Are we coming, or are we going?


Firstly, did you catch this weekend’s ‘One For The Weekend’? It’s ok if you didn’t because I have it again right here;

If you’re a vinyl nerd like me, The Hellacopters have their first single available here (or here for European customers);

Or at least they did, because at the time I typed these words, there were 500 available for pre-order worldwide, and likely got snatched the hell up.

Because I’m crafty, I ordered a red one and a green one, so if you missed out, and feel sick to your stomach about it, hit me up and I’ll get you sorted;


A new full length (their first in over a decade) will be available soon, also naturally on vinyl, but because pressing plants are all balled up with Beatles re-issues, a million copies of Adele’s new album, (because Adele fans apparently are purists?), and Taylor Swift’s latest release which her idiot fans can’t figure out how to play anyway, we the the loyalists are in the back of the line.

I for one am very excited that the Hellacopters have made a bunch new music, because I love them dearly. I’m sad to see Kenny has remained absent from the band, but 98% of the original lineup is still very exciting to this old curmudgeon.

While we’re on the topic of that what soothes the savage beast, as well as the superior medium with which to access it, on this very eve I will be spinning a selection of cuts all loving handpicked out of the depths of my collection for the three-to-five people who might show up for a night of sounds and revelry;

To sweeten the deal, maybe I’ll conjure up some sort of musical trivia game, and whoever can name tunes, correctly guess fun facts about various tracks/bands/etc. will get drinks on my freshly cleared tab. Unless you’re gonna bop on over to a parallel reality where none of the dystopian hellscape that is, is, then it’s guaranteed to be a better time than anything else you have planned.

Be there, or be the shape that rhymes with ‘there’.

And finally, as it relates to music, somewhere along the way I’ve mentioned the San Diego supergroup PLOSIVS and their yet-to-be-released album of the year (just wait. I’m never wrong about this sort of thing). Well, they played their first show in Long Beach about six weeks ago, which I was really damned tempted to go to, but you know, Corona, and everything. Than fully I just found the following clip of them playing their single ‘Let’s Hit The Breaks’ for a (thankfully) very enthusiastic audience;

The edit’s a bit strange, but gets rolling around the one minute mark.

One day I’ll travel to far away and exotic places like Long Beach to see live music again.

In news of things you can kill 40 minutes to an hour and five minutes listening to, this morning Robot and I are recording our TWENTIETH episode of Revolting.

Unbelievable.

I honestly didn’t think we’d make it past five, but apparently we have a lot to say to one another;

If you’d like to get a load of our take on performance enhancing drugs (*spoiler alert* Robot wouldn’t take them, and I would by the fist full), among a bunch of other unimportant bullshit, all you have to do is click here (or if you prefer, iTunes) and soak in the soothing sounds of our silk-like voices bantering about nothing.

I think the next episode we have a very, very special guest with whom we discuss vaginas, saddles, and whether or not to wear cycling shorts (our special guest is an owner of a vagina, so she lead the discussion).I’m super excited for that one, and then I think the following one is when I put myself in the closet, so the sound will begetter. I feel like we’ve finally begun hitting our stride, and maybe at this point are at least incrementally less unlistenable;

Finally, and because this is a douchbag bike blog (same diff) I gotta throw some octant up here what relates to bikecycles and such.

As many of you might know, it was 60 degrees in Denver yesterday, so basically, the cold parts aren’t really cold anymore. But where I live is almost Canada, and it’s been so cold I can barely even function any longer. This has made doing things kinda difficult. As a matter of fact, I went to dinner with my friend Amanda K. Bryan last night, and it was so cold in the restaurant, I wore a hoodie under my insulated jacket, and had a difficult time keeping my feet on the floor as the cold was seeping up into my shoes. It goes without saying then, that riding bikes has been a bit of an additional challenge. I bought myself some badass insulated Shimano kicks but because I screwed up my size, those are taking a bit longer;

My contact at Shimano asked why I’d taken a photo of a child’s foot next to the pair he sent me.

Needless to say, I’m still rounding my arctic weather assortment of clothing out.

