New Year, New You! Welcome to the Future.

I trust everyone enjoyed their holiday season and remembers everything they did on New Year's Eve.

Over the break I noticed this bike in Lawrence, Kansas:

It wasn't the best "cockie" I saw, but as I wrote in an email to BSNYC,

"I saw a "better" cockpit, but I think the bike belonged to a homeless guy begging for money. I felt it wrong to take a picture of his bike while he sat there in the cold. I also felt it was wrong to give him some money only to make myself feel better about taking a picture of his bike. So I didn't take a picture, and now I feel bad about that."

I also hit up Mr. Snob concerning the famed IKEA bike:

Notice the backwards fork on the second picture. I didn't give this poor wrenching a second thought until I read through the book Fixed I received as a gift. I must first say that 75% of the book is interesting in its coverage of the history of the bicycle and numerous forms of track racing that I had previously been under-informed about. The last 25% is crappy hipster writing about how cool the "fixie culture" is. Anywho, back to the matter at hand. In that book, the authors discuss motor-paced bike races and specifically say that the forks of these bikes would be turned around in order to allow the rider to get deeper into the slipstream of the motorcycle they were following:

I suggested that perhaps the IKEA bike rider was testing the bike's feasibility as a motor-pacing racer. We'll see if we see an increase of IKEA employees on the tracks of Berlin in the coming year.

During the break I also enjoyed some beer from The High Noon Saloon. In order they are Stumblin' Reindeer Christmas Ale, Raspberry Wheat, and Honey Wheat:



Like most beers at The High Noon, each of these is a tasty treat. The Stumblin' Reinbeer is obviously a seasonal beer, but the two wheat beers are brewed and served year-round. The only thing I'll say about them is that if you aren't in the mood for a sweet beer, stay away from the wheats. The combination of sweetness and the fact that they are wheats makes for a filling glass of beer.

Welcome to the future, here's to hoping it turns out as even-keeled as you can make it.