Gateway Arch

Lunch Run

Afternoon Ride

cycling is better than horses

Evening Walk

I love the Arch. I think I write the same thing about it every time. Aesthetically it is towering, simple, and gorgeous. Every time we drive to the city, we all become silent, hoping everyone else will forget the nearness of its approach, in order to win the implicit contest of spotting it first. It is a delight to be anywhere in its vicinity; I feel happier and enobled any time it is in sight. You couldn't build it today, because the achievements it rightly celebrated have been asterisked to death. And yet it defines the city, is broadly loved, and has improved over time, causing a highway to be buried and a beautiful park to spring up in its place. Every city should long to have its own analogous symbol, anchoring it to history and taking on its own symbolism.

I owe Garmin an apology. My power meter dropped off because the screw on the battery chamber had become loose. (Although, I suppose I could blame them for that; plus, like a usual suspect who gets convicted for a crime he's actually innocent of, the conviction is probably deserved). I should have thought to check. I stopped in to a bike shop to get batteries for it and he immediately pointed that out.

I've long had this essay in mind (I may have written about it here) entitled "Tell me my faults", in which I point out that people being direct with you is actually a service to you. You can always ignore an opinion you don't like, but only if someone has been gracious enough to tell you. I tend to seek out lots of opinions on any decision and to loosely direct my thinking on any issue over time, until some decision point has been reached, when I find I can act decisively because of this kind of rooted stewing.

Anyway, this comes to mind because I am wondering, what is the deal with bike shops? Is there something wrong with me? My experience with the people staffing almost high-end place I've visited or purchased from has ranged roughly from aloofness to disdain, in response to what I feel from my side is eagerness and deference. I don't understand it. With a few exceptions, the only bike shops I've felt that the employees didn't actively dislike me have been the three Trek stores in Baltimore—two of which are now out of business. This relates to "tell me my faults" because, well, the common element in many of these scenarios is me, so maybe it's something I'm doing. I have a vague sentiment that bike snobs look down on Trek, so maybe my low-end aluminum Domane with a mishmash of parts marks me as a certain kind of dilettante.

👏 29.21 new kilometers
🏘 Completed 25% of Midtown
-- From Wandrer

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Matt Post

Gateway Arch

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Gateway Arch

Lunch Run

Afternoon Ride

cycling is better than horses

Evening Walk

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