Chrome vs. GoreTex... 1-0

Spring is gone and here comes the fall, bad boy no summer. Get out your mudguards and clip on those lights, 'cause rain is back in town. Rain as in 'did you take a shower in those clothes?' not rain as in 'the garden can use a bit of water'.
Since I'm no fair-weather commuter I did not take the train into work, but biked as usual. Moments like these are the ultimate test for your cycling gear; it either passes or fails, there's no middle way.

My GoreTex rain jacket failed, miserably. By the time I got in my office I was soaked to the bone, the point where you only can get drier. Boo, overpriced shit...

My Chrome Metropolis bag on the other hand passed the test perfectly, all contents (spare set of clothes, reserve cycling gear, puncture repair kit, PB sandwiches, banana, lock,...) were drier than a camel's pussy in the Sahara. I remember L's reaction when I bought the bag a month ago in Copenhagen; Are you sure you want to spend that much money on a bag? Well let me tell you this, a bag of this quality is worth every Euro cent I paid for it, hurray for the guys 'n girls from Chrome, you know what a biker need.

Ps: I am not sponsored by Chrome, but if any of the good people of Chrome were to stumble across this blog; a pair of shins in size XL would be greatly appreciated.

Man vs. Machine

You race me through the traffic jam,
convinced to get there first
And then you're stuck all 4x4
I bet you, that must hurt.

Such a perfect day...

I pointed it out before but from time to time I still make the same mistake; it seems like I only post whenever I am angered by traffic or fed up by stupid driving altogether. Right now, I could write a lengthy tirade about how I almost got crushed against a parked car by some blind beemer who changed lane without even looking and who had the nerve to honk his horn at me. I could go on about the traffic jams and about all the lemmings who, against all logic, get their death cages of steel and glass out to contribute to pollution and global warming...
I will not do so. I would like to tell you about the great morning ride I had into work today; the sun was shining and my legs were good. On top of that the European Commision had decided to make today a "FidayBikeDay". They set up a couple of stands outside the Berlaymont building to welcome cyclists, with breakfast and little goody bag with fair trade goods and a few leaflets with tips and tricks on cycling in the city.
It looks like this action in combination with the nice weather did not miss its goal, a lot of commission employees left their car at home to come by bike. Sunshine and smiling people drinking coffee, having fresh fruit salad, munching a "chocolatine". This has to put you in a good mood at the beginning of a working day, unless you're one of the lemmings stuck in morning traffic, breathing exhaust fumes.

Temper temper...

Mental note to myself; It is never ever repeat NEVER a good idea to kick into a car door or to spit on its windshield, never, no matter how stupid the driver is or how much (s)he endangers my physical integrity. It will never be a fair fight, 12 kgs of aluminum vs. 2 tons of steel.

But sometimes it gets very tempting...

What are you made of?

Second day in a row; the moment I'm about to leave the house with LL and V to drop 'em of at school, it starts raining. And for the second day in a row I chicken out, I have no place at work to dry my wet cycling gear so I decide to take the train :-(. And to put insult ot injury; it stops raining by the time I arrive at the station, again, great... NOT.


I’m made of a precious metal, afraidium. It’s yellow, and tastes like chicken.

Fender, Robots.

When two tribes go to war...

Aaah Copenhagen... city of bikes, beautiful girls, expensive beer and anarchists. On Saturday they 'celebrated' the half year birthday of the violent evacuation of Ungdomshuset. What better way is there to celebrate than to pick a fight with the cops, plunder and pillage a few stores, Molotov for everyone, the Viking way.
Is this the last convulsion of a subculture against the blind capitalism of Anders Fogh? Face it, the 'normalisation' of Christiania, the sale of Ungdomshuset to some fundamentalist Christian organisation hit two birds with one stone. On one hand there is C.R.E.A.M. aka dough aka money money moneeeey, the second purpose is a less obvious but very noticeable nonetheless; the promotion of the Danish way. Ungdomshuset not unlike Christiania has always been a promotion of an alternative lifestyle, one that goes pretty much against everything the current government stands for; blind consumerism. Venstre might just be a liberal party but their coallition partner is a completely different story, to put it mildly. If you sleep with a dog you’ll catch his fleas, and Venstre is not only sleeping with Dansk Folkeparti but they’re also kissing… with tongues.