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metric modulation
on the road to debbie's, having turned right, once over the bridge at bridgend (not, as you might think, the bridge that gave the village its name), the road twists and turns just a smidgeon, before beginning its curve around the top of the loch. several years ago, on the left-hand bend as you pass the entrance to whin park, a number of cars, including a police car, overcooked the corner and slid into the roadside ditch. obviously enough, considering that police drivers are reckoned to be a few levels above the man in the street, this brought accusations against both the road surface and the (actually, non-existent) camber, and immediate calls for the council to remedy the situation.
no doubt with a nudge of pressure from the long-arm-of-the-law, this resulted in a reputedly expensive, hard-wearing, tactile surface being laid in order to improve traction on a section of road that has existed for more years than anyone can remember. at the time, i still owned a motor car, and had need of travelling that section of road twice every alternate week. i cannot say that i ever found any iniquitous tribulations herding me towards the well-used ditch, but then, i was never one to drive at more than 40mph in a straight line; considerably less if the road varied from the straight and narrow.
that, in essence was the nub of the problem. with modern cars seemingly designed to isolate the occupants from their surroundings, it is quite possible to drive at an impressive speed without realising. thus, when reaching a bend in the road, such as that described above, at a velocity not in keeping with either the radius or the road surface's supported co-efficient of friction, there's little doubt that the car is going to accept the proffered invitation from the ditch.
it's a fair cop, but society is to blame.
except that it manifestly isn't. sited usually behind the steering wheel, is a set of data, displayed in either digital or analogue format, informing the driver at what speed the car is travelling, always assuming that such data is observed, in preference to the in-car entertainment system. as frequently pointed out during the driving test, there are distinct limits as to which velocity is advisable relevant to a specific set of road conditions.
long have the velocipedinal powers that be, served their best to inform the average road cyclist as to a set of parameters specific to the bike ride under consideration. those, it must be admitted, are hardly there to obviate any trips to the nearest ditch, predominantly on the basis that the regular cyclist is more in touch with their immediate environment. why, only yesterday morning, while partaking of the regular wind-strafed sunday ride, the garmin affixed to the ritchey handlebars unobtrusively advised me of the time of day, the distance travelled, actual and average speed, the number of calories expended, the ambient temperature, the gradient up which i was grovelling at the time, and the percentage of battery life remaining.
all pretty much ignored in favour of enjoying the bike ride.
the more conscientious amongst the peloton are likely to upload such information to strava the minute the bike has been stored in the bikeshed. though you may think i doth protest too much, since i do not wear a watch when out riding, the only figure in which i'm specifically interested, is that displaying the time of day. it would never do to arrive late home for another repeat episode of 'columbo'. simply a matter of priorities.
but it appears that the continued rise of the ubiquitous e-bike has brought a new frame of reference. according to the instruction manual that arrived with the specialized turbo vado last year, the machine would simply remain in the persona of a normal analogue bicycle were the bar-mounted computer not in place. however, the latter mostly shows speed, distance battery level and which e-mode is in place, transforming me into little better than a clock-watcher, afraid that i might find myself several kilometres from home, with a pressing need to pedal a heavy bicycle with no electric-assist.
however, cycle augmentationists (i just made up that word) at wahoo, have announced an update to their elemnt gps computers, allowing them to be paired with select giant and specialized e-bikes, as well as with ant+ and lev equipped bicycles (though the latter will be able to access only core data from the latter). according to wahoo product manager, megan powers, "With more cyclists choosing e-bikes to make commuting easier or to make recreational riding more fun, we're excited to offer an update that will allow Elemnt GPS computers to better serve those riders."
no doubt that is what passes for excitement at wahoo towers, but in the light that there will be arguably less-experienced bike riders in charge of heavy, easily accelerated bicycles, surely it would be more prudent to minimise the amount of information that might possibly distract those electric commuters midst early morning or late evening traffic? and oddly enough, the elemnt gps computer under discussion would appear simply to replicate the information already available from the supplied computer, without which, i believe, the bicycle will not function in the first place.
i am, and not for the first time, electronically, dazed and confused.
