I have to say, blogging isn't as easy as it may seem. Writing these posts taxes the limits of my wit and vocabulary; all in an effort to bring you the craftiest diatribes while simultaneously looking busy at 'work'. Like a rider of the pro-peloton, I have to be 'on', or 'in form' to opine both cynically and humorously. Yesterday's crummy weather helped to convince me that I ought to take it as a day off the bike to let my legs rest up. Unfortunately, that always results in me feeling lazy and useless, destroying any ambition I might have had for the day.
Monday, however I did ride in and enjoyed it very much! I have been noticing construction equipment accumulating at the base of the Manhattan Bridge for some time now and have been curious what the fuss is all about. That morning they were moving around plastic jersey barriers which have recently replaced the fencing that forced bridge users to use this strange switchback thing off Forsyth St. instead of riding directly onto the bridge.
I inquired about the planned construction from this fellow (who was none-too pleased that I was snapping photos of him), and he confirmed that indeed the DOT has heard the lamentations of cyclists! No longer will we be forced to strangle our brake-levers coming off the bridge! No longer will we have to negotiate four tight turns and an two traffic lights!
This may also help alleviate cyclist/chinatown tension which, as we can see from this video, is boiling over in places nearby (for the record, that video counts toward tomorrow's KIRT post in the event I can't find anything more shocking, haha).
On Gothamist there is a blurb about a City Room article regarding cycling-under-the-influence and the legality of doing so. It seems as though a group has organized a 'Bike to the Bars' event to be held in concert with Bloomberg's landmark dedication of July as 'Good Beer Month'! They will ride to 10 bars and presumably become drunk on good beer throughout the ride.
Though one should be careful when sporting and ingesting controlled substances, as we learned from noted lush and skiing enthusiast Tom Boonen recently. While not technically illegal in the US, biking under the influence (BUI), I can say from experience, is not a smart thing to do. My previous stance on booze x cycling collabo's was one of indifference, assuming that like salmon, drunk cyclists were a self-thinning population.
That was, of course, until I rode home one night in a cycling x weed x beer collabo and nearly died running a red light on Flatbush ave around midnight. Yeah, it made quite a scene and the driver rightly admonished my poor life-choices. Interestingly, the police cruiser stopped behind me at the light did absolutely nothing about it, I assume because the situation had diffused itself and my ears were already red with embarrassment without their help.
I can assure you I have, from then on, closely monitored my inebriation when a bike has been my ticket home.
Another thing to shy away from is blood doping. While I don't think transcendent experiences are the norm for blood dopers, it sure must be trippy narrowly losing the Giro d'Italia and then possibly being stripped of second-place 'glory'. That's right, you gathered correctly... Danilo Diluca, the man who wore the pink jersey throughout the beginning of the Giro this year, tested positive for EPO, namely: CERA (whatever that is).
Of course, he's vehemently denying these positives. I would too. I think the only thing more damaging to a sporting career than getting caught elevating your rate of oxygen uptake, is having to admit to having Cera in your heart. Though good thing I'm not pro because to tell you the truth, Cera's in my heart too. I loved his befuddlement when Juno told him she was preggers, not to mention his moving portrayal of a love-lorn high schooler in Superbad... man that movie was neat-o!
No comments:
Post a Comment