You seem to be the only person laughing, everyone else I've forwarded this thread to thinks you've managed to take this whole internet thing a LITTLE too far when you decided to track me down at DLV this past weekend.

If my bike passes for a joke I am pretty sure you have zero sense of humor. If you really think it is tarck, please feel free to talk to the mechanics in Charleston who removed my bar ends and tape (without asking me, I might add). Personally, I have no beef with them.

You really know nothing about me but love to judge me as if you actually know me so here are some more things to fuel the fire for you:

- I ride quads, not inlines (vintage ones, to boot).
- I got practically all my shirts from American Apparel; I also wear Ray-Bans.
- I have a mustache.
- My 75s cost more than the frame they are currently mounted on.
- I am awesome at tricycle racing.

Anyhow, dtret, thanks for reading ... I'll see you at the track! I mean, you'll see me at the track and I won't know who you are. Zzzinggg~!

Yes yes, I am aware of all this already. That is why, before dtret had even said anything, I had requested bar ends as well as a helmet. Oh and Carleton ... if you want ... add me on Facebook. You will see many pictures of me on bikes, but zero of what you might call "hipster photoshoots". :) I generally do not take pictures because I prefer my experiences stored in my brain filtered with the haze of memory.

Anyhow: Dtret, please feel free to come to the track and laugh at me to my face. I encourage you to come up to me and call me a tarck n00b. In fact, I'll buy you dinner if you come up and embarrass me in front of all my friends and the pros at the track by insulting myself and my bike. Please contrast your superior biking knowledge and skills with my lowly n00b ways for everyone at the velodrome to see. I am sure they would all find it just as funny as you do. This would easily be the highlight of my cycling experience. "This kid asked about aero wheels ... OMG he must be REALLY dumb!". I am more than happy to ask these questions and get laughed at by you on behalf of all the other people who want to know. Despite what you might think, not all of us aspire to be professional cyclists nor do we worship such people. Nor do we hate them either.

EDIT: And at least if you openly mocked me, I wouldn't be all weirded out that I am being watched at the velodrome without my knowing. And it would be a *lot* less weird than waiting til you get home to harass me online.

I havent followed the thread extensively, so that's good news. And there's nothing wrong with upgrading -- we all know that.

Buy some $3 velox plugs (they're the best), some Fizik tape, SPD-Ls or Speedplays, and a Bell Sweep or Giro or whatever fits from your local shop. Done and done...and you'll be set with quality stuff.

Geordi: Reading this thread is a fate I wish on no one, not even you.

In case anyone wants to know my official upgrade order/progress it goes thusly:

1. New frame. (Done.)
2. New drivetrain. (Done.)
3. New steering column. (Done.)
4. Reapply bartape/etc. (Will be done as soon as Bobby gives me my new stuff in like 2 hours.)
5. New helmet (as opposed to my borrowed one).
6. New pedals (Speedplays). (Not done.)
---> Somewhere in here I am replacing my road bike with a nicer one. <---
7. New wheels. (Not done.)
8. New tires. (Not done.)
9. Trade for a shorter stem. (Not done.)
10. Buy seatpost with carbon fairing. (Not done.)

I don't think any of you actually care about what I plan to do. But I think one person does (evidently).

...and pick up some lyrca.

Yes, that is actually already done ... but it will be a while before I get it. We are having special kits printed/made. In the mean time, I don't mind racing in my t-shirt and jeans. I realize it will look ridiculous as most people wear jerseys at the very least ... but I don't plan to be winning anyhow and as I said before, my current gear isn't aero anyhow.

nice.
is this thread over yet?

We'll see what dtret says. :)

Get some new tires now. Easy and great upgrade.

I just can't fathom why it has taken this long for you to get a helmet or lycra. The list of your upgrade priorities are puzzling to say the least.

Also, I can't imagine any situation in which mechanics would need to take bar tape off of bars that are attached via a stem w/ a removable faceplate. Seems weird to me. Were they inspecting the integrity of your bars? I wouldn't go back to that shop.

waiting for dtret9...

You think that because you happened to see me ask for advice on aero wheels that I wanted them and I wanted them at that VERY moment ... as I've stated several times, the thread was made for my own benefit to inform a future purchase. As you can see above, I've outlined for you the general order I plan to buy everything in, which I think is more than reasonable. If you cared to, you could see my post archive and see the order I've asked questions in regarding the track. The first few posts would be about proper nutrition and spinning exercises. The next post would be about pedals, specifically the Speedplays and whether or not the track specific ones were worth the extra money. After that, you would see the question about the wheelset. Questions about helmets, jerseys, and other things were asked in other places (not online).

