Interbike Schminterbike

As a regular reader of many bike blogs, I always know when Interbike is on. I couldn't possibly care less. Sure, I buy bike stuff, but not bleeding edge new fangled stuff, and I can happily wait for useful innovations to prove themselves and come down in price before making a purchase. I have lost any desire to buy a complete bicycle since I started building them up for myself, so new models don't turn my crank either.

I do realize that Interbike is at its heart a tradeshow aimed at retailers and those in the bike industry. I guess I just don't understand why normal people would care, which many really seem to. There are, of course, "early adopters" in every kind of consumer activity. The people who had cell phones when they required a shoulder strap, for example.

image from totallytop10.com

Does Interbike hold interest for you? If so, please tell me why. I'm not being facetious here... is there something I'm missing about the experience? Perhaps it is the chance to hang with people who love cycling more than anything else. I've always been a loner cyclist. Is it my antisocial ways that are making me fail to see the attraction?

When it comes down to it, like many trade shows, I feel like Interbike is nothing more than a materialistic orgy coupled with a nice dose of self-indulgent debauchery. Hey, wait! I love self-indulgent debauchery! I love bikes! Self-indulgent debauchery centred around bikes! Never mind, I get it now. I don't have the time or money to do it, but I get it.

Remember, what happens in Las Vegas gets re-broadcast all over the place.

R A N T W I C K

I Thought I Had a Bad Diet

I am guilty of eating pretty poorly a lot of the time. I buy food out of vending machines at work, and I don't get enough fruit and veggies. However, no matter how bad you are, there is always somebody worse (unless you are Satan, I suppose). Most of us are familiar with some of the ultra-junky food that can be found at a fair or carnival, but I was taken aback by what I saw at the Western Fair (London Ontario's big one) last weekend. My wife is the one who spotted it and said I should take a picture, so you have her to thank for this:

Mmmmmm! Doesn't that look awesome? Don't you just want a plate RIGHT NOW? Well too bad, this kind of goodness is fair-specific. Just hope and pray that the eaters of this delicacy don't join you on some wild ride soon after enjoying it!

Yer Pal,

R A N T W I C K

PS - Although I am fond of "photoshopping" things, I did not modify that picture in any way other than cropping the sides. Truth, as is often the case, is grosser than fiction.