style="font: 16.0px Times; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; text-align: center;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">‘Cause that was never done before...</span></div>
<div style="font: 16.0px Times; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 19.0px; text-align: center;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span></div>
<div style="font: 16.0px Times; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; text-align: center;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Neon?</span></div>
<div style="font: 16.0px Times; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; text-align: center;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;">Nope never been done before...</span></div>
<div style="font: 16.0px Times; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; text-align: center;">
<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><br /></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwMZVVgArxpZLmICcRQB0u33Mg6IG_3f2ttEVNgYjpnZjp80AICuhanyCRCCbTjWJlkH1yRh42nK-kMi1circN8kW2OA-l_Eip_oQ6gaBm-__ypvTw80oDs8lLVo5GxUe99uPFOS8-Xr8/s1600/zaskar_4_188.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwMZVVgArxpZLmICcRQB0u33Mg6IG_3f2ttEVNgYjpnZjp80AICuhanyCRCCbTjWJlkH1yRh42nK-kMi1circN8kW2OA-l_Eip_oQ6gaBm-__ypvTw80oDs8lLVo5GxUe99uPFOS8-Xr8/s320/zaskar_4_188.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<br /></div>
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Now I am probably joining the old grumpy guy club,</div>
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but someone has to use their head.</div>
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<br /></div>
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How much more fucking nonsense</div>
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are they going to feed us????</div>
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<br /></div>
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A </div>
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fucking</div>
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<a href="http://www.bicycleretailer.com/news/newsDetail/6831.html">LOT</a></div>
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<br /></div>
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Never ever seen that eh?</div>
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<br /></div>
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<br /><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/UOvJPOgdWzw?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
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<br /></div>
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or...</div>
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<br /></div>
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<a href="http://www.neebu.net/~khuon/cycling/bikes/K2/1999-OzM/smartshock.html">K2</a></div>
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<br /></div>
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So really?</div>
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<br /></div>
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How many more bad ideas are we going to pony up a ton of money for?</div>
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<br /></div>
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I am a betting man.</div>
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And I am willing to bet </div>
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that a shitton of you are</div>
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going to go jump on road disc brakes.</div>
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<br /></div>
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<br /></div>
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Fuck.</div>
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That.</div>
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<br /></div>
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How can I possibly trust that a frame manufacturer</div>
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is going to do their homework?</div>
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<br /></div>
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I mean real fucking work.</div>
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Like for say,</div>
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compensate for some idiot putting too big of a rotor on his bike?</div>
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You know,</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
for more power?</div>
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<br /></div>
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Right. </div>
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<br /></div>
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<br /></div>
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US mechanics know there is more than one idiot out there.</div>
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<br /></div>
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<br /></div>
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<br /></div>
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Like the one who will put SRAM on their bike.</div>
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Let's just say until they can figure out how to make any mountain bike brake work,</div>
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<br /></div>
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Fuuuuuuck that.</div>
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No sir, not me.</div>
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<br /></div>
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<br /></div>
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That shit is dumb.</div>
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<br /></div>
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<br /></div>