Being that I am racing against beginners at the moment, I am not concerned about beating anyone. If I do get any better at this, I am *still* not going to be concerned about beating people. That's just not my attitude. I don't play to beat everyone else, I just want to achieve my personal best.

As I've said before (and I don't know why I have to justify this to a complete stranger), I've ridden the low and mid end gear enough by now to want something nice. I believe it is the natural step for anyone who wants to expand their horizons. I will always ride my steel rig but I see no problem with getting a carbon frame one day either.

And yes, my friends and I are more than happy to have new people join us at our dinner table after a social ride or race at the velodrome. Certainly, you would be introduced as the guy who stalked me online to photograph my bike, but if I can be a good sport about your flaming me I am sure you can be a good sport about this. And yeah, I would buy your dinner, why not? We usually eat at The Local or Estoria afterwards though ... may be too hipster trash for you. :P

EDIT: Pedalling - they were installing a road brake. I am as confused as you are as to why they wouldn't at least put the bar ends back on, but again ... it wasn't something I was going to confront them about when I can get them at home for free. Dtret, if you doubt any of this, you can talk to my friends Laura and Bobby IRL at the velodrome, they will vouch that this is indeed what happened. I know you think I am stupid, but in all seriousness, I am actually pretty smart and the first thing I noticed was that my bar tape and ends were missing and that this would present a problem later at the velodrome.

P.S. Sorry this will probably be my last post this evening, so your daily dose of online drama will have to wait until tomorrow. I am doing the beginners races tonight. I hope that by divulging my evening plans I am not inviting anyone to come spy on me.

http://robert.accettura.com/wp-conte...ghing_baby.jpg

i have been laughing heartily all along.

SHHH ... I'm in ur drome fotograffin ur bikez.

Unless you mean only when you're at the track, you're doing this wrong

... how do people still care? And how have any of the mods not locked this poo-storm already

take notes.

</thread>

Everybody is just watching devilshaircut try to dig himself out of a hole.

I always inflate my tires *at* the track using their air compressor or pump.

Anyhow, I am going to keep racing the way I already do with some tuning to my seatpost and stem, til I get new new pedals, wheels, etc. I am pretty sure what will make me better is going there every Tuesday for the beginners races but regardless, I am going to also gear up and replace my crappy parts with nice parts. It's not really my job, as a beginner at the track, to impress people who have been going to the track for years, but if you get a kick out of telling yourself how much faster you are than me or how much better your setup is than mine or how many more hours you've spent at the track than me, please do so because you will not find a more willing target. I don't want to be a professional track cyclist. I want to enjoy bikes.

Dtret, we were all disappointed you didn't show up tonight to introduce yourself to us.

EDIT: Adriano ... I think you've missed the point altogether ... no one here harbors the delusion that better gear will give the greatest performance gains. That's not just something that applies on the track. That is a rule that applies across cycling, unless perhaps you are comparing regular bikes to recumbents or SS bikes to geared bikes. In all honesty, I am surprised you don't realize it is people like me 99% of the time arguing in favor of steel for daily riding.

Not gear up as in increase my gear inches, as in "improving my bike stuff". On my group rides I am geared down, anyhow.

Stubborn, because all the suggestions you made to me had already been made by other cyclists and you were angry you couldn't inform me first? Are you mad because I didn't buy your wheelset from you? Dishonest assertions about my speed (probably the most laughable statement made thus far)? My "bizarre shopping compulsions" which consist of buying one (1) new bike, and that is all? Strange that you think I shouldn't buy new wheels yet offer to sell me your old ones. Ironic that you accuse me of having "bizarre shopping compulsions" yet I didn't buy your wheels, also.

Your reference to my "ilk" just goes to show that all you are willing to do is judge an entire group of people according to standards which none of my "ilk" cares to aspire to. It's funny that you just don't understand why we don't ever want to be like you. Funny also that it's somehow below you to join me and my friends for dinner, but it is not below you to make a trip to the velodrome for the express purposes of photographing my bike and avoiding me.

Hey, guys?

Stop.

It's gone on too long. Y'all think you're doing anything other than filling up the internet with stuff that neither of you are going to read anyway?

Lost cause for both of you.