monday 16 march 2020
..........................................................................................................................................................................................................some light in an ever-darkening tunnel
i really ought to know better by now, but the faintest hint of optimism is often hard to avoid, only for it to be utterly destroyed when least expected. i refer once again, of course, to the weather. as i sat through a friday afternoon pixel-wrangling session in the office, all around assured me that the forecast for the weekend was looking just ginger-peachy. this was reinforced on saturday by the early morning weather forecast on radio four. however, if what i experienced after lunch at debbie's was 'a brighter outlook for the west, with only occasional light showers and milder conditions', then i would have cheerfully invited the weatherman to have joined me on my post-lunch bike ride to see how he liked them apples, mister.
you will no doubt have inferred from my opening paragraph, that the weather was neither dry nor warm, an assumption in which you would be proved right on the money. thankfully, experience has taught that, at least until we're past easter, a waterproof jacket, overshoes and a spare pair of gloves are hardly optional, so the damage was a tad less than it could have been, not to mention the thermal gilet 'neath the jacket. the latter was an accessory i thought would prove surplus to requirements, but one easily stuffed into a back pocket should that have proved to be the case.
it wasn't and it didn't.
however, these are trivial moans, for at least i managed to get out on my bike in the first place, something many of the world's professional riders might find hard to do in the immediate short term. the covid-19 pandemic has, so far, cancelled all racing in belgium for the month of march, while i would imagine both the ronde van vlaanderen and paris-roubaix are hanging by a thread. and not until 3 april will we learn the re-scheduled dates for this year's giro d'italia.
locally, both laphroaig and bowmore distilleries have cancelled all tours and closed their visitor centres, and meetings are being held to consider the likelihood of holding this year's islay whisky festival at the end of may. all these situations conspire to make for a very dark tunnel, to say nothing of the sword of damocles hanging over everyone's health.
however, one sliver of light in this firmament of pessimism was yesterday's mid-south gravel race held in stillwater, oklahoma. as a point of interest, winner of last year's dirty kanza, colin strickland was taking part, clad in a particularly fine looking race kit, provided by rapha custom, with design features mirrored by a custom paint job on his allied able gravel bike. the bike and kit, augmented by his own sterling efforts, took him to second place, some nine minutes behind payson mcelveen.
though many an avowed custom-designed race kit turns out to be a smidgeon on the underwhelming side, the design featured on strickland's jersey and shorts is somewhat unique. though i would scarcely consider myself amongst the foremost cycling kit designers, i'm happy to admit that, left to my own devices, i'd never have come up with something like this in a month of sundays. unfortunately, we might have to wait that long to purchase replica kit from rapha's online shop.
however, continuing the theme of light at the end of a tunnel, those of you who hold membership of the rapha cycle club can currently pre-order a replica of strickland's custom-painted gravel bike on a first-come, first-served basis. it's a bike with a noticeable difference; the drive-side chainstay sits above the chain (surely calling into question, the name 'chainstay'?) with 'gravel' unquestionably the word of the year, that may well be an option you'd like to take up, ensuring that, even if victory is snatched from beneath you, substance and style will be yours for the taking.
just so that you've got something to look forward to.
sunday 15 march 2020
..........................................................................................................................................................................................................1984
1984 was different, not only because george orwell prophesied it as the year when big brother would become the pinnacle of human oppression. as we now know, not only did his prophesy fail to match the political climate of the day, the title was only arrived at by orwell's switching of the last two digits of the year in which the book was written (though it wasn't published until the following year).
in retrospect, 1984 could also be highlighted as the tenuous beginnings of a markedly different era at the tour de france. for 'twas the year in which a diminutive glaswegian garnered not only the highest ever placing in paris, but the first british rider ever to win one of the event's principal jerseys. riding for the peugeot team, robert millar won both the king of the mountains jersey, as well as stage 11, to finish in fourth place overall. it might be stretching credibility to place robert at the start of the recent british success story, considering it would be twenty-five years before prince bradley equalled that fourth place. wiggins subsequently took the brit-crown three years later, standing atop the highest step on the podium. however, with hindsight and a distinctly partisan point of view, those north of the border, at least, consider robert to be the first in that hypothetical line.
of course, in essence, robert millar is no more. that place has been taken by philippa york, a woman who has arguably preserved robert's je ne sais quoi, often supplanted by a healthy and often hilarious sense of humour. but those of you who have seen granada tv's documentary, the high life' in which a film crew followed millar's less than successful 1985 tour, will no doubt have felt sympathy for the hapless journalist tasked with enquiring after his performance, while the scottish rider sits on the tailgate of a team car, divesting himself of the day's combative apparel. if the journalist's questions were answered at all, they were replied to mostly in as few disinterested words as possible.
