A song to start some things.
House of Protection. It’s supposed to Hurt.
Yes, I did this one already. A couple of times, in fact. I just love this song like I love a corner blitz for a QB sack that puts the opponent in fourth and a bus ticket and now they have to punt.
About habits, I read this today;
One day off is a mistake.
Tow days off is a new habit.
“Off” in this context is “off” of your habit, no matter what it is. I was setting a new habit, and I didn’t like that. Monday, I grinded out a session on The Trainer. Tuesday, I was in Eugene for a work conference, so no training. Wednesday morning, I was a lazy POS, and that means I was setting a new habit. I got back on The Trainer today, so I’m back at it. New habit broke, old habit engaged.
Lots of controversy in the world of cycling, and it all has to do with Gravel.
Last weekend, they had the World Championship of Gravel. Guess what happened? It was won by professional World Tour road racers, and they were basically riding the equivalent of their road bikes, just with wider tires slapped in there. And, yes, they were riding basically road slicks. Why? Because the “Gravel” roads they were riding were basically hard pack, with sections of road/pavement.
So, what’s the answer here? Is this Gravel, is it in the spirit of gravel? They need to rate the Gravel, in the same way that they rate climbs in the Tour de France. Climbs in the Tour, or other World Tour professional races, are rated from Cat1 to HC. Cat1 being basically the same as a highway overpass, and HC (Hors Categorie, or Out Of Category) being something like a 10 plus mile climb at an average of 10% pitch. Not all climbs are the same, and not all Gravel Roads are the same.
Gravel can be dirt roads, unimproved roads, service and access roads, trails, etc. Some of those gravel roads are filled side to side with 3/4-minus stones, which is so freaking hard to ride on, some gravel is basically single track mountain bike trails.
That’s some Single Track, and that’s very common in my area. That is what I would call a mountain bike trail, and a gravel specific bike would be very bad at handling it. A mountain bike, specifically a trail bike and not a full-boinger downhill bike, can carve that trail like it’s butter. A trail bike is a bit more swept back, has the rider more upright, and the b ike has a tight cockpit.
A gravel bike would have problems with single track, because the rider is in a more aero road position, more forward.
Also, not suspended. Suspension these days, they don’t just take the edge off of big hits, but they can be tuned so that you can pump it into the corner, and exit with more speed.
(Side Note; yes, that is a gravel bike, not a road bike. It’s the Rodeo-Labs TrailDonkey 5.0. I have a 4.1, the older version, and this version of the TD really looks like a road bike, and it’s more road bike than road bikes from ten years ago were road bikes.)
The biggest difference here is the geometry. Take note; the Specialized has very laid back 66.5 degree head angle. The Rodeo is more up right, at 72. That’s actually steeper than a Pinarello Dogma, which is 69.5, which I found out in my very limited research. Most road racing, aero bikes, are 72.5 and even 73. One degree makes a massive difference. It makes for a more aggressive bike, especially on the road. The feel is responsive, some will say twitchy. A mountain bike isn’t gonna act like a smack addict who just got his fix, it’s not gonna feel twitchy. A trail bike, like the above, will let you sweep the corner, carve it like a downhill skier.
Got a little side tracked on single track there.
So, Single Track is what most people would consider mountain biking, and I would rate that as HC on my scale of gravel. Road quality gravel, which we have here in the CO, would be Cat1. Road Quality gravel literally feels like you’re on pavement.
Some roads where I live, they’re worse than gravel roads. We resurface lots of our roads with chip-seal. I hate that shit. Chip-Seal is the F**king worst for road bikes, and it was really the reason I wanted a Gravel Bike. So many of the “roads” around here got the chip seal treatment. Once, I was on a ride on my Scott Addict R1, which is very much a traditional road bike with road geometry, right after it got chip sealed. I spent an hour or two that afternoon cleaning off gobs of a tar like substance. Chip sealed roads, we call them GROADS.
I don’t think drivers give a shit about chip seal roads, I don’t know. I really don’t feel it when I drive on it, but every little flaw on the roads, they’re exponentially worse for a bike. A smallish pot hole you just roll thru can literally break the wheel if you hit it just right, or just wrong I guess.
Susan Rice is an alum of the Obama administration, the one that fundamentally transformed the nation, and directly led to the rise of Trump. Remember that dude? Anyways, she has thoughts on Trump (remember: He’s orange, a man, and bad) calling Putin. Her opinion? Shocker, and you’re gonna want to sit down for this one, she thinks it’s illegal.
First of all, Susan is a war monger who was really jazzed about drone striking anyone who might possibly be problematic, who she labeled a “terrorist threat.” Even American citizens. Because f**k Due Process.
So, it’s illegal to talk to Putin, because he’s a foreign leader, is that it? Meanwhile, a foreign leader makes a campaign stop in a battleground state with the D-Party nominee. That’s all fine and good. But make a phone call? Straight to jail for you.
Trump is the only person who would face a criminal charge for First Degree Chewing Gum in the City. I’m surprised the city of New York didn’t elevate jaywalking to a felony, then bring Trump to trial for it. That’s basically what they did with the previous trials. Talking to a foreign leader is criminal? OK, toots. Whatev.
I’m still pretty mystified that Harris appeared with Zalensky at a campaign stop. I mean, Trump was impeached for a phone call with him, and she’s out here campaigning with him? I guess Foreign Election Interference is sooooo 2016.
Trump is the only president to be impeached for a phone call. More criminal charges for a phone call seem about on brand for these Statist tools. They’re pissing themselves because it might be a violation of their beloved Logan Act. Only two people have ever been indicted for Logan Act violations, the last one was in … 1853. No one ever went to trial. So, of course Trump needs to be tried for Logan Act violation for making a phone call. You Statist Authoritarians really hate the dude, huh? Didja ever think that might be why he’s leading in the polls right now? Think about it, Susan. Just give it a moments’ thought.
This is a really good interview with Coach Dan Lanning;
Look, I like to shit on journalists because they deserve getting shit on. But Maria Taylor does a really good job interviewing Dan, and you can tell he feels at ease talking to her. It feels like a genuine conversation, and that’s actually a tough thing to do for a journalist. She came prepared, you can tell. Her questions have a definite flow, and she transitions in very seamless ways. Kudos to her.
Another thing about this interview, and it has nothing to do with Dan or Maria. This is on NBC Sports, 4.66M subs on YouTube, and after one day it’s only got 7K views and less than 50 comments? OK. I mean, NBC is a major network, and you got guys like Joel Klatt and Josh Pate with bigger numbers. Maybe not as many subs, and that tells me many of those subs are bought and paid for bots. For comparison; Josh Pate’s latest has 17K views and over 100 comments. The kids call it engagement.
This is a perfect example of how traditional media is absolutely on it’s deathbed. They just don’t know it yet.
I read that about Trump and the Logan Act. I think anymore most people hear "wa-wa-wa" like Charlie Brown's teacher when anyone starts talking about Trump, Putin, and Russia.
And election interference is anything that damages the D party, including the truth. That's the actual definition. It's definitely not skewing a debate or blocking true stories about a certain laptop or, more recently, playing collage with an interview on 60 Minutes to make the bobblehead sound smarter than she is. Not interference at all, and definitely not in-kind donations that should be investigated by the SEC.
"Didja ever think that might be why he’s leading in the polls right now?" Over my whole adult life I've voted red and blue--multiple times each. I refuse to vote blue again until they run a candidate with reasonable policies. To make it really cool, they could run an actual primary--something they haven't done the last three presidential cycles. Remember though, their cheating in their own primaries has NOTHING to do with cheating in the actual elections.