Today, with a pleasant 70°s temps, with some wind, I found myself on a group ride.

As it happens, there was a rider from Wiz-CON-sinn. I'm riding next to said rider, and make a comment about the guy in front of me, who's in his 53x12, riding at +/-33kp/h.

Our exchange went like this:

botto "looks like someone's assumed Jan Ullrich's mantle."

Wiz-CON-sinn "who"

botto "jan ullrich, german bike racer...

i point again to the guy in front, and say "how many rpms do you think he's doing, 42?"

Wiz-CON-sinn "that's not how i like to ride, i like high cadence"

botto "yeah, that's what i was getting at"

Wiz-CON-sinn "I just look at that guy who won the tour DAY france" 7 times in a row. he had a fast cadence."

botto "tour DAY france", is that anything like the tour de france?"

Wiz-CON-sinn "it's something that bob roll says"

My question to those in the dairy state, or there abouts: is there an embargo against irony in WizCONsinn?

My question to those in the dairy state, or there abouts: is there an embargo against irony in WizCONsinn?

Generally, yes. The only things they let through the border are cheese and beer making materials and some Canadian shoulder chips.

Actually I think it spills across the border. Co-worker walks in and tells me that he went to go have his powertap laced to some HED rims (don't ask). He walks into a huge local shop. Place does Computrainer racing and indoor time trials all winter, huge floorspace, etc...

Talks to the manager. Asks for the rims. Manager says, "I've never heard of HED, but I can probably order it for you if that's what you want."

I think he believes the only component manufacturer out there besides Mavic and Shimano is Bontrager.

Irony helps cheese grow. Beer tempers it. Can't spare any for flatlanders unless Brett Favre says it's OK.

Why limit your self to Wisconsin? I used to spend time on uk.rec.motorcycles and they often commented on 'merikins lack of irony.

I have found the use of irony to be wasted on most people so I rarely use it these days, becoming a lost art. I think it has to do with our proximity to Chicago.

Wisconsinites that understand irony also know good beer and not to put ketchup on a brat.

Yes, absolutely, he is the epitome of Wisconsin. Just as you are of the east coast and all of Europe.

One thing I've learned living in the mid-west, irony and sarcasm are both wasted on the locals.

. . . and their bratwursts are legendary!
BTW it's pronounced WisCOWsin!
Being a Euro, am used to have 'mericans mispronounce/butcher the French (or any other) language!
They even butcher their 'merican . . . have you talked with anyone from Brooklyn, Ten'see or 'bama or Min'sota? Yeah, sure, you betcha eh, we all speak 'merican (in some fashion or other)!

i see that humor impairment is not limited to WI.

It seems the humor impairment is also alive and well out east.

While not residing in the Great Lakes area any more, have done lots of riding in MI, WI, IL, OH, NY, MN, and ONT.
Having been born/raised in Europe, do have an idea of how different Americans sound when speaking 'merican/English.

where's recursive to either be the exception to prove your theory, or the opposite theory to prove you ran into an exception?

Thanks for the post. I'd been considering looking into group rides. I can see now that my not subscribing to 'Bike Racing World' magazine will limit me from communicating with member of such a group (I still measure distance in miles and what the heck is a 53x12?). It makes sense though, anything that can be enjoyed by some, can also be used as a platform for snobbery by others. No group rides for me!

Thanks for the post. I'd been considering looking into group rides. I can see now that my not subscribing to 'Bike Racing World' magazine will limit me from communicating with member of such a group (I still measure distance in miles and what the heck is a 53x12?). It makes sense though, anything that can be enjoyed by some, can also be used as a platform for snobbery by others. No group rides for me!

Bike Forums is much cheaper and more chock full of cycling arcana than glossy cycling magazines. Come on out to New Glarus on April 27th for the BFNIC Spring Classic. We all make fun of one another. Self-effacement deflates any snob.

And don't mind the botto. He's a snob wannabe. We up here all know he's just a Midwestern at heart despite his upbringing in Stars Hollow, Connecticut.

