Laid Up with a Lurgi ?

Just crossed the three hundred mile marker on the Croix de fer 2.0 when Joshua’s viral infection decided I was its next host. While a less catastrophic assimilation than those depicted in John Carpenter’s seminal 1982 shocker “The Thing”; nonetheless I spent two days and a further three nights in a feverish and convincingly comatose state, moving only to expel gallons of phlegm into the dog’s previously empty water bowl…

Reverting to more appetising propositions, these past few weeks with the Genesis have awakened a strange and irrational yearning to equipping the Ilpompino with a disc-braked front end. 

By my own admission, such urges belong firmly buried in the “want” vault since we’re talking new fork, wheel build, calliper, cables and related disc components. Then of course, a single, well-honed cantilever is more than adequate for stopping a speeding fixer and 70odd kilo pilot.

We’ll blame it on the fever for a moment since these usually induce a strange, contemplative state of euphoria somewhere in their gestation. Is Northern Soul simply an excuse for wearing big trousers and recreational use of amphetamines? Why does the scriptwriting process for certain “flagship” TV soaps apparently employ so little hard research? Has mainstream politics lost its legitimacy?

Joking aside, those TRP HYRD fitted to the Croix de fer, were the real catalysts for this proposed upgrade. For the uninitiated, they’re a hybrid design employing an open hydraulic calliper-with all the obvious benefits yet commanded by a high quality cable, thus maintenance/repair are pretty straightforward and they’re fully compatible with standard road/brifters.

Costs for this sort of specification aren’t outlandish by any stretch of the imagination but too exotic for said fixie. A quick wander round the web suggests something Deore flavoured with corresponding front hub and a shop branded carbon composite fork/aluminium alloy steerer is a more cost effective and therefore, realistic proposition. Not a priority, rather one to seize should a suitable ensemble come under my radar and moreover, at the right price.

Maybe it’s just another illustration of the “Confirmation bias” in full flow-the notion that “When men wish to construct or support a theory, how they torture facts into their service! (Mackay, 1852/ 1932, p. 552)” However, further trials of driver-less vehicles add fuel to my particular belief that Public Service Vehicles (Buses, Trams etc) along with Heavy Goods Vehicles will become fully automated within ten years.

This has a wealth of implications and contrary to widely held opinion; technology and development is not neutral. It does not exist in a separate sphere but driven by the inventors’ (or corporations) own ideological leanings.

At the moment there are questions of their hazard perception programming/equipment. How will they recognise, or indeed distinguish between cyclists, motorcyclists, horse-riders, pedestrians, children/adults etc? 

When will these calculate is the optimal point/distance for overtaking? Human error is to blame for a great many accidents but at some level, computers are still potentially flawed in exactly the same fashion as they’re programmed and developed by humans.

Because the technology has come on stream, does this mean it will flourish by default? Does it actually toll the bell for commercial drivers as I first thought, or is it a proactive response to a dying trade, aging operatives not being superseded by young blood?

Computers are excellent at fast paced calculations and repetitive tasks but while they can operate within pre-set tolerances, they still cannot determine whether something is correct beyond this coded framework.

I can see the possibility of android operatives, housekeepers, companions and pets a’la Ridley Scott’s Blade Runner, though feel humans will not be replaced, or made redundant in the flavour suggested by proponents of de-skilling theory. Public perceptions of photography fuelled by falling prices and point n’ shoot technology implies there is no longer any mastery required…  

Another thing that’s been with us since time in memorial and similarly variable in quality is the humble paint defending patch-kits. You know the sort; they stop cable outers chewing through your head, seat tube but were notorious for peeling come the first hint of a muddy trail, sudsy bucket or lick of solvent. 

Technology filtering through from other industries (“Helicopter tape” being the most obvious example) has forced manufacturers to develop vastly superior versions.

Zefal skin armour large shown here is a comprehensive ready cut set made from 250 microns thick polyurethane, which is supple and extremely stretchy at moderate temperatures. Good, unhurried preparation is pivotal but proved delightful to fit and hasn’t shown any obvious signs of cultivating that fuzzy, filmy outline to date.      

Elsewhere, issue 4 of Seven Day Cyclist hit the digital newsstands this week: 

http://www.pocketmags.com/viewmagazine.aspx?catid=1038&category=Sport&subcatid=234&subcategory=Cycling&title=Seven+Day+Cyclist&titleid=2582


I’ve also been up to the midlands following some leads for my book exploring the lives of ex car workers and capturing some shots of the Fosehill district since opportunity presented.