“We do not arrive at any idea of what is best for the collective unless we are prepared to seize the day and practise it on our own behalf. Most mature individuals understand what this means in respect of themselves—it’s just all those feckless others that they don’t trust to act appropriately.” Things may be for the worst in a less-than-perfect-world, but Will Self is determined to hold on to his idealism.
www.newstatesman.com
Tag: attitudes
Why fiction is good for you
“Fiction is dangerous because it has the power to modify the principles of individuals and whole societies.” Jonathan Gottschall tells the story of an emerging science suggesting that fiction might be good for more than just kicks.
www.bostonglobe.com
Attitude of an Empire State Courier
“Like most cyclists, when I acquire a bicycle I will spend some time and money to ‘dial it in’. However, this bicycle was the equivalent of an unplanned pregnancy, and I was damned if I was going to spend a single red cent on my new bastard child.” Bike Snob NYC, father of the PistaDex, evaluates the Scattante Empire State Courier in terms of its associated acceptance scores.
bikesnobnyc.blogspot.com
How to ride a bike forever
The following article by Grant Peterson was first published in the 1994 Bridgestone Bicycle Catalogue.
Ride when you like
Don’t ride out of guilt over last night’s meal. Don’t be a slave to your bike, or else you’ll resent it, and feel guilty whenever you think about it or look at it. Soon you’ll be avoiding it altogether. If all your rides are like a swimmer’s workout, you’ll burn out on bikes as fast as swimmers burn out on laps. Ride when you want to ride.
Go slowly
Don’t push yourself too hard, physically or mentally. Don’t ride with racers or obsessive aerobicizers. (If you’re a racer, don’t race with riders, let them be.) Learn to relax on your bike. Of course your bike can be a tremendous tool to build cardiovascular fitness, but why let that get in the way? Unless you race, you can rely on something else, like running, to get fit and lose weight. Running is more efficient for this anyway.
Go short
A ten-minute ride is always worth it, even though it won’t elevate your heart rate to your ‘target training level’ and keep it there for twelve minutes. (Or is it supposed to be eleven? Or fourteen?)
Don’t keep track
If you never use an on-board computer or a heart rate monitor, you can ride with us any time. Avoid ‘logs’. Forget the graphs and the home computer programs. Keep your bicycle free of extraneous wires and LEDs. You don’t need them.
Own more than one bike
This is not a commercial message! Runners have learned that nothing improves a run as much as a new pair of shoes, or shorts, or socks, or something. Bikes, unfortunately, cost a lot more, but the effect is the same. Make your bicycles so different that your experience on one is unlike the other—a mountain bike and a road bike, a multispeed and an single speed, or a clunker, or a recumbent. For some people, even different handlebars are enough of a change, It’s worth a try.
Learn how to fix your bike
Learn to fix a flat. Learn how to install a wheel. Learn how to adjust derailleurs. It’s all easy, and you’ll never feel at ease on a bike if you’re at its mercy. Being able to fix your bike will give you enormous confidence and satisfaction, not to mention self-sufficiency.
Don’t chase technology
You will never catch it, and if you pursue it year after year it will break your wallet in half. Some wonderful things have happened to bicycles in the last fifteen years, but so have a lot of dumb things. You don’t need a fancy machine with the latest equipment to enjoy something that is so joyous and simple. A simple, reliable bike will do.
www.sheldonbrown.com
© Bridgestone Cycle USA
15021 Wicks Boulevard
San Leandro
California 94577