Yes, the inclement weather has made a return but with
plenty of advanced warning and roads drenched in salt. Mercifully I’d spent the
previous weeks putting kit through its paces with a view to working a balance
between copy, books and the ceaseless struggle to find sensibly satisfying temp
gigs in parallel…
I love blinkies, particularly those offering something
different, whether it’s retina-tickling prowess, cell sipping economy or indeed
both. One23’s half- watt high power unit is a very good example.
Watts are very misleading since
this is a measure of power consumed rather than deliverable output but pedantry
aside; we’ve been visible from around 750 metres-maybe more on a clear night.
This coupled with decent weather seals (passed my saltwater submersion test
with flying colours) is all the more impressive from a model giving change from
£12.
On many levels, lights and
similar gizmos that guzzle from portable devices are absolutely fabulous but
lets’ not loose sight of the horses for courses mantra. Those fuelled by two
little AA cells and returning 60-80hrs in flashing mode can be superior choices
for tourists, Audax aficionados, not to mention commuters who don’t clock on at
a PC.
So then, the past two hundred and
fifty miles or so leads me to conclude that the Ilpompino’s front-end
conversion was by far the best upgrade, bringing a supple yet more vivacious
persona to what is essentially a cyclo cross frameset with track ends and 120mm
track spacing.
I’ve also decided to revisit fendersville, retaining a dry derriere’ while keeping salt, slush and other
corrosive brews from making inroads into paint, anodising and bearing surfaces.
These 37mm section Tortec seem an obvious choice with their heavy-duty chrome
plastics, reflective sidewalls and stainless steel components. Their epic rack;
also fashioned from the tarnish resistant metal and reckoned to have a mammoth
40-kilo payload will be put through its paces aboard the Univega.
Tarnish resistant…you
mean to say stainless can succumb to the dreaded fur too? In the sense that watches are water resistant
(as distinct from proof) to 30, 100, 300metres etc, Inox as its sometimes known
is in fact an alloy, typically containing12% chromium, nickel, molybdenum and
sometimes titanium oxides, ergo it stains-less than cruder steels.
Welding will prove trickier for roadside garages compared with plain gauge mild
or Cro-moly should disaster strike in the wide blue yonder too, although this
is considerably easier than aluminium.
I have a well-honed hatred of corrosion stemming from
watching my childhood clunkers turning furry in the salt coastal air and of
course my grandfathers’ almost pathological ability to find traces of this
welder’s foe literally everywhere-especially from beneath parental vehicles.
Such neurosis was not welcomed,
not least by my father who appeared close to boiling point on many occasions
during these puritanical outbursts reminiscent of a bad horror flick where the
demented priest is commanding iron oxide from spot welded sections, er sorry, I
mean malevolent spirit from an innocent child/hapless housewife/tearaway teens.
Monsters, demons and folklore are
all embodiments of fears- conscious latent or otherwise and Joshua’s been
developing that pre pubescent fascination for sci-fi/ horror-genres that I
still have a fondness for, so can converse widely with him about while
maintaining effective censorship.
Cycling’s own particular boogie
man of the moment is Lance Armstrong, who having groomed the world and fallen
from grace is looking to reinvent his empire with some shrewdly executed
bargaining and carefully choreographed remorse.
While never buying into the
fairytale, professionally I’ve found his hegemonic grip upon the cycling
imagination fascinating and privately believe his competitive success was
motivated by a longer term desire for political prowess. Aside from the obvious sporting scandal, these particular exposes' have the potential to oust cycling from the Olympics.
Some are citing Paul Kimmage’s
notorious participant observations/revelations that doping is virtually
institutionalised and rather than racing becoming cleaner, performance
enhancers have simply become more sophisticated and for a time therefore,
undetectable.
Life experience, coupled with
that as a columnist/writer leads me to suggest this is quite likely on the one
hand but it does leave the door open for those exposed in such a public way to
project themselves as victims to be pitied. Are they sorry for being cheats, or
ashamed at their exposure?
The notion of a single universal
truth has been somewhat eclipsed by truths, which have varying degrees of
accuracy-accounts will differ depending on the narrator. An institutionalised
culture of doping may well play a lead role. However, to suggest everyone is
actively (or passively) engaged in such behaviours is somewhat simplistic and
therefore inaccurate.
Public perception of professional
cycling is undeniably tainted, which is not the case for other sports such as
boxing or soccer. In a wider context, pro-military propaganda paints all
service people as heroes/ victims, whereas in reality some will also indulge in
rape, torture, extortion and similar gross inhumanities because they can.
Others who have served in Bosnia/similar conflicts remark how the army taught
them how to kill but not to deal with the emotional consequences. By the same
token, many, many leave the services perfectly well adjusted with nothing more
sinister than tall-tales and fond memories.
My point being, whatever the
setting, conformity is expected within certain parameters but simplistic knee
jerk reductionism neither explains, nor addresses extremely complex matters.
Perhaps these revelations are so emotive because they challenge our own
framework of absolutes….
