i never...

thought that i would say this, but i fully support smoking bans. i went to a new bar this weekend, terrible smoke. then went to a show and everything i had on smelled awful. i get up in the morning and i feel like i smoked a pack myself. i feel like crap the next day. it is becoming a downer. to the people that smoke...you're not cool. your an addict. it's not fun. do you know what that crap does to you, and now how it effects others? some may say "but what about drinking?" to that...my drinking does not effect your liver. to the men out there that smoke...smoking restricts blood flow. what does blood flow help with? think about it? not to get too graphic, but your woody. if you don't have good blood flow you will not be able to salute. that would be enough for me not to smoke. i admit, i enjoy my pipe every once and a while, but i do it outside. not even inside my own house. smoking sucks.

it was a good show this weekend. one note...the guns kicked ass. although i did get some weird looks. it might have been because i was wearing my bad religion sweatshirt. i thought they were punk. oh, well; i guess the ideals that i grew up with have been flushed down the toilet. so goes the way of the cowboy.

i've been looking at all these frame builders recently, and i've been wondering what do they offer that nobody else does? don't get me wrong i believe in small bike companies, but what do other small bike companies offer that others don't? if i'm not riding one of my sweet ti bikes, then i'm riding a sweet steel. my ti's are moots. the best in ti. period. i have a couple of different steels, but how many different steel companies are there out there? a lot. so what's the difference? name. color. some companies specialize in single speed/fixed gear bikes. but there are other companies that do these frames just as well. let's be honest...a "bigger" smaller company is able to do a single speed/fixed gear frame just as well, if not better than these "smaller" small bike frame companies. and with better turn around time. i read about how these companies have these major back log orders. be careful. this doesn't mean that they are in such demand that they can't keep up. however; they often only have 1 or 2 employee's. how fast is one person able to go? these things take time. weld. paint. ship. you'll get it sooner or later. i waited for my smoothie, and my electric warrior, but after seeing them you would know why. and i'll wait for my monolith; for good reason. vicious has the most amazing paint jobs in the industry (not the only reason i ride them). there is not revolutionary ideas in making a single speed hard tail. find a geometry. jig it. weld it. paint it. there isn't a better pizza out there.

so thinking about the question i posed in my last blog (which no one seemed to have an opinion of); i believe that in the nineteenth century the wheel, and the development of that was a major advancement. i believe that your wheels are the second most important part on your bike. why? it's what connects you with the ground. what moves you over and through things. a really good wheel is priceless. this lesson i recently learned. moving to this day and age...i believe that it would be the frame, and what the bike industry has done with it. geometry. materials. these are things that have really advanced the bike itself. what has helped armstrong do what he has done. so there are my thoughts.

the holidays are coming up...enjoy. remember why you are getting together with friends and family. raise a glass. give a toast.