BikeSnob in Memoriam

Yesterday I suggested that BikeSnob NYC sold out. Well, I didn't exactly "suggest" it. It was a bit more like yelling it from a small wooden crate in the public square. Thank goodness there are only 7 people who look at this blog on a daily basis. BTW, thanks to you seven loyal readers. I couldn't go on without you.

So, calling Snobby a sell-out isn't very nice, even it is true, but I wanted to clarify a couple of things.

First, this is not anything like the Kimmage/Armstrong "debate", because so far BikeSnob has not called me unworthy of my seat and I would never call Snobby a cancer on the blogging world. In fact, I am awestruck by Snobby's wit and stamina. Below I have provided some links to some of my favorite BikeSnob posts. Some of them simply can't be topped. Writing a bike-oriented blog in the wake of BSNYC is like walking out of the Globe Theatre and deciding to be a playwright.

Second, this doesn't change Team Two Wheel's invitation to BikeSnob to come to Spokane to ride. We will even up the ante by giving Snobby his very own Fortitudine Vincimis t-shirt, in addition to the previously offered couch to sleep on and all the beer he can drink. BTW, what do you think about this quote from Snobby's Sept. 11, 2007 post: Every so often I'll get something . . . that makes me want to travel to someplace I've never been, ride with people I've never met, and experience cycling in a way I never have before. This is a cry for help, well maybe not help, but certainly a cry for an invitation to come to Spokane and ride bikes. Hey, maybe it could be BSNYC's first Bicycling Magazine road assignment!

Third, when I fake quoted BSNYC, I didn't mean to imply that BikeSnob would actually say "Holy Spumoni" or if he would that he would say it in connection with an implied doping situation. Apparently though, this caught the attention of the National Association for the Advancement of Bastardized Frozen Dairy Confections who contacted me to suggest that I was casting spumoni products in a negative light. For this I apologize. I won't apologize for my comments about Bicycling Magazine or Chris Carmichael, but I'm sorry about disparaging spumoni.

Lastly, I do want to give homage to BikeSnobNYC by asking you to read some of my favorite posts from long enough ago you may not have seen them or remember them. Enjoy and thanks BSNYC for your service to the cycling community.

It's All in the Details - A must read.

Six Signs You May be Missing the Entire Point of Cycling - Here is the first paragraph:

There is a certain type of judgmental, arrogant, and annoying person who somehow feels like he or she is in tune to the ineffable, intangible truths of cycling, and consequently acts like he or she has a profound understanding of riding that the rest of the world does not.

I am one of these people.

The BSNYC Used Bike Buyer's Guide - The definitive pro/con list of bike frame materials. Seriously. Check it out.

BSNYC Product Review: No Holds Barred - This is the one that started me on my journey through Snobby's 2007 diary.

And lastly, I think you will find this post from August 13, 2007 nothing less than prophetic: The BSNYC 2008 Dream Bike Shootout. Here is the opening, which is prophetic, but far from the funniest part of the post.

As a cyclist and writer, I’ve long dreamed of seeing my work printed in the pages of “Bicycling” magazine. So far, my efforts towards gaining entree into the “Redbook” of cycling publications have been thwarted. My pitches that have been rejected so far include:

"How To Raise (Or Lower) Your Saddle "
"Seven Tips for Repairing a Flat Tire—Underwater!"
"Five Ways To Keep Your Beer Gut Off Your Top Tube"
"Primal Jerseys and Half Shorts: Not Just For Pros Anymore"
"Six Tips For Out-Sprinting Your Wife"

This time, though, I’m confident I will finally get in. An issue of “Bicycling” without a bike shootout is like an issue of “Playboy” without a centerfold, or like an issue of “The New Yorker” without an unreadably boring short story. So I’ve taken it upon myself to review three of the hottest 2008 road bikes out there.

Again, I say to BSNYC, whoever you are, Chapeau!