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me and a few of my workmates are registered – any Scrabblers interested?
Oh man, there’s gonna be so many hipsters there, even if I thought I was in remotely good enough shape to do such a thing, I think I’d be too infuriated to take part.
John said:Oh man, there’s gonna be so many hipsters there, even if I thought I was in remotely good enough shape to do such a thing, I think I’d be too infuriated to take part.
watching videos of last year’s event, it looks like it thins out well and riding isn’t too bad at all. i’m going to start training for it this week.
i’ve mostly gotten over letting the possible presence of hipsters dictate my activities. mostly.
Cool! I registered last week!
Is it a race? I hope it’s a race.
I didn’t see too many hipsters in the video for last year’s tour.
It seems like they’re moving a little on the slow side, no? Maybe I’ll win!
If I had a bike and a desire to ride it 42 miles at one time I would do this.
Paris said:Cool! I registered last week!
Is it a race? I hope it’s a race.
i’m pretty sure it’s just a ride. i won’t be racing.
I would guess less hipsters will be visible than hardcore bikers who wear the head-to-toe spandex gear and clog along in their stupid little clip-on shoes.
I am not a fan of hardcore cyclists. Especially when they yell at me for walking with my ipod at Forbidden Drive as they zoom by. I can hear you, asshole! Also, slow the fuck down!
One day I’m going to clothesline one of those sons of bitches. Or at the very least, throw a stick into their spokes.
I plan to be in Philly that day with everyone else in Philly who says they will be running the Broad Street. Ha. I am an exercise snob.
Suzanne said:I would guess less hipsters will be visible than hardcore bikers who wear the head-to-toe spandex gear and clog along in their stupid little clip-on shoes.
I am not a fan of hardcore cyclists. Especially when they yell at me for walking with my ipod at Forbidden Drive as they zoom by. I can hear you, asshole! Also, slow the fuck down!
One day I’m going to clothesline one of those sons of bitches. Or at the very least, throw a stick into their spokes.
I plan to be in Philly that day with everyone else in Philly who says they will be running the Broad Street. Ha. I am an exercise snob.
tell me how you really feel, suz! luckily i’m not yet a hardcore biker but when i am (haha), i will watch out for your sticks.
i’m kind of pissed that it’s the same day as the BSR, otherwise our little group would definitely be a bit bigger.
Suzanne said:
One day I’m going to clothesline one of those sons of bitches. Or at the very least, throw a stick into their spokes.
I have to say, this has made me like you at least 4 times as much as I already did. It’s a side of Sue I haven’t yet been introduced to and I like it.
John said:Suzanne said:
One day I’m going to clothesline one of those sons of bitches. Or at the very least, throw a stick into their spokes.
I have to say, this has made me like you at least 4 times as much as I already did. It’s a side of Sue I haven’t yet been introduced to and I like it.
dude – suz is a fucking assassin who can and will kill anyone who gets in her way, especially when it comes to fitness. true story.
Thanks John! and Mandy! I hate bikers! Please don’t become one of the hardcore ones, they just totally suck and think the world should get out of their way.
I try to be nice most of the time and not offend anyone and look at topics from all angles, but I cannot abide the jerkiness of bikers. Ugh.
this is tomorrow! i stopped training a couple of weeks ago due to so many other events going on (mostly involving drinking), yay!
i can’t wait to get all dressed up in my lame required bright green vest, special stickered helmet & padded shorts that make me look like i shit myself. bicycling is fucking sexy.
So how did this go?
John said:Oh man, there’s gonna be so many hipsters there, even if I thought I was in remotely good enough shape to do such a thing, I think I’d be too infuriated to take part.
How did I miss this 3 months ago? Hipsters denying their own hipsterism is the new conservatives saying “I’m really more of a libertarian.”
Own it. Embrace it. But even if you don’t, I’m still going to refer to you as “my hipster brother in law.”
I’ve always thought that a combination of my poor fashion sense, game/computer nerdery, married homeowner status, and complete lack of enthusiasm about 9/10ths of the albums Pitchfork reviews sort of immunized me to such labels. I guess music and food snobbery are weighted.