in an earlier interview, i asked pippa about her reputation for being 'difficult' in situations such as the above. "I think journalists found me difficult because I couldn't be doing with inane questions, so they got inane answers back as a result." however, she also once mentioned in correspondence that the scots often had a reputation as somewhat 'sullen', so she had used that persona as a suitable defence. i'm sure many of us in the homeland have taken a leaf from that particular book.
so, while philippa enjoys her 'new' life, still connected to the sport of professional cycling, yet no longer a part of its internal (some would say 'infernal') machinations, there are still many present day cycling fans who revere and celebrate the achievements of a scots rider abroad, who triumphed in circumstances substantially different to those taken for granted by the contemporary world tour rider. millar's palmares is all the more impressive when you realise that english-speaking riders were few and far between in the 1980s, and that it would be another five years before joining team-z would see him in the same bus as greg lemond. in other words, millar's was very much a singular do-it-yourself attitude.
and that's very much at the core of the robert millar appreciation group that has surfaced on facebook recently, curated by brian gibb (of thecyclejersey.com fame), and drew wilson. aside from encouraging fans to post images from and recollections of millar's sterling career, they have released a t-shirt with pippa's blessing (and signature), inspired by that 1984 mountains classification victory. twenty-five percent of all profits from the shirt will be donated to a charity or organisation of pippa's choice.
the first recipient of such monies will be christina mackenzie who, this coming july, will make an attempt on the land's end- john o'groats women's world record, while raising funds for alzheimer's research. approximately £7 from each jersey sale, between now and july, will be donated to this specific cause. if you too, are amongst those enamoured by the cycling exploits and successes of robert millar, you might like to consider the purchase of one of these quality t-shirts, secure in the knowledge that the proceeds are being sent in the right direction. i've included links below to the t-shirt sales page, along with a link to the appreciation group's facebook page.
no tartan was harmed in the making of this t-shirt.
robert millar t-shirt | robert millar appreciation group
saturday 14 march 2020
..........................................................................................................................................................................................................when necessity becomes the mother of invention
i apologise for once again, harping on about pipe bands, even if it's only in an oblique manner. practice night in the village was formerly designated as a thursday, before being changed to a less convenient (for me, at least) monday evening. the specified reason for this was that of economy; after all, the band is scarcely a commercial concern and any means of saving money ought best be fully explored. however, the new premises, in the baptist church hall, turned out to be less than convenient, due to both drummers and pipers being confined to a single area. though the former play on rubber practice pads and the latter on squawky practice-chanters, the conflict of sounds and rhythms became more than was truly pragmatic for a harmonic existence.
so, we have now moved once again, to a venue pretty much midway between the church and our original place of domicile. the church is situated pretty much in the centre of the village, making for easy access by those who live close-by. however, our new 'space' is close to the edge and, for yours truly at least, involves a round trip of just over three kilometres. i'm happy enough to walk if i have time, or have my bike take me, if post teatime allocation is a tad less leisurely. at this time of year, that short trip is pretty much guaranteed to be undertaken in wet, windy weather.
it will hardly surprise you, therefore, that the majority of noise-makers drive there in their cars, despite the avowed shortness of the trip. i cannot deny that, were it necessary to transport a bass or snare drum from home to any of the above mentioned locations, there's no way either walking or bicycling would be practical. but in this early part of the year, chanter, practice pad and sticks are more than sufficient. that still provides me with either the walking or cycling option. it may also be prudent to point out that all other members resident in the village, live closer to the hall than do i.
yet still they drive.
a younger me would no doubt have made a serious pest of myself, with incessant digs at the presence of motor cars sat in the car park, while i, farther distant and demonstrably older than my tartan'd peers, still walk there and back. but, as mrs washingmachinepost has regularly advised, 'one needs to choose one's battles.' based on her extensive experience with huffy and occasionally disobedient children, i bow to her greater wisdom in such matters. so i have reluctantly, yet strategically, decided that the best form of attack is defence; i will simply continue to regularly ride my bicycle hither and thither, in the vain hope that those in passing cars will actively think 'i gotta get me some of that'.
i'll let you know how that works out.
