Popular culture rarely if ever gets cycling right, as some of our most insightful film critics have pointed out:
However, last night I happened to be watching the new e-bike episode of “South Park,” and was amused to note that they did an excellent job sending up the middle-aged Fred, or MAMIL, if you prefer:
I mean okay, fine, if we’re going to nitpick then you’d be unlikely to see this many non-aero brake levers outside of L’Eroica or maybe one of those “alt-cycling” events:
But they really did nail a lot of it, including the indignant rants about e-bikes in the bike lanes, and the clickety-clack cleat walk across the kitchen floor:
It was also a pretty entertaining and clever look at the whole e-bike thing in general, which in turn made me wonder how Colorado’s free e-bike program is going.
In 2021 it was going to slow climate change somehow:
And in 2023 the smuggies told us we’d see mass migration to cities with similar programs:
Well, it’s 2026, so you’d expect that by now we’d be a country of climate refugees and e-bike migrants, and that we’d all be wandering across the country with bindles on our shoulders looking for water and free electric bicycles. Well, that hasn’t really happened. But Colorado’s free e-bike program does seem to be going well:
It’s all a little confusing, but it seems like some guy managed to make over Six Million American Fun Tickets™, which have now been seized by the FBI along with his Lamborghini:
Hey, they said free e-bikes were going to get cars off the road, so maybe they’re right, since it sounds like there’s now at least One Less Lambo on the streets of Denver.
Speaking of cars, even in the e-bike age they remain the number one scourge of cyclists, though sometimes it’s the cyclists themselves who are the worst drivers:
Or the best ones, depending on how you look at it:
Nicely done.
Finally, I’ve long chronicled the condition known as JBARA-itis (or technically inflammation of the Just Buy A Rivendell Already), and recently I came across evidence that I myself was suffering from the condition as far back as 2013:
Fortunately I found safe and effective treatment:
Though be careful, because it may be habit-forming:
So if you’re looking for a comfortable and versatile bicycle for riding on all types of terrain, consult your doctor and ask if Rivendell is right for you.