The real truth lies here.
Modern society is pretty much fucked. The world is made up of vacuous, self-centered morons brainwashed by the internet and mainstream media, who in turn are no more than puppets of .ooo1% of the population who own 99% of the wealth and pull the strings of every major government, bank, business and institution. 1984 is a reality, we just don’t realise and acknowledge it, because if it was made that obvious then we might just say “wait a minute, they’re fucking us!” We are made to believe we have freedom, whereas, in reality, all we actually have is the illusion of freedom.
Cycling may be the only real freedom we have, and even that is surreptitiously controlled for us, and is controlling us. We are told we need the latest carbon frame that looks like dog shit and rides not much better, while a 30 year old steel bike does exactly the same job, which is: to move us across the earth and put a smile on our face, yet we are convinced that we won’t be happy unless our new standard bottom brackets constantly creak and need fortnightly servicing. Mountain bikers are now being cajoled into believing that an extra 6mm of width on a rear hub will change our lives. It’s enough to make me go back to a hardtail. With a longer fork, slacker angles, wider bars, shorter stays, bigger wheels, fatter tyres, less gears, naturally.
Of course, advancements in technology do make a difference to our rides, especially for mountain biking. Road, I’m not as convinced. My Bosomworth, while heavier, with less gears and slower shifting than my Jaegher, is still a great bike to ride and would no doubt make me stronger if it was my only ride. Suspension and dropper posts for the MTB are pretty much essential and improve the experience, but if I lost the rear shock I’m sure I’d still be able to ride most of the terrain I do now, maybe with a bit more discomfort and a little less control, but wouldn’t that put the emphasis back on me to sharpen my skills and pick my lines a little more carefully? Thinking? No, we can’t have that.
Same can be said with the choices we think we make in our everyday lives: we aren’t making them, they are made for us. We don’t need all that shit they are selling us. We have the freedom to think for ourselves and make our own minds up, yet still just go along with the status quo, what the tv tells us to buy, what the corporations tell us to consume, what the 000.1% want us to do. Be good little happy consumers and shut the fuck up. Or go ride your bike, any bike, and use the time to think about what’s real and what we’re told is real. Don’t be afraid, set yourself free. It’s the only truth we can really believe.
Now head over to The Gear page and buy some shit.
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Wow, and here I was thinking I was the biggest cynic 'round here. Strong work, Brett! I've long hoped/worked to make the world a better place, but I've hit my mid 30s and I've accepted that it's hopeless. Too many humans are narcissistic, greedy, selfish bastards. And the problem is that cycling brings me in contact with these people on a daily basis, meaning the cagers who drive lawlessly and while monkeying with their damn phones.
I see two things as huge culprits of making the world shittier: smartphones and the NFL. Phones have made people so fucking distracted, rude, and bored with actually living and experiencing life. The NFL is the new religion in America. Weekend after weekend bored, distracted folks waste hours and hours watching a slow, boring game where every play is overanalyzed and over-reviewed. The players are all doping, but no one wants to talk about it. The shit they eat to get to 350 pounds leads to terrible environmental and animal abuse. Forget the first openly gay football player, I want to see the first openly vegan! And then you have 80,000 idiots tailgating and drinking all day and driving home in 30 cities across the country every weekend.
I won't even get started on the fact that it's the modern day plantation. Almost all black players, and almost all white coaches, owners, athletic directors (college is worse than pros with almost no black coaches), officials. And let's not overlook the serious brain trauma. And how many of our best universities have 110 doped up, aggressive, non student-athletes prowling the campuses. Having played a non-revenue DI sport on a scholarship, men's bball and football fucking disgust me. Absolutely NO BUSINESS being "amateur" sports housed on uni campuses. But, they are a business and make folks $.
Anyway, I've sadly just decided to accept it. I try to tune out the outside world as much as possible and just go about my life and try to ignore all the alarming bullshit going on. I even wanted to be a teacher/educator for my career. Sadly, the pay is terrible. Children now run the show and any sort of discipline can get you in HUGE trouble. And why would a kid want to remember or learn anything when their phone can answer it? I've taught at the university level and it's not teaching any longer, it's trying to get students to not play with their phones for 50 minutes. Or, not look at porn. No thanks.
