*to Hanlon's razor: Never attribute to malice that which is adequately explained by stupidity.
Κυνόσαργες

Saturday 28 July 2012

Road biking is boring


Rode 95km today. I think I've decided road biking is boring. Maybe I have had too much stimulus dodging traffic on a fixed-gear. Maybe I am getting sick of the godawful noise and stench of cars, and that my life relies upon the attention, IQ and goodwill of the common driver. Maybe I do not find the idea of going home to Ontario to 80km limit roads people drive 110km, which do not have paved shoulders. Well, saves me the cost of replacing my road bike in Canada.

We're meant to think road biking is experienced like the picture here.
But there are a few things wrong with the picture:
- more men than women ride
- most of us do not live near the Dolomites, or similar
- have the time to ride in it
- much less fly out to it
- and where are all the fucking cars?

No, here is where I get to ride in Tokyo.

But I shouldn't complain, because here is where I get to ride in Toronto.

I'm still well into commuting by bike, which will need a new fixed-gear in Toronto, and I am still going to keep a toe into road biking in Japan: Fuji 100km circle ride in September, some mountain rides and a brevet or two.  I am well finished with any notion of distance road biking in Ontario:
- few paved shoulders
- fuckwit drivers
- straight paved roads
- safer 'rail trails' are dead straight and without hills
- uninteresting scenery
- 'roadies' are dicks

To go along with my 'breeder-bike', I will just get two more when I go home:
-the fixed gear for commuting through eight-months of the year, and unglazed days of the winter:

- the Krampus for the winter four months, and the trails in and out of the city for all twelve.

I'll sell both the fixed gear and the road bike in Japan.  I'd planned to keep the road bike here, but in summer when I'd visit it's too hot even to ride.  Selling both I should get the cost of the fixed-gear in Canada.

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