Long Strange Trip

Where the hell have I been? There are a shitload of dustballs collecting on this god forsaken blog for crying out loud. Well, fear not dear severely declining readership, I hope to right this ship and set sail once again with weekly posts.

The past few months have been nothing short of a barrage of North American globetrotting and time strapped weekends. I like the adventure, but the airports, road food, and maybe even a lingering dislike for Indianapolis have taken a mild toll on my psyche. Regardless of all the time away, I managed some good riding and photographing. Updates will be following shortly, though the Interbike insights are now about as old as down tube shift bosses (and not nearly as "hawt".)

Speaking of Interbike...aww hell, I may as well divulge. In short, it's the same sausage party I attended back in the 90's, except the cool people have floppy hair and a boner for all things deemed dorky and lame by yours truly. In '96 I was the opposite, a dorky introvert that was into stuff deemed "cool" by yours truly. Funny, how things change in all sorts of ironic ways.

Things I liked:

- Pegoretti bikes. They still get the blood pumping below my navel
- Maurizio Fondriest. He's elegant, classy, and don't speaka the English.
- Eddy Merckx. As if I even had to say that.
- Phil Wood stainless steel outboard bottom bracket cups.
- SRAM Rival. Looks good, feels good, priced good.
- CROSS VEGAS! Awesome race and atmosphere...the free beers helped a bit too.
- Deda Supernatural handlebar. Fit and finish is second to none.
- Campagnolo wheels. I still think they make 'em best.
- DT Swiss white hubs available separately from the Mon Chasseral wheelset. White is PRO even if you don't think so (When asked about 32 and 36 hole availability, I got the standard non answer, but what do I care, I'm 130 lbs for christ' sake)
- Seeing old friends, comped beer and meals.
- Mavic rims. Still the best.
- Time carbon frames. If I only had a shitload of money...

Things I wasn't so crazy about:

- Chris King might make some ingeniously cool stuff, but he's kind of a dick.
- Shimano DI2. It works as advertised as far as I could tell, but come the fuck on.
- The douchebag mafia. Is it so hard to be civilized?
- 11 speed. Really? 11? Really?
- Still no Open 4 CD reissue in Mavic's line. Shame.
- The outer fringes. Still lame, lame, lame.
- Fixed gear realness posturing. I throw up in my mouth when I see those flashy catalogs touting gritty urban zen underground roots.
- The death of the polished silver gruppo.

Until next time...