No way. First off the first 2 things you mention (poor fasion/computer nerdery) are just enough so to be in the “check” column for hipsterism. They would only not be if by both of those things if you meant you were like the dudes from King of Kong. But being as how that’s not the case…..you’re just enough on both fronts to be in the hipster column.
The married/homeowner thing loses you points, but the fact that you freelance negates those anti-hipster points. Then factor in peripherals like the beard, the glasses, the politics, the all around cultural snobbery, and despite your protestations the fact that you do like way more Pitchfork/blogosphere endorsed bands/albums than not……..there’s just no denying it.
I beard I’ll give you, and even the music (cause while I totally disagree with you on your ratios, I’ll just accept that liking any of those bands is a check). The glass I can’t help. I can’t see without them and I can’t do contacts without gagging (I tried them for a month. I actually gagged putting them in my eyes).
But the rest of that is nonsense. And hell, you helped make me this way. That makes you just as hipstery as me. And hell, you’ve got hip kids. That’s the ultimate hipster accessory, second only to the famed white belt.
You could be right. I won’t argue. But at my advanced age it’s slightly less of an affront to be called anything with “hip” in any part of the word.
Of course at my advanced age just not wearing jorts with tucked in shirts and/or listening to Nickelback or Dave Matthews puts one well above the grading curve on hipdom.
are you guys done? christ.
it was mostly awesome. there were points of horrible stopping & walking as they managed the massive crowds, but the “hipster” factor was nearly zero as it’s difficult to look cool wearing a required helmet & bright green event vest. plus there were families on tandems everywhere as well as fully-decked pros in their penis-hugging gear.
once it got going, it was definitely a cool tour. Broadway was closed for all traffic but bikes and it was fantastic riding down a motor-empty main NYC street and passing Radio City Music Hall on my beater. the various bridges made me want to kill myself, especially towards the end, but even with the random standstills & a few short breaks to fill-up on water, i finished the 42 miles in about 5 hours. i’m definitely doing the Philly ride in September.
mandy said:are you guys done? christ.
Hey, we were waiting for an answer on how it was, and you didn’t respond so we had to kill the time somehow and what better way than making fun of John?
Seriously though, this sounds like it was really cool. Was it more of a casual ride, or was it pretty hardcore?
Kevin said:mandy said:are you guys done? christ.
Seriously though, this sounds like it was really cool. Was it more of a casual ride, or was it pretty hardcore?
it was definitely far more on the casual side than hardcore, but there was more than enough opportunity to pull ahead of the pack if you so desired. one of the guys i was with rode a fixed-gear and basically pedaled the entire way without stopping, so i think he’s part robot (he finished about 2 hours before me). lots of families with kid trailers & older people on rented bikes, but also quite a few “pros”.
I just started looking for a new bike on craigslist. There are too many places near me that aren’t quite walking distance, but too close to not feel lazy and wasteful when driving. I’m torn between getting some sort of racing/mountain bike and a BMX. I doubt I’d still be able to do any of the tricks and whatever I used to do on my BMX and frankly I’d probably end up hurting myself. But it just seems so fun…
John said:I just started looking for a new bike on craigslist. There are too many places near me that aren’t quite walking distance, but too close to not feel lazy and wasteful when driving. I’m torn between getting some sort of racing/mountain bike and a BMX. I doubt I’d still be able to do any of the tricks and whatever I used to do on my BMX and frankly I’d probably end up hurting myself. But it just seems so fun…
i converted my 10ish-year old mountain bike from Target into a road bike. changed out the tubes/tires (slicks), put on better pedals & seat and added a basket. i love it.
I have more than enough things to futz around with. I’d rather something just work.
I rode the fixed-gear that I built. And I finished around 3 hours, 20 minutes. It’s tough on account of the bottlenecking in Central Park. The crowd actually dismounted for about 15 minutes.
There were 32,000+ riders. I’m not too sure (given my starting point), but if the race started at 9:00am, I didn’t start moving until about 9:40am. Sooo many people.