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<br /></div>
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Don't get me wrong.</div>
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I like the technology and the advancements.</div>
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<br /></div>
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But slow your fucking roll.</div>
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There is no need for it.</div>
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<br /></div>
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No one needs electronic shifting.</div>
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<br /></div>
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<br /></div>
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Hey.</div>
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<br /></div>
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gobackupthereandreaditagain</div>
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<br /></div>
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Really.</div>
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You</div>
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don't.</div>
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Is it badass. Yup.</div>
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<br /></div>
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But realize, as you continue to vote with your dollars and </div>
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keep up with the fucking Jones',</div>
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<br /></div>
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the rest of us,</div>
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<br /></div>
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live in reality.</div>
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<br /></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxBQ0X_721teCh68E4H_I4WXLxEQFiq7y4JxDXt07bm5lWb5tD5SX7XTTScZiSUA8zT1A61Tyk_2jKNnQWAuCwn0fA3XZTuov87j2E6qOELg4XXEk-qyY5rB61cKgjCQPH4nj1MsIiy6E/s1600/527836_10150699865548926_844348925_9292124_1640208213_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxBQ0X_721teCh68E4H_I4WXLxEQFiq7y4JxDXt07bm5lWb5tD5SX7XTTScZiSUA8zT1A61Tyk_2jKNnQWAuCwn0fA3XZTuov87j2E6qOELg4XXEk-qyY5rB61cKgjCQPH4nj1MsIiy6E/s320/527836_10150699865548926_844348925_9292124_1640208213_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<br /></div>
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What the hell was ever wrong with this?</div>
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<br /></div>
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<br /></div>
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Honestly, its lived longer than most of you, </div>
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and certainly longer than a lot of the media/marketing lemmings</div>
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who are pushing this down your throat hole.</div>
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<br /></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZFEjDfyaTl2_w1Dz2a3Dyrlgi79XnUaP2DzJ64RXG7tdasLry1d9RD7_4J6r4RAFrzcezeiSF5HfnHirMYlK1JmRkJHgIoH4Fz_EkC5RXIMGBXNtJK8TlE-Ks3Tzc7f4UYP7P4fNve7o/s1600/485230_10150730022183926_844348925_9410084_1047241455_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZFEjDfyaTl2_w1Dz2a3Dyrlgi79XnUaP2DzJ64RXG7tdasLry1d9RD7_4J6r4RAFrzcezeiSF5HfnHirMYlK1JmRkJHgIoH4Fz_EkC5RXIMGBXNtJK8TlE-Ks3Tzc7f4UYP7P4fNve7o/s320/485230_10150730022183926_844348925_9410084_1047241455_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<br /></div>
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You going to call an electrician</div>
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or roll down the street to the bike shop?</div>
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<br /></div>
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(trick question asshat, we all know you are loading the Bimmer right now to drive</div>
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two blocks over to Starfucks, and then coming down in a hizzy</div>
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because you just had to win the Tuesdaynightshoprideworldfuckingchampionshits.)</div>
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Bring me a beer.</div>
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I am the one giving you the grimy handshake.</div>
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<br /></div>
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the wrenches speak the truth.</div>
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We get paid either way</div>
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but yelled at only one way.</div>
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yourbikedoesnotneedelectric.</div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><br /></span></div>angry buddhisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14739772704439807583noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5556619111785311681.post-50366894720878916652012-04-25T08:07:00.000-07:002012-04-25T08:07:43.653-07:00Of Whale tails and Mustache rides.....<div style="text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/mj21NTCHaAY" width="420"></iframe>
</div>
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I am all in for creativity.</div>
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<br /></div>
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This gem is pure creativity.</div>
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<br /></div>
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Not too sure about functionality....</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcl9cPFopYBhOb8oFEc4z9sO78-EZykyfWZJYVjv20NxrWyBx7LWL9eLwqzFp5jW12YMSOh0ian-7bFsdCmTnHz381UHUj7GSpBHwe9g6n6SO7nyoax9Q2OGeUxKTcIEV45nASiaeV9LQ/s1600/IMG_1067.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcl9cPFopYBhOb8oFEc4z9sO78-EZykyfWZJYVjv20NxrWyBx7LWL9eLwqzFp5jW12YMSOh0ian-7bFsdCmTnHz381UHUj7GSpBHwe9g6n6SO7nyoax9Q2OGeUxKTcIEV45nASiaeV9LQ/s640/IMG_1067.JPG" width="480" /></a></div>
