A Penny For Your Thoughts, A Dollar If You Keep Them To Yourself

The day has slipped through my fingers like a drinking glass proffered by Mario Cipollini (because it's all greasy obviously) and so as a shiny distraction I present you with this video about bespoke bicycles:



I gather we're supposed to think the bike is expensive but it doesn't really seem like that much:


Then again testing a $10,000 wooden bicycle may have totally blown the bottom out of my perspective.

Also, I'd just like to state publicly that while I'm profoundly happy for anyone who survives a bad crash I'm also not interested in your helmet anecdotes:

.@bikesnobnyc When I said that my head was saved by a good helmet, here's the proof from Mt. Ventoux, France. I will always be grateful to the two holidaying paramedics from Germany who found me unconscious in the middle of the road after my front tyre blew on the descent. pic.twitter.com/LtO8QfBOQ2— Lee Shipley (@svegress) December 13, 2017

In this particular case I felt compelled to point out that descending Mt. Ventoux in no way warrants comparison to everyday cycling--I mean sure, by all means where safety gear when riding down a giant mountain--but that only prompted more anecdodes:

True. But I was doing a modest 40kmh(24mph) under brakes, on an smooth straight road, when I hit the suicidal French pebble. My other two near fatals were urban commuting on cycleways. Once I lost lights, the other was a loose security cable jamming the rear wheel. It happens.— Lee Shipley (@svegress) December 13, 2017

Again, I'm very glad anybody who takes a nasty spill is up and tweeting, but in this particular case I think more frequent pre-ride checks may be in order.

And finally, I've mentioned GoldenGate both here and on the Bike Forecast, and I'm pleased to see that the story has now made the New York Times:


It can't get enough attention as far as I'm concerned.

See you back here tomorrow to close out the week properly