Jack Kirby …… the King

Moonmen make the coolest Ti riser bars in the world in my opinion. Not exactly cheap though……

I know a family here originally from Afghanistan who moved to Khazakhstan then moved to the west. Nice enough people who have made a successful life here but they are backing Russia in this war. They talk about how the west – AKA America in their minds – totally destroyed their home country (forgetting the Russians were also in there for many years).
It’s interesting to come across other viewpoints on what is happening. We see things through our ‘western’ eyes and don’t always see or appreciate the deep seated distrust and hatred people have for the west (America) until you actually meet them face to face and talk (quite civilly I should add). Many countries see us as an existential threat. Having lived with western values and civilisation all my life and seeing what is happening in Ukraine in the media it is hard to fathom.

Niner Sir 9 is worth looking at. Great bikepacking Reynolds 853 bike

Niner Sir 9. Does it all – well as much as is possible for one bike in my opinion.

I give up trying to post photos on here from an iPad. Probably my sheer IT incompetence. Anyway it is Moonmen M21 converted to a singlespeed. If interested you can find it on the moonmen website….great fun bike.

Considering I picked Pogacar as a possible podium before the tour started I am feeling a bit pleased with myself now. Mind you I didn’t expect him to actually win the whole thing! What a ride…..and still 21 just I think. What sort of future awaits this man. You are only supposed to get in your prime in your late 20s!

How about some left of field picks for the Tdf podium.

Fulgsang is riding really well at the moment. Seems to be improving with age.

Tadej Pogacar is impressive but will need to up his game a bit.

George Bennett. Riding the best of his life at the moment. A top ten grand tour finisher in the past. Can he step up if the three big jumbo riders aren’t up to scratch due to injury or form? Long shot as he will be in the role of super domestique more than likely though.

I would go for the latest Niner sir 9. Great Reynolds 853 frame and very versatile! Cool as bike.

I would look at the latest Niner Sir 9 frame. Very cool and versatile frame made of Reynolds 853. Easy to setup singlespeed with their EBB

Any album by John Fahey!

A truely original guitarist whose music in his own words always somehow ends up sounding like death.

Pedlad – ‘NZ carping on like a soccer match’ ! What rubbish. What about Farrells soccer like play acting when Whitelock touched his face!

Both teams mostly played hard and fair I reckon. Well done England – beautiful rugby.

I love the certina! Inspired me to go looking for one now. And I love the green plastic watch…..cool! Sorry but I don’t like the Armani watch at all though – a fashion brand dabbling in watches and a quartz watch to boot doesn’t do it for me. But hey as you can tell my tastes are a bit different.

Interesting how no one barely mentions Steven. Is it because his name is hard to spell? Got to be a chance surely. Not been decisively dropped on a climb yet and still looks strong.

Thanks. I tend to find myself often gravitating to Panerai when I look at watches. They really appeal to me – the simplicity, design, big size, interesting history….
They are costly though. I paid for it partly out of an insurance payout i got when I was diagnosed with cancer. I promised myself I would buy myself a nice watch if I beat it. Cancer is now undetectable thank god!! so I have this momento on my wrist as a positive happy memory of the successful battle (at the moment….).

I give up. Can’t work out how to post a picture. I am too stupid!

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Gimme Shelter by the Rolling Stones

Malvern rider I am not pretending to have any answers of course. I do believe humans seem to revel In apocalyptic disaster scenarios though. It’s not just movies – that was only an example. Most religions have it – Christianity has the end of days, Judaism and Islam have similar. Look at the late art of Michaelangelo, Bosch, Goya….These are not escapist ideas but deeply embedded in the psyche of people in the past.

Previous centuries have certainly had apocalyptic times when it seemed like the world was coming to an end – the various pandemics are the best example – the Black Death killed 75 million in Europe alone. Then there are the wars. In terms of ecological devastation we have it as well. My home country New Zealand was devastated by mass burn offs across vast tracts of the country prior and post colonialism which made a lot of the fauna extinct (Moas being the best known example). There are no lessons from this for today’s world other than we are still here.

What’s happening at the moment is horrific – the plight of orangatuns, rhinos and elephants from poachers, etc, etc. the destruction of the rainforest and subsequent reduction of eco diversity is hugely concerning for the future. We must battle against this of course.

