Herbie53

Smokehouse

Here's a fact:

WE ARE ALL CHILDREN INSIDE

I'm not going to debate kit-vs-kit or bike-vs-bike but the fact is, we are all children inside.

We love thrills...

We love to play dress-up...

We love to imagine we are more than what we really are...

We love to show off our toys...

We love the fun of "playing" on a bike with or without our friends...

Sure, some ruin the fun for themselves or others. On the other hand, most of us just love to be mentally free again (if only for the few hours when we are riding). So many of us need to have more "playtime". I dress in full cycling kit, I ride an expensive bike and I "race" myself and others because just like when I was 10.....why? Because I like the way it makes me feel. Who doesn't imagine they at the sprint finish to a pro race when they are out goofing around with our buddies and a race breaks out? Who doesn't soak up the thrill of a high speed decent? Who doesn't love the endurance of pushing yourself to the limits? The reality is, none of these things amount to anything...we are not pros, we are not sponsored (most of us anyway). BUT...it doesn't matter. It makes us happy, it makes us strong....and the world needs more happy/strong people out there.

So many people want to sap joy from everything and poke fun at a person for doing this or doing that. If the tacticool guy likes dressing up in SWAT gear and doing a run-n-gun course, let him be. If a guy wants to dress in racing garb and take his garage supped up Mustang to a local track day...who cares? If a guy wants to dress in lycra/spandex, climb up on an ultralight bike and pretend hes on the tour...give him a break.

Don't apply rules for others...if a guy is in full racing kit and rides past your house at a whopping 12mph...who cares? With all of the BS going on in this country at this time and all of the things that is truly wrong in the world that do need more scrutiny, someone enjoying a hard earned hobby and getting some exercise isn't one of them.

SpeshulEd 

I'm sorry but logic, common sense, and fun are not allowed in the 41, take this nonsense somewhere else!

old sch wheeler

The yellow TRIMed helmet was probably just what he had available. I'd bet he's got a bushel full of them somewhere, all made to fit exactly to his head as with most pro riders. The yellow "computer" may have been a GPS model. Which of them were yellow like that back in 2009??? I don't know..! ..and no biggie either, small potatoes even making mention of it.

The Nike logos on the clothing were probably standard on those particular items he was wearing -- ditto for the Nike road shoes he wore. The bike (I guess) was a Trek Madone 1274 carbon, also his standard use model I'm pretty sure. I'm guessing.. he's got a big huge bin full of those bikes somewhere. But note: he was not riding a bike with a special paint job like he did in the Tour de France that year -- or was that the year earlier?



The big white star on his buddy's (Bart Knaggs) riding outfit is connected to Mellow Johnny's Bike Shop. It's owned in partnership by Armstrong and Knaggs.



https://www.bikerumor.com/2009/01/12/...g-trek-madone/

On the video: those are fixies with no brakes, guy!

Fixie riders are notorious for not wearing ANY corporate/poser crap. It's the freakin' uniform dude! Lance the Enhancer turned up in the video in the normal and expected fixie uniform complete with cargo pants (very well understated as I see it) which makes my point all the more. I ride sometime with cargo pants for a real quick 10 mi. workout ride or with gym shorts or any of several of STANDARD black cycling shorts I own. Armstrong while out riding for fun (and not his work) tries to not draw very much attention -- at least with logos and the like. But you may be missing something there (maybe I'm not sure).

As for my posted pics earlier, as examples.. I see nothing wrong with some logos here and there, but even Armstrong knows when to toss out the outlandish corporate logo crap, seen typically at his Euro appearances. Why don't average "club riders" clearly see that too? Why are so many club riders simply just wanna-bes and freds when it comes down to it, often calling out other people out as freds. It's shameful the kind of implied and arbitrary elitism that some amateur cyclists embrace. Why is it that they don't or can't look into those funny looking mirrors some of them have dangling from their collective helmets?

By the way, Armstrong appears to have been pulled over by the local Austin police probably for cutting off too many cars in some kind of excessive maneuvering.

You're misunderstanding what I'm saying (you have right from the get go..). I see nothing wrong with a few logos or even cutting off some cars from time to time (not as overdone in this your posted video). As recently as two days ago I cut off a black minivan simply for my own safety. The guy doing the driving didn't know what to do with (me) a cyclist making a left turn just a tiny bit in front of him. ..I took it into my own hands, just to remove the doubt. And the police on many levels miss that kind of reasoning within cycling sometimes. As I see it, sometimes cutting in front of a person in a car just helps them clearly understand what you're intending -- traffic management-wise. It's a judgment call. But one you should never do just because you can and you can get away with it.

In the video Armstrong like everyone else was going off the deep end -- it happens! He was doing it at his own peril, but also for his own safety too (well sorta) in spite of the fact that he and everyone were really overdoing it. They were making themselves into general menacing pests in the traffic as shown. I actually liked the fact that a world class rider like Armstrong was mixing it up with others -- in casual clothing typical of all or most fixie riders. I don't ride fixies or even like them very much, but I like the idea that they have the balls wear normal clothing simply because the like to and they want to do it. Armstrong was riding with a slightly modified mustache handlebar. I liked that too. He ain't afraid to be very practical. Mustache bars are very practical for fixies and especially well suited for long distance tour riding. I think the bike he's riding might be steel (maybe) by the looks of the tubes -- also great for touring bikes.


FTR: You once said.. if I "ever rode a century" I'd know a thing or two about riding... or words to that effect.

Listen up, I've done a lot of centuries in my life, and I’ve done a few back to back on consecutive days while riding unsanctioned touring rides (fully loaded) with several riding buddies across Canada and down the Pacific coast. I think you and some others here base levels of bike riding experience solely on the number of posts made to this forum. That's only a perception chief; it's based on a mere number; and that’s predicated on when somebody decided to join, in order to make online posts. ..nothing more. In my opinion, basing someone's experience background on a number of posts is the mark of an absolute cyber-cyclist not the measure of how much anyone really rides or has ridden or of their true experience. Wake up!

old sch wheeler

No one here is trolling... spud

Fuji ACR 3.0 (2010), Bridgestone RB-T, Bridgestone MB-3

..get over it! (wake up and see the mirrors)

halfspeed

When Ted Baxter facepalms you, you know it's bad.

BillyD

WHat's this thread about?

Bah Humbug

Threads are about things now? When did that start?

R1lee

Lol get over what? Relax superstar no need to get your panties all bundled up like the OP. Ride your Fuji and don't worry about what you look like.

SpeshulEd 

Wow, you typed a lot. You're really passionate about what Lance wears to ride his bike.

Also, you must have me mistaken with someone else, because I'm pretty sure I never said any of the above. I did say that kids play basketball in Chicago Bulls jerseys tho.

StanSeven

Goretex and Ted Baxter. It's not that hard to follow.

halfspeed

Bob Dopolina 

Are there meds that you should be taking right now? Have your nurse check for you, mkay?

BillyD

Ted?

halfspeed

Gore Tex.

rjones28 

Fashion, duh.

DaveWC

Hey you kids, get off my lawn.

SpeshulEd 

We are the goon squad and we're coming to town, beep beep!