Welcome to the Kermis. It’s not a recycling, it’s a reintroduction. The idea is to repost an old article that still resonates today and see where it goes. We will endeavor not to abuse this feature.
I’ve referred to Frank’s fantastic Perfect Amount of Dumb article at least five times in my own posts. My reference is usually that I’m dumb but it’s cycling related dumb. I’ve got the dumb part covered, not the Motorcus part. I so love his unexpected title and the post, it needs to do another lap.
I was just watching Tyler Mini Phinney’s post Dubai TT interview thinking, this kid has the perfect amount of dumb to be great. He shops at the Big and Tall shop, so I like him already. And his brain is way up there, in the thin air, so he choses his words carefully, like climbers at 8,000 meters. He’s got It.
No American Cyclist has won a Monument. Abandy has won more Monuments than LeMan? Merckx forgive me for uttering that last sentence. Greg was our last best chance but this new Phinney-Carpenter hybrid might somehow, someday get on the stones, get really incensed, and prove he has the perfect amount of dumb.
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@tessar
Nice catch. That is interesting and confounding. Maybe he has to work into that position. He is built like a Dutch Monkey.
@frank
I agree about Dad. I was thinking about his Mom when I wrote that. The track cycling team also used autologous transfusions. Again, all legal at the time.
I would like to contribute to this important thread.
Seems to me that time trialists seem to have a stronghold on the perfect amount of dumb.
I'd like to nominate...Captain Zabriskie
@Harminator I wonder if Dave is using that Captain America outfit in retirement. I felt a little bad for him ending his career at Lombardia last year, without any fanfare.
He told a funny story about his early cycling career in the US, maybe riding for Saturn, a doomed US car brand. He and a fellow Saturn rider showed up at a race, ready to clean up, show the local Saturn dealer what a good investment they were. One of them led the other out for the bell lap instead of the real finish, so they were totally out of the money then they crashed up the Saturn car the local dealer had loaned them. Doh! Maybe some dumb there.
But yes, TT riders really have to shut off the voices in their head, ignoring all reason and stay at the dark end of the pain cave. Tony Martin too.
@jeff
Snow's been fun, but bad for getting any outdoor riding in this weekend. Dirty Circles is just around the corner (and Cherry Pie!)
@Gianni that's for you, DZ the day of Il Lombardia 2013
And this is the son of Thor
@scaler911
We've got rather too much of the raw variety of snow over here and conditions are too often like the below. But today we had a brief respite and I managed a 60 Km ride mostly on dry roads. Bliss.
Just what level of dumb do luge riders possess? 140 kph on a glorified children's sled? I'm surprised their ten-tonne balls can fit down the track.
@Pedale.Forchetta
Grazie, great photo of DZ. He actually looks a little pensive here, knowing this is his last race. Well snapped.