i'm not hating but...

why wouldn't you just ride a BMX if you're going to be launching off mini-ramps...

it's like trying to 360 kickflip the Hubba Hideout 6 stair with a "bro'y" longboard...not cool, dangerous, and if you actually land it "why didn't you just use a regular skateboard?"...

is this a novely act? are all the spectators in on the joke...was there a giant cacophonous chortle after fixed gear man landed this (or judging by the picture, didn't land this)?

it reminds me of those photos i've seen of skier's riding handrails in suburban business parks...it just like, dude, ski's are for mountains not suburban sprawl thrashin'...

i'm not hating but...

and then there's all those fixie videos...like Mash SF



which is essentially an hour's plus montage of dudes riding really fast and then skidding, or riding around in circles backwards, or attempting to bunnyhop (cf. BMX)...whoopie right? and then a whole bunch of drinking and smoking and rebel rousing (which is the interesting part, but is more of a comment on SF (fading) youth culture than SF fixie culture)

i'm not hating but fixed gear bicycles aren't meant for tricks (aside from riding around in circles backwards which looks more Cirque de' soleil than Rad...and i'm not including "track stands" because they're pretentious...and then "skidding" is how you brake so it's not technically a trick)...i'm not hating but...

my brother rides a fixed gear, he loves it, he also says "they're retarded but super fun..." which i think is a great way of looking at the whole thing...i can deal with that perspective, for fun, that makes sense...but it's when dudes try to look all hard on their bikes, with that air of feined juvenilism that only urban dweller dudes in their late 20's can affect, do things start to feel a tad silly.

and i don't think anybody, let alone the fixie kids espousing the whole "it [riding fixie] keeps you grounded...your body becomes one with the bike...it's easier for city riding [??????]" explanation truely believes it...as if riding around the hilliest topos in the USA (San Francisco Bay Area) sans brakes is somehow conducive to safety.

and then

BMX is sort of the new thing (old) thing anyhow...i'm into that. BMX dudes can actually pull tricks, BMX dudes don't look like pussies trying to bunnyhop through the Lower Haight...BMX dudes tend to rove around SF in packs wall riding their way down Market yelling at tourists, it's all very The Warriors...and i love that movie...

hey James, i'm not hating on you...you are the coolest fixie kid i know, you ride your bike well and are super knowledgeable...the way you ride your bike is the antithesis of what i'm talking about here...

okay so maybe i'm hating a smidge...but not on you brother, not even on dudes who ride fixies per se...the dudes i'm hating on are the ones who try to pass off zero gear bicycle riding as an (shudder) action sport...

by the by, this post is apropos of nothing, no run-ins with douchy "outlaw" fixie kids adding fuel to the fire, a fixie kid didn't sleep with my girlfriend (i have none!)...nada, no instigation, i'm just lashing out on a Sunday morning...it's all old hat anyhow...

and now i'll leave you with FIX PUSH!!!


anyway, i'm in bed thinking about showering...happy new year!