Posted by ben on 30th May
So lately my left wrist started hurting, between the wrist and the heel of the palm. I traced it to my bike geometry, a high saddle with a forward pitch combined with low handlebars with no sweep. This led to leaning too far forward and hooking my thumb around the bar end, which put pressure in the wrong place (follow a line from your middle finger down and stop just short of your wrist - that un-padded bit full of bones and tendons and nerves), or gripping a nearly straight bar (hold your fists straight out and note that they’re more comfortable at around 10 degrees from horizontal). I knew I needed a new handlebar, but the stem is a somewhat unusual 1 1/8″, and since I had to take the levers and shifters and stuff off to replace the bar, I might as well replace them &c, and now it’s starting to get spendy…
Then I realized that holding off on this was false economy. I used to spend almost $300/month for a car I never used, plus insurance, and here I am quibbling about investing quality parts into a 1984 Mongoose Hilltopper - which is my only transportation? So, I just ordered the stuff:
Nashbar Trekking ATB/Hybrid
Holy crap, lookit that thing. It’s got like six hand positions. I could spend days on that without getting fatigued. And I’ll be able to adjust the height and pitch with the…
Zoom Quick Comfort adjustible 1-1/8″ Quill Stem
Height and pitch adjusts over a 70 degree arc. Of course, I’m taking all of the hardware off the old bar, so I might as well get…
Tektro 857 AL Linear Pull Brakes (with Tektro MT2.1 Eclipse Linear Pull levers)
And new shifters and cables. Grand total of $162.09, still half a car payment. When all of the kit comes in I’ll post some pics of the assembly AND YOU WILL LOOK AT THEM.
Posted by ben on 20th May
Pitching his message to Oregon’s environmentally-conscious voters, Obama called on the United States to “lead by example” on global warming, and develop new technologies at home which could be exported to developing countries.
“We can’t drive our SUVs and eat as much as we want and keep our homes on 72 degrees at all times … and then just expect that other countries are going to say OK,” Obama said.
“That’s not leadership. That’s not going to happen,” he added.
- “We can’t drive our SUVs…”
Well, they’re ugly and stupid and wasteful, but on the other hand, they make it a lot easier to detect self-important douchewhistles.
- “…and eat as much as we want…”
Waaaait a second…
- “…and keep our homes on 72 degrees at all times…”
What if I have a geothermal heat pump? or live in the Pacific Northwest? What temperature am I allowed to keep my house at? Shit… is 72 too warm for the winter or too cool for the summer?
- “…and then just expect that other countries are going to say OK”
‘k, full fucking stop. I keep my house at 64 in the winter because I don’t want to waste energy and I don’t want to waste money, not because Sweden is shaking its head at me. I don’t own a car because it’s not really necessary. I didn’t sell it because I was guilty about those accusatory looks I was getting from Peru. And if, hypothetically, I had lost my senses and decided to drive around eating McDolphin burgers in an Escalade, and Spain got all butthurt about it?
Spain can jump up my dick.
I make the ecologically responsible choice when I can because it’s the right thing to do, and it’s usually the economically responsible choice as well. I have not, do not, and will never make a choice because it will make a foreign country happy. If there’s a progressive and evolved citizen of the international community out there who’s moved beyond neanderthal policies like national sovereignty, could you please explain this to me?