Wisconsin is a horrible place. I would never live there...

i wouldn't know. i'm currently in the south.

Don't worry, I'm sure you'll get along fine down there too.

Actually it's too cold here for irony... the best we can make do with is bratwurst and a faint hope that we may actually see the road under the piles of ice that we like to call our roads. This is of course while dodging former mayors who think that anyone who bikes in the wintertime should shot for their own good.

In other news...

http://www.librodearena.com/myfiles/beatrizatxa/Do-not-feed-the-troll.PNG

just because... *points at the OPs self-title*

hit too close to the bone?

Dare you to disprove the negative that you're NOT a troll.

There is no such thing as trolling the the Great Lakes subforum....only opportunities to seek truth.

Now....pass me a beer and go milk your cows. We'll shoot the sheit when you get back. Farve said it was OK.

My question to those in the dairy state, or there abouts: is there an embargo against irony in WizCONsinn?

No, Alanis, we don't get irony here.

And if this bimbo really said "that guy who won the tour DAY france" 7 times in a row" instead of just calling him Lance, then she was obviously a transplant from Connecticut.

Frankly, the only irony I see in your post is the guy who, in a group ride after talking about Jan Ullrich and cadence, says "Tour DAY France . . . is like the Tour de France."

I think we forgot the introductions here:

botto, Great Lakes sub-forum.

Great Lakes sub-forum, botto.


Hey botto, how long are you in Memphis? If you're around until late in April, hop a flight or Amtrak up to Chicago so you can provide irony support at the Second Annual BFNIC Spring Classic in New Glarus on April 27th. You get to Chicago and the logistical support will be provided through a grant from the John D. & Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation and generous donations from viewers of this thread. No, seriously.

Yeah.

Wait... what?

I don't get it.

Yeah.

Wait... what?

I don't get it.


I think it has something to do with the biker chick saying she was from Wis-CON-sin, then making a reference to bobke's use of tour DAY france.

Not really irony, maybe a (slightly) humorous coincidence. Doesn't translate well over text.

I guess the funny part is watching the banter between botto, our Friendly Illinois Brethren, and some overly defensive Wisconsinites...

I think it has something to do with the biker chick saying she was from Wis-CON-sin, then making a reference to bobke's use of tour DAY france.

Not really irony, maybe a (slightly) humorous coincidence. Doesn't translate well over text.

I guess the funny part is watching the banter between botto, our Friendly Illinois Brethren, and some overly defensive Wisconsinites...

Speaking of not translating well over text, I fear my post has missed the mark as well. I was attempting to represent the wizCONNsunnites.

I always find it fun to pronounce it WEST-con-sin. That seems to raise some hackles.

Then again, it is pronounced Ill-Annoy. Sick and annoying pretty much sums up us FIBs.

:D

Are they all like this in Wiz-CON-sinn?

Hmm, let's see ... I am ... everyone I know is ... yes we are!

Speaking of not translating well over text, I fear my post has missed the mark as well. I was attempting to represent the wizCONNsunnites.

sorry, i should have known you were being sarcastic.

dude, nothing translates well over text. that's why everyone on the internet thinks everyone else on the internet is an ***hole.

i hope you don't think i'm an ***hole.

or, or... the irony is that she watches the TdF and knows of bobke but not ulrich. i totally missed that angle. I guess that part didn't really surprise me. I mean for most people in the U.S the tour was lance vs. the-world.

I always find it fun to pronounce it WEST-con-sin. That seems to raise some hackles.

Then again, it is pronounced Ill-Annoy. Sick and annoying pretty much sums up us FIBs.

