I possess many great qualities, but perhaps the greatest is my unbeatable modesty. This is why you'll never hear me brag about being the world's greatest bike blogger, or cycling's preeminent Y-Foil expert, or the genius who coined pretty much the entire lexicon of urban cycling: Also, I just happen to be the cycling media's... Continue Reading →

Here's a geography quiz: Which Of The Earth's Great Rivers Is This? A) The Ganges B) The Mississippi C) The Amazon D) The Saw Mill Well, if you answered D), you're correct--and no doubt you did, too, because the mighty Saw Mill River is instantly recognizable to anybody anywhere in the world, even now when... Continue Reading →

It rained all weekend, and in fact it's still raining, but fortunately I was prepared: I'm still enjoying the new clicky shifters very much, though for the first time since installing them I did need to stop and make an adjustment, which is perfectly normal after everything settles. So I stopped at the side of... Continue Reading →

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:... Continue Reading →

I play a number of roles in life: father, husband, former semi-professional bike blogger turned gentleman wordsmith of leisure... They're all pretty important, too. But when it comes to sheer responsibility, none of them comes close to my official position as the Classic Cycle Old Crap Test Pilot. Alas, I am deeply ashamed to say... Continue Reading →

Not too long ago I gave this bike a tune-up: Which elicited the following comment: I don't know how you do it, but you've managed to take that beautiful Homer frame and build it with the scabbiest collection of parts bin detritus that it is so fugly it must be completely theft proof. To be... Continue Reading →

Further to yesterday's post about atonement, it included the following AI-generated image: . People find AI frightening and dystopian, but I think it would be a lot less intimidating if we simply referred to it as Fausse Intelligence. Though no matter what you call it this guy lurking in the crowd is going to haunt... Continue Reading →

Today is Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, so consider this a non-post in observation of and deference to this holy occasion. [The Shofar can be slippery, so consider giving it the Rivendell treatment by wrapping yours in Newbaum's.] Unfortunately, being just an all-around exemplary person, I have little to nothing for which to atone.... Continue Reading →

As a former semi-professional bike blogger and current gentleman wordsmith, I understand that people turn to this particular bullshit depository for a host of reasons, and very near the bottom of that list is in-depth product reviews, though I will continue to update you on how I'm getting along with The World's Most Niche-iest* Shifter... Continue Reading →

Further to yesterday's post, the A. Homer Hilsen is now running beautifully--so beautifully that the very next morning I decided to commute to Brooklyn on it: As I've mentioned, I commute to and from Brooklyn twice a week. The distance is a bit under 20 miles each way, and it's an ideal bike commute in... Continue Reading →