 New York City, not the band]. All the advertising agencies, they use the bike as an icon of the good life. And it’s one of the top five icons of a good life.
When you’ve made it, you’re going to go out and ride your bike and have a great time. This is real freedom and everything. While that’s great, and we get, in a way, this free advertising, we as an industry have never controlled it, that message.
We are always doing this whole guerrilla advertising sort of thing, and we’re not a big force. Especially in the United States. Only 40 per cent of people in the United States even owns a bicycle. So there’s a 60 per cent majority that has no idea how much fun we’re having! And that’s really the crazy part.
People look at us riding up a hill and go, ‘That guy’s gotta be miserable.’ And nothing could be further from the truth.
So how do we share the fun?
We start with the kids. [That massive laugh returns again as he switches to his pantomime voice.] Now you see my wicked plan!
[More wild pirate laughter. His expression says this is so obvious and excellent, that we switch instead to a different topic.]
I have another question, one that my brother was wondering when I told him about this trip. When I asked him about innovation in cycling, he commented that bike has basically looked the same for about 100 years.
Given your history in reshaping what a bike can do, what do you think are the most underrated innovations in bike design?
Hmmm. That’s a really good question… The most underrated innovations in bike design…. [he says, thinking…] because they’ve all be rated pretty high…
I know what it is! For mountain biking, it’s the trail. A good trail makes you look like a genius! [That infectious laughter again.]
I had this experience two years ago – we went to the 25th anniversary of the European World Championships. They were in France and they were held in a ski resort. It was on hiking trails, basically. We were given the opportunity to ride the original course. It hadn’t been ridden in years. And here I am riding this course and we’re walking all this stuff. It was just unrideable. It was ridiculous.
Because it hadn’t been maintained? Or because it wasn’t ridable in the first place?
It wasn’t built for mountain bikers to start with and it wasn’t…it was a really crummy trail. And quite honestly, in the beginning days of NORBA and all that we held all these races, especially up in ski resorts, because they were willing to pay for us to come up. [NORBA was the National Off-Road Bicycle Association and ran from 1983-2004, a bit like Mountain Bike Australia (MTBA), but more NORBA-y]
They loved us. They had a famous event and they didn’t have many spectators. It would fill all their condominiums for a week and they wouldn’t have to deal with the public.
I used to be on the NORBA Board of Trustees. And I used to be complaining all the time saying, ‘Can’t we make a course that’s actually faster with the bike than without the bike?’
Such a crazy idea!
Yeah! And I rode this course. And I’m going, this is a miserable piece of crap. It’s a miracle that anybody got beyond riding stuff like that to actually enjoy the sport.
What do you think are the big limitations that we have to overcome now?
In the States, acceptance from the other 60 per cent. And those are mostly guys like me. Old white guys. And they’ve got the money and the power and everything. And they’re the ones that are saying ‘no, never, you’re going to have to pry my cold, dead fingers off my steering wheel. The car is the answer and it’s the only way.’ And they’re entirely wrong.
[The conversation detours as we take a tour around the world, the history of transport, health, the medical system and lots and lots of un-fact-checkable-but-very-motivating stats.]
What advice would you give to people who are already part of the riding community now?
To go out and teach somebody how to ride right. And tell them what it’s all about. And talk about all the…all the medical papers, peer reviewed, that say what we’ve been saying all along: I’m very happy when I ride a bike. I’m healthier. I’m more intelligent.
There’s also this thing where you’re doing this thing. Skaters do it, surfboarders do it, skiers do it. And you’re doing this motion. And this motion has been proven to create happiness in your brain.
Flow.
Yeah! It’s why we dance! It’s why we do all this stuff you know! It creates happiness.
And after all, at the end of the day, what are you really after?
What are people really after?
Well, OK. The top five death bed regrets, right?
Which are?
Which are…
I should work more!
No, it’s never that!
No, it’s…people don’t lie [at that point]. They look back on life and they say, I wish I’d taken better care of myself, my health. I wish that I kept my friends. I wish that I told everybody around me how I really felt. And I wish I had tried to do what I really wanted to do.
[As we wrap up our interview, I can’t help but think that Gary is a man who has certainly done just that. And in the processes, he’s swept along a whole wave of people who can now call themselves mountain bikers with him.]
Thank you.Weather affects every aspect of our lives. Bad weather makes traffic a nightmare. It can disrupt our conveniences (electrical service, television service, etc.). We plan trips around weather patterns (going to the beach in sunny summer weather, skiing in snowy winter weather). Weather can make us feel happy or sad, good and bad. It can help us feel refreshed and energized, or just plain old.
Summertime brings thoughts of beaches and swimming pools, and lying in the sun to get a tan. The average person spends more time outdoors during the summer months, and two of the more common factors of summertime weather are heat and humidity. Any woman who’s ever spent an hour styling her hair and stepped outdoors on a hot, humid day can tell you firsthand that heat and humidity can ruin a hairstyle.
The physical side bonds in our hair are broken by the application of heat and water. This is why we are able to style the hair using wet sets on rollers, and by using blow-dryers, curling irons and flat iron. Exposing styled hair to a hot, humid environment causes these side bonds to break again allowing the hair to return to its natural state. Naturally straight hair will have its curls begin to collapse. Naturally curly hair that has been ironed will begin to frizz and slide back into its curly state.
Some styling products can help to seal the hair shaft and make the hair resistant to the effects of weather, but they can only do so much in very intense weather situations.
Another “weather effect” that’s common in the summer is sun damage. In the same way that UV rays from the sun affect the melanin in the skin, it also causes changes in the melanin in the hair. Prolonged sun exposure can lighten the hair, and sometimes, when dealing with artificial haircolor, can alter the color to an undesired shade. The UV rays penetrate the hair shaft and disperse the melanin that gives the hair its color.
Wind can also damage the hair. Exposure to strong persistent winds can create tangles and snags in wavy and curly long hair. The wind buffets the hairs against one another which rough the cuticle layer causing the hairs to catch on one another. In addition, hair that is repeatedly buffeted in strong or gusting winds can develop split ends as the hairs brush against one another.
Most of these problems can be controlled with modern styling products, but there are limits to what the products can achieve. It’s easier to limit your exposure to the elements.
Norway emerged with their unbeaten record intact after Monday (23 November) morning's fourth session of men's round-robin play at the Le Gruyère European Curling Championships 2015, being held in the Granly Hockey Arena, Esbjerg, Denmark, but Finland, with an 8-4 win over Germany, remain in the chasing pack.
Before this session, Norway stood alone at the top of the rankings, and they continued their dominance in their game against Italy. In the sixth end their skip Thomas Ulsrud drew his last stone into the house to score three points for a 6-3 lead, on the way to an eventual 8-3 win.
Finland faced Germany in this session and in the third end of the game, Finland's skip Aku Kauste hit to score two points and take a 4-1 lead. Germany's skip Alexander Baumann then scored two points in the sixth end with a draw-shot to reduce the Finnish lead to 5-3. However, Finland managed to withstand the German pressure to win by 8-4.
Russia were up against defending European champions and reigning world