:D

My wife swears up and down at FIBs when we're out driving down south of the border. Most amusing thing? She was raised down in Illini up through highschool... in a farm community no less! Her grad class was something on the order of 50 students or so.

but anyway... about this irony thing... is it something I have to drink PBR to understand? I mean... I will if I have to, but I don't want to leave my cushy microbrews just to get the joke.

sorry, i should have known you were being sarcastic.

dude, nothing translates well over text. that's why everyone on the internet thinks everyone else on the internet is an ***hole.

i hope you don't think i'm an ***hole.

or, or... the irony is that she watches the TdF and knows of bobke but not ulrich. i totally missed that angle. why does that not surprise me?


I couldn't pick anyone besides Bettini out of a lineup. And only Leipheimer if he had his tongue hanging out.

Can't help it... I'm a geek for Special-ed.

Speaking of not translating well over text, I fear my post has missed the mark as well. I was attempting to represent the wizCONNsunnites.

Hmmm...and the point was missed by a fellow citizen of greater Northern Cheeselandia. I'm starting to think botto might be on to something. :eek:

Pass the cheesewiz recursive. This may get entertaining.

but anyway... about this irony thing... is it something I have to drink PBR to understand? I mean... I will if I have to, but I don't want to leave my cushy microbrews just to get the joke.

Let's crack open a Schlitz, Old Style, Point, or Huber and we'll get to the bottom of this conundrum.


One of my favorite moments of the 2007 cycling season was the night before the Dairyland Dare at the cozy Brewery Creek restaurant/brewpub in Mineral Point. Three FIBs and one Cheesehead (dave342) have a nice pre-ride diner. Dave, as earnest a fellow as I've ever met, asks the server for a Bud Light. She gives him a silent scolding stare, then smiles and says that he is in Wisconsin and that she could get him a Miller Lite instead. Ah, irony.

Cheez-Whiz! ohm nom nom nom!!!

But... is it ironic? IS it like rain on your wedding day? IS it REALLY like a free ride when you're already late? Isn't it ironic that the state of irony has devolved to epithet labling, the use of EXTREME (as in Power Thirst (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SrPIRYhdnqs) EXTREME) Pedagogy for the marginalization of beings? Or is just ten thousand spoons when all you needed was a knife?

Let's get our facts straight here, people.

It was EASY CHEESE, not Cheez-Whiz. (Easy Cheese being a fine product of KRAFT, headquartered in Northfield, Illinois. ;) )

http://i216.photobucket.com/albums/cc205/cylowe97/DSCN7153.jpg

Let's crack open a Schlitz, Old Style, Point, or Huber and we'll get to the bottom of this conundrum.


One of my favorite moments of the 2007 cycling season was the night before the Dairyland Dare at the cozy Brewery Creek restaurant/brewpub in Mineral Point. Three FIBs and one Cheesehead (dave342) have a nice pre-ride diner. Dave, as earnest a fellow as I've ever met, asks the server for a Bud Light. She gives him a silent scolding stare, then smiles and says that he is in Wisconsin and that she could get him a Miller Lite instead. Ah, irony.

BAAAH HAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Can I get a chaser of Rhinelander with that?

Nice Easy Cheese bukake shot. Is that what you keep behind your saddle for those long cheeseless rides through the more bovine challenged states in our union?

Nice Easy Cheese bukake shot. Is that what you keep behind your saddle for those long cheeseless rides through the more bovine challenged states in our union?

Do you know who that is in the picture?

Do ya?

Do you know who that is in the picture?

Do ya?

um. um. um.

Ivan Basso? Michel Rassmusen? MARIO FAKKIN' CHIPOLINI?!?

I'm just guessing here.......

what?

this is the second time in a month that Alanis Morissette has gotten BF love. this truely has been a rough winter, but twice in one month? that aint right.

further, must we explain, again, that nothing mentioned in her song is ironic. there in making the song title the irony of it all.

later.

what?

this is the second time in a month that Alanis Morissette has gotten BF love. this truely has been a rough winter, but twice in one month? that aint right.

further, must we explain, again, that nothing mentioned in her song is ironic. there in making the song title the irony of it all.

later.