meanwhile, i'm but one very, very small cog in a grand scheme that lobbies parliament for greater active travel funding, educates children as to the finer points of bike riding, and proselytises widely to raise the profile of cycling amongst the great unwashed. depending on to whom you talk, that's either bearing signs of success, or pretty much wasting its time in the face of the electric car onslaught.
i very much doubt, however, that any of those velocipedinal strategists planned on using a viral pandemic to get more of the population onto bicycles. such a situation appears to have taken hold in new york city, entirely at the behest of the worldwide covid-19 virus. afraid of contracting the illness, many new yorkers are turning to bicycles as a practical alternative to mass transit systems such as buses and the underground. it's conceivably a situation that could surface in any city across the world, but new york's mayor and transit officials have actively advised commuters to avoid the subway, both to avoid over-crowding and person-to-person contact, recommending that those who can, should opt to use the city's version of the 'boris bike'.
on monday of this week, the four bridges spanning the east river paid host to 21,300 cyclists, more than fifty-percent above last year's numbers at the same time. many of those new to cycling in the big apple admitted that they were commuting by bicycle because of the corona virus. "when i ride a bike, there's fresh air and wind, which is better than a crowded train". now that's not something we learned today.
none of us who regularly cycle would ever wish that it would take such a terrifying worldwide pandemic to encourage people to ride bicycles, but it's surely an untimely reminder that, when wall to wall despondency begins to surround us, rarely are things any worse after a bike ride.
friday 13 march 2020
..........................................................................................................................................................................................................i cycle, and i know things
i'm sure i've mentioned this before, but adobe's pixel wrangling photoshop, is quite obviously the work of an alien technology. consider the following (true) scenario: a wedding photographer puts together a portfolio of images on the day of the wedding, as per instructions from the happy couple. in the days following the marriage, the mother of the bride realises that they negelected to have photos taken of the bride and groom with auntie maud (not her real name). so the photographer supplies yours truly with three images containing not only the people concerned, but one of the sofa in auntie maud's front room, from which i make a composite image in which none of the joins are visible to the naked eye.
i'm quite a good at that sort of thing, but all would come to nought, were it not for the clever aliens working in the cupboards at adobe. quite frankly, the technology is astounding, given that those writing the code are extremely unlikely to have had the above scenario in mind at the time. for perhaps a more immediate example, take a look at the bike rack atop monday's post; for those who figured i'd actually found an empty bike rack with a set of bagpipes nearby, i wil take it as a compliment. but i seriously doubt that a supervisor at adobe arrived one monday morning and said "guys, i need you to work on the code that will allow thewashingmachinepost to put bagpipes in a bike rack."
of course, as everyone keeps pointing out, the technology might be astounding, but you need to know which buttons to press. it's what i do; i wrangle pixels, and i know things.
but i also cycle, and i know things. the two categories are hardly related, but whether i choose to cycle as a means of transport, or simply exploit the opportunity to indulge in frantic pedalling as often as possible, i still cycle and i still know things. and before you accuse me of velocipedinal plagiarism, though i realise i am paraphrasing tyrion lannister from episode 29 of game of thrones, in truth, i have never even seen game of thrones. however, that scarcely makes my contention any less valid.
on the descent of foreland hill, assuming the wind to be blowing from the south, it is good practice to hug the right hand corner at the bottom, leaving breathing room should that wind be strong enough to blow you off course. at the bridgend village junction, when turning right, it's necessary to take a wide trajectory because the tarmac surrounding the british telecom manhole covers, if filled with water, creates a verisimilitude of a castle moat and eats your front wheel. and if the average windspeed, according to xc weather is greater than 60kph, it's probably a bit unsafe to go cycling.
of course, unlike tyrion lannister, i am not a lone protagonist; the sentiment applies equally to pretty much all of us. watch any professional cycle race and marvel at the things that they know. stand at a set of urban or inner city traffic lights and pay attention to the cycle commuters. they cycle and they know things. much of this applied knowledge, and i'm very aware of coming across as unbearably twee at this point, is because cyclists are far more in tune with their surroundings than the average motorist. drive to work in galeforce, horizontal rain and the only concern is parking close enough to the front door to avoid getting wet. ride to work under the same meterological conditions and that which you need to know is more immediately relevant.
