Believing Your Own BS

 In a World that's filled with bovine fecal matter, why add to the stench? It's easy to see how the feeble may follow the crooked paths set by the various social engineers who have baffled them with their bombardment of thinly veiled hypnotism, but what about those who have an Intelligence Quotient that hovers around or is above room temperature? While some of the latter group may have also been told throughout their lives that they can "do whatever they want or set themselves to do" by parents, teachers, clergy, gurus, etc., they may be at more of a disadvantage because that is inherently untrue for anyone of any caliber. I witnessed many individuals who were quite intelligent come and go quickly from my profession of twenty years and the ones that clung onto it as long as possible for the sake of their fragile ego were merely believing their own stinky-assed bullshit. They were only fooling themselves.

 Those who believe their own bullshit from a bicycle saddle are a varied lot. My favorite ones to observe are amateur racers. While many amateurs are most assuredly just simple folk testing their limits or merely having fun with friends, the bullshit believers are a mix of madness who bring bad tidings that can be hilarious and sad all at once to witness. Getting all chippy about booby-prize level winnings, amateur rankings, or egotistical aspiration is total bullshit to anyone paying attention. This notion is furthered by amateur sandbaggers, who are a whole other level of bullshit. The list goes on, if you get my drift. The impacts of those who are unrealistic about their abilities on a bicycle in the dirt are many, and from environmental to social, their path of buttfunk permeates the trails they pollute.

The subset of those who ride mountain bikes and volunteer for trail work, are often just shown minimal skills in this vein and suddenly believe they know it all, sometimes 9negatively impacting whole trail systems. While some of their work under the umbrella of legitimate trail advocacy (legitimate being key here) can be proper, their "off the books" misdeeds are often fine examples of poor execution and sanitization. Sadly, poor execution may also emit from less than competent crews set forth by groups claiming to be advocates who believe thier own bullshit. Happening upon a trail that has had brush work where the crew left the trimmings in the trail bed is a prime example of poor execution. This is especially true when an antisocial media post from the group about their seemingly Herculean "good deed" includes a photo of their trail tools for the task with a rake in it. WTF? The next thing to be expected from a bullshit group like that would be laying claim to work they did not do. It's how the deluded roll.

How does one avoid the pitfalls of believing their own bullshit? Since we're all wired at least a little differently, there is no "one size fits all" solution that the mass media sells incessantly in regards to *anything*. I've been fortunate in my life to gain professions that are considered by some as "quiet professional", a prime key in the cog the mainstream populace seems to either not know of, or often forgets. Many times over the years, the only moments I have thought something I had done in my professions was exemplary, was when an esteemed peer made mention of such. To me, it was just doing what I was being paid to do at the level I could accomplish. The same is true when throwing my leg over a top tube, though not as a profession (except for when guiding). When an esteemed peer, or those who may even be many levels beyond me makes mention of something they see as exemplary in my riding, it's not bullshit, but a confirmation that I had a proverbial "moment in the sun". They are thanked and things are left at that, with maybe an explanation as to what the fuck I just did to appease their curiousity when asked that. Face it, we're all just some dude/dudette on a bike and trying to hard to be something else is just plainly and simply Bullshit. Believe That

Riders Come and Go, Kooks Accumulate

Revolutionary

 Ever since I read "1984" for a book report at the continuation school I was sent to for truancy in my senior year of high school, Orwell's words have been Gold to me. I needed to make up two semesters of English credits to obtain my diploma and when offered the option of book reports on how to do so, I chose his prophetic dystopian novel to begin the process. When submitted at the beginning of a class a day after finishing the book, the teacher read the report and called me to their desk to discuss what I had written. "What are you doing here, writing something like this?" I told them that when the standard curriculum in the first semester dictated I read Shakespeare, I told that teacher I would not read that shit and was advised I'd not pass the class. I stopped going, hence the truancy issue. After being told that I would be done with obtaining credit to graduate by writing a number of similar reports, I scratched them out rapidly from books I'd already digested. I was done with high school a couple of months before my peers, thanks to Orwell, Stephen King, Joseph Wambaugh, Ken Kesey, Ken Follett, and a few others.