Whoa... that's like... umm... totally over my head. Are you SURE it's the song title that's Ironic and not the song because if you really look at it the self-referential nature of the song title makes the song ironic and not the title itself since the song lyrics AREN'T actually ironic. So the title CAN'T be ironic precisely BECAUSE the content, the feel and the cadence of the song are all ironic!

It's like an irony moebius!

Ivan Basso? Michel Rassmusen? MARIO FAKKIN' CHIPOLINI?!?

Pikers all.

Severian, you have some studying to do here. That's recursive. Cheesehead racer and hamer droper extraordinaire. That can of Easy Cheese was all he had in his pocket for the whole second annual Psimet Invitational.

Comedy, tragedy? I'm the guy with the sausage.

Alanis DID get the love twice in one thread... once not by me. I'm just riffing on something that makes me smile.

Pikers all.

Severian, you have some studying to do here. That's recursive. Cheesehead racer and hamer droper extraordinaire. That can of Easy Cheese was all he had in his pocket for the whole second annual Psimet Invitational.

I'm quite sure I do! But, as I'm just a lowly commuter and shop wrench I don't get out to ride as much and meet our fellow BFers. Perhaps I should!

It rained on my wedding day. It's not ironic. It's a major bummer.


And as Cromulent (another Westconsiniter) once pointed out: Alanis song is meta about irony. Or something pithy like that. He's smarter than me, though, so don't take my word for the whole meta thing.

oh... and recursive... were you perchance at the Bike The Barns benefit ride this past summer?

I'm quite sure I do! But, as I'm just a lowly commuter and shop wrench I don't get out to ride as much and meet our fellow BFers. Perhaps I should!

By all means, please do! Details here (http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php?t=361730).

The more the merrier (especially post ride at the brewery).

Wisconsinites are you aware that drinking Budweiser products, eating non-Wisconsin cheese products, and using pre-cooked brats will result in your expulsion from the state and be forced to spend the remainder of your days driving a Yugo on the Chicago Interstate Parking Lot.

Recursive I do hope that is at least sharp cheddar.

Fib?

On the subject of irony... we here in the upper Midwest have actually honed our dry humor abilities to a fine point as we've found its much easier to deadpan in the dead of winter when the first millimeter of any exposed skin is frozen solid from shoveling, ice fishing (Which I have never done), biking to work in a foot of snow, or waiting outside in line for a beer cold beer (which I have done).

As such, our admittedly limited understanding of irony is that it requires certain facial expressions to be properly deployed by the ironic speaker (such as the ironic smirk) and our facial muscles have frozen in place to a grimace approaching Cheney-esque visual communication. Thus making it impossible to actually properly utilize all aspects of ironic expression. Those of us who are lucky enough to NOT have attempted to learn the finer points of ironic humor can get by with a nod and a certain twinkle in the eye that may or may not be ice crystals forming in our sclera. Expressionless-ness is highly prized in a state such as ours because of this seasonal atrophy of the smirk muscles.

So, basically... don't fault us for looking silly when we have snot-cicles dangling from our noses.

Fib?

Effin Illinois Bastages.

Effin Illinois Bastages.

Speak for yourself you fatherless mongrel.


It's Friendly Illinois Bicyclist!


;)

Wiz-CON-sinn "I just look at that guy who won the tour DAY france" 7 times in a row. he had a fast cadence."

botto "tour DAY france", is that anything like the tour de france?"

Wiz-CON-sinn "it's something that bob roll says"

My question to those in the dairy state, or there abouts: is there an embargo against irony in WizCONsinn?

Not sure it's irony to correct someone... Wisconsonites have a gentle sense of humor, not usually at someone else's expense. Minnesota even moreso... we'll make fun of ourselves but it doesn't usually occur to us to comment on someone's cadence or pronunciation. Not saying it's not all in good humor...it's just we don't operate that way.

I feel like I should go out for a Chicago dog or beef for lunch.

...but then I'll never have a chance to hold on to a Wisconsonite's wheel this season....*sigh*....


Drink some more beer there guys. I need all the help I can get.