Kissena Forum Archive

In Print: Articles of Interest

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Typo in the headline; should be "Fat Wanker" lol

https://www.cyclingnews.com/features/mark-cavendish-from-fat-banker-to-sprinting-goat/
WTF

https://theradavist.com/2020/11/2020-keeps-surprising-us-dunkin-donuts-tandem/
SOMUCHHOTNESS
Haha holy shit. The wheelies on this thing would be next level. 
eloy said:

I have a fair bit of tandem experience. What I've found is that you don't want is the stoker to need to put their foot down every time you come to a stop. It just makes every stop light a much more difficult coordination exercise. But with this ridiculous design it seems that as soon as the captain puts their foot down and unweights the front wheel it would just pop off the ground and potentially send the stoker to the floor (unless they are holding on tight in which case the captain will need to use their arms to hold the front down). 
Doing a wheelie on a tandem with a seat behind the rear wheel axle. What could go wrong?

... at $500 I'd be tempted to try it if it wasn't going to be in the trash a few days later
While the lack of specs is a problem, this tandem could be a way to ride kids around.  Though obviously, they'd have a problem with the distance between the saddle and the bottom bracket, and I don't think that can be remedied.

I wrote them for specs and to see if there was one that could be tested.
Speaking of impossibly crazy bicycle designs, check out these pictures of a guy I ran into back in 2013. He was and engineer or something and had designed the bike, and more specifically, the crank arms, to have the legs more closely mimic a running stride. Look at those crank arms


I kinda love that this almost looks like a normal bike where they added a couple of tubes and a saddle to the rear triangle.
eloy said:
I kinda love that this almost looks like a normal bike where they added a couple of tubes and a saddle to the rear triangle.
What's going on with the rear crank ?
"Interceptor?" Should be called the "dick chopper 9000"
eloy said:
I kinda love that this almost looks like a normal bike where they added a couple of tubes and a saddle to the rear triangle.
What's going on with the rear crank ?
Maybe its got a dual sided drivetrain (like that land-speed record bike)- for speed of course.
American woman rides bike 147 mph a new world record  VeloNewscom
https://nyacknewsandviews.com/2020/11/street-banner-drive-walk-bike/

It got noticed.  

But ultimately, the banners had to come down.  Apparently, not solicitous enough of drivers.
https://cyclingtips.com/2020/11/the-dictator-the-oligarch-and-the-uci-president/

In case you didn't already have a stomach full of bile the UCI is always standing at the ready to assist :/
Got this from Rapha


As you know, earlier this year we committed to fighting discrimination within cycling as part of our wider effort to promote diversity, inclusion and greater equality in the sport we love. It’s absolutely imperative that as we develop our relationship with this subject, we do so with integrity. So we are writing to you today to clarify our position on the actions of new Canyon//SRAM Racing rider Chloé Dygert who, back in June, endorsed racist and transphobic views on social media. Rapha wholeheartedly condemns these actions as they were offensive, divisive and have no place in cycling or society.

 

Since we became aware of this incident, we have taken time to fully investigate what happened, consulting with the rider, Canyon//SRAM Racing and other partners in order to take informed action in response. Having undergone that process, we believe that Chloé has made very serious errors of judgment, which were compounded by an apology she issued that was not sufficient. However, we also believe that trusting the ability of people to change is key to reaching any form of meaningful reconciliation. Having spoken to her at length, we believe that Chloé has the capacity and the will to listen, learn and to change.

 

All of us, the team and each of its partners, have acknowledged that we need to take action following this incident to ensure that this never happens again. Canyon//SRAM Racing have already taken clear steps to work with Chloé and is engaging with an external Diversity & Inclusion consultant in order to develop a comprehensive programme of diversity and inclusion training that focuses on dialogue and education. This is something that we believe will have a considerable impact within the team and beyond. Exact details of the program will be published by the team in the coming weeks.

 

As a result of our conversations, the willingness that Chloé has demonstrated, and the meaningful actions that Canyon//SRAM Racing is putting in place, Rapha will continue to support the team. Acknowledging that they, like us, must do more to promote diversity, inclusion and equality, Canyon//SRAM Racing has been instrumental in promoting women’s cycling over the last five years, and the continuation of this work should not be jeopardised by the actions of one person. This incident has been an opportunity for all of us to learn and understand how much more we can all do. 

 

Finally, we would like to reiterate our stance on this issue once more. Discrimination has no place in cycling or society, and we are committed to fighting it in all of its forms by promoting diversity, inclusion and equality in the sport. There is no issue we take more seriously, and should there be any subsequent breach of these standards, the team will review the position outlined immediately. As part of this process, we will be reviewing our own working policies and practices to prevent similar incidents in the future. The last two weeks have served only to intensify our commitment to improve, starting with the actions outlined here.

 

If you have questions or would like to respond to this statement, please contact us using the link below.