and at the risk of coming across as one in thrall to a certain genre of television programming, in the robin hood series from the mid-1980s, robin, played by michael praed was frequently heard to state "nothing is forgotten. nothing is ever forgotten." that more than likely applies to things you know as a cyclist, even if you're unaware of their application. if, like me, you frequent single-track roads, it is customary and safer to ride on the outside of a corner or bend in the road, despite the faster line being on the inside. that's because any oncoming traffic will notice you with time to spare. after a while, you ride that way because you know things.
though i cycle and i know things, i'm now perilously close to the outer imits of my comfort zone. for more accurately penned observations, i suggest you take a closer look at the work of jack thurston and robert penn. they both cycle and they know things. where do you think i learned it from?
thursday 12 march 2020
..........................................................................................................................................................................................................class
it has often been said, most publicly in the 2019 publication, the secret cyclist, that in the quest for recommendations for cycles, componentry or apparel, the one class of individuals to which a wide berth ought best be given, is that of the professional class. i do not, you will understand, refer to lawyers, accountants, doctors and the like, but those in receipt of even a modest stipend as a result of riding their bicycles somewhat faster than either you or i.
this may come as something of a surprising revelation to those in thrall to the archetypal sponsored rider. for surely 'tis the very strategy behind such sponsorship, that those thus favoured are in the ideal position to make qualified pronouncements on the veracity of the clothing in which they ride, or the bicycles upon which they compete? superficially at least, that is certainly the impression sought by those doing the sponsoring; the programmers at zwift are no doubt fervently hoping that the sight of matthieu van der poel, furiously pedalling his turbo affixed canyon bicycle surrounded by a watopian backdrop, will have us all reaching for the 'subscribe' button with one hand, while fingering a valid credit card with the other.
and what of that canyon bicycle? despite the suspended knowledge that a bicycle fit for a cyclocross king might just conceivably be a nano fibre too far for the rest of us, the manufacturer has high hopes that we'll discard those suspicions, and adopt it as our brand du jour. likewise, pinarello with ineos, bianchi with lotto jumbo and specialized with both peter sagan and the bahrain mclaren team. i assume you're beginning to see a pattern here? it should be clear by now that the professionals are contractually obliged to ride whichever bicycle, componentry and apparel, is generously handed out at the outset of a long season by their service course.
if evidence were required in support of this contention, witness the number of riders who have worn jackets with the provider's name scratched out in felt marker, or had custom bicycles built, featuring the team bike sponsor's name on the downtube. by failing to mention this to the team manager, a case of plausible deniability is maintained, and the great unwashed remain allegedly ignorant of such blatant underhandedness.
but then there are those who, on the face of it, have no commercial axe to grind, those who have no competitive contractual obligations, and who could wear or ride anything they darned well want.
at this point, i must declare a very modest degree of interest; i have been occasionally invited to international product launches. disappointingly, not being an entirely free agent from the point of view of regular workload, i have had to turn down more than i've been able to accept, but it's common knowledge that you can't, realistically, have everything. yet, while standing midst a group of one's peers, witnessing the presentation of whaddyamacallit, or thingymajig, camera and press-release in hand, would appear to fall far short of what passes for excitement, you should bear in mind that a great many of these product launches have a tendency to take place in exotic locations.
who could argue with an expenses paid trip to the tuscany region of italy to be provided with carbon finery, or a similar journey to america's west coast, where riding in the finest of apparel under hot sun is the main course on the menu? more often than not, the location has little to do with appropriateness; sunny, warm climes are geared more specifically towards the media in attendance, than any specific suitability to the items under consideration.
on a slightly different, but related tack, those of you who are regular readers of 'rouleur' magazine, may well have read a recent interview with marcel kittel, the german sprinter infamous for deciding to walk away from what was once a promising professional career. this is not to infer that kittel failed to reach his potential, but simply that most expected his career to last a few years more.
"After two very successful years with Quickstep, I thought change was good for me and I got involved in a new team and project. Unfortunately, that turned out to be very different and again I was confronted with the question of Êwhat makes me happy? Is this still what I want?' After a long time thinking about it, I decided that I wanted something else in my life and ended my career as a pro."
under such circumstances, i doubt that any of us would have been surprised if kittel had simply blended into the background, only to be recalled in a future 'procycling' magazine feature, authored by will fotheringham. however, as if inadvertently keen to persuade us of his almost unique ideology, kittel has not stepped away from the bicycle entirely. nor has he entertained the respectful notion of becoming a recluse from the velocipedinal world.