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Yup.</div>
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<br /></div>
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<br /></div>
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You are seeing that.</div>
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A mustache seat.</div>
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An all day epic aboard a 'stache.</div>
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<br /></div>
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Everybody loves a mustache ride right?</div>
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Everyone except your nuts if you try to get back over the seat.</div>
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<br /></div>
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Right about now there are a handful of</div>
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<a href="http://www.drunkcyclist.com/">Drunkcyclist.com</a> guys trying to imagine</div>
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a scantily dressed lass perched precariously over this "saddle?"</div>
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<br /></div>
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I scoured the interwebbage and could not find anywhere</div>
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to procure this fancy.</div>
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I did find </div>
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</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQBrR7uToOfKqtwpQoVQWuibOXF5HKRfMZ2qFVL-pqgb9oQ7Iak_T59IHjc2IUz8sW8N9agkytwE8KUTM-sSLvuQIhMWamBTiJH8UhaQ3KYsyH1dw122f-xTK72_TVmh_mwXAkuhyzSBw/s1600/l634111739449293616.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQBrR7uToOfKqtwpQoVQWuibOXF5HKRfMZ2qFVL-pqgb9oQ7Iak_T59IHjc2IUz8sW8N9agkytwE8KUTM-sSLvuQIhMWamBTiJH8UhaQ3KYsyH1dw122f-xTK72_TVmh_mwXAkuhyzSBw/s320/l634111739449293616.jpg" width="226" /></a></div>
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<br /></div>
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which seems fair. </div>
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Really.</div>
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<br /></div>
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I found this also.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyQdJhVzaEslSwCWd9tKpu3hTW-vIHbSXf5iNaxOtE7ni6LLaxJotLAUdOf4mvomqRXcn8tAwfnUptXiT1xUzm8t8vq57TERyyUP7v0cvaOnhyphenhyphenGbPy1j1A76ixM0qa0briMmOCxQOBHH4/s1600/il_570xN.243029572.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyQdJhVzaEslSwCWd9tKpu3hTW-vIHbSXf5iNaxOtE7ni6LLaxJotLAUdOf4mvomqRXcn8tAwfnUptXiT1xUzm8t8vq57TERyyUP7v0cvaOnhyphenhyphenGbPy1j1A76ixM0qa0briMmOCxQOBHH4/s320/il_570xN.243029572.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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A bit of tickle added I guess.</div>
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But they are a far cry from the full blown</div>
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saddle sore inducing</div>
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mustache ride</div>
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OG.</div>
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<div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
<br /></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCBtz3PZ35fxq7OnWs5jidcgUy5IHP6a0kcN5ww9l5nCMa1e-Q7PhWgPPxDEkoYectoUipY66nhBz_oOvn22ETYtf5aYslsEZpJ1niee0zuHDuFpljZEPb6XNb22AAe-WswkDRN2Xm3Zs/s1600/IMG_1066.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCBtz3PZ35fxq7OnWs5jidcgUy5IHP6a0kcN5ww9l5nCMa1e-Q7PhWgPPxDEkoYectoUipY66nhBz_oOvn22ETYtf5aYslsEZpJ1niee0zuHDuFpljZEPb6XNb22AAe-WswkDRN2Xm3Zs/s400/IMG_1066.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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Looks like a one off but hell....I'da made a lot of them.</div>
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Sell them like hotcakes I would</div>
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<br /></div>
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I did not try to mount it.</div>
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Seemed a bit odd for me.</div>
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<br /></div>
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I mean who am I to </div>
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ride another man's mustache?</div>
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<br /></div>
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I am full confident in my manhood.</div>
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It was just that</div>
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this </div>
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particular chap.</div>
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<br /></div>
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Was about 6'4.</div>
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and rocking 240lbs.</div>
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<br /></div>
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I was clearly not partaking of his 'stache.</div>
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/BrYzpwN2OSA" width="420"></iframe></div>angry buddhisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14739772704439807583noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5556619111785311681.post-60755141042237849162012-04-13T09:08:00.002-07:002012-04-13T09:08:44.033-07:00This is what we do....<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/NIQbPZXj51E?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
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Sorry. </div>
