At work I overheard a conversation between a couple coworkers about a blown out Shimano 10-speed shifter. A shifter they made for only one year. A shifter that is not compatible with any other Shimano set up. And I said “I hate that shit. That’s such bullshit”
Then Alistair said, “don’t make Mark put on his Grant Petersen cap and go on a 30-minute rant about friction shifting…” and I smiled and nodded.
In 2012 when Just Ride came out I was a former bike messenger, a sleep-deprived father and a crusty bike commuter commuting somewhere between Mad Fiber and BikeWorks. I read through it quickly and put it on the shelf. For me, a cranky old school steel bike guy, it was like preaching to the choir.
Here and now it’s 2024 and Bicycle Sentences just came out. I read through it a couple times and then I was inspired to go back to Just Ride and read it again. Once more with feeling. I’m still a cranky old school steel bike guy, but now I’m even older and crankier and it speaks to me in new ways, different ways. I’m not just part of the choir, nodding along with the preacher. I’m not just drinking the Kool-Aid. Grant Petersen knows what he’s talking about reguarding the racer-non racer thing and the bike industry.
With Just Ride refreshingly fresh in my mind I saw an old silkscreen in a new way and made a few just RIDE postcards.
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