"...I decided I could maybe find a new way to combine my passion for cycling while also making space for new things in my life."
stepping away from the limelight that often accompanies a professional road cyclist, ostensibly allows marcel a wide range of options, apparently confirmed by the presence in his bike shed of road, 'cross, gravel, xc, and mountain-bikes. with the contemporary changes being wrought in the professional peloton by riders such as phil gaimon, lachlan morton and others, one could argue that kittel was just several months ahead of his time. but with a new baby son, perhaps the nomadic life of a pro-rider is hardly the way to become the ideal family man and conscientious father.
currently, he's studying economics at university, but hasn't turned his back on the world of cycling altogether, deciding instead to partner with scotland's endura cycle clothing in the next step of his decidedly different cycling career. such a coming together of like minds would seem like the perfect coalition for hosting a product launch, given that endura have recently introduced their hard core roadie range. just such an event took place late last week with an endura-clad peloton, including not only kittel, but the flying scotsman, graeme obree, and my paisley pal, and eurosport commentator, brian smith.
however, scotland's premier cycling apparel purveyors showed sheer, unadulterated class by holding this weather-beaten soirée, not in some far-flung, sun-drenched resort, but in portavadie, argyll. as exotic locations go, it takes some beating; if you've never heard of it, try google maps.
wednesday 11 march 2020
..........................................................................................................................................................................................................mum's the word
i have a day job, one that frequently involves community newspaper production on a two-weekly basis. this is one such week, during which i should be concerning myself with display advertising, the iniquities of the classified section, and ensuring that repeat adverts are, in fact, repeated. the creative part involves interpreting 'back-of-the-envelope' scribbles, and translating them into something the customer might hope to receive from a bona-fide, 'creative agency'. i've been doing this for a number of years, so i've kind of got the hang of it.
mostly.
but it is also incumbent on yours truly to involve a measure of prudency, mostly achieved by having a live twitter feed on the imac desktop. at this time of year, keeping an eye on calmac's service info, met-office weather warnings and any relevant transport scotland announcements, might conceivably have bearing on content, production or even distribution of the finished product later in the week. if nothing else, it proves that social media can be an asset as well as a distraction.
unfortunately, today, when i should have been perhaps paying closer attention to typographic tracking parameters, i came across a tweet from the world-renowned cycling tips, a website with a sub-heading that alludes to 'the beauty of cycling'. amongst other features, it sports a column from 'the secret industry insider', the identity of which is, tautologically, a secret. his/her column for 20 march concerned the cycle production quandaries engendered by the current corona virus epidemic, sweeping westward from china at a somewhat alarming rate.
though such manufacturing difficulties are, in the grand scheme of things, somewhat trivial on an individual level, those are economically magnified when they reach the boardroom. at those rarefied heights, large numbers preceded with dollar signs or euros are doubtlessly being earnestly discussed. for if bicycle production has stalled entirely, or simply been restricted due to staffing reductions, as many a manufacturer keenly displays the 'next big thing', there's a distinct possibility that might not be happening at a bicycle shop near you anytime soon.
however, with luck, a careful government strategy and an obedient population, the corona virus (covid-19) threat will eventually subside, and the world's population can return to business as usual. the hpeful contention that climate change will follow a similar, timeous retreat is far less certain, dependent as it is on a myriad of intertwined factors, of which not everyone is currently convinced (yes, i'm looking at you, mr trump). and while the cycling world, in general, feels particularly self-righteous in light of its emission-free mode of transport, we can always do just a little bit more, if only to demonstrate that we can.
as mentioned above, the season for introducing next year's shiny stuff is already underway, and even though there's a particular likelihood, this year at least, of supply failing to meet demand, it is well within our powers to temporarily obviate that demand, not only for the benefit of the battle against the corona virus, but ultimately, the climate crisis. as someone a great deal wiser than i once made mention, it's not that we need to make more use of 'green' products; we need to seriously look at our overall consumption of everything.
and despite the fact that the following quote from the cycling tips industry insider was made directly in relation to the exposed frailties of the cycling world's manufacturing infrastructure, it strikes me that it has a pertinence well beyond those particular horizons.
"...the bike you have right now probably works just fine, anyway, but you didn't hear that from me."
cycling tips secret industry insider
tuesday 10 march 2020
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