Taste the Wednesday!

Saturday, September 10th is the New York City Century:

And the good people at Transportation Alternatives who organize it would like you to know that the price goes up on Friday at midnight so you should register NOW:

Price increase alert!

There are only 3 more days to sign up ​for the NYC Century Bike Tour before registration prices go up, up, up. Secure your spot by midnight on Friday, August 26th to ​save big on registration for the best bike tour in New York City.

Now of course "midnight on Friday" is confusing because if it's Thursday night and the clock strikes midnight then it's technically now Friday at midnight, which would mean the price increase kicks in, yet most people probably think that "midnight on Friday" means when it's already Friday and then it turns midnight, even though that's technically Saturday at midnight.

So which is it?!?

Wel, I have no idea, and so you probably shouldn't take any chances and instead register on Wednesday at like 4pm-ish.

And don't forget that you get $5 off if you register with the discount code "2016BIKESNOB," as per the ad over there in the right-hand margin.

As for the ride itself, I recommend it, and I'm even thinking of joining this year.  (Last year you'll recall I merely settled for doing a "preview ride.")  The Century is generally billed as an "opportunity to ride 100 miles without leaving NYC," and while that may sound like a Flying Dutchman-esque nightmare it's easy to forget this is one big-ass city.  Therefore, this ride is a good opportunity to check out certain corners of town you might not otherwise visit.  Indeed, as per the email it's also going to take in some new terrain:

Take in NYC’s Most Epic Sights

For the first time ever on the NYC Century, you will get to experience riding...
Through seaside City Island
Over the new Bronx Connector from Randall’s Island 
Around the scenic Reservoir in Highland Park

I can vouch for City Island as an eminently worthwhile destination, though I'm ashamed to admit I haven't checked out the Randall's Island Bronx Connector yet, and I don't think I've ever checked out Highland Park, which lies deep in the no-Fred's-land between Brooklyn and Queens.

Oh, the ride also goes right through what is almost-but-not-quite literally my backyard, since I consider Van Cortlandt Park my backyard even though technically it's not:

Van Cortlandt Park: Did you know you can hike in New York? This park is the place, but you’ll get to take the Old Putnam Trail on two wheels.

For the low, low price of $50 I'm happy to furnish you with a detailed guide to what tire pressure you should run for this portion of the ride based on your physical dimensions and equipment details.

Best of all, you might even see a whale:

And of course, you’ll get to pedal through perennial favorite Floyd Bennett Field. See what “wide, open spaces” really means while you ride the open airstrips in New York’s first municipal airport (now decommissioned for you to explore) -- and Ft. Tilden / Jacob Riis Beaches, where thanks to cleaner ocean waters, whales and dolphins are now regularly spotted!

Regularly spotted, really?  I spent basically the first 40 years of my life in the general vicinity of this stretch of coastland and have never, ever seen either a whale or a dolphin, so either they've cleaned the shit out of it recently or this is simply not true.

That's not to take anything away from the area, which is one of my very most favoritest in the whole city, but just don't get your hopes up for seeing Flipper is all I'm saying.

So there.

Speaking of #whatpressureyourunning, I happened to read an article on the bikey Internets recently about a new cyclocross/gravel bike, which people keep insisting are two different things:

Otso™ Cycles officially launched today, lifting its media embargo after many months of planning and product development. The Minnesota-based Otso Cycles is a new bicycle company from the engineers at Wolf Tooth Components, and today the new company unveiled two innovative bikes in the form of its stainless steel, drop bar Warakin, and a carbon fat/plus bike in the form of its new Voytek hard tail. Naturally, we’re focusing most of our attention on the Warakin, and will be giving you a full test on the new bike in the near future.

Now I should start out by saying I wish Otso™ Cycles nothing but success with their new bike.  However, it's worth noting that we've officially reached a point where the gradations between different styles of drop-bar bikes are now smaller than those between different types of tires.  And this bike takes it to another level:

Otso’s description of the Warakin sounds exactly like like a Lycanthrope, but Warakin certainly rolls off the tongue easier. Regardless of the name, the shapeshifting bike can go from wolf to sheep with a quick change at the dropouts, allowing the bike to be optimized to carve up your hairpin-laden cyclocross course, and then your float through your gravel gran fondo the next day.

Sure, you could just change tires, but why stop there when you can also make imperceptibly subtle changes to your bike's geometry?

It's sort of sad that the cyclocross/gravel/whatever set has officially eclipsed roadies, mountain bikers, and even triathletes in anal retentiveness, and that your next off-road ramble will probably involve someone in your group saying, "Wait up everybody, I have to optimize my rear end!"

Though the fact of the matter is that nobody who buys one of these will ever adjust the dropouts because they'll soon discover it's hardly worth the effort, and indeed they'll completely forget about this feature until something starts creaking.

And never mind that this used to be a standard feature on road bikes that nobody misses unless they're looking to do a fixie coversion:

Meanwhile, in other news, an Uber driver beat up a cyclist and the NYPD couldn't be bothered to do anything about it:

There was nowhere to go, because the gutter was clogged with double-parked cars near Mr. Piña. The guy honked and I looked over my shoulder like, "Yo." At that time, I had no idea, but I left a slight [handlebar] residue on his window, which happens maybe one out of 25 times: I touch a car when I go between them. I think that's why he hopped out of the car, I think, but I'm not sure. He went wild on me.

Okay, I admit I don't know what "handlebar residue" is.  (Maybe she's running those new Cipollini bar ends?)  Nevertheless, I have no problem believing the driver flew into a rage because she touched his car, because nothing brings out people's inner psychotic like when you make contact with their precious motor vehicles.  It's the height of insanity that people believe they can operate and store giant multi-ton machines on public streets in the biggest city in America without somebody inadvertently touching them or--GASP!--scuffing them.  You're more likely to get away with touching a stranger's child than with touching their car.  (Though, and I can't stress this enough, please do not go touching people's children.)  Furthermore, I also have absolutely no problem believing that the cops discouraged her from filing a report:

James recounted that the cops acknowledged seeing the attack, and though pedestrians and the hack's two fares offered to serve as witnesses, the officers discouraged her from filing a police report.

After getting both side's stories, the cops purportedly told her that her schedule is probably too busy for her to attend the necessary court dates, and that prosecutors would be likely to drop an assault charge to harassment anyway. One privately tried to explain away the cabbie's behavior, saying, "The guy had a bad day," and adding that his father was a cab driver who "used to beat people up all the time."

Unfortunately the article does not identify the cops by name, but given the personal details one of them revealed I'd start by asking around for an Officer Bickle.

(Dear Ol' Dad)

Lastly, Heath Evans's Wikipedia page has proven to be as mercurial as an abusive taxi driver, for yesterday it looked like this:

But alas today it looks like this:

I was sorry to see the bit about running over cyclists was removed, but you'll notice it also no longer mentions his Christianity.  From this I can only conclude he's now renounced his faith, and arguably that's an even bigger victory than teaching him to respect cyclists.