 

Respond

 

Yours sincerely,

Rapha

The plot thickens. Why is Canyon having Rapha do their PR on this? Would have made sense to sign this one jointly. Also, the continued silence of the athlete in question speaks volumes.
Jules said:
The plot thickens. Why is Canyon having Rapha do their PR on this? Would have made sense to sign this one jointly. Also, the continued silence of the athlete in question speaks volumes.
Rapha is not doing Canyon's PR. Rapha is doing Rapha's PR. While they are both sponsors of the team, there is likely little collaboration and coordination when it comes to marketing/pr or anything else -- including Dygert's hiring.

I think I understand the concerns here, but what would be an appropriate response? to cancel Dygert, fire her?

Over the years, I have met plenty of talented cyclists that were basic jerks as young twenty somes and grew up to be well balanced awesome athletes in their thirties. Even one notable Kissena alumn comes to mind (DM and maybe I'll tell you who)
Agreed on people’s ability to change although my experience has been that success is the antidote to self reflection. Chloe doesn’t really fit the profile of someone hitting bottom due to their douchebaggery; quite the opposite. She cut her damn lego off and then inked a 4 year deal.

Regardless I think the sensible thing would have been for Rapha to have co-signed that note with Canyon and gotten any kind of statement out of Chloe that wasn’t a bullshit sorry not sorry. Kudos to Rapha for calling out her bs statement though - that’s more than the rest have done.

Honestly if Chloe has eaten enough crow (as the email implies) then she can take the time to make a statement that at a minimum acknowledges how she put her foot in it with that garbage apology.

Look if she’s too stupid or truculent to figure that part out I’m super skeptical she can learn the rest of it.
Not sure if this fits here, but it looks like Diamondback Bikes is doing a cool thing for black Friday.  

https://www.diamondback.com/ 


My feeling is its not surprising Rapha is putting out a statement.

What is surprising is that SRAM has been so quiet.  

This is the company doing World Bicycle Relief, making a big show of supporting women, of supporting diversity. 
Jules said:
Agreed on people’s ability to change although my experience has been that success is the antidote to self reflection.

part if the beauty of cycling is that even MVDP gets dropped, or in this case, hits a railing that cuts the muscles in your leg and takes months to get back. 

https://www.duluthnewstribune.com/lifestyle/travel/6766608-Duluth-man-publishes-3-volume-tale-of-his-bike-trip-around-the-world
Rather than piss all over this list how about the "characters" that should be added?

Zabriskie
Bob Roll
...?
Awesome !

https://www.cyclingnews.com/news/cherie-pridham-becomes-first-female-directeur-sportif-in-mens-worldtour-with-israel-start-up-nation/
Came across this article on The Red Bulletin

https://www.redbull.com/us-en/theredbulletin/kate-courtney-and-chloe-dygert-american-muscle

While the point is puffing up their own athletes, it comes across that Dygert is probably an aggressive jerk much of the time.  Also of note, that she has gotten injured aplenty, and not just in bike racing.
^yeah that's an older one. I can't believe an "older" article is talking about COVID isolation. It is kind of mind blowing.

This quote makes me thing about my pet theory that certain political leanings have more to do with personal trauma than anything rational:

In a 2015 interview, Dygert told the Indianapolis Star, “I love the contact in basketball. I have a very competitive, want-to-hurt-somebody kind of mentality.” That attitude carried over to other sports; she was kicked off a club soccer team for being too aggressive and was asked to play on a boys’ team.
I am often the cynic but hiring a guy for his "aura" seems to be wishful thinking in the extreme.

https://www.cyclingnews.com/news/dan-martin-what-chris-froome-brings-to-the-team-is-really-underestimated/

It is one thing to join a group of people at the top of their game, and step your game up as a result, in order to stay on the team. It is another entirely to have *one* person join a group and hope the "aura" of the superstar will osmos into everyone.

I feel like I've seen so many of these "we're building a team around This Guy" stories and the story always seems tailored to the sponsors who are paying, not to reality. 

In the business world this doesn't happen. A star won't make his or her colleagues so much better that they join the ranks of the elite. Excellent teams are built by hiring teams of excellent people, not my hoping lone celebrities will ooze their world class shmoo onto everyone around them.

I'd love to see Froome win another tour, but this doesn't seem or sound that reasonable.

My heart said yes and my brain said no' - Cavendish to Deceuninck-QuickStep

https://www.sbs.com.au/cyclingcentral/article/2020/12/08/my-heart-said-yes-and-my-brain-said-no-cavendish-deceuninck-quickstep
This should be written, "My heart said YES and my brain said (absolutely) NO but then he pulled out a big wedge of personal sponsorship money out and I handed him a QuickStep jersey immediately". 
Nice article on L39ION of LA team.

https://www.cyclingnews.com/features/l39ion-of-los-angeles-and-how-justin-williams-is-redefining-racing-in-the-us/