Words & no photos

In many ways these are hard times for Americans. There are good people who face loosing everything. America's status as, "The Land of opportunity" has been greatly reduced . Thousands of people are loosing their jobs. Many college graduates are faced with huge student loans and little to no job prospects. These are harsh realities, constantly reinforced by the seemingly endless cycle of bank failures and continued finical collapse. It has created in interesting juxtaposition of the failures of American life.

One one hand, greedy corporate crooks have found their pay rolls have either been greatly receded or have dried up completely. This cathartic cleansing of the landscape of American greed, in many ways is a sort of welcomed relief. I do not believe it possible under any circumstance to ethically accept bonuses from a "pool (which has) increased to a size almost beyond comprehension." - source . Simply put you can't make that much money without fucking over everyone ells. It's become the new American dream, greed . In may ways, its something which is no longer even questioned or discussed. One could even argue the principals of the republican and the Libertarian pseudo-party are entirely based upon it. So to see the failures of those who covet greed and excess above all ells, is something of a welcome relief.

On the other hand. It's Relief tinged with a bitter after taste of the cascading wave of failures plaguing America's middle class. From unemployed in the rust pits of Detroit. To the farmer who cannot sow his fields because of a deceased credit market and a lack of actual capital.

But who am I to say such things? I write a blog, which in many ways is about the excess of bike culture. Where one post might be a out a $10,000 bike and another about a $300 jersey. $10,000 is more money than many people live of (in America) for a year. Well for one, this blog is in many was just a reflection of Orange County's bike culture. And after all Orange County was founded on the ideals of greed and excess. So in that sense it's almost out of my control. But the reality of it is, you like looking at pictures of nice bikes, and I like taking pictures of them. In fact I would go as far to say that a high end bike is a work of art in itself.

Sure my blog has it's share of, "More money than sense" type post. But when it comes down to, cycling for me is all about, fun and practicality. Ridding a bike is almost always fun so that's a big part of the equation. However the pratical benefits of cycling are substantial as well. I fully realize that casually glancing over my blog, one could easily get the impression that I am myself a member of the, "More money than sense club". Rest assured that couldn't be further from the truth. Despite the fact that I have a good steady well paying job and I made $50,000 last year, I'm still essentially broke. Food, Rent, Insurance, & basic essentials, after that there's not much left. All of my cycling goods are acquired through bartering. Most of the money is spent before I even get a pay check. And fuck, that's life. Ridding a bike for transportation does however save me allot of money. It give me the freedom to get where I need to go, without finical burden. This is of course great power in it's self. So as the list of needy Americans grows larger and depths of finical ruins grow deeper. I for one, like to think that bikes aren't irrelevant. Cycling legislature isn't a joke, and just because it's two wheeled and human powered doesn't make it a toy. These are serious times, in need of serious discussion and answers. Let's just just make sure we don't leave bikes out of that discussion. Or ells, we might wake up one day, to a nation covered by entirely by useless supper high ways. Built for cars which run on the petrol we have all but used up.