All I say is humans are adaptable and will survive. Technology is breathtaking as well – DNA manipulation, the possibilities of resurrecting extinct species, the elimination of disease (smallpox for example), etc. who knows what our future holds. It will be different but the world will survive. I don’t think it will necessarily be totally dystopian either but we will see.

Art can be fun to try. Drawing things in a particular style like shunga for example?

I know I will get flamed for this but I think JP has a point. Humans are obsessed with stories of upcoming apocalypses. It goes right back into our earliest mythologies and religions and crops up throughout our history. Either real – the plague, world wars, or imagined – the last judgement, the coming ice age (predicted in the 1970s), nuclear holocaust, Y2K…..Or look at the enjoyment we get at the endless stories and movies about coming apocalyptic destruction (normally starting in New York). We love talking up and imagining the absolute worst.

Humans are incredibly adaptable. I predict chaos this century but I also reckon we will work our way out of it. A bit like every century previously. Whether it’s through technology or a major catastrophe that wipes out lots of us to allow a new start or who knows? Humans will survive. The only certainty is change.

I am not saying we should be complacent though. We should fight as hard as we can against it but I suspect there’s little we can realistically do. The fight will help form the emerging world. It’s not the end of the world though it will just be a different world we end up with in the future.

Sprocker if you are still looking how about a Schofield. A favourite brand of mine and British. They have a very cool bronze beater watch. If I knew how to post pictures of it I would!

Well no fattie bashing from me. I still love riding them and not just down on the beach either!

Just curious – why don’t you wear a watch?
I have a friend who doesn’t and when I asked him how he knows what the time is he said he just checks his phone. Really! A bit of a hassle I would have thought – one of the reasons the wrist watch replaced the pocket watch way back.

Anything by Stanislaw Lem and anything by Philip K Dick

Wow some serious watch collections on here. Hard to beat Jeffc though – impressive. My collection is a lot smaller:

Fitbit Blaze for cycling

Tissot Pr200 hardly worn anymore

Tag Heuer Monaco – occasionally worn

Schofield BBB2 – this is my favourite watch by far. A stunner.

i would love more Schofield’s but funds are limited sadly.

I am sure they will do the finger thing at your age if they ask. My experience was that they will get you to do a blood test as well to check your PSA levels. Both tests are not totally conclusive as to whether you have cancer from what I understand but gives an indication.

Good luck with it!

Amp research. One of the most innovative and influential companies to have existed in the MTB world. Disc brakes, Horst link full suspension, very cool linkage forks, etc……

Almost anything by Johnny Dowd but probably ‘worried mind’ if I had to choose. If I knew how to link or imbed it here I would.

Well I had reasonably elevated PSA levels at age 56 so my GP got me in and did the finger up the bum. She thought she felt something irregular so sent me to a specialist. It was a little embarrassing but compared to the worry of possible cancer it was OK. Strangely being a middle aged women who said she had seen it all before seemed to help and it was tolerable.

Anyway after further tests and two biopsy’s (both not particularly pleasant but tolerable as well) it is confirmed l have lowest grade cancer on the scale. They are just monitoring it – regular PSA tests and an MRI and occasional biopsy to check what’s happening. They think it maybe dormant so nothing to worry about (at the moment). I have no symptoms and feel happy and healthy. I have learnt to live with it now. Strangely it feels good to know and have it monitored. Shit happens but it could be a lot worse.

Get yourself checked – if the cancer spreads from the prostate it’s not good!

60s – Highway 61 Bob Dylan

70s – London Calling The Clash

80s – Remain in Light Talking Heads

90s – Mezzanine Massive Attack

00s – thickfreakness The Black Keys

I have raced many times against Anton Cooper when he was a lot younger.

i still remember him huffing and puffing past me up a hill when he was a small 12year beginner. He started a minute behind us in sport class while I was riding expert. I remember thinking stupid kid going too fast at the beginning – he will blow and I will pass him soon. Never saw him again. He just kept improving until he now featured in a sprint finish this year with Nino for first place in a world cup! whereas I have now turned into a slow old codger who is getting interested in E bikes!

Martin was superb in the Fargo TV series (can’t remember which one). Great TV!

i agree the Hobbit movies were too long – had some scenes in it I quite enjoyed in isolation is the best I can say about it.

Dovebiker – that is one impressive setup there and story. What do you do to keep your toes warm? Do you have those big boots like 45nrth make? I always suffer cold feet and toes even when it’s just mildly chilly!