Another Monday of compiled merriment, inspiration and time-killing fodder for your delectation.
Good afternoon and happy Monday to you all! How was your weekend? Did you manage to get out on a bicycle ride?
I managed to get out on Sunday and actually rode with another human being. Which I don’t really do most of the time; I’m usually out soloing on a test bike somewhere.
Anyway, there were two things of note during my ride. Possibly three things.
Firstly, there were loads of riders out in the woods. Which I don’t mind but it was rather unusual. Nice to see some of them doing a bit of trail maintenance. Did anyone else notice more riders than usual out yesterday?
Secondly, I still haven’t removed my ridiculous narrow tyres (Schwalbe Dirty Dan 2.0) from the Best MTB of the Year. And apart from the occasional rimming-out and sketchiness on rockeries, I’m totally loving riding on what are eseentially glorified cyclocross tyres.
Thirdly, I once again invented a bicycle product that already exists (albeit in an entirely different hobby zone). All will hopefully be revealed by this week’s Fresh Goods Friday. I always have my ‘best’ ideas when slogging uphill. Do you’?
The Best-Named Brakeless BMXer strikes again:
No brakes. No lid. No gloves. No problem. Quite far on a deliberate perma-endo. Far beyond our ken also.
Belting Downhill:
Despite my status as being the lone lover of derailleurs in the whole of the western world (THEY’RE BEAUTIFUL THINGS) there’s no denying that the adoption of belt-drive gearbox bikes by a few World Cup DH teams is a very interesting thing indeed. Who’s going to win that $100,000 prize money then? My money’s on Mr McWilson.
Pashley Gravel:
Pashley launches the all-new Pashley Roadfinder – “The new timeless all-rounder”. The Pashley Roadfinder Collection starts at £2,795. Find out more at pashley.co.uk
Giant not-as-bad news:
According to a Bike-Eu.com story (email sign-up required to read a couple of free stories): “Giant Group managed to mitigate its decline in turnover to 7.4% as the company’s 2024 monthly revenue report shows. This is compared with a decrease of 16.4% in 2023.” Which is about as good a news as we can muster concerning The Bike Industry right now. Slim pickings.
Podcast recommendation of the week:
Hannah Fry and Dara Ó Briain tackle listeners’ conundrums with the power of science. Subscribe via Spotify, Apple or wheverver you prefer.
Empire Biscuits recipe:
You want these. Feel free to substitute glacé cherries for the sweeties. Check out this recipe here.
Dolly domination:
Finger pickin; good.
This guy has been riding less time than you. Dang:
Jerrell Webster had only been riding two years when this video was shot (December 2023). Git.
What’s made you happy lately?
Share the vibes below via comments. TTFN!
