Further to yesterday’s post, in which I mentioned Specialized, here’s a recent promotional video for their Levo line of e-bikes:
Mushroom mogul Paul Stamets is a famous mycologist, which is the technical term for what is more commonly called a “fungus Fred.”
He’s self-taught and has a boundless enthusiasm for mushrooms, which he views as a panacea. He also rides a bicycle, because “really hard exercise stimulates the brain” and leads to “existential bursts of creativity,” and so the latest e-bikes from Specialized excite him nearly as much as fungi does:
“When I’ve come to these hills in the past, on my other bikes, I’d have to stop and walk them,” he explains. Now, “I can crest that hill. I’m not defeated by the hill, I feel a sense of accomplishment. I push the envelope further than my own physical ability and I still have that sense of accomplishment.”
Wait.
If really hard exercise stimulates the brain, wouldn’t you want to ride a regular bike instead of an e-bike for maximum brain stimulation? You’d think so, but I guess the motor is a shortcut to the sense of accomplishment. Sort of like how taking psilocybin is easier than meditating and training the mind.
As the video goes on, he and his friends ride deeper and deeper into the moist forest. The damp conditions as well as the riders’ proclivity for the organisms that thrive in them raises serious questions and concerns about what kind of chamois they’re using, if any. Alas, this is a subject the filmmakers do not address, but here’s Stamets with a mushroom that will lower your blood pressure, resolve your childhood emotional trauma, cure you of alcoholism, and do your taxes:
So is Paul Stamets truly onto something? Is he unlocking crucial wisdom and truth in the age of rapacious corporations and Big Pharma? Or is he just hawking supplements of debatable efficacy? Probably a little bit of both, though I know nothing of his work and am certainly not passing judgment either way. I’m happy to give him the benefit of the doubt, but I admit I do check out when people with mustaches start soulfully playing wooden flutes in forests:
Regardless, I suspect this video will resonate strongly with the potential Levo customer, who a leaked internal memo* describes thusly:
- 55+
- Mid-to-high seven figure net worth
- Lives in or close to nature
- Works remotely or is semi-retired
- Has lots of spare time to wander around and experiment with the possible physical and mental health benefits of mushrooms, despite already having a premium concierge health program, or possibly because having such a premium concierge health program insures they can get immediate treatment when they accidentally ingest a bad mushroom
*[Disclaimer: the “leaked internal memo” is fiction. All of this is parody. You can’t be too careful, that flautist could be Specialized’s in-house counsel.]
I wonder if Specialized will continue in this vein with an “opening the SWAT door of perception” campaign:
Speaking of breaking on through to the other side–or at least stepping over into it–someone mentioned fat-tired mixte bikes in the comments on this post the other day, and clearly crotchal clearance is in the zeitgeist because look at this:
Wait a minute…these are the examples?
Uh, HELLO…
Talking about step-thru “gravel bikes” and not mentioning Rivendell is like talking about lion’s mane supplements and not mentioning Paul Stamets, or talking about litigious bike companies and not mentioning Specialized.
Of course, Rivendell bikes are also made of steel, and here’s an in-depth scientific analysis of the relative properties of steel, aluminum, and titanium when used to make bicycle frames:
Here’s a chart:
And the conclusion:
I don’t know what any of this means but…yay for steel, maybe?