We’re surrounded by racists, amoral dirtbags and other undesirables.

But at least we’ve got each other.


Seriously, the more I read about bigoted hockey fans, (I’d include a link, but screw it. Some Boston Bruins fans have sunk to a new low) and random drivers leaving cyclists for dead (none specific, all in general) and the like, the more I want to crawl into a hole and shut the door behind me.

People never cease to amaze me. So badly do I want for humanity to do the right thing. I always hope against hope that the British Petroleum top brass will own up for the Gulf Disaster™ and exhaust the last of their resources fixing the company’s wrongs, or just once to simply turn on the news or open a paper and learn about people doing right by each other. It all just becomes too much sometimes and that rabbit hole is an entirely too easy one for me to go down. But then I come here, and I read over the comments in Friday’s post and it soothes me.

I know it’s a small thing, but the fact that we all are more or less anonymous to one another, which really gives any of us free reign to say whatever we please (it’s the cornerstone of the internet after all) yet at least in this forum, the commenters are always thoughtful, and conscientious of the words that they choose. As I said, it’s a small thing in the grand scheme of all that can make one feel duress, but it still means a great deal to me, and for that I am extraordinarily thankful.

It is with that, that I take off my marshmallow pants and get on with business.

First up, I will say did you know I opened the order window for the Bandit replica Merino wool jerseys again? -Cause I totally did.

Did I also mention that the order deadline is May 20th and EW&R has promised me that it won’t take as long to get them as it did last time? -Cause it is and they have.

Finally, did I impress upon you that you’ll never want to take it off and that they’re guaranteed to get you sexy times? -Cause you won’t and they will, maybe.

If it can make Loudass look good, it can make anybody look good;

Photo courtesy Veronika Lenzi.

I would also like to announce that at long last, the limited edition of the Handsome Bicycles/AHTBM collaborative Shop Bike is finally rolling off the assembly line;

We have sixteen inchers, eighteen inchers, and twenty inchers for those with long selves.
The total damage for the frameset is $463.00, which includes the cost of shipping from Minneapolis (except for international orders, which are a bit more but we can handle that on a case by case basis) and will be landing in customer’s hands the beginning of June.

Oh, and each frameset will come with a set of assorted decals so you can dress your baby up however you please;

Throwing fat skids across Old Man Caruther’s lawn was never so highly anticipated.

If I can stop blowing sunshine up my own ass for a moment, I have some to blow up that of El Capitán Sporty Pants from Soulcraft Bicycles regarding a new stock bike program he’s recently launched;

“Stevil,
Here’s my blurb on the new stock bike;

Now that I no longer pay you for advertising, I want you to help me promote our new stock 29er geared bike called “The Tradesman”. We build it in our shop. No trickery going on. We cut out all the custom stuff to keep the price down. Four sizes, one color, lots of quality.



You can go direct from us or check the dealer page on our site. There are currently eight dealers.
-E.C.S.P.”

So there you have it, straight from the horse’s mouth. You can get a customish bicycle, without the customish price.

Do you like apples?

How about them apples?

It’s been a little while since we’ve broached the topic of art that doesn’t suck, and lucky for us I’ve kept ahold of the following sample that was sent to me from Andy;


Drink these in.

Either you’re like me and you’ll love them, or you’re not and you won’t.

Taste is simple and subjective like that.

Regardless of your taste in anything, one thing that I think we all can agree on is that when symbols or branding or signatures get co-opted (hello Von Dutch and Ed Hardy?), it often happens at the hands of douchebags, and is never a good thing. Case in point is the logo for the English punk band Crass, which for the uninitiated looks like this;

Well, sure enough, this logo originally designed by one Dave King in the mid-’70s has been immortalized in ways that would (perhaps) make Crass vocalist Steve Ignorant smile, such as these, utilizing the graphic in an irreverent and contradictory manner and then inserted into the piles of schlock at a Disney store;

Or an instillation of tributes, like the one that happened recently at San Francisco’s Goteblüd Gallery;

Or cringe in disgust at the sight of noted misogynist Chris Brown;

Or glamorous actor, humanitarian and baby adopter Angelina Jolie;

Or even that guy in The Oversat Crew who are concerned with your cranial well being;

Being one who is mightily interested in the perspective of graphic lineage, it’s an interesting juxtaposition to be sure, as this logo has long been aligned with anti-authoritian groups and their ideals, until opportunistic fashonistas looking for the next edgy statement come along to re-appropriate it.

While it’s not as bad as racist sports fans, irresponsible and blame-shifting drivers or corporate parasites casually poisoning everything around them, it’s still a thing which leaves me swinging a proverbial mace in dismay and despondence.

But like I said- at least we’ve got each other.

Spread this like it's sick

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9 Responses to “We’re surrounded by racists, amoral dirtbags and other undesirables.”

  1. pentabike April 30, 2012 at 5:22 am #

    Big ‘A’ little ‘A’, bouncing ‘B’, the system might have got you, but it won’t get me

  2. Dirtyonethirty April 30, 2012 at 8:16 am #

    Feel free not to accuse all Bruins fans of being racist assholes. The overwhelming tide of bruins folks were well pissed off that a relative handful of most likely anonymous 16 y/olds are doing their worst to make us look bad.
    The all root for the ignorant shitbags, not the Bruins.

    • Stevil April 30, 2012 at 8:25 am #

      I apologize. The truth of the matter is, I had mistakenly left the word ‘some’ out of the sentence. It was a typo, not a generalization. I understand a few bad apples can ruin a bunch as well as anyone.

      • Tony May 3, 2012 at 3:54 am #

        I live in Massachusetts and can attest that most people here are massholes, especially Broons and Patriots fans.

  3. CJ April 30, 2012 at 11:03 am #

    How about a 29er version of the shop bike? Just throwing it out there.

  4. McFly April 30, 2012 at 11:13 am #

    Have you seen The Iron Lady biographical/documentational about Maggie Thatcher? In it she is teaching her daughter to drive and they almost kill a cyclist and then both laugh hysterically. Nice.

  5. Nived April 30, 2012 at 3:53 pm #

    Tradesman Jam Econo

  6. Dirty Cyclist May 1, 2012 at 8:14 am #

    Art love! <— too short of a comment

  7. Leifers May 1, 2012 at 5:05 pm #

    Why am I so stoked over a coaster brake?!?