I did however pick myself up a snazzy new set of Endura gloves;


I don’t really know much about them, as I stumbled across a too-small pair at another LBS recently and my interest was piqued. Water proof, wind proof, insulated. and a bit less bulky than my old beloved Salsa lobster boy gloves;

I think now that I have my hands sorted, and will eventually have my feet sorted, it won’t matter what the temps are

Certainly, if anyone with more cold weather accessories would like to chime in, I’m all ears. In terms of regularly cycling in it, this is a reasonably new process for me. Recommendations for pants, jackets, neckerchiefs, nose sweaters, art etc. will happily be taken under advisement.

So with that, I offer thanks, and welcome you coming, as I will now be going.

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8 Responses to “Are we coming, or are we going?”

  1. Brian December 21, 2021 at 11:37 am #

    The Castelli nanoflex stuff is amazing. I’m not a fan of most of their stuff, but the nanoflex arm and leg warmers will get your through a lot.

  2. AJ December 21, 2021 at 12:21 pm #

    20 podcasts?! how ahead of release are you recording? Now that I can find them on Apple/itunes I’ve listened to the 11 that they have.

    And to your Adele comment, I saw a chart recently that has records as the number one non digital music format now. Which I guess makes sense, I can’t remember the last CD I’ve purchased.

    • Stevil December 22, 2021 at 7:30 am #

      Well, we just recorded number 20, and we have eleven published, so whatever that means.

  3. DoubleDeed December 21, 2021 at 12:30 pm #

    Took those same shoes off the shelf and out this weekend. They’re awesome. Endura waterproof shorts are a must in the PNW, too. As long as the butt, feet and wet are comfy, all is good. For everything else, there’s the flask.

    • DoubleDeed December 21, 2021 at 12:31 pm #

      “wet” being hands of course….

  4. pqb December 21, 2021 at 2:51 pm #

    stevil,

    if i have developed any sort of philosophy to puget sound fall-winter-spring riding is that you will get wet and cold no matter the clothing…either from the outside-in (not enough waterproofing) or from the inside-out (too much waterproofing and subsequent lack of evaporation of perspiration and/or condensation).

    that being said, for ridin’ ’round the seattle & everett areas, i use these:
    https://barmitts.com/products/road-bar-end-shifters-for-drop-handlebar-mitts
    while they are not perfect for the cold & wet, they do allow for using the same gloves (mostly) year-round. this is good if you commute as lighter gloves dry-out much quicker…nothing less inspiring than cold wet clothes for the cold wet – and now dark – ride home.

    when conditions are cold & dry, pogies are hard to beat; gloves forsaken to well below freezing.

    the only drawback is lack of protected hand positioning, i.e. mostly on the hoods. howevs, that does not bother me too much. in fact, it can be an advantage when the hand gets a bit sweaty. just use the tops (again, w/a lighter glove) and let ‘em air-dry. this also works for rain-soaked gloves between squalls, kinda.

    as for cycling shoes, i tried the insulated gore-tex sort (sidi, i believe), but water ran down my leg into the shoe. this was not as bad as a non-waterproof shoe, but they took forever to dry (see above).

    also, i strongly suggest shoe covers even w/waterproof shoes. not so much a double-masking as a prophylactizing (sp?) of the shoe against whatever water turns into when it hits the road…yuck!

    oh yah…i use a box-fan, or the like, to dry my gear in-between commute trips and overnight.

    regards,
    dork

  5. doubt December 22, 2021 at 6:22 am #

    The Sock Guy socks you use are actually really great for cold weather. The two other keys in addition to good socks is DRY socks and shoes that are not too tight. If you know you are going to be out a long time or going inside and out or sitting around somewhere after being on a ride – bring extra dry socks. Same goes for gloves. In the winter I often carry extra socks and gloves for when the pair I am wearing become soaked in sweat/water.

  6. Sniff December 22, 2021 at 3:42 pm #

    The podcast is mint. You and Robot and whoever else you can finagle to come on is a great perspective and voice. Thanks for doing it.
    I’m in Idaho Springs, next door to your old stomping grounds. Some decent MTB trails are coming and been established here. Still a bit of an opioid issue around but I feel like it’s on the brink of either a wasteland or turning into summit co.
    A ride if youre ever back in these parts would be fun. I’ll stash the beverages if it ever happens. Cheers and thanks.