So I decide to ride the singlespeed to work, the weather being all rainy and all that. With my singlespeed having a 32x16 gear ration there is no way that I can sprint around so I try to keep the heart rate low and enjoy the ride in. Everything goes smooth, until I get into Brussels, all of a sudden a geriatric creature in a family van comes riding next to me while honking and shaking a bony fist in my direction, at the same time trying to push me off the road. Eventually she realizes that the body work of her fuel guzzler is more expensive than my life and she lets go. Unfortunately for her traffic lights turn red and I catch up with her giving her a nice "speech" about her life expectancy and how she could spend the rest of her time amongst the living.
Heart rate goes down and again and we're back on out way, on Rue La Loi a tits-for-brains in a Bairische Motor Wanker decides, out-of-the-blue, to cut two lanes at the same time to make a hard turn to the right, exactly the same moment I cross the street. My disc brakes wail,the profile of my tires smears itself on the bicycle lane and I ready for impact. The Japanese engineering however manages to fight faith and I come to a halt mere inches form her right front wheel.
XX chromosomes gets a speech about visual impairment and the suggestion to get a guiding dog with a drivers license, and I want to proceed and then I loose it.
A big pink poster says I love biking in Brussels and some broadly smiling promo creature on stilts wants to offer me a reflective vest for my safety or whatever.
I tell her to fuck off and ultimately decide against pushing her over.
I like biking in Brussels, biking not dying.
Wednesday, September 15, 2010
Tuesday, September 14, 2010
The art of dressing up.
Summer is not officially over yet in good old bHellgium but the morning rides are no longer a bib-short-short-sleeved-jersey affair neither. Until the winter hits us straight in the teeth, we must choose what to wear and what to carry along in the backpack. It took me a day or two before I found the working combo which consists of bib shorts, a short-sleeved base layer, sleeveless wind-breaker and leg pieces.
I keep all the water proof stuff in the Chrome pack, thus making sure it actually never rains. The day I forget it I'll probably end up soaking wet.
Luckily the change in weather also deterred the fair-weather commuter, making the streets a little safer.
have a safe ride.
I keep all the water proof stuff in the Chrome pack, thus making sure it actually never rains. The day I forget it I'll probably end up soaking wet.
Luckily the change in weather also deterred the fair-weather commuter, making the streets a little safer.
have a safe ride.
Monday, August 02, 2010
Where have you been?
First post in a long long time. I realize might almost look like this was the blog of someone who gave up on biking when it ran out of fashion.
Truth is I have not given up on anything at all, I still ride my +250k a week, matter of fact I spend more time riding bikes than posting about it. More than a year ago it hit me that I had nothing interesting to tell about bikes.
I could start a series of posts aboutI got one day mowed down by a blind driver on my way in to work, got rushed to ER stitched up and sent back home and blablabla but that would do anybody any good... or would it?
Instead I decided to focus on the act of biking which is waaaay more fun than posting angry slogans against stupid petrolheads and homicidal soccer mums. Mind you they're still out there and one should still be careful when riding a bike in big city traffic. I have a nice big scar on my left knee to reminds me, every day I get on my bike and ride.
You could to. Have fun, scare yourself silly, ride till you drop, whatever... have a nice one!
Truth is I have not given up on anything at all, I still ride my +250k a week, matter of fact I spend more time riding bikes than posting about it. More than a year ago it hit me that I had nothing interesting to tell about bikes.
I could start a series of posts aboutI got one day mowed down by a blind driver on my way in to work, got rushed to ER stitched up and sent back home and blablabla but that would do anybody any good... or would it?
Instead I decided to focus on the act of biking which is waaaay more fun than posting angry slogans against stupid petrolheads and homicidal soccer mums. Mind you they're still out there and one should still be careful when riding a bike in big city traffic. I have a nice big scar on my left knee to reminds me, every day I get on my bike and ride.
You could to. Have fun, scare yourself silly, ride till you drop, whatever... have a nice one!
Friday, September 04, 2009
Question numer 352.
Q: Why do drivers leave their common sense at home whenever it rains?
A: They're afraid it might get wet.
A: They're afraid it might get wet.
Monday, May 04, 2009
Thursday, April 23, 2009
Those little springtime pleasures...
I don't know whether I mentioned it before (no memory for old men) but the sunny weather of the past couple of weeks brings a new kind of pleasure to my daily commute which you will never experience if you were to commute by car.
A couple of kilometres of my commute take me through the forest and the beautiful weather of the last weeks has dried the trails to such a degree that I can ride a good bit of singletrack on my semi-slicks without the fear of arriving at work looking like the swamp thing.
This extra loop is my own guiltless playtime to start another working day at the office. I wonder how LL and V would feel if I were to take them to the playground every morning before dropping them of in school? I think they might actually like it.
The attentive reader might have noticed that I don't mention any singletrack riding after work. The reason for that is quite simple; the trails are too crowded. Mind you I don't have any problem with other people hanging out in the woods (except for Nordic Walkers) but the last couple of weeks an whole new group of people has taken over the trails; the so-called cruiser.
To each his own; I myself am not averse of sex whatsoever but it strikes me as quite uncomfortable to go and 'do your thang' in the woods behind a tree with another man. At least I assume that is what they're there for otherwise they 're all in for a cold shower 'cause I haven't seen a single woman hanging out on the trails, yet. Women, as P pointed out, are probably more practical; they go cruising in supermarkets, combining the fun with the useful.
Whatever your definition of trail fun is, keep it safe. Happy trails!
A couple of kilometres of my commute take me through the forest and the beautiful weather of the last weeks has dried the trails to such a degree that I can ride a good bit of singletrack on my semi-slicks without the fear of arriving at work looking like the swamp thing.
This extra loop is my own guiltless playtime to start another working day at the office. I wonder how LL and V would feel if I were to take them to the playground every morning before dropping them of in school? I think they might actually like it.
The attentive reader might have noticed that I don't mention any singletrack riding after work. The reason for that is quite simple; the trails are too crowded. Mind you I don't have any problem with other people hanging out in the woods (except for Nordic Walkers) but the last couple of weeks an whole new group of people has taken over the trails; the so-called cruiser.
To each his own; I myself am not averse of sex whatsoever but it strikes me as quite uncomfortable to go and 'do your thang' in the woods behind a tree with another man. At least I assume that is what they're there for otherwise they 're all in for a cold shower 'cause I haven't seen a single woman hanging out on the trails, yet. Women, as P pointed out, are probably more practical; they go cruising in supermarkets, combining the fun with the useful.
Whatever your definition of trail fun is, keep it safe. Happy trails!
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
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