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I am not cut from the cloth of lemmings.</div>
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There has never been a pied piper playing a tune I </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
felt the need to follow.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
The only suit that has ever fit consists of shorts and t-shirts.</div>
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jeans fall in there from time to time but</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
the point is I wear what fits. </div>
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<br /></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirjot7o58nUoLRY175FbsA_81Xpo-dsn8WdxQ-Q9zu6UceLmy9JSDj3l49wdElfEo4HwH_9xGHAhFWOb-z9uqJ66q6dK4puANtv2mvola84te1DodpoK7Hm6Ti7FYXjtkyv-4_kMscb6s/s1600/DSCN3884.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirjot7o58nUoLRY175FbsA_81Xpo-dsn8WdxQ-Q9zu6UceLmy9JSDj3l49wdElfEo4HwH_9xGHAhFWOb-z9uqJ66q6dK4puANtv2mvola84te1DodpoK7Hm6Ti7FYXjtkyv-4_kMscb6s/s320/DSCN3884.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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My hands are grimy.</div>
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It takes a simple look to know that these are the tools of my trade.</div>
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My hands.</div>
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Cracked.</div>
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Scarred.</div>
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Sometime they betray me,</div>
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they hurt,</div>
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bleed,</div>
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and fail to follow the inputs. </div>
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I have no desire to get the corner office. To punch a 9-5.</div>
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I want to make your bike sing fucking sweet songs.</div>
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Click.</div>
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Whir.</div>
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Swoosh.</div>
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<br /></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNaF4eihVIWEtPMm1MjG8bm5K6plIRH9ZyKVN3oLW3lLHUyDUx55GP3zbe3nPfIKN4gff7ao594h-w5hl1uYJLCOO2f1lkpeF2pEJgRsFr9v56oPKEK8zja3iHgwKfw0N8M0pwidgVxGc/s1600/IMG_1096.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNaF4eihVIWEtPMm1MjG8bm5K6plIRH9ZyKVN3oLW3lLHUyDUx55GP3zbe3nPfIKN4gff7ao594h-w5hl1uYJLCOO2f1lkpeF2pEJgRsFr9v56oPKEK8zja3iHgwKfw0N8M0pwidgVxGc/s320/IMG_1096.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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There is a simple pleasure you can never understand about making a bike sing.</div>
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We wrenches.</div>
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We make your day,</div>
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your night, </div>
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your weekend.</div>
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We make the tool you use to escape, better.</div>
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<br /></div>
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We punch in and grab a Joe,</div>
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clip the apron over our heads,</div>
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and prepare to dive into your filth.</div>
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<br /></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhg3sJN_0XPSeDiRCinEDOrl0esd5tTIKzxZe6v9pJ-FfOHWCr0g3T6QtD-PwviAxPx3aTbMGZmGFpuu1mSu7K91YlIt_ihJ_dj1ks1RYyr85OQ1jc2vcUSO2Xwd9O8X2AUtYBJfD8CzPQ/s1600/IMG_1211.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhg3sJN_0XPSeDiRCinEDOrl0esd5tTIKzxZe6v9pJ-FfOHWCr0g3T6QtD-PwviAxPx3aTbMGZmGFpuu1mSu7K91YlIt_ihJ_dj1ks1RYyr85OQ1jc2vcUSO2Xwd9O8X2AUtYBJfD8CzPQ/s640/IMG_1211.JPG" width="480" /></a></div>
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You never bring us the clean bike.</div>
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Yours is a dirty bastardized version of what it should be.</div>
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You are too busy to notice, </div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
the bike becomes the street urchin spanging ( that's begging ).</div>
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<br /></div>
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You only notice when it makes a noise or goes flat.</div>
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Wrenches become the police you call to rectify the distaste.</div>
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<br /></div>
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Your lack of preparedness causes us grief you'll never understand.</div>
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Wrenches aren't there to be holier than tho.</div>
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We just turn.</div>
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Turn tubes,</div>
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turn tires,</div>
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turn gears,</div>
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forever spinning in a tornado of dust,</div>
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sports drink crystals, </div>
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and your pure fucking filth.</div>
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<br /></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgX2hhFPJQ8zTVKWLkaHpIp8oX5qZAIM9tCRe_XbezjkUP5J-71kdIX5CHHH7jDCtrwatQcTal-Hldvm4QbVEPzmWGwBtxuv8AVfDVZ9TAtcQDG7KyLC7hggHcldU6kMthyphenhyphenmolbg4lH3fk/s1600/IMG_1314.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgX2hhFPJQ8zTVKWLkaHpIp8oX5qZAIM9tCRe_XbezjkUP5J-71kdIX5CHHH7jDCtrwatQcTal-Hldvm4QbVEPzmWGwBtxuv8AVfDVZ9TAtcQDG7KyLC7hggHcldU6kMthyphenhyphenmolbg4lH3fk/s640/IMG_1314.JPG" width="480" /></a></div>
