So what’s threatening to destroy professional biking this week? Doping? Protests? Bizarre guidelines about handlebar width and kit ratios? No, it’s playing:
That may be an actual disgrace, seeing as how far the game has come:
UCI president David Lappartient informed Het Laatste Nieuws raised the specter of unlawful betting in biking in an earlier interview.
“Sports activities betting is like an iceberg,” he stated. “Ninety % of the bets are unlawful and occur beneath the waterline,” Lapparient informed HLN. “That’s how it’s in soccer, tennis and handball. I don’t need to get to a day when biking, as soon as we’ve climbed out of the valley of doping, and the battle towards mechanical fraud has been efficiently carried out, is undermined by corruption and playing scandals.”
Riiight.
They’ve climbed out of the valley of doping all proper–and at document speeds!
Nothing suspicious about that in any respect.
As for playing on biking, that’s a positive signal you’ve an actual downside, like when drunks begin breaking thermometers open for the alcohol. Outdoors of Belgium, I’d think about most individuals solely begin betting on biking after they get banned from the canine observe. Even so, I wouldn’t fear an excessive amount of about it ruining biking, as a result of everyone knows it’s the carbon fiber that did that.
The truth is, it may very well be that playing is the one factor that might save biking. Keirin is a type of bicycle racing that exists completely so folks can wager on it, and it’s the one self-discipline left through which the racers nonetheless use actual bicycles:
Coincidence? I feel not. Perhaps we have to put the yakuza accountable for the UCI. By the best way, I requested a well-liked search engine “Is keirin fastened?” and I acquired the next reply:
There you go, the repair is in.
Talking of old style gear, for the second week in a row I flouted custom by spending “Wooded Wednesday” on the pavement as a substitute of the dust:
Although I did make a short foray into gravel territory:
I notice it’s a stretch to name that gravel, however my understanding of the phrase is that it now refers to something that’s not a paved highway or a mountain bike path. No matter it was I felt like I used to be floating over it on these 30mm tubulars. I used to be additionally carrying the very newest in biking footwear know-how:
You don’t even want to alter your sneakers to go bowling afterwards:
However whereas I’ll take pleasure in L’Eroica-themed cosplay I’m additionally nonetheless open to attempting new issues–barely open, like that steamed mussel you’re undecided it’s best to eat, however roll the cube on nonetheless. The truth is, bear in mind I had that garvel-type body I used to be trying to promote?
Properly, since then I’ve acquired nary a nibble, and so I questioned if perhaps I’d have higher luck if it had been a whole bike. Plus, I figured the method of placing it collectively can be a enjoyable wet day mission, while on the identical time broadening my horizons a bit–however not an excessive amount of, since this may nonetheless be a completely mechanical bike, together with the brakes. And to that finish, I requisitioned some stuff, together with this, a lot to the delight of the cat:
It’s a Microshift Sword Black mini-group consisting of the shrakes (I dislike the time period “brifter” so I’m hoping I could make shrake catch on):
[Well, technically one shrake and one brake lever, since it’s for a single ring setup.]
Which appear like Cthulhu:
The derailleur:
Which appears like a sculpture from “Beetlejuice” that may come alive at any second and begin inch-worming itself throughout the ground:
And the cassette, which is the very first thing I’d seize to defend myself within the occasion of a house invasion:
It’ll most likely be awhile earlier than I get this factor collectively, however I’ll preserve you posted.