 When I first spotted the above meme a few years ago, it was saved for a few reasons beyond being more Orwell Gold. While it's seemingly more germaine today than it was when Orwell was still attached to his mortal coil, the truth of those words have rung throughout the (de)evolution of humankind. The acceleration of misinformation and other truth-dodging matter in this day and age of accessible information is undoubtedly increasing. If the truth is not spoken, the future seems rather bleak and I don't do bleak very well.

 The association with cycling in this light contains many facets. Though some of my posts based on simple etiquette subjects are most definitely of a ranty nature, the unfiltered observations are truthful. Ignorance in this age of information is self-imposed, especially when so many have a virtual Encyclopedia in their hand. How do mountain biking people not know how to yield the trail properly on a singletrack when searching "The Fruita Lean" online takes less than a second? When AI knows something like this and a trail user doesn't, it speaks volumes about that user's contribution to the Idiocracy, most likely omnipresent in all aspects of their puny lives that further contribute to the degradation of civilized society. Yeah, turn on your apphole craphole, but don't bother with how to recreate without destroying the environment you choose to degrade with self-imposed ignorance. The Idiocracy is real and furthered by the self-indulgent.

 Do I consider myself a revolutionary? No, and as far as I'm concerned the truth should not be considered as such. Orwell's words seem to me as an observation about mainstream public perception. The "mainstream" has been buried under a quagmire of bullshit for centuries, heaping up at an accelerated pace. My own experiences of living outside the proverbial box lessens that quagmire in my life and as such, is where I reside comfortably as just some dude on a bike.

Riders Come and Go, Kooks Accumulate 

Squorx Nipple Driver Hack

 I've been building wheels for over a quarter of a century now and can usually get one ready to roll from start to finish in about 45 minutes (fresh 29er BMX trad builds above). This is using the standard j-bend spokes, nipples and flanged hubs with single wall or double wall rims. I'm no expert by any means, but the trust I've built with my work to stand up to the rigors of a Clydesdale riding the varied terrain I enjoy lends to the legitimacy of my builds.

 Enter the Squorx. I understand the concepts behind them and respect those who have embraced this technological advantage, especially in regards to professionals who depend on the time factor. With proven tools and methods, wheelbuilders trained properly can turn out quality in a fraction of the time traditional wheelbuilding normally does. Since I have plenty of time and no desire to delve into modern wheelbuilding beyond the two mountain bikes I own, investing in the tools and methods does not interest me.

 The hack was borne from a trip to the hardware store, where my intent was to purchase a Torx T20 bolt to modify as a driver. This particular hardware store has all of their T20 driven hardware in sealed containers, so checking fitment was impossible without being a turd and breaking a package open. However, right next to the Torx bolts/screws were drywall screws/sinks and it hit me. Those sinks are plastic and a heated Squorx would melt right into it and create a driver. Knowing I have a few at home, I bailed from the store empty-handed. Upon arriving home and opening the utility odds/ends drawer, the first thing I spied that was plastic was an old ballpoint pen. After clipping the clicking end off and stripping the internals, I spun a Squorx onto an old spoke, heated the Squorx and slowly pressed the pointy end of the pen shell onto it. As the plastic cooled, it was pressed gently to mold the T20 shape internally. After cooling, the Squorx was removed and the plastic filed relatively smooth. Easy Peasy

 While this device is no means a professional driver, it will allow me to get the Squorx and accociated washers threaded onto the spokes and then finish the build traditionally from there. The Case is Solved

Riders Come and Go, Kooks Accumulate 

Big Boy BMX

It will go fast. Rideable now, though pending a few changes to be complete.

Old School

A grommet by the name of Jeff Sievers, kickin' it manual style in Cypress, CA circa 1977. The neighborhood kids all rode and most of them at least attempted to be rad about it. Bikes and Freedom

Exorcism

Demons must be defeated. I may need to wait until Spring to complete the process, but it has begun. It'll be a blast...