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All we ask is some respect.</div>
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We make pocket change for wages,</div>
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life ain't all about the greenbacks.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
It's about doing for those who cannot,</div>
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shredding the proper piss outta whatever two wheeled device</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
puts a rise in your pants</div>
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or a wetspot in your underlings.</div>
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For wrenches...</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
its.</div>
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about.</div>
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fixing.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
It's Friday.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Bring </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
your</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
mechanic</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
a </div>
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cold</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
sixer.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
yourbikehatesyou.</div>
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<br /></div>
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<br /></div>
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<br /></div>
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<br /></div>angry buddhisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14739772704439807583noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5556619111785311681.post-87220898876925979782012-02-14T07:09:00.000-08:002012-02-14T07:09:09.896-08:00Dead Weight....<div style="text-align: center;">
Say you are a weight lifter.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
( which is dumb shit to do...pay money to join a gym and lift weights. I mean for fucks sake,</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
you can pick up rocks for free.)</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
You are looking to add a little cardio to your routine,</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
drop some chub and get a bit of fitness.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Running would be shit when you weigh</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
260 and don't have a neck. That would <a href="http://313merch.com/313_shirt_order/bod.html">suck a bag of dicks</a>.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
So logically a bike is in order.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
But fuck man use some sense. Not this bike.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
This is a cousin to </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><i><u>The Shitbike.</u></i></b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
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Take a look at the whale dick err seat beam.</div>
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That ain't gonna work forever, or maybe it will, but I am not willing to test it.</div>
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I certainly have a neck, and am fond of me nether regions, so sure thing buddy</div>
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take your 260+ pound 'roid ridden ass and plop it down on the beam.</div>
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Them Aero Bars are sweet.</div>
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Choo borrow them from Lemond?</div>
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I have rarely, if ever, discouraged anyone from riding a bike.</div>
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This time I had to.</div>
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Imagine how many people muscle guy would have beat the shit out of?</div>
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I mean a big mass of man muscle pedaling around on this?</div>
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Tell me you could refrain from laughing.</div>
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<b><i><u><br /></u></i></b></div>angry buddhisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14739772704439807583noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5556619111785311681.post-1750956773427908812012-02-05T09:34:00.000-08:002012-02-05T09:34:38.532-08:00<div style="text-align: center;">
Some shops have a lot of extra time on their hands....</div>
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<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/MdVIygsjF9c?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
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most of the shops I ever spun wrenches in </div>
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are too busy to play with that type of nonsense.</div>
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But hey,</div>
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It's still a better use of a trainer than sitting still and pedaling </div>
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for hours on end</div>
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with no </div>
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differentiation between you and a </div>
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hamster.</div>
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thanks Dirty for the link.</div>angry buddhisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14739772704439807583noreply@blogger.com0