And YES that MBK is very cool.
Oh, and as someone who hasn't owned or watched television in around a decade, WOW, the programming and the advertisements...alarming. No wonder we're all fucked. The really odd thing is that my mother, who watches a bit, knows all these "celebrities" that I've never even heard of. Weird.
When I visit my parents I'll get excited to watch some t.v. as an indulgence. 200 channels and the only thing I can find to watch is ice hockey or Premier League futbol. And I've even been deprived of flipping channels, which used to be fun. Now every damn t.v. has a box and the preview info so it takes too damn long to flip around.
@Mikael Liddy
Ha, I had read that article already. I can't believe how many things he had go wrong on one ride! Insane.
I'm holding on to 10-s because I can swap wheels between the Campa 10-s bikes and also switch them on the Shimano/SRAM 10-s bikes.
And one crazy thing I recently discovered: my Shimano 10-s rear wheel works just fine with my Campa 10-s drivetrain. Didn't that that was supposed to happen.
@Ron
Genius. Random, but genius.
@tmgrasso
Yes, tires are way overrated.
http://www.pinkbike.com/news/video-aaron-gwins-flat-tire-flyer-world-cup-2014.html
@RobSandy
Yes, those and all those friggin TV shows where "Dad" is a overweight fucktard that cant get dressed in the morning without help or a wisecrack being thrown at him.
Then in the real world when guys do not play "dopey dad" and put on their "harden the fuck up pants" in the morning and bruise some tender egos they are labeled "asshole"...fine
"Men build thing, then we die...it's in our fucking DNA; that's what we do"
Rocco
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=STKxgBy11Z0
Barracuda - "contrived" and "Rapha" are a marriage made in the advert department. That is the word that pops into my mind every time I see something from them.
Rob - I played football in high school. I watched for most of my life. However, I've lately really found the entire corporate sport to be highly disturbing. Give me 3+ hours and I can think of 15 things I'd rather do than sit on a couch and drink lite beer. We had small-time football and my university. Being around them in the athletics facility, I knew a lot of what went on. The fact that those dudes got away with baaaaad stuff only makes me absolutely horrified and disgusted about what goes on at the football factories like Alabama, Ohio State, Oregon, etc. Seriously...I think it will be a big damn deal when some NFL player announces he doesn't eat mega-farm produced meat. You heard it here first. I'm waiting for some hip college team of say tennis or cross country runners to come along and decide to only eat food the produce or buy directly from a local farmer. I have nightmares thinking about the barrels of oil needed to produce all the beef that NFL players consume. I read and write a lot about food and food issues, and as a life-long athlete, have always been interested in "diet". Oh, and I've made a living in the past cooking at restaurants. And teaching children's cooking classes. I also firmly believe the two plagues of the 21st century will be obesity and narcissism.
On a lighter note...I would not have my awesome Columbus Genius tubed Casati Laser if it were not for the original owner finding himself convinced that he needed a carbon bike. Yeehaw. I rode my carbon LOOK to work yesterday, rode the Casati today. As much as I love racin' around on feather light carbon, the fit and feel of my Casati is unmatched. If I ever go full-on Bretto (meaning truly give the finger to consumerism) and decide to downsize, I could easily keep only the Casati out of my herd and be a happy fella.
Outside of cycling, I seriously don't buy anything except food and Recovery Drinks. I buy soccer cleats every few years, when they wear out. I buy a few nice shirts, sweaters, pants maybe every five years. I buy used records once and awhile. I get hand-me-down New Yorkers and books from a pal who is a voracious reader. My monthly credit card statement is: LBS, fleabay (bike parts, records), grocery store, bottle shop.
You're forgetting the most important rule of them all. Bill's rule.
@Ron
Really, a "fucktard" what is that ? I know you on the far side of the pond have great difficulty with the English language, ie speaking it and being understood, but that word stretches way beyond that.
Not only is it somehow offensive but, it does not really exist,is neither descriptive nor imaginative and renders the opinions of anyone who who would choose to use it null and void.
Grow up and consider those of us who read your foul utterings...........
?
@brett
Someone forgot to put a chainring on that bike!