Obviously, today’s post will be an in-depth look at the election results and what they mean on a granular level:
But I will say that here in New York City there’s a general air of despondency, and in fact one gets the sense that many of the city’s liberal residents have even decamped early for the weekend houses they maintain in red counties without even a hint of self-awareness. I am not one of those despondent New Yorkers–mostly because I don’t have a weekend house, but also because I learned not to catastrophize stuff like six catastrophes ago, and I prefer to be grateful that we live in a prosperous country with, like, free elections and stuff. I also like to think that somewhere out there someone is really bummed about the results, and someone else is really happy about them, and this morning each of them decided to set out for a ride. In so doing, those two strangers just so happened to pass each other, and when they did they smiled and waved, each unaware of the other’s political opinions, but both united by the delight of a ride on a beautiful day.
Or else one was on a road bike and the other was on a mountain bike and they gave each other the finger, what the hell do I know?
Either way, I was fortunate enough to be one of those riders taking advantage of the delightful weather this morning, and this is the bike I happened to grab:
I didn’t really think about it at the time, but this bike is a good metaphor for this great and zany nation of ours, the US of A, a.k.a. Canada’s BarcaLounger. Built of two exotic materials fused together (or at least materials that were still exotic back in 2003), it transcends the “can-do” spirit and embodies an attitude of “we-probably-shouldn’t-but-what-the-hell-let’s-do-it-anyway.” And ultimately isn’t that what being an American is all about?
Sure it is.
Speaking of comebacks, The Pro’s Closet is re-opening after only a month:
Under new ownership, it joins a roster of companies that includes FrangrantJewels.com:
If Frangrant Jewels is not a brand chamois cream, it damn well should be.
Hey, everybody deserves a second chance, even a used bike business that didn’t succeed despite investments of at least $70 million:
$70 million and they couldn’t even compete with a typical Craiglist seller:
That’s even more than Tadej Pogačar’s new contract:
By no means am I accusing him of anything, but if it does turn out he’s been cheating and he does get caught, at least he’ll have enough to open a bike shop.