Late May, Bob Dylan's birthday, to be exact

FROM TIME TO TIME we've had anagram contests, either for fun or, in the case of the Gus Bootls-Wilson, to come up with another name for basically the same bike. That's how we got both Susie W. Longbolts and Wolbis Slugstone. Here are some entries for an upcoming model, the Charlie H. Gallop. Notes to the right. There are about 225 of them, so if you hate this stuff, scroll way down now. I'm sure TREK does stuff like this all the time.

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Join the scouts signs on my way to work:

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The following photos and discussion are from a 1970 issue of the formerly famous French cycling magazine, Miroir Du CYCLISME. Issue No. 135. First, the cover:

The left rider, Dutch-or Danish guy Jan Jannsen has half-step gearing probably 52x45 chainrings), and is riding Campagnolo parts. The left rider is Frenchman Bernard Thevenet, who always rode Peugeots equipped with Mafac centerpulls and Simplex derailleurs (French for derailers). Thevenet won the Tour six years later, and -- not judging, just as a matter of fact--was later found to have doped a lot. In those days it was common. Maybe not as common as it was in the '90s onward, but still common. It is unrealistic to expect riders to ride that hard that long with no recovery and no dope. Anyway, here's the story:

I always try to translate without help if I can, and I got the headline as "The Fair Taper of the Digits (fingers), but imagine my exhuberant elation when I looked up online I was delighted to find the actual translation is:

TO BE SLAPPED ON THE KNUCKLES

They don't write photo captions like that anymore.

And after the that, this is the real rest of it:
The Australian Ron Baensch fell heavily on the Leicester track in the quarter-finals of the professional speed and the Italian Damiano, who rolled on his hand, will qualify for the semi-finals. Given the "regularity" demonstrated by certain competitors in the speed events, the Australian would just as
well have closed his hand on his opponent's path!






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One of Shimano's plans for "bicycles."
If you need electric brakes, fine, we won't get in the way.






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OTHER: One of you called yesterday and asked if I had time to hear a poem you'd written, and I said No, but call back in ten minutes and I will. This was the second poem-call from this fellow, and I liked the first one and was ready to hear this, but at the moment I really REALLY couldn't spare the three minutes. He never called back.
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We will have another paper catalog in the late Fall or Winter. For 2025 and maybe it'll work for a few years after that. The 2018 catalog is still goood, but some of the bike specs and all of the prices are old. We'll try to build some future-proofness into this next one. It will be "information-packed, opinion-packed, and critical of certain trends. It's OUR catalog, we can say what we like, it will have zero big-picture impact. I am trying to write it in a civilized tone, but I don't feel tooo civilized when I see where bikes are going.
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Sometimes thin layers are all you can muster, but they accumulate over time and they all add up, baby.
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Cars and bikes, sharks and guppies, nobody died.

Watch the video. Why even allow follow-cars in any race. I think the driver will be the safest follow-car driver of all time from now on. Still, there shouldn't be any.
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Back to anagrams. ROSCO BUBBE. Submit by postcard in legible printing. The way to do it, to play, the best way, is to write R O S C O B U B B E on thick corrugated box stuff, cut out the squares, and shift them around like there's no tom orrow and see how may pronounceable variants you can muster. Write them down on paper or postcard. If you use a poscard, consider that Ol' Mister Postman will lay some scanning tape over the bottom left side. Paper might be better if you have a lot. Put your name on the same paper or postcard as your entries. Don't assume that we'll staple the envelope to the entries, b/c as ye olde rule of thumbe, I throw out envelopes first thing. My whole family has done this for generations.
There may be a small prize, or small priZES. If we use it on a bicycle model (unlikely, but if there were no chance I wouldn't be putting this out there), then you'll get one of those frames for free, or bikes for 70 percent off when they arrive, which if it happens at all, will be sometime in 2025. Entries must be received by June 20. Account for that when you mail. Entries rec'd by email won't count. SEND TO:
Like this:



The bike will be a Hillibike, but that doesn't mean we're looking for rugged terrain references.

Winners will be voted on by non-RIV employees, but they won't be randosplucked-from-the-street.
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THIS IS WHERE THE INDUSTRY IS GOING. READ THIS WHOLE THING. It's just a Cannondale catalog ad for its new road bike.

I'm sure it's good for what it is, and aside from the carbon part of it and a few other things, it's probably really good. But by the time you make it a complete bicycle with "appropriate" parts, you're up to $10,000+.
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I bought a book a couple of weeks ago and the author had signed a few of them. All had the same rather fantastic signature, slight variations, so I know it wasn't a stamp.

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"Neo Classico" ?
DeRosa is a classic Italian road frame maker who, like all of the others, is gone full Americano in its current bicycles, and yet still has one lugged steel frame in its line, a frame that costs $4,000 (and is unquestionably made in China, as a matter of fact and not derision)...and has the wildest description I've ever read about anything, and strange geometry chart, and here you go right here.
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I went fishing again, Sun-Wed, flew back yesterday, back here today. Pumps are coming today. Will's gone on family vacation, light crew today.

That's why this Blahg is short. Things are OK here. There are always pressures related to money, delivery, projects, developing stuff, but the group here is really good, everybody works hard and is nice, and we're happy with the bikes and always feel lucky to have your support. This is not me asking for continued support, I'm just stating a fact. Thanks.

Grant