I loved the sheer numbers because I always had someone to chase/pass. I think that’s reason I rode much harder than I ever had before. Usually, my solo rides don’t come with any pacing.
Riding through the tunnel section of the FRD Drive was great. Everyone was making crazy noises and having fun with the echo. The views from the bridges and the BQE were just beautiful.
At one point, just a mile or so before the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge, a crisp sea breeze kicked up. It seriously felt like the road was air-conditioned. That was pleasant for the final push.
I actually had a harder time with the Queensboro Bridge than the Verrazano-Narrows. The Queensboro was steeper and more crowded. I had trouble getting my momentum going because of all the other people struggling to change gears.
Overall super fun ride. So scenic. I was only bummed in the beginning with the major traffic.
Oh and there was a cycler pulling a small platform with a pole coming out of it. On the platform was a helmeted, contortionist-type performing acrobatic stunts. I wonder if they made it the whole way.
that was a far better recap, Paris. i definitely enjoyed all of that in between wanting to die. by next year, i’ll have put in a lot more miles on my bike in training than i did this time.
Paris said:Oh and there was a cycler pulling a small platform with a pole coming out of it. On the platform was a helmeted, contortionist-type performing acrobatic stunts. I wonder if they made it the whole way.
i’m pretty sure she was a stripper. bits of her ass & tits were definitely hanging out provocatively. though, she wasn’t wearing a helmet the couple of times i passed them/they passed me.
John said:I have more than enough things to futz around with. I’d rather something just work.
there was close to zero futzing around to get it road-worthy (switching out parts takes minutes). most of the futzing was virtual and through a local bike shop getting opinions & parts. you’ll probably find you’ll want to do a little bit of futzing to get a seat that doesn’t kill your taint and tires that work for commuting or road travel, as knobbly mountain bike tires are shitty for that.
then again, i love researching & messing about with bikes, so maybe you’ll be fine with a straight purchase. whatever you do, we should definitely drink & ride and get chased down by bike cops!
my “official” photos are up. i managed to flip-off the cameras in at least two of them.
mandy said:my “official” photos are up. i managed to flip-off the cameras in at least two of them.
Neat! Here are mine. I don’t know which one to get!
Paris said:mandy said:my “official” photos are up. i managed to flip-off the cameras in at least two of them.
Neat! Here are mine. I don’t know which one to get!
nice ones! i’m not getting any of them, as they’re way too overpriced. i’ll just steal what i can.
Yea wow, $52 and I have to buy them all.
Bike helmets are awful things. Oddly, the lamer the helmet, the more natural it looks (to me). Are you allowed to wear a football helmet? If so, I’d be into biking. Like an old kicker helmet with the single facebar. That would be awesome.
and one shoeless foot!!
kevin! when are we doing our bike ride?
OOH! This sounds like fun!
For those of you who like biking, and beer, I’m organizing a “beater bike tour” through the city. Basically a pub crawl on bikes. Cheap bikes.
Also, Hutch. Did you get a bike? If you want, my BF is one of the Managers at D&Q, he could probably hook you up with a pretty nice bike at a good price.
What’s D&Q? I would totally take you up on that offer. I still need to get one.
Danseizen & Quigley – it’s on Rte. 70 right next to 295. Let me know what you’re looking for, and I’ll see if he can find a closeout, or a last year’s model.
Also, every summer (you just missed it), they have a bike swap where the rich people who can afford new bikes every year, sell their old ones.
Worse comes to worse, the people that work there are always buying new bikes and selling their old ones for scratch.
I don’t think they sell many BMX bikes, mostly road, mountain, hybrid and “city” bikes.
I’d love a BMX cause they’re fun, but they just don’t feel worth the cost and they’re not very good for transportation. Mostly I just want something sturdy and inexpensive that I can get around in relative speed with.
Maybe a mountain bike, then. Especially if you plan on taking it up curbs and off the road/sidewalk. Plus you’d probably enjoy taking it out in the woods every once in a while.
luke said:kevin! when are we doing our bike ride?
I’ll map something out, maybe get a few sponsors