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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@scaler911 I'm still shoveling the driveway and our streets are totally snow packed.....Tigard.....can't see anyway to get any outdoor riding in but definitely looking forward to it. Waiting for some new R3's to arrive in the mail along with Speedplay Zero's...so as soon as the weather clears it will spin time for sure.
@Pedale.Forchetta
This photo makes me feel like I've got a headful of hallucinogenic mushrooms coming on.
I always enjoyed that feeling.
There's dumb and then there is dumb and a few not so dumb riders come to mind, the Professor and Andy Hampsten, who, it was reported actually read books. Most of the top riders (domestic) I saw in the wild never owned a book let alone read one.
and I know we're talking about another kind of dumb but it just seems that maybe a non intellectual approach is helpful in the top ranks?
I allways thought you you have go into a Dumb mode in sports, but of course that can only happen with being crazy smart in the traning so you can shut all those power zapping thoughts off when you need too. Running on auto pilot is an awesome thing and a dumb thing for sure
Jens is something else isn't he. I mean the guy coined the phrase "Shut up legs". That's all I need to know about the guy. They say this is his last season and so is wanting to be seen for the sponsors whilst not caring about results. I say bollocks, it's just what he does.
Thrilled to see him drive a breakaway on stage 5 at the Tour Down Under, only to be caught after being away for hours. After 50km, he has 8 minutes on the peleton. Caught at the top of the first time up Willunger Hill. Does he just settle in for the remainder, his day over? Nope, screw that, he recovers in the bunch, then second time on the hill he attacks again! A mere mortal would have been crying in the fetal position on the side of the road after that much work on the front and a massive climb to come but not Jens, he freaking attacks again, on the climb. Respect.
I saw this on the Twitter after Jens was the Most Competitive on Stage 5 of the TDU this year:
[Voigt] is not in a break only when:
1 - it is a TT
2 - race is not started yet
3 - race is already finished
Sounds about right.
The perfect amount of dumb is required to be the unique beast that truly smiles on those rule 9 days. The weather gets to be so much fun here in Colorado that my winter road bike (see rigid 29er mtn bike donning Nokian Gazzas) will be two wheel drifting on climbs. Laughing and telling my bike to swim faster is all I can do since the V meter is redlining on anything above 5% when there has been 91.5 cm of snow over the weekend.
On a totally different note, a friend and I may have exhibited very nearly the perfect amount of dumb on Saturday.
@joey Where are you based? We'll be out in Crested Butte in a couple of weeks. Loving the amount of snow coming down up there.
@Jamie
I'd say that was just about the perfect amount of dumb. Well done. But missing the malted recovery beverage and returning to unappreciative VMH, just cruel.